Announcing The Autonomys Testnet Naming Contest

[Jim-Autonomys]

Name the Next Testnet: Help Us Usher in the Age of Autonomys

As we prepare to sunset Taurus, our current testnet, we’re also preparing to launch its successor - and we want you, our community, to help name it.

In the past, our testnets drew from the astrological theme of our former identity as Subspace: Aries, Gemini, Taurus. But with the launch of Mainnet Phase-2, and our rebrand to Autonomys, we’re embracing a new direction.

It’s time for our testnets to evolve - just like the network itself.

Why We’re Retiring Taurus

Taurus has served us well as the staging ground for everything from operator onboarding to cross-domain messaging during Game of Domains and Crossing the Narrow Sea. But it’s time to move on.

Here’s why:

• Over time, Taurus has accumulated technical debt from experiments and early features that won’t be carried forward to mainnet.
• One example is bundle and execution receipt versioning compatibility code needed to support both legacy and new types. Given that mainnet has never processed legacy bundles, the compatibility code won’t be necessary on mainnet.
• For a testnet to be useful, it must reflect the actual conditions of mainnet. Taurus will no longer be equivalent when we activate domains on mainnet.
• On top of that, initiatives like Crossing the Narrow Sea were hugely successful - but generated a flood of transactions that have become a pain point for indexing and developer workflows.

We’re sunsetting Taurus so we can start fresh with a streamlined, production-aligned testnet. And it needs a name - one that reflects who we are now, not who we used to be.

A New Naming Era

Autonomys is now the foundation layer for AI3.0: a decentralized infrastructure stack for secure storage, autonomous agents, on-chain intelligence, and scalable execution.

We’re looking for a new testnet name that reflects our mission, values, and vision for the future - something that encapsulates autonomy, intelligence, emergence, or evolution.

This is your opportunity to help define a small but meaningful part of our journey.

How It Works

• Submit your testnet name idea using the form here.
• The Autonomys team will review submissions and create a shortlist of finalists.
• The community will vote to pick the winner.
• The winning submission will receive 100 USDC and the honor of naming the next Autonomys testnet.
• The contest has our standard terms and conditions.

What Makes a Great Name?

• Memorable and original
• Easy to spell and pronounce
• Reflects Autonomys’ mission and AI3.0 vision
• Moves beyond zodiac or astrology themes

Timeline

• Submission Deadline: 2025-08-04
• Finalist Selection: 2025-08-05
• Community Voting Opens: 2025-08-06
• Winner Announced: 2025-08-11

Let’s make this a meaningful transition into the next phase of Autonomys.

Submit your idea now.

The Taurus era is ending - but the Dawn of Autonomy continues.

[Jim-Autonomys]

Shortlist Finalized - Cast Your Vote for the Next Autonomys Testnet Name

Thanks to everyone who submitted an idea for the Autonomys testnet naming contest!

After reviewing all the entries, the team has selected a shortlist of finalists that reflect our network’s mission - decentralized infrastructure for AI3.0 - and the themes of autonomy, intelligence, and evolution.

Here are the finalists:

• Ethos

  Ethos, the guiding spirit of autonomous systems, captures the foundational values being battle-tested before mainnet - where the Autonomys team refines the protocol, developers test their deployments, operators and nominators stress-test new network features before they go live, proving the infrastructure for autonomous Web3.

• Ascensus

  From Latin, it means ascent. Ascent to the pedestal, so to speak.

• Discovery

  Exploring the Unknown World Discovery.

• Chronos

  Chronos embodies the concept of time, symbolizing the effects of time’s relentless march.

• Cognet

  Cognet is a fusion of the words “Cognition” and “Network”. It reflects the core mission of Autonomys and AI3.0 — to build an onchain, autonomous infrastructure powered by intelligence, logic, and self-governance. The name captures the essence of autonomous reasoning, scalable logic, and a new generation of smart, decentralized systems. Short, memorable, and futuristic, Cognet represents the cognitive engine of tomorrow’s web.

• Sentio

  “Sentio,” from Latin sentire (to feel, perceive, be conscious), evokes the emergence of self-aware, autonomous intelligence—a network that evolves, adapts, and understands. It aligns with Autonomys’ AI3.0 vision: more than computation, it’s cognition. Short, elegant, and original, Sentio captures the moment where decentralized code becomes conscious.

• Quark

  The building blocks of something larger.

Voting will take place via a community poll in Discord. The winning name will be announced on August 11 during our fortnightly Developer Sync.

Head over to Discord and cast your vote: https://autonomys.xyz/discord

Let’s name the future!

[vexr]

Here is the direct link to cast your vote on Discord:
Cast Your Vote

[Jim-Autonomys]

Testnet Naming Contest - Winner Announced!

The votes are in, and the community has spoken. After a week of submissions and a spirited round of voting, we’re excited to reveal the name of our next Autonomys testnet.

Winner: Chronos - with 29 votes (28% of the total).

A huge thank-you to everyone who submitted ideas, participated in the shortlist vote, and helped make this a community-driven milestone. Chronos captures the essence of progress, evolution, and the forward momentum of the Autonomys network as we step into the next stage of AI3.0 infrastructure development.

We’ll be officially launching the Chronos testnet soon, replacing Taurus as our staging ground for innovation and testing. Stay tuned for launch details.

And congratulations to the community member who submitted the winning name - you’ll be receiving the 100 USDC prize as promised.