Protocol Village: Spark Protocol Expands Beyond Ethereum to Gnosis

Oct. 10: Spark Protocol, DAI-centric DeFi lending platform in MakerDAO ecosystem, announced its “deployment on Gnosis Chain, a decentralized Ethereum Virtual Machine sidechain with over 150,000 validators,” according to the team. “The deployment on Gnosis Chain marks Spark Protocol’s expansion beyond the Ethereum ecosystem, as part of a broader multi-chain strategy proposed in June 2023. The Spark deployment will allow Gnosis users to natively mint DAI on Gnosis Chain, while also benefiting from lower gas fees than Ethereum Mainnet and the security of a large and diverse validator set.” $MKR $ETH $GNO

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Immutable Joins Amazon Web Services’ ISV Accelerate Program

Oct. 10: Immutable, an operator of blockchain networks for Web3 gaming, announced it will work with Amazon Web Services on “infrastructure and go-to-market initiatives designed to accelerate the on-boarding of game studios to Web3 and drive ownership of in-game items,” according to a press release. “Immutable has joined AWS’s ISV Accelerate Program, a co-sell program for organizations that provide software solutions that run on or integrate with AWS…. Web3 gaming projects building on Immutable can also enroll in AWS Activate, a program that provides startups with AWS credits, technical support, training, resources, and more. Participants can receive up to $100,000 in AWS credits.”

XYO, ZK-Powered Location Protocol, Expands to Optimism

Oct. 10: XYO Network, which aims to create a decentralized system of location oracles using zero-knowledge proofs, has launched on Optimism. “The bridge between XYO and Optimism offers a unique opportunity for those seeking liquidity for their crypto assets. Importantly, this leap forward also provides a glimpse into the potential for blockchain technology to transform industries that rely on the quality data provided by XYO,” according to a message from the team.

ZorroSign Integrates With Provenance Blockchain

Oct. 10: ZorroSign, a specialist in data security solutions built on blockchain, said it has expanded to Provenance Blockchain. “This advanced integration allows ZorroSign users to store digital document information—including signers, signatures and transaction metadata—on the Provenance Blockchain and verify the immutability of that data on the blockchain via digital certificates with audit trails,” according to a message from the team.

Vechain Awards $46K in Hackathon at Harvard

Oct. 10: Vechain, a layer-1 enterprise-grade blockchain based in the country of San Marino, said it awarded $46,000 in price money at a 36-hour sustainability-themed hackathon at Harvard University. Winners included Movelo, FiTag and PropelPixel. Details below:

Web3 Foundation Allocates $41M for Polkadot Development Fund

Oct. 10: The Web3 Foundation, the organization that supports the Polkadot Network and its DOT Token, announced on X Tuesday that it’s launching a development fund for projects looking to build on Polkadot. The foundation said it’s allocating 20 million CHF ($22 million) and 5 million DOT ($19 million) from the Polkadot Treasury to the endeavor. The funding “will augment the community-governed funding mechanism from the Polkadot Treasury to help projects that will have a meaningful impact on the future of Polkadot,” the foundation said on X. $DOT – Sam Reynolds

Neutral Raises $3.2M for Regulated Carbon-Credit Exchange

Oct. 10: Neutral, which aims to build a regulated exchange for tokenized environmental assets including carbon and renewable-energy credits, has raised a $3.2 million in a financing round led by North Island Ventures with contributions from Redalpine, DCG, Cerulean Ventures, Factor Capital, Very Early Ventures and Rarestone, according to a message from co-founder and CEO Farouq Ghandour. “As we see ever-increasing interest from businesses and sovereign entities to invest in sustainability, we need the right infrastructure to price and trade this new generation of assets,” said Farouq Ghandour, Neutral CEO.

Quant Unveils ‘Overledger Authorise’

Oct. 10: Quant, a London-based provider of what’s described as central-bank-grade key management, has unveiled Overledger Authorise, which aims to integrate digital asset and blockchain keys with existing security systems, “ensuring top-level security and compliance,” according to a message from the team. “By simplifying key management and transaction signing, Authorise makes blockchain adoption safer and more efficient for financial institutions. It’s already been put to the test in Project Rosalind, a collaboration with the Bank of England.”

CreatorDAO Launches Bootcamp ‘Launchpad’

Oct. 10: CreatorDAO, a decentralized community for investing in creators through capital, technology and operational support, is launching a free online bootcamp called Launchpad “to help budding creators turn their passions into profitable long-form YouTube channels,” according to a press release. “Founded by entrepreneur and Liquid 2 Ventures partner Michael Ma, CreatorDAO launched last year with a $20 million seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Initialized Capital. Other investors include Y-Combinator President and CEO Garry Tan, Alchemy CEO Nikil Viswanathan, electronic DJ and production duo The Chainsmokers, media personality Paris Hilton, singer Liam Payne, and musician and entrepreneur Michael Ezinger,” according to the press release.

VitaDAO Kickstarts Matrix Biosciences

Oct. 9: VitaDAO, a decentralized science (DeSci) DAO, has kickstarted its first biotech company, Matrix Biosciences, in collaboration with Vera Gorbunova of the University of Rochester’s Aging Research Center, according to the team. With an initial $300,000, they’ll explore hyaluronic acid-based compounds, aiming to pioneer in cancer and aging treatments, utilizing insights from cancer-resistant naked mole rats. There is an anticipation of “further funding through IP-NFT fractionalization funding in early 2024,” according to the release.