Your EarthNode goes to work.
The EarthNode Testnet is live and registration is open to EarthNode NFT holders. Register your NFT, prepare your hardware and bring your EarthNode online.
Places are allocated first come, first served, with a maximum of two per wallet. World Mobile covers the mint fee.
EarthNodes are the backbone of World Mobile Chain.
The EarthNode Testnet puts them to work on real operator hardware before mainnet. Operators install the software, keep their nodes online, take updates and help test the network end to end.
One NFT, one node
A single EarthNode NFT authorizes a single EarthNode. Your NFT on Cardano, your Cardano wallet and your node's EVM wallet are cryptographically bound together. Transferring the NFT revokes that authorization.
Proven, not promised
The Certificate Authority verifies your ownership on-chain before your node is issued a certificate. The Governor supervises services on the node; Lighthouse nodes carry the metrics that decide your uptime.
Three phases
Phase 1 is live and focuses on uptime, updates and requested tasks. Phase 2 introduces zero-knowledge attestation work before cooperation continues into mainnet.
Testnet operators shape how EarthNodes work before mainnet. You get first-hand experience running the software your node will run in production, your feedback lands directly with the engineering team, and the issues you find get fixed before mainnet carries real traffic. Running a node takes real hardware, time and uptime. It is paid work.
Eligibility and capacity
Participation is open to EarthNode NFT holders on Cardano.
- The system checks your wallet. One EarthNode NFT qualifies you for one testnet NFT; more than one qualifies you for up to two.
- When the 100 places are full, registration closes. If you miss a place, more places may open later if the network has an operational need for them. We will announce it if that happens. It is not a promise.
- The testnet NFT is dropped to your Cardano wallet. World Mobile pays the mint fee, so receiving it costs you nothing.
- The official flow will never ask for your seed phrase or private key.
Reward terms
Keep your node online, take updates and complete requested tasks. Meet the monthly target and you earn the base reward.
The base reward for operators who meet the Phase 1 participation goals.
What reaching the goal means
Phase 1 asks you to keep your node running at a target of 95% uptime per month. Outages caused by the testnet itself are excluded from your figure. You also take updates as they ship and complete tasks when the team requests them.
The Lighthouse network provides the uptime metrics.
How and when you are paid
Initial payout is processed manually at the end of each month.
Later in the test, operators earn testnet tokens while the reward contracts are being tested. Those testnet tokens are not themselves the reward. The actual reward may arrive through a different channel.
Only on mainnet do the reward contracts govern payout, with operators claiming through the dashboard at the frequency they choose.
From NFT to node online
Seven steps. The claim in step 3 is what binds your EarthNode NFT, your Cardano wallet and your node's EVM wallet together, and that binding is what proves your right to operate. Generate your EVM wallet before you start, because the claim asks for its address.
Create the wallet your node will sign with, on the machine that will run it. You need its address before you claim.
At start.testnet.wmnode.com: connect your Cardano wallet, verify your email, give your EVM address and sign. World Mobile covers the mint fee.
The mint transaction is your proof. The installer asks for its hash and re-checks it on chain. Keep both NFTs in the wallet you claimed with.
Run the install command the script server gives you, keeping the --pinnedpubkey argument that authenticates the server.
The script authenticates, pulls the images, verifies them and starts your node's services.
Track your node in the EarthNode Dashboard or CLI, take updates as they ship and complete tasks when the team requests them.
Check you hold an EarthNode NFT
The NFT must be in the Cardano wallet you intend to register. One EarthNode NFT qualifies you for one testnet place, up to a maximum of two per wallet.
Generate your EVM operator wallet
Your EarthNode signs with its own EVM wallet, separate from anything else you hold. Generate it on the machine that will run the node. The node needs this key available in order to sign transactions while it operates, so it cannot be kept offline. That is exactly why the wallet is dedicated to the node: keep nothing in it beyond what the node needs, and secure the machine accordingly. Keep a second copy of the private key somewhere secure and offline, because the address is written permanently into your testnet NFT when you claim and losing the key means losing the node. Step-by-step commands for Linux, macOS and Windows are in the FAQ.
Never share that private key with anyone, including World Mobile. Do not generate it on a web page you were sent a link to. Nobody from World Mobile will ever ask you for it.
How to generate one — Linux, macOS, WindowsRegister on the official page
Register at start.testnet.wmnode.com. Connect the Cardano wallet holding your EarthNode NFT so it can be identified, then sign a message proving you control that wallet. The signature covers the receiving address, the EarthNode NFT and your EVM address, so none of them can be swapped afterwards. Signing is free, moves no funds and never reveals your private key. You will also verify your email with a six-digit code and give the EVM address from the previous step, which is written into your testnet NFT's metadata and cannot be changed afterwards.
Receive your testnet NFT
The testnet NFT is minted to your Cardano wallet, and the mint transaction is your proof of admission. Keep its transaction hash: the installer asks for it and re-checks it on chain. Keep both NFTs in this wallet, because moving or selling either one revokes your authorization.
Check the binding hash (optional)
Take your EVM public address in EIP-55 format, add a # separator, then your Cardano NFT asset name in hex. Compute the SHA-256 of that string.
On testnet the hash is generated automatically during minting, so there is nothing to do here. You can still recalculate it yourself to check it: in your browser, or on your own machine. Those are also the methods mainnet deployments will use.
See both methodsDownload and run the initialization script
Installation runs in two stages. Stage 1 authenticates you, checks the machine meets the requirements and gathers the information the installer needs. It changes nothing permanent. When it finishes it prints the command for stage 2, including the --pinnedpubkey argument that authenticates the script server. Stage 2 is the installation itself: from the moment you run it, it begins modifying the server, pulling the container images and starting your node's services.
Keep the --pinnedpubkey argument in the command. If curl exits 60 or 90, stop and report it.
Confirm your node is active, and keep it there
Check your node using the EarthNode Dashboard, or the EarthNode CLI if you prefer the command line. Either will show you whether it is up. From then on the job is uptime: target 95% per month, take updates as they ship, and complete tasks when the team asks.
The binding hash
The hash is the SHA-256 of your EVM address, a # separator, and your Cardano NFT asset name in hex. Neither value is secret: both are already public on-chain.
On testnet this is generated for you
You do not calculate anything on testnet. When you claim your testnet NFT you connect your wallet, give your EVM address and sign, and the hash is generated as part of the minting. The mint produces the transaction hash that the installer later asks for and re-checks on chain.
The two methods below are for recalculating the hash yourself to check it matches, and they are the methods mainnet deployments will use. Connecting a wallet lets a site read your public addresses and ask you to sign; it cannot move funds and cannot see your private key or seed phrase. Only ever connect at start.testnet.wmnode.com.
This tool runs entirely in your browser using the standard Web Crypto API. Nothing you type is sent anywhere, stored, or logged. You can verify that yourself: open your browser's network tab, or disconnect from the internet and reload. It still works. It never asks for and never accepts a private key or seed phrase.
Nothing here touches a website. Two parts: find your NFT asset name in hex, then hash it with a tool your operating system already has. This is the method mainnet deployments will use, so it is worth getting familiar with it now.
Your wallet already has this, so you do not need to convert anything. In Eternl, open the wallet holding your EarthNode NFT, go to your NFTs and select it to open Asset details. On the Details tab you will see Asset Name, Fingerprint, Policy ID and Hex name. Copy the Hex name field. That is the value you need, exactly as shown.
The Asset Name shown in the wallet comes from the NFT's metadata and is usually formatted for humans. The on-chain name that gets hashed is different: typically no space and no hash character.
Converting the displayed name instead would give 4d6172734269726473202336333634, a different hex, a different hash, and a transaction that fails verification with nothing on screen to tell you why. Copy the Hex name field and skip the conversion entirely.
If your wallet does not show a hex name, paste your fingerprint into a Cardano explorer such as pool.pm or cardanoscan, which shows it directly. Only as a last resort, convert the asset name yourself with the commands below, and read the warning above first, because the name you convert must be the on-chain name, not the one your wallet displays.
Both return 4d617273426972647332313136 for that example. Note the example name has no space and no hash character. That is what an on-chain asset name looks like.
Join your EVM address, a #, and the hex name, then take the SHA-256. Substitute your own two values.
For the example values every one of these returns:
Use printf, not echo. echo appends a newline character, that newline is hashed too, and you get a completely different hash that will fail verification. If your result does not match the example above when you use the example values, something in your command is wrong. Fix it before using your own values.
That example is the same one published in the EarthNode Authentication Flow documentation, so you can confirm your method is correct before you trust it with your own address.
The script server
The script server hosts the installer and gives you the stage 1 command once you have claimed your testnet NFT. Stage 1 authenticates you, validates the machine and collects what the installer needs, without changing anything permanent. It then prints the stage 2 command. Running stage 2 starts the real installation and begins modifying the server, so run it only when the machine is ready to become an EarthNode.
You will need a 64-bit Linux machine and root access on it. We have tested Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and 26.04; a recent Debian or Debian-based distribution should be fine if you prefer that. Other distributions follow later during the testnet. Expect a stable connection and basic command-line comfort. Windows and macOS are not supported.
Open start.testnet.wmnode.comKeep the --pinnedpubkey argument in the command. If curl exits 60 or 90, stop and report it.
Check the pin, not a checksum
The install command carries a --pinnedpubkey argument. It pins the script server's public key, so curl refuses the download outright if the server presenting the certificate is not ours. Keep that argument exactly as the script server gives it to you: removing it removes the check.
If curl exits with code 60 or 90, stop. The server's key did not match the pin. Do not run what was downloaded, and report it in the operator channel.
Running on a VPS or virtualized
This works. The Closed User Group Testnet currently runs virtualized across multiple Proxmox servers, so it is proven in practice. One condition matters more than which platform you choose.
Allocate dedicated CPU, RAM and disk to the node, and leave them reserved for it.
Use dynamic or ballooned allocation, and do not overcommit resources across guests.
A node that loses CPU to a noisy neighbour falls behind on its uptime target and can be too slow to take part in pRaft votes. A dedicated server is the recommended setup.
Prepare your EarthNode
EarthNode verification does not require a GPU. Prepare a dedicated machine running a tested 64-bit Linux distribution, with a stable always-on connection and resources reserved for the node. You do not need to install the container runtime yourself: the initialization script does it for you.
Tested on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and 26.04. A recent Debian or Debian-based distribution should be fine if you prefer that. Other versions follow later during the testnet.
The EarthNode runs on Docker and Containerd. Starting from a base installation, the initialization script downloads and installs all the required software automatically.
An always-on internet connection. Uptime is measured by the Lighthouse network against a 95% monthly target.
Reserve fixed CPU, memory and disk for the node rather than sharing or overcommitting them across other workloads.
Frequently asked
Answers to the questions operators ask most. Official updates are published in EarthNode announcements on Discord.
EarthNodes are the backbone of World Mobile Chain. The EarthNode Testnet puts them to work on real operator hardware before mainnet.
Operators install the node software, keep their nodes online, take updates and help test the network end to end. It runs on real operator hardware, gated by real EarthNode NFTs. It is the closest rehearsal for mainnet there is.
Phase 1 asks one thing of operators: keep your node running.
- Target 95% uptime per month, with outages caused by the testnet itself excluded
- Take the updates as they ship
- Complete tasks when the team requests them
Phase 1 is live and focuses on uptime, updates and requested tasks.
Phase 2 introduces zero-knowledge attestation work. After that, cooperation continues into mainnet.
Participation is open to EarthNode NFT holders on Cardano.
- One EarthNode NFT qualifies you for one testnet NFT
- More than one qualifies you for up to two
- Capacity is capped at 100 testnet NFTs
First come, first served. When the 100 places are full, registration closes.
No. The testnet NFT is dropped to your Cardano wallet and World Mobile pays the mint fee. Receiving it costs you nothing.
Two lets multi-holders test running two nodes in parallel, while keeping places spread across the community rather than concentrated in a few wallets.
This phase is capped at 100 EarthNodes, allocated first come, first served.
If you miss a place, more places may open later if the network has an operational need for them. We will announce it if that happens. It is not a promise.
Yes. Registration is open to EarthNode NFT holders. Places are allocated first come, first served, with a maximum of two per wallet.
Register at start.testnet.wmnode.com. Connect your wallet, or use the manual registration path to enter your details. Either way you will be asked to connect the Cardano wallet holding your EarthNode NFT so it can be identified, and to create a signature proving you control that wallet. Signing proves ownership: it does not move funds and never reveals your private key.
This phase is capped at 100 EarthNodes. When the places are full, registration closes.
The base reward is 1,300 WMTx per month for operators who meet the Phase 1 participation goals.
- Target 95% monthly uptime, measured by the Lighthouse network
- Outages caused by the testnet itself are excluded from your figure
- Take updates as they ship and complete requested tasks
Initial payout is processed manually at the end of each month.
Payout is processed manually at the end of each month to begin with.
Later in the test, operators earn testnet tokens while the reward contracts are being tested. Those testnet tokens are not themselves the reward. The actual testnet reward may arrive through a different channel.
Only on mainnet do the reward contracts govern payout, with operators claiming through the dashboard at whatever frequency they choose.
They are separate. Historic ITN rewards have their own claim form, which is already live and unaffected by the testnet.
EarthNode verification does not require a GPU.
Prepare a dedicated machine with:
- A tested 64-bit Linux distribution. We have tested Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and 26.04. A recent Debian or Debian-based distribution should be fine if you prefer that. Other versions follow later during the testnet.
- A stable, always-on connection
- Dedicated resources reserved for the node rather than shared with other workloads
You do not need to install the container runtime yourself. The EarthNode runs on Docker and Containerd, and starting from a base installation the initialization script downloads and installs everything required automatically.
Basic command-line comfort is expected. A dedicated server or dedicated computer is the recommended setup.
Yes. The Closed User Group Testnet runs virtualized on multiple Proxmox servers, so virtualization is proven in practice.
One condition matters more than which platform you pick: your resources must be dedicated, not dynamically allocated.
- Allocate fixed CPU, RAM and disk to the node and leave them reserved for it
- Do not overcommit resources across guests
A node that loses CPU to a noisy neighbour falls behind on its uptime target and can be too slow to take part in pRaft votes. Dynamic or ballooned allocation is the usual cause.
A dedicated server is the recommended setup.
The Lighthouse network provides the uptime metrics. The target is 95% per month, and outages caused by the testnet itself are excluded from your figure.
Your wallet shows it directly. You do not need to convert anything.
In Eternl: open the wallet holding your EarthNode NFT, go to your NFTs, select it to open Asset details, and on the Details tab copy the Hex name field. Other wallets and Cardano explorers such as pool.pm and cardanoscan show the same value.
Do not convert the Asset Name your wallet displays. The displayed name comes from the NFT metadata and is formatted for people; the on-chain name is different. For example a wallet may display MarsBirds #6364 while the on-chain name is MarsBirds6364, with no space and no hash character.
Converting the displayed name gives you the wrong hex, so the wrong hash, and your transaction fails verification with nothing on screen explaining why. Copy the hex name as shown and skip the conversion.
One EarthNode NFT authorizes one EarthNode. The NFT is what proves your right to operate.
The binding links three things: your EarthNode NFT on Cardano, your Cardano wallet, and the EVM wallet your node signs with. The signature you create when you claim is what proves all three belong together: it covers the receiving address, the EarthNode NFT and your EVM address, so none of them can be swapped afterwards. Your EVM address is then written into the testnet NFT's metadata.
The mint transaction is your proof of admission. The installer asks for its hash and re-checks it on chain.
Both NFTs must stay in the wallet you claimed with. Eligibility is checked against the wallet holding your EarthNode NFT and your testnet NFT. Moving or selling either one revokes your authorization, and a node operating with a different EVM address will not be recognised.
You can generate a new empty wallet using python on a Moc, Linux-machine in the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
python3 -m venv ~/en-wallet
source ~/en-wallet/bin/activate
pip install eth-account
python3 -c "from eth_account import Account; a=Account.create(); print('address:', a.address); print('private key:', a.key.hex())"
This prints an address in EIP-55 format (0x followed by 40 characters) and a private key as 64 hex characters. If a tool asks for the key with a 0x prefix, add one.
If you already use Foundry, cast wallet new does the same job in one command.
Before you go further: this address is written permanently into your testnet NFT's metadata when you claim. If you lose the key you cannot operate that node and the address cannot be changed. Store it safely first — see the storage question below.
Never paste a private key into a web page, including this one.
Two routes. WSL is the simpler one, because your node runs on Linux anyway: install Windows Subsystem for Linux, then follow the Linux instructions inside it.
If you would rather stay in Windows, use Python in PowerShell:
py -3 -m venv $HOME\en-wallet
$HOME\en-wallet\Scripts\Activate.ps1
pip install eth-account
py -3 -c "from eth_account import Account; a=Account.create(); print('address:', a.address); print('private key:', a.key.hex())"This prints an address in EIP-55 format and a private key as 64 hex characters. If a tool asks for the key with a 0x prefix, add one.
Remember that Windows cannot run the EarthNode itself — the node needs Linux. Whichever route you take, the private key has to end up on the Linux machine that runs the node.
Before you go further: this address is written permanently into your testnet NFT's metadata when you claim. If you lose the key you cannot operate that node and the address cannot be changed.
Never paste a private key into a web page, including this one.
Two copies, for two different reasons.
On the node, because it signs transactions while it runs and cannot work without the key. Treat it as a hot key on a server: restrict the file so only its owner can read it (chmod 600), and keep the machine patched and access-controlled.
In a secure place off the machine, because the key is unrecoverable. Your EVM address is written into your testnet NFT's metadata when you claim and cannot be changed afterwards, so losing the key means losing the ability to operate that node.
- A reputable password manager is the easiest option
- Encrypted offline storage works too
- A written copy kept physically secure is acceptable
Do not store it in plain text in cloud notes, email, chat, a screenshot, or a shared drive.
Use a dedicated wallet for the node and keep nothing in it beyond what the node needs. Never share the key with anyone, including World Mobile: nobody from World Mobile will ever ask for it.
Yes. The node signs transactions while it operates, so it needs its EVM private key available. The key cannot be kept offline.
That is why this wallet is dedicated to the node and separate from anything else you hold. Treat it as a hot key on a server:
- Generate it on the machine that will run the node
- Keep nothing in it beyond what the node needs
- Secure the machine itself, since the key lives there
This is only about the node's own operator wallet. Your Cardano wallet holding the EarthNode NFT is never involved, and nobody from World Mobile will ever ask you for any private key or seed phrase.
Yes. Your EarthNode signs transactions while it operates, and those transactions cost gas. Make sure the node's EVM wallet holds enough gas tokens, or it cannot do its job.
Claim them from the Testnet Faucet at testnet-faucet.worldmobile.net, using the same EVM address your node operates with — the one written into your testnet NFT's metadata.
Check the balance from time to time and top it up. A node that runs out of gas stops being able to sign, which will show up against your uptime.
The faucet is listed under Resources on this page, along with the other dedicated testnet sites. Note that it sits on worldmobile.net rather than wmnode.com: that is expected, and the Resources list is how you confirm a site is ours.
Two ways, once your node is running:
- The EarthNode Dashboard
- The EarthNode CLI, if you prefer the command line
Either will show you whether your node is up. Uptime itself is measured by the Lighthouse network, which is what the 95% monthly target is assessed against.
Three things are official for the EarthNode Testnet:
- onboarding.testnet.wmnode.com: this page. The written reward terms and the setup guide.
- start.testnet.wmnode.com: registration and the script server. The only place to register your NFT or download the initialization script.
- The official World Mobile Discord: EarthNode announcements and operator support.
Dedicated testnet sites, such as the faucet and the explorer, are listed under Resources on this page. That list is the register: as new sites launch they are added there, so check it rather than trusting a link you were sent.
Some of those sites sit on worldmobile.net rather than wmnode.com. That is expected, and it is why the register matters more than the domain.
If a site is not named on this page, under Resources, or in EarthNode announcements on Discord, it is not ours. Check the address bar character by character before you connect a wallet or download anything. Lookalike domains that swap or add a single character are the most common attack on launches like this one. We never DM you first.
No. On testnet you never have to.
The hash is computed for you automatically while you claim your testnet NFT: you connect your wallet, give your EVM address and sign, and the binding is recorded as part of that.
The two methods on this page are there so you can recalculate the hash yourself and check it matches, and because they are the methods mainnet deployments will use:
- In your browser: the tool on this page computes the hash locally using the standard Web Crypto API. Nothing is sent, stored or logged. Disconnect from the internet and reload the page: it still works.
- On your own machine: two commands, no website involved at all.
Neither value in the hash is secret: your EVM public address and your NFT asset name are both already public on-chain. The hash never involves a private key or seed phrase, and nothing in the official flow ever will.
If you use the manual route, run it against the documented example first. If you do not get 86fc0416… back, your command is wrong. Fix it before using your own values.
Everything runs through the 🌍 EARTHNODE OPERATORS category in the official World Mobile Discord.
- EarthNode operator chat: normal questions and discussion with other operators
- Report a Testnet issue: reproducible technical problems containing no sensitive information
- Private EarthNode support: account, wallet, reward or logs containing personal information
- EarthNode announcements: releases and official Testnet updates
If you cannot see the category yet, open General Support in the official Discord and ask for the EarthNode Operator role.
Never. Nobody from World Mobile will ever ask for your seed phrase, private key or password: not in public, not in a private ticket, not in a direct message.
We never DM first. Never post keys or seed phrases anywhere. The official flow does not require them.
Dedicated testnet sites
Tools and services for the EarthNode Testnet. This list is the official register: if a site is not named here, on the two testnet sites, or in EarthNode announcements on Discord, it is not ours. New sites are added here as they launch.
Claim the gas tokens your EarthNode needs to sign transactions while it operates. Use the same EVM address your node runs with.
Inspect transactions, addresses and blocks on the testnet chain. Useful for confirming your node's activity on chain.
Where to get help
EarthNode support lives in the official World Mobile Discord, under the 🌍 EARTHNODE OPERATORS category. That category is private, so what you see depends on whether you have the EarthNode Operator role yet.
Get the EarthNode Operator role
- Join the official World Mobile Discord: discord.com/invite/worldmobile
- Open General Support.
- Say that you are an EarthNode NFT holder and need the EarthNode Operator role.
- Follow the verification instructions provided by the support team. After verification and role assignment, the private EarthNode channels become visible.
Pick the right channel
EarthNode operator calls take place every other Thursday at 13:00 UTC. Check announcements for the confirmed schedule.
What to include
Good reports get fixed faster. When you report a Testnet issue, include your participant reference, your hardware and OS, the step you were on, a timestamp with timezone, what you expected, what actually happened, the exact error text, and a screenshot or log with secrets removed.
Keep anything involving your wallet, your account, your keys, logs containing personal data or an individual reward case in private EarthNode support rather than a public channel. Eligibility and policy disputes are handled the same way.
Never post seed phrases, private keys, passwords or tokens anywhere: not in public channels, not in a private ticket. Nobody from World Mobile will ever ask for them, and we never DM you first. If someone messages you claiming otherwise, report it.
Dedicated testnet sites, such as the faucet and the explorer, are listed under Resources on this page. That list is the register: as new sites launch they are added there. If a site is not named here, under Resources, or in EarthNode announcements on Discord, it is not ours. Check the address bar character by character before you connect a wallet or download anything. Lookalike domains that swap or add a character are the most common attack on launches like this. We never DM you first. If a link, a direct message or a search result sends you anywhere else, report it in the operator channel.
Hold an EarthNode NFT?
This is where it finally goes to work.
