(BlockBar) Enigma, a data privacy startup, is launching its second test network for ethereum developers. In an interview the head of growth and marketing for Enigma Tor Bair positioned the launch as a way for more developers than before to build specialized smart contracts called “secret contracts.” To be noted, the Enigma project aims to create a secure and private blockchain data with end-to-end encryption.

By leveraging the Enigma protocol, the secret contracts are able to perform off-chain computations on encrypted data. According to Bair, “We’re releasing now the developer testnet release so that our partners and friends can get a jumpstart on development so that by the time Discovery is live on ethereum mainnet, we can have live applications [on the network] straightaway.” This release is considered to be “from a developer experience almost identical to what it will be when the public networked version of the [Enigma] protocol actually launches.”

A subsequent launch on a public ethereum test network would be the next major milestone for the Enigma project. The current release only supports testing for secret contracts locally in controlled virtual environments. Bair said,“From here on out, it’s just about making sure that the network is stable and the peer-to-peer network works appropriately.”

There will be a set of “genesis nodes”, considered as the computer servers running Enigma’s encrypted data computations. By receiving network tokens, these nodes are rewarded for contributing computing power to the network. In the current case, on Enigma “worker nodes” are rewarded ENG tokens, possessing a total market capitalization of close to $40 million.

There will be what Bair calls a “genesis game” during Enigma’s next code release on a public ethereum testnet blockchain. In the genesis game, people who want to run Enigma nodes will compete to be among the first 50 nodes which are already whitelisted for Discovery mainnet launch. Brain said, “We’ve been in conversation with a lot of staking-as-a-service providers, funds, independent node runners, ENG holders who have been excited to run nodes on the network for at least the past year and a half.” he also shared that the team is “doing everything in our power to get mainnet out in 2019.”