Cardano is about to enter a new phase of the long-awaited Shelley era after years of intense work. With the launch date for the Shelley testnet less than 24 hours away, speculation on the ADA cryptocurrency has gone through the roof.
Research conducted by IntoTheBlock reveals that a record number of investors have been accumulating the asset in anticipation of the official transition of the Cardano blockchain to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
Addresses Holding ADA Set New All-Time High
As the sixth month of 2020 continues to unravel, Shelley’s progress marches on uninterrupted. Late last month, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson released the comprehensive roll-out plan for the upcoming Shelley Phase. Hoskinson stated that the Shelley upgrade will go live as early as August 18, citing that he was pretty confident there will be no delays.
Following this announcement, interest in ADA has been skyrocketing. Blockchain analytics firm, IntoTheBlock recently pointed out that the total number of addresses holding ADA rocketed to a new all-time high of 385,000.
The unprecedented surge in interest in Cardano is likely stemming from users who wish to earn ADA rewards via staking as the network moves to a truly decentralized PoS system.
Shelley Is On The Edge Of Becoming A Reality
Cardano enthusiasts have long been awaiting the transition of the network from a federated system to a decentralized system with completely independent network node operators. Yet, multiple deadline delays over the last couple of years have resulted in a boatload of criticism, with some observers doubting the possibility of Shelley ever shipping.
But, it appears that the platform is right on track for Shelley mainnet migration in August of this year. Tomorrow (June 9), Cardano will be taking a step forward with the unveiling of the Shelley public testnet. The marketing and communication Director at IOHK, Tim Harrison posited that this is a very exciting time for everyone and things are moving pretty quickly.
Harrison further noted that the Cardano team has been operating the “Friends & Family testnet” which is basically a group of 50 experienced stake pool operators. These pioneers helped the team refine the documentation for the imminent network changes. Now with the public testnet that will go live tomorrow, the same pioneers will mentor new stake pools as they get onboard.
He astutely observed:
“On [June 9], we’re entering a new phase for Cardano. The Shelley testnet will open up to any operator that wants to set up a Cardano stake pool, ready for staking, and delegation on mainnet later this summer […] There will be bugs and a few bumps in the road still. But our pioneer community has been doing an excellent job of bashing and smoothing things out with well over 60 pools now up and running and they’ll be around to help.”
Notably, Harrison clarified that ADA holders will not be required to do anything right now. Simply put, only Cardano stake pool operators will be involved at this particular stage of the testnet.
ADA is valued at $0.085664 at press time, up 2.42% on the day.
