Finally, after much delay, the Cardano Incentivized Testnet snapshot has happened today. Cardano (ADA) has completed the first snapshot and balance check for its incentivized Shelley testnet.

The staking process by Cardano has started and this was the first step toward the staking. Now for the first time, users and investors of ADA will be able to earn rewards on their ADA tokens.

The news was announced on Tuesday through twitter by IOHK which is known as the development arm of Cardano.

Shelley Phase of Development

Cardano (ADA) is intended to make its network decentralized. And the Shelley phase of development is the first step towards its mission of decentralization.

The company plans to achieve this goal by incentivizing more participation in the network through the staking process. And the developers believe that through this staking process, Cardano will become a more decentralized network than any other blockchain network.

Hoskinson explains the working process of Snapshot

The CEO of IOHK Charles Hoskinson has explained how the process of snapshot works. He says that firstly, Snapshot copied the data from the latest block of Cardano and then it inserted that data into the genesis block of testnet.

He further said that this whole process of snapshot and balance check only duplicated the data and did not basically affect the actual cryptocurrency.

In the snapshot process, hardware wallets, exchange wallets, and third-party wallets were not included.

Cardano’s new software is undergoing an audit

CEO Charles Hoskinson further added that the new software of Cardano is undergoing an audit whose result will be released in Jan 2020. He also said that if users need more security then they can transfer their funds into a new wallet.

He elaborated:

We will never ask you for your password or keywords. Any time you see that, it’s a scam or impersonation.

Hoskinson also pointed out that the staking supply of ADA is conserved and that the testnet is not going to double the total ADA amount.

Second Snapshot will occur in one or two weeks

There are two snapshots of the staking process. The second snapshot might occur in the upcoming one or two weeks. Users will have another chance to join this second snapshot.

Hoskinson said that the purpose of the first snapshot was to bring everyone on the same frequency.