Happy New Year, Web3 fam! 🥳 

With Bitcoin hitting $45k heading into the year and some alts following, it does look like 2024 could turn out to be a big one for the Web3/crypto space! 🚀

We hope this year brings more collaborations, breakthroughs, and mass adoption to the world of decentralization.

Sneak-peek: what’s inside this issue 👀 

👉️ Narrative of the week: A 101 on Nodal Infrastructure, pressing issues in the space & an exciting project looking to tackle these head-on

👉️ Upcoming Masterclass: “Community and Partners” masterclass featuring @Sarut0biSasuke, Head of Partnerships and Investments at KAP Games

📌 DO NOT MISS: Some slots for this upcoming alpha-packed session are open to community! Read on to know how to apply

👉️ Symbiote Spotlight: recent highlights, success stories and alpha from the Symbiote Ecosystem

👉️ €100k in cloud credits for Cohort Projects: We partnered with industry-leading cloud provider OVHcloud to bring up to €100k in start-up credits for our cohort projects

Narrative of the week 🗓️

Nodal Infrastructure 💻️ 

Imagine a public ledger, everyone can see it, but no one controls it. That's essentially a blockchain. But how does it stay consistent and secure? Enter nodes: computers running blockchain software, forming the network's infrastructure.

These are the major types of nodes:

• Full nodes: Download and store the entire blockchain history, acting as validators and guardians of truth.

• Light nodes: Download only parts of the blockchain, relying on full nodes for validation.

• Miner nodes: (for Proof-of-Work blockchains) Solve complex puzzles to earn rewards and create new blocks.

Here’s why nodes are absolutely critical to blockchains:

⛓️ Decentralization: Nodes distribute power, ending central authority reliance

💪 Security: Multiple nodes validate transactions, fortifying the network against attacks

🚀 Performance: Node Infrastructure optimizes the speed and efficiency of dApps

⏲️ Higher Availability: Throughout any network disruptions, nodes ensure uninterrupted service

🧱 Think of nodes as the bricks of a building:

• Each node is independent, yet crucial.

• Together, they create a strong, decentralized foundation.

• Without them, the blockchain crumbles.

🩸 In a nutshell, nodes are the lifeblood of blockchains, ensuring their security, transparency, and immutability.

⌛️ But managing node infrastructure can be very complex and time-consuming.  

Here are some of the pressing issues in Node Deployment 🌋

• Complex Setup: Setting up nodes can be convoluted and time-consuming.

• Redundancy for Node Operators: Repetitive tasks hinder efficiency.

• Scattered Resources: Developers often find essential resources scattered.

🍃 In comes NodeOps - addressing these challenges head-on & making node deployment a breeze

✅ Simplified Development: NodeOps streamlines infrastructure, making it accessible.

🤖 AI-Driven Efficiency: Automation of redundant operations with AI-driven precision.

💻️ Unified Platform: Resources like RPCs, QnA, GitHub monitoring converge in one place.

A Glimpse into the NodeOps Product 👇️ 

• 🚀 Alpha version at http://archway.nodeops.xyz 

• 🔗 One-click deployment

• 🤖 AI-enabled chat interface

• 🎮 Preset playground for easy development 💻

Here’s a short clip of Naman from NodeOps talking about its use case in a recent podcast with Archway 👇️ 

Further reading: here’s a primer on Node infrastructure👇️ 

Coming up: Masterclass on Community & Partners 💬 

As our first project cohort moves further into our 12-week acceleration program, we’ve kickstarted our Masterclass series. This will help the teams get first-hand perspective on the most important aspects of Web3 startups from subject matter experts.

Upcoming Masterclass - “Community & Partners”

📅Scheduled for : 4Jan, 8-9 PM IST (2:30-3:30PM UTC)

Our upcoming session on “Community and Partners” features Sarutobi (@Sarut0biSasuke), a seasoned crypto professional with a background in enterprise SAAS sales.

Currently Head of Partnerships and Investments at KAP Games, he previously excelled in community building at Yield Guild Games (YGG) and advises 10+ projects in crypto and Blockchain Gaming.

Community Slots - Grab hold of this opportunity! ✨ 

These sessions will be attended by our cohort projects.

However, some slots are open to the community! We strongly recommend applying - some serious alpha and insights on community building in Web3 is about to be dropped

HERE’S HOW TO APPLY! 👇️

Symbiote Spotlight⭐️

Let’s take a look at some of the recent highlights, success stories and alpha from the Symbiote Ecosystem 👇

1) DeHack Decode the $115k Transit Finance Exploit 💰️ 

A smart contract vulnerability allowed for the exploitation of Transit Finance on 20th Dec, resulting in a loss of around $115,000.

The DeHack team broke down the root cause of the exploit and provided some solutions - we think it’s a must read, for anyone in the space and especially for builders. Let’s try our best to keep hacks at bay in 2024!👇️ 

2) ChainRisk close their pre-seed round with Antler

We congratulate our friends at ChainRisk who have closed their pre-seed round led by Antler Global!

Chainrisk is building the infrastructure to fortify the DeFi Ecosystem against economic exploits and market risks - which have caused losses of $3B+ over the last 3 years.

3) People from around the world love their Scallop card!

Scallop’s crypto card is effortless to use and top-up, and lets you spend fiat or crypto at your convenience.

People from around the world love their card 👇️ 

4) NodeOps can now be used to run a XAI Games Sentry Node!

NodeOps are a web3 saviour for L1 infrastructures, protocols, and developers - making the complex process of node deployment super simple.

In a significant new development, NodeOps now supports XAI Sentry Node deployment 👇️ 

5) Hypersign highlights: massive global recognition & key partnerships

Hypersign are a CrossChain Identity infrastructure built with Cosmos.

They got recognition at multiple avenues in 2023, including Interchain Builders Program, the WWW Consortium & DSCI Connect.

They also built up key partnerships with Power Browser, Digital Social ID, Babylon Chain and others 👇️ 

6) ZOTH was featured in Fight Club VC's inaugural newsletter

ZOTH are an institutional-grade on-chain marketplace for Global Trade Finance.

They recently got featured in the first issue of the Fight Club VC’s newsletter.

Each issue of the newsletter delves into a specific trend within early-stage Web3 investing and showcases a standout project that exemplifies that genre.

We Partner With Industry-leading Cloud Provider OVHcloud ☁️ 

🤩 With this collaboration in place, our cohort projects can qualify for up to €100k in start-up credits!

We’re constantly looking for ways to bring value to our cohort projects through strategic partnerships. Symbiote cohort projects can now take advantage of this great opportunity which brings cost effective and secure data management customized for them.

Stay tuned for more deets on how Symbiote is shaking up the whole accelerator scene! 🌐🚀

That’s all for this week, folks! Stay tuned for new editions of SymBytes every Tuesday. In the meanwhile, stay connected with us here-

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About Symbiote

The Web3 ecosystem is plagued by funding gaps and a dearth of tailored support. Symbiote aims to be the antidote 💉 

Here are the key differentiators in Symbiote’s program.

• 12-week tailored program designed for individual project needs.

• Sprint-based model for high-paced, measured results.

• Focus on instilling confidence in startups to navigate the dynamic crypto market.

• Real-time project insights via cutting-edge analytical tools.

• Knowledge center providing detailed connections, past performance, and future plans.

• Access to an extensive ecosystem with 50+ Mentors, 450+ Partners, 150+ Investors and a fast growing 110k+ Global Community

 🚀 As crypto markets are heating up, the time could not be better for a promising project to join a program like this. 

The conditions are ripe - and with an industry leading support system, your chances of succeeding are catapulted to the 🌙.

Stay tuned as we’ll be announcing our first cohort of some super promising, path breaking projects in the coming days! 

👉️ Apply here for the next cohort!