Share this article
Turing Award Winner's Blockchain Opens Test Network to Public
The test network for the Algorand blockchain platform – co-founded by MIT professor Silvio Micali – has been opened to the public.
By Stan Higgins
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 9:04 a.m. Published Apr 16, 2019, 8:00 a.m.
The test network for the Algorand blockchain platform has been made publicly accessible, the company behind the project announced Tuesday.
The proof-of-stake based Alogrand was first unveiled by MIT professor and Turing Award winner Silvio Micali in 2017. Over the course of 2018, the initiative netted some $66 million in funding, with backers including venture capital firms Union Square Ventures and Pillar, both of which funded Algorand’s $4 million seed round in February of last year.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Alogorand’s technological approach aspires to create a decentralized system that affords both scalability and security, as well as the elimination of the risk of “forking” or splitting into separate networks, as Micali detailed in a blog post published earlier this month.
According to the startup, the public release follows a private test period in which several hundred users took part. The then-invitation-only testnet first launched last July.
Now, Algorand hopes to attract a wider population of users to “ engage with TestNet and provide feedback on the quality, function, and overall experience of the TestNet protocol,” according to a press release.
“Opening TestNet to the public is a major milestone on our journey to the open source release of the technology, CEO Steve Kokinos said in a statement. “Today marks the latest step forward in our overall mission to enable the broader Algorand community to collaborate, innovate and contribute to the evolution of our public, permissionless blockchain platform.”
Computer cables image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Coinbase Sees Crypto Recovery Ahead as Liquidity Improves and Fed Rate Cut Odds Climb
The crypto exchange also took note of a so-called AI bubble that continues to go strong and a weaker U.S. dollar.
What to know:
- Coinbase Institutional is seeing a potential December recovery in crypto, citing improving liquidity and a shift in macroeconomic conditions that could favor risk assets like bitcoin.
- The firm's optimism is driven by rising odds of Federal Reserve rate cuts, with markets pricing in a 93% chance easing next week, and improving liquidity conditions.
- Several recent institutional developments, including Vanguard's crypto ETF policy reversal and Bank of America's greenlighting of crypto allocations, have contributed to bitcoin's rebound from recent lows.
Top Stories
