Notice on launch of Theta Mainnet 2.0
Theta community -
After careful deliberation, we’ve decided to move the official launch of Theta Mainnet 2.0 to Wednesday, May 27. Roughly 2 weeks prior to that date, the exact block height will be announced that Theta blockchain will switch to Mainnet 2.0 code.
The primary reason for pushing back the release date is simply to allow for more testing of the Mainnet 2.0 code. While the Mainnet 2.0 code is complete, and as some noticed already has been released on the Theta GitHub, there are significant changes and having just a few weeks to fully test before the projected Q1 release date was a tight window. In addition to the hundreds of Guardian Nodes that would come online on mainnet, the Mainnet 2.0 code must be run by all the major exchanges that list Theta, as well as Enterprise Validator Nodes (Binance, gumi Cryptos, Samsung NEXT, and Blockchain). Any issues arising from untested code could be disruptive to a lot of key stakeholders in Theta, so out of an abundance of caution, the decision was made to allow more time to observe the Mainnet 2.0 code functioning properly and make any improvements as needed. Also, delaying the release of Mainnet 2.0 won’t have any negative effect on work in progress with video platform partners, so that potential risk factor did not present an issue.
We know the Theta community, including the 300+ Guardian Nodes operating on Theta testnet, are excited to get started on Mainnet 2.0. Rest assured, the work and testing you are doing on testnet_sapphire will continue, and as before you will receive mainnet TFUEL tokens for your staking efforts on testnet. More Guardian Nodes are being onboarded to testnet_sapphire so that when Theta Mainnet 2.0 launches the protocol will be as decentralized as possible. At the same time, we will be running stress tests on testnet_sapphire to ensure that Theta can accommodate the necessary level of concurrent users that video platforms require.
Stress testing will tentatively follow this schedule between now and the release of Mainnet 2.0:
Testing of peak concurrent viewers on Theta Network:
- March — 100k concurrent viewers
- April — 500k concurrent viewers
- May — 1m+ concurrent viewers
Testing of number of Guardian Nodes participating in Theta consensus
- March — 500 Guardian Nodes
- April — 600 Guardian Nodes
- May — 750+ Guardian Nodes
We also had planned a major marketing push in the lead up to Mainnet 2.0, including a marketing tour through South Korea, Hong Kong, and Vietnam and a meetup held with a Korea-based partner. With the unfortunate and tragic spread of the COVID-19 virus, our travel plans to these countries had to be postponed. While these travel restrictions may still be in place in May, this at least gives us time to re-tool our marketing efforts for Mainnet 2.0 in other directions, and give it the push that the release and our community deserves.
Another silver lining of pushing Mainnet 2.0 launch to May is that it gives our community time to get involved in building tools and applications for the Theta ecosystem. We’ve enlisted DevPost, the leading hackathon community (they are currently running hackathons for Facebook, Samsung, and EOS among many other top names), to host the 1st Theta Network virtual hackathon beginning in early April. The hackathon will run for 2 months and feature project feedback from Theta team, as well as other marquee advisors and supporters of the Theta Network. Additionally Theta Labs is setting aside a hackathon prize pool of $17,500 in tokens, 100% of which will be awarded to the top 3 community projects at the end of the hackathon. We’ve got a few ideas of Theta blockchain tools and apps we’ll propose, but want to also give the Theta community the flexibility to build the projects they want to. (Got a project idea? Email us at support@thetatoken.org, or reach out to Wes on Telegram at @wlevitt so we can make sure you have the tools you need!)
Overall we think this short delay in Mainnet 2.0 release will optimize the momentum leading up to release, and is the best decision for the Theta project in the long-term. We are still very excited as the Theta project moves into a new phase of community stakeholders and development, and a more decentralized ecosystem around the Theta blockchain.
The Theta team
