vETH and vUSD are natively yield-bearing tokens available on the Cronos zkEVM network. Good news for all those holding vETH and/or vUSD, you can claim your yield rewards on this webpage starting today!

To ensure you have all the information you need, here are some frequently asked questions.

What is Cronos zkEVM?

Cronos zkEVM is a next generation zero-knowledge Layer 2 focused on scalability, security and innovation. It hosts natively yield-generating cryptocurrencies such as vETH and vUSD, powered by Veno Finance, which can be used across the Cronos zkEVM ecosystem. In addition to token yield, you can also earn loyalty points through the Cronos zkEVM Pioneer Program.

How can I earn rewards?

You can earn rewards from the yield collected by your vETH and vUSD tokens, with rewards accrued on a daily basis. To collect your rewards, you need to claim them every once in a while, for example every month. If you have deposited your vETH or vUSD into a dapp on Cronos zkEVM, the dapp will receive the rewards and may choose to distribute the rewards to their users and/or token holders in varying proportions.

Where can I see my rewards?

All rewards can be viewed on the Cronos zkEVM Rewards page. Pending rewards are accumulated daily, but they only become claimable after a few days.

On the Rewards page, you can track both your immediately claimable vETH and vUSD rewards, and the other pending rewards.

How can I claim my rewards?

On the Rewards page, head to the “Yield you earned” section. You can claim the rewards that are available for immediate claiming.

Pending rewards become claimable after Cronos zkEVM has finalized at least 5 transaction batches on the Ethereum network, which can take a variable amount of time depending on network traffic. On average it takes 4 to 7 days.

Do I also need to claim zkCRO rewards?

No. The native yield rewards generated by zkCRO become available directly to zkCRO token holders as the zkCRO/CRO exchange rate changes over time. The number of CRO tokens that can be redeemed for each zkCRO token varies to reflect not just the value of the underlying CRO staked originally, but also the accumulated rewards.

To mark the launch of Cronos zkEVM "alpha" mainnet, we are thrilled to announce Mainnet Missions as part of the Cronos zkEVM Pioneer Program, the revolutionary rewards initiative designed to supercharge the most active and loyal #CROFam champions. 

Visit Mainnet Missions at: https://zkevm.cronos.org/missions

What is the Pioneer Program?

In a nutshell, the Pioneer Program is a loyalty program that makes it possible for you to accumulate loyalty points when you perform eligible actions on the Cronos zkEVM mainnet, and subsequently to redeem these points to unlock rewards over time.

The Pioneer Program is the third layer of Cronos zkEVM's "triple yield" value proposition which allows you to put your crypto to work and to extract as much APR as possible from it:

• the first layer is the staking APR of liquid staked cryptocurrencies such as zkCRO, vETH and vUSD;

• the second layer is the DeFi yield generated by decentralized applications;

• and the third layer consists in the loyalty points accumulated by users when they complete ecosystem quests, which can be claimed to unlock additional rewards.

With the Pioneer Program's Mainnet Missions, you will be able to increase your point balance by completing mainnet quests. These points can be redeemed to earn a new level of yield from your crypto in the coming weeks.

Program Duration

This first season of Mainnet Missions will run for 8 to 12 weeks, starting today on 15 Aug 2024. The actual end date will be announced in mid September. 

How to Earn Points

If you have already participated in Tethys Testnet quests or Cronos zkEVM Passage, then you probably have some points already. Now, it's time to take your points to the next level. 

To unlock your full earning potential, be sure to engage with Cronos zkEVM on social media, connect your wallet to the network and complete the missions listed at https://zkevm.cronos.org/missions. 

New missions will be posted regularly, please check in frequently!

Additionally, Cronos zkEVM has partnered with trailblazing ecosystem partners to bring you even more opportunities to earn points! At launch, get ready to interact daily with these dapps - every day, you can potentially collect more points:

• H2 Finance: decentralized exchange

• Ebisu's Bay: NFT marketplace and decentralized exchange

• Fulcrom Finance: perpetual trading platform

• Puush Fun: memecoin launchpad

• Wolfswap: DEX Aggregator

• Marswap: decentralized exchange

• XY Finance: cross-chain bridge

• RhinoFi: cross-chain bridge

Some tasks will increase your point balance on a daily basis, while others will be refreshed weekly, or only at the end of this season, or only if you exceed a minimum volume of interactions. Just use the chain and get a sense of which actions are contributing to your point balance!

As the ecosystem continues to grow, new partners will join the Cronos zkEVM Pioneer Program, unlocking even more opportunities to earn points. Stay tuned to the Cronos Twitter account and blog to be among the first to know about new partnerships.

Track Your Progress

You can monitor your point balance as it gets refreshed over time. Visit  https://zkevm.cronos.org/leaderboard.

What can you do with the Points? 

At the end of this season of Mainnet Missions, your point balance will be converted into a total reward balance, consisting of various amounts of participating cryptocurrencies. For example, your total reward balance may include a certain number of zkCRO tokens and various tokens of ecosystem projects.

The Pioneer Program's reward pool already includes more than 5,000,000 ZK tokens which were allocated by the ZK Nation's recent airdrop (for all seasons).

Your reward balance will not be airdropped to you in one go. Instead, your total reward balance will vest over time, which means that the reward mechanism will unlock a certain portion of the tokens every week. The higher your asset balance on Cronos zkEVM in the coming weeks and months, the faster you can expect your rewards to be unlocked.

You will then be able to visit a dedicated web page (to be announced later) where you can claim any tokens that have already been unlocked.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to supercharge your cryptos on Cronos zkEVM!

FAQs

1. What is the Cronos zkEVM Pioneer Program?

The Cronos zkEVM Pioneer Program is a rewards initiative designed to recognize and reward the most active and engaged community members of Cronos zkEVM. By completing various activities on Cronos zkEVM, users can earn points that translate into extra yield for their crypto assets.

2. Is the Cronos zkEVM Pioneer Program open to everyone?

Yes, the program is open to all users who complete the required activities on Cronos zkEVM. However, the program's has the discretion to disqualify suspected bots and other inauthentic users. Do not create multiple wallet addresses to participate in the program, as this could result in the complete removal of your point accumulation potential.

3. Where can I find the list of tasks to be completed?

Please visit https://zkevm.cronos.org/missions. As new projects join the program, more tasks will be published. So, check in frequently, and be sure to read the details of which tasks must be completed every day, every week, or less frequently in order to maximize your point potential. For more documentation about the Cronos zkEVM network, please visit https://zkevm-docs.cronos.org.

4. How do I track my progress and point balance?

You can track your point balance and activities in real-time through the program's dashboard to be published at https://zkevm.cronos.org/leaderboard.

5. How will the rewards be distributed?

The rewards will be distributed in the form of extra yield on your crypto, in a combination of zkCRO and respective dapp tokens. The program will provide more details regarding the distribution process closer to this season's end date.

Cronos and Revolut have teamed up to bring crypto education to the masses with the new Cronos Learn course, now available on the Revolut app. This initiative is designed to simplify and secure the process of managing everyone’s crypto portfolio, offering an engaging way to explore the world of Cronos, crypto, and Web3.

The course is tailored for users to gain a deeper understanding of how Cronos operates, enabling them to confidently embark on their crypto journey. It also includes quizzes to test newfound knowledge and reinforce learning.

As Revolut is one of the largest fintechs in Europe, with more than 35 million retail customers across 50+ countries, the Cronos Learn course represents a significant milestone on Cronos’ journey towards mainstream adoption of Web3.

Course Contents

The Cronos Learn course includes three chapters:

• What is Cronos ? The technology, the ecosystem, how to get started.

• What is DeFi ? The value proposition of decentralized finance and how to get started.

• What is Web3 Gaming ? An overview of NFTs and what makes blockchain games unique.

How to Get Started

To begin their crypto education with Cronos on Revolut, users should follow these simple steps:

1. Download or Update the App: Ensure they have the latest version of the Revolut app installed for Android or Apple

2. Navigate to Crypto: Open the app and tap on "Crypto" in the bottom menu.

3. Discover and Learn: Tap "Discover" and scroll to find the "Learn" section.

4. Choose and Learn: Select the Cronos course.

5. Take the Quiz: Complete the quiz to solidify their understanding and test their knowledge.

This partnership between Cronos and Revolut marks a significant step towards making cryptocurrency more accessible and mainstream. By integrating educational resources directly into the Revolut app, users can now take control of their crypto investments with greater confidence and ease.

For more information, read the Revolut blog post here.

About Cronos

Cronos (cronos.org) is a leading blockchain ecosystem that has partnered with Crypto.com and more than 500 application developers and contributors representing an addressable user base of more than a hundred million people around the world. Cronos' mission is to make it easy and safe for the next billion crypto users to adopt self-custody in Web3, with a focus on Decentralized Finance and Gaming.

The Cronos universe encompasses 3 chains: Cronos EVM, the leading Ethereum-compatible blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK; Cronos POS, a leading Cosmos chain for payments and NFTs; and Cronos zkEVM, a new high performance layer 2 network secured by Ethereum.

Cronos ranks among the top 15 blockchain ecosystems, encompassing more than 6 billion dollars of user assets. Since inception, it has securely settled more than 100 million transactions.

Transaction fees are paid in Cronos ($CRO), a blue chip cryptocurrency.

Cronos is supported by Cronos Labs, a Web3 start-up accelerator focused on DeFi, GameFi, and the development of the Cronos ecosystem.

In Q2 2022, we kicked off the Cronos Ecosystem Spotlight Series — a series of interview articles covering projects that are building on the Cronos Chain.

Today, we are excited to feature Cronos Chimp Club, one of the earliest NFT projects that launched on Cronos and has grown and developed several innovative products since its inception.

Let’s dive right in!

Can you share more about Cronos Chimp Club and the team behind the project?

Cronos Chimp Club is the blue chip NFT on the Cronos Chain, with the first in-built marketplace. The collection features 10,000 uniquely generated Chimps from over 140 possible traits, making each Chimp a unique piece. 

This project started with a team of extremely talented artists, and hard-at-work (or hardly working) wild jungle chimpanzees. Later, we were joined by wild Chimps from the community, who became our  very dedicated community moderators, constantly uniting and engaging with each other. Together, we built a vibrant community on Cronos, a family where every Chimpion feels at home. 

What are the reasons someone on Cronos would want to get a Cronos Chimp NFT?

Acquiring a Cronos Chimp NFT is a gateway to endless possibilities. Beyond the exclusivity and vibrant community activities, Chimp owners also own the intellectual property of their NFT. This means that everyone who owns a Chimp can let their creativity flow, and make dope stuff with their Chimp’s art—be it merchandise or digital content.

The Chimp NFT is not just an asset; it’s a source of inspiration and a canvas of creativity for all its owners. Coupled with being a part of the bluechip NFT community on the Cronos Chain, owning a Chimp becomes an integral part of your identity on the Cronos Chain. 

Cronos Chimp Club has been live on Cronos mainnet since late 2022. How has your growth been since then?

Since our launch in November 2021, the journey has been nothing short of incredible. We’ve focused on constantly finding new ways to engage our community members, making every moment on the platform a fun adventure.

The growth we’ve experienced is a testament to the strength and passion of our community. Our dedication to the project has made us a cornerstone of the Cronos NFT scene. 

What have you launched recently, and what can the Cronos and your community look forward to in the coming months?

We recently launched the Chimpay x Scroll season, which allows our community members to stake their Chimps and earn Bananas. Bananas can be redeemed for merchandise, or to unlock unique lore Scrolls that contribute to our collective narrative.

The team is looking forward to unravelling these Scrolls together with our community, which will form a fractional NFT at the end of the season and be awarded to the best players. Disclaimer, Bananas function solely on our website and are not tokens. The team is committed to ensuring that Cronos Chimp Club remains a vibrant and engaging platform for our NFT holders.

Why did you choose Cronos as the chain to launch on?

Choosing the Cronos Chain was a strategic decision for the team. We aimed to be pioneers, bringing good art and adventures that are designed for the masses, and Cronos’ vision aligned with ours: massively scaling web3. Launching on Cronos has been an absolute adventure, and we’re proud to be here. 

For a user new to Cronos Chimp Club, where can they learn more about your project and get started?

For anyone interested in joining our adventures, the best place to start is our website, where you can learn everything about the project, purchase your very own Chimp from our marketplace, and even start contributing to Scrolls!

Joining our Discord is also a must for connecting with fellow Chimp holders, participating in holders-only events, and immersing in a bunch of fun and good vibes.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter/X for the latest updates. We are excited to welcome you to this adventure, #Chimpsroamtogether.

The Cronos Ecosystem Spotlight is a series of interview articles covering projects that are building on the Cronos Chain.

Today, we are excited to feature CorgiAI, a community-based memecoin project on Cronos that leverages AI to gamify its ecosystem of products.

Let’s dive right in!

Can you give an introduction about Corgi AI to CROfam that may be unfamiliar to you?

CorgiAI is a community-based memecoin project that was created with cutting-edge AI technology. Our primary objective is to bring joy and happiness to Cronos and beyond. We believe in the transformative power of AI and its ability to revolutionize how we play, connect, and engage with crypto. Through the CorgiAI Social Club, we aim to unlock the limitless potential of AI, leveraging its capabilities to create a vibrant and dynamic ecosystem.

Central to our community is the G.O.A.L mantra, which stands for Get Out And Live! We understand that our daily lives can become monotonous, filled with work, chores, and obligations. That's why we empower our talented club members to break free from these traditional boundaries and immerse themselves in a stylish atmosphere that fosters collaboration, innovation, and personal growth.

So, whether you're an experienced crypto enthusiast or new to the world of digital assets, we invite you to join us on this exciting journey. Together, let's harness the power of AI, elevate the way we engage with crypto, and ultimately, make a positive impact on the world around us.

What inspired your team to use a Corgi as the mascot for your dApp?

The decision to use a Corgi as the mascot for our dApp was driven by a desire to establish a distinctive and meme-oriented brand that resonates deeply with the GenZ community. As the primary owners in this new and rising economy, we needed to connect with this vibrant generation in a meaningful way.

Corgis, with their inherent qualities of happiness, intelligence, and playfulness, perfectly embodies the spirit of our community. These adorable dogs have captured the hearts of many, becoming a symbol of joy and positivity. By using Corgi as the mascot, we aim to evoke these same feelings of delight and lightheartedness within our community and tap into this meme-oriented culture to create a relatable and engaging brand identity.

CorgiAI has been live on Cronos mainnet for a few months. How has your growth been over the past year?

CorgiAI has experienced remarkable growth and garnered significant traction within the crypto community. We owe this success to the unwavering support of our loyal WoofGang and the broader crypto and #CROfam community who have been with us from the very beginning. We are proud to announce that CorgiAI has risen to become a top 10 memecoin in terms of market cap. This accomplishment fills us with immense pride and gratitude for our beloved hodlers. 

Expanding our horizons beyond Cronos, we have also successfully launched on Ethereum and Solana. By extending our presence to multiple chains, we aim to share the playfulness and joy of CorgiAI with a wider audience, enabling even more individuals to engage with our vibrant community. We have also organized a series of exciting community events and product releases which not only fostered a strong sense of belonging in the WoofGang but have successfully grown our community size by 7X.

What are the interesting upcoming features or products that you guys will be launching?

The first thing to kick off this incredible 2024 is the Corgi Cre8r — a cutting-edge text-to-image AI image generator designed to empower users to create truly unique and captivating artwork. Users will put on the creative hat and generate one-of-a-kind images based on any text prompts they can imagine. They will also be able to share the uniqueness and the joy of AI creation by minting the art piece into NFT, sharing it with their friends, and trading it in exchange.

But that's not all — we have even more exhilarating plans in store for the year ahead. Our team is hard at work developing new features and enhancements to elevate your experience in CorgiAI. So stay tuned and be prepared for what's to come, as we continue to push the boundaries of AI-driven creativity and provide you with even more tools to express yourself and share your artistic journey!

We will be launching the first Corgi Cre8r mint at the end of January, stay tuned!

For a user new to CorgiAI, where can they learn more about your project and get started?

We invite you to explore our vibrant and engaging website, which showcases a visually stunning design and a playful atmosphere.

To learn more about our project, check out our whitepaper and our Gitbook documentation

Last but not least, you are strongly encouraged to join our discord and X to collaborate and chat with our fellow delightful Corgis.

Hong Kong, December 14, 2023 - Cronos Labs, the web3 start-up accelerator focusing on DeFi, GameFi, and the development of the Cronos ecosystem, announced today the launch of Cronos zkEVM Chain testnet, a zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup blockchain network that represents a significant milestone on Cronos' journey towards scalability and mainstream adoption. The testnet is a hyperchain using ZK Stack, launched in a partnership between Cronos Labs, Matter Labs, the team behind zkSync, and engineering teams from Crypto.com, VVS Finance, Fulcrom Finance and Veno Finance.

With an addressable user base of more than 80 million crypto holders around the world, Cronos is on a mission to make it easy and safe for the next billion crypto users to adopt self-custodial Web3, DeFi, NFTs and GameFi.

Ken Timsit, Managing Director of Cronos Labs, said: "The Cronos ecosystem already includes a top 10 blockchain by Total Value Locked, a top 5 Cosmos network by staked amount, a top 30 cryptocurrency, and a major EVM-compatible app ecosystem with more than 500 projects. More remains to be done in order to prepare for the next wave of Web3 adoption. The Cronos zkEVM testnet represents an opportunity for Cronos Labs and our partners, including VVS, Fulcrom and Veno, to experiment with ZK layer 2 technology in order to prepare the next phase of growth starting in 2024. Other Cronos apps are warmly invited to join the testnet."

“When we introduced the ZK Stack, we opened up the door for anyone wanting to build on top of Ethereum to do so by deploying hyperchains. Whether you’re building a specialized Rollup or a general purpose one, hyperchains allow you to tap into Ethereum’s extensive userbase base and liquidity while preserving its robust security and decentralization”, said Marco Cora, senior vice president of business and operations at Matter Labs. “We’re extremely excited to see Cronos deploying a hyperchain. With their extensive and diverse ecosystem of millions of users as well as the impressive financial value stored on-chain, they will be a great use case for the mass adoption of hyperchains.”

First live public hyperchain testnet building on ZK Stack

The Cronos zkEVM testnet is a zero-knowledge layer 2 roll-up network on top of Ethereum Sepolia testnet, meaning that it is secured by the Ethereum testnet both from a final settlement and a data availability standpoint. 

It uses the latest Boojum STARK-based zero-knowledge proof system, which in addition to its  ability to run on GPUs with as little as 16 GB of RAM, boasts amongst the lowest fees of any layer 2 rollup, with further cost optimizations planned in the near future.

The network uses TCRO, a testnet version of the $CRO cryptocurrency of the Cronos ecosystem, as its native token to pay for transaction fees, but it can also support fee payment in any cryptocurrency thanks to zkSync's native account abstraction implemented at the protocol level.

This is the first live public testnet utilizing ZK Stack,  a modular, open-source framework leveraging zkSync’s code, that is designed to build custom ZK-powered L2s and L3s (referred to as hyperchains). Hyperchains are fractal-like instances of zkEVM networks running in parallel and with a common settlement on the Ethereum mainnet.In 2024, hyperchains will adopt a shared native bridge to Ethereum mainnet as well as unified interchain messaging, which will make it possible for users to send tokens, messages or transactions across hyperchains while benefiting from the security of the Ethereum network.

As part of internal performance benchmarks, hyperchain technology can already deliver in excess of 100 transactions per second, with significant performance improvements planned for the coming months. The community is invited to run additional tests on this newly launched testnet and share them with the Cronos community.

What's next?

The launch of Cronos zkEVM testnet is a significant milestone on Cronos' multi-year scalability journey.

Earlier in 2023, Cronos announced significant performance improvements of the flagship Cronos network, the leading EVM-compatible blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK. Cronos also announced the commercial availability of application-specific optimistic rollup networks on top of Cronos, thanks to a partnership with Caldera. Finally, in October 2023, Crypto.org Chain implemented a rebranding into Cronos POS chain.

Therefore, the Cronos ecosystem is now multi-chain across several networks in order to support a broad range of user needs and use cases:

• Cronos (the EVM blockchain) is the leading Ethereum-compatible network built on the Cosmos SDK, permissionless, programmable layer-1, home to more than 500 project teams who have created decentralized applications powered by smart contracts. The Cronos EVM  chain has securely delivered more than 80 M transactions for more than 1 M users to date, and secures around 300 M US$ of DeFi Total Value Locked. Cronos is extendable, thanks to application-specific optimistic layer 2 blockchains that can be deployed on top of Cronos by app creators.

• Cronos POS chain is the layer-zero network that guarantees the security of the Cronos ecosystem. It is the native issuer of the $CRO utility token, secured by a vast network of more than 100 nodes representing ~600 M US$ in staked value, in the top 5 of all Cosmos chains. The Cronos POS chain has securely validated around 35 M transactions, with an average transaction fee of 0.00001 US$.

• Cronos zkEVM (now in testnet) is the latest sister chain that aims to extend the rich portfolio of Cronos apps into the promising zkSync hyperchain ecosystem, in order to further broaden its user base and make it easier to move liquidity back and forth between Ethereum and the Cronos chain(s).

For Cronos, the next step will be to better understand the performance of the newly launched zkEVM network and determine the best potential path for mainnet deployment of ZK layer 2 technology and access to the shared liquidity of the Ethereum network.

The protocol team will continue to experiment with layer 2 technologies and data availability protocols to determine how they can further strengthen the Cronos ecosystem. It will also continue to work closely with the Cosmos ecosystem when it comes to the development and integration of new or updated Cosmos SDK modules into Cronos chains, and integration of additional IBC functionalities.

For additional information or to build on the testnet, please visit the testnet documentation.

About Cronos

Cronos (cronos.org) is the leading Ethereum-compatible layer 1 blockchain network built on the Cosmos SDK, supported by Crypto.com and more than 500 app developers and partners. Today, the #CROfam ecosystem represents an addressable user base of more than 80 million people worldwide. Our mission is to make it easy and safe for the next billion crypto users to adopt Web3, with a focus on decentralized applications in the DeFi, NFTs and GameFi verticals.

Shortly after launch in 2021, Cronos achieved a top 10 position amongst all chains by TVL. It is home to more than 1 million users and 500+ dapps.

Transaction fees are paid in Cronos ($CRO), a blue chip cryptocurrency.

The Cronos ecosystem is supported by Cronos Labs, the start-up accelerator of the Cronos chain.

About zkSync 

zkSync is a cutting-edge zero-knowledge (ZK) technology to scale Ethereum and bring crypto to the mainstream — reaching millions of developers and billions of people in need a technological solution for achieving progress and prosperity. Deeply rooted in its mission to advance personal freedom for all, the zkSync blockchain network makes digital self-ownership universally available. It is trustless, secure, reliable, censorship-resistant, privacy-preserving, hyper scalable, accessible, and sovereign. To learn more about zkSync, visit www.zksync.io. 

ZK Stack is a developer-friendly modular, open-source software framework that makes it easy for you to customize & deploy your own interoperable ZK-powered blockchains, known as hyperchains. Quickstart by visiting

https://zkstack.io/

In 2022, we kicked off the Cronos Ecosystem Spotlight Series — a series of interview articles covering projects that are building on the Cronos Chain.

Today, we are excited to feature Ballies, a strategic basketball-themed card game by the popular NFT collection Ballies, where players can utilize their Ballies characters and gears to compete against other players.

Let’s dive right in!

Can you share more about the Ballies game and the team behind the project?

Ballies is not just a strategic basketball-themed card game; it's a unique fusion of gaming expertise and cutting-edge technology. Our exceptional team boasts over 20 years of experience in the gaming industry, making us true veterans in both traditional gaming and the exciting world of Web3.

With a passion for innovation and a drive to create unforgettable experiences, we're committed to delivering top-notch games that redefine the boundaries of what's possible in the gaming sphere. Our first Ballies game is the result of this dedication, bringing together the best of Web2 and Web3 to create a game that's as thrilling as it is fun to play.

What is the core gameplay of Ballies strategic basketball card game and what can players do in the game?

Ballies Strategic Basketball Card Game offers an exhilarating fusion of strategy, skill, and collectability. As a player, you have the opportunity to own your very own Ballie character, each with its unique abilities and stats. Dive into the game and explore these core features:

• Buy a Ballie: Own your Ballie character, customize their gear, and fine-tune their stats to create the ultimate basketball powerhouse.

• Rent a Ballie: Not ready for ownership? Rent Ballies for shorter periods to try out different playstyles and abilities.

• Buy Gear: Enhance your Ballie's performance by purchasing and equipping gear items, strategically mixing and matching to gain a competitive edge.

• Rent Gear: Temporary boosts are available through rented gear in the Marketplace, helping you secure those critical victories.

• 1v1 Game Mode: Engage in thrilling 1v1 duels against other players or challenge the CPU to prove your strategic prowess and earn valuable rewards.

• Tournaments: Compete in tournaments either by earning entry as a top player or by purchasing a tournament wild card. Show off your skills and aim for victory.

• Account: Manage your game account, customize settings, and explore account statistics and inventory, including NFTs.

• Crib: Dive into the game center, where you'll find the Season Pass, daily challenges, achievements, and more to unlock valuable rewards.

• Bar: Socialize and compete with friends in 1v1 duels, with tokens adding an extra layer of excitement.

• Gym: Improve your Ballies' skills through the gym, enhancing their attack and defense capabilities.

• Shop: Explore the Ballies Shop for essential items and gear to level up your gameplay.

• Cards: Manage your card collection, level up cards, build strategic decks, and expand your tactical options.

• Cheerleaders: Collect and manage your Cheerleaders collection, adding a unique flair to your gaming experience.

In a 1-on-1 match, two players compete to reach 11 points before their opponent. Turns alternate between attacking and defending, with players using their Ballies' abilities to score points or prevent their opponent from doing so. Dice rolls determine the number of Energy Balls available each turn, which can be used for various actions on the court.

Ballies is not just a game; it's a strategic basketball experience that combines collectability, competition, and skill, offering players an immersive journey into the world of Web3 gaming.

What are the interesting upcoming features or events that Ballies will be launching?

Ballies has an exciting lineup of upcoming features and events that will further enrich the gaming experience for players:

• Leaderboard: Already available in the game, the leaderboard allows players to track their performance and see where they stand among their peers, adding a competitive element to the game.

• Cheerleaders: The introduction of "Ballies Girls" will feature cheerleaders, bringing a new dimension to the game and enhancing the overall ambiance.

• Chat: Players will soon have the ability to communicate with fellow gamers directly within the game's social hub, the Bar, creating a sense of community and enabling interactions.

• Jerseys: Personalization takes center stage as players can customize their Ballies with country and brand jerseys, allowing them to showcase their unique style.

• Gym: The Gym feature will enable players to train and improve their Ballies' skills, giving them a strategic advantage on the Meta-court.

• Tournament: Competitive spirits will soar as Ballies plans to launch tournaments where players will compete for the coveted title of the First King of the Meta-court.

• Web Version: Ballies is expanding its accessibility by developing a web version of the game, making it even easier for players to join in the action from their web browsers.

• New Cards: To keep the gameplay fresh and exciting, Ballies will introduce new cards, providing players with more options and strategies to explore.

These upcoming features and events promise to elevate the Ballies gaming experience, catering to both competitive and casual players. Gamers can look forward to more thrilling moments on the Meta-court as Ballies continues to evolve and innovate. 

Why did you choose Cronos as the blockchain to launch the game on?

We chose Cronos as the blockchain to launch the Ballies game for several compelling reasons. Firstly, Ballies is a curated project by Crypto.com, and their involvement has played a pivotal role in our decision-making process. With Crypto.com as advisors, we've received invaluable guidance and support throughout the development journey.

Cronos has been an ideal partner for us. Their multi-platform support and scalability have ensured a seamless development experience. Additionally, Cronos boasts a vibrant and enthusiastic #CroFam community, which aligns perfectly with Ballies' vision. We believe in the potential of Cronos as one of the most promising blockchain networks, and our collaboration reflects our trust in its continued growth.

By choosing Cronos, we are not only ensuring the game's technical excellence but also fostering a sense of community and trust in the blockchain ecosystem. We're excited about the journey ahead with Cronos and the opportunities it presents for Ballies and its players.

For someone who’s interested in the Ballies game, how can they access the game?

To access the Ballies game and immerse yourself in our exciting world, follow these steps:

• Download the Game: Get ready to embark on an epic journey by downloading the Ballies game on your Android or iOS device. On the mobile phone, one can visit our website https://ballies.gg and click the Download button that will take them to the right store. One can visit your respective app store directly too, search for "Ballies," and hit the download button. It's your ticket to a thrilling gaming experience! 

• Join our Vibrant Community: Dive deeper into the Ballies universe by joining our Discord community. Here, you can connect with other Ballies enthusiasts, stay updated on the latest news and announcements, and engage in lively discussions. It's the perfect place to be part of the Ballies family!

• Ballies NFT Holders: If you are a holder of a Ballies NFT, you have the privilege of playing with your character. Additionally, you can choose to lend your Ballie to others, allowing you to earn passive income based on their in-game activities.

• Non-Holders: Even if you don't own a Ballies NFT, you can still enjoy the game. Non-holders have the option to either select a copy of their favorite Ballie (if available) or receive a randomly assigned Ballie copy. This way, everyone has the opportunity to experience the excitement of the Ballies game, whether they hold NFTs or not.

Download the game, step onto the Meta-court, and let the games begin! Join us in shaping the future of sports gaming with Ballies.

The Cronos Builders Program was announced earlier this year and is a program that aims to promote loyal builders and empower Cronos dApp developers to explore and leverage a wide range of tools and services offered by infrastructure and service partners within the Cronos ecosystem.

Participants of the Builders Program will receive:

• Curated discounts & credits for >20 infrastructure & service partners (E.g. Node & API providers, Audits, Toolings, Cloud Services, etc.)

• Tailored advisory support (1-to-1 advisory meetings with Cronos Labs team to align on product strategy, tokenomics design, technical implementation, go-to-market strategy, marketing strategy, etc.)

• Co-marketing support (Cronos Stream AMA feature, Cronos official account RT of product release announcement, potential Cronos ecosystem spotlight article, potential feature in Cronos monthly newsletter)

• Business development support and strategic introductions to key project partners on Cronos

We are excited to announce the first batch of Cronos Builders Program recipients and without further ado, let’s dive right in!

Cronos Builders Program Batch #1 Recipients

Recipient #1: Ebisus Bay

Ebisu’s Bay is the first and one of the leading marketplaces for trading Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) on the Cronos network. Ebisu’s Bay has constantly launched innovative products that are highly popular amongst the #CROFam.

Ebisus recently had a successful launch of its gamified rewards system, Ryoshi Dynasties, and has been a great hit within the Cronos NFT community.

Website | Documentations

Recipient #2: Ballies

Ballies is a sports gaming platform and a social place for web2 and web3 enthusiasts. With the successful Ballies NFT launch on Crypto.com Marketplace in early 2022, they are building a basketball mobile game to onboard more users into the #CROFam community.

Ballies recently went live with their Metacourt mobile game which is available on both Android and iOS devices across over 170 countries.

Check out the Ballies collection

• Minted

• Ebisu’s Bay

• Moonflow

• Crypto.com NFT Marketplace

Website | Documentations

Recipient #3: Moonflow NFT Marketplace

Moonflow is a decentralized gas-free NFT marketplace built around the needs and requests of the #CROfam. Moonflow has been live for Cronos for over a year and has listed hundreds of Cronos NFT collections.

Website | Documentation

Recipient #4: Bored Candy City

Bored Candy City is a decentralized exchange, NFT, and gaming ecosystem built on Cronos. Bored Candy City has been live on Cronos for over a year.

Website | Documentation

Join the Cronos Builders Program!

The Cronos Builders Program is a constantly ongoing program, and we encourage all Cronos builders to apply.

Program Requirements & Application

To be eligible for the Cronos Builders Program, projects must have been building an application on the Cronos blockchain for at least 3 months.

Apply Now: Project Application Form

The Cronos Labs team will be performing the application assessment. Once the project’s application is approved, the project will be introduced to the infrastructure and service partners of interest.

Join Cronos Builders Program as a Partner

Service providers that are interested in integrating Cronos and would like to join as a Partner in the Cronos Builders Program, reach out to the Cronos Labs team through the Partnership Form.

In Q2 2022, we kicked off the Cronos Ecosystem Spotlight Series — a series of interview articles covering projects that are building on the Cronos Chain.

Today, we are excited to feature Loaded Lions: Mane City, a tycoon simulation game by the popular NFT collection Loaded Lions, where players design and build their dream cities and mansions using Gold and Diamonds.

Let’s dive right in!

Summary

Dive into the captivating world of Loaded Lions: Mane City, where you get to unleash your inner tycoon by building the city of your dreams and decking out your very own virtual mansion. Plus, climb to the top of the Competitive Mode leaderboard and earn the lion’s share of an enticing prize pool.

Highlights:

• Furnish and personalise your virtual mansion

• Build and upgrade businesses to grow your wealth

• Buy and sell spare businesses and blueprints in the in-game Marketplace

• Unlock special rewards by referring your friends to the game

• Rise to the top of the leaderboard in Competitive Mode, with a prize pool that starts at US$100,000

Can you share more about Loaded Lions: Mane City and the team behind the project?

Definitely! The Loaded Lions: Mane City team is composed of passionate and experienced professionals with a strong background in Web3 game development. Our diverse group of experts is dedicated to creating an immersive and enjoyable in-game experience.

We take great pride in our team’s ability to work together effectively, combining our unique skills and expertise to craft an appealing and engaging world for players to explore.

What is the core gameplay of Loaded Lions: Mane City and what can players do in the game?

Loaded Lions: Mane City is a tycoon simulation game where players design and build their dream cities and mansions using Gold and Diamonds generated from the in-game land they own, alongside businesses they build. These include gyms, banks, and record stores.

It all begins with a plot of Land, which passively generates Diamonds and allows you to build Businesses. Businesses continually generate Gold. As you accumulate Gold, you can upgrade your Businesses, which then increases the amount of Gold they produce.

With all the Gold you accumulate, you can purchase and place Furniture in your Mansion to increase your level. This unlocks new Blueprints, which grant you access to even more Businesses. These allow you to expand your empire and upgrade your Businesses at an even quicker clip.

Other unique features of the game include:

Mansion personalisation: Players can personalise their mansion in the game to express their unique character and flair. By decorating their mansion, it also influences their in-game progression, unlocking additional blueprints to build Businesses and generate more Gold.

Dynamic prize pool: The prize pool in Competitive Mode grows dynamically and is updated live throughout the season. Many participants in Competitive Mode will be able earn a piece of the prize pool, but only the best of the best will take home the lion’s share.

Building placement: Instead of predefined placements, players are free to decide where to locate their businesses. This opens up more opportunities for strategic and eagle-eyed players.

Marketplace: Integrated within the game, players can buy and sell Businesses and 

Blueprints to their fellow Mane City Tycoons.

Loaded Lions: Mane City launched the Mane City Access Pass system recently, can you share more about this new feature?

The Mane City Access Pass allows Crypto.com Land NFT holders playing Loaded Lions: Mane City to refer their friends to the game and engage in the unparalleled excitement of playing this innovative tycoon simulator. The Mane City Access Pass comes in the form of an ‘Arid Plains’ land plot in the game, where referred players can build their Businesses and access Competitive Mode.

Our aim is to expand the overall player base, which in turn benefits everyone in Mane City! With every new player joining and spending in Competitive Mode, the prize pool grows and the game’s marketplace thrives. A larger prize pool means even more rewards and an enriched gaming experience for all.

For our loyal Tycoons who have provided your referral codes, your generosity will not be unrewarded. As a token of appreciation for broadening the horizons of Mane City, you will get to reap the benefits through an enticing bonus rewards system.

Head over to our Playbook to learn more about the mechanics and benefits of the Mane City Access Pass.

Pro tip: For anyone interested in unleashing your inner tycoon, check out our official Discord server to find an abundance of Mane City Access Passes from your future fellow Tycoons hanging out there.

What are the interesting upcoming features or events that Loaded Lions: Mane City will be launching?

One of our most anticipated upcoming features is Competitive Mode’s very first season! Everyone’s expertise from mastering the game’s Normal Mode comes into play here. Players will start each Competitive Mode season from scratch. That means Gold, Diamonds, Businesses, and Furniture are not carried over. What’s carried over are your hard-earned Vouchers, Arid Plains land plots, and your land plots from your Crypto.com Land NFTs. This creates as much of a level playing field as possible for all participants.

Competitive Mode features an enticing prize pool, starting at US$100,000 of CRO that is distributed to the top 1,000 players in the Leaderboard. The prize pool grows dynamically and is updated live throughout the season. An incredible 30% of player spending on Diamonds in Competitive Mode will contribute to the growth of the prize pool. Half of this will be added to the current season, and the other half to future seasons. As players climb the ranks, they’ll secure a larger portion of the prize pool, making every position gained all the more rewarding.

Players ranked on the Leaderboard will receive their prizes in the form of Vouchers, which can be spent in-game, redeemed for Diamonds at an exclusive rate or, converted to CRO on-chain.

How has the growth on Cronos been and why did you choose Cronos as the blockchain to launch the game on?

Since the Loaded Lions’s and Cyber Cubs’s migration to the Cronos blockchain in August 2022, Cronos has been the network of choice for Crypto.com’s premier NFT collection.

We are fortunate to have developed the game in collaboration with the Cronos SDK team and with Crypto.com as advisors. They have provided us with invaluable advice throughout the entire development process. Their multi-platform support, scalability, and global reach allowed for a seamless experience in creating the game.

During just the first week of its launch, Loaded Lions: Mane City became one of the top five games by volume, according to DappRadar. None of this would have been possible without our amazing CROFam community. Their dedication and support to building the Loaded Lions: Mane City game with us motivates us to keep innovating and revolutionising the Web3 gaming space.

The journey has just begun, and we are grateful to have amazing partners to continue building with.

For someone who’s interested in Loaded Lions: Mane City, how can they access the game?

There are more than a few ways to access Loaded Lions: Mane City! The first would be to own a Crypto.com Land NFT of any tier, which can be purchased from Crypto.com NFT or Minted. Owning these NFTs will give you a nifty in-game boost. For one, each NFT grants players an additional plot of in-game land to build their city on, but also passively generates more Diamonds. The rarer your Crypto.com Land NFT, the more Business sites your in-game land has, and the higher your passive Diamond generation rate.

Alternatively, link up with an existing Mane City Tycoon to receive a Mane City Access Pass.

Remember, check out our official Discord server for an abundance of Mane City Access Passes from the Tycoons hanging out there.

In Q2 2022, we kicked off the Cronos Ecosystem Spotlight Series — a series of interview articles covering projects that are building on the Cronos Chain.

Today, we are excited to feature Kaching, a fully on-chain prize-linked protocol that brings a whole new level of excitement to #CROfam’s CRO holdings.

Let’s dive right in!

Can you share more about Kaching and the team behind the project?

Kaching is a protocol that was created with the belief that excitement does not necessarily have to come with risk. We aim to bring an element of excitement to staking, by giving users a chance to win disproportionately large rewards without risking their principal in any way.  

While our team is lean, we make up for it with boatloads of motivation. We hail from many countries across the globe, and from different previous experiences as well. We believe that this has given us an advantage in creating a seamless and sleek-looking protocol with a fantastic user experience.

Our ultimate goal is to spread the very best of web3 far and wide, aiming to make the biggest positive impact by reaching the most people.

Why should users deposit their $CRO with Kaching? 

Kaching allows users to make use of their unused $CRO. At any point in time, this CRO is merely one transaction away from being transferred back to the user’s wallet.

But where Kaching gets its name is the prizes that are on offer. Depositors stand the chance to win big rewards, regardless of how much principal is deposited. 

Kaching recently launched on Cronos, how has the initial traction been?

The initial traction has been much better than we expected.

Our TVL has been increasing very steadily week-over-week. Our community has also grown and become more tight-knit too!

We have also had some dedicated members of #KachingGang and #crofam create some rap songs with downright outrageous quality that have blown all of us away. 

What are the interesting upcoming roadmap items and features that the #CROfam can look forward to on Kaching?

Despite launching in August and still being in a beta version, we are always on the lookout for more yield strategies. The goal is to create a suite of strategies that users can pick and choose from. We will also be building out a portfolio management system. Together, users can manage their portfolio of CRO deposits and adjust as they see fit. 

Another interesting feature we are exploring is giving users the ability to group their CRO deposits and win as a collective unit. In theory, this should make the probability of winning prizes higher.

Why did you choose Cronos as the chain to launch on?

Cronos has immense potential for growth and mainstream adoption thanks to its strategic partnership with Crypto.com. With Crypto.com’s immense user base, Cronos is in a prime position to capitalize on this onboarding pipeline to its DApps and DeFi ecosystem. Furthermore, with interoperability being a core part of the Cronos chain, many doors are opened due to increased liquidity, flexibility for builders, and more. 

All this culminates in Cronos being uniquely equipped to drive the next generation of DeFi and crypto adoption among the masses. We are glad to be part of this movement and look forward to the new heights we will reach together.

Where can the #Crofam learn more about your project and get started with Kaching?

To get started with Kaching, #Crofam should visit us at https://kaching.win/.

Our draws occur every Tuesday, so get your CRO in before Tuesday each week! ‘

Check out our documentation here: https://docs.kaching.win/

For updates and great vibes, there are no better places than our Twitter and Discord.

In Q2 2022, we kicked off the Cronos Ecosystem Spotlight Series — a series of interview articles covering projects that are building on the Cronos Chain.

Today, we are excited to feature Mad Meerkat NFT, one of the earliest OG NFT projects that launched on Cronos in December 2021 who has now built out an ecosystem of gamified on-chain experiences.

Let’s dive right in!

Can you share more about Mad Meerkat NFT and the team behind the project?

For the Makers. Adventure. Daring. Or in short, #MAD4LIFE. This has always been our values from the day Mad Meerkat NFT was born.

Hey #crofam and CT - Sequence and Canvas here, founders of Mad Meerkat NFT. We’re a brand that has been around the NFT space for just over 2 years since inception. We started this project when Covid just hit everyone’s lives, and many were, by choice or circumstance, living their lives through the Internet.

As people who have been financially and emotionally invested in Crypto since years ago, we found NFTs to be the perfect medium to create a community and deliver experiences. Everyone knew Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB, but there were little visual cues that allowed people to bond together until NFTs became a hot topic. I (Canvas) quickly got on with a team, and roped my good brother Sequence in shortly after.

In short, we’re a team that believes we have a good understanding of the industry at its current stage, and we want to bring people along this journey through a suite of expansive products. These products can be built in-house or through partnerships and collaborations, and they always have a little bit of madness incorporated into them. Our courage to pursue all things madness has never changed since Day One, especially even more so now that we are ever more serious about building a brand around it.

You guys recently launched Raids, can you share more about this recent development?

Raids and chance passes staking are our first endeavors to pursue the delivery of a fun social experience that moves away from Defi. Traditionally, a lot of attention for the MM Ecosystem has always come from MMF, our Defi counterpart. This has been a double-edged sword, giving our NFT arm a lot of attention, but also a lot of that being solely investment-related. While this is unavoidable, we have never sought to build a project around speculative gain (or rather, that is the by-product that comes with the space). Thus, we wanted to dive into something madness we can call our own.

The Mad Merge has always been designed since its inception, where we knew there would be a case of influx of NFTs from various chains from our expansion plan. It was also the perfect conclusion to our Journey 1.0, and the result would be a core collection that holders can truly feel belonging to, made up of traits, memories, and even experiences that they can call their own. However, we realized that we wanted to give the active participants a little more fun, and something they could partake in. Welcome, raids.

Raids are a little game we designed where holders can use a chance pass, earned by staking a meerkat in a burrow in madmeerkat.io/burrow for a week, to try and obtain an airdrop pass to our next collection, or better yet, a limited edition trait held in a capsule. You could possibly lose the pass without getting anything, but if you do, it is something that is rare or limited edition. We hope to incorporate thrill and fun through a simple-to-understand mini-game.

And if you’re less active or not keen on raiding, you are all good. Just continue staking them and getting the chance passes. You’ll need them when potions drop to allow you to merge.

A final pointer, is that this is not to say that we are abandoning Defi, as we do believe that there are core products that work in different markets. But it is clearly important to expand on different features and provide a more holistic digital experience for all Mad Kats out there.

What interesting ideas will you guys be further exploring down the line?

We feel that the Raids experiment has been quite a success in its own right thus far, with over 300,000 raids at this time of writing. That’s 300k clicks of a button by the community to try their luck. That’s just mad.

Down the line, we will release the merge in different ways. We know people have been anticipating this for some time now, so we are always committed to looking for more ways to surprise our holders, either by learning what other projects are doing out there and/or introducing it in conjunction with collaboration partners that we have successfully established a partnership with. We want the merge to be an initiative that makes people excited every time, rather than a once-off feature that people quickly love, and then quickly forget. This will potentially include other “side quests” such as PvP to win one another’s traits, and the incorporation of Mad Sacks into the merge… hmm.

On another note as well, we are also looking to expand the MM Ecosystem in two other ways:

• Introducing new types of tech in new products. AI has been a big part of our research in recent months, but it is far more important to make sure we understand how it works, and how we can successfully apply it in the context of MMB. Should we find an angle that works, holders can expect to be exposed to this tech within the MM lore.

• Must it be a meerkat? This is a question that the team’s been asking ourselves lately. We have been very lucky to form our community and personality around the meerkats, but more so around our M.A.D values. This means that we should not confine ourselves based on what we currently have. What if something cuter is what works? (Think Pudgy Penguin). What if a more familiar art style appeals more to people? (Think Azuki and anime art). Or what if some type of human still works best? (Think Degods, punks). These are the important questions to ask ourselves. We believe it is always possible to bring in new IP as a sub-brand, and promote the meerkats to different tiers of benefits to these sub-brands, or even something with intrinsic value in the aspect of historic provenance.

Whatever the case is, one thing’s for sure - we learned a whole great deal the last cycle, we will work our asses off to pursue all things mad, and hopefully not commit the same mistakes as before. Can’t guarantee no new mistakes because that’s the risk with trying something new, but where’s the fun in it if we don’t, right?

How has your growth on Cronos been and why did you choose Cronos as the chain to launch Mad Meerkat NFT?

It has been no secret that our expansion to Cronos from Ethereum was one of the best moves we have ever made. In a time where adaptability was not necessarily valued in the NFT Space, we made the tough decision to halt our Ethereum mint, keep the prime collection to a size of 777, and expand on Cronos where we felt there was immense potential. Some of the reasons include:

• EVM Compatible

• Huge onboarding of retail investors through various initiatives

• Growing NFT Scene

• More reasons can be found in the thread here: https://twitter.com/mad_canvas/status/1691451342068555777

Our growth has been - literally - full of ups and downs, but there’s no denying that the #crofam gave us a lot of trust and opportunities from the beginning. It seemed just yesterday that we hopped into the few discords in Loaded Lions and Cronos Chimps (projects that we still highly respect) and asked for support, till today where we have a core group of people who remain steadfast in their belief. We have also been one of the early ones who created history - top in volume, breaking the chain, just to name a few. These are all shared experiences among everyone in the burrow and crofam, and inspire us to create more of these in time to come.

One thing we are very appreciative of is the recent support from Cronos Labs and fellow projects. This puts us in a good position moving forward, and we also try to pay it forward by giving them some form of support whenever we can.

For a user new to Mad Meerkat NFT, where can they learn more about your project and join your community?

The website should definitely be a starting point, but I would say it lacks an update on recent events. It’s where you go to stake your treehouses for burrows, and it’s where you get the landing page that leads to all other links, but it can still be relatively confusing. An update and overhaul is in the works.

The best ways are actually to hear from a Mad Kat in our discord, read threads by Canvas (https://twitter.com/mad_canvas) and the community members, and our medium. We are really big on community sharing because nothing beats having someone who shares the same passion as you to help you along the way. One thing we pride ourselves on is that nobody is too ‘big’ for others, so we also try to extend a reach to help everyone new personally, even with other things on our plate. We hope that this act of kindness spreads, and these onboarded Mad Kats echo our movements and spread the word.

Once again, we’re #MAD4LIFE. If you’ve read this, you’re a real one. Follow our account socials and our founders, and we might just be giving you a little something this period!

In Q2 2022, we kicked off the Cronos Ecosystem Spotlight Series — a series of interview articles covering projects that are building on the Cronos Chain.

Today, we are excited to feature Veno Finance, a vertically integrated liquid staking protocol on Cronos that allows users to liquid-stake CRO & ATOM and earn both staking and DeFi yields.

Let’s dive right in!

Can you share more about Veno and the team behind the project?

Absolutely. Veno is an innovative liquid staking protocol that offers proof of stake yield for CRO and ATOM. It allows users to deploy their staked CRO and ATOM in the form of Liquid CRO (LCRO) and Liquid ATOM (LATOM) within the Cronos DeFi Ecosystem. 

The Veno Team has years of expertise in running proof of stake validators on top-notch infrastructure. Our mission is to mitigate the risk of illiquid positions through the use of liquid tokens. This is why we chose the name "Veno," which derives from the Latin word for "Vein," symbolizing our goal of bringing liquidity to otherwise illiquid assets.

Why should users stake CRO / ATOM with Veno as compared to normal staking on the Crypto.org chain and Cosmos Hub? 

There are three major arguments for staking CRO/ATOM through Veno instead of directly with a validator: 

1) Additional Rewards and Earning Opportunities

Users who stake CRO or ATOM through Veno will receive LCRO and LATOM respectively, which can be used across the Cronos DeFi Ecosystem to earn additional rewards. Staking directly with a validator does not offer these additional yields. 

2) Never-ending Liquidity

Normally, withdrawing staked CRO or ATOM requires a 4-week and 3-week unbonding period respectively. However, holders of LCRO and LATOM can immediately exit their staking position by selling LCRO/LATOM directly on the secondary market. Additionally, even if LCRO/LATOM is unstaked, users will receive an NFT, allowing them to trade out of their position at any time. This ensures that LCRO/LATOM users are never locked into a fully illiquid position. 

3) Slashing Insurance

When staking CRO or ATOM directly with a validator, a slashing penalty may result in the loss of 5% of your staked tokens. Veno continuously monitors and ensures that your tokens are staked with reliable validators. In the event of a loss of funds, Veno provides insurance financed through its Reservoir.

What are the use cases for LCRO and LATOM? What can users do with them?

LCRO and LATOM open up exciting opportunities beyond basic staking. While providing liquidity on decentralized exchanges  like VVS and Ferro is a solid start, savvy users can optimize yields through innovative DeFi platforms:

Leverage up to 3x on staking rewards by supplying to Tectonic's Veno pool. Borrow extra CRO/ATOM to re-stake for amplified gains.

Tap into high potential yields via Single Finance's leveraged LCRO farming.

Earn additional interest by supplying LCRO to Single's yield farmers.

Unlock LCRO/LATOM without losing staking income by borrowing against your assets on Tectonic. Participate in other DeFi options while rewards accumulate.

Grow liquidity rewards in  Veno’s Garden.

We continuously expand use cases for our liquid tokens. Our website outlines the latest opportunities to maximize LCRO and supercharge LATOM.

Whether you're looking for leveraged yields, interest optimization, or collateralized lending, Cronos DeFi platforms enable users to push LCRO and LATOM to their full potential. Explore advanced strategies and make the most of your liquid token exposure.

What are the interesting upcoming features that Veno will be launching?

At Veno, we're always innovating to bring our users new ways to maximize their earning potential. We have some exciting developments in the works:

• Strategy Vaults will automate complex earning strategies on top of LCRO, optimizing yields for all users especially those with smaller staked amounts. Just set it and earn!

• Veno Stats provides insightful data tracking and analytics into platform activity so you can make informed decisions.

• A new liquid-staked token option will further diversify staking opportunities. More assets to boost your portfolio performance!

• Continued UI enhancements deliver an even smoother user experience. Easy optimizing!

• Additional language support expands access worldwide. Same great platform, now available to more users globally!

We are also actively building a partnership to help users hedge against potential price exposure during unbonding periods. This will enable users to invest in Veno with greater confidence.

At Veno Finance, our team is dedicated to unlock more value for users. These updates demonstrate our ongoing commitment to innovation that empowers our community. The future is bright - stay tuned for details on these exciting features as they develop! 

How has your growth on Cronos been and why did you choose Cronos as the chain to launch on?

We are honored that in less than a year since launching, Veno Finance has organically grown to become the 5th largest protocol on Cronos by total value locked. This growth exceeds our expectations and is thanks in large part to the welcoming Cronos community.

We were fortunate to establish partnerships early on with respected protocols like Ferro, VVS, Tectonic, Minted, and Single Finance. By collaborating with these innovative teams, we were able to steadily gain the trust of the Cronos community.

Choosing Cronos as our home was an obvious decision in hindsight. The EVM compatibility allowed us to hit the ground running, leveraging the robust DeFi infrastructure already in place. Meanwhile, the interoperability unlocked by building on Cosmos opened up a world of possibilities.

We were particularly excited by the cross-chain opportunities enabled by Cronos' IBC integration. This has already allowed us to easily bridge tokens to other Cosmos chains like Crypto.org and Cosmos Hub for staking opportunities.

While we are proud of Veno's rapid traction on Cronos, none of it would be possible without our wonderful community. It is their support that motivates us every day to keep innovating and creating more value. There is still so much potential ahead, and we are thankful to continue this journey with such amazing partners.

For a user new to Veno, where can they learn more about your project and get started with liquid staking?

We have a few places to start for users who want to start earning with Veno. As a starter users can visit our website: https://veno.finance

For anyone who is absolutely new to DeFi and Liquid Staking, we recommend following our guide on how to earn with Veno Finance. It will walk you step by step from funding your Cronos wallet to manually building your own optimized yield strategy on top of CRO staking.

Also check out our documentation to find all the details on each feature on Veno and a lot of guides and tutorials on how to use them.

If any questions arise that need answering our wonderful community is always willing to help out:

• Discord: https://discord.com/invite/xQK8f8wu26

• Telegram: https://t.me/VenoFinance 

And don’t miss out on any new Veno updates and follow us on 

• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/VenoFinance

• Telegram: https://t.me/s/VenoFinanceAnn

• Medium: https://medium.com/@VenoFinance
  
  
  
  

We are excited to announce the eighth batch of the Cronos Ecosystem Grant Recipients!

We established the Cronos Ecosystem Grants Program back in December 2021 with two clear goals in mind:

• To support early-stage projects on Cronos by bootstrapping initial product development and providing monetary, technical, and marketing support

• To align incentives together with new builders and teams by helping their projects grow together with the broader ecosystem

One key criterion of the grants was that projects had to build innovative products, especially within an underserved vertical within Cronos, and have a provable track record for success. For this eighth batch of Cronos Ecosystem Grant, we received a total of 180 applications and have narrowed it down to 3 projects.

Batch 8 features 3 exciting gaming projects that are familiar household names to the #CROfam. The NFT ecosystem has been a vibrant and growing ecosystem on Cronos, and will continue to be a key pillar as the #CROFam user base continues to grow.

Without further ado, let’s dive right in!

Grant Recipient #1: CroSkulls

Category: NFT / Gaming

CroSkulls is an OG NFT collection that launched on the Cronos chain in late 2021. CroSkulls has developed a series of interesting on-chain mechanisms for its NFT collection for its holders, such as Seasonal Adventures and Missions.

Check out the CroSkulls collection:

• Minted

• Ebisu’s Bay

Grant Recipient #2: Ballies

Category: NFT / Gaming

Ballies is a sports gaming platform and a social place for web2 and web3 enthusiasts. With the successful Ballies NFT launch on Crypto.com Marketplace in early 2022, they are building a basketball mobile game to onboard more users into the #CROFam community.

Check out the Ballies collection

• Minted

• Ebisu’s Bay

• Crypto.com NFT Marketplace

Grant Recipient #3: Marbleverse

Category: NFT / Gaming

Marbleverse is a P2E casual idle game on Cronos developed by Aden Games Studio. By joining MarbleVerse, players will be able to join periodic and special race events, create custom racing tracks, organize special races, trade their marbles, and receive special rewards!

Check out the Marbleverse collection:

• Minted

• Ebisu’s Bay

• Crypto.com NFT Marketplace

About Cronos Ecosystem Grants

The Cronos Ecosystem Grants program aims to support early-stage projects on Cronos by bootstrapping initial product development and providing monetary and technical support. We aim to align incentives together with new builders and teams by helping their projects grow together with the broader ecosystem.

We warmly welcome any talented individuals & teams who are passionate and committed to building incredible products within the Cronos ecosystem.

Find out more about the Cronos Ecosystem Grants and how you can apply here.

About Cronos

Cronos (cronos.org) is the leading EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain network built on the Cosmos SDK, supported by Crypto.com, Crypto.org, and more than 500+ app developers and partners. Cronos is building an open ecosystem where developers can create their own DeFi and GameFi applications, targeting a base of 80+ million users globally. Earlier this year, Cronos Labs launched a $100M Accelerator program to help developers build new projects and the future of Web3 within the Cronos ecosystem.

When developers build on Cronos, they can leverage all Ethereum developer tools (i.e. Solidity, Truffle, Hardhat, OpenZeppelin, Web3.js, ethers.js, ChainSafe Gaming SDK); leading crypto wallets (i.e. MetaMask, Crypto.com Defi Wallet, Trust Wallet); wrapped versions of the world’s top 50 cryptocurrencies; Cronos Play, a suite of developer tools for Unity, C++ and Unreal engine; and inter-blockchain communication (IBC) cross-chain connectivity to Cosmos chains; and as well as a rich ecosystem of composable DeFi and GameFi dApps.

In Q2 2022, we kicked off the Cronos Ecosystem Spotlight Series — a series of interview articles covering projects that are building on the Cronos Chain.

Today, we are excited to feature Argo Finance and its latest product, Atlantis. Argo is a liquid staking protocol that is at the same time building out a fully on-chain resource management strategy game on Cronos.

Let’s dive right in!

Can you share more about Argo and the team behind the project?

Hey #CROFAM, you’ve probably seen our first feature on Argo Finance and since then the Argo Family has grown exponentially, both as a team and community.

Our team members have all worked their way up in various top-tier firms across Big Tech and TradFi but have all been bound by the same burning passion for web3. 

All of us have had very similar paths entering this space, having spent a few years exploring and building in multiple ecosystems and projects, before finally coming together to deliver Argo Finance.

We haven’t stopped and aren’t planning to stop anytime soon. LFG!

Argo recently launched Atlantis, can you share more about what Atlantis is?

Atlantis is a play-to-earn resource management strategy game in the Argonauts ecosystem. It is also the first innovative fully on-chain game that launched on Cronos with complex on-chain tasks. Its premise revolves around space exploration and adventure and is primarily a resource management game.

Players go on expeditions with their planets or races with their spaceships, find resources like Gold, Stardust, and Gemstones, improve their assets, and compete against others for more rewards. Players need to manage their resources well to optimise their way up. It may be easy to progress at first, but it gets harder, especially if you want to fight for the top spots against other players. They have to decide whether to sell these resources in the game's marketplace or use them to improve their spaceships.

As such, game theory also plays an extremely crucial role in Atlantis as players have to consider what others might do and how the market might change. The marketplace works on a free-market system where players set their own prices for resources. This means players have to think about how much of a resource is available and how much it's in demand when they sell. 

We started off as a DeFi Liquid staking protocol but saw the need to create more utility for our liquid staking token (bCRO). Atlantis came to life as a result and we are constantly building out within the intersections of DeFi & Gaming.

Argo has been live on Cronos Mainnet since June 2022. How has your growth been since then?

We’ve seen our community grow from humble beginnings to 18,000 followers. Our discord is livelier than ever even with the huge amount of channels (many products and niche areas to explore in our community! Come join our friends and ambassadors!)

Since then we’ve also successfully launched multiple products and partnerships. You would remember our favorite NFT- Argonauts, the Argonauts Odyssey, VVS staking, Lottery, and finally, Atlantis, which on its own is already a massive undertaking with its own ERC-1155 NFT marketplace and NFT assets.

We are currently seeing close to >500 daily active players who are interacting with the game on a daily basis.

We’ve built out and combined the best of both DeFi and NFT, and our community has never been stronger. LFG #ARGOFAM

Are there any interesting upcoming product launches that the #CROFam can look forward to?

If you’ve been on Twitter (or “X”) recently, you would have noticed tweets flying around about our latest venture: Argo Petz.

Argo Petz is a new collection of NFTs that will enable us to create an entirely new branch of gameplay, called the Atlantean Trove.

Further down in the roadmap, Trove v2 staking will include Argonauts Questing and expand the utility of our core collection. Beyond that, we also have formed partnerships with CorgiAI, Ebisu’s Bay, and Minted for additional rewards.

This is without mentioning the art! All our collections are hand-drawn and our Petz are no different. We here at Argo love how cute some of them look!

Why did you choose Cronos as the chain to launch on?

We chose to build on Cronos for a couple of reasons:

1. Strong ecosystem of users from Crypto.com. Crypto.com has a growing large user base globally and we see Cronos as a decentralized ecosystem that Crypto.com users will utilise. We wanted to build great innovative products to cater to this growing group of user base

2. Built on Cosmos. Cronos is an EVM chain on Cosmos that allows assets to be interoperable across Ethereum, EVM, and Cosmos. This flexibility allows us to target users across multiple ecosystems

3. We are #CROFam at heart. Building on the #CROFam ecosystem is a natural decision.

4. Support of Cronos Labs. We are honored to be one of the Cronos grant recipients and have received strong marketing & partnership support.

For a user new to Argo, where can they learn more about your project and get started?

For quick updates, you can always follow our Twitter @argoprotocol. However, for the best experience, one should always join our discord and interact with our community and long-time Argonauts!

For a more detailed look into our inner workings and protocols, do check out our key links:

Docs: https://docs.argofinance.money

Medium: https://argofinance.medium.com/

Discord: https://discord.gg/argoprotocol

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArgoProtocol

Website: https://argofinance.money/

Paris - 18 July 2023 – Cronos,  the leading blockchain that interoperates with both Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems, today announces a new partnership with Ubisoft, a leading video game creator and publisher. By joining the Cronos ecosystem as a node validator, Ubisoft continues its exploration of blockchain technology through its Strategic Innovation Lab, whose mission is to anticipate the future and to help Ubisoft get ready for it by exploring the opportunities offered by innovative technologies.

Ubisoft is joining a pool of 27 other node operators on the open-source Cronos blockchain to contribute to the stability and security of the network. Each node contributes to the decentralized validation of transactions on the network, by producing or confirming new blocks every five to six seconds on average.

The addition of Ubisoft, a company known for creating engaging and immersive gaming experiences by exploring new technologies, is consistent with Cronos’ strategy of partnering with open-source contributors and validators who have a strong technical track record. Contributors to the Cronos blockchain currently include Crypto.com, Blockdaemon, Dora Factory, Allnodes, and a number of top-tier validators.

As a validator, Ubisoft will contribute to the governance of the blockchain and the approval of network updates. The Cronos ecosystem will greatly benefit from the expertise of Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab when it comes to obtaining feedback on technology upgrades to support gaming use cases. 

The partnership between Cronos and Ubisoft builds on the pre-existing relationship between the two companies, with Ubisoft having previously participated in the Cronos Accelerator program as a start-up mentor. 

Ken Timsit, Managing Director of Cronos Labs, a blockchain startup accelerator focusing on decentralized finance, blockchain games, and the development of the Cronos ecosystem, commented: “I have crossed paths with the Ubisoft team many times over the years in the blockchain ecosystem. They have unparalleled understanding of the potential and the limitations of blockchain technology when it comes to creating deeper engagement between game creators and gamers. Their involvement in the exploration of the technology is reflected in their decision to participate in the open-source Cronos project as a validator. We look forward to leveraging their enthusiasm for blockchain technology and being challenged by their team as we progress on the technical and ecosystem roadmap of the Cronos chain”.

Cronos previously announced Cronos Play, a suite of developer tools and integrations to streamline the creation of blockchain-based games, now available as a plugin in the Unreal Engine Marketplace. More than 15 Web3 games were recently launched, or are in the process of being launched, on the Cronos blockchain.

About Cronos

Cronos (cronos.org) is the leading EVM-compatible layer 1 blockchain network built on the Cosmos SDK, supported by Crypto.com, Crypto.org and more than 500 app developers and partners. The mission of Cronos is to make it easy and safe for the next billion crypto users to adopt self-custody in Web3, with a focus on DeFi and GameFi.

Cronos has skyrocketed to a top 10 position among all chains and is adopted by >1 million users. The chain is powered by the Cronos ($CRO) cryptocurrency, which supports an ecosystem of more than 80 million users worldwide. 

To build on Cronos, application developers can leverage: all the major Ethereum developer tools; Cronos Play, a suite of tools and integrations for Unity, C++ and Unreal games; IBC cross-chain connectivity to Cosmos chains; and a rich ecosystem of composable DeFi and GameFi Dapps.

Cronos Labs is a blockchain startup accelerator focusing on decentralized finance, blockchain games, and the development of the Cronos ecosystem.

About Ubisoft

Ubisoft is a creator of worlds, committed to enriching players’ lives with original and memorable entertainment experiences. Ubisoft’s global teams create and develop a deep and diverse portfolio of games, featuring brands such as Assassin’s Creed®, Brawlhalla®, For Honor®, Far Cry®, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon®, Just Dance®, Rabbids®, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six®, The Crew® and Tom Clancy’s The Division®. Through Ubisoft Connect, players can enjoy an ecosystem of services to enhance their gaming experience, get rewards and connect with friends across platforms. With Ubisoft+, the subscription service, they can access a growing catalog of more than 100 Ubisoft games and DLC. For the 2022–23 fiscal year, Ubisoft generated net bookings of €1.74 billion. To learn more, please visit: www.ubisoftgroup.com. 

About Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab

The mission of the Strategic Innovation Lab is to help Ubisoft anticipate the future. Both a think-tank and a do-tank, the Lab analyzes emerging technological, business and societal trends in order to identify opportunities for innovation. The team also develops prototypes and pilot projects to explore new areas, in collaboration with internal and external partners. This exploratory role allows Ubisoft to get a head start in identifying innovative ideas and assessing their potential, before eventually integrating them into the company on a larger scale. 

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Today, we are excited to feature Tectonic Finance, a decentralized money market protocol on Cronos that allows users to lend and borrow their on-chain assets with ease.

Let’s dive right in!

Can you share more about Tectonic and the team behind the project?

Tectonic is the largest money market protocol on Cronos. With over USD120m in TVL, our platform provides users with access to instant loans and passive yield across 15 markets. 

Tectonic caters to various types of users, including:

• “HODLers” wanting to earn passive interest from supplying assets;

• traders looking to borrow tokens in order to capitalize on trading and yield farming opportunities;

• or users wanting access to other cryptocurrencies for multiple purposes (e.g., participate in ICO, bonding), without having to liquidate their original assets.

Tectonic is backed by a small, international team of BUIDLers who are passionate about bringing crypto to the masses. We come from diverse professional backgrounds, but share the same goal of wanting to make DeFi useful and accessible. 

Tectonic recently announced a couple of new product updates such as new token listings and collateral swaps, can you share more about them?

This year, we listed 6 new tokens (ATOM, ADA, VVS, XRP, LCRO, and LATOM). Lending and borrowing are core functions of Tectonic, so we work to continuously grow our portfolio in order to provide more choices for users. 

However, adding new token listings comes with respective risks and challenges. For example, smaller cap tokens are especially prone to high fluctuation (and even price manipulation) which introduces risk to Tectonic’s TVL. Due to these concerns, we launched isolated pools in March 2023. This has enabled us to contain risk within each pool and list smaller caps or newly launched tokens such as LCRO and LATOM. You can read more about this feature here.

In addition to the above, we also recently launched the first 2 features within our leverage management tools series: Repay with collateral and Collateral Swap. 

Currently on Tectonic, a user needs to repay a loan with the same asset they used to borrow. This means that they need to have a sufficient amount of the asset, plus interest accrued, in their wallet in order to repay the loan. The “Repay with Collateral” feature now gives users two ways to repay their debt: either using tokens in their wallet or using their deposited collateral. The goal is to give users more accessible ways to pay back their debt, which is beneficial to the protocol in helping to contain risks and bolster overall resilience.

Separately, if a user wants to switch out his collateral with another asset, he has to manually repay his debt, remove his supplied asset and supply another one. The “Collateral swap” feature allows users to complete this move in a single transaction. This function is also important from a user’s perspective with regard to risk management. For example, if collateral token A price is declining rapidly, a user can quickly switch it to collateral token B in order to avoid getting liquidated. This also benefits Tectonic as it could help lower the probability of inheriting bad debt.

Tectonic has been live on Cronos Mainnet since late 2021. How has your growth been since then?

In 2022, our focus was on building the community, developing our tokenomics, and better data visualization so as to monitor key risk and performance metrics. This year, our focus has been on expansion - in terms of more token listings and more relevant features for users. 

Since our launch in December 2021, we have built a total user base of 16k borrowers (with USD68m worth of borrowings) and 55k suppliers (backed by USD191m worth of collateral). On the social front, we also have a strong community of 64k followers on Twitter, 10k on Discord, and 6k on Telegram. 

What are the interesting upcoming features or products that Tectonic will be launching?

As mentioned, an area of focus for us this year has been in building up our arsenal of leverage management tools in order to cater to a broader risk profile or investment criteria. We aim to make it easier for users to execute their investment views using Tectonic. We have already released Repay with collateral and Collateral swap, and the next one within this series will be Long/short.

A long/short strategy is one of the best use cases of a money market protocol. For example, if a user is bullish on token A, he can open a long position (i.e. supply on Tectonic). In contrast, opening a short position on token B (i.e. borrowing to sell a token) means that he believes the price of this asset will fall. In the past, if you wanted to obtain leverage through borrowing, it would be time-consuming and capital inefficient. You would have to go on a lending protocol like Tectonic, borrow an asset against your collateral, go to a DEX like VVS, swap the borrowed asset for collateral, go back to Tectonic, and borrow again to “leverage up”. This one-click long/short strategy will make this process easier. Users will be able to earn yield and TONIC rewards in addition to profit from a price decline.

Going forward, we plan to build even more tools to help users either manage their debt positions and/or take a profit. We’re still exploring this based on user needs and community feedback and will provide updates at a later date. 

Why did you choose Cronos as the chain to launch on?

We chose to build on Cronos for various technical reasons. For example, we liked that the network was able to handle thousands of transactions per block - and at a low cost. Additionally, our long-term plans are to take Tectonic cross-chain. Apart from having Ethereum-based assets on Tectonic, Cronos, being IBC enabled, will allow us to facilitate the lending and borrowing of any Cosmos-based assets. 

From a business perspective, we chose Cronos as it allowed us to tap into the massive retail user base within the Crypto.com ecosystem. Also, as alumni of the Cronos Labs incubation program, we received and continue to receive invaluable support which has allowed us to become the leading money market protocol on the chain. 

For a user new to Tectonic, where can they learn more about your project and get started?

One of the best ways to learn more about Tectonic is by visiting the website for an overview of our offerings and links to our resources and community. For more detailed information on core features, head over to our gitbook, which provides step-by-step tutorials, technical documentation, and FAQs. 

If users have more specific questions, our wonderful community managers are also here to help and can be reached on our Telegram and Discord channels. These platforms are also great ways to interact with the wider Tectonic community. 

Furthermore, stay up to date on our latest developments by following us on Twitter and Medium!

June 27, 2023  - Cronos Labs, a blockchain startup accelerator focusing on decentralized finance, blockchain games, and the development of the Cronos ecosystem, announced today that it has successfully completed the testing of Caldera’s rollup deployment technology on the Cronos mainnet. On-demand optimistic layer-2 rollups are now available to application developers building on the Cronos chain with high throughput requirements.

Cronos is the leading EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain network built on the Cosmos SDK, focused on creating a highly scalable and carbon neutral application ecosystem for DeFi , NFT and Web3 gaming. Cronos is supported by Crypto.com, Crypto.org and more than 500 validators and application developers.

Over a period of several weeks from April 2023 onwards, Cronos Labs worked with the Caldera team to deploy and test Caldera’s optimistic layer-2 rollup deployment technology on top of Cronos network (testnet, followed by mainnet). 

The tests included a diverse set of transactions including basic cryptocurrency transfers, ERC20 fungible token transfers, ERC721 non-fungible token transfers, and complex smart contract calls such as swaps.

Over 200,000 transactions were successfully completed as part of these tests, with 100% success rate. The average cost per transaction was 0.02 CRO, or 0.001 US Dollars, more than 50 times cheaper than regular Cronos transactions thanks to the batching of layer-2 transactions into layer-1 records every 20 minutes or so.

This means that the Cronos ecosystem can now support hundreds or even thousands of transactions per second (10 to 30 times the current TPS), with an ecosystem of Caldera-enabled layer-2 chains sharing Cronos as the layer-1 settlement layer.

A trustless bridge, based on optimistic rollup technology, was created between Cronos’ layer-1 and a newly set-up layer-2. Trustless cryptocurrency transfers between Cronos and the layer-2 chain were successfully completed as well.

Ken Timsit, Managing Director of Cronos Labs, said: “Layer-2 rollups are an integral part of Cronos’ scaling roadmap , alongside other initiatives such as optimizing node performance, increasing block sizes, and reducing block times. With Caldera, developers can now leverage proven optimistic rollup technology without having to worry about setting up the infrastructure needed for an application-specific chain. The resulting high speeds and low cost of transactions will enable innovative use cases, particularly in the gaming and social realms.”

Matt Katz, CEO of Caldera, added: “We're super excited to offer rollups to Cronos' developer community! With Caldera, it's now possible to launch customizable, performant app-rollups that settle on and natively interoperate with Cronos. Caldera's tech makes it easy to launch one of these chains without writing code or managing infrastructure, and Caldera chains come with other infrastructure like block explorers included, meaning that members of Cronos' developer community can focus on their application logic, while we handle the rest.”.

Effective immediately, Caldera’s technology and support are commercially available on mainnet to developers who wish to deploy application-specific high throughput layer-2 blockchain networks on top of the Cronos ecosystem.

Such application-specific chains are particularly relevant for Web3 games that have scaled up enough to achieve significant transaction volumes of hundreds of thousands of monthly active users. Other relevant high-volume use cases include social media platforms, NFT-enabled event ticketing, as well as a broad range of enterprise applications.

For application creators, the value proposition of Cronos layer-2 optimistic rollups powered by Caldera is compelling:

• Available now on Cronos mainnet.

• High scalable: they are able to deliver low transaction costs to high-volume blockchain use cases (around 0.001 USD). With a mesh of rollups sharing Cronos as the layer-1 settlement layer, the Cronos ecosystem can now support hundreds or even thousands of transactions per second. The block gas limit of the layer-2 can be optimized for each specific use case.

• EVM compatible: optimistic rollup technology is easy to use for developers who are familiar with Ethereum technology and tooling. Apps can be quickly ported over from any other EVM compatible chain.

• Secured by the Cronos layer: the transactions of the rollup chains are recorded on Cronos, which already secures hundreds of millions of US Dollars in total value locked. 

• Integrated with the Cronos ecosystem: when they build on Cronos chain, application developers have access to a total addressable market of more than 80 million users.

Cronos Labs will provide strategic advice, technical support, and potential grants to application developers with relevant use cases for this technology. For any questions, please get in touch at contact@cronoslabs.org  

About Cronos

Cronos (cronos.org) is the leading EVM-compatible layer 1 blockchain network built on the Cosmos SDK, supported by Crypto.com, Crypto.org and more than 500 app developers and partners. The mission of Cronos is to make it easy and safe for the next billion crypto users to adopt self-custody in Web3, with a focus on DeFi and GameFi.

Cronos has skyrocketed to a top 10 position among all chains and is adopted by >1 million users. The chain is powered by the Cronos ($CRO) cryptocurrency, which supports an ecosystem of more than 80 million users worldwide. 

To build on Cronos, application developers can leverage: all the major Ethereum developer tools; Cronos Play, a suite of tools and integrations for Unity, C++ and Unreal games; IBC cross-chain connectivity to Cosmos chains; and a rich ecosystem of composable DeFi and GameFi Dapps.

Cronos Labs is the R&D, ecosystem development, and start-up accelerator arm of the Cronos chain.

About Caldera 

Caldera is a rollup-as-a-service provider that is revolutionizing blockchain development by facilitating the easy launch of high-performance, customizable blockchain rollups with no code required. Committed to empowering developers, Caldera provides the necessary infrastructure to build a dedicated blockchain for any ecosystem or application.

Just as it makes sense for web applications to run on dedicated servers, web3 applications need their own chain to secure the necessary throughput and features. Caldera rollups offer superior performance, customization, and application-specific optimization. These custom blockchains boast high throughput and low latency, providing an enhanced user experience and rapid transaction processing.

Developers are utilizing Caldera to launch fast, secure blockchains and applications, benefiting from inherited security from underlying settlement layers (e.g. Cronos), without compromising on performance or features.

If you’re a builder, reach out to us and we’d love to talk about why a dedicated blockchain might make sense for you!

Cronos Labs, a blockchain startup accelerator that focuses on decentralized finance, Web3 games, social applications, and on the development of the Cronos blockchain’s ecosystem, will collaborate with Google Cloud to enhance its Accelerator Program and provide startups with resources to develop innovative AI-enabled Web3 applications within the Cronos ecosystem.

As part of the collaboration, Google Cloud will offer Google Cloud credits to projects that are part of the Accelerator Program, enabling startups to leverage Google Cloud’s services, products, and infrastructure to build, test, and deploy their Web3 applications. The Cronos Labs Accelerator Program will also leverage Google Cloud’s AI expertise to host AI workshops and provide mentorship to participating startups with guidance on how to leverage AI in their dApp development, helping them to build smarter, more efficient, and more scalable applications.

"We are thrilled to work with Google Cloud for our Accelerator Program and emphasize our focus on AI-enabled Web3 development," said Ken Timsit, Head of Cronos Labs. "This collaboration will provide participating startups with access to world-class cloud infrastructure and resources needed to develop cutting-edge Web3 applications. The AI workshop and mentorship will also provide valuable insights into leveraging AI in dApp development, which will help startups build smarter and more efficient applications."

"Innovation is critical in Web3, we look forward to working with Cronos Labs and the startups in their Accelerator Program by providing the technology, support, and community to help them build and scale decentralized apps, Web3 tooling, services and more,” said Rishi Ramchandani, Web3 Lead, Google Cloud Asia Pacific.

Cronos Labs' Accelerator Program focuses on priority verticals of DeFi, GameFi, SocialFi, and Infrastructure, and selected projects will receive upfront seed funding of US$30,000 and have the chance to secure up to US$300K in further seed funding from Cronos Labs and its partners.

The second cohort of the three-month Cronos Labs' Accelerator Program kicked off on 15 May 2023. Projects are carefully selected based on the criteria of market potential, the experience of the leadership team, market fit, and synergies with the Cronos chain.

About Cronos Chain

Cronos (cronos.org) is the first EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain network built on the Cosmos SDK, supported by Crypto.com, Crypto.org and more than 500 app developers and partners.

Cronos is building an open ecosystem where developers can create their own DeFi and GameFi applications, targeting a base of 80+ million users globally. In June 2022, Cronos Labs launched a $100M Accelerator Program to help developers build new projects and the future of Web3 within the Cronos ecosystem.

When developers build on Cronos, they can leverage all Ethereum developer tools (i.e. Solidity, Truffle, Hardhat, OpenZeppelin, Web3.js, ethers.js, ChainSafe Gaming SDK); leading crypto wallets (i.e. MetaMask, Crypto.com Defi Wallet, Trust Wallet); wrapped versions of the world’s top 50 cryptocurrencies; Cronos Play, a suite of developer tools for Unity, C++ and Unreal engine; inter-blockchain communication (IBC) cross-chain connectivity to Cosmos chains; and a rich ecosystem of composable DeFi and GameFi dApps.

The Cronos Ecosystem Spotlight is a series of interview articles covering projects that are building on the Cronos Chain.

Today, we are excited to feature our 11th project in the series, Ebisu’s Bay, one of the leading NFT Marketplaces on Cronos which has been live since Cronos’ Mainnet launch.

Let’s dive right in!

Can you share more about Ebisu’s Bay and the team behind the project?

Our team is an international collective of seasoned professionals hailing from various industries, including blockchain, game development, marketing, and finance. Our diverse experiences, perspectives, and skill sets allow us to tackle the complexities of the blockchain space while constantly innovating.

Ebisu’s was one of the earliest projects to launch on Cronos, can you share with us some milestones that you have achieved?

• 1.2M volume in a single day coming in at the Top 4 of all NFT markets even toping Magic Eden. (https://twitter.com/EbisusBay/status/1500959856479682563)

• Over 60M in secondary trading volume to date.

• Over 2.5M CRO (over $500k USD) in platform rewards paid out to VIP stakers.

• Upgraded our marketplace protocol to support gasless listings.

• Over 150 successful launchpads.

You recently announced the upcoming launch of Ryoshi Dynasties. Can you tell us more about it and what can users do in it?

Ryoshi Dynasties is a gamified DAO governance system, powered by our native Fortune Token. It uniquely blends DeFi and gaming, aiming to revolutionize how we perceive and interact with governance systems.

One of the most engaging aspects of Ryoshi Dynasties is the faction formation feature. This enables NFT communities to come together and establish sub-DAOs, or factions, within the Ryoshi ecosystem. Factions offer a new layer of strategic competition where communities compete against each other in a battle for world domination, adding an exciting competitive element to the platform.

These factions will capture control points worth valuable platform rewards for their entire community, bringing a real sense of rivalry, camaraderie, and engagement to the governance model. It's not just about taking part in governance; it's about strategic collaboration, friendly competition, and being a part of a dynamic, evolving digital universe.

This inclusive and competitive element in Ryoshi Dynasties underlines our commitment to offering a DAO governance system that is engaging, rewarding, and truly community-focused.

Why did you choose Cronos as the chain to launch on?

Cronos was chosen for several reasons:

First, it's part of the Crypto.com ecosystem, which has a rapidly growing user base. This potentially provides a larger audience for our project.

Secondly, Cronos operates on a Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus mechanism, which allows for faster and cheaper transactions when compared to some other chains. This makes it more user-friendly, particularly for those who are new to the crypto space.

Lastly, launching on Cronos gives us the flexibility to take advantage of cross-chain opportunities in the future, as we look to expand and innovate within the blockchain space.

For a user new to Cronos and Ebisu’s Bay, where can they learn more about your project?

Join in on our discord and meet with our community members and staff who are always happy to answer questions!

• Docs & FAQ: https://docs.ebisusbay.com/docs

• Most up-to-date info on Ryoshi Dynasties: https://ebisusbay.notion.site/Introduction-9f22bd3973774810823797027a4d4a1a

• Lotus Galaxy PDF: https://lotusgalaxy.docsend.com/view/2h5msu8ueemaumx4

• Lotus Galaxy Litepaper: https://lotusgalaxy.docsend.com/view/i6kcjj47vfk7d27y

• Cronos Labs, the R&D and ecosystem development arm of the Cronos blockchain, joins the inaugural edition of ‘Seoul Web 3.0 Festival 2023 (SWF2023)’ as the main blockchain network partner.

• Cronos will provide extensive support to the 3-day SWF2023 hackathon, signaling its commitment to supporting the Seoul-based developer ecosystem.

May 22, 2023, Seoul – Global blockchain technology company and start-up accelerator Cronos Labs announced today that it will participate as the main blockchain network partner of the ‘Seoul Web 3.0 Festival 2023’ (#SWF2023), organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. SWF2023 aims to enhance the competitiveness of Korea's Web3 industry and create opportunities for global talent development in the blockchain sector.

Cronos Labs is a blockchain ecosystem and startup accelerator that focuses on decentralized finance and blockchain games, as well as the development of the Cronos blockchain’s ecosystem. Cronos Labs helps builders to create user-friendly applications on the Cronos chain and to drive mainstream adoption of Web3. The participation of Cronos Labs in SWF2023 will further strengthen the position of the Cronos chain in Korea and globally.

SWF2023 will be held over three days from Monday, July 31 to Wednesday, August 2 at the iconic Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) building in Seoul. The festival will consist of various programs including a hackathon, investor demo day for Web3 startups, a networking party, and an NFT exhibition. With the tagline 'Change, Opportunity, Challenge', the festival will uncover groundbreaking ideas at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology. Blockchain developers will be able to secure investor contacts and the general public will discover the latest trends in Web3 innovation.

The hackathon, the main event of the festival, is the first Cronos-enabled hackathon event held in Korea. Cronos is the leading blockchain network that interoperates with both Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems. More than 500 validators, apps and infrastructure partners have adopted Cronos as their home since the chain launched in November 2021. Cronos Labs will participate in the hackathon as a judge and advisor, and contribute to the prize pool.

The hackathon will see a total of 400 participants, including software developers, product managers, designers and others, who will form about 100 teams to develop product concepts and applications within 72 hours.

SWF2023 will feature several global and local partners, notably including global cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com who will participate in the investor demo day and networking party as a main partner, providing mentoring and training for local developers and startups, while making investments to accelerate the growth of early stage Web3 startups.

"South Korea is leading the transition to Web3 and Seoul is on its way to becoming one of the Web3 capitals of the world", said Ken Timsit, Managing Director of Cronos Labs. "Seoul, and Korea by extension, is a critical part of Cronos’ wider ecosystem development. We hope that this hackathon will encourage the development of more Cronos-based applications in Korea, positioning Cronos as a strong partner of the local Web3 ecosystem. The hackathon will also enable a top priority area of focus for Cronos this year, which is to support consumer applications at the intersection of AI and blockchain technology"

"As Korea's Web3 industry evolves, more services that create real value are starting to emerge,” said SangYong Lee, Chief of Digital Affairs, Seoul Metropolitan Government. “SWF2023 will be an opportunity to discover new ideas and set the path for the development of the industry. Various Web3 companies, including foreign and local companies, will come together to network and create synergies."

Applications for the hackathon will start on Monday, May 22 until Friday, June 30 and will take place on the official SWF2023 website (www.swf2023.com).

About Cronos

Cronos (cronos.org) is the leading EVM-compatible layer 1 blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK, adopted by 1 million users. A top 10 blockchain network, Cronos is supported by Crypto.com, Crypto.org and more than 500 app developers and partners. The mission of Cronos is to make it easy and safe for the next billion crypto users to adopt self-custody in Web3, with a focus on DeFi and GameFi applications. Cronos Labs is the ecosystem development arm and start-up accelerator of the Cronos blockchain.

For more information, please email Cronos Labs at contact@cronoslabs.org. For real-time updates, follow Cronos on Twitter at @cronos_chain, and in Korean language at @cronos_korea.