The Goerli Testnet is Ethereum's popular cross-client Proof-of-Authority testnet, but is otherwise a completely separate entity from the Ethereum Ledger. It was established in March 2019. Applications are being tested before they are finally deployed to mainnet.
Traders can also send tokens from other chains to Goerli. The token used is a testnet version of actual ether and should be free to developers.
Goerli's native ETH (GoETH) distribution method has been a point of contention, as its distribution is largely in the hands of a small number of validator entities. They distribute small amounts of GoETH. The traditional method used services called faucets to obtain testnet tokens, which was considered inconvenient by many. In response, cross-chain platform LayerZero designed a way for Goerli’s testnet ether to be transacted and swapped between the Ethereum mainnet and testnet. The focus is on enabling developers to buy testnet ether directly from the decentralized exchange Uniswap.
LayerZero developers have launched a cross-chain liquidity pool that allows users to buy GoETH to quell concerns about acquiring tokens. But critics have warned against the new method of monetizing the testnet’s native currency, arguing that such a mechanism would ultimately threaten the free nature of the testnet.
In fact, the price of testnet ether surged to $1.60 on Saturday, up more than 673% since trading at $0.15 at the end of last week. The token has since lost most of its value but is still trading near $0.31. Uniswap founder Hayden Adams appealed to those buying the token, warning that it will lose testnet support in his latest tweet, “If you’re buying goerli eth, why in the actual hell are you doing that. Y’all know it’s a deprecated and soon to be fully unsupported testnet right? That said, always fun to have weird things happen on uniswap.”
As the situation developed, Mudit Gupta, Polygon's chief information security officer, also chimed in, saying, "Goerli eth is trading around $0.69. Not great. Testnet ether should be free, but is flagged by speculators. Keyboard warriors will tell you that devs are buying it, but no, they're not. Probably have 0.1% of people buy to consume. This is the beginning of the end of the Goerli testnet. It helps us a lot.” The acquisition of testnet ether has become a major problem. To solve this problem, Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko has now proposed a solution to develop a new testnet called Holli. Expected to be released later this year, this is expected to improve the testing environment for client and application developers as well as node operators.
