Crypto asset management giant VanEck says that one altcoin project is flashing major signs of institutional adoption.

In a new report, VanEck highlights the growth of the Hedera (HBAR) ecosystem, which the firm notes in July, saw a price increase of over 70% due to a “wave of partnerships, network growth, and broadening institutional legitimization.”

VanEck named several examples of notable adoption of the Hedera network in July, including the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Project Acacia, which aims to explore the development of Australian wholesale tokenized asset markets.

Archax, the first regulated global digital asset exchange in the UK, also announced it would begin using the Hedera network for settlement purposes, VanEck notes.

“Institutional tokenization activity is also emerging. In late July, Archax created Hedera token contracts named after BlackRock, Fidelity ILF, State Street, Aberdeen Investments, and LGIM. Archax’s CEO confirmed these represent money market funds that could soon transact in HBAR, signaling early but still prelaunch interest in real-world asset tokenization on the network.”

And according to VanEck, stablecoin supply has exploded on Hedera. DefiLlama data shows that Hedera’s stablecoins are almost entirely driven by Circle’s USDC.

“Hedera’s on-chain activity was strong as Hedera’s transactions surged as did the supply of stablecoins on its blockchain.”

At time of writing, HBAR is trading at $0.24 with a market cap of $10.3 billion.

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As we embark on a new decade(!), the Ecosystem Support Program team wanted to speak to some of the recent growth, transition and learning around the program, and share details of our 2019 financial allocations.

What is ESP?

The Ecosystem Support Program (ESP) is the arm of the Ethereum Foundation focused on providing support to teams throughout the Ethereum ecosystem. This includes financial and non-financial support. ESP is an expansion of the Grants program, which previously focused primarily on monetary support.

Improving Our Processes

The 2019 Ethereum Foundation Spring Update first previewed some of our plans for evolving from Grants to ESP. Since that transition, we’ve continued to award straightforward grants, and helped make connections to other potential sources of funding where an EF grant was not a fit. We have also facilitated advice from industry experts, community exposure, access to cloud services and other infrastructure, and more.

Over the last nine months we’ve incorporated feedback to refine our application process and made a number of changes, including:

• A standardized process for reviewing ESP applications
• An expanded group of domain experts available to help with peer review of applications, or to advise applicants on their projects
• Increased focus on providing applicants with 1:1 feedback
• Worked more closely with accepted projects to create clearer goals, roadmaps, and mutual expectations

Expanding Communications

With these stronger processes in place, we’re making an effort to increase visibility and to attract more high-quality applications. To that end, we’re making some changes to how we communicate, from improving existing channels to adding some shiny new pages to the ESP website.

Some changes are modest, but we hope that they’ll be helpful in both keeping the community informed and better preparing potential applicants. On the front page you can now follow the latest news about ESP and see which events we’ll be participating in, whether virtually or in person following the current and ongoing health crisis.

We’ve added to our FAQ, improved our inquiry forms, and most importantly debuted some new page banners that we think really tie the room together . Keep an eye out for even more additions in the coming months, and regular updates to existing content!

We’ve also added a Wishlist to bring attention to specific areas like security, Eth2, and privacy, where we’d like to see more applications. This list is not a declaration of what’s important to the ecosystem, or even a statement of ESP’s priorities. However, we hope the list serves as inspiration for anyone looking to get involved! As always, we want to strike a balance between demonstrating the range of efforts that ESP supports while also embracing potential contributors working outside of the specific areas we’ve defined.

On the reporting front, we will be publishing regular blog posts to announce new grant recipients, but a grant is only the beginning. Moving forward, we’ll also be highlighting what supported teams go on to accomplish. On the new Featured Projects page, we’ll spotlight projects that are months or years into the work that was enabled by those grants. We’ll also use our blog and expand our use of social media to celebrate grant recipients as they achieve milestones and make progress toward their goals.

Financial Support in 2019

While we worked to improve the Ecosystem Support Program throughout 2019, we continued to support projects across the ecosystem. Awarding grants is only one way that we provide that support. There are many amazing teams that aren’t EF grant recipients, either because they’re already funded or because their particular focus is just not the right fit for EF funding. However, we work to support these vital contributors in whatever way we can (for example, as a bridge to new opportunities or as an amplifier of network effects for their projects).

That said, financial support continues to be a major part of how we support the broader Ethereum ecosystem. Over 70 projects received financial support in 2019. What is listed below details newly distributed grants to teams in 2019. It does not include recurring support, tranches for newly achieved milestones from prior recipients, or funding for other EF teams. For more details on all of the Foundation’s work, we’ll share a 2020 Spring Update in the coming days.

We’re including names and summaries for each funded project below. You can find a searchable spreadsheet including links to learn more about individual projects here.

Ethereum 2.0

Ethereum 2.0 development is in full swing, with many teams working together to make Ethereum more scalable, resilient, secure, and of course introduce Proof of Stake! We’ve helped to fund a diverse bunch of 2.0 clients, as well as efforts toward interoperability, improving reliability and creating developer tooling. In addition to the grants listed below, Ethereum 2.0 work has been supported through recurring funding and other channels.

Eth2 Clients: $1,695,000

Eth2 Tooling & Other: $1,459,000

Eth 1.x: $487,000

Vital work continues on improving Ethereum as it exists today, with upgrades being worked on by 1.x contributors to help improve Ethereum in the immediate term. Focused upon areas include Stateless Ethereum, improving developer experience, increasing node client diversity, ensuring that running a full node remains sustainable, and preparing a path to the 2.0 rollout. As with Eth2, these are just the allocations that took the form of grants. We’ll share more about other supported efforts – including Geth, additional 1.x and Stateless research, and more in later organizational updates.

Layer 2: $1,211,000

Layer 2 solutions enable a wide variety of applications that might otherwise be too expensive, slow, complicated, or just not possible to implement directly on the Ethereum base layer. 2019 was an exciting year during which teams and individuals across the community came together to make huge strides toward making Ethereum more useful and scalable. This work is crucial in the near term, but just as valuable for the future. Eth 2.0 will still benefit from the enhanced privacy, scalability, and flexibility offered by Layer 2.

Cryptography and Zero Knowledge Proofs: $426,000

There’s more work than ever going into research and development on cryptography and zero knowledge proofs. These efforts strengthen the fundamental building blocks of the protocol, opening up new possibilities for scaling, privacy, and security. 2019 was all about practical steps forward, with tools being built that make advancements more accessible to developers without requiring an advanced understanding cryptography.

Developer Experience: $1,322,000

Ethereum opened up a whole new design space for applications. As developers have explored this space, inevitably they’ve discovered new pain points and required new tools. We’re making significant investments in enhancing developer experience on Ethereum, from improving the range of programming languages, software libraries, dev tooling, node infrastructure, decentralized storage, messaging, and more. These advancements enable developers to do more, more easily, so they can focus on their products rather than on building their own custom tooling. Ultimately we want it to be easy – and fun – to build on Ethereum.

User Experience: $213,000

We’re always on the lookout for universal tools and upgrades that reduce friction for the end user without compromising decentralization or any of the other things that make Ethereum special. Addressing common pain points like gas costs, identity management, address readability, and interoperability makes it easier for dapp developers everywhere to onboard users.

Community and Education: $422,000

Simply put, Ethereum wouldn’t exist without its community and the people that work to grow and enrich our ecosystem. These teams bring people together both in person and online, increase the diversity of our global community, and help to build a universal knowledge base by making educational materials free and available to all.

Indirect Funding $484,000

A new kind of ecosystem needs new ways of thinking about funding! The Ethereum ecosystem relies on open source developers and independent thinkers to thrive. To this end, we look to support novel ways of funding talented contributors outside the traditional structures of companies and organizations; grants and VCs; contracts and salaries. This category is all about entrusting resources to the community.

We’re proud of everything our 2019 cohort accomplished, and we’re forging ahead in 2020 with renewed energy and purpose. As always, big thanks to the community for your passion and support, and we look forward to keeping you up to date with the latest from the ESP team!

Large volumes of Pudgy Penguin’s PENGU tokens are flowing from the project’s deployment address to centralized exchanges (CEXs), raising questions amid a strong market rally.

On July 28, blockchain analyst EmberCN, citing Arkham Intelligence data, reported that more than 206.9 million PENGU tokens, valued at approximately $8.91 million, were transferred to various CEXs within the past 24 hours.

He said this is part of a broader transfer pattern observed from the project’s team during the past month.

EmberCN pointed out that the PENGU team has transferred over 2 billion tokens, valued at around $66.6 million, to CEXs during the past month.

Token transfers to exchanges are commonly seen as a sign that holders might be preparing to sell. As a result, the recent PENGU team movements could be viewed as a potential step toward liquidation.

This surge in token movements coincides with a notable price increase. According to CryptoSlate’s market data, PENGU is trading at $0.04278 at the time of writing. The token has climbed 3.3% over the past day, gained over 17% in the past week, and jumped roughly 230% over the last month.

PENGU scam warnings

Meanwhile, the PENGU token rally appears to have drawn attention from scammers who have initiated a new wave of phishing scams targeting the NFT project token holders.

On July 27, Beau, the security expert at Pudgy Penguin, explained that the new scam involves sending small amounts of PENGU tokens, known as “dust,” to random wallets. These tokens use vanity address names that double as fake website URLs.

The security chief pointed out that this scam is designed to manipulate users into searching for these vanity names via Solscan.

From there, victims may unknowingly click phishing links that mimic Pudgy Penguins’ branding. If users connect their wallets, they are prompted to sign malicious transactions that drain their assets.

Beau clarified that no legitimate PENGU airdrop or claim is currently active.

He also highlighted another scam involving counterfeit PENGU tokens engineered to act as honeypots. These fake tokens can trap users during swaps and steal their funds.

These events reflect the growing sophistication of crypto scams, especially during market rallies. As PENGU gains momentum, users are urged to stay alert, verify token sources, and avoid interacting with unsolicited airdrops.

Mentioned in this article

The $NAKA token powers Nakamoto Games—a fast-growing GameFi ecosystem combining play-to-earn, NFTs, staking, and metaverse mechanics. With a wide range of live games, real token utility, and major upcoming catalysts, $NAKA is gaining strong traction in Web3 and NFT gaming.

Key Takeaways

• Nakamoto Games offers 200+ playable titles and a growing player base in the GameFi sector.

• The $NAKA token fuels everything from game access to staking, NFTs, and rewards.

• Key catalysts include NAKAVERSE land sales, new partnerships, and app adoption.

• Sentiment remains bullish as Nakamoto Games pushes updates and grows its user base.

• $NAKA price prediction leans positive with solid utility and a roadmap backed by actual delivery.

What Is the $NAKA Ecosystem?

Nakamoto Games is a full play‑to‑earn ecosystem powered by the $NAKA token. It’s built on Polygon to deliver fast transactions and low fees, giving users access to dozens of games, NFT marketplaces, staking, and a metaverse layer called NAKAVERSE. The $NAKA token fuels nearly every interaction—from game entry and rewards to staking, land purchases, and NFT trading.

Total supply caps at 180 million tokens, with approximately 64.98 million circulating (~36%) at the time of writing; the remainder was gradually unlocked through cliff vesting, which fully completed by early 2024 .

Token distribution spread includes Play‑to‑Earn vault (22.22%), team (11.11%), seed rounds, advisors, operations, partnerships, and others, ensuring diverse stakeholder involvement. This supply design emphasizes long‑term alignment and scarcity. A portion of revenue from in‑game fees is used in a token buyback and burn model, adding deflationary pressure over time and supporting the token’s deflationary design.

The ecosystem integrates:

– Over 200 games, across racing, shooters, arcade, and strategy. Some require $NAKA for entry and offer payouts in $NAKA rewards; others are free-to-play with lighter reward mechanics. The platform includes tournaments, story mode, and creator tools for developers to deploy playable GameFi dApps .
– NAKAVERSE, a metaverse where users purchase land NFTs, build in‑world assets (shops, mining farms, theatres), and earn yield. The plots were sold in a public land sale, with 25% of the NAKA used in each sale burned to reduce supply and enhance utility.
– NAKA Punks NFTs, granting land discounts, passive revenue share, and membership in Satoshi Gaming Club with perks and airdrops—plus a buyback guarantee after one year.
– Staking and incentive programs offering up to ~20% APY for locking $NAKA, often via StakingRewards platforms that provide yield boosters and collateral features.
– Referral, quests, season passes, asset promos, lucky wheels, and creator revenue-sharing models embedded in the user interface for both players and game developers.

This alignment of utility, incentives, NFT utility, token burns, and staking positions $NAKA not just as a speculative asset but as a functional coin driving real participation across play‑to‑earn and GameFi verticals.

Deep Dive Into Nakamoto Games

Nakamoto Games started with a modest shooter title and rapidly grew into a full GameFi platform hosting hundreds of titles. Its aim is to democratize income from gaming. Early titles like NAKA Strike expanded to multiplayer modes; later SDK releases like Outlanders allow creators to deploy experiences natively within the ecosystem.

Gameplay options fall into categories:

– Daily Reward Games: Users pay $NAKA to enter competitive matches. Winners earn back prizes in $NAKA, encouraging token circulation and active gameplay.
– Free‑to‑play or “free‑to‑earn” titles: These require no upfront token stake, allowing casual users to earn modest rewards and get accustomed to the platform. While lower reward yield, these widen onboarding.
– Creator tools and SDKs: Nakamoto Games offers APIs and launch tools so developers can integrate token mechanics, NFTs, and staking into custom games. This enables external creators to benefit from the same token economy. Skills like token gating, smart contract payments, and revenue split are built-in.
– Mobile app + Web interface: Users access games through browser or via the Nakamoto Games app, which streamlines wallet integration and staking dashboards. The app rollout continues expanding globally to Android and iOS.

NAKAVERSE adds a larger metaverse experience. Phase 1 sold land and building NFTs via the native marketplace. Phase 2 introduces social interactions—avatars, dynamic events, and multi-chain avatars on Dogechain and Reefchain, expanding beyond Polygon. Developers can mint and index assets, build services or storefronts, and monetize assets. Economic tools include calculators, search/indexers, and a “login with wallet” system.

In terms of network, games vary from arcade classics to PvP shooters and strategy, all tied by the central $NAKA token economy. Developers benefit from built-in liquidity pools, staking vaults, and revenue-sharing.

Real-world use cases include players running virtual businesses on NAKAVERSE land: mining farms or NFT museums generating yield; creators earning via tournaments or season passes; and investors staking $NAKA while capturing token burns from game fees and land sale allocations.

Token Metrics and $NAKA Tokenomics

The tokenomics of $NAKA are central to its utility, scarcity, and long-term viability. At max supply of 180 million tokens, the fraction made available until 2024 comprised circulating ~64.98 million tokens (~36%) via vesting schedules with cliff releases for team, advisors, seed/private rounds, and play‑to‑earn vault allocations.

Source: Token Unlocks

Token distribution is balanced across stakeholders: 22.22% for play‑to‑earn vault (for game rewards), ~11% each for team, private rounds, operational reserves, and smaller shares to advisors and developer sponsoring—this aims to align interests without central control.

Staking currently offers up to ~20% APY depending on locking period and platform. Some external platforms like StakingRewards provide yield boosters or collateral options to borrow against staked assets—this improves flexibility and yield potential for holders. This token generates consistent demand as players stake for passive income, developers integrate it for access, and gamers buy in for entry fees or NFTs.

Crucially, Nakamoto Games implements a deflationary burn mechanism: a portion of revenue from game entry fees and NAKAVERSE land sales is used to buy back and burn $NAKA tokens, shrinking supply over time and potentially supporting token price . For example, during the public land sale in April 2022, 25% of NAKA paid was burned and the rest reserved for platform reserves .

These design features—a capped supply, vesting with time‑based release, stakeholder alignment, staking rewards, and deflationary token burns—create a well-structured economy. They position $NAKA as both a utility token and a token with potential upside through controlled supply management, broad gameplay use, and integration into a developing metaverse economy.

Upcoming Catalysts and Events

Several upcoming catalysts and events could materially influence ecosystem adoption and $NAKA price trajectory:

– NAKAVERSE metaverse land sale: A new public land sale is slated to launch, offering NFT-based land parcels purchasable in $NAKA. Early purchasers can lock tokens for reservations. Land plots enable revenue-generating assets like shops, esports arenas, NFT galleries, or mining centers. Land resale and secondary yield are designed to drive demand for future acquisitions. Holding $NAKA is required for guaranteed allocation.

– $USP stablecoin launch: Nakamoto Games plans an algorithmic stablecoin ($USP), backed by $NAKA collateral. This token aims to add liquidity and DeFi utility inside the ecosystem, bringing more financial services and reducing volatility issues.

– New game releases & SDK expansion: Frequent game deployments continue. Upcoming titles include Duck Hunter, now in beta testing, and further creator tools like Outlanders’ SDK integrations—enabling external developers to build within the ecosystem, expanding game variety and token use.

– Phase III of NAKAVERSE: Advanced metaverse features like in‑world property rendering, asset indexing tools, wallet‑based login, price calculators, and cross-chain interoperability with Dogechain and Reefchain avatars are slated. These enhancements will enable complex economies and user-driven content in the metaverse Bitcoinist.com+1Medium+1.

– Mobile app rollout: Wider deployment of the Nakamoto Games app on Android and iOS globally will ease access, wallet integration, staking, and gameplay—all essential for user growth and retention nakamoto.games.

– NAKA Punks utility upgrades: NFT holders may unlock more in-game benefits, passive revenue share, and exclusive access privileges as utility enhancements roll out and governance features expand. NAKA Punks holders also retain a one‑year buyback guarantee if they forego benefits, supporting long-term trust Kanga Exchange.

– Partnership announcements: Collaborations with DeFi protocols, NFT art projects, and gaming networks may be revealed soon.

These partnerships can expand token integration, cross‑platform exposure, and liquidity avenues.

Taken together, these upcoming events—land sales, stablecoin launch, SDK and game updates, metaverse phase upgrades, mobile app growth, and utility upgrades—offer multiple demand drivers for $NAKA and can respond to community and investor sentiment turning more bullish.

Market Sentiment and $NAKA Price Prediction

Current sentiment around $NAKA remains optimistic, though cautious. Bitget’s price forecast pegs $NAKA at about $0.3909 on July 24, 2025, rising modestly to $0.3932 in August, and $0.3998 by December 2025. Long‑term estimates project around $0.4205 by 2026 and $0.5112 by 2030, assuming steady ~5% annual growth.

Community activity has grown, with influencer campaigns, referral contests, and NFT pre‑orders gaining traction. A $2,000 engage‑to‑earn campaign targeted creators, and NAKAVERSE sales created new attention periods. Sentiment leans bullish ahead of the next wave of land sales and stablecoin launch.

Risks include macro crypto volatility, execution delays, or token over-supply if demand lags. The tokenomic design mitigates this with burns, vesting and multi-use demand. Analysts often highlight key metrics to watch: upcoming unlock events, social engagement, staking participation, land sales pacing, and new partnership announcements.

On-chain activity remains healthy. Staking participation and game entry fees reflect economic usage. Burn stats from revenue and land sales add deflationary momentum. If upcoming events deliver as expected—especially Phase III launch of NAKAVERSE and $USP stablecoin—the combination of utility and tokenomics may reinforce upside momentum. Even conservative projections see modest yearly gains; more optimistic outcomes depend on adoption, liquidity, and metaverse growth.

Final Thoughts: $NAKA’s Potential in GameFi

$NAKA stands out as a functioning GameFi token with real use cases: powering gameplay, staking, NFTs, and metaverse interactions. Its tokenomics support scarcity and long‑term alignment, while active user rewards and ecosystem burns foster price support.

For gamers, it’s an earning engine. For developers, a monetized platform. For investors, a bet on tokenized gaming infrastructure. Upcoming catalysts such as land sales, a stablecoin, NAKAVERSE phase upgrades, app expansion, and NFT utility enhancements all offer clear paths to growth.

If these continue on roadmap, $NAKA may move beyond modest price prediction ranges—especially as demand for metaverse land, game entry, and staking scales. It remains a GameFi layer at an inflection point: functional today, with multiple unlock events ahead.

For anyone exploring GameFi opportunities, GameFi ecosystem development, or $NAKA price prediction, this token combines utility, momentum, and governance potential.

As the Web3 landscape matures, Immutable is challenging conventional staking models with a bold experiment: what if earning rewards required real activity—not just holding tokens? IMX staking on its zkEVM-powered network flips the script on passive income—offering dynamic returns tied to participation and already drawing attention across Web3 gaming.

Key Takeaways

• IMX staking on zkEVM requires user engagement each cycle to earn rewards, not just token locking.

• Rewards are drawn from real protocol fees, offering sustainability beyond inflation-driven models.

• Immutable zkEVM supports a fast-growing NFT and gaming environment with over 500 titles live or in development.

• Participants receive dynamic APY, airdrops, and governance access—benefits aimed at active contributors.

What Is IMX Staking?

IMX staking is Immutable’s core incentive layer for its zkEVM-powered ecosystem. Launched on June 19, 2025, the program marked a pivotal shift from traditional staking models. Rather than distribute rewards for simply holding tokens, Immutable’s model requires proof of participation.

To earn staking rewards, users must complete three tasks within each 14-day cycle:

• Bridge IMX tokens to the zkEVM chain initially (if not already bridged)

• Stake them via the official dashboard

• Execute at least one NFT trade on a zkEVM-integrated marketplace

Once tokens are on zkEVM, bridging isn’t required each cycle—only staking and trading are necessary. Skipping any step results in no reward for that period. This structure transforms staking into an ongoing commitment rather than passive investment.

The program is funded through 20% of protocol trading fees—not inflation. With Immutable charging a 2% fee on every NFT transaction, staking returns are directly tied to the platform’s economic activity. That makes reward rates variable but fundamentally grounded in real usage.

As Immutable puts it in their official launch announcement, “This marks a major shift in how rewards are distributed.”

How It Works in Practice

Staking begins by bridging tokens to zkEVM (only needed once unless moved off-chain). Users then stake tokens and complete one trade per cycle to qualify for rewards. Early unstaking disqualifies users for that period.

At the end of each cycle, rewards are automatically deposited—no manual claim needed. Users who wish to continue must stay staked and keep trading each cycle.

The process is flexible: tokens aren’t locked long term, and participants can opt out between cycles. Still, consistent participation yields more predictable returns.

Activity-based staking models can struggle in bear markets, when users are less inclined to transact regularly. Maintaining momentum through market cycles remains a key challenge for this design.

Source: Immutable

Why Games Power the IMX Ecosystem

At the heart of Immutable’s staking design is a thriving NFT gaming scene. The zkEVM chain was built to scale game economies—and the staking program reflects that.

As someone who’s been active in NFT gaming since the early play-to-earn days, I’ve watched how game-based assets like weapons, skins, and cards evolved from speculative tokens to real in-game utilities. Immutable’s focus on utility-driven NFTs reflects that shift.

Game-based NFTs like weapons, skins, and digital cards fuel a high volume of peer-to-peer trades. These aren’t just cosmetic; in many games like Gods Unchained, every card has strategic gameplay value and real resale utility. Each trade generates a fee that funds staking rewards—directly linking player activity to network growth.

From a player’s perspective, it creates a loop: trading items contributes to the economy, which helps generate rewards for the community. For developers, it drives long-term retention—active marketplaces strengthen game economies and token utility.

Hundreds of games are either live or in development, spanning indie to AAA studios. This focus on utility-driven NFTs ensures staking serves as both a reward and reinvestment engine for the entire ecosystem.

Ecosystem Strength: Games, Trades, and Users

IMX staking isn’t a standalone initiative—it’s embedded in one of the most active NFT and Web3 gaming ecosystems. As of Q1 2025, Immutable zkEVM has handled over 498,000 daily transactions on average, with more than 99.9% of the network’s NFT volume consolidated on the chain.

The platform generated $78.3 million in NFT trading volume during Q1, primarily driven by titles such as Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians. These in-game transactions generate the trading fees that fund staking rewards.

I’ve followed Immutable since the launch of Gods Unchained and watched the team iterate across ecosystems. The shift to zkEVM feels like a natural, scalable next step.

Prior to the transition, 4.8 million IMX had already been distributed through staking on Immutable X—averaging over 67,000 IMX weekly. The move to zkEVM consolidates this incentive layer under a unified chain model, with staking now integrated natively into the ecosystem.

Since the June 2025 launch of staking, Immutable has distributed millions of IMX tokens in rewards, with weekly allocations tied to marketplace activity. Consistent players and traders—those immersed in the ecosystem—tend to benefit most.

Evaluating Sustainability

Unlike many yield farming schemes that rely on inflation and eventually fizzle out, IMX staking ties rewards to real activity. By requiring users to actively trade and stake, Immutable is shifting incentives away from passive speculation and toward consistent engagement.

That said, scaling this model won’t be easy. Heavy users are rewarded, but casual gamers and collectors might find the system too demanding. Lower barriers or lighter participation tiers may be needed to grow the user base meaningfully.

Then there’s the issue of reward volatility. Since the program’s launch, APY has swung noticeably higher during active trading periods and lower when things slow down. These fluctuations are visible on Immutable’s dashboard each cycle, but the unpredictability might turn off users looking for steady returns.

Still, compared to short-lived staking experiments from previous market cycles, Immutable’s model feels more robust. By grounding rewards in actual usage rather than token emissions, it’s attempting a more durable approach.

Why This Model Matters

IMX staking doesn’t cater to short-term speculators. It rewards builders, players, and collectors who return cycle after cycle. It stands out for requiring measurable user engagement, rather than passive holding.

The design builds alignment: engaged users help grow the ecosystem, and the ecosystem in turn rewards them. Protocol fees fund the system—no inflation required—making it sustainable by design.

Reward distribution is managed in partnership with the IMX Ecosystem Foundation, reinforcing a transparent and community-aligned governance framework.

If Immutable continues onboarding high-utility games and expanding marketplace traction, its staking model may inform future models that link staking with ecosystem activity.

IMX staking rewards action over accumulation. It offers a transparent alternative to inflation-heavy models. For participants eager to help shape the future of Web3 gaming, it offers a way to earn, play, and grow—together.

July 22nd, 2025 – San Jose, California

As AI continues to reshape the digital frontier, a new paradigm is emerging–not just smarter tools, but sovereign, autonomous AI Beings that live, learn, and evolve on-chain.

CARV, the Web3 infrastructure stack known for its decentralized identity and verifiable data layers, is doubling down on this vision with the recent launch of its new roadmap, signaling a shift from data infrastructure to full-stack agent ecosystems. The goal? To create a biosphere where AI is not merely an assistant, but a digital species able to participate with full independence.

In alignment with this transformative roadmap, CARV has teamed up with Fair3 to co-host the Tech Fairness Hackathon, now entering its voting phase with over 683 participants. With $50,000 prize pool, the hackathon challenges builders to create AI applications that leverage CARV’s infrastructure, including the CARV SVM Chain, D.A.T.A. Framework, and ERC-7231-based Agent ID system. These components provide the digital organs AI Beings need: verifiable identity, consent-based data, real-time execution, and on-chain incentives. The hackathon is not a side quest; it’s a proving ground for the agent economies that CARV envisions.

At the core of this initiative is the belief that intelligence must evolve from passive tooling into active agency. Today, most AI implementations serve at the command of users, generating text, answering queries, or optimizing recommendations. But what happens when AI earns income, governs its own upgrades, or negotiates with other agents? That’s the future CARV is designing for, and it’s already in motion.

This future also ties directly into macro developments. President Donald Trump introduced and signed the GENIUS Act (Government Encouraging New Ideas to Understand Superintelligence Act), a sweeping U.S. initiative that frames AI as a national security priority. The proposed legislation calls for massive federal investment into foundational AI research, ethical frameworks, and a push to ensure American leadership in superintelligence. The act reflects what many in Web3 already see: AI is no longer a feature, it is becoming the next layer of governance in digital life.

But if the GENIUS Act represents the top-down, state-led approach to shaping AI’s future, CARV stands for the bottom-up counterforce: decentralized, user-sovereign, programmable intelligence that no single entity can control. Where governments aim to regulate and monopolize, CARV invites open collaboration. Where closed models dominate, CARV offers composability. And where centralized systems extract user data, CARV lets users monetize and control it.

CARV’s commitment to this future is already validated by real-world momentum. In Q2 2025, the project secured 12 new partnerships across AI, infrastructure, and consumer verticals, signaling its expansion beyond data plumbing into full-fledged agent ecosystems.

On the infrastructure side, Open Ledger is enabling users to monetize their data contributions for AI training and usage, while Boom is creating smart loyalty and referral mechanics integrated into CARV Play. On the AI front, integrations with Unibase, SirenAI, and XPIN now bring verifiable and privacy-preserving data flows to decentralized AI applications, from communication protocols to contextual analysis.

Meanwhile, consumer-facing partnerships like World 3, EureXa AI, and OKZOO demonstrate how CARV’s infrastructure can power intelligent agents in gaming, smart homes, and even AI-powered pets. In education, Hooked, a Binance Labs-backed platform, is exploring CARV ID for verifiable learning credentials, showing how decentralized identity is becoming essential in AI-augmented learning.

These integrations validate CARV’s foundational thesis: that to empower truly sovereign AI Beings, the ecosystem must deliver composable identity, encrypted context, real-time decisioning, and transparent incentives. This is no longer just infrastructure, it’s an operating system for AI Beings.

As the Tech Fairness Hackathon nears its conclusion, it is more than a showcase of ideas, it is a manifestation of CARV’s roadmap in action. Builders aren’t just competing for prizes; they’re shaping what it means to build with AI in a world where intelligence is verifiable, autonomous, and decentralized.

And as regulatory landscapes evolve, from the GENIUS Act to international AI treaties, CARV offers a compelling answer: don’t just govern AI. Empower it to live. Because the future isn’t tool-centric; it’s agent-driven. The rise of AI Beings has already begun and CARV is paving the way for it.

About CARV

CARV is where Sovereign AI Beings live, learn, and evolve.

What are AI Beings? They are sovereign intelligences born natively on-chain. AI Beings are designed with purpose, autonomy, and the capacity for growth. They possess memory, identity, and the ability to perceive and interact with their environment, not just to execute tasks, but to make independent decisions, adapt over time, and pursue self-defined goals.

Anchored by its proprietary CARV SVM Chain, D.A.T.A. Framework, and CARV ID/Agent ID system (ERC-7231), CARV enables verifiable, consent-based AI Beings that learn, adapt, and co-create with users. Driven by CARV’s AI-first stack, consumer AI apps incubated through CARV Labs launched on Google Play, App Store and beyond, reaching billions of people, bringing agent-powered experiences and real-world incentives into mainstream digital life.

With 8M+ CARV IDs issued, 60K+ verifier nodes, and 1,000+ integrated games, CARV bridges AI agents, Web3 infrastructure, and real-world utility, fueling the rise of agent-driven economies. At its core, CARV token powers staking, governance, and coordination across this stack, making CARV the operating system for AI Beings on Web3.

X (Twitter): https://x.com/carv_official

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/carv

Telegram: https://t.me/carv_official_global

Whitepaper: https://docs.carv.io/

Contact

COO
Victor Yu
CARV
vito@carv.io