Top Cardano Developer Says Testnet Is “Catastrophically Broken” Due to a Bug

Cardano developer Adam Dean has confirmed that the network’s testnet is experiencing a critical bug. The foundation is still in a rush to find this disaster recovery tool prior to the upcoming Vasil hard fork.

Cardano Dev Says Testnet Is “Catastrophically Broken”

In a recent Twitter thread, Adam Dean, a prominent Cardano developer, warned that the blockchain’s testnet is “catastrophically” broken due to a newly discovered bug.

The bug was uncovered in Cardano Node v1.35.2, which serves as the foundation for the upcoming Vasil hard fork. This reportedly happened because the pool operators were rushing to upgrade the mainnet, resulting in incompatible forks and a drop in chain density.

“This was the version that we had previously been told was “Tested and Ready” for the Vasil Hardfork. This bug was only discovered…”

Dean stated.

Will This Bug Set Back the Vasil Hard Fork?

Adam noted that since the majority of operators upgraded to 1.35.2 on testnet, 1.35.3 is now incapable and incompatible with syncing. He stated that they are currently testing 1.35.3 on two new testnets with no block history. 

According to recent reports from the ADA team, the team has launched Cardano Rosetta 1.8.0, enabling the integration of the Vasil hard fork. The announcement came from the Cardano Updates Twitter account.

Cardano Rosetta is a set of features and technologies designed to make Cardano integration easier. Rosetta will serve primarily as an integration tool to facilitate and expedite the integration of Cardano’s Vasil hardfork.

Now that the developers have identified the bug, it is not clear if the Vasil hard fork upgrade will be delayed any further. The Cardano hard fork was expected to go live on the network in July. Due to delays, it has been postponed, and the community should prepare for additional updates as new information emerges.

As anticipated, the delays and escalating issues with the anticipated upgrade have frustrated a significant portion of the community.

“This is unacceptable for a blockchain that has built its reputation on the robustness of its research and technology,”

A purported Cardano enthusiast wrote in the comments.

“Communication around Vasil is not really what I’m expecting… many people are claiming 1.35.3 as final version and pushing for upgrade but I haven’t seen yet a clear confirmation and announcement. Something weird to me here is happening… doesn’t give me full confidence.”

Another community member wrote,

Adam Dean Believes Vasil Upgrade Is Being Hurried

In the same thread of tweets, Adam Dean expressed his displeasure with the pace at which the Vasil upgrade is being rushed by the team.

He then urged Input Output and CEO Charles Hoskinson to develop and deploy the tooling required for a disaster recovery plan.

Some users are also attributing the rush to Cardano’s intense competition with Ethereum (ETH), which is the most widely used platform for smart contracts. It is worth noting that the top blockchain is tentatively scheduled for the Merge on September 15th.