Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator June 2022 Updates: CESC Returns, Fairmint Announces Launch & More
The Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator is an internationally recognized, non-dilutive source of support for startups in the Blockchain ecosystem- formed by a partnership between the Haas School of Business, Blockchain at Berkeley student group, and Berkeley Engineering.- Check out the Xcelerator Homepage.
Berkeley Ecosystem Updates
CESC Returns to UC Berkeley with the Xcelerator Demo Day
Registration Now Open- Paper Submissions due July 28
The Crypto Economics Security Conference (CESC) returns to in-person this fall at UC Berkeley. Past CESC events have attracted over 600 participants.
We invite researchers and practitioners to submit papers, and all to attend.
Paper submissions are due July 28, registration is now open, and student travel grant applications are now being accepted. Join us!
CESC main conference will include paper presentations & poster sessions. Affiliated events include Blockchain/Web3 career fair and the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator Demo Day. Presentations will also be live streamed.
CESC aims to bring together researchers and practitioners to showcase and discuss the most recent developments in blockchain and Web3.
Hosted by Berkeley RDI, a multi-disciplinary campus-wide center, focusing on advancing the science, technology and education of web3, decentralization and empowering of a responsible digital economy, with three core pillars: research, education, and community / entrepreneurship, including the Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator.
More details at the bottom of this post!
Weekly Xcelerator Interview Spotlight- Aplo (Fall ‘19)
Xcelerator Team Updates
Fairmint announces launch, raises $7.2M
Fairmint empowers every startup to unlock an untapped superpower: their community. Last month, the company announced the public launch of their decentralized community ownership platform. Companies launch Fairmint’s decentralized portal on their website, allowing contributors to receive equity in exchange for time or money they invest.
Using their own technology on their own website, Fairmint has raised $7.2M from more than 300 supporters, including early adopters, partners, customers, angel investors and VCs such as Tim Draper, Boost VC, A Capital and Fabric Ventures. Fairmint is the Web3 layer of the modern startup stack, empowering participation in the ownership economy. Read more about the platform on their launch blog and learn more at Fairmint.com.
Bitgreen files as a DeFi Broker-Dealer, enters Rainforest Collective partnership
Bitgreen filed to launch as a DeFi Broker-Dealer and is entering a partnership with Rainforest Collective- enabling people to donate directly to the communities safeguarding the rainforest.
In Davos, CEO Adam Carver spoke on how blockchains can be a catalyst for a green future! Listen to his comments here.
Alfred Pay integrates with Moneygram for USDC-to-cash payouts
Alfred Pay is one of the early wallet adopters of the MoneyGram x Stellar integration that will allow its users in LATAM to seamlessly cash out their balance for local currency.
The MoneyGram integration aligns directly with Alfred Pay’s mission by merging the traditional remittance system and mobile first/DeFi worlds together. Starting July 2022, Alfred Pay beta users will be able to send cash at 22,000 US MoneyGram locations and cash out at 750 locations across the Dominican Republic. Best of all, this MoneyGram service with be $0 in fees to on/off ramp users onto USDC.
Alfred Pay has also launched the waitlist for its beta. Sign up for early access today and enjoy sending money from US to Dominican Republic with no fees! Strategic local partners have been able to drive up to 8000 individuals to the waitlist and counting. Sign up here.
Vite is listed on Binance, sponsors Consensus 2022
VITE listed on Binance.US this month! VITE/USD and VITE/USDT trading pairs are open, and VITE may be purchased via USD on-ramp. Vite was also a sponsor of Consensus 2022, hosting a booth at the conference and a side event where the team met many industry leaders interested in Vite’s “Zero Gas Layer-1” ecosystem.
Finally- Vite Labs recently launched a Velocity Fund where Vite is seeking to raise $1~2M for a Phase-1 Fund to jumpstart and nurture new projects built on Vite. Read more details on Vite’s recent growth here.
MetaMirror Gallery v2 launches
MetaMirror-built on auth3 Network- has gone live with their Gallery v2, becoming the first NFT marketplace on Oasis Network!
Gallery v2 now allows you to host an auction with $ROSE on any crypto collectible, and sell to specific buyers. It is also equipped with an innovative no-code NFT Launch service called MLaunch- allowing users to both configure their NFT smart contract and set up NFT launch events in a few clicks.
Read more here.
Campground launching public beta
Campground’s public beta is launching on July 7th! It envisions a world where creators can bootstrap their viral moments, and delivers on this vision by pairing its flexible content creation engine with exceptional creator economics powered by blockchain.
Unlike any NFT marketplace or other blockchain-based creator economy solution, creators can be paid as usual via Campground’s proprietary system, in fiat currency (USD), directly by their followers, without having to invest in or receive payments in cryptocurrency.
Read more here.
Automata Network (2021 Cohort) is listed on Coinbase
Exciting news from Automata Network- a decentralized service protocol that provides middleware-like traceless privacy services for dApps on Ethereum and Polkadot to achieve privacy, high assurance, and frictionless computation- $ATA is now live on Coinbase!
You can log in either through the iOS or Android applications to store or trade the token.
Dtravel launches v2, enabling automated smart contract vacation rental bookings
Dtravel v2 is now live!
Beginning today, property managers and hosts can import their listings to Dtravel v2 via Hostaway and start accepting bookings from guests worldwide. Earlier this year, the team announced an updated direction for Dtravel following extensive host research and market analysis. Using this data, they identified a market opportunity for a novel vacation rental booking model that combines the freedom of direct bookings with the simplicity of online travel agencies (OTAs) — and so Dtravel v2 was born.
After months of building toward this vision and refining the product in consultation with a group of passionate property hosts via our Host Beta Program, Dtravel is proud to have launched the first on-chain travel booking ecosystem powered by smart contracts. Dtravel v2 uses blockchain technology to remove the intermediary, creating a decentralized ecosystem which is ushering in the web3 travel revolution.
Read more here.
Eluv.io (Fall ’19 Cohort) launches WWE Moonsault NFT Project
Eluv.io has partnered with the WWE to bring the WWE fandom to new heights! This launch offers an opportunity for the all wrestling fans to get closer to the action.
With Moonsault, you can claim NFT highlights of your favorite Superstars, legendary matches and iconic moments from WWE history. Learn more about this exciting collaboration here!
Overnight sees 3x TVL growth
Overnight (2022) has crossed a whopping $2.2M in TVL and has achieved this growth amid uncertainty and reluctance around accepting stablecoins.
Overnight continues to grow- and in the midst of uncertain times has managed to provide its users the necessary assurance that they need; being fully collateralised with secure & safe stablecoins — USDC & USDT.
Overnight uses its collateral across a range of diversified stable-to-stable pools (lending & yield-farming) such as Arrakis and Aave to generate 8–12% APY for its users — paid out daily as rebases. This leaves out the question of being on the daily hunt for yields within the DeFi realm as Overnight automatically does this for you.
Apart from being beneficial for yield-seekers, Overnight’s USD+ is also beneficial for protocols as well and its use case extends to Liquidity Provisions as well. With retail actively proclaiming, “Bear,” USD+ offers a way for protocols to achieve a force appreciation of their tokens by having their Liquidity paired relative to it. Positive rebases from USD+ immediately result in both sides of the Liquidity Pool appreciating as the protocol in question has the liquidity paired to a self-appreciating token.
Read more here!
Nil DAO launches new websites, announces new gen-art NFT launchpad on Arbitrum
Nil DAO launches an NFT launchpad on Arbitrum, for dropping any collection in just 2 clicks. At first, the launchpad will be open to creators who apply to become allow-listed. This is for moderation and to maintain a sustainable drop schedule.
Drops mint in ETH and will show up on Arbitrum’s open 2ndary marketplaces. A key marketplace partnership will be announced soon. Check out our fresh new website at https://nil.art/, and read more about the launchpad here.
AWS Activate offers credit, technical support, and more to developers on using Astar Network (2020 Cohort)
Under this collaboration, projects in our programs are eligible to get up to $100k AWS credit and official technical support from AWS team. The Astar Builders Program was organized to help further the development, growth, and adoption of the Polkadot ecosystem by supporting teams who are building on it.
It allows developers to build applications and infrastructure to meet the blockchain community’s needs, developing and creating apps that can further push the web 3.0 space. As part of the program, Astar ecosystem projects receive technical, networking, fundraising, and marketing support.
OAK Network launches PoS, rewards and grants program, goes to Consensus in Austin
OAK Network, building trustless automation for payments and DeFi, had three key launches and one key partnership announced this month:
2. Crowd Loan Rewards and Distribution to the community for the Turing Network crowdloan
3. OAK’s DApp Competition & Grant Program
With over $50K in prizes on the line, we’re looking for developer teams to create DApps that provide transparent user experiences for OAK blockchain. Apply now!
OAK Network partnered with Imbue to bring on-chain notifications to decentralized crowdfunding. Read more here.
OAK Network also participated in Consensus 2022! At Austin, the team recorded two Coindesk Consensus Podcasts and met with countless partners and Dotsama ecosystems members at the OAK Network booth, throughout the conference, and at the events (source).
SubQuery Network (2021 Cohort) announces token sale
SubQuery Network recently announced their upcoming token sale will be held in July on TokenSoft. SubQuery enables blockchain developers to index, transform, and query chain data to power their applications.
Already the leading data indexing solution on Polkadot, they have recently integrated with other Layer-1 chains such as Avalanche and Cosmos. The third and final season of their “Frontier” testnet will be public and launching soon. For more information you can visit their website or the SubQuery Foundation website that hosts more information on their launch.
Amplitude launches as Pendulum’s sister project on Kusama
Amplitude’s Kusama crowdloan waitlist is now live and offering 13% bonuses for early sign ups! The trust-minimized Spacewalk bridge connecting Stellar and Polkadot is under development.
Pendulum received a Web3 Foundation grant to further develop the Spacewalk bridge. The Pendulum Grants Program has just launched to provide funding for initiatives building towards the fiat DeFi future.
Additional CESC Information
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