Protocol Village: Zeeve Integrates 'One-Click' Validator Nodes for Provenance Blockchain

Jan. 19: Zeeve, an enterprise-grade automation platform for managing blockchain infrastructure, announced the integration of one-click access validator node infrastructure, full nodes and RPC APIs, for Provenance Blockchain. “Financial services require plug and play infrastructure,” said Joshua Maddox, head of developer ecosystem at Provenance Blockchain Foundation. “Zeeve’s integration with Provenance Blockchain makes it faster and more cost-effective for financial institutions and financial service providers to spin-up and operate a node on the Provenance Blockchain network."

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COTI Allocates $25M Ecosystem Fund as Part of Transition to Ethereum Layer-2

Jan. 18: COTI Protocol is strategically shifting from a directed acyclic graph (DAG) to an Ethereum Layer 2, powered by Garbling Circuits technology. According to the team: "This advancement enables faster, lighter and more secure privacy solutions, facilitating applications like wallets, decentralized exchanges, AI training and governance. To fortify its commitment, the COTI Foundation allocates $25 million from its ecosystem fund to propel privacy-focused initiatives. Soda Labs, specializing in cryptographic multi-party computation (MPC), is the first recipient of this funding."

Matter Labs, iCandy Plan New 'Hyperchain'

Jan. 18: Matter Labs and iCandy, a game developer in Southeast Asia, announced a strategic collaboration that will see the joint commitment and allocation of resources to the development of a dedicated zkSync gaming and AI-focused hyperchain, to be called zkCandy. According to the team: "The hyperchain will have gaming and AI-specific tools, decentralized gaming infrastructure, developer resources, and a game development ecosystem. ZkCandy Limited will be set up with both companies jointly investing resources to build the ecosystem around the hyperchain."

Safary Closes $2.4M Pre-Seed Round Led by Lemniscap

Jan. 18: Safary, describing itself as the "Web3 alternative to Google Analytics," has closed a $2.4 million USD pre-seed round, led by Lemniscap, with participation from Arca, SevenX, Big Brain Holdings, Saison Capital, Diaspora Ventures and 20 angel investors, according to the team. "The funding will accelerate the development of Safary’s marketing attribution platform, enabling Web3 teams to analyze their marketing CAC, channel ROI and customer LTV. Safary’s free solution allows projects to unlock powerful Web3 analytics by adding one line of code to their website. Safary tracks wallets, shows Web3 conversions, and links to on-chain actions."

Mimima, Layer-1 Blockchain, Turns Off Centralized Servers, Now Runs on 25K-50K User Nodes

Jan. 18: Minima, a layer-1 blockchain designed to be "totally decentralized," has "turned off all 24 centralized servers – 16 network relay nodes and 8 archive nodes. The network now runs entirely off the 25,000 to 50,000 nodes kept active solely by its user base," according to the team. The milestone is being referred to as "Decentraday." Hugo Feiler, co-founder and CEO of Minima, said: "It is the only Layer 1 blockchain protocol in which every node constructs and validates the chain with no centralized infrastructure required.”

Mantle EcoFund Announces $10M Deployment Into Six DeFi Projects

Jan. 18: Mantle EcoFund, a $200M ecosystem fund, has deployed $10M, funding six Mantle DeFi projects: Merchant Moe, INIT Capital, Butter.xyz, Renzo and MUFEX, according to the team: "Under MIP-26, up to $60M USDx (stable coins), 30K ETH, and $120M $MNT will support EcoFund dApps. These six projects will integrate $mETH (the 5th LSD by TVL) and $mUSD, boosting Mantle ecosystem's status as a yield powerhouse with a best-in-class native yield offering. According to MIP-24, Mirana Ventures will make a $30M capital call for new Mantle projects soon."