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Ethereum Developers to Launch New Testnet ‘Zhejiang’ for Simulating ETH Withdrawals

Users will be able to get a sense of how staked ETH withdrawals will work from a testnet due to go fully live on Feb. 7.

Updated Jan 31, 2023, 10:31 p.m. Published Jan 31, 2023, 10:10 p.m.
Shanghai (Edward He/Unsplash)
Shanghai (Edward He/Unsplash)

Ethereum developers will open a new test network on Wednesday called “Zhejiang,” where users can start testing Ethereum Improvement Proposal-4895, also known as staked ether withdrawals, that’s included in the protocol’s next big upgrade, the so-called Shanghai hard fork.

Testnets run on top of and duplicate the main blockchain. They allow developers and users to test upgrades and applications in a low-stakes environment before going live.

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This new testnet, which will go live at 10 a.m. ET (15:00 UTC), will provide the ability to test staked ETH withdrawals (EIP-4895). Users won’t immediately have the ability to participate in the simulated withdrawals until the testnet goes through an upgrade on Feb. 7. For now, users will be able to deposit ETH to validators on the testnet, and then withdraw them the following week.

The launch of the Zhejiang testnet comes after Ethereum developers deprecated the Shandong testnet. They agreed to shut down Shandong because it included a few EIPs surrounding EVM Object Format (EOF), which is no longer included in the Shanghai upgrade. Developers agreed earlier this month that the upgrade for EOF will instead be a part of a separate Ethereum hard fork expected in the third quarter.

Read more: Ethereum Developers Target March 2023 for Release of Staked Ether

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Pudgy Penguins: A New Blueprint for Tokenized Culture

Pudgy Title Image

Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.

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Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.

The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.

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Bitcoin's Quantum threat is ‘real but distant,’ says Wall Street analyst as doomsday debate rages on

quantum computer

Wall Street broker Benchmark argued the crypto network has ample time to evolve as quantum risks shift from theory to risk management.

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  • Bitcoin’s architecture is conservative but adaptable, according to Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer, with a long runway for upgrades.