What is a Blockchain Testnet?

A testnet is a separate blockchain development environment designed to operate similarly to the mainnet environment. Web3 developers can use testnets to verify and optimize the deployment and execution of applications and smart contracts, minimizing expensive gas fees in the mainnet environment. Usually, testnets supporting major public chains exist in multiple configurations that changes continuously. This is because testnet environments not only are newly built by foundations or third parties who want to contribute to the ecosystem, but also cease operation due to operational burdens or the depletion of test tokens. In order to select the optimal DApp test environment for their purposes, developers need to continuously monitor these changes.

Ethereum’s Prominent Testnet, Goerli

Since the launch of the Ethereum mainnet, there have been seven testnets; however, as of April 2023, only Goerli and Sepolia are available for use. Ropsten, which was in operation until the second half of 2022, and Rinkeby, which is scheduled to cease operations in 2023, were recently deprecated.

Goerli, one of the major Ethereum testnets, started as a hackathon project in Germany in 2018 and has been officially operating since the first quarter of 2019. Goerli was designed to support extensive client compatibility, including OpenEthereum, Geth, Nethermind, and Hyperledger Besu, as well as an open validator set for high network availability and reliability. As a result, Goerli has gained high recognition among developers for years, along with a strong community, many DApps, and supporting infrastructures. After the Ethereum Merge, the protocol changed from Proof-of-Authority (PoA) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), further solidifying its position.

However, Goerli has recently faced usability issues due to faucet problems and node synchronization speed. Since testnets use the same protocol as Ethereum, test tokens equivalent to ETH are required for testing processes like transaction submissions. Developers must receive a predetermined amount of test tokens from separate service providers because these tokens cannot be purchased through exchanges. This process is called a faucet. In Goerli’s case, most of the mineable test tokens (goETH) have been depleted, causing liquidity issues. As a result, developers have experienced delays of several hours to days in receiving tokens after requesting a faucet. Additionally, Goerli requires relatively long synchronization times and significant storage space for node operation due to the large chain size, making it difficult for developers to set up a test environment.

The Latest Ethereum Testnet, Sepolia

Sepolia, which was proposed by Geth client developer in October 2021 and began operation in the fourth quarter of the same year, is a new testnet. Although Sepolia has a smaller number of DApps and a smaller developer community compared to Goerli due to its short operational period, it is suitable for developers who have difficulty setting up a test node environment with Goerli because it requires less time and storage space for node synchronization. Also, Sepolia operates on a closed validator set, enabling stable and fast block validation.

Which Testnet Should You Choose?

Sepolia offers stable block validation speed and the ability to start testing quickly without the test ETH Faucet issues that were problematic in Goerli, making it a good alternative for developers who want to deploy and test smart contracts. The fact that Sepolia is operated by the Ethereum Foundation and its core developer teams also adds to its reliability.

On the other hand, in terms of environmental similarity with the Ethereum mainnet, Goerli is superior. If you’re a beacon chain validators or a developer who wants to test Ethereum protocols through various clients, the Goerli testnet would be a better choice than Sepolia.

Using Sepolia with Luniverse NOVA

In response to these changes, Luniverse now supports Sepolia network nodes alongside Goerli 🎉 To create a Sepolia node, access the Luniverse console (console.luniverse.io) and select Sepolia in the Node creation screen as shown below.

Once the node is created, enter the following chain information to add the Sepolia testnet environment to your wallet and development tools:

• Chain Name: Sepolia Testnet
• Chain ID: 11155111
• Currency Symbol: SepoliaETH
• RPC Endpoint URL: https://ethereum-sepolia.luniverse.io/{NODE_ID}
• Block Explorer URL: https://sepolia.etherscan.io/

Tip! : Are you planning to use the Sepolia testnet? Through the Sepolia testnet Faucet link provided by Luniverse Station (station.luniverse.io), you can receive a certain amount of SepoliaETH for free every day!

In conclusion

In this post, we learned about Ethereum’s new testnet, Sepolia, which is now supported in Luniverse NOVA, and how to connect it using Luniverse NOVA’s Web3 Engine. Now, without setting up a separate node, you can use Luniverse’s Sepolia node to create a stable DApp testing environment. Luniverse will tirelessly strive to create the best Web3 development platform, so please keep staying with us on this journey. 🏃‍♀️ Subscribe to the newsletter and receive the latest news promptly!