- The launch of the Incentivized Shelley test network from Cardano was a complete success.
- Within the first 48 hours, 240 stake pools have already formed and more than 5.4 billion ADA, about 17 percent of the total supply has been delegated.
Cardano’s Incentivized Shelley test network has made an impressive start. After the Cardano Foundation on Saturday asked all potential stake pool operators to set up their hardware and software over the past week, and all ADA owners to delegate their votes, a significant amount followed this call. Just 24 hours after the launch, Input Output Hong Kong reported, 1.1 billion Cardano were delegated across 48 different community pools.
Shelley is all about decentralization and IOHK is committed to encouraging & supporting a healthy stake pool ecosystem. Which is why, this weekend, we have delegated 1.1 billion ada across 48 different community pools #CardanoCommunity 1/3
— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) December 15, 2019
At the time of writing (16 December, 7:30 UTC), the volume had already risen to 17 percent – around ADA 5.4 billion – according to data from Pooltool.io. A total of more than 240 stake pools have already been registered. IOHK is thus well on its way to achieving the target of 1,000 stake pools set out in Shelley’s roadmap. The company twittered:
Our incredible #CardanoCommunity have put in a remarkable effort this weekend, with over 240 pools (+ counting) getting ready for staking. Thank you. We’ll let #ada holders know as soon as Reward wallets are available – sign up for alerts here https://t.co/fDjC3ORlYv 3/3 pic.twitter.com/Tp9M04p1FL
— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) December 15, 2019
Although some of the leading pools are currently still operated by IOHK, community pools have already gained the trust of the ADA owners in the spirit of decentralization. According to IOHK’s reward calculator, at the current participation rate ADA owner can receive an annual return of around 7.2 percent, which is equivalent to a reward of USD 260 for 100,000 ADA (around USD 3,240).
A recent study by Binance shows that the participation of around 17 percent is still a long way from reaching the quotas of other blockchains. Networks such as Tezos, Cosmos, Algorand and Synthetix have a participation in staking of over 70 percent.
However, in this context it should be noted that the Cardano Shelley network is still in a testing phase. Currently, no new users can qualify for staking, as IOHK has already taken two snapshots in November to determine all eligible accounts by the deadline. Since no further snapshots will take place, it is no longer possible to join the test network. Not until the launch of the Cardano Shelley mainnet at the beginning of 2020 will new users be able to participate in the staking.
For the time being it remains to be seen how the participation will develop until the mainnet launch. The next few weeks will show whether the number of stake pools will continue to rise and whether the staking quota will remain stable.
Cardano’s Shelley Era
For Cardano, the Shelley upgrade is a very important step towards decentralizing of their network. Shelley introduces the delegation and incentive system for the first time. The proof-of-stake network allows users to stake their ADA via the Daedalus or Yoroi Wallet while being “be rewarded for honest participation in the network”.
At the end of the Shelley era, IOHK aims to have the network “50-100 times more decentralized than other large blockchain networks by reaching 1,000 stake pools. As the Cardano developers write, prominent blockchain networks currently often have less than 10 dominant mining pools. This puts them at serious risk of being compromised by malicious behavior.
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