Weekly News from Polkadot & Kusama #190

1. FIFA Rivals featured front-and-center on Apple App Store homepage on September 17

FIFA Rivals was front and center on the Apple App Store homepage today, September 17, delighting fans and boosting visibility for the mobile football hit. With its dynamic team-building and fast-paced matches, FIFA Rivals continues its run as a top sports game. The prime feature spot highlights surging player engagement and signals another milestone for Web3-powered gaming experiences.

2. Hydration launches HOLLAR: Polkadot’s decentralized stablecoin goes live with robust peg and automated risk controls

HOLLAR is here! Hydration’s native, decentralized stablecoin has launched on Polkadot, backed by DOT, ETH, and BTC for security and stability. Built on proven AAVE code and featuring the HOLLAR Stability Module, it offers automated peg support, partial liquidations, and near-feeless transactions. The initial supply is capped at 2 million, and users can mint against collateral with a 5% rate. Try HOLLAR today for frictionless swaps and robust price protection in DeFi.

3. Snowbridge now connected to Acala for seamless Ethereum-to-Polkadot asset transfers

Snowbridge has integrated with Acala, enabling seamless transfers of assets between Ethereum and the Polkadot-based Acala Network. Users can now move tokens across these ecosystems via the Snowbridge platform for faster, secure, and trustless bridging. This integration expands cross-chain interoperability and opens new possibilities for DeFi and dApps, tapping into Ethereum liquidity while benefiting from Acala’s decentralized infrastructure.

4. Snowbridge goes live on NeuroWeb: one-way $TRAC bridging from Ethereum begins

The first stage of the Polkadot‑native, trustless Snowbridge is live on NeuroWeb, enabling one-way $TRAC transfers from Ethereum today, with the reverse direction slated for next week.

Built on light clients, Snowbridge delivers secure, permissionless cross‑chain messaging without multisigs. Developers and users can begin moving $TRAC into NeuroWeb to tap ecosystem apps while preparing for full bi‑directional flow soon.

5. peaq surges: active accounts spike as DePIN ecosystem heats up on Polkadot

peaq, the Polkadot-secured Layer-1 powering the world’s leading DePIN ecosystem, is seeing a massive spike in active accounts. Recent activity charts show rapid growth in September, with daily unique accounts surging past 60,000. This record-breaking momentum highlights increasing adoption of machine economy solutions, as more users tap into peaq’s scalable infrastructure for real-world device networks and automated on-chain services. The future looks hotter than ever.

6. SubWallet launches in-app $EWT staking: earn rewards, pick collators, all in one place

Power meets Web3 as SubWallet rolls out native in-app staking for Energy Web’s $EWT token. Users can now pick collators, stake, and earn rewards from a unified, eco-friendly dashboard — without ever leaving the wallet. This streamlined experience boosts security and makes it simple to support the Energy Web ecosystem. Stake $EWT today directly through SubWallet to help power the decentralized, clean-energy future.

7. Gavin Wood and Bill Laboon to speak at Dark Prague conference October 3–5

Co-founder of Ethereum and founder of Polkadot, Gavin Wood, along with Bill Laboon, will be speaking at DARK PRAGUE from October 3 to 5 in Prague, Czechia.

Gavin Wood is celebrated for pioneering Solidity, blockchain interoperability, and governance models, making him a defining voice in decentralized technology.

Catch their insights live on the SYSTEMS stage at this leading event dedicated to decentralized futures and radical innovation in crypto technology.

8. Polkadot SDK retires SignedExtensions after 5+ years, introduces TransactionExtensions

Polkadot SDK has officially retired the SignedExtensions concept after over five years, replacing it with the more powerful TransactionExtensions. Developers faced complexities like limited extensibility, hacky origin mutations, and tough testing under the old system. TransactionExtensions solve these with accurate weight calculations, extensible validation logic, unified signed/unsigned handling, and cleaner origin mutations, simplifying onboarding and improving transaction flow reliability. However, migrating is not just a simple swap — hidden complexities require careful handling to avoid breaking transaction flow.

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