Blockchain security technology company BlockSec has released a new toolset that enables collaborative testing on private chains “forked from arbitrary (transaction) positions” and block numbers on the Ethereum mainnet.
The toolset focused on developers and security researchers is called the “Phalcon Fork” and was released on April 14.
We are excited to introduce the Phalcon Fork, a cutting-edge toolset for Web3 security researchers and developers! Allows collaborative testing with private mainnet states, creating forked private chains from anywhere on the mainnet. #Web3 #DeFi pic.twitter.com/TlK169GeLP
-BlockSec (@BlockSecTeam) April 14, 2023
The Phalcon Fork aims to provide more control over the work that is done on testnets, such as testing, analyzing, and debugging transactions.
In the user manual, BlockSec touts that this added control comes from being able to “easily fork arbitrary positions (transactions) and block numbers” and retain certain “services and states” from the Ethereum mainnet.
“Compared to traditional solutions like Goerli […]Phalcon Fork has the following advantages: Retaining mainnet state and services, making it easy to quickly integrate and debug with other DeFi contracts. [And maintain] full control over block information (eg timestamp, base rate, MixDigest),” reads the Phalcon Fork user manual.
With the toolkit, users can also use features like snapshots, allowing them to save certain blockchain positions and return to them whenever they want during their testing processes. Snapshots essentially record the transactions that the user executes and deploys at any given time.
“The snapshot feature is particularly useful in the following two scenarios: When a user wants to run a test script multiple times, they just need to go back to the original snapshot and rerun the script. [Or] When a user wants to save some states and return to them later, he can create a snapshot and then return to this snapshot later,” the manual says.
Phalcon Fork also has a built-in faucet for users to purchase Ether (ETH) from free fork network to transact on private chains.
To directly interact with chains and execute transactions, Phalcon Fork provides a remote procedure call node called Fork RPC, which can be integrated with Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible development frameworks such as Hardhat, Foundry, and Remix, or added to MetaMask.
As it stands, users can only fork from the main Ethereum network; however, future support for additional blockchains such as BNB Smart Chain and Arbitrum has been hinted at.
Mocked blockchain support additions. Source: Twitter
April has been an important month for Ethereum developers, as the highly anticipated Shapella hard fork went live on the Ethereum mainnet without a hitch on April 12. An important feature of the update allows Ethereum validators to withdraw staked ETH from the Beacon Chain.
Related: Less Than 1% Of ETH Stakes After Shapella Estimated To Be Sold: Finance Redefined
The move was met with positive Ether (ETH) price action, with the asset gaining roughly 12% since April 12, to settle at $2,092 as of this writing.
ETH seven-day price chart. Source: CoinGecko
Magazine: ZK-rollups are ‘endgame’ for scaling blockchains, Polygon founder Miden
This post BlockSec Launches Collaborative Testing Toolkit for Private Forked Chains
was published first on https://cointelegraph.com/news/blocksec-launches-collaborative-testing-toolkit-for-private-forked-chains
