Hey Buddies!
We've scoured the web for the most exciting news from the Polkadot ecosystem and beyond.
So grab a drink, sit back, and catch up on all the cool stuff happening in the world of Web3.
What's inside
Buddies Street News
Polkadot Ecosystem
General News
NFT News
DeFi News
Outside Polkadot
Buddies Street News
An overview of all the things that happened last week on Buddies Street.
BuddiesBank & MoonBank Updates
Discover the latest news about the Banks. Full recap in the Buddies Discord.
Buddies AMA Recap
Buddies made the Top 10 in JUR's Start-Up Society!
Plus, get ready for
the Investing Challenge on Monday
Crazy Games on Thursdays
and tons of tech upgrades
Full recap in the Buddies Discord.
Polkadot Ecosystem
General News
Jur's Startup Society Founders' Awards
Tim Draper, Trent McConaghy, and Ed Hesse will judge the Startup Society Founders' Awards, rewarding 5 founders with $2,000 USD and 1,000 $JUR each.
The Buddies team is one of the Top 10 finalists.
KILT Protocol & Axel Springer Team Up
KILT Protocol joins forces with digital publisher Axel Springer to integrate KILT's identity blockchain for a secure, seamless login experience. This partnership showcases the potential of Web3 tech in transforming traditional industries like media.
Manta Network's Privacy Revolution: SBTs & NFTs
Manta Network unveils privacy-focused products: the Manta Wallet Extension, preserving users' on-chain data, and the Manta NPO platform, an NFT and SBT launchpad with zero-knowledge tech. Explore their groundbreaking zkSBTs for on-chain identity verification.
Web3 Foundation Grants Wave 17 Unveiled
Wave 17 of the Web3 Foundation Grants Program announces 46 grants totaling $1 million. The funded projects focus on improving tech, developer experience, tooling, smart contracts, research, and 2nd-layer protocols.
Aventus Thrives Amid Challenges
Aventus secures two new clients in entertainment and finance, achieves marketing milestones, integrates with Polkadot.js, and launches its Lowering Dapp. They've also held an enterprise blockchain roundtable and will attend four conferences in April.
NFT News
Burn Your "Wanted!!!" Posters & Free Gamma Gang Birds
Set your Gamma Gang Birds free by burning your "Wanted!!!" posters, which also removes the item for Kanarias and Beta Birds.
Check the link to bail out specific Gamma Gang Birds and learn about the Hell #10 name bug revealing the true character and number.
Early Adopter Incentives for zkBAB Minters
Manta's zkBAB minters, enjoy Early Adopter Incentives.
Mint zkBABs for free with subsidized gas fees, access zk-BAB edition Giant Squid with future benefits, join the Crew3 campaign, and attend AMAs with potential rewards via the Link3 campaign.
New NFT Release for Tripsters: Happy Easter!
Tripsters, celebrate Easter with a brand-new NFT release on Singular.
Episode 21 of Season 01 is available now, so head over to Singular.app to discover the latest in the series.
The Royal Raffle dApp Joins The Astar Network
The Astar Network community welcomes the Royal Raffle dApp.
Get ready for excitement and value each month, with chances to join the Kusama Kingdom.
Keep an eye out for special prizes in their first few raffles and follow for updates.
Spacers NFT Mint Prep Nears Completion
Spacers NFT mint is almost ready. The team is awaiting RMRK's EIP-to-ERC conversion by April 18th.
Testing continues on the EVM version of the Singular marketplace. Stay tuned for the mint date.
Phala World Marketplace Now Live
Discover and build your collection with the Phala World Marketplace, featuring ultra-high definition NFTs.
Visit phala.world/marketplace2/ to browse.
Soon, transfer and trade NFTs, benefiting delegators and owners.
DeFi News
Mangata X Adds USDT & New Incentives
Mangata X now offers USDT, giving users more portfolio management options during market volatility.
Liquidity mining for KSM/USDT started April 7th, with new pool weights for liquidity providers.
$vETH / $ETH Meta Stable Pool Now Live on Balancer
The composable $vETH / $ETH meta stable pool is live on Balancer, Ethereum's permissionless liquidity hub.
Enjoy yield-bearing tokens, and stay tuned for the vETH/ETH incentive pool offering on Bifrost & more rewards after the ETH Shanghai upgrade!
PrivaDEX Added Major Wallet Support
Talisman, Subwallet, NovaWalletApp, and PolkadotJS join MetaMask as supported wallets.
Referendum #19 Boosts BSX Yield Farms
With Referendum #19 approval, a 2x multiplier is applied to all BSX yield farms.
Enjoy up to 80% APR in BSX rewards on BSX<>KSM, BSX<>TNKR, and BSX<>USDT LPs. Boost your earnings.
Outside Polkadot
Mastercard's Free Music Pass NFT Drop
Mastercard unveils a free Music Pass NFT on the Polygon network, offering exclusive content, experiences, and access to an AI-powered music generator app.
Part of the Artist Accelerator program, mint your NFT before the end of April and enjoy the perks.
Japan's Web3 Project Team Releases White Paper
Japan's ruling party aims to encourage the crypto industry with a focus on friendly regulations.
Their white paper suggests tax exemptions, self-assessments, and guidelines for accounting standards, along with a self-regulatory institution for stablecoins and increased transparency.
Bitget's $100M Web3 Fund for Asia
Bitget has established a $100 million fund to promote crypto and Web3 adoption in Asian countries.
Focusing on BUIDL, the fund aims to support growth in the region amidst Hong Kong's easing crypto regulations and Japan's approval of a Web3 development white paper.
FTX Recovers $7.3B in Assets
Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX discovered $7.3 billion in assets across various wallets and storage facilities.
The find has sparked mixed reactions and highlighted the need for robust security measures and due diligence.
Experts predict new regulations and stronger consumer protection in response.
Twitter Partners with eToro for In-App Trading
Twitter's partnership with eToro allows users to buy stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other assets within the app.
The collaboration includes access to market charts, trading data, and eToro's site via a dedicated button.
This move aligns with Elon Musk's goal of making Twitter a "super app."
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// See you next week! //
Thanks again for another fantastic roundup, aemonk! The Web3 grants was a great find because it will likely help me in my own work for Lucky Friday 🍀