Enterprise blockchain Concordium has commenced its fourth testnet as final preparations are laid for its mainnet launch. Expected to form the final incentivized testnet, Testnet 4 includes rewards for participants who complete certain tasks including smart contract deployment and interaction. While end users are encouraged to participate in the program, Concordium has issued a plea for Rust developers in particular to take part.
“The feedback [Rust devs] provide will prove invaluable in ensuring that Concordium realizes its potential to become a best-in-class enterprise network with strong privacy guarantees,” explained CTO Torben Pryds Pedersen. If the prospect of putting a well funded and highly anticipated new blockchain through its paces isn’t enough of an incentive to Rust developers, the rewards on offer should sweeten the deal. 15 million GTU tokens have been allocated for Testnet 4, an increase of 50% on the total awarded to participants of the previous testnet.
Github Hosts Testnet Challenges
Github is where aspiring testnet devs will need to head to get hands-on with Concordium. Solutions must be submitted here, with a range of challenges available. Upon the launch of the Concordium mainnet, participants will receive the GTU they have earned for helping to refine Testnet 4. As the first of Concordium’s testnets to introduce smart contract capabilities, the focus is naturally on testing these in different environments.
Rust developers will be able to deploy smart contracts on the network and get a feel for how the process compares with that of other layer-1s. Other challenges include running a node, participating as a ‘baker’ – a process that will be familiar to Tezos users – and sending different transaction types.
One of Concordium’s key selling points is that it permits both public and private transactions. The latter supports opt-in privacy. For instance, businesses can transact with one another in private, while retaining the ability to disclose the contents of the transaction to financial regulators, as lawfully required. Testnet 4 participants are encouraged to play about with this functionality, to ensure that the network is operating as specified.
Zeroing in on ZK Proofs
Concordium is part of a wave of crypto projects utilizing zero-knowledge proofs to support transactional privacy. Zk-proofs enable third parties to verify that a transaction is valid without discerning its contents. In other words, they can check that the network’s rules have been maintained without scrutinizing sensitive financial data. This is in marked contrast to public blockchains like Ethereum and Bitcoin, where all transactional data is public by default. This is useful to blockchain analysts for all manner of reasons, from on-chain surveillance, to “whale watching” to identify capital inflows and outflows.
From the perspective of enterprises, however, broadcasting sensitive financial information on a public network is a non-starter. Enter Concordium and its provision of zk-proofs. While other crypto protocols, including Tornado Cash, have utilized this technology to provide full anonymity, Concordium’s more measured approach is likely to win it favor with regulators and enterprises alike. With the mainnet set to launch in Q2, businesses shouldn’t have long to wait to experience Concordium’s capabilities in a live environment.
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