According to official Twitter account, Immutable has set the stage for gaming on the Ethereum blockchain with its recently launched zkEVM Testnet, accentuated by the involvement of @0xPolygonLabs. The progress is underscored by over 50 games that have earmarked their development on the Immutable zkEVM platform, showcasing a growing ecosystem even before its Mainnet launch.
The journey towards a fully functional Mainnet is highlighted by a series of methodical steps:
1. Testnet Launch (August): The initial phase saw the launch of the Immutable zkEVM Testnet which witnessed over 20,000 active addresses engaging in more than 100,000 transactions as developers started the groundwork for their gaming projects.
2. Testnet Re-Genesis (November): A significant transition was the re-genesis of the Testnet, upgrading the chain’s inaugural EVM client from Polygon Edge to Geth. This strategic move is aimed at aligning Immutable zkEVM closely with Ethereum, ensuring full compatibility with Ethereum’s extensive tooling ecosystem.
3. Mainnet Launch (December – January): The subsequent phase will unveil the Immutable zkEVM Mainnet, with an initial invitation to developers to explore the new chain in groups, prior to a public launch.
4. Dedicated App Chains (2024): Looking ahead, 2024 will see the introduction of dedicated app chains, offering a similar tech stack and capabilities as Immutable zkEVM but with distinct customization options. The transition to Geth is highlighted as a pivotal step towards ensuring optimal liquidity, accessibility, and security for each app chain.
5. Prover Integration (2024): A crucial milestone will be the incorporation of the zk-prover, embodying the essence of “zk” in zkEVM, and facilitating a trustless bridge between Ethereum and Immutable zkEVM.
Immutable’s vision is not just about creating a new blockchain but fostering a burgeoning ecosystem. The over 50 games committing to build on Immutable zkEVM is a testament to the platform’s potential to be the nexus of blockchain gaming on Ethereum.
Developers are urged to commence building on the live zkEVM Testnet to gear up for the upcoming Mainnet launch, as indicated on Immutable’s official developer portal.
Oasys, an emerging EVM-Compatible gaming protocol is set to debut its mainnet and has unveiled three major phases the launch process will pass through.
Per the announcement it shared via its blog post, the first step in the Oasys launch has kicked off today, October 25, and will see all of its initial validators resume taking the operation of all nodes and ensuring the Layer-1 protocol or the Hub-Layer functions effectively.
As Oasys revealed, it has spent the better part of the past few months inking strategic partnerships with important players spread across both the traditional and Web3.0-based ecosystems. At launch, it said it has as many as 21 validators including industry heavyweights such as Square Enix, SEGA, Ubisoft, ConsenSys, and tofuNFT amongst others.
The second phase of its push is set to commence on November 8 and the focus this time is on the integration of the Layer-2 protocol or the Verse-Layer on top of the Hub-Layer. The third phase will be ushered in on November 22 and amongst all else, it is focused on building a gaming or dashboard interface that gamers can interact with.
“The blockchain gaming ecosystem has grown rapidly over the past few years, reflecting an increasing appreciation of the value that projects such as Oasys have brought to the wider industry,” said Daiki Moriyama, Director, Oasys, “However, now is not the time to reflect on past accomplishments, but focus on the exciting possibilities of the future. The Mainnet launch is a significant step forward in creating a fully-functional, public-led gaming blockchain that will transform the gaming future and give extensive value to players and game developers alike.”
Oasys said the mainnet launch will come ahead of its token launch and that a part of its preparation includes a comprehensive audit of its codes by Quantstamp, a security audit firm that lists the likes of Solana and Cardano as its clients. The extensive audit is necessary considering the growing worry around DeFi exploitations, as well as bridges linked to gaming outfits.
Umbrella Network, the decentralized Layer-2 oracle solution, has officially launched on Ethereum Mainnet. The company made this announcement on its blog on Friday.
Umbrella Network is a community-owned Layer-2 oracle network that batches data for providing low-cost, scalable, and secure data. It utilizes the advances in Merkle tree technology to write multiple data points on a single on-chain transaction, making batching data to smart contracts more accurate and cost-effective. Umbrella network believes a community-owned oracle solution is essential to creating a truly decentralized financial system.
Blockchain Oracles Explained
Most blockchains have cryptocurrencies that are used to transfer value and enable the operations of the protocol. Some blockchains also enable Smart contracts.
5 BTC + 300 Free Spins for new players & 15 BTC + 35.000 Free Spins every month, only at mBitcasino. Play Now!
According to Wikipedia, a smart contract is a computer program or a transaction protocol that is intended to automatically execute, control, or document legally relevant events and actions according to the terms of a contract or an agreement. The objectives of smart contracts are the reduction of need in trusted intermediates, arbitrations, and enforcement costs, fraud losses, as well as the reduction of malicious and accidental exceptions.
Related Reading | DOTOracle – Rendering Decentralized Solutions to Polkadot and its Ecosystem
However, there needs to be a way for blockchains and on-chain smart contracts to make use of external, off-chain data for smart contracts to have any real-world applications.
Get 110 USDT Futures Bonus for FREE!
Ethereum.org clearly defines what an oracle is, the oracle problem, and how decentralized oracles solve it. “An oracle is a bridge between the blockchain and the real world. They act as on-chain APIs you can query to get information into your smart contracts. This could be anything from price information to weather reports. Oracles can also be bi-directional, used to “send” data out to the real world.”
Blockchain (e.g. Ethereum) transactions cannot access off-chain data directly. At the same time, relying on a single source of truth to provide data is insecure and invalidates the decentralization of a smart contract. This is known as the oracle problem.
This oracle problem can be avoided by using a decentralized oracle that pulls from multiple data sources; if one data source is hacked or fails, the smart contract will still function as intended.
Related Reading | Decentralized Oracle Plugin Offers Solution for XinFin’s Smart Contract
Umbrella Network claims its decentralized network is a superior solution to its competitors. It provides comparatively quick and affordable price feeds. It also says that it would make available more data pairs (currently 1,200 data pairs growing to over 10,000 by end of 2021) than any other oracle in the ecosystem.
According to Cointelegraph, the need for reliable data feeds appears to be growing as smart contract technology becomes more mainstream. For example, Brazil’s main stock exchange is exploring ways to provide data inputs for the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) project.
Umbrella Network Mainnet Launch On Ethereum
Umbrella Network’s mainnet launch on Ethereum means that it deployed Smart contracts on the Ethereum Blockchain. This means that Ethereum-based dApps can communicate with Umbrella Network code in the live environment — requesting and getting data that is reliable, comprehensive, and cost-effective.
ETH price at $3,431 | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com
Speaking on the mainnet launch, founding partner Sam Kim said, “We are absolutely thrilled to be able to achieve this important milestone. We will now be able to serve the needs of the largest DeFi community with our decentralized oracles, and look to address real challenges the community faces when it comes to the high cost, low availability of data offerings in the ecosystem today.”
The company has been busy with acquisitions and new products in recent months. In May, the network launched on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) mainnet. Umbrella network also stated its plans for future cross-chain integration with Polygon, Solana, Cardano, and Avalanche, in the coming months. In the same breath, it mentioned the launch of its in-house developed Token Bridge next week. This enables seamless transfers of $UMB across all supported Blockchains.
Featured image by @UmbNetwork on Twitter, Chart from TradingView.com
