Protocol Village: Bitget Wallet’s ‘OmniConnect’ Expands Telegram Mini-Apps Beyond TON

Monday, Sept. 30

Bitget Wallet Launches ‘OmniConnect,’ Software Development Kit to Connect Telegram Mini-Apps to Solana, TON, EVM-Compatible Chains

Bitget Wallet, a Web3 non-custodial wallets, announced the launch of OmniConnect, a software development kit for developers to connect Telegram Mini-Apps to multichain ecosystems across major blockchains including Solana, TON and all EVM-compatible chains. According to the team: “OmniConnect offers over a billion Telegram users and developers a seamless way to interact with multiple blockchains. Previously, Telegram Mini-Apps could only interact with the TON network.” The team answered a few of our questions:

Perpetuals Engine D8X Enables Leveraged Betting on Polymarket Prediction Market, Including U.S. Election

D8X, an institutional-grade perpetual futures engine, has launched leveraged prediction markets based on Polymarket spot feeds. According to the team: “This development enables users to place leveraged bets on outcomes in sports, pop culture and politics – including the highly contentious U.S. presidential election. Tackling the most critical challenge in prediction markets – risk management – D8X employs a system of dynamic leverage, fees and slippage to ensure the stability of the system from a risk perspective.” [EDITOR’S NOTE: CoinDesk’s Sam Reynolds wrote about this project in July.)

Bitdeer Technologies Releases Efficiency Test Results of SEAL02 Bitcoin Mining Chip

Bitdeer Technologies Group, a provider of Bitcoin mining solutions, announced the successful testing of its latest Bitcoin mining chip, SEAL02, following tape-out. According to the team: “The SEAL02 achieved an exceptional power efficiency ratio of 13.5 J/TH – while running at low voltage, ultra power-saving mode during its verification and prototype tests. Essentially, Bitdeer has fulfilled its power efficiency milestone as outlined in its SEALMINER Technology Roadmap announced in June 2024. Bitdeer is also tracking closely to its targets where R&D work on the company’s upcoming chip, SEAL03, is well underway to achieve its product release milestone.”

Metis Says SNZ Joins Decentralized Sequencer Pool as Second External Sequencer Operator

Metis, an Ethereum layer-2 project, announced that SNZ will become the second external sequencer operator to join the Decentralized Sequencer pool, going live on Sept. 26. According to the team: “SNZ’s onboarding will further contribute to the decentralization and security of the Metis network. This partnership is not limited to SNZ and Metis however; Artemis, one of the leading LST platforms, has integrated with SNZ and is also committing to providing Metis tokens.”

Friday, Sept. 27

Bedrock to Integrate Chainlink Proof of Reserve After $2M Exploit Involving UniBTC Smart Contract

Bedrock released a post-mortem on a vulnerability in the uniBTC smart contract that was exploited, “allowing the exploiter to mint 30.8 uniBTC and swap them for wBTC in Uniswap pools.” According to the post: “In response, we paused the vulnerable contract and implemented a fix to mitigate the vulnerability, which was later confirmed to have affected approximately $2 million in liquidity, primarily within the Uniswap pool.” Separately, the Chainlink team sent this message: “Following today’s security exploit on Bedrock’s platform involving uniBTC, Bedrock is integrating Chainlink Proof of Reserve (PoR) to help secure their minting function and fortify the security of their protocol.” (LINK)

Thursday, Sept. 26

Helium Mobile Strikes Sponsorship Deal With USC Trojans

Helium Mobile, a mobile network enabled by the Helium Network’s blockchain-powered wireless infrastructure, says it has entered into a sponsorship deal with the University of Southern California (USC) and its Trojans college sports teams. According to a message from a Helium rep: “By leveraging the world’s first people-built wireless network, Helium Mobile enables users to contribute to coverage and benefit from affordable, reliable phone service. The crypto incentive model rewards subscribers and Hotspot operators for supporting network growth, driving participation in decentralized wireless.” In an email, the rep wrote: “Expect stadium branding, activations and on-site giveaways.”

Ethereum Name Service Developer ENS Labs Integrates With Arianee for ‘Onchain Brand Identity Management’

ENS Labs, behind the Ethereum Name Service for human-readable blockchain address identifiers, has integrated with Arianee “to enhance onchain brand identity management, according to the team: “This collaboration will enable brands to directly link their corporate domain names to ENS names. Under their ENS domain, companies can authenticate all digital ownerships and tokenization of assets. Luxury watchmaker Breitling is first adopter of this integration, utilizing ENS domains to verify product authenticity and digital ownership. Every Breitling watch will now have a blockchain-based digital passport, verifiable only through the brand’s ENS name.”

‘Gaia Domain Name’ Lauches to Simplify Interactions in Decentralized AI Ecosystem

Gaia launched the Gaia Domain Name (GDN) to simplify interactions in its decentralized AI ecosystem. According to the team: “Like Ethereum Name Service, GDN allows users to register readable domain names, replacing complex wallet addresses with intuitive identities. This initiative addresses issues in centralized AI, such as IP theft and bias, by protecting knowledge owners and providing a more accurate data foundation for innovators. GDN also lets domain owners grow nodes and agents linked to their domains, earning token rewards for their contributions.”

Arthur Hayes-Backed Maelstrom Awards Second Bitcoin Developer Grant to BIP Editor Atack

Maelstrom, a decentralization-focused venture firm managed by the family office of BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, announced in a press release Thursday that Jon Atack (GitHub profile) is the second recipient of its Bitcoin Grant Program, to continue his research and development work. According to a bio, Atack started contributing to Bitcoin Core in 2019 and recently was made a maintainer and editor of the Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs) repository. “Bitcoin isn’t perfect,” Atack said in the press release. “Among other things, it needs further decentralization, continued vigilance, review, bug-fixing, updates, maintenance and improved robustness, performance, privacy, scaling, documentation and user experience.” Maestrom awarded its first developer grant earlier this month, after unveiling the program in July. The goal is to fund open-source Bitcoin developers, since unlike many newer crypto projects, Bitcoin has no single company or foundation driving the strategy or providing top-down funding.

Bitcoin ‘Hybrid’ Layer-2 Project BOB Launches DEX Uniswap V3

PROTOCOL VILLAGE EXCLUSIVE: BOB (“Build on Bitcoin”), a “hybrid” layer-2 project focused on Bitcoin with Ethereum’s EVM compatibility, has launched Uniswap v3, now available via the Oku decentralized exchange aggregator, according to the team: “This integration enhances trading efficiency, reduces slippage and improves liquidity provisioning for users. Additionally, traders and liquidity providers can earn Spice points during BOB Fusion’s final season, incentivizing active participation.”

Hinkal, Privacy-Focused Self-Custodial Protocol, Launches ‘Shared Privacy’

Hinkal, an institutional self-custodial protocol designed for cross-chain shared privacy, has launched Shared Privacy, “a solution that extends ETH’s privacy protocols to multiple chains and eliminates bootstrapping separate anonymity sets on each chain,” according to the team: “This tech is a leap that scales on-chain privacy horizontally across networks and fixes fragmented privacy solutions. It introduces Liquid Privacy Tokens, enabling stakers to earn yield while contributing to privacy via Hinkal’s permissionless, self-custodial Anonymity Staking system.”

Anoma, RISC Zero Disclose Plan to ‘Bring Intents to the ZkVM’

Anoma and RISC Zero disclosed that they are “teaming up to bring intents to the zkVM.” According to a message from Protocol Village: “Using the Anoma Resource Machine as a backend for RISC Zero’s zkVM will enable intent-centric apps to generate ZK proofs that can be verified by Ethereum or any blockchain. This will enable any chain to verify that user intents have been satisfied. By marrying the user-friendliness of intents with the zkVM’s off-chain computation and on-chain verification, this collaboration will unlock massive scalability for multichain dapps that have the same ease of use as Web2 applications.”

Hermetica Launches Bitcoin-Backed Stablecoin USDh on Stacks

Hermetica has launched its bitcoin-backed stablecoin USDh on the Stacks layer-2 network, making it the “first Bitcoin-backed stablecoin to enter the thriving Bitcoin ecosystem,” according to the team. “This will transform the way Bitcoiners can store value and earn yields up to 25%, all while maintaining full control of their assets.” The effort is leveraging liquidity technology from Velar, a DeFi protocol with Bitcoin finality, according to the team.

XProtocol, Built on Base Chain, Unveils XForge as ‘World’s First Node-Operated DePIN Smartphone’

XProtocol, an entertainment-focused blockchain built on the U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network, Base, has unveiled what it says is “the world’s first node-operated DePIN smartphone.” According to the team, the Web3 startup’s new Android device, XForge, functions as a fully operational blockchain node. Users can participate in the DePIN network directly from their phone, earning rewards, airdrops and cryptocurrency incentives: “XForge represents the next evolution in mobile devices, combining blockchain power with smartphone convenience.”

Oasys, Arbitrum Foundation, Uprising Launching First Gaming-Focused Arbitrum Orbit Chain Beyond Ethereum

Oasys, Arbitrum Foundation, and layer-2 Uprising have teamed up to launch what they say is the first gaming-focused Arbitrum Orbit blockchain beyond Ethereum.” According to the team: “Uprising, a layer-2 gaming yield blockchain, and Oasys, a layer-1 gaming chain, are collaborating to enhance Web3 gaming through Arbitrum Orbit technology. This marks the first deployment of Arbitrum Orbit for gaming outside Ethereum, showcasing a shared vision for blockchain gaming’s future.”

Bitcoin Staking Protocol Babylon Forms Strategic Alliance With Asphere to Allow Developers to Deploy Customizable L2s

The Babylon Bitcoin staking protocol has entered a strategic alliance with Asphere, a scaling solution from the team behind Ankr, “to empower developers with an end-to-end solution for launching innovative Bitcoin layer 2s, according to the team: “The solution will allow developers to seamlessly deploy highly customizable L2s backed by the unparalleled security of the Bitcoin network. This enables developers to tap into Bitcoin’s vast liquidity, leverage Bitcoin’s $1 trillion market cap for ironclad security, and achieve extremely fast finality when building new use cases within the original blockchain ecosystem.”

Nomic Brings Bitcoin-Backed ‘nBTC’ to Berachain

Nomic DAO Foundation, supporting the Nomic Network, a blockchain powering a decentralized custody engine for Bitcoin, announced the launch of nBTC, a 1:1 bitcoin-backed token, on Berachain, an Ethereum-compatible layer-1 network. The move follows Nomic’s recent Ethereum upgrade, which made nBTC natively available as an ERC-token on Ethereum, and capable of deployments to EVM-compatible chains, according to the team: “This integration allows users to directly deposit BTC for nBTC, bringing Bitcoin’s substantial liquidity into Berachain’s ecosystem, which operates on a unique proof-of-liquidity consensus model. This will enhance the capabilities of Bitcoin within Berachain’s growing ecosystem, offering developers the ability to integrate nBTC into DeFi protocols and to build BTC-backed applications without relying on centralized intermediaries.”

ZKVerify, Hyberbridge Team Up to Deliver Cross-Chain ZK proof Verification

ZkVerify, a blockchain designed to provide zero-knowledge proof verifications, and Hyperbridge, a so-called coprocessor where verification operations are performed offchain and then the results securely reported back, have teamed up to deliver cross-chain zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) verification, cutting costs by over 90%, according to the team: “ZkVerify handles the computationally heavy proof verification off-chain, enhancing scalability, while Hyperbridge makes verified proofs accessible across multiple blockchain networks, reducing gas fees. This partnership tackles Ethereum’s limitations and supports a broader range of cryptographic techniques, fostering innovation and cost-effective ZKP solutions for developers and end-users across various blockchains.”

Lido, Fireblocks Form Partnership Making It Easier for Institutions to Liquid-Stake ETH

Lido, a liquid staking project that’s the largest DeFi protocol overall, has partnered with Fireblocks, a digital-asset security firm, to make it easier and more secure for institutions to liquid-stake ETH, according to the team: “This integration allows institutions to stake any amount of ETH and receive liquid stETH, providing flexibility to trade or use their staked assets without locking them up, giving instant liquidity. By simplifying the staking process, this integration makes liquid staking more accessible for retail exchanges and institutions.”

Theta Labs Launches ‘EdgeCloud for Mobile,’ Implements AI Video Detection

Theta Labs, the developer behind the entertainment-focused blockchain project Theta Network, has launched EdgeCloud for Mobile, allowing Android users to contribute spare GPU power to the Theta EdgeCloud network and earn TFUEL tokens. According to the team: “Available on Google Play, the app lets users provide resources during idle times, supporting AI research in media, healthcare and finance. Using a Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN), Theta EdgeCloud cuts GPU-intensive task costs by over 50% compared to traditional cloud providers, offering scalable, decentralized AI model training and inference services.” The blog post reads: “For the first time ever, the Theta team has implemented a video object detection AI model (VOD_AI) that runs on consumer grade Android mobile devices, delivering true computation at the edge and enabling unparalleled scalability and reach. VOD_AI is a computer vision technique that uses AI to analyze video frames to identify objects by scanning video frames, looking for potential objects and drawing bounding boxes around them. This process is similar to how the human visual cortex works.” (THETA)