Developing on the Volta Test Network and Main Network (Energy Web Chain)
Blockchain networks to support test and production environments
Last updated
Blockchain networks to support test and production environments
Last updated
Energy Web supports two distinct blockchain networks:
The Volta Test Network (Testnet)
The Energy Web Production Network (Mainnet)
These networks are independent of each other. They each have their own chain specifications that the uses to configure the blockchain. You can .
You cannot transfer tokens between these two blockchains. They each use their own unique utility token that pays for transaction fees on the blockchain (read more about this ).
The Energy Web Chain's main network utility token is the , which has real fiat value. The Volta Test Network's token is the , and it has no real value. They are not interchangeable - if you have Volta tokens, this does not mean you have Energy Web Tokens, and vice versa.
Volta is the pre-production test network (testnet) of the Energy Web Chain. It’s the blockchain equivalent of a test server or test environment in traditional software development. Most blockchains have at least one test network. Ethereum, for example, for pre-deployment testing.
Volta is used as a staging network to:
Test before they are deployed on the production chain. If you write your own smart contract, you will want to deploy it and test it on Volta first to make sure it works as expected. Because tokens on the testnet () have no real value, you can test thoroughly and incur no cost.
Test protocol updates before they are deployed on the production chain. Each time there is an , we test it on the Volta Network first.
The utility token for the Volta Test Network is the . Volta tokens have no real value, but you will need them to "pay" for transaction costs associated with interacting with smart contracts on the Volta network. Read more about the Volta Token and how to get some
- you will need to connect to the Volta network in order to access applications and smart contracts deployed on Volta
- you have the option to run your own local node of the Volta network. You can read about the purpose and benefits of running a local node .
The Energy Web main network (mainnet) is the production network of the Energy Web Chain. The gas fees to pay for transactions require Energy Web Tokens (EWT), which have real value. You can read more about EWT and how to acquire it .
You can read more about transaction costs on the Energy Web Chain .
- you will need to connect to the Energy Web Chain in order to access applications and smart contracts deployed on the Energy Web main network
- you have the option to run your own local node of the Energy Web Chain. You can read about the purpose and benefits of running a local node .