{"id":17969,"date":"2026-03-05T15:33:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T15:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/2026\/03\/05\/ropsten-rinkeby-kiln-deprecation-announcement\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T15:33:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T15:33:28","slug":"ropsten-rinkeby-kiln-deprecation-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/2026\/03\/05\/ropsten-rinkeby-kiln-deprecation-announcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Ropsten, Rinkeby &#038; Kiln Deprecation Announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<ul role=\"list\" class=\"css-1ars4k6\">\n<li class=\"css-0\"><strong>Reminder:<\/strong> the <a class=\"chakra-link css-vezwxf\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.ethereum.org\/2022\/06\/16\/gray-glacier-announcement\">Gray Glacier upgrade<\/a> is scheduled for block <span class=\"chakra-text css-ons8vw\">15,050,000<\/span>, expected June 29, 2022<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-0\">The <a class=\"chakra-link css-vezwxf\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.ethereum.org\/2022\/03\/14\/kiln-merge-testnet\">Kiln Merge testnet<\/a>, launched earlier this year, will be shut down shortly after the Ethereum mainnet&#8217;s transition to proof-of-stake.<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-0\">Ropsten, Ethereum&#8217;s longest-lived proof-of-work testnet, has transitionned to proof-of-stake. It will be shut down in Q4 2022.<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-0\">Rinkeby, a geth-based proof-of-authority testnet, <strong>will not<\/strong> transition to proof-of-stake and will be shut down in Q2\/Q3 2023.<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-0\">Users and developers are encouraged to migrate ASAP to Goerli or Sepolia to test Ethereum in a post-merge context. After The Merge, Rinkeby <strong>will not<\/strong> be a suitable testing environment for the Ethereum mainnet. Unplanned mainnet upgrades may no longer be applied to deprecated testnets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr aria-orientation=\"horizontal\" class=\"chakra-divider css-1e6gg7n\"\/>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">Ethereum has many testnets for users and developers to test things on before interacting with mainnet. These are effectively copies of the Ethereum mainnet on which Ether and other tokens have no value. They allow application, tooling, infrastructure and protocol developers to deploy changes to their products (or the protocol itself!) in a low stakes environment, before moving to mainnet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">That said, because testnets are full-featured blockchains, their history and state grow over time. This eventually makes them harder to run nodes on and to maintain. For this reason, some testnets are periodically sunsetted. This happened last year with the <a class=\"chakra-link css-vezwxf\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.ethereum.org\/2021\/08\/25\/finalized-no-28\">Pyrmont Beacon Chain testnet<\/a> and more recently with the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"chakra-link css-vezwxf\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OpenEthereumOrg\/status\/1529147048758595585\">Kovan execution layer testnet<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">With The Merge approaching, client developers have decided to deprecate more testnets in order to focus their efforts on properly maintaining two of them over the long-term: <em class=\"chakra-text css-0\">Goerli and Sepolia<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\"><strong>The Kiln, Rinkeby and Ropsten testnets are now being deprecated.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"chakra-heading group css-1kpzc4q\" id=\"testnet-shutdown-timeline\" data-group=\"true\"><a class=\"chakra-link css-128fqrf\" aria-label=\"testnet shutdown timeline permalink\" href=\"#testnet-shutdown-timeline\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"chakra-icon css-173jpr1\"><g fill=\"currentColor\"><path d=\"M10.458,18.374,7.721,21.11a2.853,2.853,0,0,1-3.942,0l-.892-.891a2.787,2.787,0,0,1,0-3.941l5.8-5.8a2.789,2.789,0,0,1,3.942,0l.893.892A1,1,0,0,0,14.94,9.952l-.893-.892a4.791,4.791,0,0,0-6.771,0l-5.8,5.8a4.787,4.787,0,0,0,0,6.77l.892.891a4.785,4.785,0,0,0,6.771,0l2.736-2.735a1,1,0,1,0-1.414-1.415Z\"\/><path d=\"M22.526,2.363l-.892-.892a4.8,4.8,0,0,0-6.77,0l-2.905,2.9a1,1,0,0,0,1.414,1.414l2.9-2.9a2.79,2.79,0,0,1,3.941,0l.893.893a2.786,2.786,0,0,1,0,3.942l-5.8,5.8a2.769,2.769,0,0,1-1.971.817h0a2.766,2.766,0,0,1-1.969-.816,1,1,0,1,0-1.415,1.412,4.751,4.751,0,0,0,3.384,1.4h0a4.752,4.752,0,0,0,3.385-1.4l5.8-5.8a4.786,4.786,0,0,0,0-6.771Z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a>Testnet Shutdown Timeline<\/h2>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">While these three testnets are now considered deprecated, users and developers still have time to plan their migration before they are completely shut down. Kiln, Ropsten and Rinkeby will be shut down according to the schedule below.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"chakra-heading group css-xuzltg\" id=\"kiln-after-mainnet-merge\" data-group=\"true\"><a class=\"chakra-link css-128fqrf\" aria-label=\"kiln after mainnet merge permalink\" href=\"#kiln-after-mainnet-merge\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"chakra-icon css-173jpr1\"><g fill=\"currentColor\"><path d=\"M10.458,18.374,7.721,21.11a2.853,2.853,0,0,1-3.942,0l-.892-.891a2.787,2.787,0,0,1,0-3.941l5.8-5.8a2.789,2.789,0,0,1,3.942,0l.893.892A1,1,0,0,0,14.94,9.952l-.893-.892a4.791,4.791,0,0,0-6.771,0l-5.8,5.8a4.787,4.787,0,0,0,0,6.77l.892.891a4.785,4.785,0,0,0,6.771,0l2.736-2.735a1,1,0,1,0-1.414-1.415Z\"\/><path d=\"M22.526,2.363l-.892-.892a4.8,4.8,0,0,0-6.77,0l-2.905,2.9a1,1,0,0,0,1.414,1.414l2.9-2.9a2.79,2.79,0,0,1,3.941,0l.893.893a2.786,2.786,0,0,1,0,3.942l-5.8,5.8a2.769,2.769,0,0,1-1.971.817h0a2.766,2.766,0,0,1-1.969-.816,1,1,0,1,0-1.415,1.412,4.751,4.751,0,0,0,3.384,1.4h0a4.752,4.752,0,0,0,3.385-1.4l5.8-5.8a4.786,4.786,0,0,0,0-6.771Z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a>Kiln: After Mainnet Merge<\/h3>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">The Kiln testnet, launched in 2022 to provide a post-merge testing environment, will be shut down shortly after the Ethereum mainnet&#8217;s transition to proof-of-stake, expected in the second half of 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">Developers <strong>should not<\/strong> use Kiln as a long-lasting testing environment. It is expected to be the first testnet to be shut down after The Merge happens on the Ethereum mainnet.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"chakra-heading group css-xuzltg\" id=\"ropsten-q4-2022\" data-group=\"true\"><a class=\"chakra-link css-128fqrf\" aria-label=\"ropsten q4 2022 permalink\" href=\"#ropsten-q4-2022\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"chakra-icon css-173jpr1\"><g fill=\"currentColor\"><path d=\"M10.458,18.374,7.721,21.11a2.853,2.853,0,0,1-3.942,0l-.892-.891a2.787,2.787,0,0,1,0-3.941l5.8-5.8a2.789,2.789,0,0,1,3.942,0l.893.892A1,1,0,0,0,14.94,9.952l-.893-.892a4.791,4.791,0,0,0-6.771,0l-5.8,5.8a4.787,4.787,0,0,0,0,6.77l.892.891a4.785,4.785,0,0,0,6.771,0l2.736-2.735a1,1,0,1,0-1.414-1.415Z\"\/><path d=\"M22.526,2.363l-.892-.892a4.8,4.8,0,0,0-6.77,0l-2.905,2.9a1,1,0,0,0,1.414,1.414l2.9-2.9a2.79,2.79,0,0,1,3.941,0l.893.893a2.786,2.786,0,0,1,0,3.942l-5.8,5.8a2.769,2.769,0,0,1-1.971.817h0a2.766,2.766,0,0,1-1.969-.816,1,1,0,1,0-1.415,1.412,4.751,4.751,0,0,0,3.384,1.4h0a4.752,4.752,0,0,0,3.385-1.4l5.8-5.8a4.786,4.786,0,0,0,0-6.771Z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a>Ropsten: Q4 2022<\/h3>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">The Ropsten testnet, which ran through <a class=\"chakra-link css-vezwxf\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.ethereum.org\/2022\/05\/30\/ropsten-merge-announcement\">The Merge on June 8, 2022<\/a>, will be shut down in Q4 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">Developers who currently use Ropsten as a staging\/testing environment should migrate to Goerli or Sepolia.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"chakra-heading group css-xuzltg\" id=\"rinkeby-q2q3-2023\" data-group=\"true\"><a class=\"chakra-link css-128fqrf\" aria-label=\"rinkeby q2q3 2023 permalink\" href=\"#rinkeby-q2q3-2023\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"chakra-icon css-173jpr1\"><g fill=\"currentColor\"><path d=\"M10.458,18.374,7.721,21.11a2.853,2.853,0,0,1-3.942,0l-.892-.891a2.787,2.787,0,0,1,0-3.941l5.8-5.8a2.789,2.789,0,0,1,3.942,0l.893.892A1,1,0,0,0,14.94,9.952l-.893-.892a4.791,4.791,0,0,0-6.771,0l-5.8,5.8a4.787,4.787,0,0,0,0,6.77l.892.891a4.785,4.785,0,0,0,6.771,0l2.736-2.735a1,1,0,1,0-1.414-1.415Z\"\/><path d=\"M22.526,2.363l-.892-.892a4.8,4.8,0,0,0-6.77,0l-2.905,2.9a1,1,0,0,0,1.414,1.414l2.9-2.9a2.79,2.79,0,0,1,3.941,0l.893.893a2.786,2.786,0,0,1,0,3.942l-5.8,5.8a2.769,2.769,0,0,1-1.971.817h0a2.766,2.766,0,0,1-1.969-.816,1,1,0,1,0-1.415,1.412,4.751,4.751,0,0,0,3.384,1.4h0a4.752,4.752,0,0,0,3.385-1.4l5.8-5.8a4.786,4.786,0,0,0,0-6.771Z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a>Rinkeby: Q2\/Q3 2023<\/h3>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">The Rinkeby testnet will <strong>not<\/strong> run through The Merge. It is being replaced by Sepolia, and will be shut down roughly one year after Sepolia has transitioned to proof-of-stake, around Q2\/Q3 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">Once the Ethereum mainnet transitions to proof-of-stake, Rinkeby will no longer be an accurate staging environment for mainnet. A list of changes introduced by The Merge that application developers should be aware of is available <a class=\"chakra-link css-vezwxf\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.ethereum.org\/2021\/11\/29\/how-the-merge-impacts-app-layer\">here<\/a>. Again, note that these changes will <strong>not<\/strong> be deployed to Rinkeby.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">Developers who currently use Rinkeby as a staging\/testing environment should prioritize migrating to Goerli or Sepolia, and projects who are affected by Ethereum&#8217;s transition to proof-of-stake should aim to do so as soon as possible.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"chakra-heading group css-1kpzc4q\" id=\"goerli--sepolia\" data-group=\"true\"><a class=\"chakra-link css-128fqrf\" aria-label=\"goerli  sepolia permalink\" href=\"#goerli--sepolia\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"chakra-icon css-173jpr1\"><g fill=\"currentColor\"><path d=\"M10.458,18.374,7.721,21.11a2.853,2.853,0,0,1-3.942,0l-.892-.891a2.787,2.787,0,0,1,0-3.941l5.8-5.8a2.789,2.789,0,0,1,3.942,0l.893.892A1,1,0,0,0,14.94,9.952l-.893-.892a4.791,4.791,0,0,0-6.771,0l-5.8,5.8a4.787,4.787,0,0,0,0,6.77l.892.891a4.785,4.785,0,0,0,6.771,0l2.736-2.735a1,1,0,1,0-1.414-1.415Z\"\/><path d=\"M22.526,2.363l-.892-.892a4.8,4.8,0,0,0-6.77,0l-2.905,2.9a1,1,0,0,0,1.414,1.414l2.9-2.9a2.79,2.79,0,0,1,3.941,0l.893.893a2.786,2.786,0,0,1,0,3.942l-5.8,5.8a2.769,2.769,0,0,1-1.971.817h0a2.766,2.766,0,0,1-1.969-.816,1,1,0,1,0-1.415,1.412,4.751,4.751,0,0,0,3.384,1.4h0a4.752,4.752,0,0,0,3.385-1.4l5.8-5.8a4.786,4.786,0,0,0,0-6.771Z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a>Goerli &amp; Sepolia<\/h2>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\"><strong>The two testnets which client developers will maintain post-merge are Goerli and Sepolia.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">The Goerli network will merge with the Prater Beacon Chain testnet. A new Beacon Chain has been created to transition Sepolia to proof-of-stake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">Goerli&#8217;s Beacon Chain will remain open for users wanting to run a testnet validator. Sepolia will operate with a permissioned validator set, similarly to how some testnets work today. Stakers wanting to test protocol upgrades before they are deployed to mainnet should therefore use Goerli.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">Goerli also has a strong community and a lot of existing infrastructure supporting it. Its state is the closest to mainnet, which can be useful for testing smart contract interactions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">Sepolia, on the other hand, is fairly new, meaning its state and history are both quite small. This means the network is quick to sync to and that running a node on it requires less storage. This is useful for users who want to quickly spin up a node and interact with the network directly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.ethereum.org\/images\/posts\/upload_6aad4abed2e8b9126ac1c51686b35f22.jpg\" class=\"chakra-image css-hw6q2r\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"chakra-heading group css-1kpzc4q\" id=\"summary\" data-group=\"true\"><a class=\"chakra-link css-128fqrf\" aria-label=\"summary permalink\" href=\"#summary\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"chakra-icon css-173jpr1\"><g fill=\"currentColor\"><path d=\"M10.458,18.374,7.721,21.11a2.853,2.853,0,0,1-3.942,0l-.892-.891a2.787,2.787,0,0,1,0-3.941l5.8-5.8a2.789,2.789,0,0,1,3.942,0l.893.892A1,1,0,0,0,14.94,9.952l-.893-.892a4.791,4.791,0,0,0-6.771,0l-5.8,5.8a4.787,4.787,0,0,0,0,6.77l.892.891a4.785,4.785,0,0,0,6.771,0l2.736-2.735a1,1,0,1,0-1.414-1.415Z\"\/><path d=\"M22.526,2.363l-.892-.892a4.8,4.8,0,0,0-6.77,0l-2.905,2.9a1,1,0,0,0,1.414,1.414l2.9-2.9a2.79,2.79,0,0,1,3.941,0l.893.893a2.786,2.786,0,0,1,0,3.942l-5.8,5.8a2.769,2.769,0,0,1-1.971.817h0a2.766,2.766,0,0,1-1.969-.816,1,1,0,1,0-1.415,1.412,4.751,4.751,0,0,0,3.384,1.4h0a4.752,4.752,0,0,0,3.385-1.4l5.8-5.8a4.786,4.786,0,0,0,0-6.771Z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a>Summary<\/h2>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">In short, Kiln, Ropsten and Rinkeby are now deprecated. While Kiln and Ropsten have already transitioned to proof-of-stake, Rinkeby will <strong>not<\/strong> run through this upgrade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">After The Merge happens on mainnet, Kiln will be sunset. Then, by the end of the year, Ropsten will be as well. Roughly one year after Sepolia has transitioned to proof-of-stake, around Q2\/Q3 2023, Rinkeby will be turned off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">Two testnets, Goerli and Sepolia, will be maintained going forward. Goerli is recommended for stakers to test protocol upgrades and developers who want to interact with a large existing state. Sepolia is recommended for users and developers who want a lighter weight chain to sync to and interact with.<\/p>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">To everyone who has helped run, maintain or support these networks, thank you!<\/p>\n<hr aria-orientation=\"horizontal\" class=\"chakra-divider css-1e6gg7n\"\/>\n<p class=\"chakra-text css-gi02ar\">Header photo by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"chakra-link css-vezwxf\" href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@karljkhedin?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Karl Hedin<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.ethereum.org\/en\/2022\/06\/21\/testnet-deprecation\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reminder: the Gray Glacier upgrade is scheduled for block 15,050,000, expected June 29, 2022 The Kiln Merge testnet, launched earlier this year, will be shut down shortly after the Ethereum mainnet&#8217;s transition to proof-of-stake. Ropsten, Ethereum&#8217;s longest-lived proof-of-work testnet, has transitionned to proof-of-stake. It will be shut down in Q4 2022. Rinkeby, a geth-based proof-of-authority [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":17970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"kronos_expire_date":[],"class_list":["post-17969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethereum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17969"},{"taxonomy":"kronos_expire_date","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cryptoted.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kronos_expire_date?post=17969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}