Tezos Records Highest Number Of Contract Calls In January With Several Dapps Set To Launch

A Smart Contract Call Record
Contract calls are interactions with smart contracts in the form of transactions. This is an important metric to see growth in the adoption rate of mainnet smart contracts. Since July 2020, the amount of contract calls has increased to 1,209% of the July total.

Every month we've seen a new record in the number of contract calls (except for November, which had a 10% drop).

January saw a 22% increase compared to December. At 22% it sounds ok, but if put this growth into perspective, we see that that 22% is 2.2 times the total amount of contract calls in July last year. We're witnessing exponential growth.

If we're looking at developer activity, we also continue to see growth in activity. In December, we saw an average of 700 daily new deployments on testnets. But in January, we see an average of 930 daily new deployments.

February is set to bring a lot of new launches and milestones.

Edo
The latest protocol upgrade will go live on mainnet in the second week of February. This is a feature-packed upgrade that includes privacy features.

This means that developers can easily integrate privacy into their smart contracts, which will enable them to provide private transactions and develop "privacy-conscious" applications.

Edo also introduces Tickets. Tickets is a convenient mechanism for smart contracts to grant portable permissions to other smart contracts or to issue tokens.

Tickets will be improving challenges like concurrency, which is a general issue developers face, especially in decentralized smart contract platforms.

Tickets also enable a more efficient way of interacting between contracts. It will enable self-custody of first-class coins/token permissions and improve the developer experience.

These are just a few of the advantages Tickets will bring and you can read more about tickets here.

Kalamint
Kalamint is a platform that can be used to create, sell and collect NFT's. Besides the advantage of low Tezos fees over high fees on Ethereum-based NFT platforms, Kalamint will have a unique governance design that includes a Guild.

We'll do an extensive article on Kalamint before they launch the platform on the 18th of February.

TEZEX
TEZEX is a cross-chain gateway to Tezos. It will enable value to come from Ethereum to Tezos DeFi in a few clicks. After that, users can move away from the current fees on Ethereum, and experience a drop in costs that is on average 3,000 times cheaper on Tezos.

When TEZEX launches, another crucial instrument joins the Tezos DeFi landscape.

Quipuswap
This is the second Decentralized Exchange (DEX) that is built on Tezos. Chances are that it will launch in February. This does, however, depend on the progress of the external audit of Quipuswap.

Kolibri
Kolibri is an algorithmic stable coin, built on Tezos and backed by XTZ. A February launch of Kolibri could be a bit optimistic to expect, but a testnet was released in the beginning of January, so there has some significant progress.

1,000,000 accounts
In February, Tezos will quite likely reach the milestone of 1,000,000 funded accounts.

With currently 945,284 funded accounts, and  97,253 new funded accounts in the past 30 days, ~55,000 account are likely to get created this month and break the 1 millionth milestone.

Rentfuse launches on Neo N3 TestNet, Fusekind Bits NFT contest begins

Rentfuse has launched on the Neo N3 TestNet with a demo release of Fusekind Bits NFTs, and is hosting a contest to test the protocol. The contest began at 9:00 p.m. (UTC) on Sunday, Feb. 27, and the goal is for users to complete a lend and borrow cycle using the Rentfuse protocol.

Rentfuse is a protocol that enables NFT owners on Neo N3 to rent out their assets while maintaining ownership control. It allows borrowers to use an NFT for a predetermined period of time in exchange for GAS, without the owner relinquishing custody of the asset.

To participate in the contest, users must connect their NeoLine, O3 Wallet, OneGate, or Neon Wallet to the Neo N3 TestNet, and then obtain TestNet GAS from the Neowish N3 NEO and GAS faucet. Users can then visit www.fusekind.com to mint one of three Bits NFTs: Hopper, Dreamer, or Keeper.

When a participant either rents or lends a Bits NFT, they will receive one of three Bits in return. Users can choose to rent or lend NFTs for as long as they please, with a minimum time frame of one minute.

To rent or lend the Bits NFTs, the participant must then visit www.rentfuse.com and log in with the wallet that was used to mint the initial Bit NFT. Then, select the "Lend" button, input the NFT token ID that can be copied from the Bit NFT after it is minted, and input the rent amount, duration, and collateral amount.

The more cycles that participants complete, the higher their "Bits score," tallied according to the number of Bits NFTs owned. Bits scores at the end of the event will determine the winners, with the total Bits supply limited to one million.

The contest is tentatively planned to run for two weeks, although there is no defined end date at time of press.

Reinstating Smartphone Access with Lisk Mobile v2.0.0

On the 21st of August 2021, we migrated the Lisk Mainnet to v3 which introduced numerous improvements to Lisk, such as multisignature accounts, a new address system, a new DPoS consensus algorithm, and a dynamic fee system. In order to meet internal deadlines, we had to focus our development resources on delivering these new improvements. This resulted in moving all frontend development resources to Lisk Desktop, hence compromising the availability of Lisk Mobile on launch day.

Today, we are proud to announce the release of Lisk Mobile v2.0.0 which reintroduces the core feature of Lisk on smartphones. Namely, the convenient sending and receiving of transactions. More advanced features like voting or multisignature accounts are solely available on Lisk Desktop to give our community the easiest and most user friendly experience on their mobile devices.

The next release will be Lisk Mobile v3.0.0, and will provide access to the Lisk interoperability solution which marks the launch of the Lisk blockchain application platform later this year.

New Features in Detail
Lisk Mobile v2.0.0 focuses on four topics, the access to Lisk v3 and its various new features, user experience and design improvements, Bitcoin support removal, and finally the overall security enhancements.

Access to Lisk v3
The recent major update of our Mainnet to Lisk v3 brought a wide range of new features and improvements to Lisk. From improved scalability to much lower fees, including a more decentralized DPoS blockchain and network, to a completely secure address system. In fact, as these are such major improvements it is highly recommended to view our announcement blog post of the Lisk Mainnet v3 migration, also please make sure to read the linked articles.

Internally, Lisk Mobile has a special focus. To be the most accessible wallet for the Lisk ecosystem. Taking that into consideration we have purposely limited the available feature-set solely for the sending and receiving of transactions.

User Experience and Design Improvements
Since releasing the previous Lisk Mobile we have been busy collecting community feedback to enhance and improve it even further. With Lisk Mobile v2.0.0 we focused on delivering many improvements to make its usage even easier and more convenient, as well as more consistent with our brand as can be seen in the images below.

Dashboard
Send LSK
Bookmarks

Neo project wins second place in Metaverse Alliance hackathon with 3D world platform

Neo community developer Robert Oschler has won second place in the SocialFi category of the Metaverse Alliance hackathon. Oschler's project, Neo3D Live, is a 3D metaverse world that allows users to interact with one another's avatars and participate in events like real-time auctions.

Oschler developed Neo3D Live so that anyone in any part of the world can access the 3D world, regardless of their ability to purchase powerful equipment. Neo3D Live was designed for most of the world's internet users – those without VR headsets or high-end equipment. He said:

Let Metaverse residents form meaningful connections in a virtual world that will run on common hardware, including the millions of smartphones that may be the only link to the Metaverse a citizen in an economically disadvantaged region has. This is a link that has the true power to uplift the millions, if not billions of hard-working, intelligent, decent human beings who have the misfortune of being born in a region that is not economically gifted like other parts of the world.

The platform leverages the ThreeJS graphics library, a graphics engine that is widely accessible. Neo3D Live runs on almost any browser and device, so there is no need for high-powered computer setups.

The platform's beta version allows users to congregate in a digital 3D environment. Real-time video conferencing is embedded into the moveable characters, so participants can see those they're communicating with via live video feed. Oschler said, "By combining true video conferencing where participants can see each other's faces as they talk to one another and move about a fun virtual world, people can once again feel the natural human joy of forming groups based on both social and spatial relationships like they would at a party or a shopping mall."

Oschler also incorporated other elements to make the space feel more natural and interactive. In Neo3D Live, intelligent objects are embedded in the virtual world, responding to an avatar's presence. For example, walking up to a wall with an embedded YouTube video will trigger the video to begin playing. And to create a more real-life experience, a user can hear the sounds of their movements and that of others around them.

NFT Showcase
The first demo of Neo3D Live included the NFT Showcase, a custom room where an individual can purchase an NFT on auction. A demonstration of the live auction can be found below:

The NFT designer can determine who can participate in the Showcase by whitelisting public wallet addresses on Neo N3.

The Neo3D Live smart contract supports derivative commissions, so collectors can earn profits when they sell an artist's NFTs if the artist grants them that right. Further, Oschler intends the NFTs bought and sold through Neo3D Live to be viewable and transferable via third-party marketplaces (i.e., Sky Hut, GhostMarket).

Looking forward, he aims to develop and release a drag-and-drop toolkit (that doesn't require coding ability), so anyone can build a virtual world.

Tezos Seals Partnership With Esports Giant Team Vitality

Tezos has secured a partnership with French esports giant Team Vitality. The three-year deal aims to bring Team Vitality closer to its fans than ever before by leveraging Tezos' energy-efficient blockchain.

Tezos Enters Esports Space
Tezos has entered into another game-changing partnership.

The Layer 1 blockchain, which prides itself on energy efficiency, announced a three-year partnership with French esports organization Team Vitality Thursday. Although details about what the partnership entails are still vague, Team Vitality stated that the deal would "revolutionize" its fan experience.

As part of the new deal, Team Vitality explained that the collaboration would help educate their fans on the benefits of blockchain as part of the gaming experience and showcase the advancements of these technologies. Additionally, the organization's CEO Nicolas Maurer explained what the partnership would mean for the esports team, stating:

"This is truly a game-changing partnership for Vitality, which feels appropriate given 2022 is set to be the biggest year in our history. The opportunities Tezos can bring to strengthen the relationship between us and our fans is incredibly exciting, and we're immensely proud to have Tezos join us on this journey."

For Tezos, the partnership appears to include brand visibility, possibly in the form of sponsorship logos on Team Vitality players' jerseys. "Tezos will be represented by top-performing Team Vitality rosters and star athletes and through unrivaled brand visibility across the esports ecosystem," Team Vitality said in a press release.

Last year, Tezos signed several major partnerships to boost its visibility. In June, Tezos made deals with Formula One racing teams McLaren and Red Bull Racing to launch collectible NFTs. Both teams stated that Tezos' low carbon footprint factored into partnering with the blockchain.

Last month, video game developer Ubisoft announced it would be launching NFTs on the Tezos-based Quartz platform, only to be hit with severe backlash from the gaming community. Despite this, Ubisoft put out a statement confirming that it will still pursue non-fungible tokens, explaining that the move is "a major change that will take time."

Despite attracting a lot of attention from brands, Tezos has otherwise struggled to gain significant momentum in the crypto space in recent months while other competing Layer 1 blockchains have seen huge growth. Musicians, artists, and art collectors appear to be some of the blockchain's biggest enthusiasts (besides Ethereum, Tezos is arguably the biggest hub for digital art NFTs, and it's also hosted NFT collections from the likes of Mike Shinoda and Doja Cat).  

Through its new partnership with Team Vitality, Tezos will be hoping to attract a new demographic of esports fans. However, after how poorly Ubisoft's foray into NFTs was received, whether Team Vitality's fans will be receptive remains to be seen. 

Saffron Finance seeking beta testers for Neo N3, distributing 30 Neoverse blindbox NFTs

Neo users can beta test Saffron Finance V2 by staking and withdrawing SFI, NEO, and GAS on the N3 TestNet. Saffron is also giving away 30 Neoverse blindboxes to users who provide feedback.

To participate, beta testers must first acquire TestNet NEO and GAS from the Neo N3 TestNet faucet, which can distribute 50 NEO and 50 GAS per IP address every 24 hours. Then, testers need to request SFI TestNet tokens in the Neo Saffron Beta Testing Telegram channel. The NeoLine Chrome extension wallet is required to use Saffron.

The Saffron V2 beta platform currently offers a dashboard displaying the total value locked for each coin and APR rates for rewards (distributed in SFI). Additionally, users can deposit and withdraw NEO, GAS, and SFI from single-sided staking pools.

According to Psykeeper, Saffron founder, initial plans for the platform's launch on Neo include single-sided staking, followed by adding support for Flamingo. The Saffron development team plans to integrate with Flamingo on the N3 TestNet first, before MainNet.

At the time of press, there is a tentative late-Feb. 2022 timeframe for Saffron's launch on N3 MainNet.

Saffron is also giving away 30 Neoverse blindbox NFTs. To become eligible, participants need to email dingo@saffron.finance and share the N3 address they used for testing along with a minimum of one sentence of feedback about their experience.

About Saffron Finance
Saffron is a peer-to-peer risk management platform. It distribute yields according to liquidity deposits in particular tranches and offers an insurance fund that generates yields. Saffron offers its users a selection of risk profiles for its supported liquidity pools.

There are three tranches that depositors can utilize: senior, junior, and fee. If an event requires funds to be covered, such as a mass liquidation event, assets from the junior tranche and insurance fund will cover the senior tranche first, then the junior tranche. Junior tranche deposits receive a higher portion of the platform's earnings in exchange for their lower coverage priority.

Saffron joined the N3 Early Adoption Program in Oct. 2021, with the intention to launch a liquidity mining service on Flamingo Finance. The Saffron ecosystem utilizes a governance token, SFI, which liquidity providers must stake to gain access to higher-yield tranches. When Saffron V2 launches, SFI stakers will also receive fees from swapping and staking activities on the protocol.

NULS POCM Upgrade Announcement

NULS POCM (Proof of Credit Mining) platform was established in July 2019, the number of our SCO partners has increased 10 times within 2 years. Some of the SCO projects such as ALEPH, GGTK, SmaugsNFT have accomplished amazing progress with the community support provided by NULS in their early phase, our SCO investors also gained quite good profits participating in the SCO projects. We are very happy to witness this double win situation and we, the NULS team, will keep moving forward to provide more benefits for our SCO partners and NULS investors.
NULS POCM is probably one of the simplest ways to invest in the initial market without any financial risks. Investors stake NULS in our POCM platform to earn tokens from our SCO projects.

There are 2 ways to participate in our SCO projects now:
Stake in SCO projects on web wallet（https://pocm.nuls.io）
Stake in SCO projects on Nabox mobile Wallet. Download Nabox: (https://nabox.io)

We have been continuously receiving suggestions and feedback from our community members and SCO partners and investors ever since the POCM platform was established, to provide a better user experience, we have now updated our product in the following aspects:
Crossed-chain assets will be able to create POCM directly. New SCO projects investors no longer need to swap tokens on NeerveDEX (https://nervedex.com)
SCO projects creators give extra rewards to node owners according to their own wills.
SCO staking APR will be seen on the POCM page.

POCM page will show the current staking details such as the amount of NULS staked, the profits earned, etc
We reconstructed the staking logic.
Useless nodes will be deleted automatically to improve user experience.

NULS POCM staking platform now supports projects from ETH, BSC, NULS, Heco, OEC, Polygon, KCC, Tron, Harmony. We will be adding more diversities in the future to meet various needs from users.
About NULS POCM

POCM (Proof of Credit Mining) is an SCO Platform that allows projects to use smart-contracts to issue and distribute project tokens on blockchains. Got NULS? Stake into a project's nodes and earn their token as reward, while the project earns NULS as reward. Projects can use the NULS consensus rewards to bootstrap and help fund development. Unlike IEOs and ICOs, stakers never risk their principal, and NULS never leave their wallet. Earn project tokens while your device is off! As a universal SCO Platform, POCM can be used to issue and distribute tokens and assets from any public chain in any blockchain ecosystem.

Join The Stratis Build Hackathon with $100,000 USD in prizes

Stratis is genuinely excited to launch its third hackathon, bringing in new talent and blockchain solutions, demonstrating the power of Stratis Blockchain Technologies. At Stratis, our mission is to simplify the adoption of blockchain technology within existing computing environments. We have built a platform written entirely in C# and based on the Microsoft .NET Core framework to deliver on this mission. The Build – Stratis Platform Hackathon is Stratis' third virtual hackathon.

$100,000 USD has been allocated to the Hackathon Prize Pool, with a $30,000 USD Grand Prize and several other prizes to entice developer engagement. Stratis has also brought in some of its partners to sponsor the hackathon, including CMS, Triad Group Plc and the APPG, with CMS and Triad awarding a $5,000 bonus for those who deliver a submission that meets some of their defined requirements.

The Stratis Build Hackathon will launch on the 29th November 2021 and run for just under nine weeks, ending on 30th January 2022. This will be followed by a judging period, with winners being announced on 23rd February 2021.

The entry criteria are limitless; the only requirement is that your submission utilizes Stratis Blockchain Technology. An example of some submission types can be found below:

Blockchain Gaming Submission
Gaming submissions should include an end-to-end game, incorporating Blockchain Technology in some respect. This can be through the employment of an earn to play model, the issuance of non-fungible tokens or utilizing Smart Contracts to offer a genuinely trustless experience for the gamer.

Stratis provides Software Development Kits for both the Unity Gaming Engine and the Unreal Gaming Engine to assist with the game integration process.

DeFi Submission
A DeFi submission can implement a lending protocol, trade management solutions and anything related to financial services on the blockchain.

NFT Tooling Submission
An NFT submission should focus on tooling around the management, creation and utilization of NFTs. For example, an NFT Platform, NFT Creation Tooling and anything related to the management of NFTs. An NFT Collection can also be submitted but must stand out and be highly unique to pass judging criteria.

Stratis Platform Tooling Submission
A tooling submission must focus on bringing additional tooling to the Stratis Platform, such as an SDK that caters for an alternative programming language, or as another example, a wallet implementation.
The judges will be asking: does the tool provide a useful function, is it accessible and engaging to use, is it doing something innovative, how well does the product function? Submissions can cover any software application, such as the web, cloud, personal computer, mobile device or console, but they must utilize Stratis Smart Contracts in C#.

Now is the time to gain some inspiration and think about solutions you can build on the Stratis Platform, utilizing Stratis Blockchain Technologies, in readiness for the Stratis Build Hackathon launch. The launch of the hackathon will detail full judging criteria and getting started packs to assist those new to Stratis Blockchain Technologies.

Payvo Wallet - Overview of the Upcoming Alpha Version

What Is Payvo Wallet?
Payvo Wallet is a desktop-based multi-asset cryptocurrency wallet designed for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. While many wallets already exist on the market, Payvo is unique in that it is completely open-source, runs on the open-source Payvo SDK for multi-asset integration, and features a wide range of customizations that let you truly personalize your wallet experience.

#A Truly Open Wallet
The Payvo Wallet is fully open-source and will be available on GitHub. The Payvo SDK which powers the multi-asset nature of Payvo is also completely open-source and available on GitHub. We believe that the best way to push the industry forward is to build fully open-source and decentralized systems with no compromises.

By utilizing the Payvo SDK, we can integrate a wide range of different cryptoassets and tokens which will be seamlessly integrated with the entire Payvo suite of products. To find out how you can get your project added to the Payvo SDK, make sure to read our documentation .

#Powered by Choice
The Payvo Wallet is unique in that it was built to empower the user by giving them a plethora of options to customize their wallet. That includes but is not limited to:

Choice of Assets - Payvo Wallet is multi-asset and will feature a growing list of available native assets and tokens.
Choice of Swap Engine (Exchanges) - Payvo Wallet will feature a wide range of swap engine integrations so that the user can choose which one works the best for them.
Choice of Plugins - Payvo Wallet comes will a fully functioning Plugin Manager that allows you to extend the functionality of the wallet to include Games, Explorers, Staking Calculators, and more.
We believe that your crypto wallet shouldn't be one-size-fits-all. Payvo Wallet is built from the ground up to truly give the user a custom experience through the power of choice.

#Public Alpha Details
The Initial 'Alpha' version of Payvo Wallet will be released in the upcoming weeks on our Discord . This will be a community-only release to get valuable feedback, get suggestions for improvements and fix all reported bugs. This version will support ARK (Public and Development Network), BIND (Public and Development Network) and LISK (Public and Testnet network). New networks will be gradually added over time (listed in alphabetical order):

Avalanche (AVAX)
Bitcoin (BTC)
Cardano (ADA)
Cosmos (ATOM)
Ethereum (ETH)
Nano (NANO)
Polkadot (DOT)
Ripple (XRP)
Solana (SOL)
Stellar (XLM)
TRON (TRON)
Most of these coins already have full support in our Payvo SDK (PSDK)  but will be added over time to the Payvo Wallet to ensure proper testing prior to their release.

#Payvo Wallet Sneak Peek

Unity Gaming Update – Red Runner

RedRunner is a popular open-source game developed by BayatGames and is an Infinite Running type game developed using the Unity 3D Gaming Engine.

To demonstrate the utility of Stratis' Unity SDK, Stratis has taken the RedRunner game and made modifications to incorporate the below features:

Non-Custodial Wallet
NFT Minting
Play-as-You-Earn (The further you travel, the more SRC20 you receive)
A gamer is rewarded for playing the Stratis RedRunner game. The RRT (RedRunner Tokens) Tokens are awarded to users depending on how far they travel and how many coins they collect. In addition, CRS (Cirrus Tokens) can be received and transferred within the game too.

The Stratis Edition of RedRunner can be downloaded from our GitHub repository via the below link.

https://github.com/stratisproject/StratisRedRunner/releases

Please join the Discord Server and let us know of your progress and thoughts on the game!

Tezos price refuels buying pressure triggering 55% bull rally

Tezos price has been on a steady downtrend since October 4 and is currently retesting a vital demand zone. Investors can expect XTZ to restart its uptrend after a successful bounce off this barrier.

Tezos price prepares to pull a 180
Tezos price dropped 37% over the past 23 days and is currently bouncing off the $5.33 to $5.95 demand zone. Although this dip has rejuvenated the bullish momentum for XTZ, it needs to produce a decisive close above $6.75 to confirm the start of an uptrend.

Assuming Tezos price succeeds in flipping this hurdle into a support floor, it will result in a 25% ascent to $8.44. While this is a formidable barrier to overcome, clearing it will open the path to a retest of the October 4 swing high at $9.17.

The 100% trend-based Fibonacci extension level at $10.42 is the next level bulls will aim for. In a highly bullish case, Tezos price might even climb to 161.8% level at $14.1.

Regardless of the optimism around Tezos price, a breakdown of the $5.33 to $5.95 demand zone would be a warning sign. This move will drag XTZ down by 12% to the $4.68 support floor. A decisive daily close below this barrier will invalidate the bullish thesis for Tezos price, opening the possibility of revisiting $3.88.

El Salvador mines first bitcoins from volcanic energy

El Salvador officially mined its first Bitcoins using a volcano. At the same time, geothermal energy now accounts for about 22% of the country's market.
Previously presented as a concept, the project of mining cryptocurrency using volcanic energy turned out to be a surprisingly viable idea. So much so that today the President of Salvador Nayib Bukele shared on Twitter a photo from the monitor showing the number of cryptocurrencies mined in this way. By that time, it was 0.01083 BTC, of which 0.0048 BTC is already awaiting withdrawal.

The country not only actively uses geothermal energy personally, but is also one of its largest producers in the world. It is generated by 20 volcanoes located in the region, which scientists have described as "potentially active". Given their number, this use of natural power is hardly surprising, although Bukele's resourcefulness still amazes many miners. In addition, such energy is classified as environmentally friendly, so the "green miners" will also have no claims against the country.

On September 28, the president shared a video on his Twitter account, which showed the delivery of equipment in the form of ASIC miners, as well as the process of installing and configuring them. The local energy company LaGeo is directly involved in the project, thanks to whose specialists the country's authorities were able to quickly implement the idea.

According to Bukele, the equipment is still in test mode and they are testing it, but it has already given the first results. Of course, it was not without spiteful critics, because in the comments and retweets people shared the opinion that the president should use a period of at least three hours of equipment operation for reports, while others even joked about the level of "home mining".

Recall that the law on the legalization of Bitcoin in El Salvador entered into force on September 7, and by the 27th of the same month, according to Bukele, 2.1 million residents were using the state-owned Chivo cryptocurrency.