‘Elastic’ Ethereum-compatible SKALE network launches its mainnet

SKALE, an “elastic” blockchain network that does not charge per transaction, announced on June 30 that a restricted version of its mainnet has gone live.

The open-source, permissionless, Web 3.0 platform was designed to give developers the ability to build highly configurable, fully decentralized blockchains that are instantly compatible with Ethereum and capable of running at a capacity of 2,000 transactions per second—complete with “sub-second” block times.

While SKALE Network is a proof-of-stake platform, it uses a proof-of-use protocol that requires token holders to stake at least half of their holdings 

Designed to make building decentralized apps and smart contracts simple, SKALE has claimed in past blog posts that just three lines of code are all it takes to help dApps scale by a magnitude of 100x.

“SKALE pricing supports Ethereum by giving dApps their own blockchain with a charge for the amount of server space over a period of time rather than by transaction,” said SKALE Labs CEO Jack O’Holleran in a release. “So on SKALE it will be thousands of times less expensive to run transactions while not losing sync with Ethereum.”

To that end, the mainnet’s rollout will be a three-phase process, O’Holleran said. On July 1, a version of SKALE without staking or transfers enabled was released. Early in the third quarter of 2020, a Proof-of-Use mainnet with staking enabled will launch. Ninety days after this, restrictions will be lifted from the network, at which point unlocked tokens can be transferred.

‘A healthy start’

SKALE said that this gradual debut of its network—which has been two-and-a-half years in the making—is intended to eliminate speculation and volatility, an all-too-common problem when tokens and blockchain projects first launch. Executives are hoping this will allow the utility of the network’s tokens, validator growth, and DApp traction to take place in a “viable, sustained manner.”

O’Holleran added that 48 DApps have already signed up for SKALE’s Innovator Program—including a number of games and content streaming services. The company’s initiative offers private consulting, engineering support, and quality assurance checks to fledgling projects looking to get their DApps off the ground. 

“The best thing about a network launch is that it marks not the end, but the end of the beginning. This is just one step in a series of important steps, however, it is an absolutely critical milestone,” O’Holleran added. The project already has 20 validators signed up as well.

‘A stellar year’

SKALE said it has managed to achieve a number of milestones in recent months—notably, a $17.1 million funding round that was led by Arrington Capital, and an upcoming token event in conjunction with ConsenSys Activate.

Solutions that help address Ethereum’s scalability issues are very much in demand right now. As reported by Modern Consensus earlier in June, Reddit is currently on the lookout for scaling projects that are cheap, fast, and able to handle in excess of 400 million users. That’s in relation to its nascent, crypto-based Community Points project.