GM! Don't know the difference between Regtest, Testnet, and Signet?
tl;dr: they are all kinds of Bitcoin testing networks where coins have no value
Regtest: local sandbox
Testnet: difficulty resets frequently
Signet: permissioned mining
Test networks are handy for testing:
- potential consensus rule changes
- new software products that interact with Bitcoin
- network dynamics and mining
- lots more!
The closer they are to real Bitcoin the better
Regtest is the most basic Bitcoin testing network:
- you mine blocks w/ a `generate` command
- you choose the peers
It lets you test how software interacts with consensus rules
But it doesn't model a permissionless public network very well
Testnet was created to model almost all the same attributes as the real Bitcoin network
- anyone can join the network
- anyone can mine on it
- no one controls it
sounds great, right?
Mining difficulty only adjusts every 2016 blocks
If someone with a lot of miners comes to Testnet to try something out and then leaves..
Everyone else might be in for a long wait before they can mine blocks
Not ideal.
So Testnet also got this rule: if no block is mined for 20 minutes, difficulty resets to minimum.
Sounds good but it leads to a lot of problems:
- Block production is highly volatile
- Reorgs are common
- It can be hard to get new coins
Bitcoiners have been looking for a stable testnet model for quite a while.
2010: First public testnet
2011: Testnet2
2012: Testnet3
2024: Testnet4
It's hard to make a network where coins are free but mining still takes real resources
People get frustrated with Testnet...
(Not all people though: that fabulous Bitcoin troubadour nostr:nprofile1qythwumn8ghj7ct5d3shxtnwdaehgu3wd3skuep0qyt8wumn8ghj7etyv4hzumn0wd68ytnvv9hxgtcqyqsc8628tpyp6rcjf77e83tve2j9ulj5tnht34fgfrucy5l5j7uh2r2aejt took his name from testnet3...and superman)
...so Signet (BIP325) was proposed in 2019, and merged into Bitcoin Core v21.
What is Signet?
A centralized Bitcoin testing network where
- mining still takes PoW
- but blocks also need a signature from network operator
This makes Signet reliable and stable, much better for most testing applications
The default Signet targets a block interval of 10 minutes, just like Bitcoin mainnet
Check it out: https://mempool.space/signet
But anyone can start their own Signet
Mutinynet targets a block interval of 30 seconds
If you are Signet poor, here are some faucets we tested where you can stack some Signet sats!
- https://bitcoinsignetfaucet.com/
- https://signet25.bublina.eu.org/
Some great resources for learning more the different Bitcoin testing networks can be found here:
ποΈ https://bitcoinops.org/en/topics/testnet/
ποΈ https://bitcoinops.org/en/topics/signet/
ποΈ https://blog.lopp.net/griefing-bitcoin-testnet/
Following along with @lopp's testnet adventures is an excellent way to get a crash course in bitcoin testing.
You can use Liana with Regtest, Testnet (still testnet3), Signet, and Mainnet.
If you just want to play around with it, give it a whirl on Signet and tell us what you think!
ποΈ Download: https://wizardsardine.com/liana/
