The new testnet, which has been dubbed “Zhejiang,” is a necessary step in order for developers and regular users to test how the network handles withdrawals of staked ETH. The new feature is known in technical circles as Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-4895.

Allowing withdrawals of staked ETH is a highly anticipated feature given that users who have staked their ETH on Ethereum’s new proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain so far have been unable to withdraw – or ‘unstake’ – their tokens.

Zhejiang will go live at 15:00 UTC on Wednesday, February 1st.