Introducing Testnet Phases

March 18th, 2024 by Layer N

Over the last few months, we’ve had many conversations with some of the best and most energized builders in the space. We ran a private Testnet (opens in a new tab) with the Eigen Layer team and reached over 100k+ transactions per second. Today, we’re excited to unveil the much anticipated Layer N public Testnet schedule. The public Testnet will be a unique opportunity for the community, users and developers to experience first-hand what a fast execution layer like Layer N feels like, and how increased compute and shared liquidity can meaningfully enable a whole new class of on-chain applications.

The Layer N Testnet schedule will roll out in phases. Each phase will highlight a meaningful technological innovation, and will allow a reliable and progressive deployment of Layer N.

Phase I - NordVM

NordVM is the first implementation of an application-specific XVM on Layer N. NordVM is an exchange optimized VM that does one thing, and one thing only, extremely well: settle tens of thousands of orders per second on a massively scalable orderbook, at sub-50ms latencies, and enable centralized exchange-like features such as cross-margining and cross-collateral across thousands of markets and assets. NordVM unlocks three key innovations: 1) 10-100x higher performance than existing DEX implementations, 2) full composability and liquidity sharing with other rollups, including EVM rollups and smart contracts, without the need of 3rd party bridges and withdrawal periods, and 3) fully on-chain order settlement, making it fully auditable and traceable (unlike traditional off-chain orderbook models that only settle matched trades).

During this phase, users and developers will be able to interact with a rollup running NordVM and will be able to experience the incredible speed of a Layer N XVM.

Phase II - NEVM

NEVM is Layer N’s implementation of a highly performant generalized and permissionless EVM chain. NEVM is fully built in Rust, leveraging a highly optimized execution engine, and allows developers to build smart contracts in Solidity. As part of the Layer N execution layer, all smart contracts and applications on NEVM can seamlessly compose, make smart contract calls, send transactions, and share liquidity with NordVMs and other XVM rollups in the Layer N network (this feature will be enabled through the StateNet).

During this phase, developers will be able to deploy EVM compatible smart contracts and applications.

Phase III - StateNet

The StateNet is Layer N’s underpinning architecture that enables inter-VM communication. This standardized message pipelining protocol enables XVM’s built in the Layer N network to seamlessly compose, and to instantly share liquidity between each other. The StateNet is what makes Layer N feel like a monolithic chain to the end user. The StateNet removes friction associated with fragmented liquidity and UX across multiple rollups, and removes the need for users and developers to worry about withdrawal periods, and 3rd party bridges. The StateNet enables a whole new class of applications to be built, ones that can leverage the power of unrestricted compute, without sacrificing seamless composability.

During this phase, XVMs will be made seamlessly composable, and users will experience the fluidity of shared liquidity, while developers can begin to build applications that make full use of this unique composability between rollups.

Beyond Phases - XVM

While NordVM is the first ever example of an XVM on Layer N, there are currently already a few other XVM implementations in the work that will also launch to Testnet across the different phases. Those testnet deployments will be announced as they are launched.

The introduction of Layer N’s Testnet phases marks an important milestone for the network. After many months of research and development, the next few months will be focused on enabling and launching the next generation of crypto applications.

Here are a few ways you can participate and engage in the upcoming Testnet.

If you’re an end crypto user, join our Discord (opens in a new tab) and Telegram (opens in a new tab) to not miss out on special announcements we make only for our core community members. Once Phase I goes live, we will have more details on how to participate, interact, and contribute to the network growth.

If you’re a developer, we’ve opened up an Early Developer Access portal here (opens in a new tab). We want to hear from you, and work with you. You can also reach out to us through any of our social channels.

If you’re a node provider, join our Discord (opens in a new tab) to stay updated on how to participate in our future node program.