Starknet monthly recap #12: June

Welcome to the 12th edition of my monthly recap (it's already been a year 🥳), where I bring you the most important updates and developments from the Starknet ecosystem.

A lot happened this month, so hang on! 😎

📣 Important news of the month

🔹 Starknet Over Bitcoin

The big news of the month is StarkWare's plan to scale Bitcoin with STARK proof, making Starknet the first Layer 2 to scale both Ethereum and Bitcoin simultaneously! While this is an exciting news, it's important to note that the implementation will require the adoption of OP_CAT (a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal). StarkWare, among others, will push for this adoption in the coming months.

For more details, check out the official announcement here.

🔹 Fees on Starknet: 100x Cheaper than Ethereum

To illustrate the potential benefits Starknet can bring to Bitcoin, consider its impact on Ethereum: transactions on Starknet are over 100 times cheaper for users while maintaining the full security of Ethereum!

🔹 Updated Roadmap

After extensive community feedback, Starknet has updated its roadmap to fully focus on UX/DevX improvements in the coming months.

🔹 Hyperlane is Coming to Starknet

Thanks to the efforts of Pragma, Hyperlane, a solution that greatly facilitates blockchain interoperability, is currently being integrated into the Starknet ecosystem!

🔹 Pyth Now Available for Starknet Appchains

Pyth's real-time price feeds (over 500) are now available for appchain builders via Karnot! This integration will provide valuable data for developers and enhance the capabilities of Starknet appchains 💅 

📢 Starknet Ecosystem Update

🔹 Nimbora is Shipping

Nimbora has launched two new strategies, allowing users to farm simultaneously:

• 29% APR - Eigen Layer points, Ether Fi points, & Nimbora points

• 41% APR - Eigen Layer points, Puffer points, & Nimbora points

All this from Starknet, with just one click and for only $0.002 in gas fees ⚡

To farm on Nimbora, you need a code. If you don’t have one yet, you can use mine to receive a 20% bonus on your generation points 👀

🔹 Ledger Now Live on Starknet

Braavos and Argent users can now enjoy the security provided by Ledger directly from Starknet! Here’s how to do so:

• Argent setup Guide

• Braavos setup Guide

🔹 Influence Game Live on Starknet Mainnet

After more than three years of dedicated development by a truly passionate team, Influence, a fully on-chain MMO, is now live on Starknet mainnet! It's undoubtedly one of the most exciting and comprehensive fully on-chain games to date. Thanks to Argent's Session Key and Web Wallet, the game offers an immersion comparable to web2 experiences. Influence is the first game powered by these two innovative features:

• Session Keys: Allow players to interact in the game without needing to sign a transaction for every interaction.

• Web Wallet: Enables interactions on Starknet using just an email address.

It's time to buidl, mine, trade, explore, and strategize! Dive into the game and enjoy fam!

🔹 Token Launches and Airdrops

Four new tokens, along with their airdrops, have been launched on Starknet:

• NSTR: The token of Nostra, Starknet's leading Money Market, which also offers an AMM and aims to develop a super app.

• ZKX: The token of the appchain entirely dedicated to perpetual trading.

• Sway: The token of Influence, the galactic gaming project.

• CARM: The token of Carmine Finance, an options protocol.

Speaking of airdrops, you can also claim your entire zkLend airdrop now here!

🔹 Grugs Lair Accelerates!

After securing 6M LORDS tokens, Grugs Lair has announced a pre-seed round led by PTC Crypto, with participation from StarkWare, Cartridge, and CK69!

🔹 Recipients of the Propulsion Program Foundation

The Starknet Foundation recently announced the projects that are eligible to receive grants from the Propulsion Program. This initiative, with a budget of $20M, aims to accelerate gaming adoption on Starknet 🕹️ 

20 projects have been selected to be part of it! Each project can receive up to $1 million, depending on the gas usage of their games on Mainnet.

🔹 Alpha Zone 💅

This month, we've seen everal exciting new projects building on Starknet 👇️ 

• DOPP: A Starknet appchain fully focused on options trading

• Starkbot: A bot that allows users to trade and interact on Starknet directly from Telegram.

• For all diggers, you can also check out the finalists from the latest StarkHack hackathon – they could be the future stars of Starknet 👀

In term of Mainnet, four projects have launched:

• Influence: The long-awaited galactic game.

• Starkarcade (gaming hub) launched a new game: a fully on-chain Tetris

• ArkChain: A permissionless aggregated layer for digital assets built by Ark, now live in its alpha version

• Jockiz: A fusion of horse racing and NFT gaming on StarkEx

Finally, on the Testnet side 👇️ 

• Raize Club: A prediction market.

• zKlash: A medieval auto-battler.

• Dope Wars: A recreation of the cult classic drug wars game.

📰 Some of the Best Content of the Month

🔹 Starknet Over Bitcoin: ELI5

Starknet over Bitcoin is exciting, but what does it really mean? Mister Henri explains it in simple terms 🤓 

🔹 Transaction Parallelization is coming: but WTF is This?

Transaction Parallelization is another exciting feature (everything is exciting around Starknet 😏), but what exactly is it? Here is an easy explanation 💅 

🔹 Opportunities on Starknet

There are huge and juicy opportunities on Starknet for liquidity providers. Here’s a quick recap of the best ones 🧑‍🌾 

🔹 DeFi Spring

The opportunities mentioned above largely come from the DeFi Spring program. The good news is that DeFi Spring 2.0 is coming! Here’s what DeFi Spring is, its impact, and what’s coming next ⚡️ 

🔹 Realms Leveling Up

If you want to stay updated on the latest happenings in the Realms ecosystem (a gaming ecosystem on Starknet), be sure to regularly read the Herald newsletter. The latest edition covers significant Eternum progress (the flagship game of Realms), the ten ecosystem projects selected for the Foundation's Propulsion program, and much more ✍️ 

🔹 Why Starknet Will Soon Be So Back

No blabla, just alpha 💎 

🔹 Gaming Noobing Session with Marijke

If you want to start your gaming adventure on Starknet, there’s no better way than following the tutorials of the gaming queen, Marijke 👑 

• Pistols at 10 Blocks game

• Paved

• Influence

None of the content of this newsletter is financial advice. Always do your own research.

Thank you for reading, and see you in July for the next monthly recap. ⏳