ETH Denver Debate: Should Testnet ETH Be Free or Have a Price? - Ep. 464

LayerZero launched a testnet bridge that allows users to swap mainnet ETH for Goerli ETH (GoETH), which led to a sudden emergence of a liquid market for GoETH tokens.

This was a hugely controversial decision, as many in the Ethereum community believe that testnet tokens should remain free.

At ETH Denver, Laura moderated a panel discussion about this hot topic with Bryan Pellegrino, cofounder and CEO of LayerZero Labs, Greg Markou, founder of Chainsafe and Matt Garnett, software engineer for the Ethereum Foundation.

Show highlights:

• why LazerZero launched a testnet bridge for Goerli ETH (GoETH)
• the three reasons why Greg is opposed to Goerli ETH having a price
• why Bryan believes it is impossible for a permissionless testnet to have free tokens 
• the three types of constituencies that use testnets 
• whether the Sepolia testnet solves the issues with Goerli
• the upcoming Holli testnet and the problems it aims to solve
• how to create a permissionless testnet that takes into account the needs of developers from all over the world
• whether LayerZero’s move will create more problems in the future

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Crypto.com
• FTSE
• Halborn

Panel

Bryan Pellegrino, cofounder and CEO of LayerZero Labs.

Greg Markou, founder of Chainsafe

Matt Garnett, software engineer for the Ethereum Foundation

Links:

• Unchained: Goerli Testnet ETH Is Now Being Monetized
• CoinDesk: Start of the End? Testnet Goerli Ether Spikes to $1.60 as Traders Jump on Opportunity Meant for Developers
• LayerZero blog post: Public Goods by LayerZero.
• Alchemy: What is the Sepolia testnet?
• Ethereum (ETH) Developer Announces Plan To Launch New ‘Holli’ Testnet Later This Year

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

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