Weekly Project Updates: Starknet Establishes Gaming Committee, etc

1. Arbitrum Foundation Proposes Establishment of $400 Million Crypto Gaming Fund to its DAO link

The Arbitrum Foundation has announced plans to invest 200 million ARB tokens (approximately $400 million) over the course of two years to promote its blockchain-based gaming projects. The new proposal suggests allocating the majority of the funds (160 million ARB) to incentivize issuers and developers to create new games on Arbitrum, with an additional 40 million ARB supporting infrastructure initiatives. The foundation will require approval from its DAO for this proposal.

2. Starknet Foundation Announces Formation of Gaming Committee and Allocates 50 Million STRK Tokens link

The Starknet Foundation has announced the establishment of a gaming committee to advance the development of the Starknet gaming ecosystem, allocating 50 million STRK tokens for proposals recommended by the committee. Currently, the committee consists of six experts: Henri Lieutaud, Oli Freuler, Gabin Marignier, Chris Lexmond, Tarrence van As, and Loaf. Their task is to design and recommend incentives for developers to create games on the Starknet network and encourage players to engage with these games.

3. Solana (SOL) Reaches Historic High Market Capitalization, On-Chain Transactions Surge link

On March 15th, Solana (SOL) surged over 10% to break through $180, although it is still some distance away from its all-time high (ATH) of $260. Nevertheless, Solana’s market capitalization has reached a historic high, exceeding $81 billion. As of the time of writing, SOL is priced at $186. The price increase of SOL has also fueled trading activity in its meme sector, with notable movements such as WIF declining by 27%, BONK decreasing by 12%, and BOME surging by 227% in the past 24 hours. Additionally, Solana-based projects dominate the top ten projects on the current Dex Screener heat map.

4. EigenLayer Releases Statement on Phased Mainnet Launch in Coming Weeks link

EigenLayer has announced plans to gradually launch its mainnet in the coming weeks to mitigate risks and optimize performance. Currently, the final version of the EigenLayer testnet is being migrated to Holesky, and this version will soon be operational. Earlier, EigenLayer secured a $100 million investment from A16Z.

5. MakerDAO to Launch First Phase of Endgame Launch in Summer 2024 link

MakerDAO founder Rune Christensen announced on the governance forum the launch of the first phase of the Endgame Launch in the summer of 2024.

The inaugural release marks the unveiling of a new brand, which will last for a month. Following the new brand launch, the ecosystem will introduce two new tokens, NewStable and NewGovToken (actual names pending), alongside the retention of DAI and MKR tokens, which can also be upgraded if desired. NewStable will be farmable after the launch of NewGovToken, with an annual yield of 600 million NewGovTokens per year. Additionally, 1 MKR can be upgraded to 24,000 NewGovTokens.

Following the launch of the new tokens, the Lockstake Engine (LSE) locking mechanism will be initiated, along with Lockstake Engine rewards and income framing. Locking MKR or NewGovToken will allow users to earn NewStable and tokens from SubDAOs like Spark through yield farming. After the introduction of LSE, the NewBridge will be launched to connect ecosystem tokens to L2.

The highlight of the first phase of the Endgame Launch will be the release of SparkDAO, including the SPK token and SPK farm. Future phases of the Endgame Launch will include scale expansion, the introduction of NewChain, and the final chapter.

6. Curve Lending Platform LlamaLend Goes Live link

Curve Finance announced via Twitter that Curve Lend (LlamaLend) has been launched. Within this lending platform, users can independently list any assets without permission. However, specific collateralization parameters and liquidation penalties for each asset will vary based on an algorithmic framework.

7. PancakeSwap to Release V4 Version in Third Quarter link

PancakeSwap is set to release its V4 version in the third quarter, featuring four key enhancements: Hook, custom pool types, singleton, and flash accounting. The new version will be launched on both the Ethereum and BNB chains, offering improved asset pricing for listings, reduced gas consumption, and decreased deployment costs.

8. Unibot Announces Core Team’s Decision to Part Ways with Solana Team link

The Unibot project announces that its core team has decided to part ways with the Solana team, terminating the collaboration primarily due to Solana’s breach of trust in launching the “evm_unibot” Blast bot without prior permission and authorization; refusal to comply with KYC requirements; and failure to fulfill commitments to the Unibot core team. Additionally, Unibot will develop its proprietary Solana bot, soon accessible to users on both the Telegram platform and the Unisol-X platform.

9. Binance Launchpool Introduces 49th Project, ether.fi (ETHFI) link

Binance Launchpool announces the launch of the 49th project, ether.fi (ETHFI), an non-custodial liquidity re-staking protocol. Users can deposit BNB and FDUSD into the ETHFI mining pool on the Launchpad website after 08:00 on March 14, 2024 (GMT+8) to earn ETHFI rewards, with a total mining duration of 4 days. Previously, ether.fi completed a $27 million Series A financing round and a $5.3 million seed financing round, with Bullish Capital and CoinFund leading the investment.

10. Layer 1 Foundation (L1F) Organizes New BRC20 Governance Structure link

The Layer 1 Foundation (L1F), founded by the creator of BRC-20, Domo, announces the establishment of a new governance structure for BRC20, including the appointment of several leading BRC20 indexers as collaborators. Hiro, ALEXLabBTC, OylDynamics, Allium Labs, and UTXO Management will be involved in this initiative, with UniSat and BestinSlot appointed as co-lead maintainers for the future of the BRC20 protocol. In addition to supporting BRC20, L1F aims to provide public tools, educational resources, and an open discussion forum for open-source developers building various meta-protocols on Bitcoin.