Features

matsnet Alpha: Everything You Need to Know

Here's all your questions answered about Mezo's incentivized testnet.

Joey Campbell

27 Nov 2024 • 4 min read

Mezo’s incentivized testnet is designed to unify and expand the experiences of long-term depositors and community members alike. Whether you're simply hodling to stack mats or eager to explore the first BitcoinFi apps, matsnet Alpha is your gateway to the next stage of the Mezo ecosystem.

But how can you get started, and what do you need to know? We’ll explain everything you need to know about matsnet Alpha below.

What are mats?

mats, short for “magic satoshis,” are Mezo’s community-driven point system. Earned through participation—like clever memes, thoughtful contributions, or deposits—mats represent your activity and engagement in the ecosystem.

While they hold no monetary value, mats unlock exciting utilities within Mezo, including access to matsnet Alpha.

Introducing matsnet

matsnet is Mezo’s incentivized testnet, where the BitcoinFi ecosystem begins. It’s where mats meet real functionality, allowing users to convert their mats into matsnet BTC and explore the testnet’s capabilities, from dApps to leaderboard challenges.

matsnet unifies depositors and active community members, laying the groundwork for Mezo mainnet.

What happens to my Bitcoin or other deposits?

Your Bitcoin and other deposits (BTC, tBTC, WBTC) are securely held in Mezo’s portal contract, and you continue to earn daily mats. Any actions on matsnet—whether converting mats into sats or participating in the Meme Market—don’t affect the security of your funds.

Here’s the bottom line: once your assets unlock, you’ll receive 100% of your deposit back, minus deposit fees. All funds remain fully verifiable on-chain via Etherscan.

Your mats will continue to stream to your Mezo account, and you can convert your mats to sats whenever you’d like.

Should I convert mats to sats?

Using the matsnet portal, you can convert mats to sats with the “Stack matsnet BTC” feature. matsnet BTC functions exactly like real Bitcoin in the testnet environment, giving you access to the BitcoinFi ecosystem, starting with the mats meme market.

But there’s a trade-off. Converting mats to sats burns your mats and affects your standing on the original mats leaderboard. However, you’ll gain a higher rank on the Stack Rank leaderboard, which tracks your activity on matsnet.

Both leaderboards matter, and the decision is yours—you can maximize mats, go all-in on sats, or land somewhere in the middle.

Stay tuned for more details on the leaderboards coming soon.

What is the Stack Rank leaderboard?

The Stack Rank leaderboard is your window into activity on matsnet Alpha. It tracks everything from matsnet BTC holdings to your participation in the testnet’s growing ecosystem.

There are badges earned for specific testnet activities that will be reflected on your Stack Rank account, so the best thing you can do is get active and see what badges you accrue.

Portal TVL, points, and the status of boosts

Portal TVL remains securely locked in the portal contract until mainnet launch, continuing to earn mats. Boost multipliers are still available for longer lockups, stable deposits, and T deposits.

What happened to stBTC?

stBTC was recently sunsetted and minting is no longer active in the Mezo portal, but any locked stBTC positions remain safe. If you hold looped stBTC positions, you can unwind them without issue at the unlock date of your deposits or at mainnet launch when TVL unlocks. As always, your funds remain secure within the portal contract.

If you have an open stBTC position on Mezo, please follow the guide here to close your position.

Can I convert sats back to portal mats?

Not yet. Converting mats to sats is currently a one-way transaction. Updates on this functionality will be shared as the ecosystem evolves.

Will there be dApps on matsnet?

Yes. matsnet Alpha is the beginning of our BitcoinFi ecosystem. The team is actively onboarding applications to expand matsnet’s functionality, providing users with various app categories to test the BitcoinFi experience.

How to connect to matsnet?

You can add matsnet to your preferred wallet via Chainlist, or, manually enter the chain info into your wallet:

Public JSON RPC Endpoint:
- HTTPS: https://rpc.test.mezo.org
- WSS: wss://rpc-ws.test.mezo.org
Chain ID: 31611
Native Currency:
- Name: Bitcoin
- Symbol: BTC
- Decimals: 18

Block explorer: https://explorer.test.mezo.org/

Can I deploy contracts?

Yes! matsnet is fully functional today: you can create and deploy contracts and interact with it however you choose. You can find a guide on how to deploy contracts to matsnet here, and there will soon be more resources to simplify deployment to Mezo.

One community member has launched ChanceForSats, which accepts donations between 10 and 10k sats and returns a randomized amount to you in the same transaction.

If you have any questions on deploying to Mezo, please reach out or open a ticket in our Discord!

Why matsnet Alpha matters

matsnet Alpha is the launchpad for BitcoinFi. It’s where you can see what a supernormal, Bitcoin-first onchain experience can offer. It unifies the Mezo ecosystem for long-term holders and new community participants.

Whether patiently stacking sats or actively climbing the Stack Rank leaderboard, your participation now lays the foundation for Mezo’s mainnet.

Ready to dive in? Visit the matsnet portal and start your journey today (use code 'ALPHA' to get started).