tl; dr
Kintsugi🍵 in progress
In early November, the month-long Kintsugi🍵Merge Sprint started! kintsugi Specifications Y milestones/plans were released, and now customer teams are deep into the sprint with the goal of launching a persistent testnet in the first week of December.
The Kintsugi specifications incorporate all minor learnings and adjustments from the amphora interop. Kintsugi’s November sprint, then, is an effort to (1) incorporate the new set of changes and (2) refine and produce Merge implementations. Kintsugi will culminate in the launch of a persistent multi-client testnet that will run over the December holidays and serve as the foundation for the merger plans made in January.
Customer teams are currently working on milestones: developing features, running tests, and conducting initial interoperability experiments with other customers. In addition, a Merge devnet will be released every week this month — go-devnet-0 it is the last
If you’re interested in trying out the Merge software, keep an eye out for client releases and testnet instructions. We expect many community members to get involved with the Kintsugi testnet after its launch in the first week of December.
After the launch of this testnet, the relevant EIPs and specifications will move to a last call state where teams and individuals put a final set of eyes on the changeset before it is frozen. Following this, the public proof-of-work and test-click networks will transition into the Merge in the new year as teams finalize testing and prepare for the mainnet launch.
Upgrade to Arrow Glacier
Despite Finalized deals mainly with the consensus layer of Ethereum, the next (minor) update of the current proof-of-work chain is critical for users running validators. On or about December 8, 2021, Arrow Glacier will deactivate the difficulty bomb, delaying it by several months. Watch the Arrow Glacier Advertisement for more details about the update and associated client versions.
If you run validators, upgrade your “eth1 endpoint” (PoW node) before Wednesday, December 5, 2021 to account for variable block times. This is meant to be the last difficulty bomb before Merge 🚀
