Brad Kristensen: Scaling Test Network makes big blocks a reality

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The massive blockchain scaling that’s happening on the Bitcoin SV (BSV) network doesn’t just happen; it takes a lot of work. To help guarantee it works well when changes come to the mainnet, the development team have the Scaling Test Network (STN). Brad Kristensen, Software Engineer at nChain, joined CoinGeek’s Becky Liggero on Developer Day at the recent CoinGeek Toronto 2019 scaling conference to explain the importance of the STN.

The STN isn’t just a sandbox for the Bitcoin SV Node Team to play in, it has important roles to play in the development of BSV. “The Scaling Test Network fourth compatible network for the SV node,” Kristensen said. “It’s important for the ecosystem because it helps the SV node developers get a direct feedback loop on what they’re working in. So they produce the next set of changes, they run it on the STN, the STN provides immediate feedback thanks to the large transaction volume and the large amount of blocks, as to whether they’re making the right move forwards, or in some cases, backwards.”

What’s coming next for the STN is some of the biggest innovations for the BSV blockchain, but as Kristensen told Liggero, he also hopes to see greater participating from the business world. “I would expect to see all of the big leaps forward that Bitcoin SV makes would happen first on the Scaling Test Network,” he said. “We’re hoping to get more businesses running on the Scaling Test Network, testing their applications, building their applications. It’s really supposed to be the onramp and playground for Bitcoin SV and the insight of to what’s coming to Mainnet.”

That’s not an impossible ask either. The STN was opened to businesses in April, and interested groups can get in touch with nChain to start trying out their own business use cases and applications to ensure they are ready for the next phase of the BSV blockchain.

As 2019 is the year of blockchain scaling, Liggero asked what role the STN play in achieving huge blocks. “We make sure it can happen,” Kristensen said simply.