Unveiling Hyperchain: The New Project of Matter Labs and iCandy

• Matter Labs and iCandy Join Hands for an Advanced Gaming Hyperchain
• Safary Secures $2.4M in Pre-Seed Funding
• Minima Shuts Down Centralized Servers, Now Operates on User Nodes
• Mantle EcoFund Invests $10M in Six DeFi Projects

Matter Labs and iCandy Join Hands for an Advanced Gaming Hyperchain

On January 18th, Matter Labs and iCandy, a Southeast Asian game development company, revealed their strategic partnership to develop a gaming and AI-focused hyperchain, named zkCandy. Their joint initiative aims at creating a gaming platform with AI-specific tools, decentralized gaming infrastructure, and developer resources. To facilitate this, zkCandy Limited will be established, with both firms contributing towards the construction of the hyperchain ecosystem.

Safary Secures $2.4M in Pre-Seed Funding

Web3 Analytics alternative, Safary, announced the successful closure of a $2.4M pre-seed funding round on January 18th. The round was spearheaded by Lemniscap and saw contributions from Arca, SevenX, Big Brain Holdings, Saison Capital, Diaspora Ventures, and 20 angel investors. The fund is set to speed up the development of Safary's marketing attribution platform, providing Web3 teams with the ability to analyze their marketing CAC, channel ROI, and customer LTV. Safary's solution offers powerful Web3 analytics, tracking wallets and Web3 conversions, and linking to on-chain actions.

Minima Shuts Down Centralized Servers, Now Operates on User Nodes

Minima, a layer-1 blockchain known for its total decentralization, has ceased all its 24 centralized servers on January 18th. The network is now powered by 25,000 to 50,000 nodes which are maintained solely by its user base. This significant achievement has been dubbed Decentraday, by the team's head of communications, Luke Edwards.

Mantle EcoFund Invests $10M in Six DeFi Projects

Mantle EcoFund, a $200M ecosystem fund, declared a $10M investment into six Mantle DeFi projects on January 16th. The projects include Merchant Moe, INIT Capital, Butter.xyz, Renzo, and MUFEX. As per MIP-26, funding will amount to $60M USDx (stable coins), 30K ETH, and $120M $MNT to support EcoFund dApps. These projects will incorporate $mETH (the 5th LSD by TVL) and $mUSD, enhancing the Mantle ecosystem's reputation as a yield powerhouse with an excellent native yield offering. According to MIP-24, Mirana Ventures will soon make a $30M capital call for new Mantle projects.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker