You may recall that [REDACTED] is a global convergence to shape the future of User-Owned AI and Chain Abstraction—a future where technology belongs to the people, not corporations. 

It’s an IRL movement gathering November 9-11 in Bangkok. It’s a worldwide hackathon kicking off September 5. It’s a defining moment to unify the collective working on these technologies to reclaim our sovereignty.

Are you in?

The IRL movement: speakers announced, apply to attend

[REDACTED] is a whole IRL movement: 1,500+ devs, builders, founders, funders, researchers, regulators, and more gathering in person, November 9-11, at the Avani+ Riverside Hotel Bangkok.

Some things can only happen IRL, and some are just way better. Like:

• Gaining insights from the teams defining the intersection of AI and Web3
• Upskilling and learning how to develop AI x Web3 products and apps
• Forming deep connections to build the user-owned future together

[REDACTED] will feature a wide range of curated sessions, workshops, and discussions led by the people driving AI x Web3 and Chain Abstraction. We can finally share that this includes:

• Illia Polosukhin (NEAR)
• Curtis Spencer (Electric Capital)
• Anand Iyer (Canonical)
• Maartje Bus (Messari)
• Matt Stephenson (Pantera)
• Calanthia Mei (Masa)
• Evrard-Nil Daillet (Google)

And more to come as we get closer to Bangkok.

Tickets to the [REDACTED] IRL movement are totally free—you just have to apply to attend, either as a participant or as a hacker (about which, see below). Visa letters are available to support visa applications.

For the absolute latest on the movement, join the official [REDACTED] Telegram channel.

[REDACTED] Hackathon Registration Is Live

Registration for the [REDACTED] hackathon is OPEN.

The [REDACTED] hackathon sets top problem-solvers to collaborating on the biggest issues in AI x Web3 and Chain Abstraction. Kicking off September 5, it’s eight weeks remote so teams can go deep, and it culminates at the IRL movement in Bangkok, November 9-11. 

Hackers accepted into the hackathon can expect workshops and tutorials on industry-leading tools, interactive discussion and support from category/ecosystem experts, and, oh yeah, a chance at over $500k+ in bounties and prizes.

There will also be travel scholarships so qualifying hackers can be IRL in Bangkok for the awards ceremony—and to participate in the IRL movement.

Get Involved with [REDACTED]

There are a lot of ways [for partners?] to get involved with [REDACTED], from digital marketing exposure and exclusive access to side events to major visibility at the IRL movement. Find what’s right for you.

The post [REDACTED] Speakers Announced, Hackathon Registration Is Live appeared first on NEAR Protocol.

The day was charged with excitement, drawing over 8,000 attendees from various corners of the APAC region and beyond. With Web3 thought leaders, innovators, and enthusiasts converging in Vietnam, Day One of NEAR APAC kicked off with a slew of riveting discussions, industry insights, and speculations on the future of the Open Web with a focus on APAC.

From discussions around regional growth and investment potential to how AI and blockchain will transform the future of work, here’s everything that went down at an incredible start to NEAR APAC.

Setting the stage for NEAR APAC with Vietnam in focus

The event kicked off with a focus on southeast Asia, with NEAR’s Vietnam country director Riley Tran welcoming attendees and providing context as to Asia’s critical role in the overarching development and expansion of Web3. Tran was followed by two NEAR luminaries, CEO Marieke Flament and co-founder Illia Polosukhin.

“Asia’s young demographics and rapid digital growth, especially in Vietnam, position it as a leader in crypto and blockchain growth,” Riley explained. “With over 100 million new internet users in just three years, Asia’s momentum in Web3 is accelerating”

Marieke added that the overall NEAR ecosystem remains strong with over 29M active wallets and 650K daily active accounts. She added that a collaborative approach to building tomorrow’s Open Web is critical for tackling significant societal and digital challenges.

“Today’s Web 2.0 is closed and siloed, with the prevailing digital culture being a toxic dialectic,” Marieke expressed. “But the value loop of an Open Web holds immense promise. We’re already seeing how projects like KaiKai, SWEAT, and PlayEmber can move the needle in the right direction.”

Echoing Mariek’s sentiment, Illia emphasized that it’s not necessarily about championing a specific blockchain, but about creating a common layer and interface for the Open Web. This is precisely what the Blockchain Operating System (B.O.S.) is in the process of achieving.

“Looking forward, tech isn’t the only focus,” said Illia. “It’s about blending scalable solutions with user-centric experiences, with the B.O.S. becoming the essential entry point into Web3 for both users and developers.”

Asia’s role in mainstream adoption and regulatory hurdles

The push for mainstream blockchain adoption in APAC was also in focus on Day One, with NEAR Foundation CMO Jack Collier leading a panel discussion on current adoption challenges and how APAC can potentially lead the way in overcoming them.

“I’m extremely bullish on gaming as a key part of mass adoption,” opined Don Pham, Google Cloud’s regional Web3 specialist. “Vietnam is the birthplace of Axie Infinity, which is just the beginning of blockchain gaming’s potential. Use cases like loyalty, gaming, and music NFTs combined with better UX will likely be the path forward.”

The discussion dove deeper into the importance of user experience in the adoption of blockchain. Marieke reiterated that while technology forms the backbone, the real test will be simplifying the user journey, which can significantly hasten adoption across the APAC region as well as globally.

Regulation was also in focus with a panel about blockchain policies and APAC’s vision for governments and associations. Mary Beth Buchanan, a board member of the Cardano Foundation, drove home the need for regulatory clarity while discussing regional frameworks in countries like Hong Kong.

“The biggest challenge is not necessarily regulation, but lack of clarity,” observed Buchanan. “If regulations are unclear that will cause investors not to want to invest in the space. Builders become hesitant to build and users aren’t going to know what the rules are. Regulators need to recognize that clarity is what everyone wants.”

Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence during the afternoon sessions

Day One of NEAR APAC dedicated a significant chunk of its schedule to exploring the intricate interplay between AI and blockchain, particularly their role in APAC’s future technology and Web3 landscape. Illia took the stage just after the lunch break to discuss the Convergence of AI and Web3, diving deep into AI-empowered DAO and the future of AI-assisted work.

“While technologies like ChatGPT have found product market fit, much of AI is still siloed and doesn’t empower open source communities and projects,” Illia posited. “Web3 can operate in the middle, with AI models incorporating all participants and data sources. DAOs, for example, can be co-piloted by AI to achieve goals and KPIs faster and more efficiently.”

In the following panel discussion entitled “The Roles of Blockchains in an AI World,” Illia was joined by several AI and blockchain experts from the APAC region. One of the more distinguished panel members was Dr. Nguyen An Khuong, a lecturer and blockchain researcher from Ho Chi Minh University of Technology, who provided an academic perspective. 

“We have a lot of research endeavors in Vietnam around ensuring AI’s ethical applications using blockchain,” commented Dr. Nguyen. “We’re looking at how transparency and accountability in AI decisions can be drastically improved with blockchain technology. Combining a neutral AI with a blockchain’s public ledger could enhance the ecosystem and foster wider adoption.”

Illia drove home that the potential “Skynet” scenario of AI taking over the world is mostly a projection of what humans might do if they were given supercomputing powers. In reality, developments like the B.O.S. and NEAR Tasks will aid humans in success and productivity, with AI agents acting as middlemen for assistance, sourcing, and even creativity.

Day One of the first-ever NEAR APAC was a rousing success, with these highlights just being the tip of the iceberg. The crowd was treated to bánh mì’s and Manga cosplay during lunch, B.O.S. building and gaming workshops on the Builder Stage, and an awe-inspiring NFT gallery from APAC creators.

As the sun sets in Saigon, the NEAR Foundation couldn’t be more appreciative of the Vietnamese crypto community. The momentum rolls on tomorrow with Day Two, so stay tuned for more updates and insights around emerging APAC trends in Web3, how blockchain gaming is taking off in Asia-Pacific, and local DeFi developments. 

If Day One was any indication, the NEAR community’s growth, presence, and development in APAC will only continue accelerating through 2023 and beyond!

The post NEAR APAC Day One: Scaling Local Adoption, Regional Regulation, and AI in Web3 appeared first on NEAR Protocol.

Launched in March 2022 by the NEAR Foundation, this simple modal will appear whenever users are given the option to “Connect Wallet” to the NEAR blockchain. 

Wallet Selector provides developers and builders with new options to connect their projects to NEAR, and in future, will allow mobile apps to connect to the NEAR blockchain seamlessly in just a few clicks. 

Unlocking the wallet ecosystem 

At launch, Wallet Selector will feature three supported wallets: 

• NEAR Wallet – a simple, easy to use web-based wallet. 
• Sender Wallet – a browser extension available Chrome, Brave, and other browsers.
• Ledger Wallet – the secure hardware wallet that allows users to store their wallet in a secure place. 
• Meteor Wallet – the simple and secure wallet to manage your crypto, access DeFi, and explore NEAR.

Thanks to NEAR’s open and inclusive approach, other wallet developers will be able to contribute to the NEAR ecosystem.

Developers looking to add their wallets, there is documentation and instructions on the NEAR Github repository.

The post Introducing Wallet Selector: A New Tool for the NEAR Ecosystem appeared first on NEAR Protocol.

In the web3 world, this idea can be neatly summed up by one word: decentralization. This is a process whereby control and the tools to create and reimagine everything from business to creativity are progressively handed over to the contributors. 

The NEAR Foundation has been steadily progressing in this mission, from the growing number of validators to the flourishing DAO community. But NEAR isn’t alone on this journey. It relies on projects in and around the ecosystem to help accelerate this mission. Enter Aurora.    

This project, started originally by a core team of NEAR developers, is now helping build bridges to other ecosystems and accelerating the adoption and decentralization in equal measure. 

A Bridge Between NEAR and Ethereum

Built by NEAR Inc’s core team (now Pagoda), Aurora is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) smart contract platform that creates a bridge between Ethereum and NEAR. An EVM, for those who don’t know, is best thought of as a decentralized computer that allows anyone to create a smart contract on the Ethereum network.

Although an EVM, Aurora works on top of the NEAR blockchain, giving it all of the benefits of the NEAR blockchain: super fast, incredibly secure, and infinitely scalable transactions. That’s possible thanks to Nightshade, NEAR’s unique sharded protocol design that allows the network to process thousands of transactions per second without skipping a beat. 

With Aurora, the idea is that anyone building Ethereum projects can make use of the NEAR’s speed and low fees. The Aurora EVM allows developers to make use of NEAR’s blockchain, while the platform uses NEAR’s Rainbow Bridge to transfer assets. 

Let’s look at Rainbow Bridge, as this protocol is where things got started. 

Aurora and Rainbow Bridge

NEAR’s core developer team wanted to create a smart contract that would perform the function of allowing tokens to flow freely between Ethereum, NEAR, and other projects. The team’s vision: create a tool that allowed assets to exist on both NEAR and Ethereum, creating a multi-chain Web3 user experience.

To do this, the team would need to create a bridge that would be completely decentralized: anyone could use it, anywhere, and at any time—without permission. The developers were able to build the bridge and now, if one wants to move an Ethereum-based token—say, a stablecoin like DAI—and use it on NEAR’s network, they can do so via the Rainbow Bridge. 

Some of NEAR’s core team that had helped create Rainbow Bridge split off to continue their work. The result: Aurora—a project that now offers the bridge and a whole host of other features designed to create a global network of open-source Web3 projects. 

Aurora partnerships

Other projects working to improve cross-chain accessibility have since taken notice of Aurora’s work and become partners. One example is Allbridge, an application that unites scattered blockchains by means of global interoperability across all networks. Since Allbridge partnered with Aurora, it has launched a bridge between Aurora and Terra, an open-source stablecoin network and one of the biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap. 

Aurora is also playing a big part in decentalized finance (DeFi) growth in the NEAR ecosystem. DeFi refers to the peer-to-peer financial services built on public blockchains, and is one of the most active crypto sectors on NEAR. The NEAR community has been working tirelessly to make it easier for DeFi apps and tools to leverage the protocol’s developer-friendly advantages. 

One way that Aurora has made this process much smoother and more decentralized is through its extremely low fees (so low, they’re negligible), which it achieves by using the NEAR network. A constant gripe from users about Ethereum-based DeFi products is that the fees are often too high, creating a barrier to entry for developers and end users, and creating a hurdle to Web3’s mainstream adoption. 

Aurora adoption is growing so much that the team released Aurorascan, its very own version of Etherscan, the most popular Ethereum block explorer and analytics platform. Aurorascan has all of Etherscan’s features set and reliability, while giving developers the tools and data to see how Aurora’s EVM functions. 

But Aurora goes beyond DeFi. The platform is also integral to the NEAR community’s NFT projects, which have exploded in popularity since 2020. When the Aurora team spoke at this year’s ETHDenver conference in February, and they were joined by members of Endemic, Chronicle, and TENKBay—all NFT platforms that have launched on the Aurora EVM and NEAR Protocol.  

Future Aurora developments

So what does Aurora have up its sleeve for the future? Well, Aurorascan is still in beta mode, so more features will be added to that platform. And the team is also working to build new bridges, which will be announced in the coming months. 

There are also plans to allow NFTs to be able to hop between Ethereum and NEAR. You can keep up to date on all things Aurora on its Medium page.  

All this and more will help those wanting to take advantage of NEAR’s super fast and extremely cost-effective network, and help the dream of a truly decentralized world become a reality. 

The post NEAR’s Road to Decentralization: A Deep Dive into Aurora appeared first on NEAR Protocol.

The DevRel team is simply amazed by our dev community, and we are thankful for the support and time every developer spends building projects on NEAR. So, as a humble way to say “Thank You”, we’ve prepared an NFT tutorial series so you can go from Zero to NFT Hero before the new year knocks on your door.

If you are new to Rust and want to dive into smart contract development, this series is a great place to start, especially if you want to learn about non-fungible tokens. 

In this “NFT Zero to Hero” series, you’ll find a set of tutorials that will cover every aspect of a non-fungible token (NFT) smart contract. You’ll go from minting an NFT using a pre-deployed contract to building a fully-fledged NFT smart contract that supports every extension.

NFT tutorials

As a sneak peek, here’s a list of the NFT tutorials that will bring you from Zero to Hero in no time:

• Pre-deployed contract: Get introduced to minting an NFT without the need to code, create, or deploy a smart contract.
• Contract architecture: Learn the basic architecture of the NFT smart contract and you’ll compile this skeleton code with the Rust toolchain.
• Minting: Flesh out the skeleton so the smart contract can mint a non-fungible token.
• Upgrade a contract: Discover the process to upgrade an existing smart contract.
• Enumeration: Explore different enumeration methods that can be used to return the smart contract’s states.
• Core: Extend the NFT contract using the core standard, which will allow you to transfer non-fungible tokens.
• Approvals: Expand the contract allowing other accounts to transfer NFTs on your behalf.
• Royalty: Add the ability for non-fungible tokens to have royalties. This will allow people to get a percentage of the purchase price when an NFT is purchased.

Next steps

If you’re ready to start, jump into our Dev Docs and begin your Hero learning journey! If you already know about non-fungible tokens and smart contracts, feel free to skip and jump directly to the tutorial of your interest. 

These tutorials have been designed so you can start at any given point, so you don’t need to start from zero if you’re already a Hero. 🙂

Have any questions, comments, or feedback? 

We hope you enjoy these holidays with your friends and family, and we wish you the best for 2022! May all our Web3 projects be successful, decentralized, and environmentally friendly, just like NEAR. 🙂

Join us on Discord and let us know in the #development channels. 
We also host daily Office Hours live Monday – Friday 11 AM – 12 PM PT (6 PM – 7 PM UTC), where the DevRel team will answer any questions you may have!

The post Zero to Hero NFT Series: Happy Holidays from DevRel! appeared first on NEAR Protocol.

RPC API Keys

• TL;DR: Added support for RPC Server API Keys (PR #729)

The JavaScript library now allows you to define an API key to authenticate with the target RPC server. This feature comes in preparation for the upcoming change that will require keys to access our public RPC servers. Supporting API keys will also allow you to connect to third-party and non-public RPC servers in the future. If you’re wondering about the integration, you can find some practical code examples in our Cookbook.

For the moment there’s no need to take action on your side: currently, this is a non-breaking change, and your JavaScript code will continue to work correctly if you don’t provide an API key.

New verify method

• TL;DR: Added a verify method on PublicKey type to verify signature correctness (PR #710)

Before this change, you could only verify a message or signature with KeyPair, which also required having a secret key. This requirement was completely irrelevant in the context of the signature verification process.

Thanks to the new verify method, it’s now possible to verify signatures using just a public key. You can find a code example on how to verify with a public key in our GitHub repository.

Key file permissions

• TL;DR: Key file permissions changed to 0o600 (#706)

Account credentials are stored on your hard drive whenever you use the CLI with NEAR login. Regular file permissions allowed anyone on the system to access and read those credentials. As we care about security, we changed how the stored credentials’ file permissions are set, so only the owner can access the content.

Please note that this change won’t affect the permissions on existing keys. If you are handling sensitive keys, we recommend changing the file permissions manually.

Before:

[near@x1 ~] stat –format ‘%a’ ~/.near-credentials/testnet/near-test.testnet.json

644

After:

[near@x1 ~] stat –format ‘%a’ ~/.near-credentials/testnet/near-test.testnet.json

600

Fixes

We also added some fixes and minor changes; if you’re curious, feel free to check them on the NEAR-API-JS 0.44.0 Official Changelog.

The post near-api-js 0.44.0 Released appeared first on NEAR Protocol.

Blockheads

Creative possibilities are endless thanks to the new developments and technologies rising in the crypto space. For example, Dorian (a member of Near Inc. DevRel team) runs a YouTube series called Blockheads, where he creates fun examples of things you can build on NEAR. He’s also fond of the world of Minecraft, especially during quarantine. 

After learning about NFTs, Dorian thought it would be fun to give Minecraft artists and builders the ability to mint their buildings and creations as NFTs and sell them on the open web. So, using the Mineflayer JavaScript library, he created a bot that could monitor the in-game chat and pull information about the game’s environment. Then, using that bot, he created blueprints that a user could then mint onto the NEAR blockchain. The following video shows the bot named Jerry in action:

The app grew and took shape. Finally, Ben Kurrek from Near Inc. DevRel had the great idea of using the popular World Edit mod to get the building data and store it in a .schem file. This file then gets uploaded to IPFS for storage, and the content identifier (CID) is saved to the NEAR blockchain itself. The flow is smooth, and .schem files capture the building designs more accurately than Jerry could on his own.

If you’re interested in seeing how the complete flow works in minting a Minecraft building, check out the NFTs tutorial Ben created. It’s simple, fun, and very straightforward (of course, if you have questions, you can ask us during Office Hours).

As it currently stands, getting Jerry to read .schem files has been tricky since they aren’t a conventional file type that JavaScript (Jerry’s preferred language of choice) can understand right out of the box. But progress is still being made. So if you would like to join Dorian on this endeavor to make Minecraft NFTs on NEAR, you can contact him on Discord.

Have any questions, comments, or feedback? 

Join us on Discord and let us know in the #development channels. 

We also host daily Office Hours live Monday – Friday 11 AM – 12 PM PT (6 PM – 7 PM UTC), where the DevRel team will answer any questions you may have!

The post Minting Minecraft Blueprints As NFTs appeared first on NEAR Protocol.

Standard dApp development consists of a Web 2 tech stack for the front-end and state management handled by smart contracts deployed on the blockchain for the back-end. With this hybrid approach, it can be tricky to determine what to store on and off-chain. For example, keeping all of the files for a front-end’s UI on-chain is less efficient and cost-effective when compared to existing SQL or no-SQL solutions. However, there are times when larger data files will need to be stored in a permanent decentralized manner (such as NFTs that contain large images or songs), so the content is always accessible to its owner.

As a new developer in the crypto space, your first approach to storing various media files might be to use the same blockchain where the smart contract is being deployed. However, the storage cost for large amounts of binary data on the blockchain can be prohibitive and ultimately not practical.

To solve this problem, teams of developers have been working on creating decentralized storage solutions focused on storing large amounts of data at a competitive price. These solutions allow dApp developers to maintain a decentralized infrastructure that secures the availability of your data when needed. Arweave, IPFS, and Sia’s Skynet are three great examples of such projects, and we are excited to share ways you can integrate their platforms into your project.

The DevRel team has published a new article on Decentralized Storage Solutions, that gives you a brief introduction to each solution and an integration example so you can quickly try them out and find the optimal solution for your project.

At NEAR we are committed to helping create a healthy Web3 ecosystem where everyone can build projects that integrate different technologies, solutions, and networks that fit their needs. We want developers and users to choose which tool is the best for the job and ensure interoperability is maintained.

Have any questions, comments, or feedback? 

Join us on Discord and let us know in the #development channels. 
We also host daily Office Hours live Monday – Friday 11AM – 12PM PT (6PM – 7PM UTC), where the DevRel team will answer any questions you may have!

The post Decentralized Storage for dApp Developers appeared first on NEAR Protocol.

Deployment changes

– near deploy now warns users if there is an existing contract deployed. (PR #883)

near deploy (used for deploying smart contracts to a given account) now has an added prompt warning users if an existing contract has already been deployed. NEAR accounts can only have one contract deployed per account, but we frequently saw developers would accidentally overwrite existing contracts, especially when first onboarding to our platform. This prompt should help folks understand the singular contract concept and mitigate any accidental state changes to existing smart contracts.  

Access Keys changes

– near delete-key now prompts for confirmation of key deletion. (PR #890)

Similar to the near deploy update, near delete-key (used for deleting an access key from an account) now prompts users for confirmation of this action. It will also ask the user to make sure this key is not for a recovery method. In addition, if you are deleting the last full-access key it will give a second prompt warning the user that this will fully lock the account/contract. Deleting all full-access keys will disable the ability to recover access to an account and should have an extra warning layer to prevent an accidental ownership lockout.

New flags

– `-f, –force`  flags added to override warning prompts. (PR #890)

The two big changes introduced with this CLI release are only new for those who are already using scripts to run the above commands (deploy and delete-key). For those who want to upgrade to NEAR CLI 3.0.0 and still use scripting for these commands, we have added the -f or –force flags to override the warning prompts.

NEAR-CLI 3.0.0 Official Changelog

The post NEAR CLI 3.0.0 Released appeared first on NEAR Protocol.