Everything you need to know about Cardano's Shelley incentivized testnet

With just days left until the incentivized testnet for Shelley is finally released, Cardano issued a detailed explanation of the incentive model employed in the testnet.

While the model introduced to the testnet isn't the final one, the company published details about the rewards users can expect in the following weeks.

Last week's successful balance check meant that that the incentivized testnet for the Shelley era of the Cardano network is almost ready to go.

The balance check has been one of the biggest developments the company has seen in the past few months, as both the company and the Cardano community reported that it was an "Overwhelming success."

Now, with just days left before the testnet officially launches, Cardano followed up on its promise and released detailed information about the testnet and the complex incentives model behind it.

In a lengthy blog post on Dec. 5, the company said that one of the key goals for the incentivized testnet is to test the assumptions made in the Ourbouros incentives whitepaper, the company's complex game theory protocol.

Testnet participants will try out the incentive model.

The game theory won't be the only thing put to the test in the incentivized testnet, Cardano said.

According to the company, the first versions of the incentivized testnet will only have a limited number of factors included in the rewards calculation.

The ranking will first be based solely on a stake pool's performance but will transition to a desirability-based ranking as the testnet progresses.