Bitcoin's testnet provides a risk-free environment for miners, developers, and users to experiment with Bitcoin software. Unlike the main Bitcoin network, where real value is at stake, the testnet has its own coins (tBTC) which hold no real-world value. This means anyone can test without the fear of financial loss.

To be useful for testing, users and developers need to be able to easily acquire testnet coins, this was no longer possible with the old testnet3 network. Coin issuance had almost completely dried up and the coins were starting to trade on secondary markets