"Zircuit Unveils Garfield Testnet: Paving Way for Pectra Integration"

Zircuit, a pioneering blockchain project, has recently announced the launch of its Garfield testnet, marking a significant step in the project's development. The Garfield testnet serves as a critical testing ground for updates related to Pectra, which is slated for integration into the Zircuit mainnet in March 2025.

The launch of the Garfield testnet, which occurred during the week of February 24, 2025, brings several notable upgrades to the Zircuit ecosystem. These include full support for Cancun Opcode, Pectra compatibility, an enhanced prover, testing of the proving cluster, and readiness for EIP-7702. The Garfield testnet is a new network with no prior testnet history, requiring developers to update their configurations with a new chain ID and RPC endpoint. It also features a dedicated bridge front end and block explorer.

As the network prepares for this major transition, Zircuit has scheduled May 31, 2025, to sunset the existing Zircuit testnet. Users are advised to withdraw any Sepolia ETH or testnet assets before the transition. An escape hatch will be activated before sunset, allowing withdrawals after May 31, 2025.

Zircuit has disclosed plans to implement Garfield updates on the mainnet in March 2025, ahead of Pectra's Ethereum mainnet activation. The transition is expected to be seamless, with no anticipated downtime or user action required. In addition to the launch of Garfield, Zircuit has planned further improvements, showcasing its commitment to continuous innovation and seamless user experience. These potential developments include the launch of new RPC endpoints, a high-speed, low-latency RPC service enhancing stability, block explorer enhancements to boost transparency, and a revamped bridge.

Zircuit is also planning an escape hatch deployment, in which its feature will be connected to Testnet 1.0 before its sunset, ensuring decentralized permissionless withdrawals from Zircuit forever in case the sequencer is not available.