Last week, speedy blockchain Hedera Hashgraph, announced the launch of its initial Community Testing Program. According to the company, the first phase of the program allows developers and individuals to test the mainnet and testnets and earn up to 1000 hbars, Hedera’s native cryptocurrency.
The Hedera Wallet and new sample applications – including Hedera’s The Daily Timestamp, and a micropayments Chrome extension – are now available for consumers to test using hbars.
Developers may now also gain access to testnets to begin building applications at no charge, says Hedera, and have access to new developer resources at hedera.com.
Hedera hopes to create a “more trusted, secure and empowered digital future for everyone.”
Dr. Leemon Baird, Co-founder and Chief Scientist of Hedera, said that events over the past few years have made it clear that consumers have great concerns about their data privacy, such as when reading articles or viewing videos that require them to reveal personal credit card information, or be flooded with ads and have their online behavior tracked.
“Opening our mainnet for testing is the next step in delivering Hedera’s vision of an internet where individuals have much greater control over their own personal data and benefit more directly from its value,” said Baird.
Mance Harmon, Co-founder and CEO of Hedera, added that they are especially excited that consumers will get their first taste of the kinds of freedom of data ownership that micropayments can bring to business models.