Today in Crypto: Decred Launches Social Media & Messaging Platform, Opera Announces a Suite of Security Features, T-Systems MMS Participates in Chainlink Staking

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Social media news

• Decred (DCR) announced the launch of Bison Relay, described as a “private, censorship-resistant social media and messaging platform that gives users custody over their data.” Per the announcement, the platform offers “zero knowledge communications” with end-to-end encryption, server operators can’t see what users share or which chats they participate in, and users can monetize their content using the built-in Lightning Network.

Security news

• Opera announced the launch of Web3 Guard – a suite of browser security features designed to make web browsing safer for crypto users, said an announcement. Some of the main components of Web3 Guard include Dapp Check, Seed Phrase Phishing Check, and Malicious Address Checker.
• Blockchain security provider OpenZeppelin announced a new Metaverse Security service with The Sandbox, a decentralized gaming virtual world and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, meant to help protect metaverse protocols from hacks and exploits. Per a press release, “the new service involves OpenZeppelin applying its real-time monitoring suite and broadcast alerts for potential threats and anomalies, while also providing routine codebase analysis and strengthening smart contract security.”

Web3 news

• T-Systems MMS, a part of Deutsche Telekom, announced its participation in Chainlink Staking. Per the press release, with this move, T-Systems MMS can help facilitate the real-world adoption and advancement of blockchains as it continues its support for decentralized infrastructure. It already supports Web3 by running a Chainlink node.
• Smart contract blockchain BNB Chain said it concluded its European Innovation Incubator with the announcement of its top three winners: Wallchain, Cashmere Labs, Cora Protocol, Vyper Protocol, AltLayer, Realfevr, and Mummy.io. Over 520 projects registered within Europe, with 31 teams selected to participate in the program, said the announcement.
• Web3 data provider Covalent announced its partnership with multichain Ethereum scaling solution SKALE. Its goal is to support development in the Ethereum appchain (application-specific blockchain) ecosystem “by combining SKALE’s leading network of gas-free app-chains with Covalent’s rich, granular, historical data at no cost,” said the press release.

DeFi news

• Curve announced it would soon be integrating with zkSync‘s 2.0 mainnet. “This matters because it incentivizes liquidity to the ecosystem, users have a place to efficiently trade stablecoins, and enables new projects to be built on top,” said an announcement.
• THORChain, a non-custodial decentralized native asset protocol that enables wallets, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), and users to transfer their digital assets across blockchains, has completed its integration with Trust Wallet, a self-custodial and multi-chain wallet provider. Per the announcement, THORChain is now a cross-chain swap provider in the Trust Wallet app on Android, while the support for cross-chain swaps on iOS will be released in the following days.
• RockX, a staking solution and institutional-grade blockchain access node provider, partnered with the decentralized Ethereum staking infrastructure ssv.network to integrate Distributed Key Generation (DKG) and Resharing Protocol into ssv.network’s Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) solution. According to an announcement, “set to launch in the first half of 2023, this will be the first comprehensive DVT solution that addresses security issues posed by the updated Ethereum blockchain, while also encouraging decentralisation across the network.”

Gaming news

• Trivians, a crypto-powered trivia gaming platform, announced the official launch of its no-investment play-and-earn app. “Players can enjoy a diversity of knowledge-based games and trivia buffs get rewarded with Trivian Tokens (Trivia) for every correct answer,” it said. Quizzes and word puzzles take the form of live broadcasts, single-player and massive multiplayer battles royale, instant play, and scheduled tournaments, it added.

Investment news

• Spaceport, a Web3 licensing protocol that allows monetization of intellectual property, announced $3.6 million in pre-seed funding led by Arca, Decasonic, and CRIT Ventures, the venture capital arm of publicly-traded game developer Com2Us, with participation from Cozomo De Medici, Diaspora Ventures, Infinity Ventures Crypto, FBG Capital, Nextview Ventures, Republic Asia, and Valhalla Ventures. The team plans to use the funds for new hires, partnerships with IP holders, and work towards a public launch of their products, said the announcement.