Author: Jeremy Ryan

VeChain hackathon at Cambridge sets new industry standards. 52 projects launched, $30,000 prize, 250+ participants showcase blockchain innovation. Winners address sustainability: Meatless, Carbonic, DishDeal tackle food-related challenges. The recent VeChain hackathon at Cambridge University has left a lasting mark on the blockchain community, setting new standards for innovation and collaboration. With a record-breaking turnout of over 250 participants, the event showcased the immense talent and creativity within the blockchain space. From the line stretching round the block to the projects launched, our @vechainofficial x @BCG hackathon at Cambridge Uni was one for the history books ????✅ 52 projects launched on…

Square Enix, the renowned gaming company behind the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises, has recently invested significantly in HyperPlay, a Web3 gaming platform. This strategic partnership between Square Enix and HyperPlay aims to transform the gaming industry by expanding and scaling the HyperPlay game store, making games more accessible to players worldwide.A Strategic InvestmentWith this partnership, Square Enix plans to launch “SYMBIOGENESIS” on the HyperPlay storefront. This unique gaming experience focuses on digital asset ownership and aims to provide players with a new level of immersion and control over their gaming experience.This investment is part of Square Enix’s broader…

Ethereum layer-2 scaling network Optimism has announced that it will begin testing out its fault proof system on Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet, with plans to deploy this on the Ethereum mainnet within the year. Optimism currently lacks fully operational fault proofs, requiring users to trust the protocol’s programming or the “security council” that oversees the network to keep withdrawals secure. This has, in turn, exposed Optimism to criticism from advocates of rival blockchains. What are fault proofs? Fault proofs are a crucial component of rollup networks like Optimism, which bundle user transactions and settle them on Ethereum for lower costs. These…

Gnosis Venture Studios, a branch of Gnosis known for developing on-chain finance solutions like Safe and Gnosis Pay, has unveiled uRamp. URamp is a new platform that facilitates transactions between on-chain assets and traditional fiat currencies. Low-cost on- and off-ramps have remained a barrier to adoption for Web3 dapps, as most users are funneled through crypto exchanges or dedicated applications with relatively high onboarding fees like MoonPay, which charges 1% for bank transfers and 4.5% for Visa cards. URamp is Gnosis’ attempt to simplify the user experience of going between fiat currency and crypto, via its partnership with licensed stablecoin…

MXS Games, a PC and mobile-based gaming studio, is reportedly launching a gaming forum on Avalanche. Avalanche took to X to disclose that the purpose of the new gaming forum would be the provision of player-centric and fairer games with the use of blockchain technology. The respective project will minimize the requirement for the utilization of complicated Web3 instruments. .@metaxseed is gearing up for mainnet launch on Avalanche and is aiming for a fairer, player-centric gaming platform.MXS Games rapidly went from testing its Subnet to gearing up for launch–all thanks to @AvaCloud. https://t.co/k0o2Levoq4 — Avalanche ???? (@avax) March 19, 2024…

The Solana Foundation has announced several recommendations that developers should follow to cope with the high usage that the network is currently experiencing. The foundation recommended implementing priority fees, and a series of optimizations to avoid dropping transactions. Also, an improved transaction scheduler is expected to be included in the next update. Solana Foundation Makes Recommendations for Optimized Block Usage The Solana Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the adoption of the Solana ecosystem, has made some recommendations to maintain the “high performance” of the Solana network, which has faced high usage during these last weeks. While Solana has not…

Polygon Labs paid $4 million to host Starbucks Odyssey, the NFT-powered loyalty program that made headlines as a crypto biz-dev coup. The deal was a hallmark of a “big and flashy” business development strategy that Polygon has since abandoned, people familiar with the matter said. Companies usually pay their tech vendors for services rendered. For Starbucks’ soon-to-be-defunct foray into crypto on the Polygon network, it was the other way around. Polygon Labs paid $4 million to the coffee giant in 2022 as part of their deal to build and host a blockchain-based loyalty program, Starbucks Odyssey, on the Polygon network,…

One of the biggest rollup networks on Ethereum is finally gearing up its systems for prime time. Optimism, a “layer-2” blockchain, bundles up user transactions and settles them on Ethereum for cheap. It has played a lead role in expanding accessibility to the second-largest blockchain ecosystem by market capitalization – and serves as the template for the publicly traded crypto exchange Coinbase’s own layer-2 network, Base. But there’s a catch to using Optimism today: Fault proofs, a component of the setup considered crucial for security, don’t even exist. That’s soon set to change. On Tuesday, OP Labs, the main development…

In a landmark development, Stake DAO has unveiled its collaboration with Chainlink, integrating the Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) to facilitate seamless cross-chain transfers of the Stake DAO Token (SDT). This integration marks a significant milestone, extending across key blockchains such as Arbitrum, BNB Chain, and Ethereum mainnets. By leveraging CCIP’s Simplified Token Transfer capabilities, Stake DAO is setting a new standard in interoperability, ensuring secure and efficient transactions within its ecosystem. Enhancing Security and Accessibility with CCIP Stake DAO’s choice of CCIP underscores a commitment to unparalleled security and reliability in cross-chain operations. Chainlink’s stellar reputation for maintaining robust…

Fuel Labs, the creators behind the pioneering optimistic rollup Fuel v1, have joined forces with Graviton, a prominent Web3 accelerator in India, to propel the growth of the second volume of Web3 startups. This collaboration follows a two-month nationwide scouting initiative across major cities like New Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, and Bangalore.—Newly selected teams, including Ultimate Digits, Evolv Art, Quantlytica, Nexity Network, Allocate Back, GameLand, and Stake-n-Bake, have risen to prominence, demonstrating their potential to become the next wave of successful Graviton-backed startups.The previous cohort of Graviton-backed startups showcased remarkable results, spanning Web3 infrastructure tools, DeFi solutions, payments &…