Ultra-Low-Cost Degen Chain Debuted for Degen Community

Degen, a community token project, and Syndicate, a Web3 infrastructure provider, have launched Degen Chain, an ultra-low-cost L3 for the $DEGEN community built with Arbitrum Orbit, Base for settlement, and AnyTrust for data availability. The chain's native gas token is $DEGEN, making it one of the first community tokens with its own L3. The Degen and Syndicate teams will support builders on Degen Chain with developer tools like Syndicate’s Transaction Cloud APIs, offering free gas for developers on Degen Chain.

Degen Chain: An Ultra-Low-Cost L3 for the Degen Community

Degen, a community token within the Farcaster ecosystem, and Syndicate, a Web3 infrastructure provider, have collaborated to launch Degen Chain, an ultra-low-cost L3 specifically designed for the $DEGEN community. This L3 is built on Arbitrum Orbit, Base for settlement, and AnyTrust for data availability.

Notably, $DEGEN is the native gas token for Degen Chain, making it one of the first community tokens to have its own L3. The Degen and Syndicate teams are committed to supporting developers on Degen Chain by providing them with developer tools such as Syndicate's Transaction Cloud APIs. Additionally, they are offering free gas for developers on Degen Chain.

Cryptocurrency Losses Narrow in Q1 2024, Immunefi Report Indicates

Immunefi, a bug bounty and security services platform safeguarding over $60 billion in Web3 assets, has released its Crypto Losses in Q1 2024 report. The report indicates a loss of $336 million to hacks and rug pulls year-to-date, representing a 23% decrease compared to the same period in 2023.

Defi platforms were the primary target for attacks, accounting for 100% of cases, while CeFi platforms experienced no incidents. Hacks remained the predominant cause of losses, totaling $321 million, while frauds accounted for a smaller portion. Ethereum and BNB Chain were the most targeted chains.

Tezos Validators to Vote on Protocol Upgrade Proposals for Enhanced Performance

Tezos blockchain validators will soon vote on protocol upgrade proposals published on Thursday. Codenamed Paris A and B, these proposals aim to enhance the network's performance by lowering latency, reducing blocktime to 10 seconds, and activating the DAL to boost throughput and scalability at layer 2.

While both proposals include these core upgrades, they differ on a proposed overhaul of Proof-of-Stake fundamentals. Paris B includes automatic adjustment of token issuance based on an on-chain market for staked funds, while Paris A offers validators the flexibility to activate these features later via an on-chain voting mechanism.

Edgeless Network Introduces No Application Layer Fees, Powered by Arbitrum Nitro

Edgeless Foundation has unveiled the Edgeless Network, which it describes as "the first ever crypto ecosystem without application layer fees, powered by Arbitrum Nitro." By utilizing Arbitrum Nitro, Edgeless has gained the freedom to customize its L2 infrastructure and maintain extremely low gas fees (averaging below $0.01) through EigenLayer data availability.

Edgeless shares these sequencer fees with developers, ensuring they receive a direct share of the economic value they contribute to the network. Additionally, Edgeless employs ezETH by Renzo and a Stable coin to provide yield earned on bridged assets to developers building on the Edgeless Ecosystem.

Yolo Investments Pours $8M into TON Network Ecosystem

Yolo Investments, a venture capital firm with a focus on gaming, fintech, blockchain, and emerging technologies, has demonstrated its support for The Open Network (TON) by investing $8 million in Toncoin and the broader TON ecosystem.

Yolo Investments has invested in several TON-based start-ups, including Tonstarter, Fanton, and PlayDeck. This partnership also involves TON Foundation and Yolo Investments supporting the growth and expansion of learncrypto.com, a leading crypto education platform that plans to introduce tailored content specifically for TON.

Stellar Development Foundation to Support Soroban Projects with Security Audit Credits

The Stellar Development Foundation has established the Soroban Security Audit Bank, which will distribute up to $1 million in security audit credits to high-priority projects building on Soroban, their next-generation smart contracts platform. This program complements the development and audit support provided by industry-leading web3 security firm, Certora.

Helika Launches $50M Accelerator Program for Web3 Game Studios

Helika, a global infrastructure provider for traditional and Web3 gaming companies, has announced a $50 million accelerator program funded by Pantera, Spartan Capital, Sfermion, and other venture capital firms.

This program aims to assist top gaming studios in developing sustainable Web3 games that can maintain user growth and revenue over time. Selected projects will benefit from Helika's expertise in tokenomics, chain selection, data analytics, and more.

Zircuit Unveils 'Build to Earn' Program to Incentivize Developers

Zircuit, a fully EVM-compatible ZK rollup with parallelized circuits and AI-enabled security, has launched its Build to Earn program to encourage builders, founders, and community members to contribute to the Zircuit ecosystem.

Backed by Pantera Capital, Dragonfly Capital, and Maelstrom, Zircuit has over $700 million staked. Developers and ecosystem contributors who participate in the program can earn rewards for approved contributions.

Layer N, Modulus Unveil 'AI Functions' Tool for Application Integration

Layer N, an Ethereum StateNet designed as a network of custom virtual machines, has announced the launch of AI Functions, a tool that enables developers to integrate AI inference and use cases into their applications.

This tool is developed in collaboration with Modulus Labs, a company focused on bringing AI on-chain through ZK technology. Potential use cases include replacing AMMs with more sophisticated models, yield optimization strategies, AI crypto agents, and AI arbitration.

Flock.io, Web3 Training Startup, Raises $6M for AI Platform

Flock.io, a Web3 training and AI fine-tuning startup, has closed a $6 million seed funding round led by Lightspeed Faction and Tagus Capital, with participation from DCG, OKX Ventures, and Volt Capital.

This investment will be used to democratize AI training and develop Flock.io's machine-learning and federated learning platform.

VeChain Launches 'Marketplace-as-a-Service,' Starting with Gresini Racing

VeChain has introduced its no-code digital asset tokenization platform, Marketplace-as-a-Service (MaaS). MotoGP championship team, Gresini Racing, is the first enterprise client to deploy a marketplace on this platform, offering digital collectibles to its fanbase.

Neopin Introduces 'Build Aggregated' Feature for 'Non-Custodial, Permissioned DeFi'

Neopin, a protocol for "non-custodial, permissioned DeFi," has launched a new feature called "build aggregated," integrating Spark protocol, Athena, and the curve into a unified smart contract. This feature empowers users with streamlined operations and customizable exposure options.

BloXroute Announces Mainnet Launch of 'Validator Gateway'

BloXroute, a blockchain distribution network, has publicly launched its Validator Gateway, designed to optimize Ethereum validators' performance and boost their rewards. Over 30,000 validators have locked $4 billion on the testnet, leveraging advanced technology to enhance block proposal processes, accelerate block propagation, and provide validators with a competitive edge.

The Graph Network Adds Support for Bitcoin

The Graph Network, including the developer Edge & Node, has announced support for Bitcoin. With a new Bitcoin Firehose implementation and a BRC-20 subgraph GraphQL API, developers now have seamless access to Bitcoin data through subgraphs and Substreams.