On March 6th 2023, the Sovrin Foundation announced that it will be no longer be offering a 90% discount on TestNet (formerly known as StageNet) transactions fees. This decision was taken by the Board of Trustees as the technology has seen significant worldwide adoption. As a result, Sovrin has seen a move from “Sandbox to Societies”.
By offering a 90% discount on TestNet, Sovrin has effectively subsidized the digital identity industry by in excess of USD $300,000 in 2022 alone. As the world of digital identity gathers a head of steam, and proof of concept projects move into pilots and even production, it is the right time to remove any subsidization of the industry.
So, what does this mean for ID Crypt Global customers? Simply put, not much. Customers that are using TestNet to prove out concepts, or as part of their development lifecycle may still do so. In some cases where the IDC Agent is used and the customer requires their own endorser DIDs etc, there will be an increase in fees when using TestNet.
As a testing environment, it is worth noting that Sovrin now also plan to periodically reset the environment. The first reset may take place on the 1st May 2023 or shortly after, however the reset frequency has not yet been published. In a test environment, we would recommend that our customers ensure their pipelines take into consideration the possibility of having to re-create credential schemas and definitions. This is good practice and a worthwhile exercise.
For those customers that select MainNet (Production) there are no changes at all.
For the official Sovrin notification please visit Announcement: removal of 90% discount on TestNet transactions by 1 May 2023 – Sovrin