Blockchain development has just become a whole lot easier for Web2 developers. NEAR is thrilled to unveil its much anticipated JavaScript Software Development Kit (JS SDK) at ETHToronto, the official hackathon of the Blockchain Futurist Conference, in a significant move to democratize Web3 development.

With NEAR’s JS SDK, more than 20 million developers that make JavaScript the world’s most popular coding language can finally join the internet revolution and quickly build fast, scalable, and user-friendly decentralized applications. Having that many more contributors in the space could bring about a fascinating renaissance to the open web.

Although Rust and Solidity are the most prominent programming languages for Layer 1 blockchains, there are fewer than 2.5 million developers worldwide who use these languages. So, opening up the doors nearly 10x is a major step towards mass adoption. JS runs in every browser, the basics can be taught in an afternoon, it requires no compiler setup, and it comes pre-loaded with useful libraries like RegExp, Math, and Array. The NEAR JS SDK brings this same capability and ease of use to developing smart contracts, unlocking the power of blockchain to a much, much wider audience. 

Commenting on the launch, Illia Polosukhin, Founder of NEAR, says: “Developers can spend less time learning a new language and more time building their application in a language they already know. Millions of developers already know how to program in JavaScript; enabling this group to build novel applications on NEAR is a critical step in achieving our vision of a billion users interacting with NEAR.”

## Learn, build, and deploy in minutes

NEAR’s commitment to putting simplicity and usability first is reinforced by this release, making the learning curve for blockchain far less steep than it has ever been. Javascript developers can now set up their first dApp in the same amount of time it takes to spin up a React app. 

The [JS SDK](https://github.com/near/near-sdk-js) release has everything you need to dive right into blockchain development including the contract framework itself, JavaScript and TypeScript contract examples, and example tests. It is implemented in TypeScript, which offers developers implicit, strict, and structural typing, along with type annotations built into your favorite IDE. 

Developers can get started building their first JavaScript decentralized application by following this [quick start guide](https://docs.near.org/develop/quickstart-guide) or heading to [Pagoda’s landing page](https://www.pagoda.co/jssdk?utm_source=blog&utm_campaign=js-sdk) to learn more. 

## A Closer Look at the JS SDK

The JS SDK provides each contract with its own instance of a JS engine running inside it. This design allows developers to write contracts in pure JavaScript or TypeScript, and access all the same features, like oracles, available to Rust contracts. 

To get started, run `npx create-near-app` in your terminal and select JavaScript for your smart contract. Once everything is installed you can test, compile, and deploy your newly created project with ease.

For a more detailed look at the contract structure and other configurations check out this [dApp QuickStart Guide](https://docs.near.org/develop/quickstart-guide) on NEAR’s Official Documentation site. 

NEAR is thrilled to unveil its much anticipated JS SDK at ETHToronto, the official hackathon of the Blockchain Futurist Conference, in a significant move to democratize Web3 development.

NEAR Releases JavaScript SDK, Bringing Web3 to 20 Million Developers

The recent wallet hacks on other platforms have brought to light potentially serious security issues connected to the use of common analytics tools in Web3. In light of those hacks, we are sharing a perspective on a recent experience involving similar tools.

On June 6th, 2022, the NEAR Wallet team received a bug report indicating that sensitive information had been shared with a third party. The issue was fixed promptly the same day.

While the team was aware of this threat, and careful to sanitize data collected by the third party service, a code change nevertheless resulted in the collection of sensitive data for some users who had used email or SMS recovery with their wallets. Thankfully, @Hacxyk caught this before us and submitted the finding to our security team on June 6th (for which they have earned a bounty). The wallet team immediately remediated the situation, scrubbed all sensitive data, and identified any personnel who could have had the ability to access this data. 

To date, we have found no indicators of compromise related to the accidental collection of this data, nor do we have reason to believe this data persists anywhere.

Regardless, we no longer allow users to create accounts using email or SMS for account recovery. Despite having no evidence of compromise, we strongly recommend that users who have used email or SMS recovery options in the past rotate their keys. This can be accomplished by visiting [wallet.near.org](http://wallet.near.org/), either by enabling a Ledger device (your most secure option and highly recommended) or enabling passphrase security. After doing this, users should disable email or SMS recovery.

![](https://near.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/disable-email-recovery-final-1.gif)

With the transition of the open source wallet codebase to the team at My NEAR Wallet, many improvements are in the works. 

We remind our users that the security of wallet accounts is of utmost importance to us–and it doesn’t stop with us either. User choices and behavior also impact security. Please consider using a hardware device, like a Ledger, to secure your wallet. Use only trusted and secured devices when creating and accessing your wallet. Never give out your recovery phrase or private keys.

You can learn more about the future of wallet.near.org here:

https://near.org/blog/near-opens-the-door-to-more-wallets/

The MyNearWallet team is also actively improving the security of wallets as outlined here:

https://medium.com/mynearwallet-blog/mynearwallet-security-statement-fd24265d91f2

The recent wallet hacks on other platforms have brought to light potentially serious security issues connected to the use of common analytics tools in Web3.

NEAR Web Wallet Security Update

In only 16 weeks, the Sweat Community has created 11.5 million Sweat Wallets.

We designed SWEAT as a cryptocurrency for everyone: minted by movement, with no investment required.

Mainstream adoption has many implications for token economics. Millions of people will hold SWEAT. Millions will be minting it daily.

We have carefully designed the supply of SWEAT to enhance the token’s utility.

In this article, we will cover:

- The big burn
- TGE lockdrop
- SWEAT distribution
- SWEAT unlock
- SWEAT minting difficulty increase
- Inactivity fee burn

Note: the numbers given below are based on our current estimates, and are subject to change. We will notify the community of updates as appropriate. These numbers are more recent than those in the Litepaper, which is currently being updated.

## The big burn
We recently announced an enormous burn of 4BN sweatcoins. Because, at TGE, we will mint enough SWEAT to match all sweatcoins in existence, this represents a significant burning of SWEAT.

Based on our current estimates, the sweatcoin burn will reduce the SWEAT supply at TGE by about 15%.

## TGE lockdrop
At the Token Generation Event (TGE) on September 12th, we will gift community members SWEAT to match their sweatcoins. It is a one-time offer to kickstart a crypto revolution.

We cannot predict the exact number of tokens that will be airdropped. This depends on how much the community walks between now and TGE.

The airdrop is really a ‘lockdrop’: the majority of the tokens will not be liquid, but unlock bit by bit over time.

For the TGE tokens:

- 10% will be liquid at TGE
- 90% will unlock linearly over the following 24 months

## SWEAT distribution and unlock
The pie chart below shows the distribution of SWEAT.

![](https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*-zLLvc2SZ3-q9GqjWBWjhw.png)

The table shows allocation, cliff and unlock periods.

![](https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*GX3QfgM7hOw7xQGE9JeP1w.png)

* max 25%. Unclaimed lockdrop tokens go to Foundation Treasury, until it has 30% of TGE tokens. After Treasury has 30%, unclaimed tokens will be burned.

## SWEAT unlock graph
The graph below demonstrates the various unlock periods for each party that holds SWEAT from TGE onwards.

![](https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*4As_WLXtVe4C6heSrghBiQ.png)

## SWEAT minting difficulty increase
SWEAT will become exponentially more difficult to mint with time. The supply of SWEAT is uncapped, so that people can mint SWEAT forever.

The increasing minting difficulty will increase the scarcity of SWEAT. The effect will be rapid, and in real-time.

![](https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/0*ndecYAo-bNvt6vYm)

The graphic above is an estimate based on our current projections. The increase in minting difficulty is a function solely of the total SWEAT already minted, not of time itself. This makes the minting difficulty responsive to changes in demand. We use time for ease of reference.

The TGE represents a very good deal for users. Because 1,000 steps = 1 sweatcoin, and because 1 sweatcoin = 1 SWEAT at TGE, users can effectively mint 1 SWEAT with 1,000 steps.

This is a one-time deal. After TGE, every next SWEAT will require more steps to mint than the one before it. The difficulty increase will occur in real time. Your morning walk is worth more than your evening walk.

## Inactivity fee
We have already announced the introduction of an inactivity fee. Not only does this support our mission of making the world move more, it is an important mechanic to reduce circulating supply. If a user’s activity consistently falls below a given threshold, they will receive less SWEAT.

This is a way of reducing token emissions. We will be introducing more mechanics to decrease the amount of SWEAT in circulation.

Stay tuned for an upcoming article on the demand of SWEAT.

For now, start earning crypto for your steps by following this link. To learn more about Sweat Economy, visit our website. For the latest news, make sure to follow us on Twitter, Discord, Telegram, and Reddit.

We designed SWEAT as a cryptocurrency for everyone: minted by movement, with no investment required.

Supply of SWEAT

## Introducing Swim Protocol
[Swim Protocol](https://awesomenear.com/swim-protocol) is a multichain AMM for native assets, designed to make bridging as easy as possible. Swim eliminates the need for wrapped assets by allowing users to swap from a native asset on one chain to a native asset on any other supported chain. With features such as bridging status overviews and retry/resume functionality, Swim’s solution reduces the pain points faced by users when performing cross-chain transactions.

Swim currently supports native stablecoin swaps across Solana, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Fantom and, of course, Aurora. With Swim’s expansion to Aurora comes three new metapools to support native $USDC, $USDT, and $USN. Through these new metapools, Swimmers can now seamlessly swap their assets on Aurora with any native stablecoin in the existing hexapool & metapools i.e., $USDC, $USDT on Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche & Polygon, as well as $USDT and $BUSD on BNB Chain.

## How does it work?
Swim is built on top of Wormhole, a bridge focused on security and decentralization by entrusting a subset of Solana nodes as Guardians. Swim uses cross-chain liquidity pools to provide bridging for native assets across seven blockchains, with many more assets and blockchains in the pipeline.

Swim’s main signature hexapool provides liquidity for six stablecoins across the Solana, BNB, and Ethereum blockchains. The LP token of this hexapool, $swimUSD, is used to further provide liquidity in metapools with other stablecoins, allowing seamless swapping between assets in all metapools and the hexapool. The metapool model means existing LP token holders ($swimUSD) are not affected by the new metapool if they don’t add liquidity to it.

As we trend towards a multichain future, liquidity will be split across the different chains. With traditional bridges adding wrapped tokens to the fray, liquidity gets even more fragmented. Native assets are valuable in that they are the true source of liquidity, and by providing a seamless bridge for native assets, Swim allows users to tap into this liquidity.

## Why Aurora?
Aurora is a huge milestone for Swim. As the EVM smart-contract platform that works on top of NEAR, a blockchain with fast, secure, and infinitely scalable transactions (thanks to Nightshade, a unique sharded protocol design), integrating Aurora allows many Swimmers access to liquidity on an innovative blockchain.

With over 150 projects built on Aurora, Swim is extremely excited to support the thriving ecosystem by offering an easy-to-use native asset route connecting Aurora to other leading chains. As Aurora continues to grow, Swim will look to partner and integrate with leading projects within the ecosystem to help enable their multichain capabilities.

## What’s next for Swim?
Swim is not just resting on its laurels. The next stop for Swim is further expansion to other chains, including the Polkadot ecosystem, adding more and more liquidity to the Swim ecosystem.

Swim’s very own relayer, the Propeller, will allow for seamless single-click swapping between chains, cutting the number of user approvals required. This will also go hand-in-hand with the integration of Swim into other protocols alongside official partnerships.

Swim’s team is also always continuing to make UX enhancements to take it to the next level!

Swim is extremely excited to support the thriving ecosystem by offering an easy-to-use native asset route connecting Aurora to other leading chains.

Swim: seamlessly connecting capital across chains with an innovative native asset bridging solution

[Stake Wars](https://near.org/stakewars/) is back to help decentralize the NEAR network and help the community with cool new challenges and rewards to members who want to become validators. In Stake Wars: Episode III, NEAR is focusing on Chunk-Only Producers—NEAR’s next step toward a fully-sharded protocol.

By introducing this new type of validator, NEAR can increase the total number of validator seats. Stake Wars is helping Chunk-Only Producers to prepare for this moment. It’s an opportunity to gain confidence and learn how to work with contract-based delegation.

With Stake Wars III set for July 13, here’s a brief rundown of the new Chunk-Only Producer role, and what to expect from the Stake Wars program.

## Chunk-Only Producers help decentralize and secure NEAR

The NEAR Network is currently secured by 100 validators. [NEAR’s roadmap](https://near.ai/mainnet-roadmap) will allow the protocol to become fully-sharded. This will help reach the ambitious goal to decentralize NEAR while keeping the network secure. Chunk-Only Producers are an important milestone along this path.

Chunk-Only Producers are solely responsible for [producing chunks](https://near.org/papers/nightshade/#nightshade) in a single shard (a network partition). A chunk, of course, is a shard block (see Nightshade for more detail). What’s cool for Chunk-Only Producers is that they can run their validator node on a less demanding machine, such as a 4-Core CPU, with 8GB of RAM and 200GB SSD of storage.

Once the Chunk-Only Producer is available on NEAR mainnet at the end of Q3, NEAR plans to onboard an additional 200-300 validators. This, combined with a lower barrier to entry (minimum stake) for validators, is a win for the NEAR network as it moves toward a more scalable future. By increasing the total number of validators, NEAR will become more decentralized and more secure.

## How Stake Wars III works

Chunk-Only Producers can deploy the open-source Staking Pool smart contract from Github, to test their systems and gain confidence with contract-based delegation. Validators are also free to customize their delegation contract, build their web applications, and integrate the Staking Pool into their existing systems.

Stake Wars is community-operated, and community members such as Metapool, Everstake, LiNEAR and Open Shards Alliance (OSA) will offer their support to the program. NEAR plans to use more than 4M $NEAR tokens as delegation rewards for the participants who complete the challenges. These rewards help put participants in a position to become a mainnet validators by Q4 of 2022. 

The Stake Wars: Episode III incentivized testnet for Chunk-Only Producers will launch on July 13th and run until early September. Any potential validators should join the Stake Wars community on [Telegram](https://t.me/near_validators) and [Discord](https://discord.com/invite/ZMPr3VB) to coordinate with other Validators, and follow [@PagodaPlatform](https://twitter.com/PagodaPlatform) on twitter. 

The full [Stake Wars III page](https://near.org/stakewars/) is launching here.

In Stake Wars: Episode III, NEAR is focusing on Chunk-Only Producers — NEAR’s next step toward a fully-sharded protocol.

Join Stake Wars to Become a Chunk-Only Producer

The NEAR Foundation works tirelessly to create a stable ecosystem. A place for developers, founders, and community members to collectively build an Open Web world.

During this tumultuous period for Web3 and the broader global economy, many projects that launched or are actively building on the Harmony network are now facing uncertainty. Which is why NEAR Foundation is extending an open invitation to anyone currently building on Harmony to join the NEAR community, and make this vibrant ecosystem their new home.

As part of this invitation, NEAR Foundation and Proximity Labs have put together  sizable relief funds for projects from the Harmony ecosystem. If you’re looking to bring your project over to NEAR, here’s what you need to know.

Why choose NEAR? 
The NEAR blockchain is built with simplicity in mind. NEAR uses common coding languages like WebAssembly (WASM) and Rust to build its smart contracts. NEAR is also launching a Javascript SDK, making the switch simple for those who built with Harmony’s own Javascript implementation, or were considering it. Aurora, which is built on NEAR, is 100% EVM-compatible, and NEAR’s super fast transactions run on an infinitely scalable yet carbon neutral protocol. By switching to NEAR, your project would join [over 700 apps building on NEAR](http://awesomenear.com/). 

NEAR was built by developers for developers. NEAR Foundation and other ecosystem platforms, like Aurora and Pagoda, have vast offerings of class-leading resources for developers to begin building on NEAR. These include NEAR.University’s training and certification programs—to date, over 5,000 developers trained—and $45M+ in project grants within the NEAR ecosystem. 

The NEAR community also offers extensive documentation on building and deploying on the network, and much more.

NEAR’s developer resources
Interested in developing on NEAR? Great! A range of resources are at your disposal: 

- [Developer Tools](https://near.org/developer-tools) – NEAR CLIs, SDKs, APIs and more.
- [Code Examples](https://near.org/examples/) – Explore how to deploy Rust and AssemblyScript.  
- [Developer Bounties](https://near.org/bounties/) – Bug fixes, developer grants and other incentives. 
- [Grants Program](https://near.org/grants/) – More than 800 projects funded and over $45 million awarded.
- [Office Hours](https://near.org/office-hours/) – Talk to expert developers about your project. 
- [Education](https://near.org/education/) – Learn, watch and build.  
- [Ecosystem](https://awesomenear.com/) – Explore the more than 700 projects already being building in the NEAR ecosystem. 

Interested in learning more about how the NEAR Foundation team can help you make the switch? Please email hello@near.foundation with the subject line, “Harmony Migration”, and one of the teams will respond within 24 hours. 

The NEAR Foundation works tirelessly to create a stable ecosystem. A place for developers, founders, and community members to collectively build an Open Web world.

An Open Invitation to the Harmony Community

## June 2022 Highlights

1. Yogain, Octopus Star Winner, joins Octopus Network as an Appchain.
2. Appchain DEIP opens the first Metaverse.
3. Substrate IBC milestone 4 has been reached.
4. SubQuery partners with Octopus Network.
5. The Octopus Accelerator Program Summer 2022 culminates with five winning Octopus Future Star projects.
6. Substrate Developer Training 1st Hackathon Winning Teams are officially announced in Malaysia & India.
7. Octopus Network is listed as a first mover protocol in African Blockchain 2021 Report.
8. Louis Liu, Founder of Octopus Network, speaks on “OCW Enabled Application-Specific Oracles “ at BeWater DevCon II in Silicon Valley.
9. Octopus Network at Consensus2022, Austin, Texas.

## June R&D Updates

### Octopus Network & Apps

✓Token Converter feature is enabled on Octopus Network Mainnet.

✓Octopus Network Apps Optimization Update 1

- One-click deployment page displays the resource usage of the Validating node server

✓Octopus Network Apps Optimization Update 2

- Verifies node associated with Validator NEAR account

### Octopus Network Smart Contracts

The Anchor contract provides security and cross-chain-related functions for the application chain.

- The Anchor contract of Octopus Network main network has been upgraded to v2.1.0.

### Octopus Network IBC Module
Substrate IBC will eventually enable full interconnection of Octopus Appchains with Cosmos and Polkadot.
- [Substrate IBC Module](https://github.com/octopus-network/substrate-ibc) development has reached the 4th milestone.

### Octopus Network Cross-Link Bridge
https://mainnet.oct.network/bridge

SubQuery and Octopus Network Enter Strategic Partnership
SubQuery is a universal data indexing toolkit that facilitates the construction of Web3 applications.

SubQuery will provide data services supporting the Octopus Network Explorer for the first 100 Appchains launched in the Octopus Network Ecosystem.

Apps’ NFT cross-link functionality goes live on the beta network.

## June Appchain Ecosystem Updates

As of June 2022, four Appchains have launched and eight Appchain Candidates are in various stages of development.

### Appchains Running on Mainnet

- **DeBio.Network** — Launched
- **Myriad** — Launched
- **DEIP** — Launched
- **Atocha** — Launched

### Appchains in Development

- **Fusotao** — Booting
- **Discovol** — Booting
- **Unique One Network** — Audit
- **Attarius** — Development Status
- **Create Protocol** — Development Status
- **PortalVerse** — Development Status
- **TrustRecruit** — Development Status
- **Yogain** — Development Status

## Appchain Events

### DEIP Appchain

- Over 3.47M $OCT staked on Main Network. June APY up to 19%.

On June 3, 2022, in collaboration with Weng Contemporary, DEIP opened its DEIP Metaverse City.

Created by the leading teams of ARHEAD Metaverse ecosystem, BALAGAN creative agency, and ATRIUM architectural studio, DEIP’s Metaverse is designed in the image of the company itself — by integrating virtual architecture, branding, and color palette.

### Fusotao Appchain

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

- In Booting Phase

Fusotao, Octopus Network, and NearHispano held a Spanish AMA.

### Myriad Appchain

Myriad Social Appchain CEO, Jean-Daniel Gauthier (@Danny_MyriadSoc), gives a live presentation in Octopus Africa Telegram.

### DeBio Appchain

Founding Appchain, DeBio CEO, Pandu Sastrowardoyo (@decentricity), gives a live presentation in Octopus Africa Telegram.

## June Octopus Accelerator Program Updates

### Website
- The Octopus Accelerator website has been completely updated with new visuals and content.

### Lessons and Seminars
Three additional online video lessons and four seminars have been released on the following topics:

- Fundraising
- Community Building
- Web3 Product Design
- Crypto Regulation

## Accelerator Program Summer 2022

The Octopus Accelerator Summer 2022 program received a record-breaking 109 applicants. 40 were accepted into the Summer Program. 22 Graduates applied for Showcase Day — 10 Graduates were invited to present their projects to a select, invite-only audience of industry experts for a chance to win the Octopus Star Prize.

Showcase Day Presenters
1. Yogain
2. MixVerse
3. SilkText
4. SummerScan
5. Legal Music
6. Index Sports
7. Nestercity
8. Horizonland
9. EnCounter
10. Plats Network

### Meet the Octopus Network Star Prize Winners!

Showcase Day was held on June 20th. After more than three hours of presentations, the Showcase Day judges nominated five projects to receive the Octopus Star Prize of USD 50k in grants.

1. Yogain
2. Plats Network
3. Legal Music
4. MixVerse
5. Horizonland

#### Yogain

Yogain is a Web3 Yoga App that uses AR technology to guide and evaluate Yoga Practitioners. SocialFi and GameFi elements — including a built-in Social Network, and both Free-to-Practice and Yogain (Practice-to-Earn) modes — are key for attracting and retaining students. In-app NFT items can be transferred, sold, or leased via built-in marketplace, wallet, and swap function.

💥The Octopus Network is happy to announce that Yogain will continue to build their application as an Appchain in the Octopus Network. We look forward to watching this concept develop.💥

#### Plats Network

Plats Network is a community-owned Web3 Marketing Platform for global users, influencers, and businesses. Their mission is to expose public users and mainstream influencers to the blockchain industry, provide traditional businesses with the opportunity to digitally transform, and dispense value directly to targeted users rather than intermediaries. The Plats Network Action Hub has user-friendly B2B Web3 tools and libraries for Clients to create marketing campaigns.

#### Legal Music

Legal Music is building an out-of-the-box Web3 solution and NFT ticket marketplace to elevate the event experience for concert organizers, artists, and suppliers. Amongst other things, their NFT ticketing platform and internal money flow framework aims to eliminate intermediaries, solve ticket counterfeiting, enable artists to sell their merchandise at events, and improve the event industry over all by leveraging decentralized tech.

#### MixVerse

MixVerse is creating an Open Metaverse system featuring a VR/AR-Fi component which combines VR/AR, IoT, and Gameplay using officially certified VR/AR devices with unique mining attributes and IoT integrations. Its Metaverse, MixMeta, has myriad settings and will be interoperable with other Metaverses. MixSteam, its eco-level distribution platform, distributes games and apps, as well as IP and NFTs to all games and parallel metaverses built with its module. MixVerse is Multi-terminal Compatible for VR/AR devices, smartphones, and H5 (HTML5) web apps.

#### HorizonLand

HorizonLand is a play-to-earn, multi-esport Metaverse ecosystem with multiple in-world MMO esport games such as billiards, bowling, chess, poker, and more, supported by a multi-utility NFT mechanism. Horizonland’s cities are known as an esports paradise, with many high-class hotel structures, futuristic residential villas, and transportation (including flying cars!)

## Octopus Network Global Substrate Developer Training

The application chain project based on the Substrate framework is the foundation of Octopus Network multi-chain construction.

Octopus Network launched the first Substrate Developer Training courses in China several years ago which are now operated by Parity. Since then, we have negotiated with partners worldwide to expand our courses globally, with our first courses held in Vietnam, Malaysia, and India.

### Vietnam Substrate Training
- 3nd Phase Registration — 270 applicants
- Rust Training Completed

### Malaysia & India Substrate Training
- 1st Hackathon Winning Teams
- First Prize: Waldo (decentralized resume platform)
- Second Prize: Sus (decentralized resume platform)
- Third Prize: AbhiX (decentralized resume platform)
- Fourth Prize: Blockchaingers (decentralized trader information platform)

## June Media Highlights

- Hackernoon — Gaming Network Effects And Their Paradoxes
- Genetic Sovereignty & Web3 with Pandu Sastrowardoyo — CEO DeBio
- Octopus Network <\> Hackernoon #Web3 Writing Contest — May Winners!
- Application-Specific Oracles Expand the Boundaries of Web3
- Octopus Star Prize Winners — Accelerator Program Summer 2022
- Yogain Appchain Joins Octopus Network

Octopus Network Monthly Updates — R&D, Appchains, Accelerator Program, Substrate Developer Training, Media and Event Highlights.

Octopus Network Monthly Report — June 2022

NEAR Foundation is excited to announce a new partnership with Fireblocks, a leading provider of custody and settlement solutions for digital assets. Fireblocks is trusted by more than 1,300 banks, hedge funds, and financial institutions, and to date has ensured the safe transfer of more than $3 trillion. 

The Fireblocks integration with NEAR will allow institutional users to now access the NEAR Protocol’s fast and low-cost sharded proof-of-stake blockchain safely and securely. 

This means clients BNY Mellon, Credit Suisse, and other Tier 1 institutions can utilize Fireblocks’ class-leading custody solutions to access the NEAR ecosystem like never before.

“The institutional appetite for accessing DeFi across major blockchain ecosystems is only going to grow,” said Michael Shaulov, CEO of Fireblocks. “The newly launched integration with NEAR on Fireblocks will enable us to continue expanding the network of blockchains, DeFi and Web3 apps that institutional customers can  participate in. We look forward to continuing leading the way as the most secure platform for building crypto products and accessing global crypto capital markets.”     

## Fireblocks on the NEAR ecosystem
Over the last few months, NEAR Foundation has identified that a healthy ecosystem should be made up of different communities. NEAR Foundation’s partnership with Fireblocks is a major step in helping institutional community members take part in the NEAR ecosystem. 

Fireblocks’ close relationships with banks, hedge funds, VC firms, and other financial institutions will allow these users to access a broad range of products being built on NEAR. 

Soon, Fireblock’s 1,000+ enterprise partners will be able to access Aurora, Ref.Finance, Octopus Network, and other decentralized apps being built on the platform. 

“A core mission for NEAR is building an ecosystem of diverse communities,” says NEAR Foundation CEO Marieke Flament. “With the Fireblocks partnership, NEAR can now welcome to the NEAR ecosystem the many financial institutions that have turned to Fireblocks as their trusted provider for digital assets custody and settlement solutions.”

NEAR Foundation is excited to announce a new partnership with Fireblocks, a leading provider of custody and settlement solutions for digital assets.

Fireblocks Provides Custody Facility for Institutional Investors on NEAR

An expanding ecosystem of DeFi applications on NEAR Protocol has now been broadened even further with the introduction of PembRock Finance’s leveraged yield farming application. 

Supported by the NEAR Foundation, Ref Finance, and many other respected supporters, the project has gone from strength to strength, with successful early investor sales of the native $PEM token and over $2 million worth of investment in just a few days of the lending functionality being released.

With farming functionality being added to the application, NEAR users now have a way to make the most of their crypto holdings with up to 3x leverage for yield farming, all within a user-friendly interface. Making the most of NEAR’s security and speed, we anticipate a greater number of new users, who will help to grow the liquidity of NEAR-based tokens. 

## What is PembRock Finance all about?

PembRock Finance aims to do away with the clunkiness and confusion that surrounds current DeFi applications, helping to bring in both experienced and new users to speed up the inevitable transition to Web3, of which decentralized finance will play a big part.

Leveraged yield farming is a relatively new entrant to the sector, but provides great opportunities for both lenders and farmers alike:

- **Lenders** can provide funds that are used to farm, earning stable yields with their funds protected by the platform.

- **Yield farmers** can maximize their crypto by accessing undercollateralized loans to farm more profitably.

What we see is a mutually beneficial relationship where each participant plays an important role. There is no need for one side to profit at the expense of another’s failings or naivety.

### A community-driven project

PembRock is a project that aims to put NEAR’s rock-solid community first, taking on users’ feedback to constantly improve the platform, producing educational content to upskill users, running incentivization programs for early adopters, and putting a DAO at the core of operations (which will be introduced later as part of the team’s roadmap).

## Lending functionality successfully launched on the mainnet

July 14 saw the launch of PembRock’s lending functionality on the mainnet. With seven lend pools currently available, the protocol saw $2 million TVL in four days — a phenomenal result considering the leveraged yield farming functionality was yet to be launched.

As Igor Stadnyk, the CEO of PembRock Finance had to say:

We are really happy to see that so many people are coming to leveraged yield farming through our project. It validates our hard work and shows that we really were correct in our choice of blockchain. The NEAR Foundation and a whole host of NEAR-native projects have been fantastic partners, inspiring us to create the best possible project.

## Next steps

With a successful launch completed, the PembRock team is not slowing down; immediate next steps include:

- Implementation of comprehensive external smart contract audits for total security (PembRock has already undergone a full audit with BlockSec).
- Implementation of the profit share mechanism for PEM holders.
- Launch of the PembRock DAO
- Full integration with Ref Finance and further exciting partnerships within the NEAR ecosystem of Dapps.
- Improved UX
- PEM token listings on a greater number of decentralized and centralized exchanges.

To get started with PembRock Finance, simply [visit our app](https://app.pembrock.finance/) and connect your NEAR wallet. It’s that simple!


Hitting all our roadmap milestones according to schedule, we are proud to share that PembRock Finance with full lending and farming functionality is now live on the Mainnet!

Pembrock is Live on the NEAR Mainnet

The first leveraged yield farming project on NEAR Protocol, PembRock Finance, is nearing mainnet release. With two in-depth audits by BlockSec and Certik, as well as successful listings of its native token, PEM, on Ref Finance and Jumbo Exchange, the platform is now allowing users to test both its farming and lending functionality.

## Lenders testing met with success

Just last week PembRock unveiled its lending functionality, with over 6k unique wallets connected. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with testers enjoying the site’s UI, saying it was intuitive and easy to navigate.

There were also feedbacks that users asked the project to incorporate, such as the option to switch to light mode, change language, and easily view transaction history.

## Testnet for farmers is live!

[Now live on the testnet](https://testnet.pembrock.finance/?utm_source=awsomenear&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=testnet), you can see how PembRock allows users to lend with just the click of a button and/or farm with leverage. In a largely automated process, you can open and adjust leveraged positions utilizing the fast, secure, and affordable transactions that the NEAR blockchain offers.

Once you’re done, the PembRock team is waiting for your feedback on Discord. Your voice counts, as all comments are taken into consideration, helping to make PembRock a true community project.

### Happy testing!

By the way, if you can’t wait for the mainnet launch and want to start farming PEM now, the PEM-USN farm has already been launched on Ref Finance, offering 170% APY at the time of writing. Check out our step-by-step guide on how to start farming and get involved!


The first leveraged yield farming project on NEAR Protocol, PembRock Finance, is nearing mainnet release.

PembRock Finance Full Functionality Launched on the Testnet

The HERE Wallet is a mobile wallet for the NEAR Protocol. With the use of this application, you can easily buy, sell and use NEAR. The HERE Wallet can even work together with the NEAR web wallet, giving users access to new features.

Some of these features include: 

## Liquid Stacking

"Storage" is the foundation of HERE Wallet. Using a smart contract, all users store their money securely. In doing so, most of the money is stacked, and 10% is left free to maintain liquidity. A real-world example of this is Chase Bank. Thousands of users store their dollars there and can use them at any time, while the bank uses most of that money to invest and lend. The bank then uses the profits to charge people annual interest. The same principle works in the HERE Wallet. Although instead of a bank, it's a smart contract, and instead of an investment, it's staking.

The innovations we used to control and manage the smart contract allowed us to achieve returns of up to 9% per year while keeping all withdrawals interest-free! For an instant withdrawal, "meta pool" will debit you 0.5% to 1.5%, while "liquidity" will debit you 1%. HERE, on the other hand, will charge you 0%. Unlike other apps, HERE lets you keep NEAR long-term and use it immediately. Liquid Stacking is available by default to all HERE Wallet users.

## BTC Bridge

Although NEAR can be used in many projects throughout the ecosystem, it still cannot be used to buy real goods. Practically no online stores or payment systems accept NEAR. However, we solved this problem at HERE Wallet with NEAR - BTC bridge. Now you can transfer money to your bitcoin address without any fees via the BTC bridge by entering it as a beneficiary address or scanning a QR code. The transaction will take 30-50 seconds and then appear in the bitcoin network. We are able to make such a cheap exchange by grouping many transactions into a single one when transferring through the Rainbow bridge and paying the fee only once.

## Working with projects in the NEAR ecosystem

Withdrawal of money from the HERE wallet is automatic and commission-free. In order to use services that work with the NEAR web wallet, you need to transfer money to a cold wallet in advance, which can be done in the application in one click.

## Buying and selling NEAR

NEAR can be purchased with your bank card through MoonPay or Mercury. You can also buy NEAR for bitcoin or sell NEAR in exchange for BTC. Unfortunately, nowadays, the commissions for buying USD from our partners are pretty big, so for big turnovers, we recommend using Binance.

## Security

A private key is generated locally by the application and is never transferred to a third party. The app publishes only signed transactions on the Internet, which do not reveal private information. The key itself is stored in the Apple keychain and is tamper-proof on the device. Smart contracts have published public codes that can be checked by anyone. Developers have no access to the user's funds and can only manage the balance between free and staked NEAR. A secure third-party project, Astro pool, is used for staking. Unlike a web wallet, your data is encrypted and password-protected, so no web extensions or viruses on your computer can access it.

HERE Wallet is the best mobile wallet for NEAR Protocol. It combines high yield, ease of use, and security. With HERE Wallet, you will discover all the features of the NEAR ecosystem.


The HERE Wallet is a mobile wallet for the NEAR Protocol. With the use of this application, you can easily buy, sell and use NEAR.

What is the HERE Wallet?

In May 2022, Aurora Labs announced the launch of [Aurora+](/aurora-plus), an essential platform for the Aurora ecosystem. With this launch many features were announced, including an innovative, integral feature for the protocol’s governance.

Aurora Labs is now proud to announce the launch of Vote - a decentralized governance platform to empower the community to govern the protocol themselves.

## How to Get $VOTE

The $VOTE tokens can be earnt by staking $AURORA on Aurora+, as you might be doing already to earn ecosystem rewards.

Similar to other staking mechanisms, the amount of tokens a user can earn is directly proportional to the duration and the amount of tokens being staked. In other words, the longer and the more a user's stakes, the more $VOTE the users can receive, which awards longer term believers of Aurora with more governance power.

## What to do with your “$VOTE”?

Once you have earnt $VOTE through staking, there are two options: you can directly vote to elect a new DAO member (= a new member of the council), or send your $VOTE to a third party delegate to vote for you.

In the future, there will also be a variety of governance related options available to empower the Aurora community to govern and grow the ecosystem together.

## Want to take part in the Aurora governance?

Join Aurora+ today to start accumulating $VOTE and get ready for the future elections!

Empowering its Community with DAO Governance.

Aurora Launches $VOTE

We are pleased to announce that one of the projects we admire validates our work and supports us to continue our mission to create verified crypto ecosystems for content creators, traders, and projects. The NEAR Protocol community of crypto investors and newcomers alike will soon be able to confidently explore verified projects and identify trustworthy peer influencers in the field. The more experienced market analysts can also enjoy a new way to analyze and monetize their knowledge with the help of Coreto’s unique gamification and performance showcasing tools.

## Key Takeaways:
- We are pleased to see that other renowned projects have started to notice the potential of what we have built so far;
- More than that, we have obtained an initial grant from NEAR Foundation;
- Our decentralized version of the reputation system will be upgraded and built on top of the NEAR Protocol’s infrastructure;
- The NEAR community will be able to enjoy a decentralized dual-function identity system: a registration/login mechanism for the platform and a tool for tracking user reputation scores in a decentralized manner;
- We will build a decentralized reputation tracking system, able to keep track of any user’s reputation history, for all current and future platforms that integrate it.

## The revolution of the crypto era through the first layer of trust
In a world full of speculation, trustworthy opinions are in high demand, yet hard to be verified based on objective past performance assessments for crypto influencers. That’s why we want to pave the way for investors by providing a reliable crypto research tool while eliminating FOMO.

## Our Trust & Performance algorithm help:

- **Content creators** build a reputation in the crypto industry based on the accuracy of their market analyses. At the same time, they work on gaining the community’s trust and separate themselves from the influencers that hype a project based on how much they are paid. All while helping traders & content creators monetize their crypto knowledge;
- **Traders** to find peer influencers with a proved reputation stored immutably on the Blockchain;
- **Projects** to grow their trust within their communities, having the possibility to promote their brand with the help of affirmed content creators.

## Coreto and NEAR Protocol — The same vision on the importance of Trust
We relate to NEAR’s mission of making the crypto experience as easy and smooth as possible for its users, working towards mass adoption. The crypto community, especially newcomers, will be able to explore crypto ecosystems with confidence, identifying real crypto investment opportunities. We aim to bring fire where it is most needed, eliminating the speculation produced by social networks where information can be deleted, modified, or given by people who do not have proven expertise in the field.

## What’s next?

- We will constantly communicate our progress so that our communities stay informed;
- We will follow the action plan we have established, building 2 initial decentralized systems: one for identification and one for tracking and querying on-chain reputation;
- We will reshape the way crypto communities, traders, analysts, influencers, and projects interact with each other;
As the platform evolves, we plan to have more features decentralized and moved from a web2 system to web3 implementations.
- We are ready to officially become the first layer of trust in the crypto space with the help of NEAR Protocol. Once again, our work is validated by the real pillars of the crypto sphere.

Coreto and NEAR Protocol share the same vision of building confidence in the technology of our era while pushing Blockchain adoption.

Coreto and NEAR Protocol reshape crypto ecosystems

NEAR Foundation is excited to announce its partnership with BitGo, the leader in digital asset financial services, as its first qualified and secure custodian to support the Protocol. This partnership will enable institutions to custody their tokens on BitGo’s platform using hot wallets and Qualified Custody wallets. BitGo clients will also be able to stake NEAR tokens and earn rewards through their BitGo wallets.

“BitGo is proud to become the first qualified custodian to provide services to the entire NEAR Protocol ecosystem, including holders of the NEAR token who have been searching for a secure way to store and stake their assets,” says Mike Belshe, BitGo CEO. “We are excited to deliver them safe and secure custody and staking services for their NEAR tokens and other valuable assets.”

BitGo shares with NEAR Foundation a commitment to the evolution of the Open Web.

Currently, BitGo is the largest processor of on-chain Bitcoin transactions, processing a whopping 20% (approximately) of all Bitcoin transactions around the world and supports over 500 other coins and tokens, now including the NEAR token. NEAR is so confident in BitGo that the Foundation has chosen to custody its own treasury with them and stake part of this treasury using BitGo’s wallets. 

Customers of BitGo include the largest exchanges of crypto-assets in the world as well as institutional investors across 50+ countries. Backed by Goldman Sachs, Craft Ventures, Digital Currency Group, DRW, Galaxy Digital Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, and Valor Equity Partners, BitGo is the global leader in digital asset financial services, providing liquidity, custody, and security solutions. 

NEAR Foundation CEO Marieke Flament sees the BitGo partnership as proof of the community’s commitment to widening the ecosystem, as well as creating a more diverse community of users.

“This is a significant step for NEAR and its foray into the world of institutional investments,” Flament adds. “With BitGo, we will support their clients’ investors and give them the ability to stake and earn rewards on their NEAR assets, both safely and securely. We are also putting our confidence into BitGo and putting our own treasury in its custody because it is simply the best at what it does.”

Together we can truly make significant inroads in broadening the number of people leveraging our ecosystem and ultimately bring us closer to achieving our goal for mass web3 adoption.”

In 2020 BitGO launched Prime Trading and Lending, in addition to BitGo Portfolio and Tax,  providing clients with a full-stack solution for digital assets. In 2018, it launched BitGo Trust Company, the first qualified custodian purpose-built for storing digital assets. Approaching a decade since its 2013 inception, BitGo, like NEAR, is in it for the long-haul. 

NEAR Foundation is excited to announce its partnership with BitGo, the leader in digital asset financial services.

BitGo Becomes First Qualified Custodian to Support NEAR Protocol and its Assets

In early June, the NEAR Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to develop the HERE Wallet. We're making the first mobile wallet for NEAR Protocol, which will make NEAR even more accessible and closer to people. Now you don't need a computer to use all the features of NEAR and interact with dApp.

In addition to access to NEAR transfers and purchases, the app supports important ecosystem projects. Liquid Stacking is available for all HERE Wallet users to start earning income in NEAR in one click. Quick NEAR buying and selling for bitcoin is also available. All of these features enable basic users to take full advantage of the NEAR ecosystem.

The grant will help the HERE Wallet team finish development and pass security checks. The NEAR Foundation team supports a lot of important ecosystem projects. This has a great impact on user interest in the platform and helps its development. We are excited to be a part of the NEAR Foundation grants program.

Now there is a B-version of the app in TestFlight, and it will launch on the Apple Store at the end of July. You can add it to the waiting list at the project’s [official website](https://herewallet.app/). NEAR is HERE.


The NEAR Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to develop the HERE Wallet.

Articles

Recent articles on NEAR and ecosystem projects.