It’s not the first time hackers have been invited by tech firms to attack their networks to test the durability of security architecture in exchange for a monetary prize. It is certainly an excellent way to navigate the loopholes and gaps so that significant changes can be included. Elrond, a blockchain firm, did the same when it invites the hackers for its stress-testing event named ‘Battle of Nodes: Onchained’ for investigating the robustness of its ERD ecosystem and blockchain technology network.

The CEO of Elrond, Benjamin Mincu, earlier said in a statement, “Battle of Nodes: Onchained is the final and most important step before the Elrond mainnet. Through it, we will demonstrate a robust and performant network leading to the launch. This is a remarkable milestone, and once 15 days have passed where the network runs without interruptions in a high TPS environment, we will know Elrond is ready to go live.”

The objective of the event

Three main objectives of this event are: 

• To diagnose the detrimental bugs and execute the required actions to fix them.
• To recognize the potential threat elements and alleviating them.
• To assemble the node operators for a seamless launch.

If we examine these above points, it is obvious that even a strong technology such as Blockchain is exposed to threats. Although one thing is for certain that these efforts, in the light of competition, can assist in innovating the systems for a better build. The rewards are rather surprising as the total prize pool is worth a whopping $40,000. 

Activities and task

Various tasks and activities have been planned in such a way so that the competitive environment can predominate, and the objectives can be successfully met. Some of the tasks are hijacking, minting new coins, stealing coins, double spending, etc. The participants with top positions on the leaderboards can achieve maximum rewards. This is not the first time when Elrond has led a stress test with such activities. The prior year’s version of the ‘Battle of Nodes’ also witnessed similar tasks with the prize pool worth $75,000. 

The benefits from the event

This event is profitable for not only Elrond but for the participants as well. They will attain international exposure and advanced learning from the competition. Investigation of the blockchain networks under extreme environment enhances the skills also. This event is an excellent platform for studying IT security, bugs, advanced testing, and Blockchain.  

Nevertheless, the company can utilize the results from stress-testing to exercise the expansion of operations and business scope. Possessing secure, responsive, and fast systems are one of the ways to feel growth, and Elrond has undoubtedly found a great way to do it. The reliability of Blockchain cannot be questioned, but these stress tests push the technology to limit further.

The observations and data from the competition can assist in redesigning and modifying the existing network and security structure to create solid credibility. It is anticipated that more stress tests might be conducted by other corporations that make the application of blockchain technology because the results from such kinds of competition can help a lot to make informed and practical decisions.