BlockSec launches collaborative testing toolkit for private forked chains

Blockchain security tech firm BlockSec has launched a new toolkit that enables collaborative testing on private chains “forked from arbitrary (transaction) positions” and block numbers on the Ethereum mainnet.

The developer and security researcher-focused toolkit is dubbed the “Phalcon Fork” and was launched by BlockSec on April 14.

We're thrilled to introduce Phalcon Fork, a cutting-edge toolkit for Web3 developers & security researchers! It enables collaborative testing with private mainnet states, creating private chains forked from any mainnet position. #Web3 #DeFi pic.twitter.com/TlK169GeLP

— BlockSec (@BlockSecTeam) April 14, 2023

Phalcon Fork aims to provide greater control over work being conducted on test nets such transaction testing, analysis and debugging.

In the user manual, BlockSec touts that this extra control comes from being able to easily “fork arbitrary (transaction) positions and block numbers” and retain certain "services and states” from the Ethereum mainnet.

“Compared with traditional solutions like Goerli […] Phalcon Fork has the following advantages: retain services and states from the mainnet, facilitating rapid integration and debugging with other DeFi contracts. [And maintain] full control over block information (e.g., Timestamp, BaseFee, MixDigest),” the Phalcon Fork user manual reads.

With the toolkit, users can also utilize features such as snapshots, enabling them to save certain blockchain positions, and revert back to them at will during their testing processes. The snapshots essentially record the transactions being executed and deployed by the user at a given time.

"The snapshot feature is particularly useful in the following two scenarios: When a user wants to run multiple times of a testing script, he/she just needs to revert to the original snapshot and rerun the script. [Or] When a user wants to save some states and return to them later, he/she can create a snapshot and then revert to this snapshot later," the manual reads.

Phalcon Fork also comes with an integrated faucet so that users can acquire free fork network Ether (ETH) to conduct transactions on the private chains.

To directly interact with the chains and execute transactions, Phalcon Fork provides a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) 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 Ethereum mainnet, however future support for additional blockchains such as the Binance Smart Chain and Arbitrum has been teased.

April has been a significant month for Ethereum developers, given that the highly anticipated Shapella hard fork went live on the Ethereum mainnet without a hitch on April 12. A major feature of the upgrade enables Ethereum validators to withdraw staked ETH from the Beacon Chain.

Related: Less than 1% of staked ETH estimated to be sold after Shapella: Finance Redefined

The move has been met with positive price action from Ether (ETH), with the asset gaining roughly 12% since April 12, to sit at $2,092 at the time of writing.

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