Taiko launched the Alpha-4 testnet, aimed at testing the initial layer and staking-based prover economics

ChainCatcher news, the Ethereum Layer 2 network Taiko based on zkRollup announces the launch of Eldfell L3 (Alpha-4 testnet). This testnet aims to test deploying Taiko on Taiko as the initial L3 layer (Rollup on Rollup), as well as testing the new staking-based prover economics.

In Alpha-3, Taiko's design was that the first prover wins. In the testnet scenario, this leads to many provers "wasting work" as they all strive to prove the same block, but only one can receive the reward. In Alpha-4, the protocol designates provers from a pool and assigns them to proposed blocks. The designated prover must then submit a valid proof within a set time window for block validation. If the prover fails to submit the proof in time, their stake will be slashed. The higher the number of staked tokens, the greater the chance that the prover will be selected. (source link)