Protocol Village: Arcana Announces 'Chain Abstraction Protocol' to Remove 'Complexities of Bridging'

June 19: Arcana Network, which is building a modular layer-1 blockchain aiming to help developers improve the Web3 user experience, announced the launch of its "Chain Abstraction protocol," according to the team: "The new protocol will help streamline the management of crypto assets across multiple blockchains, enabling users to effortlessly execute transactions on any chain by removing the complexities of bridging, promising a seamless and highly user-friendly multichain experience. The Chain Abstraction protocol will significantly impact blockchain technology's evolution and mainstream acceptance."

Sophon and Aethir Agree on Cross-Launch, Node Swap

June 19: Sophon, an entertainment-focused blockchain ecosystem, and Aethir, a network for redistributing underutilized GPU computing capacity, announced a "strategic collaboration between the two networks, connecting the 800,000 strong Aethir decentralized compute community with the over 3 million users who signed up for Sophon’s pre-launch campaigns," according to the team: "As part of the collaboration, Aethir will be launching on Sophon soon after its mainnet, scheduled for the third quarter of this year. In addition, the projects will execute a node swap between the two communities, as both recently completed highly successful node sales to the public."

Marinade, on Solana, Introduces 'Stake Auction Marketplace' in V2 Upgrade

June 19: Marinade, describing itself as "Solana's first liquid and native staking protocol," is introducing Stake Auction Marketplace (SAM) as a part of its V2 upgrade, according to the team: "SAM is an open public auction platform where stakers delegate their stake for validators to bid on, empowering users to maximize staking yields and make Solana more decentralized. SAM is the first of its kind that maximizes staking yields, elevates the Solana staking experience and promotes network decentralization."

APhone, Powered by Decentralized GPU Cloud Tech, Plans App Store 'AppNest'

June 19: APhone, an app-based smartphone powered by decentralized cloud GPU technology, "is gearing up to announce the launch of its app store, AppNest," according to the team: "The platform takes aim at Google and Apple's centralized approach, offering Web3 and Web2 apps a place to deploy without the exorbitant fees or censorship typically associated with traditional app stores."

Shutter Says Gnosis to Integrate 'Anti-Front-Running Solution,' Featuring Mempool Encryption

June 19: Shutter, an open-source protocol initially developed by Brainbot and focused on preventing malicious maximal extractable value (MEV) attacks, has "launched a new anti-front-running solution using mempool encryption to combat the exploitation of nearly $900 million taken from crypto trades annually," according to the team: "Partnering with Gnosis, Shutter will be integrated into the fully EVM-compatible layer-1 Gnosis Chain, to protect end-user transactions from front-running and sandwich attacks, shielding traders from malicious MEV activities that can result in significant monetary loss and unfair influence."

Bondex Announces $10M Raised in Investment Rounds

June 19: Bondex, a Web3 professional network, announced it has raised over $10 million in investment rounds. According to the team: "These rounds were led by prominent venture capital firms such as Animoca Brands and MorningStar Ventures Morningstar, Dext Force Ventures, CoinList and more. Bondex has onboarded multiple recruiting partners onto its platform, with brands such as Binance, Blockchain.com, Chainlink, Ankr, and more actively hiring. According to the team: "Most of the new capital will be used to enhance the platform and its integration within the web3 as well as the web2 ecosystems,hoping to take on legacy recruitment platforms with a twist of blockchain."

Maverick Protocol Launches 'v2' Featuring 'Liquidity Operating System'

June 19: Maverick Protocol today launched Maverick v2, a decentralized liquidity infrastructure built to support the next phase of DeFi, according to the team: "Building on the foundation of DeFi’s most capital-efficient automated market maker (AMM), Maverick developed this first-of-its-kind 'liquidity operating system' to provide token projects, liquidity providers (LPs), and blockchain ecosystems the tools to implement greater control over their liquidity strategies and improve capital efficiency. Token partners launching Maverick v2 pools and liquidity incentives include Ethena Labs, Etherfi, Lido, Liquidity and Swell."

Figment Uses 'Staking Guard' from Solidus Labs to Scrub Malicious Transactions

June 19: Figment, a staking-as-a-service provider, is partnering with Solidus Labs, a crypto security and compliance firm, to bolster Figment's compliant staking capabilities, according to the team: "Solidus Labs has developed Staking Guard, a new tool that scrubs blocks on Ethereum of malicious or illicit transactions, delivering compliant blocks for validators who work with Figment to ensure they are not validating non-compliant transactions. This is crucial for the future of Staking as regulators across the globe focus in on this issue, from the U.S. ETH ETFs, to MEV abuse under MiCA and more."

Marathon's Layer-2 Chain, Anduro, Plugs In 'Portal to Bitcoin' for Atomic Swaps

June 19: Anduro, a multi-chain layer-2 network incubated by bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), has incorporated the decentralized exchange (DEX) network Portal to Bitcoin – formerly known simply as Portal – with the goal of enhancing utility on the world's oldest blockchain network. Publicly-traded Marathon began incubating Anduro in February as a "platform built on the Bitcoin network that allows for the creation of multiple sidechains." The integration with a San Francisco-based fintech provider DEX network coincides with a renaming of the project to Portal to Bitcoin, according to an emailed announcement shared with CoinDesk on Wednesday. (BTC)

Carv, Modular Data Layer for Gaming, AI, Raises at Least $34M in Node Sale

June 19: CARV, a modular data layer for gaming and AI, has raised at least $34 million in community-backed sales since its verifier node offering went public on June 5, according to the team: "With 38,000 nodes distributed, the ongoing sale offers vital platform and protocol decentralization. Nodes empower the CARV community as stakeholders, enabling users to own, control and monetize their data while enterprises can innovate based on high-quality information. The node sale saw involvement from gaming giants like Animoca Brands, IntellaX of Neowiz, and doublejump.tokyo, and follows April’s $10 million Series A with Tribe Capital and Consensys."

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. Also please check out our weekly The Protocol podcast.

Sui Developer Unveils Preview of 'Walrus' Data-Storage Platform

June 18: Mysten Labs, the primary developer behind the Sui blockchain, unveiled a developer preview of "Walrus," a new decentralized data-storage and data-availability (DA) platform. According the project documentation: "Walrus provides two key benefits:

• Cost-Effective Blob Storage: Walrus allows for the uploading of gigabytes of data at a time with minimal cost, making it an ideal solution for storing large volumes of data. Walrus can do this because the data blob is transmitted only once over the network, and storage nodes only spend a fraction of resources compared to the blob size. As a result, the more storage nodes the system has, the fewer resources each storage node uses per blob.
• High Availability and Robustness: Data stored on Walrus enjoys enhanced reliability and availability under fault conditions. Data recovery is still possible even if two-thirds of the storage nodes crash or come under adversarial control. Further, availability may be certified efficiently without downloading the full blob."

Ronin Chain, From Axie Infinity Creator, to Launch zkEVM With Polygon Tech

June 18: Ronin, a gaming-focused blockchain developed by Sky Mavis, creator of the Axie Infinity play-to-earn game, announced the upcoming launch of a new zkEVM, which is an Ethereum-compatible zero-knowledge rollup network. It will be built with a Sky Mavis-modified version of the open-sourced Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK), according to a press release: "By building a dedicated ZK blockchain, the Ronin network will be able to serve infinitely more users, supporting the rapid growth of its thriving game studio partners and further enhancing the permissionless environment to onboard more gaming experiences. Additional plans include enshrining a Polygon ZK prover directly into Ronin to provide a turnkey solution for game studios to easily build their own zkEVM blockchains on Ronin without needing to establish their own security and consensus."

Polyhedra's Rolls Out 'D-Expander' for ZK Proof Efficiency, Performance

June 18: Polyhedra Network, a blockchain interoperability project built around zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography, announced the latest step in its mission to make ZK tech easily accessible to all with the rollout of its new "D-Expander," according to the team: "With distributed computing it decreases memory requirements for executing a ZK proof, reducing cost, and allows machines of any size to participate in the proof generation process while creating a > 500% increase in overall memory performance. Solves the problems of cost and computational power by enhancing memory performance, allows for less memory used per proof execution, makes processes cheaper and easier for networks to execute and allows a wider group to access ZK tech."

Helium Launches 'Mobile Technology Licensing Program'

June 18: Helium Mobile, a project focused on decentralized wireless connectivity, has launched its tech stack licensing program for device manufacturers, according to the team. "With the Helium Mobile Technology Licensing Program, hardware manufacturers can accelerate their time to market for launching Helium Network-compatible hardware to offload mobile traffic," according to Helium's website. "By joining the program, manufacturers can deliver products, such as Hotspots, that expand mobile coverage on the Helium Network, playing a crucial role in diversifying the number of available devices and promoting network expansion."

Synthetix Launches on Arbitrum, Adding to Chains Beyond Ethereum

June 18: Synthetix, a decentralized liquidity protocol on Ethereum and Optimism, is launching on Arbitrum, "expanding its V3 liquidity layer and turnkey protocol for creating perpetual futures and derivatives to one of the leading ecosystems for derivatives trading," according to the team. "This deployment marks a significant milestone in Synthetix's multi-chain strategy, following its successful expansion into Base earlier this year. Some key details include: collateral provision & incentives, reward opportunities, stablecoin minting and additional incentives."

Injective, Layer 1 With Cosmos Tech, Integrates With Blockchain-Indexing Project The Graph

June 18: Injective, a layer-1 blockchain built with Cosmos technology, has integrated The Graph’s decentralized network, utilizing Firehose and Substreams, according to the team: "This collaboration revolutionizes on-chain data accessibility for millions of developers globally, enabling them to build dynamic, responsive dApps with unprecedented efficiency. As the first IBC-compatible chain to leverage Substreams-powered subgraphs, Injective sets a new standard for developer capabilities and data accessibility in Web3." (INJ)

DYdX 'v5.0.0' Upgrade Brings Isolated Markets, 'Slinky' Price Oracle, Batch Order Cancellation

June 18: DYdX Chain was upgraded on June 6 to v5.0.0 after a community vote on June 3, according to messages from the team this week: "The upgrade includes isolated markets and margin for improved risk management, the Slinky price oracle for real-time price updates, batch order cancellation, liquidity vaults and performance enhancements. The update expands tradable markets to over 800 from 20, including Solana meme coins, and introduces an Android trading app, enhancing mobile accessibility."

Renzo Capitalizes on Restaking Frenzy to Raise $17M From Galaxy, Brevan Howard

June 18: Liquid restaking protocol Renzo shared Tuesday that it has raised $17 million in a funding round, according to a press release shared exclusively with CoinDesk. The fresh capital, which took place over two rounds, was led by Galaxy Ventures in the first round and by Brevan Howard Digital Nova Fund in the second. Funds will be used towards expanding the project's restaking services, including adding support for ERC-20 tokens.

BOB, Bitcoin-Oriented Layer-2 Chain Built on OP Stack, Launches 'Gateway' for BTC Bridging

June 18: BOB, an Ethereum-compatible layer-2 network built with Optimism's OP Stack and aiming to eventually settle transactions on Bitcoin, has launched BOB Gateway, a "product that allows users to swap BTC into wrapped BTC and L2 BTC via a single, unified interface, solving the user experience issue plaguing most bridges by hiding the complexities and allowing users to earn yield on their BTC faster than ever before," according to the team. "BOB Gateway aims to maximize Bitcoin's DeFi utility by providing an efficient and user-friendly experience and enables one-click yield strategies to empower users to deploy complex BTC yield strategies with a single Bitcoin transaction. According to BOB's documentation, the project's backers include Castle Island Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Mechanism Capital and Bankless Ventures.

Sonic, Gaming-Focused Layer-2 Chain on Solana, Raises $12M

June 18: Sonic, a gaming-focused layer-2 blockchain atop Solana, has raised $12 million in a fundraising. The Series A round was led by Bitkraft and joined by investors including Galaxy Interactive and Big Brain Holdings, according to a press release. The money will be used for growth initiatives for the Sonic protocol, which comes with "built-in mechanisms designed specifically for game development and execution on Solana, such as a sandbox environment, customizable gaming primitives and extensible data types, all while boasting the fastest on-chain-gaming experience," according to the press release.

Internet Computer Introduces 'Verifiable Credentials'

June 18: Internet Computer Protocol (ICP), a smart-contracts blockchain, has introduced Verifiable Credentials (VCs), which "enable the issuers of physical credentials to offer credentials online by following an open standard, which makes the credentials tamper-proof, privacy-preserving, and interoperable across different systems and contexts," according to a blog post. "Verifiable Credentials also bring with them the first application designed to prevent the manipulation of public discourse on social media by eliminating the problem of bots and fake accounts, a crucial mission given that nearly half the global population is set to vote in national elections in 2024," according to a message from the team. (ICP)

Polkadot Community Approves 'Jam' Architecture, $65M Development Fund

June 17: Polkadot's decentralized governance approved the Join-Accumulate Machine (JAM) protocol as the network's future architecture, according to the team: "JAM, a minimalist blockchain concept, will support secure rollup domain-specific chains and offer synchronous composability across services. To encourage development, Web3 Foundation launched the JAM Implementer’s Prize, a 10 million DOT fund (~$64.7M USD), for creating diverse JAM implementations. This initiative aims to enhance scalability and flexibility in blockchain applications, integrating elements from Polkadot and Ethereum for a versatile, secure environment." The JAM "gray paper" by Polkadot founder Gavin Wood is here. (DOT)

Nuklai, Data Sharing Blockchain, Hires Polygon Alum Ayomide to Head Developer Relations

Jun 17: Nuklai, a layer-1 blockchain for data-sharing, has hired Shodipo Ayomide, the former global head for developer advocacy of Polygon, as its new head of developer relations, according to the team: "He will be building a community of developers and builders in this AI blockchain ecosystem. Shodipo will oversee contributors to Nuklai’s open-source components and encourage development on Nuklai’s platform. With the recent launch of HelixVM testnet, his experience from Polygon and Concordium will be the key in driving developer adoption."

Chiliz Chain's 'Dragon 8 Hard Fork,' With New Fee-Burning Mechanism, Goes Live

June 17: Chiliz Chain's Dragon8 hard fork, described as "a critical update heralding a new era with substantial tech enhancements and a sophisticated new tokenomics model," is now live, according to the team: "Tokenomics 2.0 features an annual inflation rate that begins at 8.8% and gradually decreases to stabilize at 1.88%. A key component is a transaction-fee-burning mechanism designed to provide a balanced incentive structure to foster immediate participation and long-term commitment. The hard fork also introduces developer-oriented advancements like the latest version of Solidity, enabling developers to utilize new opcodes and precompiles."

Manta Foundation Launches $50M EcoFund and Ecosystem Grant Program

June 13: The Manta Foundation, supporting the Manta Network family of zero-knowledge-cryptography-focused blockchains, has launched a $50 million EcoFund and Ecosystem Grant Program to support early-stage blockchain projects globally, according to the team: "Manta aims to foster a rich and dynamic ecosystem where projects can contribute to and benefit from the Manta Network. This fund will target high-potential areas like AI, ZK and DePINs to maximize the impact on the ecosystem, driving growth and technological advancements in these key areas and more. Manta is extremely committed to nurturing emerging projects and this approach will help to ensure Manta remains at the forefront of dApps."

Movement Labs Announces 'Battle of Olympus' Hackathon

June 13: Movement Labs announced the launch of "Battle of Olympus," an innovative hackathon designed to "drive the growth and adoption of Movement, the first modular network of Move-based blockchains," according to the team: "The hackathon will run from July 17 to Sept. 17. The Battle of Olympus is a key component of Movement Labs' broader Road to Parthenon initiative, a community program aimed at fostering the development of a robust and thriving ecosystem on Movement Labs' eventual mainnet. The hackathon features a gamified structure, with participants earning points and rewards as they progress."

McLaren Data Tracker on Minima Blockchain Could Prevent Race Car Cheating

June 13: Minima, describing itself as the only blockchain lightweight enough to run entirely on mobile and device chips, says it's working with Influx Technology to integrate a data tracker into a McLaren GT4 – a capability that could improve racing performance as well as prevent cheating. According to a press release: "Data points on over 20 parameters including vehicle ignition timing, braking, oil pressure, engine temperature, steering angle and rotation, as well as gear switching, are collected by the ‘DePIN Data Logger’ in real time…. Minima's innovative blockchain design secures the hash of the data, proving its history and integrity, while the actual data is stored on the device or in cloud storage, independent of validators' permissions. Due to the low requirements to validate the data on the blockchain, any IoT device can operate a full node and collect its data. This allows data to be verified by other nodes on the network while being stored on the device itself."

Polygon Labs Completes Spinout of ID Solution as 'Privado'

June 13: Polygon Labs, primary developer behind Ethereum scaling project Polygon, has completed its spinout of its ID solution as "Privado ID," according to a press release. The "protocol-agnostic design, from the team behind the Iden3 Protocol and Polygon ID, is posed for expansion beyond the Polygon networks.... Privado ID is actively establishing strategic partnerships with onchain and institutional organizations alike. These include notable proof-of-concepts (PoC) with several multinational banking and financial service companies, aimed at establishing the technical groundwork for interoperable and compliant identity frameworks.... The PoCs also explore leveraging Privado ID’s verifiable credentials (VCs) as the access control point for permissioned financial transactions." (MATIC)

Graph Foundation 'Sunrise' Initiative Eliminates Centralized Hosted Service

June 13: Graph Foundation, stewarding core devs of blockchain-indexing project The Graph Network, completed its Sunrise initiative, "fully decentralizing Web3’s data layer," according to a message from the team: "This milestone marks the protocol's maturity, eliminating the limitations of a centralized hosted service 'training wheels.'" According to the project documentation, "The goal is to enable subgraph developers to seamlessly upgrade to The Graph’s decentralized network.... Hosted service endpoints will no longer be available after June 12." A Sunrise Upgrade program is available until June 20."

Livepeer.AI Starts Three-Month Grants Program for 'Generative Video Innovation'

June 13: Livepeer AI, an AI-focused affiliate of decentralized video-streaming network Livepeer, has launched grants for generative video innovation, according to the team: "The three-month program offers hands-on development support to bring generative AI projects to market. Accepted projects receive a $20,000 grant, plus $20,000 infrastructure budget for AI processing, which often becomes a top expense as AI projects attempt to scale. Applications are open now and accepted on a rolling basis.... Existing projects looking to integrate generative video into their products are encouraged to apply.