Solana Labs launches Web3 incubator offering dev and fundraising support

October 26, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Applications will be accepted for consideration until November 30.

Solana Labs unveiled an all-new incubator program for project development on the Solana blockchain on Oct. 26.

Title simply “Solana Incubator,” the program will offer fundraising, development, networking, and marketing support for web and blockchain projects seeking to build on Solana’s platform.

Building a web3 startup on the Solana network? ️

Today, @SolanaLabs introduces their Solana Incubator, so you can get hands on technical, go-to-market, and funding support!

Learn more and apply https://t.co/W10WnEgDwQ
— Solana (@solana) October 26, 2023

The Solana Incubator will accept applications through Nov. 30. Those accepted will purportedly receive support from the Solana Labs team and its partners throughout the development, marketing, and launch phases of their projects.

According to Emon Motamedi, Product Manager at Solana Labs:

“Our priority with the Incubator program is to remove the biggest obstacles currently facing founders, including barriers around Web3 integrations and fundraising, so that these teams can spend their time on what they do best: solving the burning problems of their users. By providing founders with the resources they need to succeed, we hope to not only bring more sustainable businesses to the Solana ecosystem, but to also help grow the Web3 industry as a whole."

Motamedi’s commentary comes via an Oct. 26 press release. “Additionally,” reads the article, “the program is designed to provide teams with exposure to top VCs in the Solana Labs network to help these start-ups enhance their liquidity.”

In related news, Marinade Finance, the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol on the Solana blockchain, is now blocking new signups from users in the United Kingdom.

As Cointelegraph reported, a message greeting U.K. users on the Marinade Finance website explains that the user block comes in response to “compliance concerns relating to rules and regulations promulgated by the U.K. Finance [sic] Conduct Authority.”

From 8 October 2023, #crypto firms must market to UK consumers clearly, fairly and honestly, and must also provide risk warnings people understand. https://t.co/cqxj1jVtAT
— Financial Conduct Authority (@TheFCA) September 7, 2023

The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority issued a notice on Sep. 9 indicating that new rules affecting crypto asset firms would go into effect on Oct. 8 with a January 8 deadline for compliance. Numerous outlets have already pulled products and services from the U.K. market.

Razer gaming incubator zVentures issues call for Web3 submissions

April 11, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain Game

Gaming hardware giant Razer has issued a call for Web3 gaming submissions through its zVentures corporate venture capital arm.

Razer, a U.S.-Singaporean consumer electronics company best known for its gaming hardware and peripherals, has sent out a call for new Web3 partners and game submissions.

Citing the market need for quality games built on blockchain technology, a zVentures blog post details Razer’s push for increased developer involvement.

“We believe that the foundation of any successful game (be it Web 2.0 or Web 3.0) is immersive and engaging gameplay,” reads the blog post, which goes on to state that “many blockchain games on the market today focus primarily on utilizing blockchain technology rather than creating an engaging and enjoyable gameplay experience, resulting in a lack of player interest and retention.”

We’re excited to announce the zVentures Web 3 Incubator for game companies & developers. By supporting companies in the creation of Web 3 games, our program aims to drive the growth & adoption of blockchain technology in the industry. Submit your pitch: https://t.co/m65x3AsBiC pic.twitter.com/CN1sMZuBKP
— R Λ Z Ξ R (@Razer) April 11, 2023

Razer’s zVentures was established in 2016 as a venture capital fundraising arm intended to spur growth and innovation in the gaming industry — a market some analysts now claim is worth more than $300 billion globally. By comparison, the worldwide blockchain market is expected to surpass $100 billion by 2028, assuming it reaches its predicted CAGR of 55.8%. The growth of blockchain gaming is expected to be aided by major tech companies entering the space. Among them are IBM, Intel and Amazon Web Services.

According to zVentures, the incubator is looking for projects from new developers with a focus on “gameplay experience first,” as well as submissions from established industry veterans with a proven track record in creating “successful Web 2.0 games as they transition to incorporating blockchain technology and enter the Web 3.0 ecosystem.”

BNB Chain to boost European Web3 startups with DApp incubator program

October 10, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Binance

The incubator program focuses on EU-based startups building the next generation of Web3 consumer experiences with an emphasis on accessibility and scalability.

BNB Chain, the blockchain of the Binance crypto exchange and BNB, launched its latest development-focused initiative, which targets European developers building and scaling decentralized applications (DApps) on the network.

The three-week virtual “innovation incubator” program focuses on Web3 startups with at least one key member based in the European Union (EU). Those accepted into the program receive mentorship from industry experts and BNB Chain specialists on tokenomics design and Web3 marketing strategies.

The incubator will host exclusive meet-ups in cities across the continent, such as Lisbon, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Warsaw and London.

According to Zoe Wei, senior business director at BNB Chain, the network is looking to support European Web3 startups that consider both accessibility and scalability in pushing for greater adoption.

“Our objective is to guide European builders in making early commitments to these fundamentals in order to grow large user bases in the long term.”

There are at least 17 organizations with a regional presence participating in the incubator to support the builders. Among those is Jump Crypto, which claims that sharing knowledge within the community will support the next generation of DApps.

A Jump Crypto spokesperson said:

“Crypto is a community, and we believe that knowledge sharing and collaboration fosters a stronger, more resilient, and more advanced crypto ecosystem overall.”

Participants also get on-chain incentives, such as a one-month 100% gas fee incentive and a “strong referral” to BNB Chain’s already existent Most Valuable Builder program.

Developers can apply from Oct. 10 to 23, with the three-week incubation period from Nov. 21 to Dec. 15.

The European incubator is BNB Chain’s latest initiative for developer support and Web3 education. Recently, the network announced a major collaboration with Google Cloud to give participants in the ecosystem access to Google Cloud service to help with on-chain development.

BNB Chain also partnered with a Latin American educational platform in August to develop a Web3 and blockchain course for thousands of students in the region.

This latest announcement comes after the network suffered from a multimillion-dollar cross-chain exploit on Oct. 6.

The network briefly suspended all deposits and withdrawals on the network until validators confirmed their statuses — and was back online in a matter of hours.

Bear market no issue for Binance Labs’ DeFi incubation program

June 17, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Binance

Binance Labs’ parent firm Binance is also looking to hire 2,000 employees amid the latest market decline as the firm sees bear markets as a “great time to bring on top talent.”

Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, continues its business as usual despite the ongoing bear market.

The VC firm is preparing to launch the fifth round of the Most Valuable Builder (MVB) accelerator program, the incubation program designed to support new projects focused on decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3.

Organized in cooperation with BNB Chain, the program looks to provide dedicated support to developers building decentralized apps on the BNB Chain blockchain network by providing incubation and investment.

The MVB program was originally launched in May 2021, with the mission to help BNB Chain-based startups create new projects, gain exposure, receive funding and accelerate community and business growth. Some of the successful MVB-born startups include infrastructure DeFi projects like Deri Protocol and Solv Protocol, the decentralized exchange Biswap, the GameFi and metaverse platform Metasset and others.

The latest round, also referred to as the fifth cohort, is named “Uncharted Territory” as it aims to explore new opportunities and help emerging projects amid the highly volatile cryptocurrency market.

“MVB V is structured differently than previous cohorts, with BNB Chain and Binance Labs collaborating for the first time to provide infrastructure, mentorship, funding, and ecosystem support to the projects,” BNB Chain investment director Gwendolyn Regina told Cointelegraph on Thursday. “The funding source of MVB will be directly from Binance Labs,” she added.

The round application deadline is July 8, 2022, while the program is scheduled to start on July 11, 2022. In late June, Binance Labs and BNB Chain plan to announce successful projects that will join the MVB accelerator program and go through coaching and workshops for 6-8 weeks.

The new MVB accelerator program is not limited in terms of projected investment, the BNB Chain investment director noted, stating:

“We do not have an investment cap. Binance Labs will follow a thorough evaluation process for projects that are selected for incubation before making an investment decision. The support we provide for the MVB program goes beyond mere money and the fund itself.”

Regina went on to say that the latest MVB round welcomes all builders in the blockchain industry, disregarding whether they have experience in building on the BNB Chain. “We are ready to invest in projects in all stages of their development, whether it’s early stage, working prototype or a launched product that needs scaling,” she added.

The ongoing bear market poses no potential harm to the accelerator program. Rather on the contrary, BNB Chain and Binance Labs believe that extreme market conditions tend to generate stronger projects, Regina said, adding:

“Bear markets are a great way to assess and support projects that truly make a difference in the blockchain ecosystem. If anything, now is the best time to spot strong, mission-driven projects and assist their growth and development.”

BNB Chain’s stance on crypto bear markets as an opportunity for industry growth comes in line with broader views at the Binance crypto exchange.

The company is looking to hire 2,000 employees amid the latest market decline, with CEO Changpeng Zhao declaring that the exchange sees bear markets as a “great time to bring on top talent.”

A similar sentiment is shared by billionaire crypto investor and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who applied a well-known aphorism by veteran investor Warren Buffett to the current crypto market drop: “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.”

Binance Launches $1 Billion Fund to Boost Adoption of Its Smart Chain and Entire Blockchain Industry

October 13, 2021 Bitcoin.com

BSC’s Impossible Finance raises $7M for multi-chain DeFi incubator

June 4, 2021 Coin Telegraph

<div>BSC's Impossible Finance raises M for multi-chain DeFi incubator</div>

Binance

DeFi protocol Impossible Finance is building a multi-chain incubator to expand out from BSC.

Impossible Finance, a Defi protocol built on Binance Smart Chain, has completed a $7 million seed funding round backed by over 125 institutional and angel investors — with the funds going towards the development of a multi chain DeFi incubator.

The seed round was led by venture capital firm True Ventures, and quantitative investment firm Alameda Research, blockchain development firm Hashed and investment firm CMS Holdings.

Impossible Finance was launched on BSC on April 9, and the protocol currently offers DeFi investors token swaps, liquidity pools, and staking rewards through the Impossible Finance (IF) token

The new funding will go towards development of a multi-chain ecosystem for the project, which plans to expand to support to Ethereum and Polygon, along with deployments on layer-two (L2) solutions and other platforms in the future.

As part of the multi-chain ecosystem, Impossible is also developing an automated market maker (AMM) liquidity protocol, which will act as the backbone for a decentralized incubator and launch pad for new DeFi projects. And of course, it will launch the related Impossible Decentralized Incubator Access (IDIA) token.

Plans to expand support to Ethereum and Polygon are timely in light of a wave of recent exploits on the BSC, including a growing list of rug pulls and hacks. It raises the question of whether hacks and exploits are somehow endemic to how the platform operates, or just part of its growing pains?

In recent weeks, DeFi protocol BurgerSwap was drained of $7.2 million in a flash loan attack, along with yield protocol Belt Finance, which lost $6.3 million after a hacker exploited a flaw in the protocol’s vault.

PancakeBunny suffered a $200 million flash loan attack from a hacker who borrowed a “huge amount” of Binance Coin (BNB), and then proceeded to manipulate BUNNY’s price and dump it all and completely tank the price of the asset. Spartan Protocol was also drained off $30 million in a coordinated attack on its liquidity pool.

Earlier this year, users of yield vault project Meerkat Finance lost $31 million on the platform due to an alleged rug pull by the developers. Uranium Finance, an AMM platform built on the BSC was subject to a hack — with the hacker reportedly swooping in to exploit a bug in Uranium's balance modifier logic and stealing $50 million in the process.

incubator

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