Do up to 100x without vesting or waiting months on endThe current state of the market calls for a completely different approach to token distribution. The bull market demonstrates this clearly.Yes, we’re in a correction phase due to the Fed's speech, but the global outlook remains bullish.Existing token distribution strategies are illogical and unfair to users.Point SystemUsers earn points for specific actions or by providing liquidity in a protocol, which can then be converted into rewards.If the project team is skilled, it can effectively reward its users. A strong example is @usualmoney.However, here’s what often happens:— The value of points is diluted with new seasons.— Rewards end up in developer wallets, funds, or institutional investors.— Conversion of rewards is mismanaged.RetrospectiveThis approach has dominated this cycle: users exhibit on-chain activity and receive protocol tokens in return.While this can be a mutually beneficial exchange, human greed often skews the process.Developers intentionally delay token releases to maximize their profits and improve metrics for funds—actions that harm the project's long-term potential.Main ThesisThe market is oversaturated with current strategies, so it’s no surprise there’s a hunger for something new.And as we know, “new” is often just a well-forgotten “old.”The ICO model is an optimal asset allocation method that thrived in 2017.This approach works because it aligns with the audience's interest in the project and their ability to invest. Developers can focus on building for the community without the pressures of VC control.No more drawn-out point programs that hinder progress. This approach not only benefits investors but also enables developers to pursue real innovation in cryptography.In this post, we’ve analyzed 3 promising ICO platforms where you can invest in early-stage projects:@echodotxyzA platform for investing in early-stage startups and tokens.Echo helps decentralization-focused projects connect with real users from day one.The platform has seen success. For example, @megaeth_labs raised $10M in just 3 minutes.In an interview with @TheBlock__, Echo’s founder shared that 3,000 investors participated in the MegaETH round, with an average investment of $3,000.This is promising data for a trend that’s just beginning to take shape.@legiondotccSimilar to Echo in concept, but with different allocation mechanics.Legion is backed by Cyber-Fund, Alliance DAO, IDEO CoLab Ventures, Delphi Labs, CoinGecko, Shane Molidor, Mike Dudas, and others.The standout feature is the Score System, which evaluates users based on development achievements, cryptocurrency earnings, and social media presence.This ensures that only qualified users receive tokens.Latest project: @fuel_networkProfit: 3x@CollectivebtcThe least-known ICO platform, with no sales conducted yet and just 500 followers on Twitter.The bullish signal? It’s incubated by OKX, and the team has frequently been featured on OKX’s main Twitter account.Recommendation: Follow and enable notifications to stay updated

Web3 social aggregator Yup completes a new round of financing with participation from Nascent and others.

Web3 social aggregator Yup completes a new round of financing, with Dan Romero, co-founder of Farcaster, among the investors.

The number of interactive users and revenue of social application LENS both hit new highs this year

LENS announces the launch of the decentralized social network LENS NETWORK based on ZK STACK.

🛰️ ASTROPORT CONTRIBUTORS ESTABLISH FOUNDATION TO POWER NEW PROTOCOL DEVELOPMENT The Astroport journey began in 2021. At that time, one ecosystem shined above all others: Terra. Fueled by orgiastic deposits into Anchor, Terra was growing unlike virtually anything ever seen in crypto. And yet, the ecosystem lacked even the most basic of infrastructure. Most importantly, Terra needed a modern, flagship AMM. Astroport was born to fill that void. Originally launched in December 2021 via a joint venture with contributions from Delphi Labs and IDEO CoLab Ventures, the AMM was an instant goliath, attracting more than $1.8 billion in total value locked (TVL). The future was bright. Dozens of new protocols were slated to launch on Terra in the summer of 2022 – and all would likely drive significantly more activity on Astroport. Then UST depegged, and everything changed overnight. Contributors watched helplessly as Astroport’s TVL bled from ten figures to seven in the span of days. Contributors faced a difficult decision. We had to decide whether to shutter the projects we’d just poured a year and a half of our lives into, or refocus and rebuild somewhere new. We chose to build. Astroport was entirely reimagined as a modular AMM that can be deployed on any Cosmos chain. It first launched on Terra 2 on June 4, 2022. And today, it’s live on four other leading chains including Osmosis, Neutron, Sei, and Injective. In other words, Astroport has completely reinvented itself to become a core part of the wider Cosmos ecosystem. And the journey is just beginning. The dawn of the Astroport Foundation Late last year, a group of Astroport contributors banded together to establish The Astroport Foundation. Since then, they’ve been busy migrating systems, bank accounts, payroll and assets from Astroport’s joint venture companies into a new standalone entity. To ensure the Foundation has its own treasury and development runway, it also received a multi-million-dollar gift in ASTRO from Delphi Labs. Labs still holds a significant amount of ASTRO and will continue to offer strategic guidance and stay active in governance. The gift ensures, however, that the Foundation has critical funds to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on Astroport. With the Foundation firmly established, let’s look at what contributors have planned next. The future of Astroport On April 12, 2024, Astroport migrated protocol governance from Terra to Neutron. That move sets the stage for several of the biggest upgrades in the protocol's history. Specifically: 1. Migrating ASTRO from a Terra-based cw20 token to a Neutron-based token factory coin 2. Launching Voting Escrowed ASTRO (vxASTRO). Inspired by Curve, this creates a more efficient method of allocating ASTRO emissions by giving xASTRO lockers sole voting power over future ASTRO emissions 3. The launch of "tributes," which are offerings anyone can gift to vxASTRO holders who vote to send ASTRO emissions to the donor's chosen pool(s). For example, if I want to see more ASTRO go to NTRN-ASTRO LPs (thereby increasing the APY and likely deepening liquidity in that pool), I could donate NTRN or any other token to anyone who votes to send ASTRO emissions to that pool With these upgrades, the protocol will finally activate a sustainable economic model: one that richly rewards LPs and vxASTRO holders. As their rewards increase, that should kick off a flywheel effect. For example, rewards for LPs mean deeper liquidity on Astroport. That in turn attracts more traders who generate more fees, which increases the APY for LPs, which attracts deeper liquidity and so on. vxASTRO and tributes are designed to give protocols and individuals the ability to control liquidity flows in the Cosmos. Indeed, we’ve already seen several protocols announce that they’re accumulating ASTRO in anticipation of the launch as the ASTRO Wars heat up. Longer-term, Astroport governance’s philosophical decisions could prove as important as its strategic ones. Specifically, Astroport pioneered the rise of passive concentrated liquidity (PCL) pools in the Cosmos. These algo pools are designed to minimise impermanent loss by adjusting fees based on real-time market conditions. In effect, algo pools give LPs the ability to “deposit and chill.” No more wasting energy readjusting price ranges in active concentrated liquidity pools. Ultimately, we see AMMs diverging into two super groups: active and passive. Active liquidity caters to professional traders and market makers… the LPs who quite literally put food on their tables via liquidity provisioning. Passive liquidity caters to part-time traders, and LPs who want long-term exposure to specific crypto pairs. There’s a market for both types of AMM, and Astroport doesn’t need to win them both. Instead, we believe it should continue to cater to passive LPs. Both active and passive AMMs will likely hold trillions of dollars in assets in the years to come. Astroport’s business development efforts should fight to ensure it is always the most attractive place for passive LPs. Looking further ahead, we believe Astroport should explore sharing liquidity across chains and potentially even expanding to non-Cosmos-based chains. This will be far easier when other ecosystems adopt IBC for cross-chain messaging. In our minds, it’s not a question of if that happens, it’s a question of when. And the moment it finally arrives, Astroport should lead the way in cross-ecosystem liquidity.

KARMA3 LABS Secures $4.5 Million Funding for Decentralized Reputation Protocol OPENRANK

KARMA3 LABS has completed a $4.5 million financing round, promoting the decentralized reputation protocol OPENRANK.