Bitcoin Forum

Test net coins are those coins whose platform are still in trial period so we can say that it's not bug-free and there is still a lot of error that should be fixed, Do you think testnet coins should be trade able already in exchange, knowing that you can encounter errors along the way and this could result in a loss for investors?

One of the coin that is already trading in exchange even though it's on testnet is
https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/idena

Sorry for late in including in my thread

From the word itself, I don't think that it's appropriate to see them on exchanges already. Although we see some errors for the actual coins but, I just don't think that it's right to allow them traded on exchanges.

What is this testnet coin you are describing?

No, that's so off, testnet means the project is not fully ready to start running or working, trading such coin on exchange already is red flag, do not get into such coin, it's probably scammers behind the invisible wall

Test net coins are only to test the network. They are not supposed to have any value. They are only for developers of some sites to test their if their network is running fine and handling automated requests. The moment it will start getting traded on exchange it will lose the meaning of "testnet". Testnet is usually used by developers so that they can test with coins with no value so that even if there some error happens they don't lose any coins that has real value.

never knowing testnet coin trading on exchange, some member sell bitcoin testnet in market place board. For Sale 1300 Testnet Bitcoin (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1039103.0)
you can build own by following https://github.com/freewil/bitcoin-testnet-box maybe in future have value for some research or something.

You know the answer to this already, testnet projects are incomplete and always full of bugs, how will one start selling that on exchange? If you come across any project selling their testnet tokens on exchange you'd better walk away

Why not, being listed in a trading site does not oblige people to buy the coin.
They have to know what the coin is traded by doing some research, and if they believe on the potential, then they will take the risk by buying it.

We are in an open market, no one should stop a project regardless of its status from listing in exchange.

Besides, it's the exchange policy of listing that will decide it.

Testnet coins are not incomplete neither full of bugs.


Testnet is just an alternative chain which is used for testing purposes.

Let's suppose you want to make a bitcoin wallet. You need to test bitcoin coming in and out of that wallet, signing messages and so on. There is no reason to buy real bitcoins for that.

Another example: you are making an ethereum smartcontract. You need to test as much as you like to debug your software. There is no reason to spend thousands of dollars in testing. Just go to a website and claim ETH testnet for free. You can test all you want for free without spamming or congesting ethereum network.



Which investor would buy something which anyone can redeem for free?
Testnet coins are not meant for investors, but to developers.

Why would anybody consider buying testnet coins from someone? That is soooo lame and useless. It is like paying in shops for free food samples.

Testnet means that the project is still in development stage and is not fully ready and therefore not suitable for trade. Coins that have been traded are those that are ready

thats why it is called test net coins, right? lol i dont think they deserve to be in the exchange in the first place. or someone is not really understanding the concept of test net?

You already answered your question here mate.

Coins that should able to list on exchange it means they are fully developed, testnet is different and it means worthless coin and didn't have a value yet.
That's why we called "testnet" test network system coin is a digital currency that worthless and built to experiment with new ideas without breaking the main cryptocurrency software.

Ain't an expert on this but for sure testnet coin will remain on testnet until it will become pretty good that become across the term "mainnet" at some point.
So, it is impossible to become listed on the exchange, IMO. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Of the several reasons, testnet coins when allowed to have a value would create much more confusion as the same coin would have two different chain and wallets that need to be confirmed of being one. The general crypto users are already confused with a lot of coins and people calling different coins as bitcoin, they'd find it hard to get used to two different blockchain of same coin.

I don't think so and the result will always be the same. Did you see how IOU has existed before? that can be considered as an example of how the testnet coin will work. I think there was no a lot of differences.

Testnet means the platform is still been built and implementation of features still on of which there will be errors, bugs and so on which will be pointed out and worked on ; even the tokens generated then are always used to test work certain functions to be sure they (team) are doing the right thing. So my opinion is, No I don't think any platform would even think of listing their testnet tokens; come to think of it, what will happen when the platform is fully active? The team will only think of going to exchange when their platform is ready and they have minted the correct native coin.

Testnet coins have zero value and they must not be tradee by any means. They are created just to test the network whether it works as designed or sometimes to play with different technical aspects of project. Have you seen any such coin to be traded?

Just as the name goes, they are meant to test the network, its functionality, and stability. However, I know some projects can decide to offer a ratio where these testnet coins are converted to mainnet coins so that all their supporters can be rewarded for their supporters.

First, we must know about the meaning of a testnet. According to https://tokenmarket.net/,
Moreover, for the testnet coins, we can read it right here:
It means that testnet is only used for testing the network and it has no value. This is only aiming for being a test network.

I have searched on Coingecko based on the link provided. However, I am still confused about where is to find the information about IDENA as a testnet but already tradable in certain coins.

According to https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Testnet some people started trading testnet coins for real money. I don't think normal people will find any value in testnet coins. It is useful for developers only. In case of bitcoin testnet, there used to be many testnet faucets which became inactive. In such cases I guess maybe developers may pay up a little to get some testnet coins and test their platform.

It could be tradable but not as normal as people do in exchange.

There are good sides and lots of bad sides if we trade a test currency. Most test coins have a very good price to invest, if we can buy a good test currency it will surely bring great profits. However, if the exchange of test coins became popular it would be fertile ground for scammers.

Something that is there for test and most likely have bugs cant be traded for real value since have no value?   I dont know much of that exact token, but any exchange that lets trade those coins is doing it very wrong.

I have seen many such coins for example Tron or QuarkChain started as an ERC-20 tokens while the coin was only in a testing phase. After mainnet they swapped all ERC-20 tokens and it continued work, so I do not see any problem regarding this.  ;)

As you have stated yourself that these coins are basically in trial period and are expected to have errors and bugs so i do not know why would there be a need for such coins to be listed or traded. We all know that initially projects launch their erc20 token which is fine and after the development of their own blockchain and testing it and finally coming up with stable mainnet only then they swap erc to their own coin and i think that is exactly the time to list their coin after complete testing and making them bug free.

I don't think that's a good idea. It is as good as a waste and would only cost the project unnecessary funds for listing a token that would finally be phased out. It isn't ideal and I don't think any project will be looking to do that. Also, these test net tokens wouldn't have the full functionality of the real one and therefore wouldn't be ideal

So long as there is a 1:1 coinswap with mainnet, then I think that's fine.

However, I can imagine some projects could easily pull off some tricks by allowing their testnet coins to be tradeable.

For instance they could force a token split at a later date, thereby expanding or contracting their market cap at a later date to their advantage. They could also launch the mainnet and essentially render testnet coins worthless at any moment, particularly if they don't offer a swap or anything.

That said, for genuine projects it really isn't a problem—though the potential for abuse is there.

It won't be cool if testnet tokens are trading. That would mean in some sense that there is no seriousness in what you are doing because you are still testing your platform and want to launch them on exchanhe. Its not right

If a testnet coin has some value there is something wrong with the project, How could the CEO allow it? It will surely damage the project's reputation. Unless they are a scam from the start and want to get more money as possible. That "idena" you have mentioned if it is really a testnet coin, it is very suspicious be careful in dealing with that project. I am just curious where did you find the details about idena is trading their testnet coins?
I have read a blog about them they already have their mainnet but it is still on experimental stage which is confusing, mainnet but experimental? they should have done that on testnet before.

source: https://medium.com/idena/may-30-2020-idena-validation-incident-report-e1c8ebd56ded

I think it depends on the policy of the coin developer, when they want to have a trading volume from a very high tesnet then they can directly register at the exchange with all the concepts and networks ready, or it can be done on a small scale without using a place big exchange.