Oct. 2: Babylon plans to unveil at Cosmoverse its “Bitcoin Staking Protocol MVP,” according to a message from the team. The release “aims to utilize the vast untapped potential of idle Bitcoins, allowing them to boost the economic security of Proof of Stake (PoS) chains and decentralized applications (dApps). Babylon’s protocol connects decentralized trust to earn yield, gaining support from prominent Cosmos chains. It addresses the limitations of PoS chains by enabling them to stake bitcoin (BTC) instead of native tokens, enhancing security and reducing inflation pressure. Babylon’s approach seamlessly integrates Bitcoin staking with various PoS protocols, expanding Bitcoin’s utility. The MVP showcases this technology’s first implementation, with plans for adoption in ecosystems like Cosmos, where the demand for Bitcoin staking is evident.” $BTC $ATOM
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Certik says Web3 exploits surged in 3Q
Losses from Web3 exploits, flash-loan attacks, oracle manipulation, private key compromise, exit scams and other security incidents surged to nearly $700 million in the third quarter, more than the first and second quarters of 2023 combined, according to Certik.
Vechain plans hackathon at Harvard
Oct. 2: Vechain, an enterprise-grade layer-1 public blockchain, “will host a hackathon at Harvard in partnership with Boston Consulting Group and Web3 educational mobile app, EasyA” on Oct. 7-8, according to a press release. “Developers will compete for a portion of the $40,000 in prize pool and the opportunity to access additional funding to develop their projects.” Hackathon tracks will “encourage the use of vechain’s VORJ tool, which enables users to deploy smart contracts easily without knowing how to code or having to pay any transaction fees.” $VET
Namada plans ‘incentivized testnet,’ airdrop of ATOM
Oct. 2: Namada, a layer-1 protocol specializing in multi-chain privacy, said it plans an “incentivized testnet” and an airdrop of NAM tokens to ATOM holders. “Within the current IBC-connected landscape, no existing solution allows for privacy between zones; there is no privacy across the Cosmos. Namada aims to fill this gap,” according to a press release. The size of the airdrop wasn’t disclosed. $ATOM
Chainlink unveils ‘Data Streams’ to reduce latency
Oct. 2: Chainlink, the blockchain data oracle provider, has launched “Data Streams,” a new product designed to reduce network latency. The offering has now entered early access on layer 2 platform Arbitrum, the company said Monday in a press release. $LINK $ARB
Web3Auth gets extension on Google’s Firebase
Oct. 2: Web3Auth, a provider of crypto wallet infrastructure, announced the launch of its own Web3 extension on Firebase Extensions Hub, in collaboration with Google Cloud. According to a press release: “With Web3Auth’s multi-party computation (MPC) at the helm, existing app developers can now use Firebase authentication to securely generate a public-private key pair. This enables their users to own a fully self-custodial Web3 wallet with familiar social logins such as email, SMS OTPs, and biometric IDs.” Firebase is Google’s mobile and Web app development platform. $GOOGL
Taurus puts Internet Computer Protocol on custody platform
Oct. 2: Taurus, a platform for managing digital assets, has entered into strategic collaboration with Dfinity Foundation, a major contributor to Internet Computer Protocol (ICP), according to a message from the team. “Taurus will integrate Internet Computer Protocol to its custody platform. Taurus’ clients will be able to have custody of the Internet Computer’s native ICP token and collect staking rewards using Taurus-PROTECT. In addition, Taurus has expanded Taurus-EXPLORER, its blockchain connectivity infrastructure, to support the Internet Computer blockchain.” $ICP
Space and Time ‘Proof of SQL Verifier’ to run on Chainlink
Oct. 2: Space and Time (SxT), a Web3 data warehouse, announced at Chainlink’s SmartCon conference this week that its “Proof of SQL, a zk-proof for SQL queries, will natively run its zk-Verifier on Chainlink nodes, enabling verifiable, zk-proven query results for smart contracts, AI models, and enterprises,” according to a message from the team. “SxT is now the preferred data warehouse solution for the Chainlink ecosystem, with this integration enhancing trustlessness and decentralization. The Proof of SQL Verifier will run natively on Chainlink nodes, allowing the Chainlink Network to reach consensus on untampered query results.” $LINK
‘New Bitcoin City’ debuts as social app
Oct. 2: New Bitcoin City, which describes itself as “the first Bitcoin social app” or the “Friend.tech of Bitcoin,” publicized last week on X (Twitter) that it was open to sign-ups.