PolkaIDO launches on the Polkadex Testnet

PolkaIDO becomes the first Polkadex component to finish private beta testing and launch onto the Polkadex testnet

PolkaIDO, Polkadex’s game-changing, fully decentralized IDO (Initial DEX Offering) platform, is now live on the Polkadex testnet. This means anybody can now start to get familiar with PolkaIDO and begin to see how easy it is to to create and participate in fully on-chain investment rounds.

Not only is this release a chance for the Polkadex community to finally get hands-on with a core product of the Polkadex vision, but it also marks an important milestone as the first of these components to be released to the public testnet.

Most importantly, being live on the Polkadex testnet means that PolkaIDO is now only one step away from its mainnet launch.

Read on for a refresher on what exactly PolkaIDO is and a breakdown on how to get your hands on the public beta version of PolkaIDO!

What is PolkaIDO?

PolkaIDO is Polkadex’s answer to the broken IDO model. Currently, IDOs are exclusive, expensive (for project teams and investors alike), and over-reliant on manual processes.

PolkaIDO moves IDOs fully on-chain making them fair, inclusive and affordable.

PolkaIDO is an efficient one-stop-shop solution for all IDO activities; from creating a round, to distributing tokens, and all the way to listing on Polkadex Orderbook.

For blockchain teams, PolkaIDO is an easier way to raise investment rounds and distribute tokens. It also gives project teams the ability to exponentially increase the liquidity of their token with a subsequent Polkadex Orderbook listing decided by on-chain governance.

For investors, PolkaIDO is a cheaper and simpler way to invest in IDOs in a level playing field. With a one time registration fee or a minimum amount of PDEX (subject to changes through public beta feedback and community governance), participants don’t need to worry about gas wars or holding large sums of native tokens for extended periods of time just to participate in investment rounds or claim their IDO tokens. Aside from the registration fee, on-chain randomness will ensure that participating in investment rounds in free, and most importantly, fair for all participants. Learn more about PolkaIDO and how it will change the launchpad game in our previous deep-dive article:

PolkaIDO Launchpad: Overview

Find out why Polkadex’s launchpad is a game-changer for IDOs

medium.com

What can you do right now on the testnet version of PolkaIDO?

You can start to get familiar with the user interface, create an investment round as if you were a project team, and vote for & invest in other testnet users’ rounds as if you were an investor. You can even claim the new IDO test tokens from your investments and see how they are vesting towards your account in real-time.

If you like what you see, feel free to tell your friends or post on social media about your experience tagging us 😉

As you become familiar with PolkaIDO, the Polkadex team continues to improve the platform based on your feedback. Your thoughts about your experience with PolkaIDO will also benefit current and future members of the Polkadex community alike.

In order to help make PolkaIDO even better, share your feedback with the team in the #polkaido channel on the Polkadex Discord server.

Important differences between the testnet and the mainnet versions of PolkaIDO

Aside from the fact that the testnet is a simulation environment with worthless test tokens, there is an important difference between the testnet and mainnet versions of PolkaIDO. In order to ‘invest’ in IDOs in the testnet version, investors will need to ‘pay’ a one time fee in test tokens to register their account onto PolkaIDO. In the mainnet version of PolkaIDO, the registration fee for investors will be replaced with the holding/locking of a specific (and to-be-determined) PDEX amount in order to make the protocol more inclusive. Once PolkaIDO launches on the mainnet, project teams will pay a 100 PDEX fee for each IDO they launch.

This change stems from feedback from beta testers and the purpose-driven approach to eliminate barriers to invest. It is also a testament to the importance of establishing positive feedback loops between future users and developers in order to create the best product possible.

How to get started with PolkaIDO on the Polkadex testnet

In order to use PolkaIDO on the public testnet you will need a Polkadot.js browser extension, an existing Polkadot.js account, and test tokens.
Please fill this form out to request test tokens. We will be sending out test tokens in batches of 100 accounts every weekday and will ping the #polkaido channel on the Polkadex Discord server whenever a new batch is sent. So make sure to join the Polkadex Discord server and stay tuned! If you’re one of the first ones to receive test tokens, we encourage you to share your test tokens with your friends or with other Polkadex community members who may be waiting for their batch to be sent.

3. Once you have your test tokens, all you need to do is connect your Polkadot.js account to the testnet version of PolkaIDO and you are all set!

What is next for PolkaIDO and Polkadex?

While this release is a huge milestone in itself, it’s only a small part of the Polkadex puzzle. As mentioned above, PolkaIDO is now only one step away from its Q1 mainnet release. When exactly in Q1 is yet to be announced and depends largely on your feedback.

Next up on the product development side is the start of beta testing for Polkadex Orderbook & Mobile App, followed by a respective public testnet release.

Meanwhile, the next important milestone for Polkadex as a whole will be the the upcoming parachain strategy announcement. Get ready to participate in the Polkadex crowdloan (unbond/unstake your DOT if you have to) to help Polkadex secure a parachain slot!

This is just the start of a crazy year for Polkadex!

Follow the channels below so you don’t miss out on any updates from the Polkadex team: