Cardano team reveals details about the incentivized testnet that will bring staking to the network

In a live AMA session led Cardano's senior product manager David Desser, the company's team revealed the current status and plans for the launch of the Shelley incentivized testnet.

Several members of Cardano's team held an AMA session on Oct. 10 to discuss the current state of the testnet and reveal more details about what it will bring to users.

Cardano is set to launch the incentivized testnet for Shelley, whose testnet went live in the second half of June.

Unlike a traditional testnet, which is a closed-off sandbox environment, an incentivized testnet uses real incentives in the form of staking and delegation rewards to drive participation.

During the AMA, many users wanted to know what benefits would the testnet bring to them, a question both Esser and his team members answered extensively.

While the ADA in the testnet won't be spendable, as it technically cannot exit the network, all of the ADA users earn by either staking or delegating in the testnet can be pulled back into the mainnet.

The rewards earned in the testnet won't transfer to the mainnet automatically, but Cardano developers are already working on a procedure that would allow users to manually import their rewards.

IOHK, the company behind Cardano, the Cardano Foundation, and its venture arm Emurgo will all be running their own staking pools in Shelley's testnet.

The team also confirmed that the phase 3 of the incentivized testnet will roll out next month, as IOHK founder Charles Hoskinson promised, and that a special version of crypto wallet Daedalus will be released for the testnet.

Garcia's team is also working on a detailed guide about bug fixes on the Cardano testnet for Windows 10.