This blog post looks at five examples of how stress tests have guided the evolution of the blockchain space and why Komodo’s upcoming AtomicDEX Stress Test Event is important for blockchain interoperability, atomic swaps, DeFi, and DEX technology.
Download AtomicDEX and complete early registration today for the AtomicDEX Stress Test Event, happening on December 12 - 13, 2020.
Why Stress Test?
Projects throughout the crypto space use stress tests in different ways. Some hire a firm to conduct a detailed audit. Others invite a select few participants (e.g. whitehat hackers) to break the network. Another approach is to have an open invite for anyone interested to join.
Regardless of which way the stress test is conducted, the general purpose is the same. Stress tests serve as a good barometer for assessing how the technology functions by demonstrating strengths and/or weaknesses. This information is then used to makes improvements that are implemented in the next iteration.
Quick Overview of Popular Stress Tests
Blockchain networks, DEXs, and DeFi protocols all run stress tests. Let’s look briefly at a few examples from recent history.
- Bitshares (March 2017): Bitshares demonstrated that its network could process 3,328 transactions per second. This stress test showed the capabilities of Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) as one of the leading blockchain consensus protocols in the blockchain space.
- Waves (November 2018): The Waves-NG network conducted load testing with over 6.3 million transactions in a 24-hour period. The network reached a peak of 911 transactions per second. This stress test provided data regarding the throughput capacity of Waves’s Leased Proof of Stake (LPoS) consensus protocol, which is a variation of the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus protocol.
- Compound (February 2020): Gauntlet — a simulation platform for building financial models of blockchain protocols and applications — tested Compound’s liquidation mechanism under a wide range of market volatility and sizing scenarios to ensure that the protocol can prevent borrowers from becoming under-collateralized. With the parameters used in the stress test, Gauntlet found that Compound could scale to at least 3x the borrow size as long as ETH price volatility doesn’t exceed historical highs.
- Elrond (June 2020): Elrond put up $20,000 as an incentive for whitehat hackers to stress test the network. The team stated that DDoS attacks, double-spend attacks, network reward hijacking, new coin minting, and more are all deemed to be acceptable activities. After going through this stress test, Elrond successfully launched its mainnet on July 30, 2020.
Join The AtomicDEX Stress Test (December 12 - 13, 2020)
In October 2019, Komodo ran the first stress test AtomicDEX. Since then, our developer team has spent the past year developing and improving the AtomicDEX protocol. The entire Komodo team is excited to test the capabilities of atomic swap technology.
Our ultimate goal is to build a cross-chain/cross-protocol DEX technology that supports secure and scalable trading across every blockchain network in existence. Stress testing AtomicDEX is an important step towards reaching that goal.
Let’s build a stronger DEX together! We’ll be having our AtomicDEX Stress Test Event on December 12 - 13. Early registration is now open!
