Only a few hours after Aptos launched its mainnet, a number of industry watchers raised questions about the integrity of the blockchain.
On Oct. 17, Aptos Labs confirmed the launch of its mainnet – Aptos Autum – which it describes as the first step in its journey to creating fair access to decentralized applications for billions.
Aptos is a Layer 1 blockchain created by former Meta employees and backed by several high profile investors. The team behind the Rust-based blockchain has raised a collective total of $400 million through two funding rounds – the first led by FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto and the second led by VC giant a16z.
While the mainnet launch generated a lot of user interest, not all of it was good. Some members of the crypto community pointed out that the blockchain promised to deliver transaction speeds of over 100 transactions per second (TPS). As things stand, Aptos is currently processing only 4TPS, according to on-chain data from Aptos Explorer.
One user on Twitter pointed out that the majority of these numbers do not correspond to actual transactions, but are instead validators communicating to set block checkpoints and write metadata.
“When a new blockchain launches, blocks are usually emptier as there’s no dApps and limited demand,” wrote DeFi researcher ChainLinkGod.eth on Twitter.
While this lack of demand can be explained by the fact that there are no applications live on the blockchain, it led some to question why the mainnet would launch before these apps were ready to be deployed.
Users also reported that the Aptos disabled its Discord server between the genesis block and 1:30 pm PT. The team has now reopened its Discord, while still leaving certain channels like dev-resources closed.
Aptos addressed the closure of its Discord and Telegram channels, saying it was “proactively” done to protect its community from potential scams.
“Developers are actively monitoring and channels will return to normal when appropriate,” wrote the Aptos team on Twitter.
With most users still debating whether the blockchain is being overly scrutinized or appropriately called out, one common theme amongst the crypto community is confusion over the project’s tokenomics.
Around 80% of Aptos’ 1 billion token supply has been staked. The fact that there was no airdrop of tokens or other methods of distribution has led many to the assumption that the team and its investors control the majority of these coins.
Still, a number of large crypto exchanges, including Binance and Coinbase, have already posted listing announcements for the blockchain’s native token APT.
“It’s not great that FTX/Binance etc are all listing Aptos without any tokenomics transparency at all. Surely it should be a prerequisite to listing something that users can have the basic information on what they’re buying lol,” commented pseudonymous crypto investor Cobie on Twitter.
