--- title: "Hedera Hashgraph Launches Mainnet Early Access Program" id: "16452" type: "post" slug: "hedera-hashgraph-launches-mainnet-early-access-program" published_at: "2018-12-18T01:08:00+00:00" modified_at: "2025-12-10T05:04:07+00:00" url: "https://hedera.com/blog/hedera-hashgraph-launches-mainnet-early-access-program/" markdown_url: "https://hedera.com/blog/hedera-hashgraph-launches-mainnet-early-access-program.md" excerpt: "Dallas TX – Dec 18, 2018 – Hedera Hashgraph, a next-generation public ledger designed to have highly diversified governance and the most distributed consensus at scale, today announced the launch of its initial community testing program. The first phase of..." taxonomy_category: - "Uncategorized" --- [Skip to content](#content) blog # Hedera Hashgraph Launches Mainnet Early Access Program December 18, 2018 ![Hedera Team](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/HH-logo-Black.jpg) Hedera Hedera provides secure, scalable infrastructure for real-world decentralized applications in finance, AI, and sustainability, governed by global enterprises. *Developers and Consumers Can Now Earn Hbar Cryptocurrency for Developing on and Testing the Hedera Mainnet* **Dallas TX – Dec 18, 2018 –**[Hedera Hashgraph](http://www.hedera.com/) , a next-generation public ledger designed to have highly diversified governance and the most distributed consensus at scale, today announced the launch of its initial community testing program. The first phase of the program allows developers and the community to test the mainnet and testnets, and earn up to 1,000 hbars, Hedera’s native cryptocurrency, for testing the network and developing third-party applications. The Hedera Wallet and new sample applications – including a content site, The Daily Timestamp, and a micropayments Chrome extension – are now available for consumers to test using hbars. Developers can now also gain access to testnets to begin building applications at no charge, and have access to new developer resources at [Hedera.com](http://www.hedera.com/) . To register for the Hedera mainnet and/or testnet, visit [Portal.Hedera.com](http://portal.hedera.com/) . Hedera’s vision is to create a more trusted, secure, and empowered digital future for everyone. Developers will enable this world by building trusted applications that enable people to play games together, work together, and buy and sell goods and services safely and securely, without entrusting a central organization with their data and privacy. “Events over the past few years have made it clear that consumers have great concerns about their data privacy, such as when reading articles or viewing videos that require them to reveal personal credit card information, or be flooded with ads and have their online behavior tracked,” said Dr. Leemon Baird, Co-founder and Chief Scientist of Hedera. “Opening our mainnet for testing is the next step in delivering Hedera’s vision of an internet where individuals have much greater control over their own personal data and benefit more directly from its value.” “Many members of the community have expressed interest in helping us test our mainnet, and we are excited to take the next step in our development by opening the network for such testing,” said Mance Harmon, Co-founder and CEO of Hedera. “We are especially excited that consumers will get their first taste of the kinds of freedom of data ownership that micropayments can bring to business models, and that developers will have a comprehensive set of resources to start building applications that harness this power to disintermediate a huge variety of services.” Developer resources available on [Hedera.com](http://www.hedera.com/) include the latest SDKs, which is wrapped in multiple languages, getting started resources, sample code, an FAQ, and additional community resources. ### **About Hedera**Hedera Hashgraph is a public distributed ledger for building decentralized applications. Developers can build secure, fair, blazing-fast decentralized applications on top of Hedera. For more information, visit [https://www.hedera.com](http://www.hedera.com/) , or follow us on Twitter at [@hashgraph](http://twitter.com/hashgraph) , Telegram at [t.me/hashgraph](http://t.me/hashgraph) , or Discord at [https://www.hedera.com/discord](http://www.hedera.com/discord) . The Hedera whitepaper can be found at [https://www.hedera.com/whitepaper](http://www.hedera.com/whitepaper) . **For Media Enquiries**Zenobia Godschalk E: pr@hashgraph.com T: 1.833.794.7537 x 717 [Back to Blog](/blog) discover See more articles [View All](/blog) ![WISeKey-SpaceDev](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/WISeKey-SpaceDev-1024x576.jpg) September 4, 2026 ### Hedera Council Grows Partner Network with New Strategic and Community Partners WISeKey joins as a Strategic Partner, bringing deep expertise in cybersecurity, digital identity, and IoT, alongside new Community Partner SpaceDev, a Latin American software company expanding Hedera’s reach and adoption [Read More](https://hedera.com/blog/hedera-council-grows-partner-network-with-new-strategic-and-community-partners/) ![Image](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/V1-1024x576.png) August 31, 2026 ### x402 bounty on Hedera winners announced Meet the five winners of the x402 bounty on Hedera. Each received $1,000 for open source pay-per-request builds running on Hedera testnet. [Read More](https://hedera.com/blog/x402-bounty-on-hedera-winners-announced/) ![Image](https://hedera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Regulation_Blog-1024x576.png) August 5, 2026 ### Details decide. What digital asset policy did in July 2026 Halfway through 2026, the regulatory picture is coming into focus. Hedera Chief Policy Officer Nilmini Rubin and VP Global Policy Isadora Arredondo break down what moved in June across the [Read More](https://hedera.com/blog/details-decide-what-digital-asset-policy-did-in-july-2026/) ## Ready to get started? Discover why Hedera is the trusted institutional-grade network powering the new digital economy. [Start Building](/start-building) [Contact](/contact) We use cookies to deliver the best experience on our website and to analyze traffic. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our cookie policy. 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