Stakely's Monthly News Digest | August 2023 Edition

Get ready to catch up on the latest updates from your favorite blockchains and protocols. Welcome to our August monthly roundup! Here, you'll find the key information you need to make informed decisions about your crypto investments. Let's get started!

How do you feel about helping to translate Ethereum.org and winning prizes for supporting your favorite project? In August, the online collaborative event Translathon was launched with the intention of rewarding enthusiasts who seek to globalize Ethereum and popularize the concepts that underpin its ecosystem.

Are you a creator on OpenSea?

In an effort to more closely align with the principles of decentralization and offer users more flexibility, OpenSea announced significant changes to its fee structure for creators, effective August 31, 2023. The platform will be deactivating its "Filter Operator," which was designed to impose fees on creators for secondary sales but did not garner enough support in the web3 ecosystem. During a transition period extending up to February 29, 2024, preferred fees set by creators will continue to apply to certain collections.

Stakely is a Verified Validator on the SSV Network

As validators, our aim is to evolve alongside the advancements of projects, and in August, Stakely became a verified validator on the SSV Network, pioneers in DVT technology. The goal of the SSV Network is to contribute to the decentralization of Ethereum through its Distributed Validator Technology.

Convinced of the importance of having different options that help our users enjoy the best possible experiences, we have created the Rabby Wallet tutorial, an alternative to MetaMask 🦊 x 🐰. You'll be amazed to see what Rabby is capable of, don't miss it!

Curve Finance

On one hand, August was not exactly a good month for Curve Finance due to an incident, which was promptly alerted by the online security analytics company, Numen Cyber Labs. According to the report, the hacker hijacked Curve's website DNS and then redirected it to a malicious URL.

Another piece of news that left a bitter taste for Curve was the sale of a significant amount of CRV by Michael Egorov, Curve’s co-founder. Apparently, this sale was made to mitigate the high risk of liquidation associated with a debt of approximately 100 million dollars in stablecoin, backed by large quantities of CRV.

This August, the range of marketplaces in Aptos has expanded with the integration of Blue Move and Wapal, which are similar alternatives to Blur on Ethereum and Tensor on Solana. Blue Move aims to enhance the user experience by making transactions more fluid through the integration of Aptos TokenV2. Meanwhile, Wapal offers special incentives for pro traders.

In addition, starting from August, users of Petra Wallet have the opportunity to earn rewards and contribute to the security of the Aptos network. This is achieved by staking APT directly from their mobile devices.

This month brought significant advancements for stakers on Stader. Now, they can earn more than 1.5x rewards from ETHx staking in DeFi, thanks to new partnerships with Balancer and Curve Finance. This boost in rewards offers an additional incentive for those considering staking ETHx.

On the other hand, the ETHx mainnet ecosystem has gained momentum with the integration of over 100 node operators. Moreover, running a node has become more accessible than ever: the minimum amount of ETH required to become an operator has been reduced to just 4 ETH. This means that more people can participate in the network and contribute to its security and efficiency.

In August, Helix hosted its first exchange trading competition on Galxe to celebrate the launch of its new swap feature. We extend our congratulations to the pioneers who not only earned incentives but were also the first to experience the ease of swapping between different currency pairs and tokens. Don't miss out on more opportunities, follow us on our social networks!

Speed and efficiency on Injective

Believe it or not! Injective hit the milestone of producing 42 million blocks, nearly 270 million on-chain transactions, all at an astounding rate of 0.82 seconds per block. This achievement demonstrates the network's unparalleled speed and efficiency.

INJ 2.0: Token burn and value increase

One of the highlights of INJ 2.0 is the implementation of a flexible burn system. Each week, 60% of the fees generated from exchange trading are collected into a pool where users can bid using INJ. This INJ is subsequently burned, adding value to the remaining tokens. The most exciting part is that with INJ 2.0, any dApp on Injective can contribute a portion of their fees to this weekly bid, further incentivizing token burns and thereby increasing value for INJ holders.

If you're interested in learning more about the implications of this new burn system on the decentralized economy, we cover it in our latest thread.

Cosmos is leading the way in blockchain interoperability. Thanks to the implementation of CosmoDot Trust-Minimized, an active connection between Cosmos and Polkadot has now been established through IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication). But that's not all: Toki, a cross-chain bridge, also plans to connect Ethereum with the Cosmos SDK via IBC. This bridge will facilitate the native exchange of popular tokens like USDC and USDT.

If you still need more reasons to get excited, Wormhole has launched Gateway, a blockchain based on the Cosmos SDK. This will allow the more than 23 blockchains already connected with Wormhole to interact with the Interchain.

Simplified IBC transfers in Keplr Wallet

If you use Keplr Wallet, we have good news. Thanks to a partnership with Skip Protocol, IBC transfers are now simpler than ever. Forget the tedious task of searching for active channels for making IBC transactions; just make sure to select the correct blockchain and destination address, and Keplr and Skip will take care of the rest.

To keep up to date with all the innovations of this super wallet, don't miss our tutorial on Keplr 2.0, your gateway into the Cosmos ecosystem.

If you're a Fantom enthusiast, you'll be pleased to know that the blockchain has introduced new ways for smoother transactions. AnCrypto Wallet now allows you to send FTM directly via its chat function. In addition, Sprynt has brought its cross-chain payment infrastructure to Fantom, offering features such as one-click payments, payment links, and subscriptions.

Asset transfers to Fantom

If you're interested in moving assets to Fantom, Axelar, a blockchain built on Cosmos SDK, facilitates this process through Squid. Direct transfer options include USDC, USDT, WETH, and WBTC.

But connectivity doesn't stop there. Stargate allows you to send tokens to Fantom from Layer Zero, and the list of options is quite extensive: USDC, USDT, DAI, WETH, WBTC, and CRV.

Good news for the Juno community! The network has incorporated CosmWasm modules, opening the door to smart contracts with functionalities comparable to those of the Cosmos SDK.

Invictus V16

This August, Juno launched Invictus V16 on mainnet. The update not only improves its codebase but also makes Juno the first chain with a fully interconnected WASM client within the Polkadot ecosystem, all thanks to its collaboration with Composable Finance.

Asset exchange with TFM

But the updates don't stop there. Juno has also introduced the Aggregated Limit Order Book (ALOB) through TFM. This feature will be available on all DEXs in the ecosystem and will offer users the ability to set buy and sell orders on asset pairs, both direct and indirect, something the community has been eagerly awaiting.

If you're the kind of person who does your own research diving into a blockchain, it's good to know that Evmos stands out for its high developer activity in the Cosmos ecosystem. This metric, verifiable through Dev Activity, gives us a clear idea of the health and momentum in the Evmos developer community.

Dynamic IBC comes to Evmos

Dynamic IBC, or dIBC, has arrived on Evmos with the promise of transforming the already potent inter-blockchain communication capabilities of Cosmos. What does this mean for you as a frequent user, holder, or Evmos delegator? Simply, that dIBC will enhance the interoperability of Evmos.

With this technology, Evmos will more easily interact with other chains without them having to update their systems to be compatible with dIBC. This, of course, makes the task easier for developers when creating new and varied applications that take full advantage of IBC technology.

For users, this translates into the ability to move assets and NFTs between different chains with fewer fees and more efficiently. Plus, the diversification of markets you'll have access to expands, providing you with more opportunities to increase your profitability.

Health is undoubtedly one of our biggest concerns as human beings, and it seems that Polkadot understands this too. They've incorporated Healthree, a Web3 application focused on healthcare with a game-fi approach, hosted on the Astar Network. The most exciting part is that the Healthree app is now available on the App Store.

Another novelty is the latest Sub ID update, which brings with it a new section focused on tokens. This update allows users to monitor and manage their Polkadot wallets more efficiently and centrally.

Thanks to the Interchain Alliance, Terra's delegators will now receive additional rewards to the usual ones. This means you can expect a more generous flow of passive income if you decide to stake on this chain.

Let's explain it with a recent example. Terra announced in August the formal implementation of Alliance yields. According to their announcement, if you stake rSWTH and bWHALE on Terra, you'll now also receive LUNA as a reward, without having to do anything more. Imagine this on a larger scale: each new alliance added means more opportunities to receive multiple forms of rewards. In summary, more passive income for you by staking LUNA.

August brought us interesting advances and news. Now, we're eager to see what surprises September has in store for us. Stay tuned to our next monthly summary to keep up to date with the latest in blockchain evolution and the opportunities they offer.

See you next month! 🚀