Cardano dDeveloper: Testnet Is Catastrophically Broken

Adam Dean, one of the most notable Cardano engineers, cautioned in a recent Twitter thread that the blockchain’s testnet is “catastrophically” damaged owing to a newly found fault.

Version 1.35.2, intended for the forthcoming Vasil hard fork, included a severe issue found when stake pool managers raced to update the mainnet, resulting in the production of incompatible branches.

The testnet remains inoperable since most SPOs have upgraded their nodes to version 1.35.2 to mimic a Vasil hard fork combinator event. Version 1.35.3, released earlier this week, is incapable of synchronising the chain; it is now being tested on two new testnets that lack block history.

Many community members have expressed their unhappiness dismay with the technological issues. A Twitter user with the handle @Cardano HRguy stated, “This is unacceptable for a blockchain whose reputation has been created on the strength of its research and technology.”

🧵 (1/n) It’s important to point out today that the #Cardano #Testnet is **catastrophically** broken due to a bug in Cardano Node v 1.35.2. This was the version that we had previously been told was “Tested and Ready” for the Vasil Hardfork. This bug was only discovered…

— Adam Dean (@adamKDean) August 18, 2022

Is Vasil in a hurry?

Dean adds that it’d be an understatement to suggest that the launch’s seeming haste makes him feel “uneasy.”

He has asked Input Output’s CEO Charles Hoskinson to implement the disaster recovery tools.

Initially slated for late June, the update has been repeatedly delayed owing to technical issues.

Approximately 14% of SPOs have updated to node version 1.35.3, which is much below the minimum criterion of 75%. On Wednesday, Hoskinson requested that SPOs update their nodes to the most recent version.

Many users have advised Input Output not to hurry the update to compete with Ethereum.