Weekly Project Update：Nightshade Sharding Phase 1 Launchesand, Delphi Labs' research shift to Cosmos, Google Cloud becomes Ronin Network's Validator and Top 10 Projects（0904-0911）
Author：Mingyao
Editor：Colin Wu
1. Nightshade Sharding Phase 1 Launches Link
On 9th September, NEAR announced that Nightshade Sharding would start in Mid-September. Nightshade Sharding allows NEAR Protocol to scale linearly with the number of shards, thereby having the ability to handle millions of transactions per second and satisfy the demand for transactions as more and more users start to use NEAR.
In the upcoming Phase 1, Chunk-Only Producers will be introduced. Chunk-Only Producers are solely responsible for producing chunks (parts of the block from a shard, see Nightshade for more detail) in one shard (a partition on the network), and thus require less sophisticated, more affordable hardware. The current plan is to onboard 250–400 Chunk-Only Producers.
The next step of the roll-out is Phase 2: Nightshade, which will complete the implementation of challenges and Phase 3 is Dynamic Resharding, then the network will be dynamically split into shards and then merged based on resource utilization.
On 8th September, NEAR Foundation announces partnership with Few and Far to grow the NEAR NFT ecosystem Link
2. The focus of Delphi Labs' research and development will shift to the Cosmos environment. Link
On September 9, Delphi Digital published an essay titled "Finding a Home for Labs," which indicated that the team had concentrated on building the protocol on Terra. However, after the Terra event, the team opted to concentrate on the Cosmos ecosystem.
Canto, a Layer 1 project built on the Cosmos SDK, announced on September 9 that it would host the firs Online Hackathon from October 1st through the 21st. By submitting innovative works in various categories such as Eco-Support, DeFi, NFT, etc., programmers can win a total of 300,000 CANTO.
On September 6, Cosmos's Stake protocol Stride announced the introduction of the primary network Users can now deposit ATOM foundry stATOM and use stATOM to redeem staked ATOM. Within 24 hours, Stride will add STRD/OSMO and stATOM/ATOM pools. Link
3. "Beta-1", the first modular execution layer developer-facing Fuel testnet Link
News: On September 8, Fuel labs stated that "beta-1", the first modular execution layer developer-facing Fuel testnet. This marks a new milestone in our road towards Fuel mainnet — a modular execution layer (MEL) that will provide never-before-seen scalability to Ethereum with parallel transaction. Developers may now deploy contracts to testnet at will—no permission or whitelisting required—and users may interact with deployed contracts as well.
On September 6, Fuel announced $80M of support led by @BlockchainCap and @StratosXYZ. Fuel is the fastest Modular Execution Layer delivering the highest flexible throughput with maximum security guarantees for the Ethereum ecosystem.
Comment: In September 2011, Fuel Labs just received a total of $1.5 million in financing, while in September 22, Fuel Labs received $80 million in financing. The valuation had increased dramatically within a year, at the same time, Fuel Labs focuses on modularity and parallel processing, which is in line with the development trend of public chain technology and deserves attention.
4. Project Registration Is Now Open for zkSync 2.0 Mainnet Alpha Link
On Spetember 6, zkSync announced that the project registration was now open in preparation for zkSync 2.0’s mainnet deployment. The engineering team has been heads down building the world’s first — and most Ethereum-aligned. Fairness is an integral part of zkSync’s ethos, and a fair mainnet launch means that they will welcome all ecosystem projects to the platform. A fair launch will give development teams time in advance to onboard, deploy their contracts, ensure their applications are tested and ready, and reduce potential risks before the system is open to external users.
5. Stably has announced the offering of a stablesoin USDS on the Harmony Link
On 6th September, the blockchain company Stably announced that its native stablecoin, Stably USD (USDS), will be available on the public chain Harmony. USDS is a multi-chain stablecoin that was developed by Stably in collaboration with U.S.-regulated trusts and certified custodians. The USDS tokens are completely collateralized in U.S. dollars at a 1:1 ratio with bank deposits. Additionally, USDS are issued on blockchains like as Ethereum, Stellar, and Tezos.
6. Multichain releases cross-chain bridge tariff adjustment Link
On 9th September, Multichain has officially announced the cross-chain bridge tariff adjustment via Twitter, as follows: 1.Fee for DAI/WBTC/ETH bridging to Polygon/ Avalanche/BNB adjusted from 0% to 0.01%. 2.Fee for bridging DAI to Polygon/Avalanche/BNB is 0.5 DAI, max. 1,000 DAI3. Min. fee for bridging WBTC to Polygon/Avalanche/ BNB is 0.000025 WBTC, max. 0.05 WBTC.4.fee for bridging ETC to Polygon/Avalanche/BNB is 0.0003 ETH, max. 0.61 ETH
7. ENS's weekly updates Link
On September 9, Nick Johnson, the head of development for Ethereum domain name service ENS, launched a proposal to hire a fund manager to oversee the Endowment Fund, which can cover ongoing development costs without relying on registration and renewal fees. The fund will be funded by the DAO's current general funds of ETH and USDC, as well as ongoing earnings (a percentage) from the DAO until the Fund reaches its desired size. The polls will close on September 14th. The ENS DAO presently has 13,069 ETH in revenue, 3,817,067 USDC in revenue, and 18,184 ETH in advance revenue.
On September 9, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin posted on his own website about whether the ENS domain should implement a need-based registration regular charge. He recommended considering the introduction of demand-based maintenance expenses for the ENS domain name, as well as bidding for the ENS domain name's annual fees, in order to price the high-demand ENS domain name in a market-oriented manner. This strategy can raise the cost of cybersquatting while increasing revenue for the ENS DAO. Link
8. Google Cloud Ronin Network Validator Link
On 9th September, Sky Mavis, the developers of Axie Infinity, announced at AxieCon that they started a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud to bolster the security of Ronin and advance our vision of building a gaming universe with interrelated, immersive, and rewarding experiences. By running and overseeing a validator node on the Ronin network, Google Cloud will contribute to its collective security and governance, while taking on the role of monitoring validator uptimes.
On the same day, Sky Mavis also announced a series of new features and products at its first-ever conference AxieCon in Barcelona, Spain. Among the announcements are accessories for Axies (the characters in Axie Infinity), the first mini-game for Land owners (those who buy virtual real estate in the game) and new features for the Land Alpha game scheduled to release later this year. Link
9. Asia banking giant DBS jumps into The Sandbox metaverse Link
On September 9, DBS Bank Ltd., the largest lender in Southeast Asia, said it has partnered with The Sandbox, a blockchain-based metaverse gaming platform, to build new services for clients in the 3D virtual world that uses digital avatars. DBS is the first company in Singapore to sign a partnership with The Sandbox, a unit of Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, and the first bank in the city-state to enter the metaverse, DBS said in a statement. It added it will develop “DBS BetterWorld” in The Sandbox as part of exploring Web3 opportunities to benefit customers.
10. FTX selects GameStop as retail partner in the US Link
On Sept.7, GameStop has revealed a new partnership with FTX US targeted at introducing its customers to “FTX’s community and marketplaces for digital assets”. According to the press release, certain GameStop retail stores would carry FTX gift cards, adding that it is “FTX’s preferred retail partner in the United States.” The press statement did not reveal the financial details of the partnership.
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