Protocol Village: ARPA's Random Number Generator Launches on Base

Nov. 29: ARPA Network's random number generator (RNG), Randcast, has launched on Base, the layer-2 chain created by Coinbase, according to the team: "Following a recent integration with Optimism, Randcast is expanding its reach by adding new blockchains to reach a wider number of users and developers in an effort to create immersive online experiences. To ensure reliable randomness, Randcast employs multiple nodes in the ARPA Network to generate randomness through BLS Threshold signature tasks, which means that no single node has the ability to manipulate the final randomness result."

Protocol Village is a regular feature of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter exploring the tech behind crypto, one block at a time. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday. Project teams can submit updates here. For previous versions of Protocol Village, please go here.

Polychain-Backed Bioniq, Bitcoin NFT Marketplace, Launches

Nov. 29. "Toniq, a company building professional tools and services on the decentralized web, announced the launch of Bioniq, the world’s fastest Bitcoin-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, on the Internet Computer," according to a press release.

BNB Chain’s OpBNB Developers Look to More Than Double Speed in New Roadmap

Nov. 29: BNB Chain developers are looking to more than double the transaction speed and slash network fees by 90% as part of a new technical roadmap for layer-2 network opBNB, a representative shared with CoinDesk over email. The increase will take processing to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) from around 4,000 and cut the cost to $0.0005 within six months, according to the plan. The first fee cut, to $0.001 from $0.005, is scheduled for Dec. 4. [BNB]

Blockchain Messaging Platform Wormhole Raises $225M at $2.5B Valuation

Nov. 29: Wormhole, a developer platform that allows different blockchain networks to communicate with each other, has raised $225 million at a $2.5 valuation in a funding round reminiscent of the peak of the last crypto bull run. The funding round included a contribution from Wormhole's former overseers, Jump Trading, with Brevan Howard, Coinbase Ventures and Multicoin Capital among the backers.

Digital Asset Platform Coinchange Raises $10M to Scale API Yield Service

Nov. 29: Digital asset platform Coinchange has raised $10 million in Series B funding to scale its API-based yield service for bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and major stablecoins. The round was led by G1.VC, Spirit Blockchain, Good News Ventures, K2.CA and Atoia Ventures, with Mintfox also participating, according to an emailed announcement on Wednesday.

Chainlink Expands Staking Mechanism to 45M LINK

Nov. 28: Chainlink, the biggest blockchain oracle project, announced that the "v0.2" upgrade of its native staking mechanism is now live. According to a press release: "V0.2 features an expanded pool size of 45 million LINK in total, representing 8% of the current circulating supply, increasing the accessibility of Chainlink Staking to a more diverse audience of LINK token holders. Staking is a core initiative of Chainlink Economics 2.0, which is bringing a new layer of cryptoeconomic security to the Chainlink Network. Specifically, Chainlink Staking enables ecosystem participants, such as node operators and community members, to back the performance of oracle services with staked LINK and earn rewards for helping secure the network." There will be a nine-day Priority Migration period for existing v0.1 stakers, then progressively expanding to a broader scope of participants, with Early Access starting Dec. 7 and General Access on Dec. 11. [LINK]

Intersect Empowers Cardano Community with 2M ADA in Governance Project Grants

Nov. 28: Intersect, a member-based organization for the Cardano ecosystem, has announced a funding pool of 2 million ADA tokens ($760,000) to support projects that empower the community and foster active participation in the evolution of Cardano, according to the team: "Nearly 100 grants are planned to supercharge and expand community-led decision making for Cardano. The application window for various grant categories is now open, with this round focused on projects that create robust ways for the community to discuss improvement proposals for Cardano." [ADA]

A16z Backs Web3 Consumer App Setter in $5M Seed Round

Nov. 28: Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) led a $5 million seed round into Setter, a consumer app that allows brands to explore Web3-powered commerce. The app by New York-based Setter plans to help brands innovate how they promote exclusive products and provide customers with limited edition drops, the firm said in an emailed announcement on Tuesday.

Cube.Exchange Emerges From Private Beta to Early Access

Nov. 28: Cube.Exchange, a digital asset trading platform fusing TradFi with Web3, has emerged from private beta and launched into early access, according to the team: "Cube.Exchange's unique market structure, where users retain ownership over their assets through use of a proprietary MPC vault, ensures control of them and means withdrawals and trades are only possible if explicitly authorized. Most importantly, users’ assets are protected even in the event of insolvency."

Cross-Chain NFT Platform Magic Eden Plans Wallet Rollout

Nov. 28: Magic Eden, a cross-chain NFT platform, announced the rollout of Magic Eden Wallet, "the first digital wallet to be integrated directly with an NFT platform," according to the team. "Magic Eden aims to be the leading wallet for cross-chain collectors by making it easier than ever for anyone to collect any NFT on any chain, and to view and manage their entire digital collection without having to switch between multiple wallets. The full desktop browser extension is expected to launch to the general public in early 2024."

Econia, On-Chain Orderbook, Launches on Aptos Mainnet

Nov. 28: Econia, an on-chain order book on the Aptos blockchain, announced its mainnet launch, according to the team: "This follows the platform's successful testnet phase, which saw substantial engagement: over $7.6B in trading volume + 1000 active users. Econia enables unrestricted market registration, allowing for a wide range of trading pairs. Notably, its front-end partners and market makers are initially concentrating on the APT - lzUSDC pair, employing the Stargate bridge for the seamless integration of USDC into the Aptos ecosystem." [APT]

Contango Integrates With SparkLend

Nov. 28: Contango, a decentralized market known for building perpetual contracts (perps) on top of money markets, has recently announced its permissionless integration with SparkLend, according to the team: "Spark Protocol is governed by SparkDAO - the first functioning SubDAO of the MakerDAO ecosystem. Following this integration, users who trade Spark perpetual contracts on Contango can receive the upcoming SPK airdrop on Ethereum, according to the specified formula approved by Maker Governance. This is because all trades on Contango are made possible by borrowing and lending through SparkLend."

Nansen Upgrade Comes With 'Smart Segments' for Personalization

Nov. 28: Nansen, the blockchain analytics firm, has launched the Nansen 2 upgrade, according to the team: "This advanced version offers faster, smarter tools, elevating wallet and token analytics. Smart Segments enable personalized research by grouping wallets based on their activities. Enhanced AI features like Smart Search and Signals provide effortless data queries and highlight unusual token/NFT activity for actionable insights."

Pimlico Integrates Safe Accounts Via ERC-4337 Module

Nov. 28: Pimlico, a ERC-4337 infrastructure provider, which recently closed a $4.2 million seed funding round led by a16z crypto, is integrating Safe accounts via the newly launched ERC-4337 module from Safe, the leading smart account infrastructure provider. According to the team: "Safe’s module enables developers to turn the Safe smart account standard into an ERC-4337 smart account. Embedded in the Safe developer stack, Safe{Core}, the module will allow non-Web3 developers to offer Web3 functionalities in their Web2 consumer applications easily."

SSV.Network Hits 2K Validators With Over $100M ETH Staked in 2 Months

Nov. 28: SSV.Network, a decentralized Ethereum staking infrastructure provider, has surpassed 2,000 validators with over 50,000 ETH staked since the first staking app went live, according to the team, claiming it's "one of the fastest staking environments to hit 2K validators and $100 million TVL."

Truflation Integrates With Injective

Nov. 28: Truflation, an independent provider of verifiable economic data and indexes, is integrating with layer-1 blockchain Injective to provide data feeds for the pricing of real-world assets (RWAs) across the Injective ecosystem, according to the team: "Through this integration, any exchange or front-end application built on Injective's platform can now effortlessly launch RWA-based indexes in a fully decentralized and on-chain environment. Truflation’s data is already powering Injective’s Helix DEX, while it also plans to launch the first futures commodity index exchange on Injective." [INJ]

CoinTR Joins Forces with EOS to Lead Web3 Innovation in Turkey

Nov. 28: Just a month after CoinTR announced hiring of government officials, positioning itself as a compliant exchange in Turkey, they are now announcing a new partnership with EOS to lead Web3 innovation in the country. According to the team, partnership highlights include: "synergistic market growth, Turkish Web3 incubator launch, CoinTR Launchpad, EOS staking pool, ecosystem support." [EOS]

Movement Labs Says 'Move Virtual Machine' to Use Celestia, Snowman

Nov. 27: Movement Labs announced the launch of M2, "the first Move Virtual Machine L2 for Ethereum, scaled with Celestia as modular DA," according to the team: "M2 will enable developers to launch secure, performant and high-throughput Move VM rollups as easily as they do smart contracts. M2 integrates Celestia for data availability, Snowman for shared sequencing, and the Move Virtual Machine for execution, which is capable of 145k+ transactions per second as well as localized fee markets to mitigate gas spikes."

Nov. 27: Telos, a "delegated proof-of-stake" layer-1 blockchain, announced two key hires: "1) Lee Erswell as new CEO. Lee joins Telos after building the Swapsicle DEX and helping it recently surpass over $1M in TVL. His focus will be on bolstering Telos' DeFi ecosystem and overseeing the project's ZK infrastructure development. 2) Justin Edwards as head of gaming. Justin has over two decades of experience in technology/gaming, having been part of the team at Jagex that built RuneScape, before leading Lockwood Publishing as it built out popular F2P mobile games. Last year, Justin served as COO of DCL and led operations for the entire virtual world's ecosystem."