Protocol Village: Layer-2 Network Metis Integrates Chainlink CCIP as Canonical Token Bridge

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Feb. 29: Metis, an Ethereum layer-2 network, plans to integrate Chainlink’s interoperability solution, Chainlink CCIP, “as its canonical token bridge infrastructure, enabling the Metis ecosystem to expand its cross-chain footprint, enhance user and developer experience and accelerate adoption,” according to the team. “As a part of this integration, the Metis bridge interface will be upgraded to leverage Chainlink CCIP as the official cross-chain infrastructure to power the canonical Metis token bridge, with an initial focus on bridging leading stablecoins from Ethereum mainnet onto the Metis network.” CoinDesk 20 asset: {{LINK}}

Alchemy Launches ‘Embedded Accounts’ to Onboard Users to Web3

Feb. 29 (PROTOCOL VILLAGE EXCLUSIVE): Alchemy is launching Embedded Accounts, “the easiest way to onboard users to Web3, according to the team. “It’s a simple all-in-one solution to:

1. Onboard users with Web2 login (email, passkeys, and soon social auth)

2. Transact with zero friction. One-click checkout by sponsoring gas and batching tx

3. Build custom smart accounts with account recovery, multisig, session keys and more

Our mission at Alchemy is to onboard the whole world to self-sovereign Web3 accounts. To achieve this mission, wallets must become invisible by abstracting away the tech such that the user doesn’t even know they’re using a wallet.”

Max Howell’s Tea Protocol Aims to Address Challenges in OSS Development

Feb. 29: Tea Protocol, founded by Max Howell, the creator of Homebrew’s open-source software package management, said that his “latest project leverages blockchain technology to address longstanding challenges in OSS development, marking a significant step towards a more sustainable and equitable ecosystem for software creators.” According to the team, Tea is “at the forefront of supporting OSS development through Web3 technology. This innovative approach ensures transparent and fair compensation for developers, enhancing collaboration and innovation within the open-source community.”

QuickNode Launches Real-Time Blockchain Data Solution ‘Streams’

Feb. 29: QuickNode, a Web3 development platform, is launching “Streams,” a real-time blockchain data streaming solution, aiming to revolutionize blockchain infrastructure by providing instant access to historical and real-time data from Ethereum, Polygon and Binance Smart Chain, according to the team: “Streams empowers developers with popular programming languages, bridging the gap between blockchain data and conventional tools, reducing operational costs and expediting time-to-market for decentralized applications (dApps).”

Crypto Losses From Hacks, Rug Pulls Up 15% YTD, Immunefi Says

Feb. 29: Immunefi, a bug bounty and security services platform for Web3 protecting over $60 billion in assets, released its “Crypto Losses in February 2024” report, showing a loss of $200.5 million to hacks and rug pulls in 2024 year-to-date, a 15.4% increase when compared with the same period in 2023. For the month of February alone, some $67.1 million was lost due to hacks and rug pulls, with the most targeted chain being Ethereum. Hacks continued to be the predominant cause of losses, accounting for $65.4 million, compared to fraud.

Bitcoin Miner Marathon, Plans ‘Anduro,’ a Multi-Chain Layer-2

Feb. 29: Marathon Digital Holdings, a publicly-traded bitcoin mining firm, disclosed it has been incubating Anduro, a new programmable, multi-chain layer-2 network atop the Bitcoin blockchain. It’s a “platform built on the Bitcoin network that allows for the creation of multiple sidechains,” according to a press release. “Marathon is already developing the first two sidechains on Anduro, Coordinate and Alys, which can be further developed by open-source contributors. These chains demonstrate Anduro’s flexible programmability. Coordinate offers a cost-effective UTXO stack for the Ordinals community, whereas Alys is an Ethereum-compatible chain for institutional asset tokenization. Anduro’s sidechains utilize a process called merge-mining. Participating miners, like Marathon, may be able to earn Bitcoin-denominated revenue from transactions that occur on Anduro’s sidechains while continuing to mine bitcoin on the base-layer uninterruptedly.”

ZkHub, Powered ZkLink, Claims Ethereum’s First Multi-Rollup DEX to Offer Central Limit Order Book

Feb. 29: The team from ZkLink, a multi-chain ZK rollup and layer-3 protocol, announces that zkHub has built a multi-rollup orderbook decentralized exchange (DEX) based on ZK technology, to address difficulties when navigating between layer-2 rollups, such as high transaction costs, security issues and operational complexity. “ZkHub is Ethereum’s first multi-rollup DEX to offer users a high-performance Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) with multi-chain native asset support, low transaction fees and Ethereum grade security,” according to a blog post.

Coinbase Adds ‘Smart Wallet’ Feature, So Lengthy Seed Phrases Aren’t Needed

Feb. 29: Coinbase, the publicly traded U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, is coming out with two new wallet solutions that are supposed to make the onboarding of new users into crypto easier. The features, known as their smart wallet and embedded wallets, aim to overcome hurdles that often come with the clunky user experience when creating crypto wallets.

Shiba Inu Adopts Tech to Bring More Privacy to SHIB Token Holders

Feb. 29: Shiba Inu plans to introduce a new privacy-focused network on top of the Shibarium blockchain in a move that boosts the value proposition of SHIB tokens, a representative shared with CoinDesk in a release on Wednesday. Shiba Inu is working with open-source cryptography company Zama on the as-yet-unnamed network. The network will use Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) – a privacy tool that lets developers use data on untrusted domains without needing to decrypt it. (SHIB)

Rarible, NFT Infrastructure Provider, Launches ‘Rarible API’

Feb. 29: Rarible, a provider of real-time infrastructure for NFT wallets, games and marketplaces, launched “Rarible API,” which is “designed to simplify the complex nature of building in the NFT space,” according to the team: “It offers a comprehensive set of features, meeting the ever evolving needs of the Web3 ecosystem, including a real-time NFT indexer, aggregated order book, multi-chain support and trading SDK. Built with developers and creators in mind, Rarible API provides a robust infrastructure, enabling and inspiring the invention of future NFT experiences.

Protocol Village is a regular feature of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter exploring the tech behind crypto, one block at a time. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday. Project teams can submit updates here. For previous versions of Protocol Village, please go here. Also please check out our weekly The Protocol podcast.

Edited by Bradley Keoun.