Web3 startups queue up: Consensys Startup Program partners with Cointelegraph Accelerator

August 2, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

Cointelegraph Accelerator participants will get a headstart with Consensys’ Web3 solutions, including MetaMask, Infura and Linea zkEVM.

The transition from Web2 to Web3 is reshaping the technology landscape and attracting the attention of developers. Despite the challenges faced during the current crypto winter, the Web3 ecosystem continued to onboard new developers, with many thousands of developers making the jump from Web2 to Web3.

However, developers working with Web3 and blockchain technology can face numerous issues if they lack the proper knowledge, infrastructure and tools. Web3 teams need assistance developing in a complex environment without introducing vulnerabilities into their smart contracts that could lead to security breaches, such as hacks and exploits.

The number of active Web3 developers is rising. Source: Electric Capital.

The number of active Web3 developers is rising. Source: Electric Capital.

To avoid these potential setbacks, Web3 startups are seeking support from established industry players. Blockchain and web3 software company Consensys offers developers and enterprises around the globe a range of tools to create applications on Web3, deploy financial infrastructures, and connect with decentralized networks. Among these tools is MetaMask, one of the most widely used hot self-custody wallets in the industry, which surpassed 100 million users in 2022.

A match made in heaven for Web3

In the summer of 2022, Consensys launched its Startup Program that aims at working with leading early stage ventures and support them on their path to becoming unicorns while having access to Consensys entire product stack. Consensys’ commitment to support startups aligns with the goals of the Cointelegraph Accelerator, which is to increase the visibility and success of promising Web3 products.

Cointelegraph and Consensys announced a new partnership in June 2023 to support early-stage companies in the space by combining Consensys’ software infrastructure with Cointelegraph’s media presence. The aim is to provide blockchain startups with a suite of powerful tools to drive their development and make significant strides in the web3 space.

By joining Consensys's Startup Program, Web3 startup accelerators gain exclusive access to a variety of proprietary software products. These encompass the Linea zK-Rollup Protocol, Infura, Diligence Fuzzing. MetaMask is also on the roadmap for the future. In addition, startups are granted access to comprehensive technical consulting, learning services, and potential investment, benefits and marketing opportunities.

On the other side of the partnership, Cointelegraph’s Accelerator will play a pivotal role in elevating the visibility of these blockchain startups by crafting strategic boosting and media campaigns. The Accelerator will provide startups with the stage to reach the right web3 audience. Furthermore, Cointelegraph will assist with marketing strategy development and provide access to their extensive network of investors, market makers, and tech providers. The program offers flexible payment options for its services.

Alex Greinacher, Director of the Program at Consensys, said:

“The idea of the partnership is that the startups have access to our combined Web3 expertise. This creates a truly leading offer for startups. Together we can cover all relevant areas that builders require for success. Among them we have tech infrastructure, media, consulting, marketing, support, access to funding, learning and enablement, partner credits and more.”

The partnership will provide participants of both programs fast-track access to partner’s program, joint educational products and workshops and also special terms for use of partners’ services and infrastructure. Built by the two leading organizations within the crypto and blockchain space, the partnership brings forth a fail-safe route to Web3 innovation for promising startups.

Projects integrated in joining the Consensys Startup Program can get in touch via startups@consensys.net. Projects interested in learning more about the Cointelegraph Accelerator can visit the official page and fill out an application via the webform.

Web3 startups get security boost as CertiK joins Cointelegraph Accelerator

June 22, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

Blockchain security expert CertiK becomes a mentor for the Cointelegraph Accelerator program’s participants.

Despite the crypto bear market, the Web3 ecosystem continues to grow. True to the notion that “bear markets are good for builders,” developers continue to flock into the Web3 space — the blockchain-based universe governed by smart contracts. Reports from early 2023 show that the number of monthly active Web3 developers grew to over 23,300 in 2022.

As the Web3 developer community evolves into an established industry, the security of technologies that hold the ecosystem together are increasing in importance. The backbone of the blockchain-based industry is smart contracts — software that automatically executes an on-chain action when conditions are met.

Before deploying a decentralized application (DApp), smart contract audits play a crucial role in preventing security issues and financial risks. Since Web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects run on blockchain technology, vulnerabilities in smart contracts can lead to hacks and exploits of protocols. With more than $3 billion lost to hacks and scams in 2022, Web3 is in need of better security solutions.

To provide industry-leading security for up-and-coming Web3 startups, blockchain and smart contract security expert CertiK has joined the Cointelegraph Accelerator program as a security provider and mentor.

As the Accelerator program’s preferred security solutions provider, CertiK will offer an assessment of projects to ensure that Accelerator participants receive the highest level of security in a timely manner. A comprehensive smart contract audit is crucial for Web3 startups, as it ensures the foundation of their project meets the highest standards of security and transparency.

As experts in blockchain security, CertiK will also act as a mentor to participating Web3 startups through a series of educational workshops about Web3 security, smart contract audits, and Know Your Customer (KYC) processes.

In addition to its audits, CertiK is also known for watching the crypto ecosystem for attacks, rugpulls and scams. CertiK’s security experts publish annual and quarterly reports on industry trends. In a recent report, CertiK took a deep dive into the $103.7 million that was lost due to crypto exploits, scams and hacks in April 2023. According to the research, an exploit of MEV trading bots took the biggest share of stolen crypto in April.

Top-five biggest exploits in volume across the crypto industry in April. Source: CertiK

Top-five biggest exploits in volume across the crypto industry in April. Source: CertiK

“As we continue to drive toward a decentralized future, we understand that security and transparency are paramount,” Ronghui Gu, co-founder of CertiK said. “It’s our mission to raise the standard of security and transparency across the Web3 world, and this partnership with CoinTelegraph’s Accelerator Program is a great opportunity to work with those at the cutting edge of the space.”

“By teaming up with CertiK, Cointelegraph Accelerator is not only enhancing the security of projects but is also instilling confidence among investors and the broader crypto community.”

Launched in 2023, the Cointelegraph Accelerator program aims to boost the growth of innovative Web3 products. The program helps promising Web3 startups reach their full potential by increasing their exposure through Cointelegraph, a pioneering crypto and blockchain media organization since 2013. Bringing its knowledge and experience in blockchain and smart contract security, CertiK will work with Cointelegraph Accelerator to raise the standards of security and transparency in the rapidly evolving Web3 space.

Cointelegraph Accelerator welcomes Web3 venture builder GAMI as a strategic partner

June 19, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

GAMI, a Web3-focused Venture Builder, hosts a variety of products tailored to the web3 and blockchain world, with partners like Gerard Lopez, a globally renowned entrepreneur and investor.

Cointelegraph Accelerator, the startup booster leveraging Cointelegraph’s media capabilities, has announced GAMI — a Web3 Venture Builder — as its new strategic partner.

The blockchain and crypto ecosystems are expanding into a much broader universe with the rise of Web3. With decentralization as a core value, Web3 brings more utility and use cases for blockchain-based technologies in a user-centric environment. Although initiated by decentralized finance (DeFi), Web3 offers a much broader spectrum of digital interactions and experiences, including nonfungible tokens (NFTs), loyalty programs, action-to-earn and gaming.

Cointelegraph Accelerator’s newest strategic partner GAMI works as Venture Builder with many products focused on DeFi and Web3, including the data-based marketing platform Midle, the move-to-earn app GAMI Move and the blockchain-based crowdfunding platform GAMI Launchpad. Together with several other projects in the pipeline, they form the GAMI World ecosystem, which uses GAMI as its native utility token. Launched in October 2021, the GAMI token offers various utilities on all platforms in the GAMI World ecosystem. GAMI has more than 40,000 users, including token holders and project participants. Last year, GAMI announced its partnership with the major Turkish soccer team Galatasaray SK.

Founded by a team of senior executives coming from the capital markets and the startup landscape and with over 20 years of experience, GAMI aims to build its Web3 ecosystem with a wide range of decentralized apps (DApps) and DeFi services. GAMI currently has three active platforms. The GAMI World ecosystem will continue to expand with other products in the near futured.

As the first platform of the GAMI World ecosystem, Gami Launchpad includes the latest initial DEX offers (IDO) and initial NFT offers (INO) to track and participate in new projects.

The GAMI World ecosystem consists of many web3 and blockchain applications. GAMI, the native utility token of the ecosystem, provides various utilities to users on these platforms. Source: Gami

The GAMI World ecosystem consists of many web3 and blockchain applications. GAMI, the native utility token of the ecosystem, provides various utilities to users on these platforms. Source: Gami

GAMI Move, the ecosystem's second platform, is a move-to-earn App where users who own GAMI Move NFTs can earn GAMI tokens by walking through the GAMI Move Mobile App.

To push Web3 adoption even further, GAMI also launched Midle.io, a Web3-based marketing tool that brings together projects, influencers, DeFi and crypto communities, and users. Midle.io users can collect points by completing tasks and earn rewards according to their progress. The goal of the platform is to create a sustainable and effective crypto marketing method and to strengthen the loyalty between users and projects.

How does Midle.io work? Source: Midle.io

How does Midle.io work? Source: Midle.io

The Cointelegraph Accelerator program empowers promising Web3 projects and startups by helping them tap into Cointelegraph’s global audience and established leadership in the media landscape. The program selected Gami as its strategic partner to help the latter build an ecosystem of services with a growing community. Together with Cointelegraph Accelerator, GAMI aims to become a unicorn, with a focus on scaling its product suite globally.

AI startup by ex-Meta and Google researchers raises $113M in seed funding

June 14, 2023 Coin Telegraph

AI startup by ex-Meta and Google researchers raises 3M in seed funding

The company is on a hiring spree and on the lookout for researchers, software engineers and product developers in AI.

A brand new artificial intelligence (AI) startup dedicated to rival ChatGPT creator, OpenAI, raised $113 million in seed funding, bringing up its valuation to $260 million within two months of inception.

Former AI researchers — previously working for Google DeepMind and Meta — co-founded Mistral AI, in May 2023 to develop open-source generative AI models. Arthur Mensch, the co-founder and CEO of the company said that the first round of funding “will give us the resources and network we need to start rolling out a new model of generative artificial intelligence.”

Prior to co-founding Mistral AI, Mensch was a research scientist at Google Deep Mind. The other two co-founders — Timothee Lacroix and Guillaume Lample — worked at Facebook AI as a research engineer and research scientist respectively.

*Mistral AI co-founders Guillaume Lample, Arthur Mensch, Timothée Lacroix (left to right). Source: Medium*

The funding round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and saw participation from JCDecaux Holding, Rodolphe Saadé and Motier Ventures among others. The trio will run the company from Paris and plan to release its first models for text-based generative AI in 2024.

*Mistral AI unfinished official website. Source: Mistra.AI*

The company is on a hiring spree and on the lookout for researchers, software engineers and product developers in AI. At the time of writing, the newly formed Mistral AI did not have any social media presence either.

Recently, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, met South Korean South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and urged the country to lead the manufacturing of chips dedicated to AI technology.

*OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands at the Yongsan District, central Seoul presidential office on June 9.*

OpenAI currently utilizes chips from Taiwan, but Altman revealed the incoming need for a supply of chips from Korea in the future.

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Cumberland Labs unveils SaaS API for public blockchains and DeFi protocols

June 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

API

When Cumberland Labs looked for a gateway between blockchains and DeFi protocols, it came up with its own universal API service.

Cumberland Labs, the incubator arm of Chicago-based crypto trading company Cumberland has launched the beta version of a new API tool that could simplify the arduous task of connecting to blockchain and decentralized finance protocols.

Cumberland Labs told Cointelegraph that the Cumberland, the trading unit of DRW Holdings LCC used to invest considerable time connecting to various protocols manually, and one at a time.

The firm couldn't find a tool to simplify these tasks and ultimately created its own API service, expand.network using its own developers and engineers from its incubator arm. The tool has been in testing since November and is available to the public in beta.

An API stands for application programming interface and is used when one type of programming needs to communicate with another.

Screenshot of interface of expand.network's beta version. Source: expand.network

"We were exploring DeFi trading and sought a tool similar to the ccxt library used for centralized exchanges, which could connect to any DeFi protocol or blockchain. To our surprise, no such tool existed," Tama Churchouse, chief operating officer at Cumberland Labs told Cointelegraph.

The newly released solution seeks to offer both read and write connectivity to major public blockchains and DeFi protocols, helping developers to interact across multiple protocol APIs and software development kits (SDKs).

The Web3 startup seeks to solve an aging crypto issue: inefficiency in cross-chain communication. However, it is far from solving the same problems as cross-chain solutions. According to its CEO Demetrios Skalkotos, while both "may seem similar on the surface", they serve different purposes.

"Cross-chain solutions primarily facilitate the transfer of messages and tokens between various chains. In contrast, expand.network provides connectivity to chains and protocols, offering a more comprehensive and versatile solution for navigating the DeFi landscape," he explained.

The low-code tool will support Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible chains including Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Cronos, Arbitrum and Optimism as well as non EVM-compatible chains like Solana, Tron, NEAR and Algorand. Upcoming support will be available for Aptos, Sui, Lido, LayerZero and StarkNet.

The platform was conceived and built by Cumberland Labs, which provided funding, resources, and consulting. If market conditions permit, the startup may seek funding later this year.

"When it comes to seeking funding, our strategy is to target crypto seed and series A technology infrastructure investors, as well as potential strategic investors," noted Skalkotos.

As the crypto space evolves, more capital is flowing into developer-oriented and interoperability solutions. In April, cross-chain messaging protocol developer LayerZero Labs raised $120 million to expand its reach into the Asia-Pacific region. It had previously raised $135 million in March 2022.

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Two key security practices for Web3 startups from Israel Crypto Conference

May 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Shahar Madar, the head of security products at Fireblocks, says Web3 startups need to think from the “attacker’s perspective” when planning security protocols.

Security remains one of the Web3 industry’s most important and relevant issues as decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and enterprises continue to face exploits.

At the Israel Crypto Conference, Cointelegraph talked to Shahar Madar, the head of security products at Fireblocks, about the necessary steps Web3 startups should take to secure their platforms and users.

Madar told Cointelegraph that, in his experience, many new startups usually delay developing a security protocol to focus on growth.

However, Web2 models for enterprise security don’t work in a Web3 world with such an emphasis on finance. He said from the “attacker’s perspective,” they always look for a return on their project exploits.

“This is the thing that people miss. Everyone sees what they’re doing — the code is usually open source. Everyone can interact with their project and they are not prepared for that.”

Madar stressed that companies need to consider a security framework by asking important questions like, “How do you vet your team?” “How do you place access control?” and “How do you test your infrastructure map and prepare for the incident?”

“[Companies] need frameworks and products that help them hit the ground running in terms of security.”

According to the Fireblocks security head, for any fledgling startup in the Web3 space, two basic things are needed: the first being “access control.”

Access control means that not everyone at the company has the same access to different parts of a project.

Madar gave the example of a business developer being unable to deploy smart contracts, “not because they are a bad person,” but “rather from a security perspective with boundaries.”

The second thing is a game plan: to sit down and map out the project from the security perspective. He said developers should “imagine how you would hack yourself.”

“Start small but don’t hold off until later. The attacker is watching you, the attacker is waiting for you.”

He said all it takes to start making a game plan is simple “tabletop exercises” and set team meetings.

This warning to Web3 startups comes as the space faced multiple compromises in the last week alone. On May 28, the Arbitrum-based Jimbos Protocol lost $7.5 million of Ether in a hack, while on May 19, the DeFi protocol WDZD Swap suffered a $1.1 million exploit.

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Google Cloud broadens Web3 startup program with 11 blockchain firms

April 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Along with Google, 11 blockchain firms are now part of the Google Web3 startup program to help accelerate startups.

Technology conglomerate Alphabet has expanded the Google for Startups Cloud Program.

As of April 25, the program now includes Web3 firms such as Alchemy, Aptos, Base, Celo, Flow, Hedera, Nansen, Near, Polygon, Solana and Thirdweb. The same day, blockchain analytics firm Nansen announced that it has partnered with Google Cloud to provide real-time blockchain data for startups. Its database currently contains over 250 million wallet labels.

We are very excited to team up with @googlecloud in their Web3 startup program to provide real-time blockchain data

Web3 startups in the program get a free month of #NansenQuery & other benefits

Learn how it can help YOUR project succeed https://t.co/xU3bZlkOiy
— Nansen | Consensus2023 (@nansen_ai) April 25, 2023

Currently, Google Cloud has two product suites for Web3 startups, distinguished by whether the firms have raised funding. Pre-seed companies can receive up to $2,000 Google Cloud credits valid for two years with access to events such as Paris Blockchain Week, Consensus and TOKEN2049 Singapore, where Google will participate.

For seeded startups, benefits include $200,000 over two years for Google Cloud and Firebase usage as well as $12,000 in Google Cloud Enhanced Support credits and 12 months of free Google Workspace Business Plus. Furthermore, Web3 projects, including Aptos, Celo, Flow, HBAR Foundation, Near and Solana Foundation, would provide grants of up to $1 million each in fiat or tokens to such firms.

Seeded firms can also access up to $3 million in funding from Polygon Ventures. Meanwhile, the Base Ecosystem Fund will provide priority reviews for entrepreneurs, while Coinbase Ventures will also introduce them to its listing teams and applicable venture capitalists. Other perks include up to $10,000 in Alchemy credits with VIP support and gasless contract deployment with Thirdweb.

Alex Svanevik, co-founder and CEO of Nansen, commented, “We are able to provide real-time intelligence to level the crypto playing field,” thanks to the partnership with Google Cloud.

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April 8, 2023 Bitcoin.com

LayerZero raises $120M to expand cross-chain messaging efforts

April 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

LayerZero raises 0M to expand cross-chain messaging efforts

Coin Telegraph

The new funds will be used to increase headcount and expand the company’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Cross-chain messaging protocol developer LayerZero Labs has raised another $120 million, according to an Apr. 4 announcement. The company plans to use the capital to increase its headcount and expand its reach into the Asia-Pacific region. The company had previously raised $135 million in March 2022.

pic.twitter.com/mhJgoovYis
— LayerZero Labs (@LayerZero_Labs) April 4, 2023

LayerZero Labs is best known for its cross-chain messaging protocol, LayerZero, which is often used to create asset bridges between blockchain networks. It is also the developer of the Stargate multi-chain bridge.

With the completion of this fundraising round, the company now has a $3 billion valuation. Over 33 investors participated in the latest funding round, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, BOND, Circle Ventures, Christie's, OpenSea Ventures, and Samsung Next.

Ryan Zarick, co-Founder and CTO of LayerZero Labs, said the new fundraise will help to create a multi-chain environment where applications can make the best use of each network’s unique benefits:

Imagine a future where a single user-facing application can harness the speed of Solana, the security of Ethereum, and the cheap file storage of Arweave, while also being fully abstracted to the user.

He continued, "This is our vision, made possible by the LayerZero protocol that seamlessly connects all blockchains and enables chain-agnostic applications to be built across various blockchains to create a best-in-class user experience. The days of choosing one chain to build on are over; the future is omnichain applications."

The issue of securing cross-chain messages has become acute in recent years, as more than $3 billion was stolen from blockchain bridges in 2022, according to a report from Chainanalysis. LayerZero has attempted to solve this problem by using a relayer and oracle to secure messages, where a message is only confirmed if both the relayer and oracle agree that it is valid.

On January 31, LayerZero received 37.58% of the vote to become Uniswap’s bridge protocol for cross-chain governance between Ethereum and BNB Chain, coming in second behind Wormhole. On March 30, Gnosis announced that LayerZero would integrate with its multi-bridge platform, Hashi, to further increase the security of blockchain bridges.

Cointelegraph Accelerator and bitsCrunch Startup Program join to aid NFT projects

April 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Accelerator

Through a new initiative, Cointelegraph Accelerator and the bitsCrunch Startup Program aim to help startups in the NFT data space by providing free data tools.

As nonfungible token (NFT) trading volumes begin to pick up again in Q1 2023 and marketplaces battle it out for a piece of the pie, more projects are coming into the space to assist market actors with infrastructure and analytical tools. And with evidence of wash trading and other abuse by bad actors becoming apparent, there is a demand for forensic tools to aid traders and investors in making informed, financially secure decisions.

Cointelegraph Accelerator is assisting in further developing the NFT sector by teaming up with bitsCrunch’s startup program to help developers and startups in their journey. Through the joint initiative, members will participate in and reap the benefits of both initiatives.

Founded in 2013, Cointelegraph is a long-standing player in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain media. Cointelegraph Accelerator launched in 2023 and works with early-stage Web3 projects to boost their growth by leveraging its access to a native Web3 audience, marketing expertise and a broad network of industry partners.

Working in the field of analytics, bitsCrunch provides NFT data solutions across multiple blockchains, adding transparency to the sector by identifying wash trading and more. In February 2022, bitsCrunch landed $3.6 million in a funding round, thanks to investments from firms such as Coinbase Ventures and Animoca Brands.

The bitsCrunch startup program helps early-stage companies and developers, giving accepted participants free (or low-cost) access to its solutions through its platform and APIs. Additionally, participants receive help from bitCrunch as they navigate its tools and get early access to updates.

The collaboration between the bitsCrunch startup program and Cointelegraph Accelerator will provide synergy as the pipelines of the participating projects will be combined, allowing them fast-track access to the respective partner’s program if they comply with the criteria. Members of the BitsCrunch startup program will also be eligible for media coverage on Cointelegraph through discounted, special media packages.

Startups

A match made in heaven for Web3

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