Protocol Village: Food DePIN Bistroo Moves to Peaq, ApeChain Releases 'The Blueprint'

Wednesday, Sept. 4

Bistroo, 'Web3 Alternative to Uber Eats,' Expands to Peaq Blockchain From Ethereum

Bistroo, a food delivery and takeout DePIN, announced its expansion from Ethereum to peaq, a layer-1 blockchain optimized for DePIN and Machine RWAs, to offer a Web3 alternative to Uber Eats & similar services. With a service fee of only 5%, Bistroo eliminates the Web2 intermediaries, reduces high fees, and gives the power back to restaurants and customers. As a result, it enables businesses to charge lower prices. The platform offers a program that removes service fees for a fixed monthly rate and includes user rewards. Bistroo has over 100K users in the Netherlands and is now expanding into Belgium.

Wire Network Open-Sources 'Universal Transaction Layer'

Wire Network has "open-sourced its Universal Transaction Layer (UTL), the first blockchain designed for the AI agent economy, opening new possibilities for decentralized AI apps," according to the team: "Wire Network’s UTL enables gas-free, high speed transactions across all chains; and unlike many solutions, allows seamless movement of assets and data between different blockchain networks without traditional bridges or oracles. The open source testnet will draw developers, researchers and industry stakeholders to explore and contribute to its development before mainnet launch, with many tier 1 nodes already purchased."

Horizen Labs' ZkVerify Launches Incentivized Testnet

Horizen Labs, a blockchain developer focused on modular architecture enhanced with composable zero-knowledge proofs, announced that its zkVerify is launching an incentivized testnet on Wednesday. According to the team: "ZkVerify performs zero-knowledge proofs across multiple chains and dApps, aiming to cut costs by over 90%. It improves scalability and stabilizes costs for other blockchains, especially zkRollups and appchains. Built with Rust-based methods and a modular design, zkVerify addresses the growing demand for efficient proof verification. In 2023, zkRollups on Ethereum alone spent approximately $47 million on verification. The phased testnet will test zkVerify's capabilities through developer challenges and rewards."

ApeChain Team Releases 'The Blueprint,' Leveraging Arbitrum's Tech Stack

During a live panel at Korean Blockchain Week, CryptoGarga stated, “ApeChain is betting that what matters most are apps.” On Wednesday the team released The Blueprint for ApeChain, focused on leveraging Arbitrum’s tech stack along with content, tools and “gasoline.” According to the team: "Integrations feature the eagerly awaited Arbitrum Stylus, which introduces new possibilities for creating smart contracts using programming languages such as Rust. ApeChain will also be adopting other key Arbitrum roadmap milestones to support the ecosystem – Timeboost, BoLD and Cluster Chains. Additionally, the Blueprint highlights the recently-launched Banana Bill for funding dApp development and user incentives.

Polygon Begins Token Swap, in Move to Allow More Issuance

Polygon, a layer-2 network atop the Ethereum blockchain, was on track to activate an upgrade on Wednesday that swaps out its longstanding MATIC token for a new POL token, allowing for more flexibility on issuance of new supply. The swap was due to start at 4 a.m. ET (8 a.m. UTC). The planned switch was originally disclosed more than a year ago, in July 2023. The migration comes as a part of Polygon's planned revamp laid out last year in its “2.0” roadmap, to make POL the native token of its main chain – known as the Polygon PoS chain – and eventually other chains in the ecosystem.

Arbitrum's 'Stylus' Upgrade Adds Support for WebAssembly Languages in Smart-Contracts Programming

Arbitrum, the largest layer-2 network atop Ethereum with $14.1 billion of total value locked, launched the Stylus upgrade on Tuesday, adding support for WebAssembly languages like Rust, C and C++. According to the team: "This expands beyond Solidity, attracting new developers. Stylus works on Arbitrum One, Nova and Orbit networks, improving efficiency for complex contracts. Projects like Renegade have implemented it on testnet. ArbitrumDAO approved Stylus with 99.1% support."

Tuesday, Sept. 3

Union, Native to Develop Trust-Minimized Bridges for Moving Assets Across Bitcoin Layer 2s

Union, a modular ZK interoperability layer, and Native, describing itself as a "zero trust Bitcoin application platform," are partnering to offer a trustless bridging solution. According to the team: "This will enable secure asset transfers across Bitcoin L2s and multichain ecosystems without intermediaries, transforming Bitcoin into a dynamic, interoperable asset... For years, Bitcoin’s scripting limitations have restricted advanced DeFi applications, confining it to a static store of value. Current Bitcoin bridges use intermediaries or multisig frameworks, adding risks and limiting DeFi participation. This is set to change." Blog post is here.

Portal, Immutable Strike Partnership for Web3 Game Distribution, Monetization

Portal, a Web3 distribution platform,and Immutable, a platform for building Web3 games on Ethereum, announced a strategic partnership on Tuesday, promising to "redefine how Web3 games are distributed, monetized and experienced." According to the team: "By combining Portal's unparalleled expertise in user acquisition, rewards, payments and ecosystem liquidity improvements, with Immutable's robust platform for game development and distribution, the partnership ensures that players worldwide gain easy and rewarding access to the best Web3 games. This alliance enhances the growth potential of Web3 gaming and increases the chances of more Web3 games finding mainstream audiences."

Hypernative, Provider of Security for Web3, Raises $16M in Series A Round

Hypernative, a real-time monitoring, risk detection and automated response platform for Web3, raised a $16 million Series A round, led by Quantstamp with investors including Bloccelerate VC, boldstart ventures, Borderless Capital, CMT Digital, IBI Tech Fund, Knollwood Investment Advisory, Re7 Capital, and some notable angels. According to the team: "Hypernative will use the funds to accelerate adoption of its solution which last year detected 99.5% of hacks with less than 0.001% false positive rate, giving a 2 minute or more advance warning in most cases. The system helped save more than $100 million worth of funds to date."

TON Accelerator Launches New Incubator 'TON:Acc' for Startups Building on Telegram-Affiliated Blockchain

TON Accelerator has launched "TON:Acc," a new incubation program for start-ups building on TON, the blockchain closely affiliated with the instant messaging app Telegram. According to the team: "The program will be powered by TON Ventures, who will be investing up to $2.5 million to accelerate the growth of the five projects selected as part of its inaugural cohort. TON Accelerator has also introduced the TON:Acc Portal, a new ecosystem incubation platform. The portal offers a range of features designed to provide early-stage projects with better access to support while giving investors a valuable channel to discover promising ecosystem projects."

Crestal, the 'Expedia for Web3 Infra,' Launches Testnet, Integrates With Avail

PROTOCOL VILLAGE EXCLUSIVE: Crestal, a blockchain project describing itself as "Expedia for Web3 infra," announced the launch of its public testnet, Crestal Carbon, on a Berachain testnet. According to the team: "In addition to Crestal Carbon, Crestal announced an integration with Avail, making it the company’s first supported modular service. Avail’s Web3 infrastructure allows modular execution layers to scale and interoperate in a trust minimized way. Crestal will serve as a marketplace for Avail, with multiple options going live soon after."

Sonic, New Tech Stack from Fantom Blockchain Ecosystem, Integrates Chainlink Data Feeds, CCIP

Sonic Labs has joined the Chainlink Scale program, and is integrating Chainlink Data Feeds and Chainlink CCIP into the Sonic network, which is the new technology stack from the Fantom blockchain ecosystem. According to the team: "This initiative will empower Sonic ecosystem developers by providing them with the tools they need to build feature-rich on-chain apps through Chainlink’s industry-leading services." CoinDesk 20 asset: LINK$13

Ripple Will Soon Add Ethereum Compatible Smart Contracts to XRP Ledger

Ripple is enhancing the XRP Ledger by integrating Ethereum-compatible smart contracts via a new sidechain, expanding its functionality beyond basic transactions to include complex applications like decentralized exchanges and token issuance. This development includes the use of the Axelar network for cross-chain token transfers, with Wrapped XRP (eXRP) acting as the primary token on this sidechain, facilitating broader interoperability and developer engagement. In May, the project, led at the time by ex-TRON head of engineering Eric Chen and ex-Polygon business director Marouen Zelleg, disclosed a $2 million seed funding round in May.

Monday, Sept. 2

Parlay Labs, Building a Meme Coin Launchpad, Begins $2M Funding Round Led by DNA.fund

Parlay Labs has begun a $2 million funding round led by DNA.fund, launching the Parlay platform, a multichain, no-code memecoin launchpad and trading platform. According to the team: "Parlay supports networks like Ethereum, Base, and Avalanche, aiming to democratize crypto access with user-friendly tools, including safe-mode launches and real-time chat for token discovery. The investment brings expertise from DNA.fund founders Brock Pierce and Scott Walker. Founded by Alex Mascioli and Nick Mancini, Parlay Labs focuses on making token creation and trading accessible, with plans to add more blockchain networks soon."

Radix Chooses Hedge Fund Firm Brevan Howard to Manage XRD-Denominated Endowment Fund

RDX Holdings and Radix Foundation,supporting the Radix distributed ledger, has selected Brevan Howard Digital, an affiliate of the hedge fund Brevan Howard, as the manager of a new endowment fund. "Brevan Howard Digital has been selected as the investment manager to implement the core strategies that have been prioritized by the various boards responsible for the fiduciary management and control of the relevant Radix assets," according to a blog post. Radix announced the planned creation of the 1.5 billion XRD ($37 million) Endowment Fund last month, as reported in Protocol Village at the time. The team said then that "the fund is intended to support long term ecosystem growth while securing financial support for the entities involved in the development and growth of the Radix platform and ecosystem."

Quai Announces $5M Strategic Funding Round Following Release of Mainnet-Compatible Devnet

Quai, a programmable proof-of-work blockchain with a "zone layer" that functions as a collection of individual Ethereum-like chains running in parallel, announced the successful closing of a $5 million strategic funding round with participation from Cogitent Ventures, MH Ventures, TPC Ventures, Giga Chad Ventures, and DexCheck Ventures. Additionally, Quai previously secured $10 million from Polychain Capital and Alumni Ventures, bringing its total funding to $15 million. Last month, Quai released a mainnet-compatible devnet and tooling upgrades, prepping for the Golden Age testnet, as reported by Protocol Village at the time.

Oasis Network's EVM-Compatible ParaTime, 'Sapphire,' Integrates With Router Chain on Mainnet

Oasis Sapphire, an Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible parallel runtime or "ParaTime" on the layer-1 Oasis Network, has integrated with Router Chain on mainnet, connecting to over 25 chains. According to the team: "This enables cross-chain dApps and allows other networks to use Oasis's confidential compute features. The upgrade supports chain-agnostic experiences across various blockchain applications. Projects using this expanded ecosystem include private wallets, privacy-focused stablecoins, liquid staking solutions, DEXes and launchpads."

Kredete, Platform for Remittances and Credit-Building, Raises $2.25M

Kredete, a financial platform aiding African immigrants in building credit and sending money home, has raised $2.25 million in seed funding led by Blockchain Founders Fund, with participation from Techstars and Tezos Foundation. According to the team: "By turning remittances into credit-building tools using blockchain, Kredete addresses a major financial gap. The platform has 300,000+ users and $100M in transactions. Kredete aims to expand its services and enhance financial inclusion for immigrants."

Cardano’s Chang Hard Fork Goes Live, Introducing On-Chain Governance

Cardano, the layer-1 blockchain launched in 2017 by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, activated its highly anticipated “Chang” upgrade on Sunday, marking the ecosystem's long-planned shift towards decentralized governance. CIP-1694, an official "Cardano Improvement Proposal," describes the new community governance structure and establishes three user-led governance bodies: the Constitutional Committee, Delegate Representatives (dReps), and Stake Pool Operators (SPOs). Moving forward, Cardano's three founding entities—the Cardano Foundation, Input Output Global (IOHK) and Emurgo—will no longer have the keys to trigger chain upgrades or "hard forks." Instead, that responsibility will be delegated to the new governance groups.

Blockchain Developer Alchemy Buys BWare, Pushing Into Europe, Adding About 25% to Staff

Blockchain developer platform Alchemy has acquired Bware Labs, the main company behind infrastructure provider platform Bware. The deal is expected to increase Alchemy's headcount by about 25%. Alchemy disclosed the acquisition on Thursday without revealing the purchase price. However, company officials told CoinDesk this was its biggest acquisition to date, bringing on 41 developers and engineers from the Bware team and increasing Alchemy's headcount to 190.

Bitcoin Layer-2 Network Stacks Begins Nakamoto Upgrade

Stacks, a layer-2 blockchain that augments the Bitcoin network, began the next phase of its Nakamoto upgrade with the aim of making transactions even faster. Network operators now have a two-week window to implement the Nakamoto upgrade, after which there will be hard fork that completes the process. Nakamoto introduces a new way of producing Stacks blocks, using a proof-of-transfer consensus algorithm. Users burn bitcoin (BTC) to mine Stacks blocks and receive rewards. This process began its implementation in April, with block "signers" coming online to validate "tenures" of transactions. Tenures are periods of time that miners are assigned to produce multiple blocks that are ultimately settled on Bitcoin.

Bridge Fundraising for Stablecoin-Based Payments Network Totals $58M: Fortune

Crypto startup Bridge, which wants to build a global stablecoin-based payments networks, recently raised $40 million in fresh funding, taking the total raised to $58 million, Fortune reported Friday. The startup, which was founded by Square and Coinbase alumni Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, aims to "enable companies to use a stablecoin rail without thinking about it," Abrams said in an interview, according to the report.

Protocol Village is a regular feature of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter exploring the tech behind crypto, one block at a time. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday. Project teams can submit updates here. For previous versions of Protocol Village, please go here.

Thursday, Aug. 29

Peregrine Exploration Raises $3.6M to Build Restaking-Powered Stablecoin Protocol 'Level'

PROTOCOL VILLAGE EXCLUSIVE: Peregrine Exploration, a blockchain research and development firm, raised $3.6 million in a funding round co-led by Dragonfly and Polychain Capital to develop Level, "the first stablecoin protocol powered by restaked dollar tokens." According to the team, Level makes it easy to "restake" stablecoins – meaning the assets can be used to earn interest and secure other blockchain protocols. Level's stablecoin, lvlUSD, will launch in private beta in the coming weeks with a mainnet launch planned for Q4. Users will be able to mint lvlUSD tokens and earn Level XP (points), restaking points, and Aave yield on their dollar-backed stablecoins like USDT and USDC. “Level was founded on the belief that the two most important use cases of crypto are the permissionless access to digital dollars and the ability to provide economic security to decentralized networks,” said Peregrine Exploration CEO David Lee. “Level combines these two use cases into a single product, opening up a whole new world of opportunities for restakers, AVSs, and DeFi users.”

Pirate Nation Studio Proof of Play Adds 'Boss' Chain on Arbitrum Orbit for 'Horizontal Scaling'

Proof of Play, the studio behind Pirate Nation, is launching Boss Chain on Aug. 29, describing it as "the next step in their multichain vision to support 100M+ players." According to the team: "Boss Chain, like the project's original Apex, is an Arbitrum Orbit chain, offering seamless scalability and marketplace interoperability. This is huge news for horizontal scaling, which is essential for ambitious applications with large volumes of onchain compute, such as new social or consumer dapps."

Lombard Launches LBTC, 'Bridging Bitcoin to DeFi

Lombard has publicly launched LBTC, a "cross-chain, yield-bearing Bitcoin token designed for DeFi use." According to the team: "The launch follows a successful private beta that attracted more than $165 million in deposits from over 600 institutional allocators. LBTC allows users to stake Bitcoin through Babylon and utilize it across various DeFi protocols. Initial integrations include major DeFi protocols such as Symbiotic, Morpho, Pendle, Corn, Gauntlet, Derive, EtherFi and Gearbox."

Matchain, Decentralized and Scalable AI Chain, Launches Mainnet

Matchain, describing itself as a "decentralized and scalable AI chain" for securing data sovereignty, set its mainnet launch for Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET. According to the project's documentation, it's a layer-2 rollup on BNB Chain, using Optimism's OP Stack technology. The team wrote in a message: "As AI increasingly threatens user privacy by creating data silos, Matchain addresses this by merging blockchain transparency with AI capabilities. Leveraging the Optimism (OP) stack, Matchain’s layer-2 rollup handles high transaction volumes with low-latency dApps. Users can now bridge tokens, swap via Matchain’s DEX and launch tokens and memes, all in a secure environment." will also be adopting other key Arbitrum roadmap milestones to support the ecosystem- Timeboost, BoLD, and Cluster Chains. Additionally, the Blueprint highlights the recently-launched BANANA Bill for funding dApp development and User Incentives.

Tuesday, Sept. 3

Arbitrum's 'Stylus' Upgrade Adds Support for WebAssembly Languages in Smart-Contracts Programming

Arbitrum, the largest layer-2 network atop Ethereum with $14.1 billion of total value locked, launched the Stylus upgrade on Tuesday, adding support for WebAssembly languages like Rust, C and C++. According to the team: "This expands beyond Solidity, attracting new developers. Stylus works on Arbitrum One, Nova and Orbit networks, improving efficiency for complex contracts. Projects like Renegade have implemented it on testnet. ArbitrumDAO approved Stylus with 99.1% support."

Union, Native to Develop Trust-Minimized Bridges for Moving Assets Across Bitcoin Layer 2s

Union, a modular ZK interoperability layer, and Native, describing itself as a "zero trust Bitcoin application platform," are partnering to offer a trustless bridging solution. According to the team: "This will enable secure asset transfers across Bitcoin L2s and multichain ecosystems without intermediaries, transforming Bitcoin into a dynamic, interoperable asset... For years, Bitcoin’s scripting limitations have restricted advanced DeFi applications, confining it to a static store of value. Current Bitcoin bridges use intermediaries or multisig frameworks, adding risks and limiting DeFi participation. This is set to change." Blog post is here.

Portal, Immutable Strike Partnership for Web3 Game Distribution, Monetization

Portal, a Web3 distribution platform,and Immutable, a platform for building Web3 games on Ethereum, announced a strategic partnership on Tuesday, promising to "redefine how Web3 games are distributed, monetized and experienced." According to the team: "By combining Portal's unparalleled expertise in user acquisition, rewards, payments and ecosystem liquidity improvements, with Immutable's robust platform for game development and distribution, the partnership ensures that players worldwide gain easy and rewarding access to the best Web3 games. This alliance enhances the growth potential of Web3 gaming and increases the chances of more Web3 games finding mainstream audiences."

Hypernative, Provider of Security for Web3, Raises $16M in Series A Round

Hypernative, a real-time monitoring, risk detection and automated response platform for Web3, raised a $16 million Series A round, led by Quantstamp with investors including Bloccelerate VC, boldstart ventures, Borderless Capital, CMT Digital, IBI Tech Fund, Knollwood Investment Advisory, Re7 Capital, and some notable angels. According to the team: "Hypernative will use the funds to accelerate adoption of its solution which last year detected 99.5% of hacks with less than 0.001% false positive rate, giving a 2 minute or more advance warning in most cases. The system helped save more than $100 million worth of funds to date."

TON Accelerator Launches New Incubator 'TON:Acc' for Startups Building on Telegram-Affiliated Blockchain

TON Accelerator has launched "TON:Acc," a new incubation program for start-ups building on TON, the blockchain closely affiliated with the instant messaging app Telegram. According to the team: "The program will be powered by TON Ventures, who will be investing up to $2.5 million to accelerate the growth of the five projects selected as part of its inaugural cohort. TON Accelerator has also introduced the TON:Acc Portal, a new ecosystem incubation platform. The portal offers a range of features designed to provide early-stage projects with better access to support while giving investors a valuable channel to discover promising ecosystem projects."

Crestal, the 'Expedia for Web3 Infra,' Launches Testnet, Integrates With Avail

PROTOCOL VILLAGE EXCLUSIVE: Crestal, a blockchain project describing itself as "Expedia for Web3 infra," announced the launch of its public testnet, Crestal Carbon, on a Berachain testnet. According to the team: "In addition to Crestal Carbon, Crestal announced an integration with Avail, making it the company’s first supported modular service. Avail’s Web3 infrastructure allows modular execution layers to scale and interoperate in a trust minimized way. Crestal will serve as a marketplace for Avail, with multiple options going live soon after."

Sonic, New Tech Stack from Fantom Blockchain Ecosystem, Integrates Chainlink Data Feeds, CCIP

Sonic Labs has joined the Chainlink Scale program, and is integrating Chainlink Data Feeds and Chainlink CCIP into the Sonic network, which is the new technology stack from the Fantom blockchain ecosystem. According to the team: "This initiative will empower Sonic ecosystem developers by providing them with the tools they need to build feature-rich on-chain apps through Chainlink’s industry-leading services." CoinDesk 20 asset: LINK$13

Ripple Will Soon Add Ethereum Compatible Smart Contracts to XRP Ledger

Ripple is enhancing the XRP Ledger by integrating Ethereum-compatible smart contracts via a new sidechain, expanding its functionality beyond basic transactions to include complex applications like decentralized exchanges and token issuance. This development includes the use of the Axelar network for cross-chain token transfers, with Wrapped XRP (eXRP) acting as the primary token on this sidechain, facilitating broader interoperability and developer engagement. In May, the project, led at the time by ex-TRON head of engineering Eric Chen and ex-Polygon business director Marouen Zelleg, disclosed a $2 million seed funding round in May.

Monday, Sept. 2

Parlay Labs, Building a Meme Coin Launchpad, Begins $2M Funding Round Led by DNA.fund

Parlay Labs has begun a $2 million funding round led by DNA.fund, launching the Parlay platform, a multichain, no-code memecoin launchpad and trading platform. According to the team: "Parlay supports networks like Ethereum, Base, and Avalanche, aiming to democratize crypto access with user-friendly tools, including safe-mode launches and real-time chat for token discovery. The investment brings expertise from DNA.fund founders Brock Pierce and Scott Walker. Founded by Alex Mascioli and Nick Mancini, Parlay Labs focuses on making token creation and trading accessible, with plans to add more blockchain networks soon."

Radix Chooses Hedge Fund Firm Brevan Howard to Manage XRD-Denominated Endowment Fund

RDX Holdings and Radix Foundation,supporting the Radix distributed ledger, has selected Brevan Howard Digital, an affiliate of the hedge fund Brevan Howard, as the manager of a new endowment fund. "Brevan Howard Digital has been selected as the investment manager to implement the core strategies that have been prioritized by the various boards responsible for the fiduciary management and control of the relevant Radix assets," according to a blog post. Radix announced the planned creation of the 1.5 billion XRD ($37 million) Endowment Fund last month, as reported in Protocol Village at the time. The team said then that "the fund is intended to support long term ecosystem growth while securing financial support for the entities involved in the development and growth of the Radix platform and ecosystem."

Quai Announces $5M Strategic Funding Round Following Release of Mainnet-Compatible Devnet

Quai, a la programmable proof-of-work blockchain with a "zone layer" that functions as a collection of individual Ethereum-like chains running in parallel, announces the successful closing of a $5 million strategic funding round with participation from Cogitent Ventures, MH Ventures, TPC Ventures, Giga Chad Ventures, and DexCheck Ventures. Additionally, Quai previously secured $10 million from Polychain Capital and Alumni Ventures, bringing its total funding to $15 million. Last month, Quai released a mainnet-compatible devnet and tooling upgrades, prepping for the Golden Age testnet, as reported by Protocol Village at the time.

Oasis Network's EVM-Compatible ParaTime, 'Sapphire,' Integrates With Router Chain on Mainnet

Oasis Sapphire, an Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible parallel runtime or "ParaTime" on the layer-1 Oasis Network, has integrated with Router Chain on mainnet, connecting to over 25 chains. According to the team: "This enables cross-chain dApps and allows other networks to use Oasis's confidential compute features. The upgrade supports chain-agnostic experiences across various blockchain applications. Projects using this expanded ecosystem include private wallets, privacy-focused stablecoins, liquid staking solutions, DEXes and launchpads."

Kredete, Platform for Remittances and Credit-Building, Raises $2.25M

Kredete, a financial platform aiding African immigrants in building credit and sending money home, has raised $2.25 million in seed funding led by Blockchain Founders Fund, with participation from Techstars and Tezos Foundation. According to the team: "By turning remittances into credit-building tools using blockchain, Kredete addresses a major financial gap. The platform has 300,000+ users and $100M in transactions. Kredete aims to expand its services and enhance financial inclusion for immigrants."

Cardano’s Chang Hard Fork Goes Live, Introducing On-Chain Governance

Cardano, the layer-1 blockchain launched in 2017 by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, activated its highly anticipated “Chang” upgrade on Sunday, marking the ecosystem's long-planned shift towards decentralized governance. CIP-1694, an official "Cardano Improvement Proposal," describes the new community governance structure and establishes three user-led governance bodies: the Constitutional Committee, Delegate Representatives (dReps), and Stake Pool Operators (SPOs). Moving forward, Cardano's three founding entities—the Cardano Foundation, Input Output Global (IOHK) and Emurgo—will no longer have the keys to trigger chain upgrades or "hard forks." Instead, that responsibility will be delegated to the new governance groups.

Blockchain Developer Alchemy Buys BWare, Pushing Into Europe, Adding About 25% to Staff

Blockchain developer platform Alchemy has acquired Bware Labs, the main company behind infrastructure provider platform Bware. The deal is expected to increase Alchemy's headcount by about 25%. Alchemy disclosed the acquisition on Thursday without revealing the purchase price. However, company officials told CoinDesk this was its biggest acquisition to date, bringing on 41 developers and engineers from the Bware team and increasing Alchemy's headcount to 190.

Bitcoin Layer-2 Network Stacks Begins Nakamoto Upgrade

Stacks, a layer-2 blockchain that augments the Bitcoin network, began the next phase of its Nakamoto upgrade with the aim of making transactions even faster. Network operators now have a two-week window to implement the Nakamoto upgrade, after which there will be hard fork that completes the process. Nakamoto introduces a new way of producing Stacks blocks, using a proof-of-transfer consensus algorithm. Users burn bitcoin (BTC) to mine Stacks blocks and receive rewards. This process began its implementation in April, with block "signers" coming online to validate "tenures" of transactions. Tenures are periods of time that miners are assigned to produce multiple blocks that are ultimately settled on Bitcoin.

Bridge Fundraising for Stablecoin-Based Payments Network Totals $58M: Fortune

Crypto startup Bridge, which wants to build a global stablecoin-based payments networks, recently raised $40 million in fresh funding, taking the total raised to $58 million, Fortune reported Friday. The startup, which was founded by Square and Coinbase alumni Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, aims to "enable companies to use a stablecoin rail without thinking about it," Abrams said in an interview, according to the report.

Protocol Village is a regular feature of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter exploring the tech behind crypto, one block at a time. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday. Project teams can submit updates here. For previous versions of Protocol Village, please go here.

Thursday, Aug. 29

Peregrine Exploration Raises $3.6M to Build Restaking-Powered Stablecoin Protocol 'Level'

PROTOCOL VILLAGE EXCLUSIVE: Peregrine Exploration, a blockchain research and development firm, raised $3.6 million in a funding round co-led by Dragonfly and Polychain Capital to develop Level, "the first stablecoin protocol powered by restaked dollar tokens." According to the team, Level makes it easy to "restake" stablecoins – meaning the assets can be used to earn interest and secure other blockchain protocols. Level's stablecoin, lvlUSD, will launch in private beta in the coming weeks with a mainnet launch planned for Q4. Users will be able to mint lvlUSD tokens and earn Level XP (points), restaking points, and Aave yield on their dollar-backed stablecoins like USDT and USDC. “Level was founded on the belief that the two most important use cases of crypto are the permissionless access to digital dollars and the ability to provide economic security to decentralized networks,” said Peregrine Exploration CEO David Lee. “Level combines these two use cases into a single product, opening up a whole new world of opportunities for restakers, AVSs, and DeFi users.”

Pirate Nation Studio Proof of Play Adds 'Boss' Chain on Arbitrum Orbit for 'Horizontal Scaling'

Proof of Play, the studio behind Pirate Nation, is launching Boss Chain on Aug. 29, describing it as "the next step in their multichain vision to support 100M+ players." According to the team: "Boss Chain, like the project's original Apex, is an Arbitrum Orbit chain, offering seamless scalability and marketplace interoperability. This is huge news for horizontal scaling, which is essential for ambitious applications with large volumes of onchain compute, such as new social or consumer dapps."

Lombard Launches LBTC, 'Bridging Bitcoin to DeFi

Lombard has publicly launched LBTC, a "cross-chain, yield-bearing Bitcoin token designed for DeFi use." According to the team: "The launch follows a successful private beta that attracted more than $165 million in deposits from over 600 institutional allocators. LBTC allows users to stake Bitcoin through Babylon and utilize it across various DeFi protocols. Initial integrations include major DeFi protocols such as Symbiotic, Morpho, Pendle, Corn, Gauntlet, Derive, EtherFi and Gearbox."

Matchain, Decentralized and Scalable AI Chain, Launches Mainnet

Matchain, describing itself as a "decentralized and scalable AI chain" for securing data sovereignty, set its mainnet launch for Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET. According to the project's documentation, it's a layer-2 rollup on BNB Chain, using Optimism's OP Stack technology. The team wrote in a message: "As AI increasingly threatens user privacy by creating data silos, Matchain addresses this by merging blockchain transparency with AI capabilities. Leveraging the Optimism (OP) stack, Matchain’s layer-2 rollup handles high transaction volumes with low-latency dApps. Users can now bridge tokens, swap via Matchain’s DEX and launch tokens and memes, all in a secure environment."