Last Updated on 29 mins by Jacob O’Shea

In the realm of cutting-edge blockchain technology advancements, financial updates, and strategic collaborations, we bring you the highlights of the week from October 2nd to 8th.

October 2nd: The Babylon team has announced its plans to unveil the “Bitcoin Staking Protocol MVP” at Cosmoverse. This release aims to harness the vast untapped potential of idle Bitcoins, leveraging them to enhance the economic security of Proof of Stake (PoS) chains and decentralized applications (dApps). Babylon’s innovative protocol establishes a connection between decentralized trust and yield, gaining substantial support from leading Cosmos chains.

This protocol addresses the limitations of PoS chains by allowing users to stake Bitcoin (BTC) instead of native tokens, thereby bolstering security and alleviating inflation pressures. Babylon’s approach seamlessly integrates Bitcoin staking with various PoS protocols, expanding the utility of Bitcoin itself. The MVP serves as the initial implementation of this groundbreaking technology, with plans for adoption within ecosystems like Cosmos, where the demand for Bitcoin staking is clearly evident.

Certik Reports Surge in Web3 Exploits in 3Q

Losses stemming from Web3 exploits, flash-loan attacks, oracle manipulation, private key compromises, exit scams, and other security incidents surged to nearly $700 million in the third quarter, surpassing the combined totals of the first and second quarters of 2023, according to Certik.

Vechain’s Hackathon Collaboration with Harvard

On October 2nd, Vechain, an enterprise-grade layer-1 public blockchain, announced its partnership with Boston Consulting Group and the Web3 educational mobile app, EasyA, to host a hackathon at Harvard on October 7th and 8th. Developers will compete for a share of the $40,000 prize pool and the opportunity to access additional funding for their projects. The hackathon tracks will encourage the use of Vechain’s VORJ tool, simplifying smart contract deployment without coding knowledge and eliminating transaction fees.

Namada’s ‘Incentivized Testnet’ and ATOM Airdrop

Namada, a layer-1 protocol specializing in multi-chain privacy, revealed its plans for an “incentivized testnet” and an airdrop of NAM tokens to ATOM holders. Namada seeks to address the current lack of privacy between zones within the IBC-connected landscape. The size of the airdrop remains undisclosed.

Chainlink Launches ‘Data Streams’ for Reduced Latency

Chainlink, a leading blockchain data oracle provider, has introduced “Data Streams,” a new product designed to minimize network latency. This offering has entered early access on the layer 2 platform Arbitrum.

Web3Auth Extends Collaboration with Google’s Firebase

Web3Auth, a provider of crypto wallet infrastructure, has launched its own Web3 extension on Firebase Extensions Hub in partnership with Google Cloud. This development enables existing app developers to securely generate a public-private key pair using Firebase authentication, facilitating users’ ownership of fully self-custodial Web3 wallets with familiar social logins such as email, SMS OTPs, and biometric IDs.

Firebase, Google’s mobile and web app development platform, serves as the foundation for this innovative extension.

Taurus Integrates Internet Computer Protocol: Taurus, a platform for managing digital assets, has entered into a strategic collaboration with the Dfinity Foundation, a significant contributor to the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP). Taurus will integrate the Internet Computer Protocol into its custody platform, allowing its clients to custody the Internet Computer’s native ICP token and earn staking rewards through Taurus-PROTECT. Furthermore, Taurus has expanded its blockchain connectivity infrastructure, Taurus-EXPLORER, to support the Internet Computer blockchain.

Space and Time’s ‘Proof of SQL Verifier’ on Chainlink

Space and Time (SxT), a Web3 data warehouse, announced at Chainlink’s SmartCon conference that its “Proof of SQL,” a zk-proof for SQL queries, will natively run its zk-Verifier on Chainlink nodes. This integration enables verifiable, zk-proven query results for smart contracts, AI models, and enterprises. SxT has become the preferred data warehouse solution for the Chainlink ecosystem, enhancing trustlessness and decentralization. The Proof of SQL Verifier will operate directly on Chainlink nodes, ensuring consensus on tamper-proof query results within the Chainlink Network.

Stay updated with the latest developments in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space as we bring you live updates throughout the week.