Introducing Avail’s Clash of Nodes Incentivized Testnet

Quick Highlights

• Unveiling Avail’s Clash of Nodes incentivized testnet, a significant stride towards Mainnet.
• Inviting validators and light client operators - the titans who guard Avail’s network - to test, validate, and operate, helping us battle test our code base, refine our infrastructure, vet our operational readiness, and more.
• A glimpse into how the Avail community will be front and center to build out Avail into the base layer for the rollup-centric future
• We’ll be rolling out invitations to our validators and light client operators in stages - stay tuned for your invite.

Today we’re thrilled to pull the curtains back on Avail’s Clash of Nodes incentivized testnet, a chance to test Avail and a major step towards Mainnet. We’re extending a warm invite to validators and light client operators to be at the forefront of this evolution. You’ll be able to hop in, test our infrastructure, light clients, and more, and compete for points on the leaderboard. 

Here’s a little window into how Avail is setting the stage for a rollup-centric future alongside our community, L2 providers, and more.

Avail 101: Powering a Scalable Future for Blockchains

As the blockchain landscape evolves, rollups have ushered in a new era of scalability by shifting execution off-chain. However, a pressing challenge remains: Data Availability (DA). Many rollups have been relying on Ethereum for their DA needs, which isn’t a cost-effective solution. And while there are competing workarounds, they often introduce an unnecessary layer of trust and inefficiency.

That's where Avail steps in. Designed specifically for the task, Avail provides a decentralized, scalable, and efficient platform for DA. It's not just about solving today's problems; it's about building a hyper-scalable base layer for tomorrow’s rollup based apps. 

With a focus on data availability and consensus, Avail lays down a robust platform for a variety of audiences. Whether you’re looking to scale out an L3 ecosystem or optimize your L2 rollups, whether you’re considering building a validium, optimium, or sovereign rollup - Avail’s got you covered.

Validators, we need you to make it a reality. We’re looking for those of you who are looking to try something cool, help support the modular blockchain future, and be rewarded while you’re at it.

Ready to be a part of this exciting journey?

Introducing Clash of Nodes

Today, we’re excited to announce that Clash of Nodes is here - an incentivized testnet where validators, light client operators, and anyone else can help validate our network, earn points, and compete for fun and potential rewards.

We’re gearing up to be Mainnet ready in the coming months, so Clash of Nodes is your chance to experience Avail as it will function post-launch.

How It Works

Clash of Nodes is a battle to the death (not really), where validators, light client operators, and other participants complete challenges on Avail and get potential rewards, including:

• Validators who consistently and correctly validate the chain throughout the testing period.
• Full nodes and light clients who participate in challenges to simulate increasingly large numbers of rollups (or larger rollups) running on Avail.
• Validators and other participants who participate in challenges simulating disaster scenarios.

The First Challenges Await…

Here are some of the first challenges coming at launch and soon after:

1. Gladiator's Entry: Author as many blocks as possible.
2. Noble Warrior: Adhere to protocol rules.
3. Max Balance Transfer Points: Test of making as many transfers as possible.
4. Finding Yourself: Adding and verifying your identity.
5. To the Stake: Ensure the total amount staked is as high as possible.
6. Magic Nomination Pools: Creator nominator pools with the highest total over the entire testnet period.

And for light client operators - your challenges will be coming in the weeks ahead, but you can go and get warmed up by running the light client in seconds.

And everyone else - did you know that challenges like balance transfers and identity setting can be done by anyone? 

🔗 Read complete details on the Clash of Nodes challenges page. 

You’ll earn points for completing challenges weekly, and your score will be shown on the…

Leaderboards

That’s not all, check out our public leaderboard of validators and light client operators to see who’s contributed the most - and stay tuned for more exciting developments soon.

Check out the leaderboard at leaderboard.availproject.org.

Validators and Light Clients – We Want You!

We're looking for heroes to come help us build the network - and that means you, validators and light client operators.

Validators - The Guardians of Avail

We want to take a moment to recognize our Avail validators. You play a critical role in pushing the blockchain ecosystem forward, and with Avail, you’ll help us expand blockspace for DA across the world. 

For 100 of you, you’ve been helping us test the Kate Testnet for months, and you’ll have first priority to be one of the 300 for this round. In the long run, we’ll be aiming for 1000 - so an early bird welcome to those who show up for this testnet!

Light Client Operators - Strengthening the Network

Light client operators play a special role in Avail. In a world where all the Avail validators go down, Avail is the only DA network where light clients can keep the lights on.

Setting up and operating a light client is a breeze. If you’ve ever formatted your laptop, it’s as easy to become a light client operator. There’s a fun community to join. So why wait? Jump into light client operation and be a part of this scalability saga.

L2 Providers and App Rollup Devs

Whether you’re building an L3 ecosystem or optimizing our L2s, here’s your golden opportunity to test Avail’s base layer, and get ready for Mainnet where you can kick scalability up a notch on your existing chains. Read the complete guide to selecting the right data availability layer.

For Everyone Else Who Wants to Participate

We need users and developers to test every angle of our network. Join, try out our system, go to the faucet, try to “break the network”, send huge amounts of data, and more. Check out all the challenges that you can try even if you aren’t a validator or light client operator.

🔗 Read all about how to get started on clash.availproject.org

FAQs

Check out our frequently asked questions about the launch.

Closing Thoughts

The Avail vision is coming alive with the Incentivized Testnet. Validators, light client operators, L2 providers, and App Rollup Devs we’re inviting you to be part of this groundbreaking journey. Your involvement is the fuel driving Avail towards a future where scalability, security, and decentralization are the name of the game

For complete details, read our terms of service for the full details for the Clash of Nodes incentivized testnet.

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