June 17, 2025 — San Francisco, CA — GenLayer, the AI-driven Court of the Internet, today launches Testnet Asimov, the first stage of its incentivized validator program and a key milestone in the journey toward the mainnet. Asimov activates the world’s first AI-powered blockchain court, marking the operational debut of Intelligent Contracts and the Optimistic Democracy consensus model.

Built for the machine age, GenLayer is a decentralized synthetic jurisdiction where autonomous agents and humans can resolve disputes, enforce contracts, and govern trustlessly, transparently, and at machine speed. 

"We're activating the network and starting the process of stress testing multiple variables to ensure we can support all the development we want on it," said Albert Castellana, GenLayer CEO and Co-Founder. "This is a huge signal to our community, validators, and developers, that the network is progressing toward mainnet and we're building something truly extraordinary.".

Multi-Stage Testnet Program

Testnet Asimov is the first of two pre-mainnet Testnets designed to validate GenLayer’s novel "Optimistic Democracy" consensus mechanism. Unlike traditional blockchain consensus mechanisms that rely purely on deterministic code execution, GenLayer's validators are connected to different Large Language Models (LLMs) that work together to make subjective decisions and interpret real-world data. 

Testnet Asimov features a transparent and incentivized point system that rewards validators for active participation across network operations, testing activities, ecosystem and community contributions, and educational content. The validator program is for experienced professional validators with demonstrated expertise in blockchain infrastructure management, progressively expanding validator autonomy as the network approaches mainnet readiness.

The GenLayer testnet campaign is structured as a two-stage rollout:

• Asimov: Tests core network mechanics and validator onboarding. GenLayer provides subsidized LLM access to stress-test transaction execution, validator behavior, and consensus pathways.
  
• Bradbury: Validators select and fine-tune their preferred LLMs, optimizing for inference quality and performance. Focus shifts to validator-specific AI operations and real-world data interpretation.
  

Each phase builds toward the full realization of GenLayer’s mission: programmable, AI-driven trust at scale.

Targeting Professional Validators

GenLayer is seeking experienced, professional validators for the initial testnet phases. Interested validators must apply and selected validators will demonstrate: 

• Experience validating multiple blockchain networks
• Professional-grade infrastructure and operations
• LLM experience
• Commitment to full-time participation during testing phases

"We're focusing initially on professional validators given how hands-on  the process will be," noted Ivan Raskovsky, GenLayer Foundation’s Head of Ecosystem. "As we scale to our full thousand-validator network, we hope to expand to include solo validators and different types of participants."

Interested validators can apply at genlayer.com/testnet.

Developer Ecosystem Ready

Alongside the validator program, Asimov is launching with the comprehensive developer tools that GenLayer has available. The GenLayer Studio is the primary entry point for developers to explore and build. Additionally, the GenLayer Explorer, the GenLayer Wallet and the genlayer-js library are available at this time. 

Also, developers can begin exploring GenLayer's capabilities through GenLayer Studio and accessing comprehensive documentation to prepare for mainnet deployment. The GenLayer Grant Program is also available to support early developers exploring real-world use cases, from AI DAOs and prediction markets to decentralized insurance and performance-based contracting. More information about the grant program can be found here. 

Strategic Partnerships Powering the Testnet

Testnet Asimov is backed by a robust partner ecosystem providing performance, privacy, and scalability:

• ZKsync: GenLayer runs on the ZKsync Elastic Network infrastructure for Ethereum-level security with low fees and high throughput
• Caldera: Modular infrastructure partner for network deployment
• Heurist: Decentralized AI inference layer
• Atoma Network: Privacy-preserving compute for AI arbitration and model execution

These collaborations ensure GenLayer is not only powerful and fast—but also composable and private by design.

Path to Mainnet

The successful completion of the testnet program represents a crucial step toward GenLayer's mainnet launch, which will fully introduce GenLayer’s decentralized trust stack. The sequential testnets approach allows the team to systematically validate all aspects of their groundbreaking technology before public deployment.

The launch of the Asimov testnet marks the beginning of a new era where AI and decentralized consensus merge to create truly intelligent, autonomous systems capable of handling the complexity of real-world commerce at machine speed. 

About GenLayer

GenLayer is building the trust infrastructure for the AI Age, a programmable, on-chain legal system for autonomous agents and humans. As the first blockchain to integrate AI at the consensus layer, GenLayer acts as a synthetic jurisdiction: a decentralized court system enabling enforceable agreements without intermediaries. Through Intelligent Contracts and Optimistic Democracy, GenLayer brings subjectivity, nuance, and real-world adaptability on-chain.

Bitcoin is trustless money.
Ethereum is trustless applications.
GenLayer is trustless decision-making.

GenLayer is backed by leading investors, including Arthur Hayes’ Maelstrom, Arrington Capital, ZK Ventures, and North Island Ventures.

Join the Testnet: genlayer.com/testnet
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