As a family of builders, we at NEARFans are bound by our passion and commitment for the NEAR Ecosystem. Being a part of a team that upholds a specific set of values brings a great amount of clarity into everything we do here. Reflecting on our values becomes extremely crucial when there is a challenging decision to make - for instance, how to move forward with a product that has served its purpose for the community in the past when a better alternative has now come about.

After such reflection with regards to awesomenear.com, we decided that it may be time for us to bring the website to the end of its journey. This was certainly a difficult decision to make as the AwesomeNEAR team have been committed to contributing to the NEAR ecosystem since the dawn of NEAR. The good news, however, is that there is another very promising platform that can greatly serve NEAR's rapidly evolving Ecosystem as we build a more open web together - that platform is the newly launched NEAR Horizon! 

Like many members of the NEAR community, we are very excited for the launch of [NEAR Horizon](https://near.org/nearhorizon.near/widget/Index). As an early stage accelerator, it truly revolutionizes how founders and builders find support in Web3. On this new platform, anyone can build and scale projects with access to a thriving community, an abundance of resources as well as a robust network of backers & investors.

In support of the launch, we’ve initiated the process of migrating all existing data on awesomenear.com to the NEAR Horizon portal on BOS. Once the migration is complete, AwesomeNEAR will cease all product development as well as operational updates to promote a more coherent & consistent narrative and experience for founders/builders and community members across the Ecosystem. Leading up to that, listing related requests can still be accepted and will be actioned by our product team prior to May 31, 2023.

Answers to some of the questions you may have:

1. What does this mean for your existing listing page on awesomenear.com?
The page is likely to stay and so will the website although future updates or edits will no longer be actioned by our team after the end of May.
2. Will there be a similar page featuring our project on the NEAR Horizon Portal on BOS?
Absolutely! Once logged in to BOS, you can explore and experience various projects in the Ecosystem via the Horizon portal like you used to through AwesomeNEAR. You can also connect with other teams, builders, backers, contributors etc., and find a vast array of Web3 resources you need for your project which is truly revolutionizing.
3. Who can offer support in marketing promotions etc. in the future?
Diverse [resources](https://near.org/nearhorizon.near/widget/Index?tab=learn) can be found via NEAR Horizon, including growth & marketing, business fundamentals, legal, technical & more.

Last but not least, we owe it to the NEAR community for helping AwesomeNEAR grow through all iterations since it was first launched in 2019. Sunsetting the project may seem unexpected to some of you. We’d very much appreciate your patience and understanding. Please don’t misinterpret this as us leaving NEAR - **we are determined to stick around the NEAR Ecosystem and we will continue to contribute in other ways, eg. [NEARFans Validator](https://wallet.near.org/staking/nearfans.poolv1.near?utm_source=nearfans) as well as our [backers network](https://www.d1.ventures/) for projects in the Ecosystem**. 

In the meantime, our team will be here for you should you have any other questions or concerns. Please feel free to reach out on Twitter ([@awesome_near](https://twitter.com/awesome_near)) or via email.

Stay NEAR. Stay Awesome.

Thank you & take care! 


As a family of builders, we at NEARFans are bound by our passion and commitment for the NEAR Ecosystem...

AwesomeNEAR May Announcement



_The Aurora Labs team is made up of exceptional individuals that left a mark in the industries they have been part of by innovating and building cutting edge technology. These top-tier professionals have unique stories to share about their journeys that deserve to be talked about as they can provide inspiration and guidance to new builders joining this ecosystem. With this series we aim to do just that by highlighting the work and experiences of a generation of pioneers in the Web3 world paying tribute to their valuable contributions and achievements._

#### From Georgia to Europe: Paving the Way to Entrepreneurship

Matt Henderson is an American professional with decades of experience in the field of IT and design. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Matt has spent most of his life abroad, between France, Germany, and Spain.

His international experience began when he was attending the Georgia Institute of Technology in his home city of Atlanta. Here is where he met his wife, a Spanish woman, who would become the main driver to his European adventure. In order to be with her after her graduation, Matt enrolled into a joint Master’s program with the university of Metz in France. This allowed Matt to pursue his degree in Electrical Engineering and Digital Signal Processing while also continuing to see his wife during the weekend, who was at the time living in Germany.

After his graduation, Matt moved to Germany to work at the European Space Agency, where he would work as a Satellite Communications Engineer for the following three years. It was now the early 90s and the Internet was quickly beginning to take over the world. Through his job, Matt had access to one of the first Macintosh computers, giving him the opportunity to explore this new technology and discover a new passion for design:

> _“I started making my reports with a computer and the professor was simply amazed at how good my reports looked, at the time everyone was using typewriters. But when I would look at the company’s annual reports my documents would not look that good in comparison, and I really wanted to figure out why. That is how my interest in design started.”_

Matt’s interest for design carried through his whole career; he became interested in understanding why Apple’s products were so easy to use compared to other products and which design principles were behind Apple’s success. Eventually, Matt’s passion for design and business transformed into the beginning of a new venture.

#### A Serendipitous Encounter and the Beginning of a New Venture

After a few years at the European Space Agency, Matt had gained a good understanding of the business landscape in Europe, in particular, how governmental agencies work with different contractors. At the same time, Matt had also become proficient in design, especially the design of documents and offers, and now felt ready to start his own software development company.

The company immediately landed some important contracts allowing it to smoothly take off. As a hustler, Matt did not limit himself to running this company, he soon began to focus on the new exciting field of the Internet by starting to build web and mobile applications. But that was not all, Matt also started picking Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a martial art almost unknown in Europe at that time. While juggling with two businesses Matt found the time to train and participate in the European Championship for several years and bring home three gold medals.

It was now the year 2000 and Matt and his wife were at this point running two companies, a software company operating for the German market, and an Internet company that created applications. During this time, the couple got pregnant with their first child, and decided to move to Matt’s wife’s home country. And it was while he was in Costa Del Sol that Matt would meet his future business partners:

> _“Soon after I got to Spain I met two young Finnish people who were living in a camper van, it was Arto and Alex Bendiken. It was at this hamburger place that we had our first conversation and I immediately recognized how talented those guys were, so I asked them to join me in this Internet company. We got an office in Marbella and we started building Web applications.”_

Matt, Arto, and Alex started working for local institutions, something that soon revealed to be rather daunting, due to the Spanish bureaucracy. While trying to get new local customers, Alex decided to participate in a design competition launched by Slash Dot, the world’s biggest tech news site. As Matt recounts:

> _“ I discouraged Alex from participating in the competition. We were busy at the time and considering that thousands of people would participate I thought the chance of winning would be too slim. A few months later he came back to me and said ‘Do you remember about that competition you told me not to participate in? I won”._

Following Alex’s win, the company started getting a lot of attention and immediately got contacted by Google. They became a part of Google’s major marketing campaign for Virgin America and the US and created a game for them; it was a huge achievement and a great opportunity to showcase their skills and creativity to a wider audience. The company was then launched head on into the Californian market, which would continue to serve for many years to come.

#### Joining the Crypto Revolution

In 2010 Matt started hearing about Bitcoin, first from Arto, who was then very active in the Bitcoin scene, and also from the director of the Bitcoin Foundation who was then living in Spain and would meet at their office for occasional meetings. But it wasn’t until 2013 that Matt would get more interested in Bitcoin as a solution:

> _“Around 2013 we started having workers in many different countries and it became difficult to make payments through European banks and then also have to deal with our customers in the US. Then I really got interested in crypto as a banking solution. I bought some Bitcoin and started experimenting with it and different projects that were starting to appear.”_

A few years later, Alex decided to start traveling the world with his wife and two children, while Arto had already been living in Berlin for a few years. DeFi was taking off and Matt and his partners decided to close down their business and go separate ways after almost twenty years together.

It was 2020, and Matt was getting fascinated with what was going on in the crypto scene. He got involved with different DeFi projects such as Pickle Finance, and followed with interest the development of many different projects. So when Arto joined NEAR Protocol, it did not take long for Matt to also get himself involved.

#### NEAR Protocol & Aurora

Arto had enthusiastically talked to Matt about NEAR, and shortly after Matt started working part-time on the product development of the Rainbow Bridge — the Aurora team was just starting to form:

> _“Since the moment I joined Aurora my goal and motivation were clear–to bring good design in the crypto space. After experimenting with DeFi it became clear that the experience that crypto provides is still terribly complex to be appealing to a wide audience. Removing all the friction points that I had experienced in other bridges was the first objective I wanted to achieve when working on the Rainbow Bridge.”_

Fast forward to today, Matt has contributed to the development of several key products such as Aurora Plus, and Aurora Cloud, effectively bringing a frictionless user experience to the space. But this is just the beginning:

> _“Businesses are just beginning to realize how they can leverage blockchain technology. The most immediate applications are in the supply chain management and luxury industries in the form of loyalty programs though NFTs but not all applications are as obvious. A striking example is this one winemaker from California that is now sending you an NFT instead of the actual bottle so that you can hold it in your wallet and sell it if the wine appreciates. It didn’t occur to me that the wine industry could benefit from blockchain but it can, in this sense, we are just at the beginning. Our job now is to keep removing the hurdles that are keeping businesses from accessing this technology.”_

The world of blockchain still has a long way to go when it comes to user experience if it wants to succeed in attracting the Web2 market, familiar concepts and experiences need to be brought to the space of Web3 to be truly attractive. Aurora’s key objective is to make Web3 as accessible as possible to businesses and their users. This core idea is what informs Aurora’s development strategy as it is reflected by its products and services:

> _“At Aurora, we’re all about making Web3 accessible and user-friendly. With our latest product, Aurora Cloud, we set out to eliminate as many roadblocks as possible to getting started with Web3. Our Borealis Business infrastructure allows companies to pay for their users’ transactions, eliminating the need for users to deal with confusing and frustrating gas fees. Plus, our Aurora Pass wallet makes it super easy for mobile-first companies to onboard their users seamlessly. We’re excited to offer a Web2-like experience with the added benefits of the Web3 ecosystem.”_

As Chief Strategy Officer, Matt is now fully dedicated to understanding the markets’ needs and identifying the obstacles that are still standing in the way of mass adoption, it is safe to say that exciting times are ahead!

#### About Aurora

Powered by its high-performance EVM, and fully trustless Rainbow Bridge, Aurora combines an Ethereum compatible experience with the modern blockchain performance of NEAR Protocol. Aurora provides an an optimal environment for the creation of scalable, carbon-neutral, future-safe, and low-cost Web3 services, as well as the perfect tools to bring to life your Web3 initiatives. Try [Aurora Cloud](https://bit.ly/aurora_cloud), our all-in-one cloud solution for enterprises, and get your Web3 journey started!

[Website](https://aurora.dev/) | [Aurora Cloud](https://auroracloud.dev/) | [GitHub](https://github.com/aurora-is-near/aurora-engine) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/auroraisnear) | [Telegram](https://t.me/auroraisnear) | [Discord](https://discord.gg/dEFJBz8HQV) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5inYyvUO10iL65hBPFtpvg) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/auroraisnear/) [Regional Communities and Media](https://aurora.dev/ecosystem?category=Community&subcategory=Regional+Communities+and+Community+media)| [Governance Forum](https://forum.aurora.dev/) | [Community Dashboard](https://auroradao.club/dashboard) | [Community Swags store](https://auroraonelove.com/) | [Aurora Expert Bot](https://t.me/auroraexpert_bot)



* * *

[Meet the team: Aurora Labs’ Chief Strategy Officer Matt Henderson](https://medium.com/aurora-platform/meet-the-team-aurora-labs-chief-strategy-officer-matt-henderson-856e0c201d1a) was originally published in [Aurora Platform](https://medium.com/aurora-platform) on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

_The Aurora Labs team is made up of exceptional individuals that left a mark in the industries they have been part of by innovating and b...

Meet the team: Aurora Labs’ Chief Strategy Officer Matt Henderson



NEAR has a monolithic mega-booth at Consensus 2023, where there have been a number of awesome NEAR announcements, talks, and events, including the big news out: the [Blockchain Operating System](https://near.org/blog/near-announces-the-blockchain-operating-system/) is now live on Near.org and the NEAR Horizon accelerator is open for business. If you haven’t stopped by yet to meet our NEAR experts or are unable to attend, we’ve got you covered with all of the highlights.

Let’s take a look at everything NEAR at Consensus, including the BOS, NEAR Horizon, a submissions call for the latest edition of Women in Web3, and much more! And stay tuned for more NEAR at Consensus highlights over the next few days.

### The BOS is now live on Near.org

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/near-at-consensus-highlights/0*U8Pcy3-8ZbsfPaqR.png)

On April 26th at Consensus, NEAR co-founder and Pagoda CEO Illia Polosukhin and Pagoda Chief Product Officer Alex Chiocchi announced that the Blockchain Operating System (BOS) — a real alternative to the Operating Systems of centralized platforms — is now live at near.org.

As a blockchain operating system for an open web, the BOS is accessible to everyone, not just web3 natives. And it makes Web3 and Web2 easier than ever to access and navigate for users and developers alike. With the BOS, you no longer have to choose between decentralization and discoverability. Devs and users get the best of both worlds, whether they are new to Web3 experiences and want to play around, or developers looking to build an open web.

Read the full BOS announcement [here](https://near.org/blog/near-blockchain-operating-system-is-now-live-on-near-org/).

### NEAR Horizon: A revolutionary accelerator for Web3 startups

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/near-at-consensus-highlights/0*7inskl2N_42LPpu7.png)

NEAR Foundation also announced the launch of Near Horizon, a Web3 accelerator program, on the 26th from Consensus. Built on the [Blockchain Operating System (BOS)](https://near.org/blog/near-announces-the-blockchain-operating-system/), Horizon features a revolutionary marketplace where Web3 startups can find the support they need for building on Near and cross-chain platforms.

Together with partners Dragonfly, Pantera, Decasonc, Blockchange, Fabric Ventures, dLab, Hashed, and Factomind, and Outlier Ventures, Near Horizon is on a mission to empower founding teams with the tools and support they require to accelerate the development of sustainable, profitable, innovative startups on Near.

Near Horizon’s robust network of support is a game-changer for Near builders, offering new opportunities and resources to propel the best minds in the Near ecosystem to success.

Read the full NEAR Horizon announcement [here](https://near.org/blog/near-foundation-launches-near-horizon/').

### NEAR opens submissions for Women in Web3 Changemakers 2023

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/near-at-consensus-highlights/0*kAbSlPRfFtdcbzHd.png)

Following its hugely successful launch a year ago, Women in Web3 is back! On Day 2 of Consensus, NEAR Foundation announced the return of its global Women in Web3 Changemakers list.

Nominations are now open for 2023! Designed to showcase the talented and socially mindful women who make up the Web3 ecosystem, the initiative will once again spotlight ten exceptional leaders across the international sector and the amazing, sustainable work they do.

Members of the Web3 community — both men and women — are welcome to nominate and submit the names of female colleagues who they feel should be recognized for their exemplary contribution to Web3. Women who work in Web3 can also nominate themselves.

Each nominee should meet the following criteria, which NEAR uses to define impact:

1.  Inclusion — driving ideas that are good for society, sustainable, and socially impactful.
2.  Influence — in the community and among peers.
3.  Innovation — contributing to interesting and socially impactful projects at work or independently.

The top ten Changemakers will be decided by you — the community!

**Important Dates for Submissions and Voting**

More details on the voting process will be announced shortly. But here are some important dates.

*   June 1, 2023 — Nominations Deadline
*   June 5, 2023 — Voting Begins
*   June 19, 2023 (Midnight) — Voting Ends
*   June 29, 2023–10 Changemakers for 2023 will be announced

Those selected will be included in the Women in Web3 Changemakers list, which will be shared with the press and the global community. NEAR will also feature the winners in a special series of video interviews that will air across NEAR’s social platforms and distribution network to share each award-winner’s story and contributions to Web3. Founders of Web3 companies that have made the list will also have the opportunity to meet with investors and pitch for funding at the event.

### Google Cloud Unveils Web3 Startup Program

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/near-at-consensus-highlights/0*F8Cdj-gauCnPUMa0.png)

Google Cloud recently made a splash in the Web3 space by announcing its Web3 Startup program via a [Twitter thread](https://twitter.com/googlecloud/status/1650912584097472513?s=20) during Consensus. Catering to seed and Series A projects and startups, the program offers up to $200K in cloud credits, and access to technical training. Recipients also receive partner perks including discounts on Nansen AI products and platform credits from Alchemy, and Thirdweb’s gasless contract deployment, support, and co-marketing opportunities.

Google’s support of Web3 will benefit founders building on the Blockchain Operating System (BOS) and those partnering with the [recently launched NEAR Horizon](https://near.org/blog/near-foundation-launches-near-horizon/), an accelerator revolutionizing how founders are supported in Web3. [NEAR Horizon](https://near.org/horizon) will enable founding teams to scale their project with the support they need, increasing the number of founding teams building great products with real-world value on the NEAR Protocol.

To apply, visit the [application portal](https://cloud.google.com/startup/apply?hl=en#application-form) and explore more information on the [official website](https://cloud.google.com/startup/web3).

Here’s how to get involved:

### NEARCON is Returning to Lisbon and NEAR APAC is Headed to HCMC, Vietnam!

Today at Consensus, NEAR Foundation announced that NEARCON will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on November 7–10, 2023. In an effort to globally scale and create more accessible events, the NEAR Foundation also announced that NEAR APAC will take place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on September 8–12, 2023. Both events will gather an audience of builders, Web2 and Web3 entrepreneurs, industry professionals, investors, and creators from all over the world.

NEAR APAC will be the NEAR Ecosystem’s first and largest event in the APAC region. NEAR APAC delivers a world-class lineup of speakers to share latest APAC developments, unlimited potential of the blockchain industry, regional market insights, Web3 hacker festival, and insightful events for networking opportunities with local communities and partners. Head to [https://nearapac.org/](https://nearapac.org/) on May 15th to secure your NEAR APAC tickets!

NEARCON, the NEAR Ecosystem’s Annual flagship conference is headed back to Lisbon. The Mainnet anniversary of the protocol’s launch and the biggest announcements from the Ecosystem will be featured at NEARCON. Hear from some of the most iconic names in Web3 speak on Technical updates, Web2 and Web3 trends, the latest on Governance and Regulation, Arts and Culture, and much more.

This year the conference will take over two venues: Convento De Beato and Armazem Lisboa. Convento de Beato will host the core conference and will feature two larger stages whereas Armazem Lisboa will be Developers HQ where hackers will build all day. Both venues are just a 10 minute walk from each other. Mark your calendars because on June 1st NEARCON tickets will go live on [nearcon.org](http://nearcon.org)!

See you in HCMC and Lisbon this Fall!

### Updates from around the NEAR Ecosystem

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/near-at-consensus-highlights/0*42MKazUCJ-JsKuBd.png)

### Mailchain brings encrypted communication to NEAR-based dApps

Mailchain, an open source, multi-chain communication layer for Web3, announced integration with NEAR. Now, NEAR developers can send encrypted messages between blockchain wallet addresses with simple, unified inbox to view and send messages and keep track of on-chain activity.

NEAR’s vision has always been to onboard the next billion users to the Open Web. With Mailchain, these next billion users can communicate natively with one another, regardless of blockchain.

Mailchain’s integration with NEAR is a significant step towards strengthening the interoperability mission of NEAR’s blockchain operating system (BOS). NEAR’s BOS and Mailchain are both chain-agnostic, prioritize usability and security, and together make Web3 more accessible and interoperable for users.

“Our vision aligns perfectly with NEAR’s-to onboard the next billion users,” said Tim Boeckmann, CEO of Mailchain. “When building Mailchain, we knew these next billion users would want to communicate with what mattered most to them, their blockchain identities. Mailchain’s secure communication protocol makes this a reality. We believe that this integration is a big step forwards for the developers who are building the next generation of the Internet.”

### XP Network brings cross-chain NFT bridge to NEAR

During Consensus, the XP Network, a cross chain NFT bridge, went live on NEAR mainnet. XP Network allows NFT holders to transfer their NFTs to any other supported chain. XP Network recently showcased their cross-chain NFT bridge by transferring a BSC NFT over to Near via the XP Network bridge, and selling it on Mintbase.

Now, NFT marketplaces built on NEAR Protocol like Paras, Berry Club, Mintbase, Flux, Few & Far can list the most promising NFT collections from almost 30 other chains. XP Network’s integration will supercharge both arts and collectibles, as well as Web3 gaming on NEAR, with players now being able to buy and trade NFTs in-game across chains.

### kuutamo and Lattitude.sh give NEAR validators access to premium infrastructure

From Consensus, Kuutamo announced its partnership with enterprise-grade infrastructure provider Lattitude.sh, which will give developers and current NEAR validators more flexibility and control. NEAR validators using both kuutamo and Latitude can now access premium infrastructure at a limited promotional price, or apply for the kuutamo x Latitude Program.

A venture-backed technology company, Kuutamo offers a resilient and user-friendly node infrastructure, designed for the peer-to-peer economy. kuutamo launched the world’s first high availability node for the NEAR Protocol, giving users full control and flexibility (no lock-in effect) to execute their desired cloud strategies — differentiating itself from most large public cloud providers in the process.

Latitude is an emerging global leader, offering access to enterprise-grade infrastructure in the world’s most advanced data centers. In its partnership with kuutamo, Latitude is expanding its offering to developers and NEAR validators. Latitude already supports other leading blockchains and Web3 companies such as Solana, Ankr, and Riot Games.

### WOMBI brings Web2-style analytics to NEAR

During Consensus, [Wombi](https://wombi.xyz/) — a Web3 attribution platform — announced that it is now live on NEAR. With an aim to be the Google Analytics of Web3, Wombi helps decentralized app developers by connecting Web2 and Web3 funnels, so they can instantly see which marketing channels are bringing them the most impactful users.

Wombi is now publicly available to all dApps fully live or building on the NEAR Blockchain Operating System or Protocol. All developers get free product and marketing analytics, making NEAR the first Layer 1 with a live attribution product.

_Originally published at_ [_https://pages.near.org_](https://pages.near.org/blog/near-at-consensus-highlights/) _on April 27, 2023._



* * *

[NEAR at Consensus Highlights](https://medium.com/nearprotocol/near-at-consensus-highlights-34a38c01cd5) was originally published in [NEAR Protocol](https://medium.com/nearprotocol) on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

NEAR has a monolithic mega-booth at Consensus 2023, where there have been a number of awesome NEAR announcements, talks, and events, incl...

NEAR at Consensus Highlights

**By** [**@MiX**](https://twitter.com/MixRestaking)

### April 2023 Highlights

1.  [On April 14th, Octopus Network, a Near-based multi-chain network that provides shared security, interoperability & community for Web3 startups, unveils its core plan on Octopus 2.0.  
    Its founder Louis , who was invited by Near as one of the keynote speakers at the HK Web3 Festival, shared details on Octopus 2.0 that include “$NEAR Restaking” and “Adaptive IBC”.](https://medium.com/oct-network/near-ecosystems-key-infrastructure-octopus-network-s-founder-louis-liu-unveils-octopus-2-0-aa7dca3ebebb)
2.  Louis：NEAR will be a Cosmos zone SOON
3.  Octopus Network plans to integrate its accelerator and developer training into Cosmos HK Accelerator, to more efficiently cultivate and discover potential application chain projects and teams.
4.  Fusotao has completed Milestone 1 for 2023, which is the construction of “The Decentralized Brokers”

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/1*d_0sGgxXlTlBP1cppBf-pA.png)

### R&D｜Technical Development Progress

#### [Octopus Network & Apps](https://mainnet.oct.network/)

1、Update Apps: fix the issue of Delegator Rewards  
2、The design of the Octopus Network 2.0 launch process

#### Octopus Network 2.0 Smart Contracts

1、Design the LPoS Market contract  
2、Improve the design of the Restaking Base contract

#### Octopus Network 2.0 Bridge

1、Completed the IC integration for Tendermint light client  
2、Completed the test for ICP Relayer on the Testnet

#### Octopus Network 2.0 IBC

NEAR IBC, completed the implementation for ICS 20

### Octopus Network Appchain Ecosystem

Five Appchains have launched and eight Appchain Candidates are in various stages of development.

The Octopus Network currently operates 5 Appchains: [Fusotao](https://www.fusotao.org/#/), [Myriad](https://www.myriad.social/), [Atocha](http://atocha.io/), [DeBio](https://www.debio.network/), and [Discovol](https://discovol.org/). There are 8 candidate Appchains: [UniqueOne](https://uniqueone.network/), [PortalVerse](http://meta-oasis.mxtt.info/), [Attarius](https://attarius.com/), [Create Protocol](https://www.createprotocol.org/), [TrustRecruit](https://www.trustrecruit.io/), [Yogain](https://www.yogain.io/), [Plats](https://plats.network/), and [Horizonland](https://horizonland.app/).

Recent key developments of these projects are as follows:

#### Fusotao Protocol

> _Fusotao Protocol is DEX infrastructure for building DEXs with trading privacy, minimal gas fees, and lower trading costs._

Fusotao has completed Milestone 1 for 2023, which is the construction of “The Decentralized Brokers”

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*-W8u0FIiSh9dGh2O.png)

Next milestone: changing the trading rewards to marketing rewards, the fundament of Delegated Marketing Maker.

[_Read more…_](https://t.co/KZtczjxBfD)

### Octopus Network Community Governance

#### Octopus Network Ecological Data

As of April 30, 23:59 UTC:

*   Total $OCT pledged — 8,814,356
*   Total annual revenue — $161,164
*   Total number of validators — 61
*   Average annualized staking returns — 9.1%

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*nKreCiNnAc0icBcr)

### Octopus Network Community Call#9

The 9th Octopus DAO Community Call, held on April 8, 2023.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*lGeRRABlPjlwRHB_)

**Octopus 2.0 = $Near Restaking + Adaptive IBC.**

Octopus V2 offers two different services. The first is pure interoperability, which allows Near to connect to many different blockchains. However, $OCT token holders will not capture value directly from all of these IBC connections. This offering is aimed at making the Octopus protocol more important for Near and other blockchains, and making Octopus an essential part of the Internet of blockchain. We can expect increased awareness and reputation for Octopus Network.

The other offering, shared security, will capture enormous value for $OCT holders. Many blockchains have established their own consensus and security measures, mostly based on POS, and some even based on POW. These are bigger markets and can not be addressed by shared security, but they can be addressed with the pure interoperability offering. For emerging new blockchains, the goal is to convince them that Octopus shared security is the most cost-effective and flexible option that they can rely on.

Regarding the second offering, three blockchain projects are showing a strong intention to launch with Octopus shared security, but it is not yet appropriate to mention their names. All of these projects have valuations of several dozen millions and have enough capital to support their long-term operation. This is a good start for the business development of Octopus 2.0.

[_Read more…_](https://medium.com/oct-network/octopus-dao-april-2023-1e6333a70479)

### Octopus Network Global Influence

#### **Meet Octopus @HK Web3 Festival**

NEAR, Octopus Network, and Aurora are working together to drive Web3 innovation in Hong Kong!

At the highly anticipated 2023 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival, Octopus Network founder Louis shared on topics such as shared security based on blockchain multi-chain future, IBC cross-chain, etc. in four major events and several small events and circle exchanges. He also provided a full introduction to the architecture and mechanism design of Octopus Network 2.0.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*f58z0Bls0Gsx3S1q)

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*Hd0u-Uw31VZo9dMt)

#### **ForesightX｜Interchain Panel**

On April 11th, Octopus Network founder Louis was invited to discuss cross-chain interoperability with HashKey’s Jeffrey Hu at the OpenBuild ForesightX hacker house, specifically focusing on IBC.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*Nzsav4_jQP28dVoF)

[_Read more…_](https://twitter.com/MixRestaking/status/1645679423830769666)

#### Cosmos HK Meetup

On April 13th, Octopus Network founder Louis gave a public speech titled “NEAR will be a Cosmos zone SOON” at the Cosmos HK Meetup, co-hosted by Boundary Intelligence, IBCL, Octopus Network, and ND Labs. His speech focused on why IBC has not yet dominated the cross-chain field and how Octopus Network can achieve cross-chain between NEAR and Cosmos, showcasing the solution and principles of the new technology route Adaptive IBC.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*q7Hl2mPQLZtfbZpW)

[_Read more…_](https://twitter.com/oct_network/status/1646531031883825152)

#### Octopus 2.0 is unveiled at the HK Web3 Festival.

On April 14th, Octopus Network, a Near-based multi-chain network that provides shared security, interoperability & community for Web3 startups, unveils its core plan on Octopus 2.0.

Its founder Louis , who was invited by Near as one of the keynote speakers at the HK Web3 Festival, shared details on Octopus 2.0 that include “$NEAR Restaking” and “Adaptive IBC”.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*E9eoNKnrhIGm6iIH.jpeg)

[_Read more…_](https://medium.com/oct-network/near-ecosystems-key-infrastructure-octopus-network-s-founder-louis-liu-unveils-octopus-2-0-aa7dca3ebebb)

#### Panel |Cosmos Interchain Session

On April 15th, Octopus Network founder Louis was invited to host a roundtable on the theme of “Interchain Tools and Services for Better User Experience” at the “Cross-Chain Special Session of the 2023 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival,” jointly hosted by Boundary Intelligence, the Cosmos Cross-Chain Foundation ICF, Wanxiang Blockchain Lab, and HashKey Group.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*k1Q1CHE_BdjZiipR)

#### Cosmos HK Accelerator is officially established.

On April 15th, Cosmos HK Accelerator (CHA) was officially established, initiated by Boundary Intelligence, IBCL and Octopus Network, with participation from ND Labs, Waterdrip, Forbole, and Likecoin.

CHA aims to provide comprehensive services for Cosmos technology and ecosystem development, including the latest information on technology incubation and entrepreneurship projects, through daily meetups, ecological summits, Cosmos SDK training, and Cosmos hackathons, in collaboration with Cosmos Official, media, community, and developers, serving the entire Chinese and Asia-Pacific region.

Octopus Network plans to integrate its accelerator and developer training into Cosmos HK Accelerator for more efficient cultivation and discovery of potential application chain projects and teams. One of the focuses of Octopus Network 2.0 is to provide IBC+shared security services for application chains, which will enable Octopus Network to enter a larger and faster-growing market.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*g3Rw-ZjM3P9EezdI)

#### **GPTDAO｜GPT + Web3**

On April 9th, Octopus Network’s Vivi was invited by GPTDAO to host a discussion on the opportunities and challenges of combining GPT and Web3.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*DhcB4Fkk3QyXWC6M)

You can listen to the full recording on [Twitter Space.](https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1ynKOaAeDkXJR?s=20)

#### Exclusive Interview | Web3 & AI

On April 12th, Octopus Network’s Vivi was invited to discuss the intersection of Web3 and AI and the future of their ecosystem at WomenWeb3Wednesday.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*Vg_cR7pt6OkoKax7)

You can listen to the full recording on [Twitter Space.](https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1vAGRAVWRMkKl?s=20)

#### **Crypto&Web3 Networking Iftar Meetup**

On April 14th, as one of the sponsors of the Istanbul Crypto&Web3 Iftar Meetup, Octopus Network invited Aaron to attend the event and exchange ideas with multiple projects.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*q0wXAhVwz1eGp7wY)

[_Read more…_](https://twitter.com/ValhallaDAO_/status/1646429505353838595?s=20)

#### Crypto&Web3 Networking Iftar Meetup

On April 14th, as one of the sponsors of the Istanbul Crypto&Web3 Iftar Meetup, Octopus Network invited Aaron to attend the event and exchange ideas with multiple projects.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*_s3zHAvrGvuvEDZz)

[_Read more…_](https://twitter.com/oct_network/status/1648735847607304200)

#### Accelerator Showcase #3: Aridia

On April 3rd, Octopus Accelerator held a Showcase#3 Twitter Space for Aridia.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023/0*5j9ZeTnRxhSd40Mr)

You can listen to the full recording on [Twitter Space.](https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1RDGlanMbYOJL?s=20)

[中文版：章鱼网络进展月报 | 2023.4.1–4.30](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/cjDzSJLTHBtaySkMObWbHg)

**Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and should not be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or any other advice.**

### Follow Octopus Network!

**Website:** [https://oct.network](https://oct.network/)  
**Doc:** [https://docs.oct.network](https://docs.oct.network/)  
**Github:** [https://github.com/octopus-network](https://github.com/octopus-network)  
**Email:** [hi@oct.network](http://mailto:hi@oct.network/)  
**Twitter:** @oct\_network  
**Telegram:** [https://t.me/octopusnetwork](https://t.me/octopusnetwork)  
**TelegramZN:** [https://t.me/octchinese](https://t.me/octchinese)  
**Medium:** [https://medium.com/oct-network](https://medium.com/oct-network)  
**Discord:** [https://discord.gg/6GTJBkZA9Q](https://discord.gg/6GTJBkZA9Q)



* * *

[Octopus Network Progress Report | April 1–30, 2023](https://medium.com/oct-network/octopus-network-progress-report-april-1-30-2023-b0eb9c07a3f4) was originally published in [Octopus Network](https://medium.com/oct-network) on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Octopus Network Progress Report | April 1–30, 2023

### **Orderly Network 1 Year Anniversary — Twitter Campaign (May 3–17)**

We are ONE!  
To kick off the celebrations, we’re excited to announce an anniversary campaign on Twitter. Complete the tasks and stand a chance to win $1000!

[\[ Link to Campaign \]](https://twitter.com/OrderlyNetwork/status/1653751617261551616?s=20)

How to Enter:  
\- Follow @orderlynetwork on Twitter  
\- Like & RT with the hashtag #OrderlyisOne

Rewards:  
10 x winners will each receive USDT 100

Terms and Conditions:

*   The campaign starts on 3 May 2023, 13:00 UTC. The campaign ends on 17 May 2023, 23:59 UTC.
*   Winners will be announced on Orderly Network’s official Twitter account 7 days after the campaign.
*   To be qualified for the reward, winners must complete the tasks listed.
*   Participants are not eligible to win more than one prize.
*   By submitting an entry, participants agree to the contest terms and conditions.
*   10 x winners will be randomly selected by the Orderly Network team.
*   Winners will receive the prizes within 4 weeks upon completion of submission of the relevant information for the delivery process.
*   The prize is non-negotiable, non-transferable and non-refundable.
*   The cryptocurrency rewards will only be distributed to wallet addresses available on NEAR (including but not limited to: via NEAR Wallet, Sender Wallet, Meteor Wallet, HERE Wallet) where winners may be subjected to each NEAR wallet’s terms of use respectively.
*   All personal information submitted is for the sole purpose of carrying out the contest (including delivery of the prize) and will be removed upon completion.
*   Orderly Network reserves the right in its sole discretion to amend, change, or cancel this announcement at any time and reason without prior notice. Please visit our official website [https://orderly.network](https://orderly.network/) and Twitter [https://twitter.com/OrderlyNetwork](https://twitter.com/OrderlyNetwork) and be cautious of any fraud/phishing website.
*   This is neither a recommendation for investment nor does it constitute an offer, solicitation, or recommendation of any product or service. We are not responsible for any profit and loss made by your investment decision.



Orderly Network 1 Year Anniversary — Twitter Campaign (May 3–17)

Orderly Network 1 Year Anniversary — Twitter Campaign (May 3–17)



Transitioning from Web2 to Web3 can be a daunting task for entrepreneurs with little to no experience with blockchain technology and limited technical capabilities. Businesses that desire to integrate their existing products and services often face some technical challenges, and are left to grapple with many questions regarding token economics, user experience, and figuring out all the other aspects of their new business strategy.

With Aurora Cloud, we have removed these hurdles from the experience of entrepreneurs who can now integrate blockchain technology into their existing business without the need for specialized expertise or training. Aurora Cloud offers three tools — Aurora Borealis, Aurora Pass, and Aurora Silos — each offering the levels of customisation required by businesses and the frictionless experience desired by their customers.

Borealis Business is an infrastructure service that allows businesses to pay for the transactions fee on behalf of their users, enabling a seamless user experience and the delivery of creative marketing campaigns. With Borealis, businesses can confidently realize their Web3 initiatives without sacrificing on simplicity while implementing innovative strategies.

The Aurora Cloud’s products are also designed to meet the needs of your user base by allowing frictionless onboarding and familiarity of experience. To achieve this, Aurora Labs developed Aurora Pass, a digital mobile wallet that offers your users an easy onboarding into the world of blockchain, by enabling a wallet creation in a few simple steps or signing transactions with the same biometric facilities such as Touch ID and Face ID that your customers are already familiar with.

Aurora Silos are the third key product of Aurora Cloud. Aurora Silos are dedicated and fully customizable blockchain instances that allow you to structure your on-chain business in harmony with your business strategy. With Silos, you can create your own tokens, customize transaction fees, control network access, all in a fully Ethereum compatible and interoperable environment.

At Aurora Labs, we provide dedicated support to accompany our customers through the whole process of setting up their on-chain business, from strategy to implementation. Whether you need a permissioned chain, or to figure out your token economic plan, our team will assist you in each of these steps, from defining the requirements for your business to the full realization of your initiative.

#### Get your Web3 Journey Started!

By integrating blockchain technology into your business using Aurora Cloud, you are able to offer your customers increased security, privacy, transparency, and accountability. This helps you to differentiate yourself from competitors and build trust with your customers, ultimately leading to increased customer loyalty and revenue.

Aurora Cloud provides you with everything you need to get your Web3 adventure started — the ability to easily set up your customized chain, the possibility to maintain a familiar UX for your user base with Aurora Pass and Borealis, and importantly, to build your business on the most scalable blockchain platform on the market. Built on top of the carbon neutral Layer 1, NEAR Protocol, Aurora has the ability to handle up to 10,000 transactions per second, making it an ideal choice for companies looking to adopt blockchain technology on a large scale. What we offer you is a future-safe platform with state of the art technology, easy to use products, and fierce commitment to help your Web3 business grow.

If you are ready to innovate your business and gain an edge by modernizing and boosting your capabilities then Aurora Cloud is the right choice for you. Get in touch with our team to learn more about it and how your business could benefit from the Aurora Cloud stack.

_To learn more, visit_ [_www.auroracloud.dev._](http://www.auroracloud.dev.)

#### About Aurora

Aurora is a platform for Web3 developers to build pioneering and scalable distributed applications. Powered by its high-performance Ethereum Virtual Machine (the Aurora Engine) and fully trustless bridge (the Rainbow Bridge), Aurora combines the builder-friendly development experience of Ethereum with the modern blockchain performance of the NEAR Protocol to offer an environment for creating highly scalable, carbon-neutral, future-safe, and low-cost Web3 services.

[Website](https://aurora.dev/) | [Aurora Cloud](https://auroracloud.dev/) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-is-near/mycompany/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/auroraisnear) | [Telegram](https://t.me/auroraisnear) | [Discord](https://discord.gg/dEFJBz8HQV) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5inYyvUO10iL65hBPFtpvg) | [GitHub](https://github.com/aurora-is-near/aurora-engine) | [Regional Communities and Media](https://aurora.dev/ecosystem?category=Community&subcategory=Regional+Communities+and+Community+media)| [Governance Forum](https://forum.aurora.dev/) | [Community Dashboard](https://auroradao.club/dashboard) | [Community Swags store](https://auroraonelove.com/) | [Aurora Expert Bot](https://t.me/auroraexpert_bot)



* * *

[Transforming your Business with Aurora Cloud](https://medium.com/nearprotocol/transforming-your-business-with-aurora-cloud-7ff9ab03e910) was originally published in [NEAR Protocol](https://medium.com/nearprotocol) on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Transitioning from Web2 to Web3 can be a daunting task for entrepreneurs with little to no experience with blockchain technology and limi...

Transforming your Business with Aurora Cloud

### Jump DeFi & Orderly Network — Twitter Campaign (April 25)

**\[**[**Link to campaign**](https://twitter.com/OrderlyNetwork/status/1650820245085466625?s=20)**\]**

**How to Enter:  
\-** Follow @JumpDeFi and @orderlynetwork on Twitter  
\- Like & RT

**Rewards:  
**10 x winners will each receive USD 50 in USDC

**Terms and Conditions:**

*   The campaign starts on 25 April 2023, 13:00 UTC. The campaign ends on 2 April 2023, 23:59 UTC.
*   Winners will be announced on Orderly Network’s official Twitter account 7 days after the campaign.
*   To be qualified for the reward, winners must complete the tasks listed.
*   Participants are not eligible to win more than one prize.
*   By submitting an entry, participants agree to the contest terms and conditions.
*   10 x winners will be selected by the Jump DeFi and Orderly Network team.
*   Winners will receive the prizes within 4 weeks upon completion of submission of the relevant information for the delivery process.
*   The prize is non-negotiable, non-transferable and non-refundable.
*   The cryptocurrency rewards will only be distributed to wallet addresses available on NEAR (including but not limited to: via NEAR Wallet, Sender Wallet, Meteor Wallet, HERE Wallet) where winners may be subjected to each NEAR wallet’s terms of use respectively.
*   All personal information submitted is for the sole purpose of carrying out the contest (including delivery of the prize) and will be removed upon completion.
*   Orderly Network reserves the right in its sole discretion to amend, change, or cancel this announcement at any time and reason without prior notice. Please visit our official website [https://orderly.network](https://orderly.network/) and Twitter [https://twitter.com/OrderlyNetwork](https://twitter.com/OrderlyNetwork) and be cautious of any fraud/phishing website.
*   This is neither a recommendation for investment nor does it constitute an offer, solicitation, or recommendation of any product or service. We are not responsible for any profit and loss made by your investment decision.



Jump DeFi & Orderly Network — Twitter Campaign (April 25)

Jump DeFi & Orderly Network — Twitter Campaign (April 25)

We’ve finally released our exciting new simple-to-use onboarding experience for Web3 —and it works like magic.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/few-and-far-announcing-new-onboarding/1*1ZTAJgLEI9v8a8hC3v21dQ.png)

Today is a big day! Introducing our new seamless onboarding experience. This release marks a significant milestone in Few and Far’s quest to evolve login, signup, and account creation for non-crypto native (i.e. Web2) users — enabling more access into Web3. If you haven’t already tried it, give it a go! It’s works like magic.

### What you’ll need (psst…it’s mostly just your email).

Go to [https://www.fewandfar.com](https://www.coinbase.com/) from a browser on your computer to get started.

**Note-1:** While Few and Far natively supports NEAR Wallet that users already have, they won’t need a NEAR Wallet to begin their experience.

**Note-2.** Few and Far is a non-custodial marketplace and platform provider, which means we don’t hold our users native-cryptocurrency NFTs or future tokens — we believe in providing the perfect service that enables access to all users (‘Web 2’ or ‘Web 3) through a super easy onboarding process.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/few-and-far-announcing-new-onboarding/1*iNyuXlBKY1CfjTdTHEbNfQ.png)

### Create an account

First, we’ll verify if you need a new account or already are an existing user.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/few-and-far-announcing-new-onboarding/1*j_R8QCg-wwdz4GzB2J2DLw.png)

### Verify your email.

We’ll send a verification email to continue. If you used the wrong email during the first step, it’s not a problem, we’ll resend the email.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/few-and-far-announcing-new-onboarding/1*FkHNenEHNBdpQ5MkgU0lgQ.png)

### Do you have a NEAR wallet you want to use?

If so, we can help connect your wallet during this step. If not, let’s continue!

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/few-and-far-announcing-new-onboarding/1*0A_IN64cuAeN42TbQGGVbw.png)

### Wallet Recovery Passcode

**Important Note:** Do not refresh or exit this page!

Store it safely and do not share it with anyone. You’ll also receive it by email, in case you need to access it.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/few-and-far-announcing-new-onboarding/1*tI-ZDYDuVHLj-eG6utI-Tg.png)

### Connect a NEAR Wallet

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/few-and-far-announcing-new-onboarding/1*OByj7kQewxhWIs4eByWtoQ.png)

If you have an existing NEAR Wallet used like to connect, we’re here to help. Here’s a couple things you should know:

*   Few and Far verifies transactions to connect with NEAR wallets which requires a small deposit of  
    **0.002 NEAR** to verify your wallet. The funds will be immediately refunded after verification.
*   Choose NEAR-native supported wallets such as NEAR Wallet or MyNEARWallet

For more information, visit our [website](https://fewfar.com/) and select the Help button in the lower right corner to learn more!



* * *

[Few and Far: Announcing New Onboarding](https://medium.com/few-and-far/few-and-far-announcing-new-onboarding-b0c17e3ca6db) was originally published in [Few and Far](https://medium.com/few-and-far) on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We’ve finally released our exciting new simple-to-use onboarding experience for Web3 —and it works like magic.

Few and Far: Announcing New Onboarding



### KEYPOM 101 : THE ONBOARDING REVOLUTION IS NEAR

Open Web development has been making significant strides in overcoming challenges such as the scalability trilemma, bridging trilemma, and UX/UI as it approaches mainstream adoption. While all this progress is impressive, mass adoption requires a different level of attention be given to onboarding.

This is where Keypom comes in. [Keypom](https://twitter.com/keypomxyz?s=20) is taking on the challenge of onboarding by making the first contact new users have with Web3 as seamless and immersive as possible.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/keypom-101-the-onboarding-revolution-is-near/1*N0E3KC_wNPcHuhe4JekMzw.png)

### TL;DR

*   [Keypom](https://keypom.xyz) is a **zero-friction onboarding protocol** and **access key factory** built on NEAR, which lowers the barrier to entry to Web3 for both new and existing users
*   **Keypom Drops** : highly customisable, granular, affordable, Keypom Drops feature multiple use cases, including NFT ticketing, recurring payments, event analytics, backend servers, and token / NFT drops.
*   **Keypom Trial Accounts :** lets users experience the value of a product and later convert the trial account into a full-blown wallet retaining their transactions and tokens
*   Essentially, projects can use Keypom to let users **experience the value** of a specific product / dApp **without creating a wallet**, via the simple click of a link

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/keypom-101-the-onboarding-revolution-is-near/1*ncnGh6SSJNor-UpBwfJ_Xg.png)

### **Rethinking Onboarding for Users and Builders**

To users, Keypom is a frictionless onboarding protocol that grants them access to the dapps and value within the [NEAR Blockchain Operating System (bOS)](https://medium.com/nearprotocol/introducing-the-blockchain-operating-system-bos-8004345d02ba) without the fuss of wallet creation or interruption of on-chain interactions (i.e., transactions) with smart contracts. A simple action, like clicking on a link and immediately experiencing a dApp, is a familiar and straightforward process.

On the flip side, developers and builders can leverage Keypom functionality—like lindrops—via its SDK to integrate a seamless and customisable onboarding experience for their users into their products.

### The Underlying Technology Powering Keypom

Many projects build on NEAR for its massive scalability, composability potential, and robust security. However, for Keypom, it is the unique account model of NEAR wallets that is the underlying stack powering Keypom. The NEAR account model allows you to:

1.  Create accounts with **human-readable names** (e.g., **borderlesscommunity.near**) as opposed to the common number string set (e.g., 87364nq384uq89rhqf8h78h7)
2.  Give **specific** and **limited permissions** to third parties via access keys; on NEAR, a single account can create and store multiple access keys

**For context:** Every crypto wallet has a _public key_ and a _private key_. A p_ublic key_ is the equivalent of a username, while the _private key_ is used to sign and validate transactions.

_Access keys_ are public and private key pairs with specific permissions that grant dApps limited access to your account. Your NEAR account can hold multiple _access keys_ depending on the number of dApps you are interacting with.

Access keys make your interactions safer since any smart contract you interact with is limited by the permissions you’ve granted. What’s more, these keys are easily replaceable and can be used for account recovery. There are two types of access keys:

1.  **Full Access Keys:** give users full control of an account
2.  **Function Call keys:** used by dApps to make contract calls on your behalf; function Call keys calls do not involve any payment or transfer of $NEAR

[Keypom](https://keypom.xyz) extends the use case of the access key tech stack to provide users with special, customisable access keys that can be later converted into a fully functional NEAR wallet. These special access keys are wrapped as shareable, clickable links, that allow you to create a human-readable username and immediately start experiencing the value of a product or service.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/keypom-101-the-onboarding-revolution-is-near/1*MwBhLb_9RZ3yn2lYU2bUaQ.png)

### Unlocking Practical Use Cases with Keypom Drops

**Keypom Drops** operate similarly to smart contracts and hold the functionalities of an access key. Think of the drops as teams on which access keys can play. Depending on the developer’s needs, drops can be configured by usage, time, or public sale and used to create new wallets or send assets to existing ones. Keypom Drops can cost as little as 0.0035 $NEAR per drop, making them an affordable option for mass onboarding or multiple drops. There are four types of Keypom Drops:

*   **Simple Drops:** Create access keys that can only transfer $NEAR. When properly leveraged, Simple Drops can become a powerful and cost-efficient onboarding tool. One interesting feature of Simple Drops is that they can be programmed to be used multiple times with specified time intervals, which unlocks possible recurring payment use cases
*   **Fungible Token Drops:** If you want to drop tokens other than $NEAR, then Fungible Token Drops are the best option. They add a light wrapper around the Simple Drop and allow you to drop tokens other than $NEAR
*   **NFT Drops:** Instead of sending fungible tokens, you can choose to send NFTs. The NFT Drop is similar to a fungible token drop, except that it wraps the Simple Drop with NFTs and some $NEAR tokens
*   **Function Call Drops:** The most versatile of the Keypad Drops. These unleash the full power of Keypom’s value, allowing for a variety of methods to be called from contracts with very few exceptions. They are useful for NFT ticketing, auto-registration into DAOs, comprehensive analytics for events (POAPs), and multi-sig contracts

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/keypom-101-the-onboarding-revolution-is-near/1*1ilWJjMjXEoXfrbyljDixg.png)

### Keypom Balances

For developers, it can become monotonously tedious to constantly attach $NEAR to every single function call, such as creating a drop, deleting or adding keys, etc., especially when mass onboarding is the goal. **Keypom Balances** abstract this process by allowing you to make a deposit into an internal balance on your account logged into Keypom. This deposit is called by Keypom every time you send a function call.

### Keypom Trial Accounts: The Future of Onboarding

**Keypom Trial Accounts** allow users to experience the value of a dApp in the same way they would experience a Web2 app with a trial period, but better. With Keypom Trial Accounts, users can seamlessly transition to fully functional wallets once the trial is over. The journey has a quick and straightforward flow:

*   _Developer K_ builds dApp _xyz_
*   _Developer K_ uses Keypom to create a trial account, which is a wrapped access key with a smart contract preloaded with $NEAR, and sends it as a link to _User A_
*   _User A_ clicks on the link, enters a **username.near**, and is automatically signed in to dApp _xyz_
*   When U_ser A_ is satisfied with the experience or $NEAR runs out, they can immediately transition their trial account into a fully functional wallet via FastAuth, retaining their **username.near** and the transactions they had made, including tokens

### What about security?

Security is a critical concern in the world of Web3. Traditionally, linkdrops on NEAR had a significant loophole: the recipients of the linkdrop would receive a fully functional NEAR wallet preloaded with $NEAR with no restrictions. This meant that a malicious user could transfer the tokens out of the wallet, use them on another dApp, bridge the tokens out of the ecosystem, or launch a Sybil attack by accumulating multiple linkdrops.

Keypom Trial Accounts are different because users can only use the wallets and preloaded tokens the developer has specified, thanks to the access key core of the drop. The NEAR tokens in Keypom Trial Accounts are attached to a smart contract with specific rules set by the developer.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/keypom-101-the-onboarding-revolution-is-near/1*6jLk4KtGyGt-dvQMuqGrKA.png)

### Final Thoughts

To summarise, by radically simplifying the way that users experience the Open Web, [Keypom](http://keypom.xyz) is completely changing the existing Web3 landscape—all while creating many new ways to achieve true mass adoption via NEAR.

Written by [Beet](https://twitter.com/Beet2493?s=20)  
Edited by [@achildhoodhero](http://twitter.com/achildhoodhero)

### About Keypom

Keypom is a zero-friction onboarding protocol and access key factory built on NEAR Protocol, which new enables new users to immediately experience the value of Web3 by simplifying the onboarding process. This includes cutting through the hassle of KYC, seed phrases/private keys, wallet creation, etc. — significantly lowering the barrier to entry.

[Twitter](https://twitter.com/keypomxyz?s=20) | [Website](https://keypom.xyz)

### About NEARWEEK

NEARWEEK is one of the first decentralised news sources within the NEAR ecosystem. Via the production of high-quality content, news, and promotional support, NEARWEEK unleashes the full potential of its media outlets to act as the social epicentre of the NEAR ecosystem.

[Newsletter](https://subscribe.nearweek.com/) **|** [Twitter](http://twitter.com/nearweek) **|** [Website](http://nearweek.com/)



* * *

[KEYPOM 101 : THE ONBOARDING REVOLUTION IS NEAR](https://medium.com/nearprotocol/keypom-101-onboarding-is-near-eaab730e17da) was originally published in [NEAR Protocol](https://medium.com/nearprotocol) on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

KEYPOM 101 : THE ONBOARDING REVOLUTION IS NEAR

KEYPOM 101 : THE ONBOARDING REVOLUTION IS NEAR

### Over US$1000 worth of $pNEAR and $REF for 70 winners

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/stake-and-earn-pnear-near-dcl-pool-on-ref-finance/1*zOkaT7LucMbciOGPCvsaJg.png)

We’re celebrating the launch of $pNEAR-$NEAR DCL Pool on Ref Finance. Early users can enjoy boosted rewards through participating in $pNEAR-$NEAR DCL farming. A total of 70 winners will share a total reward pool of over USD$1000 during this campaign.

The first 50 participants to stake the required amount of until 4 June during the Campaign Period will receive US$20 of $pNEAR each — on top of your farming rewards. The next 20 participants who came in later will also be able to enjoy 25 $REF each.

Campaign Period: 28th April — 5th May

**How to Participate?**

\- Swap $pNEAR through Ref.Finance. You need a minimum of 5 $pNEAR to be eligible for the campaign.

\- Add liquidity position to [$pNEAR-$NEAR DCL Pool](https://app.ref.finance/v2farms/pNEAR%3C%3ENEAR@2000[3680-5880]-r)

\- Maintain your stake for at least 3 days (72 hours)

\- Fill up this Google Form to enroll in the campaign: [https://forms.gle/nzgTckG9EmVXuScM9](https://forms.gle/nzgTckG9EmVXuScM9)

If you are unfamiliar with DCL Pool Farming on Ref, read the step-by-step guide here:

[Ref Finance V2 Kicks off with $pNEAR<->$NEAR Farming: A Step-by-Step Guide](https://medium.com/@CornerstoneDAO/ref-finance-v2-kicks-off-with-pnear-near-farming-a-step-by-step-guide-5c34167e62eb)

**About Phoenix Bonds**

Developed by LiNEAR Protocol, Phoenix Bonds is a novel bonding mechanism that enables principal-protected amplified yield for end-users. Compared to the current ~10% average APY from $NEAR staking and liquid staking protocols, Phoenix Bonds can possibly amplify the yields potentially enfold or even more.

*   Website: [https://phoenixbonds.org/](https://phoenixbonds.org/)
*   Twitter: [https://twitter.com/LinearProtocol](https://twitter.com/LinearProtocol)
*   Discord: [https://discord.com/invite/bkkvWwMf2T](https://discord.com/invite/bkkvWwMf2T)

_Disclaimer: Nothing in this blog constitutes investment advice, performance data or a recommendation for any individual._



* * *

[Stake and Earn: $pNEAR-$NEAR DCL Pool on Ref Finance](https://medium.com/nearprotocol/stake-and-earn-pnear-near-dcl-pool-on-ref-finance-4d660d66a5ca) was originally published in [NEAR Protocol](https://medium.com/nearprotocol) on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Over US$1000 worth of $pNEAR and $REF for 70 winners

Stake and Earn: $pNEAR-$NEAR DCL Pool on Ref Finance



**Meet the Team: Aurora Labs’ Bridge Team Lead Kirill Abramov**

_The Aurora team is made up of exceptional individuals that left a mark in the industries they have been part of by innovating and building cutting edge technology. These top-tier professionals have unique stories to share about their journeys that deserve to be talked about as they can provide inspiration and guidance to new builders joining this ecosystem. With this series we aim to do just that by highlighting the work and experiences of a generation of pioneers in the Web3 world paying tribute to their valuable contributions and achievements._

#### **Early Career, From Computer Vision and Audio Engineering to Blockchain**

Kirill Abramov is a Ukrainian software engineer with a passion for blockchain technology and complex distributed systems. His career in software engineering began during his first years at the Zaporizhzhia State Engineering Academy, where he pursued bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Software Engineering. At the same time, Kirill got involved in different projects developing digital audio workstations, plugins for audio software, and computer vision projects. These experiences helped Kirill identify his main interests and strengthened his passion and curiosity for software engineering. And it was not long after that Kirill’s interest was grabbed by the emerging field of blockchain technology.

Since 2008 Kirill had been paying attention to the rise of cryptocurrencies, but it wasn’t until 2015 that he decided to get deeper into it by starting to work on a few blockchain projects. Kirill was fascinated by blockchain’s network architecture and immediately realized that “blockchain technology could have a tangible impact on everyday people”. This new field matched well with Kirill’s desire to create technology with a real-world impact as well as with his aptitude for creativity. Besides that, Kirill was captivated and motivated by open-source culture for a long period of time, which perfectly aligns with the principles of transparency and decentralization that underlie the blockchain industry.

To make his own contribution to the open-source world, Kirill took a short break from blockchain development and applied for the Google Summer of Code 2016 participation, a program where young programmers can work on open-source projects and get compensated for the work done upon successful project completion. Kirill passed the application process and dedicated several months to developing open-source software for neuroscientists.

During the same year, Kirill also began exploring Zero Knowledge technology working on a project that was trying to develop a ZK-encrypted video messenger. It was an ambitious and challenging project, as Kirill mentions, “as I cast my mind back to those moments, I realized the immense scale and complexity of the project during that era. The cutting-edge ZK technology, which is still nascent nowadays, was an even more rare phenomenon in those days. It was a thrilling and a little bit terrifying experience”. Further, Kirill immersed into several other blockchain projects that allowed him to broaden his blockchain horizon.

One of the most remarkable projects was Beam, the first blockchain based on the Minblewimble blockchain protocol, that enables people to communicate privately and securely over the blockchain and perform confidential transactions. In this context, Kirill was involved with the building of firmware and applications for hardware wallets such as Ledger and Trezor, which, as he said, “ was particularly challenging as it required a lot of debugging and ‘black magic’ of reverse engineering”. And it was during this time that Kirill also was involved in implementing blockchain bridge designs and cross-chain applications, an experience that would later lead Kirill into the Aurora Lab’s Rainbow Bridge.

#### **The Beginning of a New Era with NEAR and Aurora**

After a couple of years spent at Beam as a software engineer, Kirill joined NEAR Protocol in January 2021. He explains his motivation to join the company: “NEAR was a distinct, unusual project in the blockchain world. They didn’t hold any blockchain legacy and tried to empower developers, still dedicating the attention to providing seamless user experience”. At that time, the teams that would later become the Engine and Bridge teams at Aurora Labs were just taking form. Kirill joined the Bridge team under the leadership of Alex Shevchenko, the current CEO of Aurora, and began to contribute to the improvement and deployment of the Rainbow Bridge, preparing it for its launch in March 2021.

Soon after the launch of the Rainbow Bridge, Aurora spun off into its own company, and in September 2021, Kirill became the team lead of the Rainbow Bridge. Right now, Kirill is leading the Bridge team’s effort to maintain the bridge, develop its capabilities, and enhance its security. As he remarks,

_“Cross-chain tech is still rather new, and because of that, it is vulnerable to hackers’ attacks. And our main priority is precisely to make sure users’ funds are always shielded from attacks. To achieve this, we developed and constantly improved our multi-layer security system. That means granularly controlling security processes for everything from development, testing, and deployment to auditing, monitoring, and maintaining our systems.”_

After two years since its launch, the Rainbow Bridge has been building its reputation as a hack-proof bridge. But security is not the only priority of the Rainbow Bridge team; providing a smooth user experience makes a big part of the team’s effort. In the past year, the bridge team developed a new light-client for Ethereum post-Merge era and has shipped several key improvements such as the NEAR connector, that allows NEP-141 tokens to be bridged on Ethereum, and a connector that has enabled fast transfers between NEAR and Ethereum. These are major accomplishments for the team, but more is still to come.

#### **Looking at the Future**

Kirill’s team is working on several improvements to deliver the best experience for users interacting with Aurora, Aurora Cloud, and the Silos. In the coming months, the team will focus on making the fast bridge publicly available and other important upgrades aimed at improving the Rainbow Bridge experience for Aurora Cloud clients.

Both in the short and long term, the team aims to improve the bridge’s security and ease of use. One of the possibilities that is currently being researched is the application of Zero Knowledge Proof technology, but, as Kirill remarks, “This is something that will take quite some time as we want to find a nice balance between adopting a new powerful and promising technology while preserving the highest standards of security.”

#### **About Aurora**

Aurora is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) based on the layer 1 proof-of-stake blockchain NEAR Protocol. Aurora provides a solution for developers to deploy their apps on an Ethereum-compatible, high-speed, scalable, and future-proof platform with low transaction costs for their users.

[Website](https://aurora.dev/) | [Aurora Cloud](https://auroracloud.dev/) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-is-near/mycompany/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/auroraisnear) | [Telegram](https://t.me/auroraisnear) | [Discord](https://discord.gg/dEFJBz8HQV) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5inYyvUO10iL65hBPFtpvg) | [GitHub](https://github.com/aurora-is-near/aurora-engine) | [Regional Communities and Media](https://aurora.dev/ecosystem?category=Community&subcategory=Regional+Communities+and+Community+media)| [Governance Forum](https://forum.aurora.dev/) | [Community Dashboard](https://auroradao.club/dashboard) | [Community Swags store](https://auroraonelove.com/) | [Aurora Expert Bot](https://t.me/auroraexpert_bot)



* * *

[Meet the Team: Aurora Labs’ Bridge Team Lead Kirill Abramov](https://medium.com/aurora-platform/meet-the-team-aurora-labs-bridge-team-lead-kirill-abramov-1821854b9f59) was originally published in [Aurora Platform](https://medium.com/aurora-platform) on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Meet the Team: Aurora Labs’ Bridge Team Lead Kirill Abramov

Meet the Team: Aurora Labs’ Bridge Team Lead Kirill Abramov



We are thrilled to announce the release of Aurora Engine 2.9.0 on the mainnet! This latest version features the groundbreaking Cross-Contract Call (XCC) for the Aurora EVM, enabling Ethereum-compatible smart contracts to interact seamlessly with Wasm smart contracts within the NEAR ecosystem.

You can now leverage the Aurora Engine 2.9.0 to access the following XCC features:

*   Access the XCC feature by calling a special precompile address in your EVM smart contracts.
*   Ensure your EVM address has a wrapped NEAR (wNEAR) balance of at least 2 wNEAR for the first use to cover the storage staking cost.
*   Remember that the NEAR environment is asynchronous; hence, the result of a NEAR call must be handled as a callback to the EVM.
*   The XCC precompile creates a NEAR sub-account for each address using the feature to distinguish users.

Getting started with XCC is easy! The Engine has a streamlined process for EVM accounts to fund their XCC counterparts on NEAR. When you use the XCC feature for the first time, the Engine automatically creates a NEAR sub-account and deploys the XCC Router contract to manage calls on your behalf. This sub-account needs a NEAR balance to cover storage costs. The XCC precompile converts wNEAR tokens from your address into base NEAR to fund the new account, simplifying the process.

In addition to these exciting features, Aurora Engine 2.9.0 includes many minor bug fixes as we continue to improve the code quality of the Aurora Engine.

This new release will unlock exciting opportunities for collaboration and innovation within the Aurora and NEAR ecosystems. We encourage you to explore the potential of Aurora Engine 2.9.0 and the XCC feature and look forward to seeing the fantastic applications you’ll develop!

For more details, and to start taking advantage of the XCC today, you can use the SDK by following this [link](https://github.com/aurora-is-near/aurora-contracts-sdk) and check out [these examples](https://github.com/aurora-is-near/aurora-contracts-sdk/tree/main/examples) on how to leverage XCC to interact with NEAR and NEAR’s Blockchain Operating System (BOS).

Best regards,

The Aurora Engine team



* * *

[Aurora Releases Its Engine 2.9.0 Version](https://medium.com/nearprotocol/aurora-releases-its-engine-2-9-0-version-f3f83f165107) was originally published in [NEAR Protocol](https://medium.com/nearprotocol) on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We are thrilled to announce the release of Aurora Engine 2.9.0 on the mainnet! This latest version features the groundbreaking Cross-Cont...

Aurora Releases Its Engine 2.9.0 Version



_Otaku_ : a Japanese term describing a young person with an intense, borderline obsessive, interest in a particular hobby or aspect of pop culture. For instance, train otakus are a common sight next to the train tracks.

That said, internationally, the term _Otaku_ is more associated with Anime and Manga. Could these areas be a potential catalyst to grow Web3 to the often-cited mass adoption?

Time to explore.

### **Anime is International**

Anime has long passed the borders of Japan and has become an international phenomenon. In 2021, over 2.88 billion people viewed Anime, and over 100 million households watched at least one anime title on Netflix in 2020.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/otakus-the-web3-catalyst-you-didn-t-know-you-needed/1*eeiATjMZ8mdf_he9Bh1S-Q.jpeg)

_Demon Slayer_, which contains a story revolving around a boy whose family is murdered by demons, is so popular that it was the first anime in a decade to [hit №1 at the US box office on release with its Mugen train movie.](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/box-office-report/demon-slayer-becomes-first-anime-to-hit-no-1-at-u-s-box-office-in-decades-204814.html) Its latest release still brought in $10 million despite the movie consisting of 70% of remastered previous episodes.

All of this illustrates that the anime market is big. In fact, research suggests the market could hit [$50 billion in size by 2029](https://rivercountry.newschannelnebraska.com/story/47863598/anime-market-worth-usd-5058-bn-by-2029-industry-trends-demand-share-analysis-forecast-report-by-facts-factors). To put this into perspective, that is roughly 25 times the FDV of NEAR at the moment.

### **Otakus Buy More Than Books & Movie Tickets**

Any popular anime quickly grows a loyal fanbase. And that fanbase is willing to spend. Just recently, intern went to a Jujutsu Kaisen exhibition where Tickets were around $15 USD, and they’d guide 300 visitors through each hour.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/otakus-the-web3-catalyst-you-didn-t-know-you-needed/1*yshRqnnGmcqmQs7lNfuJwQ.jpeg)

Let’s do some quick maths: 300 \* 15 \* 8 = $36,000 USD; rather good daily earnings. Now consider that this exhibition runs for months, moving across the country, with tickets being quickly booked. What’s more, people will spend on exclusive fan articles such as fans, posters, cards, and stickers.

Add to that cosplayers spending over $200 million on looking like their favorite characters in Japan alone, and you can grasp the potential of anime to grab people’s hearts (and wallets).

### The Potential of Blockchain for Weebs

There are various angles from which the blockchain and Open Web can benefit the anime industry. That said, what won’t be discussed here in detail are anime-themed pfp collections that don’t go beyond being a simple jpeg (such as _Azuki_).

#### **1—Empower artists**

Like in any creative industry, manga artists and animators are often not paid fairly for their work. It’s pretty common that they have to sell their work cheaply to make ends meet and can only fully maintain themselves if they get published by a big publisher like Shonen Jump.

The biggest studio at the moment is likely Studio Mappa. The animation studio is behind _Chainsaw Man_, _One Punch Man_, _Attack on Titan_, _Jujutsu Kaisen_, _Vinland Saga_, and many more. However, it’s probably just as often in the media for overworking and underpaying their staff as for their animations.

In this regard, blockchain technology can introduce more transparent ways of tracking individual animators’ contributions and facilitate payments. It can also serve to connect artists with their fans opening up new monetisation opportunities.

#### **2—Manga as Art**

Digital assets allow manga artists to transcend borders. Not just internationally, but also by turning their work into art. An example of that was the _One Piece_ illustration lottery. The story behind _One Piec_e follows the pirate Luffy, and has been published weekly in Shonen Jump since 1997—selling over 490 million copies. To celebrate their continued success, the publishers decided to turn some scenes from the manga into luxury prints. [**Each print was priced around $4500** and contained an IC tag connecting it with an NFT](https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Media-Entertainment/NFTs-turn-Japan-s-manga-and-anime-into-genuine-art) enabling anyone to check the provenance and authenticity of the pieces.

The lottery distributing the rights to purchase attracted over **3,000 entries** in just two days from collectors worldwide, showcasing the purchasing power and passion of Otakus to own a piece of their favorite manga.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/otakus-the-web3-catalyst-you-didn-t-know-you-needed/1*_2L2cs4Vn0eKlgO0B0hecA.png)

#### **3—Collaborative Creation**

Otakus can benefit beyond ownership from web3. Blockchain and NFTs provide the infrastructure to facilitate the collaborative production of stories and animation. The current process is time-consuming, requires a vast amount of resources, and has led to centralisation, with a few big studios dominating the market.

With web3 fundraising and DAO tooling, Otakus can contribute not only to providing financial resources for their favourite artists to produc, but they can also play an active role in how the story develops. Plus, if they own an NFT that is part of the anime, there is a big incentive to continue positively contributing to the projects’ success.

> _‘Japanese intellectual property includes a wealth of high-quality and appealing content.’  
> _— Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman, Animoca Brands

A few projects already exploring collaborative creation in a web3 context include _StoryCo_, _Metalabels_, and _Galverse_, an NFT project making an anime. However, there are still challenges which remain.

### Copyright, Royalties, and Questions

In the Summer of 2022, [a Singaporean-based startup created NFTs themed around the beloved manga soccer star Captain Tsubasa without owning any rights to the actual IP. Obviously illegal activity, yet not uncommon.](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/07/06/business/tech/captain-tsubasa-nft/) Other Japanese brands like Nintendo and the creator of Ultraman fought similar battles over the use of their intellectual property by ruthless web3 projects.

Web3 native tools to protect and better address IP infringements seem like a no-brainer but are still not far-spread.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/otakus-the-web3-catalyst-you-didn-t-know-you-needed/1*8X6iAeQ4MiZZrBYtxNeGfA.png)

[Image Source](https://medium.com/few-and-far/near-foundation-announces-partnership-with-few-and-far-to-grow-the-near-nft-ecosystem-b567075b2fe9)

Royalties are another area of concern if creators care about recurring revenue from secondary market sales, as royalty payments are _mostly_ enforced socially and not on the protocol layer. An extension to the [NFT token standard on NEAR developed by the Few & Far team](https://medium.com/@fewandfarmarketplace/few-and-far-nft-specification-a-technical-deep-dive-d3e59d5f87b) aims to provide better royalties controls to creators but has yet to be adopted by the broader web3 ecosystem.

Lastly, questions remain around how to connect potential physical goods with on-chain data, what the value provided through a digital asset to the fans is, and how to market these types of launches right ([there are legitimate AOT NFTs,](https://aotlegacy.com/) but no one knows) without alienating your existing fanbase.

### Nao | NEAR is nao on Twitter: "Meguro River on a sunny day that's basic.Nao went to Kawagoe in the rain to enjoy sakura. 🌸 pic.twitter.com/inNUgGu3Df / Twitter"

Meguro River on a sunny day that's basic.Nao went to Kawagoe in the rain to enjoy sakura. 🌸 pic.twitter.com/inNUgGu3Df

### **Final Thoughts**

Big studios might be held back by friction in onboarding and potential challenges with copyright infringements, but the Web3 space is evolving fast and offers a wide set of benefits for creators and fans alike. On NEAR, meta transactions and flexible key management are already facilitating the onboarding experience, bringing us closer to achieving a seamless onboarding UX.

To say it in the words of first-class detective Shinichi Kudo: _by looking at what’s blocking our way with an open mind, a wall can be turned into a wide-open door._

Web3 would do well embracing Otakus. Why? Because they are very loyal fans that will go to great lengths to get closer to their favourite works. Otakus are everywhere. Just ask on the next meetup you go to for people’s favorite anime. You’ll be surprised.

That’s why Otakus are the Web3 catalyst you didn’t know you needed.

— -

**NEAR Intern recommends**

In case you feel like watching anime now, here are some favourites:

*   **Polar Bear Cafe:** for when you need some wholesomeness and cute animals
*   **Steins;gate:** for a fix of time traveling, gripping fiction
*   **Violet Evergarden**: might make you cry, but it most definitely will amaze you with its artistry
*   **Gurren Lagan:** watch for the vibes, forget logic for a bit
*   **Nodame Cantabile**: when you love classical music, and romantic comedy
*   **Madoka Magica:** full of fascinating twists, definitely not your average Shojo anime
*   **Mononoke:** no, not princess Mononoke; 12 episodes full of colourful, trippy horror in a style you won’t forget
*   **Way of the Househusband:** a yakuza turned loving househusband, comedy gold

Written by [@NEAR\_intern](https://twitter.com/near_intern?s=20&t=Ogx6QnLu8ZgTzVy7lWxkXw)  
Edited by [@achildhoodhero](http://twitter.com/achildhoodhero)

### About NEAR Protocol

NEAR is on a mission to onboard a billion users to the infinite possibilities of Web3 with the Blockchain Operating System (bOS). Leveraging its high-performance, carbon-neutral protocol, which is fast, secure, and scalable, bOS provides a common layer for browsing and discovering the Open Web.

[NEAR Discovery](http://near.org/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/NEARProtocol)

### About NEARWEEK

NEARWEEK is one of the first decentralised news sources within the NEAR ecosystem. Via the production of high-quality content, news, and promotional support, NEARWEEK unleashes the full potential of its media outlets to act as the social epicentre of the NEAR ecosystem.

[Newsletter](https://subscribe.nearweek.com/) **|** [Twitter](http://twitter.com/nearweek) **|** [Website](http://nearweek.com/)



* * *

[OTAKUS, THE WEB3 CATALYST YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU NEEDED](https://medium.com/nearprotocol/otakus-the-web3-catalyst-you-didnt-know-you-needed-5da84e6a07f4) was originally published in [NEAR Protocol](https://medium.com/nearprotocol) on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Otaku : a Japanese term describing a young person with an intense, borderline obsessive, interest in a particular hobby or aspect of po...

OTAKUS, THE WEB3 CATALYST YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU NEEDED

### Few and Far — Message from Our CTO

It has been a while since I’ve personally addressed the Few and Far community but given our longer than expected interval since our last major product release I wanted to share some of what our engineers have been working on.

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/few-and-far-message-from-our-cto/1*TnDcK0mRxo37bS4uUgWC2A.png)

A subset of our community have continually run into issues connecting their wallets to Few and Far. We’re painfully aware of these problems as a company and a couple of our engineers labor at resolving these daily alongside myself and our new quality assurance hire. The issues present in a few different forms.

First is an “endless loop” of connecting. This was determined to be an issue when users have disabled cookies or are using “private browsing” in which case the cookies are wiped out. You may ask what we’re using the cookies for — the cookies are a key component of storing wallet connection state between NEAR’s web wallet and our servers. It’s as simple as no cookies = no connection. A forthcoming update addresses this issue immediately upon loading Few and Far and informs the user of the requirement of cookies to proceed with wallet connections.

Second is an issue with “wallet verification” when connecting a wallet. Our current implementation of verification has proven to be finicky in certain use cases and as such we’re eliminating it for the time being until we can either produce a more robust version internally or NEAR wallet authentication signing becomes viable via open source efforts.

Third is an issue with having multiple wallets connected to a user account. The official NEAR javascript library we rely upon on supports only a single active wallet in the user’s browser session. In short we’ve had to pair back our multi-wallet support to only linking a single “external” wallet to your Few and Far user account. This wallet can be changed at any time but there is now a hard limit of connecting only a single “external” wallet (we still support multiple F&F generated wallets).

In addition to resolving the above issues we’ve now added the ability to export your encrypted wallet keys for users that created a wallet during our onboarding process.

Beyond wallet concerns we’ve implemented lots of improvements to our API for our enterprise minting partners along with an array of additional features to become a full-service API provider creating a one-stop shop rather than requiring a patchwork of solutions for “Web 2” companies joining the fray.

Likewise we’re revamping our entire login and onboarding process alongside a full redesign of many of our most-trafficked pages as part of an effort to standardize and streamline our UI development to increase developer productivity and more importantly improve end-user experience.

Finally I’d like to highlight some of the extensive engineering efforts of our team building a bespoke indexing solution for NEAR. The time and monetary investment in this cannot be understated and its stability and scalability are paramount to our success. The latest round of updates drastically enhances our capabilities to support multi-collection contracts improving the capabilities for creators minting on our platform while also extending our support for Paras collections.

In the last few weeks we’ve added over 12,000 new users to our platform and we hope to continue that trend with a long list of improvements queued for release succeeded by an astonishingly large list of improvements/features/products that we’ve yet to announce.

To stay in the loop on future updates, please join us on [Discord](https://discord.gg/w5ZpD5ZKym) or follow our [Twitter](https://twitter.com/FewandFarNFT).



* * *

[Few and Far — Message from Our CTO](https://medium.com/few-and-far/few-and-far-message-from-our-cto-8c8ec4bcbf4f) was originally published in [Few and Far](https://medium.com/few-and-far) on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Few and Far — Message from Our CTO

Few and Far — Message from Our CTO

In the HERE update 1.3.0 the score of the account appeared. In this article, we’ll explain in detail what it is, how to get it, and why you need it

Score is a rating of activity in the app. It is attached to an account and cannot be sent to friends or bought for money. It consists of a permanent and a variable part. Permanent is accumulated for the use of certain features / contests / inviting friends and can only increase. Dynamic part depends on the balance or amount of money in steaking and can change.

### What gives a high score?

1\. **Private features**. New features are unlocked in the app after reaching the score threshold. You can earn USDT and get gifts for the found bugs

2\. **+APY**. The more score, the more profit you get from staking. Up to 10.2% per annum!

3\. **Cashback**. Users with score higher than 2500 can do gas free transactions between friends, get cashback for swaps, and purchase of some NFTs

**Levels:**

**0–100** — I am not a bot 🤖  
**500–1500** — Start earn more APY, +0.1% for each 100 score 💸  
**400, 800, 1200** — Unlocking a secret feature 🔐  
**2500** — God mode. Gas free transactions / cashback for swaps ☁️

![](https://awesomenear-spaces.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com/production/articles/here-score/1*RParAv_olD7IPUSHqRgTbQ.png)

### How to earn a score?

1.  Open [app](https://download.herewallet.app/): **+5** (one per day)
2.  Make swap: **+20** (one per day)
3.  Start stake: **+100**
4.  Invite friend with balance: **+150**
5.  Join #into channel at [discord](https://dd.herewallet.app/) and make into: **+50**

More usecases soon



In the HERE update 1.3.0 the score of the account appeared. In this article, we’ll explain in detail what it is, how to get it, and why y...

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