ZK Expansion and Continued Nostr Growth

Welcome to Coinfeeds Genesis – your weekly journey into the dynamic and ever-evolving world of crypto. In this newsletter, we strive to be your trusted guide, providing clarity in the highly volatile and uncertain digital markets.

This week, we showcase 10 innovative projects, ranging from smaller startups to larger enterprises, all united in their pursuit of building with the latest technologies and captivating communities across diverse ecosystems and blockchain networks.

Zero-knowledge proofs, a cornerstone in blockchain technology for enhancing privacy and security, are now being applied in innovative ways beyond their traditional use. This trend includes unique implementations like enabling anonymous email-based transactions and identity verification across a variety of platforms and services. These new applications of zero-knowledge proofs highlight the growing flexibility, power, and use cases of cryptography. They provide a more diverse range of privacy-focused solutions, extending the technology's impact from transactional security to broader aspects of digital identity and communications. This evolution signifies a deepening integration of advanced cryptographic techniques into everyday functionalities.

The Nostr ecosystem, which we have previously highlighted has continued to experience significant expansion, broadening its scope from social networking to include a variety of blockchain applications. Nostr's evolution into areas like decentralized finance and asset management illustrates the potential of blockchain to extend its influence beyond its original domains. The expansion of the Nostr ecosystem is an indicator of how blockchain platforms are evolving to meet diverse needs and opening up new avenues for technological innovation and application. To view our previous Nostr ecosystem highlight click here.

Here is a breakdown by sector:

Below is a selection of companies. To see some of our past issues, please go to:

DeFi

Nostr Assets Protocol: A financial protocol that aims to provide a decentralized and secure platform for managing and trading digital assets all built on Nostr, which we have featured in the past. It utilizes blockchain technology to ensure transparency and immutability of transactions. With Nostr Assets Protocol, users can securely store, transfer, and trade various types of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies and tokens, while maintaining full control over their assets. The protocol also offers features like smart contracts and decentralized exchanges to facilitate seamless and efficient asset management and trading.

1 Click USDC: A service that enables the conversion of USDC across different blockchain networks with a single click. Their platform, powered by StrangeLove Labs, is designed for ease of use, allowing users to get native USDC on any chain quickly. They recently announced the official launch of their service with free bridging through their website and have integrated features such as deriving addresses from Metamask for new dYdX chain bridges.

Particle: A decentralized leverage trading protocol that allows users to trade any digital asset, including tokens and NFTs. The protocol is permissionless and accessible to all. Their platform is currently open with a waitlist for the V1 app to unlock leverage trading for a variety of ERC20 tokens. With Particle, users can earn more yield on their digital assets without experiencing higher impermanent loss.

Infrastructure

MEV Watch: A tool designed to monitor the impact of OFAC regulations on Ethereum blocks, particularly focusing on MEV-Boost relays. It provides insights into the extent of transaction censorship in the Ethereum network post-Merge, and features a leaderboard highlighting entities involved in this censorship. The tool aims to promote Ethereum's credible neutrality and inform users about the role of regulation in blockchain transactions.

ZK Email: A platform that enables identity verification and transactions on Ethereum using smart contracts, email, and DNS infrastructure. It offers features such as email wallets for anonymous transfers and transactions on Ethereum, a peer-to-peer marketplace for decentralized on-ramp/off-ramp to Ethereum, and community applications like Proof of Twitter, Proof of Github, and Proof of Domain. ZK Email does not require trusted hardware or attestation servers, relying instead on zero knowledge proofs. The platform provides open source SDKs for design and development, and encourages contributions from the community.

Trading Tools

Candlestick: A platform that provides crypto trading signals and predictions for traders. It offers a range of features including explorer tokens, trader scan, watchlist alerts, and quicktake resources. With real-time opportunities and actionable insights, Candlestick helps traders make informed decisions. It also offers custom alerts and user-friendly smart alerts for all live events and smart money movements. The platform is supported by various blockchains and has received positive feedback from users and industry professionals.

smol compute: A set of privacy-focused trading tools designed specifically for Apple Numbers. It includes the smol Portfolio Tracker, which is a one-time purchase that provides lifetime updates and comes with four different color themes. The smol Formatter allows you to download your trades from various exchanges and instantly reformat the data to a clean, future-proof format that can be easily imported into the smol Portfolio Tracker. The tools also come with detailed documentation and user guides for easy reference. smol compute prioritizes data sovereignty, ensuring that your trading data remains entirely private and under your control.

Ordinals

Gamma.io: A NFT marketplace which specializes in Ordinals. The platform offers a simple interface for artists to produce and trade their work, featuring collections such as "Miami Art Week 2023" and "The Originals." It also includes a marketplace for Ordinals transactions and tools for artists to earn royalties off of their listed collections. The platform emphasizes preserving artists' digital legacies on the Bitcoin blockchain, offering robust support for creators in the NFT space.

Metaverse

Epoch Island: A network state aiming to become the crypto capital of the world. It is a community-driven project that allows individuals to become Islanders by holding the vEPOCH currency. Epoch Island has its own treasury and currency, which can be controlled by the Islanders through voting. The project aims to provide an alternative country for crypto users and creators who face challenges from centralized governments. Epoch Island has undergone multiple security audits and prioritizes the safety of its users.

DAO

Realms: An all-in-one on-chain product designed to help communities thrive on Solana. It offers tools for SolanaDAO creation, voting, and treasury management. Realms supports various types of DAOs, including multisig wallets and NFT-based community DAOs. With Realms, you can customize your governance structure, invite and coordinate members, engage with proposals using NFTs and tokens, allocate the treasury, notify members, and analyze key metrics. Realms also provides integrations with popular platforms like Mango, Marinade, Cardinal, and more. Powered by SPL Governance, Realms offers near-zero fees and flexibility for all types of DAOs on Solana.