Aeternity, a software developer seeking to increase blockchain processing capacity, has announced that open testnet trials of its flagship platform have begun on GitHub, the website that hosts code for programmers. By posting the platform on GitHub, Aeternity is opening the foundation of its plan to build a blockchain solution for storing, verifying and executing smart contracts for public feedback.
Founder of Aeternity, Yanislav Malahov said: “We invite all those interested in building smart contracts to use our brand-new Turing-complete state channel technology. This is an opportunity to get hands-on involved in the next evolution of blockchain development.”
State channels, as detailed in its white paper, are integrated into the core blockchain design to increase privacy and the capacity to scale. Further, by not storing contract code on-chain, smart contracts are easier to analyse and faster to process and there is no substantial loss in functionality.
Users who visit Aeternity’s GitHub can download the code, compile and run a test version of the latest software on Ubuntu, an open source operating system. Users will also need Erlang, a general-purpose, concurrent, functional programming language, as well as additional libraries.
Zack Hess, technical lead at Aeternity, commnted: “We will eventually present a polished, highly scalable blockchain architecture with a consensus mechanism, which is also used to check the oracle. An oracle, in the context of blockchains is a mechanism designed to reveal true facts about the physical world, and can be a function of the blockchain. For example, a blockchain can use its oracle to find out the results of a football game or who won an election. Aeternity’s oracle will not only be decentralized but very efficient and cost-effective because it avoids layering one consensus mechanism on top of another.”
While the testnet will feature just a basic proof-of-work model of consensus, the fully-fledged ‘mainnet’ will be based on a hybrid, proof-of-work and proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. The objective of this early test phase is to demonstrate the function of state channels. The mainnet version of the Aeternity blockchain is slated to launch in early 2018.
The blockchain platform will be fueled by aeon tokens, which users will be able to purchase with fiat or digital currency. Aeternity will be launching an initial token offering in the first quarter of 2017, with further details to be announced in the coming weeks.
