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Welcome to the latest edition of the Weekly Pulse, a weekly Algorand news wrap-up segment presented by Algopulse. As ever, we welcome your feedback so if there is anything you would like us to add, please let us know on Twitter, Discord, or Telegram.
ClimateTrade partners with KryptoNurd to produce carbon-negative NFT series
Blockchain carbon offsetting protocol ClimateTrade has announced a partnership this week with Algorand influencer KryptoNurd to certify a series of carbon-negative NFTs minted on Algorand. The object of the joint venture will be to offset more than 6,000 tons of carbon dioxide through the sale of over 580 NFTs. The community will then be given the opportunity to vote on which offsetting project the carbon credits are allocated to with options including forestry initiatives in Perú, Colombia, Nicaragua, or the Congo, and the provision of solar cookers to refugees in Chad.
“The series will raise environmental awareness and engage the collectors by allowing the Algorand community to choose which ClimateTrade carbon offsetting projects are funded via a series of Twitter polls,” said Monty Allen, aka the KryptoNurd.
“By introducing a collectible NFT series that is vibrant and fun, while also being environmentally friendly, we connect the best of both worlds.”
“It is crucial to expand and raise climate change awareness to a broader reach,” said CEO of ClimateTrade Francisco Benedito.
“This partnership with KryptoNurd gives us a chance to generate consciousness and engage with NFT collectors and investors — a group that is growing exponentially. This is a great opportunity to push forward and democratize environmental and social impact actions in the tech world.”
ePioneers receive Algorand Foundation grant
The Algorand Foundation has this week announced the climate wallet project ePioneers as the latest recipients of its grant. ePioneers is building the world’s first climate wallet as well as a marketplace that allows users to invest and trade climate portfolios built on the Algorand blockchain.
“We want to make our nature, everyone’s nature, increasing the chances of wanting to protect it and fund restoration efforts in the region,” said ePioneers CEO Ilana Milkes.
“Countries like Brazil and Colombia are not only the most biodiverse regions in the world but can play an unprecedented role in our race to NetZero targets and Climate Tech Innovation. Latin America is the natural place for biotech and climate tech to thrive.”
“The Algorand network is built on an innovative, low-power consumption, Pure Proof-of-Stake consensus protocol,” said Algorand Foundation CEO Sean Lee.
“Our low energy, low carbon footprint approach is a core feature of the Algorand network. Algorand is the optimal choice for innovators such as ePioneers who wish to build in a sustainable way. Adoption of blockchain technology doesn’t have to come at a cost to sustainability and the environment.”
Algorand partners with STASIS Sellback
Euro-backed stable coin STASIS has announced a partnership with the Algorand Foundation this week. STASIS is a crypto-enabler platform that aggregates solutions from licensed financial intermediates to provide an institutional-grade link between the decentralized finance world and the off-chain market.
Currently, EURS is the largest stablecoin pegged to the Euro and ranks in the top ten of all stablecoins globally, accumulating over 70,000 users around the world. EURS’ stablecoin reserves have also reached almost 100 million euros.
The partnership means users will be able to buy EURS on Algorand directly through fiat currency on Sellback as well as support DeFi apps on Algorand.
The partnership will also allow STASIS to capitalize on the corporate settlement opportunities.
Algorand Foundation partners with Blockchain Association Singapore
Algorand Foundation has this week agreed a partnership with Blockchain Association Singapore, which was announced during the 2021 annual Singapore Blockchain Day. The primary objective of the partnership is to help facilitate the continued growth of the blockchain industry in Singapore with Algorand Foundation providing awareness, support application development, and the exploration of opportunities for innovation in the country. This partnership will also see both organizations harness each other’s experience and network within the industry, fostering greater collaboration for the advancement of blockchain technology.
“We are honored to be able to play our part through this partnership to drive the development of blockchain technology within Singapore and the region,” said Algorand Foundation COO Jason Lee.
“We look forward to leveraging on the extensive network that BAS has built up for mutual sharing of knowledge and information for the progression of the blockchain industry. We are looking forward to the road ahead as we work hand in hand with BAS and its members as we move toward a sustainable industry, built on next-generation blockchains, such as Algorand.”
“We are grateful to have been given this opportunity to work with an industry leader like the Algorand Foundation to accelerate blockchain innovation and acceptance in
this region,” said BAS Co-Chairman Chia Hock Lai.
“We believe that our network and greater blockchain ecosystem will benefit from the foundation’s vast experience and research in blockchain-related matters. This collaboration further cements our resolve to cultivate and foster a robust local blockchain ecosystem.”
C3 Protocol completes $3.5 mil USD seed round raise
Algorand-based cross-chain bridge C3 Protocol has this week completed a $3.6 mil USD seed round with investment secured with Arrington Capital, Jump Capital, Golden Tree Asset Management, Cumberland, ParaFi Capital, Mechanism Capital, Borderless Capital, Node Capital, and Digital Currency Group (the parent company of CoinDesk).
C3 focuses on creating a new layer for using collateral and margin across different blockchains, starting out by connecting collateral management between Algorand and Ethereum, with a view to do the same with Algorand and Solana.
“The way Ethereum DeFi was built, every team tackled a separate vertical such as lending and borrowing, perpetuals, or DEXs,” said C3 founder Michel Dahdah.
“But having all these different financial products isolated in terms of how they manage collateral makes it impossible for them to cross margin, meaning the collateral you’re using to borrow money for shorting, for example, can’t be used to also open a long position in a perpetual financial product.”
Algorand Foundation award grant to Entheos
Data compliance project Entheos has been announced as a new grant recipient for the Algorand Foundation. The partnership will see the two companies collaborate on producing a blockchain-powered product for Governance of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
“Algorand is the maximum expression of what happens when excellence, uniqueness, scientific, and technological genius are combined with the desire to share, to cooperate, to help progress accessible to all,” said Entheos General Manager Serena Parisi.
“This makes Algorand unattainable by any competitor, from all points of view.”
‘We are delighted to welcome Entheos to the Algorand ecosystem,” said Addie Wagenknecht of the Algorand Foundation.
“This partnership showcases the true power of blockchain and how Algorand can support many different use cases. The Entheos platform already produces an audit trail of all operations performed by an organization. With this grant award, Entheos can go a step further, providing greater security for organizations, ensuring GDPR compliance as information is shared, stored, and publicly available on the Algorand blockchain.”
NFT Marketplace Zestbloom to launch imminently
New Algorand-based NFT marketplace Zestbloom is set to launch this week. The Zestbloom platform will provide a marketplace for artists and collectors to exchange NFTs, leveraging Algorand’s native benefits as well as its own custom algorithm that scores artwork based on originality. It has been set up with a user-friendly interface, allowing collectors to easily search for artwork using categories and tags. It is also incredibly straightforward for artists to mint new NFTs on the platform.
Yieldly Finance announces $5 mil USD investment in e-sports brand Talon
Yieldly Finance has announced investment in Hong Kong based e-sports and entertainment brand Talon as part of its ongoing strategy to drive growth around NFT-based competitive gaming. Talon is one of the fastest-growing teams in the Asia-Pacific region, with millions of fans globally. The deal will see Yieldly support the brand by providing $5 million USD in equity capital from its Series A financing round.
“Together with our strategic partners and investors, I’m very excited to be entering the next chapter of Talon’s journey,” said Talon CEO Sean Zhang.
“We will continue to add to the trophy cabinet while building an entertainment and culture platform that will allow us to connect ever more deeply with our fans. We are also extremely excited to leverage cutting-edge technology alongside Animoca Brands to develop new ways to engage with fans.”
“We couldn’t be happier to be supporting one of the hottest e-sports brands out there,” said Yieldly CEO Sebastian Quinn.
“E-sports has so much potential to grow from DeFi. Gamers are logically going to be early adopters of interesting new technologies, and things like NFTs are the perfect medium for both promotion and merchandising. Yieldly is already proud to be the top development space on Algorand, and we know that working with organizations like Talon will be key in bringing in a whole new generation of fans.”
Thank you for reading this week’s edition of the Weekly Pulse as we look forward to continue bringing this content to the Algorand Community. Was there anything that we missed? If so let us know on Twitter, Discord, or Telegram where you can also send us any news you see throughout next week for our next installment.
Please be aware that next week’s edition of the Weekly Pulse will be interrupted by our coverage of Decipher. Be sure to tune into our channels for extensive content from the event.
