Radix, the asset-focused DeFi smart contract platform, has now launched the Alphanet test network in anticipation of the impending Babylon release. The current Radix Public Network will get its first significant upgrade with the release of Babylon.
Among all available options for DeFi, only Radix offers a comprehensive stack. Radix Engine, the first programmable “DeFi Engine” with native asset capabilities, and Scrypto, a Rust-based language focused on developing assets, will also be included in the Babylon release. An asset-oriented transaction architecture, modifications to wallet-network interactions, and a component-based account model will all be part of the revamp. These improvements will benefit end users in the long run.
Since the first preview release of Scrypto, dubbed Alexandria, in December 2021, Babylon Alphanet has been the most significant achievement in the development of the protocol.
The purpose of Babylon Alphanet, the second stage of a staggered release schedule, is to give programmers a chance to try out the newest features of Babylon DeFi and ensure a seamless transition to mainnet by testing the interoperability of a wide range of technologies, protocols, and user interfaces. It gives the rapidly expanding community of 3,000+ developers who have begun working with Scrypto time to plan and test their own decentralized application launches and help bootstrap the wider Radix DeFi ecosystem when Babylon launches, ensuring a smooth migration for those currently building on Radix.
Moreover, the introduction of Babylon Alphanet highlights the increasing momentum and increased enthusiasm produced by Radix as it clearly moves closer to its objective of being the home for the next generation of DeFi apps. While the cryptocurrency market has been in a bearish trend, the Radix network has experienced a 7X rise in transaction volume and a 52% increase of wallets with over 2000 XRD since the beginning of the year. The number of Radix wallets has increased from 11,600 to over 81,300 in the same time period.
Piers Ridyard, CEO of RDX Works said:
“After the $3 billion lost in DeFi hacks of the $50 billion market cap, more and more people are starting to realize the difficulty associated with building. I would call it ‘demo DeFi.’” With the launch of Alphanet, developers and the rest of the world can see that there’s a path to 100x DeFi coming. Even through a bear market, our momentum is growing.”
Following the release of Alphanet, Babylon Betanet will be released in Q4 with stable APIs and polished Scrypto and network capabilities, allowing developers to begin production testing of the first generation of Scrypto dApps and the migration of third-party integrations. The entire transfer to the Radix Public Network mainnet is expected to occur in the first half of 2023, marking the end of the deployment to Babylon.
