Pontem, an experimental network for Facebook’s Diem token, is partnering with Polkadot project Pinknode to offer “crucial infrastructure for Web 3.0 purposes.” The partnership will allow Pontem to build a testing ground, which can be used by developers to test their applications before migrating them to the permissioned Diem blockchain.

Pontem Inks Agreement With Pinknode to Improve Polkadot’s Infrastructure

Diem, formerly known as Libra, is tech behemoth Facebook’s most ambitious project to date. However, it is not yet open to public participants due to its permissioned system. This makes it difficult for developers to build open source solutions that rival the ongoing innovation on Ethereum and Polkadot networks. 

Pontem addresses this limitation by using Polkadot’s software development kit(SDK) to create a blockchain with a codebase that shares similarities with Diem.

In a press release issued by Pontem, the company’s founder Boris Povod said, “With Pinknode acting as our primary infrastructure provider, their reliable and secure API endpoints will be a key building block to completing our joint goal of improving Polkadot’s current infrastructure, while also allowing us to work towards our goal of becoming the experimentation network for Diem.” 

Under the agreement, Pinknode will provide Potem with “secure, reliable, and scalable API endpoints” that enable developers to connect their DApps to Kusama’s current ecosystem. Pinknode is one of the most popular infrastructure providers on Polkadot. But the firm’s main goal is to encourage developers to create Web 3.0 apps without the hassle of dealing with node hardware and software.

“In light of our synergies as infrastructure projects on Polkadot, Pinknode fully supports Pontem’s mission to build a bridge to Diem’s permissioned blockchain and potentially onboarding billions of users onto the Polkadot ecosystem,” Eric Poh, co-founder of Pinknode noted.

The alliance with Pinknode is an important milestone for Pontem, which raised $4.5 million in private funding from Mechanism Capital, Kenetic Capital, Animoca Brands, and other investors.

Facebook’s Diem is a Global Stablecoin

Diem, formerly Libra, was originally proposed by Facebook in 2019. However, the company faced immense scrutiny over the project at the time. In 2020, the company revised its vision on Libra and focused on positioning itself as a wallet for stablecoins. Libra was also rebranded towards the end of 2020 and subsequently named Diem.

With the launch of its testnet in 2021, Diem racked up 50 million transactions in just over a month. But the network continues to be on the radar of regulators with Dr. Stefan Berger, a member of the European Parliament, saying that the region must not allow Mark Zuckerberg to become a central bank.