Tech
Who needs an exit ramp? Ether.fi Designs a Visa Card for Cryptocurrency Degeneration
May 24: the new product of the liquid restaging startup Ether.fi might finally help “paper rich” cryptographic degeneration turn their blockchain investments into spending money. Ether.fi Cash will be a mobile wallet and Visa credit card that borrows USDC, the popular dollar-pegged stablecoin, against your decentralized finance (DeFi) investments and can be repaid directly via cryptocurrency.
Cysic, ZK hardware acceleration project, raises $12 million
May 23rd (EXCLUSIVE VILLAGE PROTOCOL): Cisico, a ZK (zero-knowledge) hardware acceleration company, announced that it has successfully raised $12 million in a pre-A funding round. The round was led by industry leaders HashKey Capital and OKX Ventures and “aims to accelerate ZK proof generation in a faster, cheaper, easier-to-use and decentralized manner,” according to the team.
According to the project documentation, Cysic’s zkVM-based hardware design architecture is “pretty simple.” (Cisico)
EasyA Consensus Hackathon – Invitation to participants
This year, Consensus will host its first in-person hackathon alongside the world’s #1 Web3 learning app, EasyA. It will be a three-day, multi-chain IRL hackathon with world-class sponsors, from Sui to Stellar to Polkadot and beyond, and will attract the world’s best developers to build the future of Web3 and raise funds for their projects.
Projects launched by EasyA alumni are worth over $2.5 billion. The EasyA Consensus hackathon will be the biggest hackathon of 2024 so far.
We still have a few spots open for hackers, so if you’re excited to participate, be sure to do so sign up here!
Dfinity launches “EVM RPC” as an API that allows ICP to read other chains
May 23: Definity Foundationa major contributor to the Internet Computer (ICP), announced that his “EVM RPC canister”, described as “a new API that allows ICP smart contracts to read and write data across different chains”, is now live. According to the team: “The EVM RPC is another milestone in the development of Dfinity Chain fusion structure. It allows Internet Computer smart contracts to interact directly with all major blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, other EVMs, and soon Solana, without having to rely on any intermediaries.” Additionally, “ckUSDC, an interoperable stablecoin pegged 1:1 to USDC , is now available for use across the ICP.”
Schematic illustrating the Dfinity “RPC EVM Container” (Dfinity)
Celo Foundation’s Reinsberg presents “Bloom,” a TGE Advisory
May 23: The president of the Celo Foundation Rene Reinsberg announced “Flowering“, a consultative event for the Token Generation Ecosystem (TGE), on Thursday at Dappcon in Berlin. According to the team: “Created to guide projects across blockchain ecosystems preparing for a TGE and product launch that As a result, the foundation will provide strategy and operational support including access to the launchpad, exchange support and access to funding and the investor network. Bloom frees up more time and resources for product development and strategy, eliminating ambiguity so founders can focus on building projects that will create positive externalities for users globally.”
Celo Foundation’s Rene Reinsberg Unveils “Bloom” to Dappcoin Thursday (Charlie Havens)
Robinhood Wallet to Enable Gasless Trading on Arbitrum
May 23: Robinhood Wallet will allow exchanges without gas Referee starting Thursday, according to the team: “Users can trade without needing ETH for gas on Arbitrum, with 0x as the DEX aggregator behind the swaps. Once launched, users will be presented with the best swap rate available, whether gas swap what a gasless swap – with no additional costs from Robinhood.”
Horizen Labs launches “ZkVerify” as a “network dedicated to zero-knowledge proof verification”
May 23: Horizon Laboratoriesone of the main developers behind the Horizen blockchain, is launching “zkVerify, a dedicated zero-knowledge proof verification network designed for payment optimization, to address the largest expense that zkRollups and zkApps currently face that limits scalability and efficiency,” according to the team: “ZkVerify alleviates the computationally intensive proof verification, allowing blockchains to focus on core functions. It integrates with several SNARK test schemes and reduces verification costs by up to 91%. It currently supports Ethereum and Bitcoin L2, with plans to expand to other architectures. ZkVerify is now live on testnet.”
Cross-chain analog protocol, launches Testnet with $ANLOG incentives
May 23: Analoga layer-0 cross-chain communications protocol and Web3 data provider, has launched its incentivized testnet, awarding a minimum of 2% of the token supply to participants, according to the team: “Analog’s testnet is open to developers, community and validators. Participants can complete missions and climb the ATP leaderboard to share $ANLOG Allows developers to create dApps with a diverse range of tools while enabling true interoperability between any blockchain network. Analog’s core products form a powerful cross-chain development toolkit.
Solana-based DEX Zeta Markets now plans its own Layer-2 network
May 23: Zeta Markets, a Solana-based DEX for on-chain perpetual swap trading, is now planning its own layer-2 solution, “ZX,” described as an “optimistic rollup built on Solana,” according to the team. The mainnet launch is scheduled for early 2025. At the same time, Zeta will also release a detailed Litepaper outlining the architecture and features of ZX. According to a Press release: “ZX is an optimistic rollup based on Solana, using zero-knowledge (zk) proofs for reliable on-chain settlement… Key features of ZX include high throughput of up to 10,000 transactions per second, lower transaction confirmations at 10 milliseconds competitive with centralized major exchanges, seamless one-click trading, and up to 50x leverage with multiple collateral options.”
The ordered network expands to the Polygon PoS
May 23: Tidy networkdescribing himself as a “liquidity level without permission for Web3 trading,” has expanded to Polygon PoS collaborating with Quick exchangethe leading DEX on Polygon PoS, to launch: Falkor, according to the team: “This integration is a testament to our versatility, as it allows an AMM like QuickSwap to broaden its product offering and offer perpetual futures on Polygon PoS for the first time,” said Arjun Arora, COO, Orderly Network.
Launch of the River Protocol, from HNT Labs, co-founded by Ben Rubin of HouseParty, Meerkat
May 23: River protocol, created by HNT Labs, founded by Ben Rubin and Brian Meek, which received $33 million in funding from a16z Crypto, Benchmark and Framework, will launch on Thursday. Ben Rubin is the founder of HouseParty and Meerkat. According to the team: “The River protocol was designed for decentralized real-time messaging apps. River leverages an EVM-compatible L2 chain, decentralized off-chain nodes, end-to-end encryption, and smart contracts on Base. With River, Developers can create a wide range of products, including decentralized social networks, community governance platforms, secure messaging apps, and collaborative workspaces.”
The HAQQ-evmOS integration enables cross-chain with Cosmos and Ethereum
May 23: HAQQ networkdescribing itself as an “ethical Web3 DeFi ecosystem with one of the highest daily active user counts on Cosmos,” announced a “key partnership with evmOS, an EVM-compatible technology stack. Integrating evmOS functionality into the HAQQ network enables cross-compatibility with the Cosmos and Ethereum networks, providing HAQQ users and developers access to a broader range of DeFi functionality.”
Aptos Tips Launch of TruFin’s institutional-grade liquid staking solution, “TruStake”.
May 23: The team behind Aptos blockchain shared that “TruStake Aptos vault will allow users to stake their APT while maintaining flexibility and control of their assets, all within a permissioned environment that prioritizes security. Leveraging the scalability and performance of the blockchain Aptos, TruFin’s liquid staking solution will provide APT holders with the ability to generate staking rewards on their holdings and access additional return opportunities across DeFi protocols.”
Plume, Layer-2 blockchain for real-world assets, gets $10 million in seed funding from Haun, Galaxy
May 23: Blockchain vies for mainstream acceptance in theaters this week United States CongressA growing number of compliance-oriented crypto projects are hoping that a more favorable regulatory environment could soon lead to a surge in blockchain-based services. RWA, or real world assets. One of these startups, Plumehas raised $10 million in seed funding because what it says will be the first layer 2 blockchain created specifically for RWAs. The round was led by Haun Ventures and saw participation from Galaxy Ventures, Superscrypt, A Capital, SV Angel, Portal Ventures and Reciprocal Ventures.
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