Blockchain Development Lab Aeternity Announces Public Testnet

TRIESEN, Liechtenstein - Jan. 20, 2017 - PRLog -- Aeternity, a software developer seeking to increase blockchain processing capacity, said open testnet trials of its flagship platform have begun on GitHub, a website that hosts code for programmers.

By posting the platform on GitHub, Aeternity is opening for public feedback the foundation of its ambitious plan to build a blockchain solution for storing, verifying and executing smart, or automated, contracts, Aeternity founder Yanislav Malahov said.

"We invite all those interested in building smart contracts to use our brand-new Turing-complete state channel technology," Malahov said. "This is an opportunity to get hands-on involved in the next evolution of blockchain development."

State channels, as detailed in the 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 analyze 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.

"We will eventually present a polished, highly scalable blockchain architecture with a consensus mechanism, which is also used to check the oracle," said Zack Hess, technical lead at Aeternity.

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, Hess said.

"For example, a blockchain can use its oracle to find out the results of a football game or who won an election," said Hess. "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', or full version platform, will be based on a hybrid, proof-of-work and proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, according to Hess. He added, the objective of this early test phase is to demonstrate the function of state channels.

Proof-of-work and proof-of-stake are well known algorithms that help govern the proper order and state of blockchains.

The mainnet version of the Aeternity blockchain is slated to launch in early 2018.

The blockchain platform will be fueled by aeon (AE) 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.

About Aeternity

Aeternity is a blockchain development lab based in the Principality of Liechtenstein. The company aims to deliver an innovative blockchain implementation that is scalable and holistic, focusing on a mobile-first strategy and expansion of the blockchain ecosystem through the building of applications with real-world use cases.


For more information and to download the whitepaper on the Aeternity blockchain, visit: http://www.aeternity.com/.

For media inquiries, contact: info@Aeternity.com.