Taiko Launches Final Testnet for Ethereum Scaling Solution

The Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution project, Taiko, has launched the Katla (Alpha-6) testnet, setting the stage for its mainnet.

The big week has come — the A6 testnet is live! ?

Katla is the most important testnet we’ve had so far. It lays the foundation for our upcoming mainnet launch.

Let’s take a quick look at what Katla brings to the table and how you can get involved. ⬇️

1/ pic.twitter.com/xLo2bkoej4

— Taiko ? (@taikoxyz) January 15, 2024

“The main focus of our testing with Katla is the Based Contestable Rollup (BCR), a customizable rollup design with multiple proofs,” the team noted.

Developers introduced the BCR concept in September 2023 at the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore. It involves a multi-proof configuration with four levels.

Additionally, Katla’s code supports EIP-4844 (proto-danksharding), although this feature is currently disabled. It is expected to be activated following a corresponding hard fork in the base Ethereum testnet, Holesky.

In Katla, developers have enhanced the bridge functionality, fixing several bugs and adding NFT support.

The testnet features an updated blockchain explorer with expanded statistics.

Taiko emphasized that despite the changes, applications running on Jólnir (Alpha-5) should operate on Katla without modifications. Overall, the network remains a Rollup and zkEVM of the first type (equivalent to Ethereum) with the same tokenomics structure as the previous testnet, the team clarified.

Support for Jólnir will be discontinued on January 31.

“We want to emphasize that Katla is the most important testnet we have ever had, as it lays the foundation for our mainnet launch,” the developers stated.

In 2023, the project raised $22 million through two funding rounds.