Aptos Labs finally launches Layer-1 blockchain
By Alara Jordan
15:21, 18 October 2022
Layer-1 blockchain platform Aptos Labs finally went live with its mainnet on 17 October after months of testing.
Confirming the news via a Medium blog post, Aptos said the launch is “step one in a long journey to create universal and fair access to decentralised applications for billions of people through a safe, scalable, and upgradable blockchain.”
The project cites key factors such as upgradeability and the use of Move programming as they key differentiators from existing blockchain networks.
The firm previously said that there is a gap within the crypto space for innovative and adaptable blockchain to “serve the needs of billions today and in the future”.
Day one update:
— Aptos (@AptosLabs) October 18, 2022
Today has been exciting. Thank you for all the support!
The Aptos network has been performing as expected and will see increased activity as ecosystem projects onboard and get going.
Launch performing “as expected”
FTX-backed Aptos Labs was created by ex-Meta employees Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching in 2021, with both co-founders previously working on Meta’s blockchain project Libra, which later rebranded to Diem.
The project announced it would halt its services in February after more than two years and several attempts to launch its native digital currency.
Aptos rolled out its testing phase earlier this year and said it had handled 130,000 transactions per second. Shortly after its launch on 17 October, the company took to Twitter to confirm the network had been “performing as expected”, while also thanking users for their support.
“The Aptos network has been performing as expected and will see increased activity as ecosystem projects onboard and get going.”
It added that comments on the platform’s Discord and Telegram channels had been paused to “protect the community from scams” during this timeframe. “Developers are actively monitoring and channels will return to normal when appropriate.”
Backed by Web3 investors
Aptos has received backing from a series of notable investors within the crypto space – it closed a $200m funding round back in March led by a16z, with participation from Tiger Global, FTX Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Binance Labs and PayPal Ventures.
Four months later, it raised $150m in a Series A round led by FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto, with participation from Binance Labs. The round pushed the company’s valuation to top $2bn.
FTX recently announced that the exchange would will list Aptos Labs’ APT token on Wednesday.
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