AFX has officially launched the testnet for its sovereign Layer 1 blockchain built specifically for decentralized derivatives, marking a new step in specialized on-chain trading infrastructure. According to the project, the network is designed around a custom execution layer and DAG-based consensus, with the goal of addressing congestion issues that often affect general-purpose chains in high-frequency trading environments.
On the performance side, AFX says the testnet targets sub-100 millisecond finality and throughput of more than 50,000 transactions per second. The project also highlights native support for the FIX protocol and a sub-millisecond risk auditing engine. Together, these features are meant to offer traders execution speeds associated with centralized venues while preserving the non-custodial structure of blockchain-based markets.
Community-First Incentives at the Center
AFX describes its model as explicitly community-first, stating that it has avoided venture capital and private funding rounds in favor of broader community ownership. To support real-world testing, the team has introduced a testnet campaign with a reward pool of more than 28,000 points, which it says may eventually be converted into native tokens.
The incentive design is split into two tracks. The Activity Pool, accounting for 70% of the total rewards, is aimed at encouraging genuine trading behavior rather than simple volume farming. Participants are expected to engage across multiple margin modes, trading pairs, and position lifecycles. The remaining 30% is allocated to a Feedback Pool, rewarding users who submit useful bug reports and product suggestions through the project’s official Discord channel. Entries are evaluated based on severity and practical value.
Testnet Serves as a Key Infrastructure Trial
Beyond product promotion, the launch is also a critical proving ground for AFX’s trading stack, including execution, risk controls, and infrastructure reliability under stress. The team is positioning the testnet as a collaborative phase in which traders help validate whether the protocol can support professional-grade derivatives activity on-chain.
It is worth noting that the announcement originated from a paid press release and reflects statements made by the project itself. For market participants watching the on-chain derivatives sector, the next points to monitor will be real testnet performance, the quality of community participation, and the eventual rules for converting points into native tokens.