Weekly News from Polkadot & Kusama #173
1. Bifrost hits milestone: 10M+ DOT staked via vDOT
A total of 10,958,423 DOT has now been staked through Bifrost — and the number of vDOT holders just hit 5,828. Liquid staking with vDOT was never stronger!
2. SubWallet adds chart feature and side panel for smarter portfolio tracking
The latest SubWallet extension update (v1.3.33) adds two major upgrades:
📈 Price Charts — Monitor market trends with:
• Timeframes: 24h, 7D, 1M, 3M, YTD, 1Y
• Period change highlights for fast signal reading
🧭 Side Panel Mode — Keep the wallet open while switching tabs and sites, so it’s always just one click away.
SubWallet stays by your side, literally.
Combined, these features make portfolio management smoother than ever.
Mobile version coming soon. Try it now: subwallet.app/download.html
3. SubWallet launches new help center to combat scams and support users
Scams are everywhere — from Discord to Telegram to X — but SubWallet just launched a powerful new tool to help users stay protected: the SubWallet Help Center.
The new support system offers:
🛡️ Private & secure chat — no more falling for fake DMs
📚 Step-by-step guides and tutorials
🤖 24/7 AI support plus manual human help
🚷 Protected environment — scammers can’t get in
Currently in beta, the Help Center is designed to grow with your feedback. Whether you’re troubleshooting a wallet issue or just need peace of mind, it’s now easier (and safer) than ever. Try it out and share your feedback: support.subwallet.app
4. Hydration hits record TVL: $200M+ locked
Hydration has officially surpassed $200 million in total value locked. It's the highest ever. A clear signal that more users and liquidity are flowing into the Polkadot-powered DeFi ecosystem.
📈 TVL momentum = growing trust + utility
5. Unique Network unveils live demo: NFT XCM on Polkadot
The future of cross-chain NFTs starts now. Unique Network just dropped a live demo showing NFT transfers across Polkadot Asset Hub and parachains using XCM.
6. Acurast public sale: Starts May 15 on CoinList
It all begins with compute…📱
The Acurast Public Token Sale is going live on CoinList, from May 15 at 17:00 UTC to May 22.
✅ Registration & KYC now open: coinlist.co/acurast
⚠️ Not available in the US, CA, and some other jurisdictions.
7. Turtle x Mythos: MYTH transfers now live
Turtle app now supports Mythos-native $MYTH transfers between Mythos and AssetHub. Just go and try it now yourself: app.turtle.cool
8. Energy Web x Alaska: SAFc registry goes live
The SAFc Registry, built by Energy Web and verified by $EWT Worker Nodes, has entered the real world. Alaska Airlines is now the first to integrate it fully via Chooose.
✈️ Real customers. Real transactions. Real climate action.
✅ Decentralized verification via Worker Nodes
♻️ Frictionless book & claim system for environmental attributes
This is production-grade SAF infrastructure — connecting airlines, producers, and corporate buyers. 🔗 Read more here: chooose.today
9. Kusama enables Elastic Scaling for high-demand apps
Kusama just unlocked Elastic Scaling, letting rollups dynamically tap into modular resources — delivering:
⚡ 500ms block times
📶 12 MB/s bandwidth
🧠 Smart resource allocation
This is the final pillar of Polkadot 2.0, following Async Backing and Agile Coretime.
→ Millions of users? Bring it.
→ 143K TPS in real conditions? Already done.
10. Umanitek introduces Guardian Agent for safer AI-powered internet
The Guardian Agent by umanitek sets a new benchmark for online safety in the age of AI. Powered by OriginTrail’s Decentralized Knowledge Graph (DKG) and secured by NeuroWebAI on Polkadot, it offers a trust-first approach to digital intelligence and security.
This isn’t just theory — it’s a step toward a safer, verifiable, AI-integrated web.
11. AlphaAI Joins peaq to build drone-powered 3D maps of cities
AlphaAI is the latest DePIN to launch on peaq — using drones to generate high-resolution 3D urban maps, starting with Hong Kong, the world’s most vertical city.
With AlphaAI, anyone can earn rewards by mapping their area using drones, or buy a pre-configured drone to start contributing immediately. These detailed 3D maps will power autonomous drone navigation, enabling services like building inspections, drone deliveries, and local infrastructure support.
AlphaAI will also offer staking opportunities for rooftop docking stations, creating a crowdsourced physical network for drone operations.
By integrating with AukiLabs, GEODNET, and leveraging peaq’s Modular DePIN Functions, peaq ID, and enterprise ecosystem, AlphaAI is helping shape the Low-Altitude Economy — a decentralized, AI-enabled infrastructure for the smart cities of tomorrow.
- Support our Polkadotters 🦐 Shrimp, 🐙 Octopus, 🐬 Dolphin & 🦈Shark validators on Polkadot and be a part of a more secure Web3 future
- Enhance Polkadot’s governance process by delegating your DOT or KSM to POLKADOTTERS, dedicated community supporters within the Polkadot ecosystem, enabling seamless participation in on-chain governance through Nova wallet or Polkadot Delegation Dashboard
