Friday, Oct. 18
Drop Protocol, Liquid Staking Protocol on Neutron (in Cosmos Ecosystem), Closes $4M Seed Round
Drop Protocol , a liquid staking protocol for interchain assets, announced the close of a $4 million seed round led by CoinFund. The round was led by CoinFund, with additional backing from CMS Holdings, Anagram, Interop Ventures and Cosmostation. Notable angel investors include Vasiliy Shapovalov (Co-founder of Lido DAO), Mustafa Al-Bassam (Co-founder of Celestia Labs), and Jon Kol (CEO of Abacus Labs, a core contributor to Hyperlane). The Drop team is led by former Lido and P2P contributors, and the protocol is built as an integrated application on Neutron , which is turn built using the Cosmos SDK blockchain framework.
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Thursday, Oct. 17
Opacity, Aiming to Launch 'Verified Data Network' Powered by zkTLS Technology, Raises $12M
Opacity , a startup project aiming to launch a verified data network (VDN), has raised $12 million in a seed round , led by Archetype and Breyer Capital, with participation from a16z CSX. According to the team: "The VDN, powered by zkTLS, MPC architecture and economic security from EigenLayer, allows users to verify and privately share data from anywhere on the internet. Live use cases include partnerships with Nosh (DoorDash competitor onboarding new users with verified ratings and driver data) and Daisy (Influencer marketing platform verifying Tiktok activity to reward viral flyweels of engagement)."
Fuel, Rollup Project Praised by Vitalik Buterin, Launches L2 'Ignition' on Mainnet
Fuel Labs , developer of an operating system purpose-built for Ethereum rollups , announced the mainnet launch of Fuel Ignition, its flagship Ethereum layer 2. According to the team: "Ignition is designed to address a creeping centralization infecting blockchain ecosystems by delivering a new high performance architecture to Ethereum that runs on affordable consumer hardware. The Fuel architecture features parallel transaction capabilities that deliver 21,000+ Transactions Per Second (TPS) per core stemming from its novel virtual machine architecture, the FuelVM and an Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) based asset-centric transaction model." According to the project documentation : "We embrace the UTXO model while supporting full Turing-complete smart contracts with persistent storage. We solve this problem by making stateful smart contracts an input for Fuel transactions. Contracts have persistent storage and can own native assets. Users consume contracts by using the contracts as input for transactions. Then, users can call various external functions attached to contracts via the ephemeral script attached to the transaction. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Fuel was cited a few weeks ago by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin as "one of only two stage 2 rollups today," in a post on X .]
ZkPass, Oracle Protocol for Verifiable Web Private Data, Raises $12.5M
ZkPass , an oracle protocol enabling verifiable web private data, announced a $12.5 million Series A fundraise . Investors include dao5, CE Innovation Capital, Animoca Brands, L2 Iterative Ventures (L2IV), UOB Venture Management, Flow Traders, Amber Group, Leland Ventures, IOBC Capital, Signum Capital, Bing Ventures, MH Ventures, WAGMI Ventures, Taisu Ventures, Ceras Ventures and GCR. This brings zkPass's total funding to $15M to date. According to the team : "The capital will accelerate development and adoption of zkTLS, zkPass's oracle solution designed to revolutionize secure cross-ecosystem data exchange."
Walrus Protocol, for Decentralized Data Storage, Launches Testnet on Sui, Lures Akord From Arweave
Walrus Protocol , a decentralized data storage network whose original contributor is Sui developer Mysten Labs, has launched its public testnet on Sui, "providing a management architecture for Walrus to store its global state and metadata that offers speedy consensus, composability and the opportunity to integrate storage into smart contracts," according to the team . Also, "Akord, a secure storage and collaboration platform that provides user-friendly, cost-effective, and decentralized storage solutions, will be migrating from Arweave to Walrus within the next week."
Hyve, Blockchain DA Project Secured by Symbiotic, Closes $1.85M Pre-Seed Round
Hyve , a blockchain data availability (DA) provider secured by the restaking protocol Symbiotic , has closed its $1.85 million pre-seed round, led by Lemniscap, with participation from Paper Ventures, Frachtis and others. Hyve is addressing growing demand for secure, scalable and cost-effective data availability, which has intensified following the rapid proliferation of dApps and L2 solutions. Hyve’s signature solution, HyveDA, is a fully permissionless data availability layer which offers 1 GB per second throughput from the get go, aiming to drastically increase this to 50+ GB/s as the network grows.
Conduit Launches New G2 Sequencer, Claiming Capability of 50-100 Mgas/s
On-chain computing company Conduit has launched the new G2 Sequencer , describing it as a "10x more powerful sequencer than existing versions for rollup frameworks, providing 100x the computing of Ethereum and enabling blockchain apps to run faster with no additional costs," according to the team: "Sophisticated apps like Web3 games, DeFi protocols and social apps struggle to operate on-chain due to computational limitations. G2 enables the development of complex applications, with existing frameworks. It sustains ultra-high throughput when user activity spikes, ensuring on-chain apps maintain performance and stay affordable." According to a blog post, the new sequencer is capable of 50-100 Mgas/s.
Dynex, Blockchain for Quantum Computing, Unveils Roadmap, Plans 2025 Release of Apollo Chip
Dynex , a layer-1 blockchain for decentralized quantum computing, powered by a decentralized GPU network, has unveiled what it describes as an "ambitious 10-year roadmap to transition from GPU-based quantum emulation to silicon quantum chips, aiming to capture 25% of the quantum computing market by 2034." According to the team, "The company has launched a $50 million venture capital round to attract top-tier investors. Dynex plans to release its first Apollo Silicon Quantum Chip by 2025, scaling up to 1 million qubits by 2034 to enable real-time quantum computations. Upholding ethical standards, Dynex ensures transparency and security by recording computations immutably on the blockchain, with DNX as its utility token." The project documentation states: "The company's decentralized quantum platform, combined with its silicon-based hardware solutions, represents a future-proof approach to quantum computing." The project focuses on "neuromorphic quantum computing," which "utilizes ion drifting of electrons," according to the website .
Cross-Chain Protocol Orbiter Finance Announces Launch of ZK Aggregation Layer Vizing
PROTOCOL VILLAGE EXCLUSIVE: Orbiter Finance , a cross-chain protocol, announced the launch of Vizing, a ZK aggregation layer specifically built for Ethereum rollups. According to the team : "This solution delivers significant performance improvements to zkEVM prover generation times, achieving nearly a 50% reduction through the power of GPU acceleration. In a research paper, the team outlines developed optimizations to speed up the computationally intensive phases of generating zkEVM proofs using graphics processing units (GPUs)."
Blockchain Sports Project Chiliz to Integrate Tools for Wallet, Minting, Payment
PROTOCOL VILLAGE EXCLUSIVE: Chiliz Group , the leading blockchain for sports, announced a collaboration with Crossmint , integrating its suite of wallet, minting and payment tools, becoming Crossmint’s chain for pro sports, according to the team : "Crossmint allows enterprises to build on-chain applications for mainstream users via simple APIs and no-code dashboards. Crossmint client, LDV Innovation, which works with sports properties worldwide, will also move to Chiliz Chain. Chiliz is partnered with giants such as FC Barcelona, PSG and Arsenal."
Hermetica, Creator of Bitcoin-Backed Stablecoin on Stacks, Secures $1.7M in Seed Round
Hermetica , creator of the bitcoin-backed yield-bearing stablecoin USDh, has secured $1.7 million in a seed funding round led by UTXO Management, with additional support from investors including CMS holdings, Ethos fund, according to the team. As reported in Protocol Village on Sept. 26 , the project launched USDh on the Stacks layer-2 network, claiming to be first to market with the bitcoin-backed stablecoin.
Aleph Zero, Privacy Blockchain Integrated With Substrate Stack, Launches 'Shielding' on EVM Testnet
Aleph Zero , a privacy-enhancing public blockchain featuring integration with the Substrate stack , has launched "Shielding" on its EVM Testnet, enabling private DeFi transactions through client-side zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), according to the team: "Unlike typical server-side ZKPs, Aleph Zero’s zkOS generates proofs directly on the user's device in 0.5-3 seconds, ensuring data remains private on the user’s device. A demo lets users experience zkOS's privacy and speed firsthand. Shielding marks a step toward Aleph Zero's goal of user-centered privacy, simplifying integration for developers and balancing user confidentiality with regulatory requirements."
New Foundation 'Exponential Science' to Explore Convergence of Blockchain, AI, Quantum Computing
Academics Paolo Tasca and Nikhil Vadgama have founded Exponential Science , a non-profit foundation supported by Hedera that aims to accelerate the convergence of blockchain with AI and other emerging technologies, according to the team: "Through collaboration, Exponential Science seeks to tackle complex societal challenges and drive groundbreaking innovations. Leveraging the expertise of its founders and a team of international experts, the foundation will conduct research and develop innovative solutions, including the new MiCA Crypto Alliance."
Saakuru Labs, Memecore Announce $10M Joint Fund to Invest in Gaming Projects
Saakuru Labs and Memecore have announced the launch of a $10 million joint fund to invest in gaming projects and communities, aimed at expanding their respective ecosystems. According to the team : "This partnership will enhance decentralized applications (dApps) on Saakuru's layer-2 protocol and increase activity on Memecore’s layer-1 platform. The fund offers game developers capital, incubation, and strategic support, helping them grow and innovate in blockchain gaming. Both companies will use their expertise and networks to scale promising game studios."
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