Mainnet is a term used to describe a working, fully-operational blockchain.
A mainnet network has been fully deployed and is in production, like the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains.
In a mainnet, cryptocurrency transactions are verified and recorded to the blockchain.
In contrast to mainnets, testnets aren’t ready for production or live use.
See Testnet for more info.
Related Terms
A blockchain that isn’t fully operational and deployed to a production environment. Testnets are great for troubleshooting bugs, testing all features of the blockchain, and confirming that the system is secure before launching to mainnet. Testnets aren’t monetized, so no funds are at risk and no fees are paid.
Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain platform that makes digital money, global payments, and applications possible using open-source software and smart contract functionality. The big difference between the two is that Ethereum is programmable, meaning you can build and use decentralized apps on the network. That means the Ethereum blockchain can be programmed to do virtually anything.
Bitcoin (BTC) is most well known as a digital decentralized cryptocurrency, without a central bank or single administrator, that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer Bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries, such as payment gateways or banks or routing services. Think of bitcoin as Internet money, that you can send and receive directly, to and from anyone, and you can use it to pay for stuff.
Cardano is a decentralized open-source blockchain platform built with proof-of-stake (PoS)consensus, offering smart contract capabilities, and using the native cryptocurrency ADA.
Blockchain networks are at the heart of cryptocurrencies. A blockchain is a database, or digital ledger, made up of a series of interconnected blocks containing transaction data created on the network over some period of time. Each block in a blockchain also contains a unique identifier unlike any other block in the chain called a hash. Think of the hash as a fingerprint identifying that block for all other blocks. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is another name frequently used in relation to blockchains.
