Users excited as Cardano (ADA) launches Alonzo Testnet

Input-Output Hong Kong (IOHK), the company behind the Cardano Network, has announced the launch of the trial phase of Cardano’s Alonzo upgrade.

“Today, we are delighted to report we have successfully spun up the first testnet in our #Alonzo rollout,” IOHK announced via its Twitter page.

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The Alonzo upgrade is one of the upgrades billed to deliver smart contract functionalities to the blockchain. It has also been planned to ensure the deployment of several decentralized finances (DeFi) applications for the first time.

The rollout will be in three phases

According to the announcement, the full rollout of Alonzo will cover three phases, with all phases expected to complete in 90 days. In each of the phases, Cardano hopes to add more features, functionality, and more users.

With the projected time of completion, the smart contract Cardano (ADA/USD) is expected to go live by the end of August, barring any issues.

The last phase in the network’s development will be the “Goguen” era, which will bring smart contracts to the Cardano platform.  However, after the Goguen era, the developers say the platform still has to undergo two more eras, called the “Basho” and “Voltaire” era.

Upgrade will enable Cardano to compete favorably

Cardano believes smart contracts are the key ingredients in the platform’s evolution. The new upgrade, when launched, will enable the platform to compete favorably with other DeFi ecosystems. It will offer new capability with Ethereum (ETH/USD), which is still the leader in the DeFi space

The Cardano blockchain native token, ADA, is presently the fifth-largest crypto asset in the world, with a market capitalization of $50 billion. The cryptocurrency has enjoyed a sustained level of growth this year, despite the present market slump. ADA started the year at $0.18 per token, but it’s trading at $1.56 at the time of writing.