Weekly News from Kusama & Polkadot #67
1. Turing Network has won the 69th parachain auction on Kusama
Turing Network secured another parachain slot on Kusama by self-funding an auction slot. Turing used a total of ~5 000 KSM worth ~$226k. Turing Network already secured its second parachain auction slot, after winning auction no. 30 in March last year.
Turing Network, a canary network of OAK, is addressing the challenges of sophisticated transactions on the blockchain through the creation of an easy-to-use event-driven transaction model built on Substrate. The platform aims to provide cross-chain automation for other parachains and to drive the product usage of XCM, a form of programmable money with significant potential to transform the global economy.
With Turing Network’s Kusama hub for DeFi and payment automation, entrepreneurs can now create, trade, and use digital assets more securely, cost-effectively, and with greater sophistication, including recurring payments and on-chain swaps.
With Turing Network’s event-driven transaction model, you can automatically reinvest your interest earnings in a DeFi protocol by setting up a smart contract that can be triggered by specific events, such as a certain earnings threshold or date and time. This saves time, reduces the risk of human error, and ensures continuous compounding reinvestment without manual execution.
2. Zeitgeist migrates from Kusama to Polkadot after securing slot no. 32
Zeitgeist, a blockchain-based prediction market platform, announced that it is migrating from Kusama to the Polkadot network.
Zeitgeist won Polkadot’s parachain slot auction number 32, by self-funding a bid of 37,270 DOT ($221,613) in November 2022. The migration is planned to be as smooth as possible, with minimal disruption to users.
Zeitgeist explained that its team began exploring the possibility of becoming a Polkadot parachain back in July 2022 during key executive meetings. After exhaustive research, the company found it in its best commercial interests to go ahead with a bid. Moving to Polkadot was not initially part of the company’s original plan, but the evolution of the Dotsama ecosystem, especially considering the current market conditions, led Zeitgeist to consider various possibilities in its roadmap.
The migration to Polkadot will enable Zeitgeist to tap into a vast array of assets and software, which makes for an exciting prospect as the company strategizes the future. Further to the brand image considerations, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the suite of assets on Polkadot parachains has substantial liquidity and trading volume in comparison to their Kusama counterparts.
This is important for Zeitgeist as the company begins to integrate with numerous Polkadot-based DEXs and roll out interoperable functionality with these parachains.
Zeitgeist is not the first project migrating from Kusama to Polkadot. The first one was KILT Protocol back in October 2022 followed by Subsocial, who already won the parachain slot on Polakdot and is going to migrate very soon.
The trend towards migration from Kusama to Polkadot stems from the desire to leverage the higher security and reliability of Polkadot’s mainnet. As the Polkadot ecosystem enhances and provides better tools for developers and projects, we expect to see even more migrations in the future.
3. Basilisk launches Liquidity mining program: earn BSX rewards by depositing LP shares
Basilisk, a permissionless liquidity platform built on Kusama, has announced the launch of a new liquidity mining program that allows users to earn BSX rewards by depositing their BSX<>TNKR LP and BSX<>USDT LP shares into the farm.
Liquidity mining is a method of incentivizing users to provide liquidity to a decentralized exchange or automated market maker by rewarding them with tokens. The liquidity provided by users enables the exchange to function smoothly and effectively, and in turn, users are rewarded with tokens that they can either hold or sell.
Basilisk has a mission to enable frictionless liquidity bootstrapping for new cryptoassets. It offers permissionless liquidity to Kusama, supporting young projects and providing an opportunity for users to swap tokens or flip NFTs and earn rewards. The liquidity provided by users also enables the exchange to offer rewards from trading fees.
In addition to its liquidity mining program, Basilisk offers a fully-featured NFT marketplace that allows users to buy or sell their favorite NFTs, make offers for unlisted NFTs, or set royalty fees to support the artist. This feature is particularly useful for artists and creators who want to monetize their work in a decentralized manner.
4. Energy Web partners with EU for energy efficiency initiative INEEXS
Energy Web has announced its participation in a new initiative named “Innovative Energy Efficiency Service Models for Sector Integration via Blockchain” (INEEXS) in collaboration with other partners.
INEEXS, backed by the EU, aims to advance the value of energy efficiency services throughout Europe by developing business models for utilities and energy service providers using open-source digital technology. The initiative will enable stakeholders to exchange secure, granular data about buildings, assets, and organizations in a privacy-preserving manner.
The program will focus on overcoming technical and regulatory obstacles to promote the adoption of energy efficiency and demand flexibility solutions. The initiative will analyze five primary business cases over the next three years, examining their legal requirements, revenue streams, cost structures, and benefits beyond cost savings. The data will assist in prioritizing technology development activities under the initiative. The solutions will be implemented in Germany, Spain, Greece, and one more EU member country yet to be determined during the deployment process.
The project aims to support the EU’s transition towards a clean energy economy by following the principles of the European Green Deal. By employing new digital technologies and tools to facilitate automated, precise, rapid, and secure data exchange, INEEXS intends to enhance the business case for energy efficiency with the help of open-source digital technologies. Energy efficiency and demand flexibility solutions have grown positively in Europe, but certain regulatory barriers and technical challenges hinder their scale-up. INEEXS strives to address these barriers by encouraging energy service providers, retailers, financial institutions, distributed energy resource aggregators, and distribution system operators to share trusted data from assets and organizations.
5. Sony and Astar partner to launch Web3 incubation program for startups
Together with Sony Network Communications, Astar Network is launching a unique Web3 incubation program that will support and nurture Web3 projects. The program will be co-hosted by Startale Labs and will run from mid-March to mid-June 2023, welcoming participants from around the world regardless of their startup phase. Participants will have access to sessions from global VC firms and Web3 companies, business and technology strategy sessions, and direct feedback from Web3 industry leaders.
The program offers tech support, financial assistance, and potential investment from Sony Network Communications. The program will culminate in an offline demo day in Japan during Japan Blockchain Week in mid-June 2023, where Sony Network Communications and Astar will continue to support the product growth of participating companies.
Sony Network Communications is involved in the communication business, IoT business, AI business, and solution service business, and promotes new businesses by utilizing assets within the Sony Group. By partnering with Astar and Startale Labs, Sony Network Communications aims to further support the development of the Web3 ecosystem and nurture innovative Web3 projects. The Web3 Incubation Program Powered by Sony Network Communications and Astar is an exciting opportunity for Web3 startups to receive support, resources, and guidance from industry experts.
“We are pleased to launch the Web3 incubation program with Sony Network Communications, an operating company of the Sony Group, which has been involved in the NFT sector and other Web3 initiatives within the Group. We hope to share the knowledge and resources of both companies to provide value to the participants selected for the program and create new use cases and projects”, stated CEO of Startale LABS, Sota Watanabe.
6. Astar and Wanchain partner to provide seamless USDT transfers via XFlows on Polkadot
Astar has announced the launch of USDT XFlows on Polkadot, which facilitates native-to-native cross-chain transfers between blockchains where USDT is natively minted by Tether. This integration provides users with greater flexibility when it comes to managing their digital assets across different blockchains.
In a similar vein, Wanchain offers a premier blockchain interoperability solution. Its cross-chain infrastructure empowers developers to build the future of Web3 by providing the necessary tools to create a seamless user experience across different blockchain networks.
With Astar’s USDT XFlows now live on Polkadot and Wanchain’s cross-chain infrastructure enabling interoperability between different blockchain networks, developers and users alike can look forward to a more integrated and connected Web3 ecosystem.
Move your USDT Tether seamlessly through Wanchain Bridge between Astar Network and:
- Arbitrum
- Avalanche
- BNBChain
- Ethereum
- OKX Chain
- Polygon
- Wanchain
- Tron
7. Interlay and Kintsugi added USDT as the possible vault collateral
Interlay and its canary network Kintsugi, they are now both allowing to use of USDT as a vault collateral.
By allowing the use of USDT as collateral, both Interlay and Kintsugi are enabling their users to trade more confidently with a lower risk of losses due to market fluctuations. With USDT, users can have a better measure of their risk against the US dollar, which can be helpful for those who are more accustomed to trading traditional assets. This addition of USDT as collateral will expand the range of assets that traders can use to access DeFi products, making it more accessible to a broader audience.
Interlay is a decentralized network that connects cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin with DeFi platforms on Polkadot. The Interlay network is hosted as a Polkadot parachain and is planned to be connected to Cosmos, Ethereum, and other major DeFi networks. Interlay’s vision of blockchain interoperability is promising to open up a new world of possibilities for BTC in the DeFi ecosystem.
Interlay’s flagship product, interBTC, is a Bitcoin-backed asset that is fully collateralized, interoperable, and censorship-resistant. It has a 1:1 ratio with Bitcoin, meaning that for every interBTC token issued, there is an equivalent amount of Bitcoin held in reserve. This ensures that the value of interBTC remains stable and pegged to the price of Bitcoin, providing users with the ability to trade BTC without the hassle of traditional exchanges. The same is with kBTC, which is a similar product to interBTC but used by Kintsugi, which has its own parachain slot on Kusama.
8. OpenGov goes live on Moonriver: empowering the community to shape the future of the network
Moonbeam, a smart contract platform designed to bring Ethereum-compatible functionality to Polkadot, has recently released OpenGov on its canary network Moonriver network as part of the runtime 2100 update. This comes after the passing of referendum 128, which was a vote held by the community to decide whether or not OpenGov should be implemented on the Moonriver network.
OpenGov is a decentralized governance framework that provides a mechanism for decision-making in a transparent and inclusive manner. It is designed to allow stakeholders to participate in the governance of the network and make decisions through a fair voting process. OpenGov was first introduced in Kusama, the canary network of Polkadot, where it will be implemented later this year.
The rollout of OpenGov on Moonriver is an important step for the governance of the network, and the Moonbeam team is looking for feedback from the community to ensure that the implementation is successful. Future referenda will be held to allow the community to decide how OpenGov will evolve and move to Moonbeam.
Besides that, OpenGov alerts will be included on Web3alert, which is a platform that brings blockchain notifications to messengers such as Telegram. This tool helps users to stay up to date with the latest governance decisions by receiving alerts on any referendum of any track.
In addition to the OpenGov implementation, Moonbeam has also released a new DApp beta interface for Moonbeam and Moonriver. The interface features easy-to-navigate sections, a visible workflow for cross-chain transfers, an improved staking display, and much more. This will make it easier for users to interact with the network and take advantage of its various features.
9. Apillon and Phala Network join forces to bring trustless computing power to Web3 builders
Apillon, a platform dedicated to making Web3 adoption easier, has announced its partnership with Phala Network to integrate trustless and capable computing power into its development platform. The upcoming API for decentralized computing power will provide developers with trustless and immensely capable computing power, harnessed through the Apillon platform.
Apillon and Phala Network have partnered to integrate decentralized computing power into the Apillon platform, providing builders with APIs and SDKs of use-case-specific Polkadot parachains.
Phala Network’s Phat Contract programming model, which enables trustless off-chain computation and outstanding flexibility in composability, can help developers create new use cases for Web3 without performance concerns. By offloading computation-intense transactions off of smart contracts, Phala Network is opening up countless possibilities for next-gen dapps.
The Apillon computing API will enable developers to run not only smart contracts but also process elaborate data analytics, complex app simulations, and other operations, making it easier for builders to access trustless computing power and expand their use cases.
Phala Network offers secure and scalable computing for Web3 with innovative programming models. Apillon serves as a unified gateway to the Web3 services provided by linked Polkadot parachains, simplifying the adoption of Web3 services for developers.
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