The Celestia mainnet, known as the first modular data availability network, is poised to go live tomorrow at 14:00 on October 31 UTC. This launch will also introduce its native token, TIA, for trading, accompanied by an airdrop of 60 million tokens, which accounts for 6% of the total tokens in circulation. The airdrop is intended for active users on Ethereum Layer 2s like Cosmos Hub and Osmosis, making it one of the most substantial airdrops witnessed in 2023.
The snapshot for this airdrop was captured on January 1, 2023.
The Block has confirmed the launch date and time for the Celestia network, and this information aligns with the launch timeline indicated in Celestia’s GitHub repository.
Leading cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, KuCoin, and Bybit, have also announced plans to commence trading of Celestia (TIA) tokens, offering a TIA/USDT trading pair following the network’s official launch.
Celestia adopts a distinctive approach by concentrating solely on organizing and sharing transactions, unlike traditional networks that both orchestrate and execute these transactions. This unique feature creates a separation between the consensus mechanism governing transactions and their actual execution.
Through a reimagined blockchain architecture, Celestia’s primary goal is to reduce the cost associated with developing decentralized applications. Consequently, the simplified framework offers a more accessible and cost-effective platform for innovators within the industry.
Following Celestia’s launch, the network anticipates the emergence of community-generated content. Potential enhancements may encompass support for pruning historical blob data to lessen node storage requirements, the introduction of a “partial node” category designed for light nodes that verify Celestia L1 state transitions, and the deployment of Blobstream to the Ethereum Mainnet, enabling Layer 2 platforms to utilize Celestia.
In October 2022, Celestia Labs secured $55 million in a funding round, with leading participation from Bain Capital Crypto and Polychain Capital.
