Mad News: Let Them Cook
Mad News cuts through the noise of crypto Twitter and delivers a curated snapshot of Mad Lads and Backpack stories, project updates and community highlights.
In this week’s Mad News
xNFT hackathon and Mad Lads meetup
Bitcoin and Backpack
Vitalik Buterin is a Solana maxi
NFT Showdown winners
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Table of Contents
Mad Lads & Backpack
Solana Ecosystem
Superteam Germany xNFT Hackathon
Superteam Germany is sponsoring an xNFT Track during Solana Weekend Hacks event on July 15th-16th.
The prize? A fockin’ Mad Lad.
This is an IRL event located in the heart of Berlin with workstations, WiFi, snacks and lunch. Registrations are still open.
Superteams are regional communities that help founders and developers building on Solana.
Superteam Vietnam is organizing a Mad Lads community meetup - more details below!
Solana Ecosystem Call
The monthly Solana Ecosystem call is being held on Thursday, July 8th. Thousands of developers, builders and NFT degens join the live event.
Guests this month include:
Even Raj Gokal, founder of Solana, is coming on to speak!
Mad Bitcoin Discovered In Backpack
The Backpack GitHub repot went private on June 30th but not before internet sleuths discovered Bitcoin references in the code.
Armani has stated in multiple Sunday Streams that Backpack will probably support Bitcoin in the future but it is not a priority right now.
Breakfast Meetup In Vietnam
Superteam Vietnam is hosting a breakfast meetup on July 7th at 9AM. All friends of Solana and the Mad Lads are invited!
Mad Lads In Hong Kong
The Solana x Mad Lads meetup saw nearly a dozen SOL and ETH maxis discussing Backpack, xNFTs and how they help with web3 adoption.
Let’s just say there’s some interest from ETH maxis after [Armani’s] Backpack + xNFT presentation and detailed explanations + solutions regarding friction and Web2 onboarding.
-Quirintas
Can’t meet IRL? Catch up in Solana Legend’s Townhall Spaces on Twitter.
Backpack Considers New Look
The upcoming mobile app release is driving many design changes. We have already seen a new navigation menu as well as multiple UI/UX improvements.
Armani took to Twitter for community feedback on the newest Backpack design, NFT wallpapers.
DRiP Tracker Released As xNFT
xNFT ◎tter gained Mad Legend status this week. The Solana developer and Superteam contributor showcased how an existing Solana dApp can be deployed as an xNFT.
DRiP Tracker is a tool that scans your wallet for NFTs and highlights what DRiPs are missing from your collection.
◎tter’s tutorial delivers pointed instructions that make it easy to adapt your existing code to work on Backpack.
The aim of this tutorial is to explain how it’s possible to do this without having to recode the xNFT from scratch, but simply by adapting your application’s code so that it can run in both a browser and Backpack.
Bonfida xNFT Is Constantly Updated
Bonfida’s xNFT, SNS Manager, has received weekly updates since releasing on Backpack last month.
French language support
SNS subdomains support
PFP uploads from user’s device to IPFS
Wrap/unwrap domains
Visit the xNFT Library and browse for your next xNFT!
Vitalik Is A Solana Maxi
“How are you feeling about the US policy approach to crypto?” asked Paradigm founder Matt Huang.
Vitalik was quick to show support for Solana and other blockchains that have been targeted by the SEC. This was a refreshing reminder that we’re all working together towards the same goal, the success of web3.
The Mad Lads have been bullish on Vitalik and dedicated an entire trait to the Ethereum founder.
Armani Turns On The Bat-Signal
David Hoffman (the Bankless guy) changed his PFP after the Mad Lads community showed out to tip the scales of this Twitter poll.
Armani Ferrante turned on the Mad-Signal and hundreds of Mad Lads responded to the call - and it worked.
Sunday Stream #12 w/ Armani Ferrante
Subscribe to Armani’s Twitch so you don’t miss another Sunday Stream!
Sunday Stream #12 came LIVE from a WeWork office in Hong Kong. This was the EIGHTH weekly livestream in a row. Hundreds of community members have joined the Sunday Streams to ask Armani questions and receive alpha right from the source.
Under promise, over deliver
Mad Lads staking
Scholarship NFTs
Armani goes to university
Alpha about The Roster
The WAO factor
OMBs, ZKShark and Ordinals
Lessons as a founder
How to focus on work
Hype vs Results
History of Apple
Armani works at Apple
Armani works at Alameda
Firedancer Launches Solana To New Heights
Firedancer is Solana’s second validator client with the goals of increasing network efficiency and defensibility. Solana and Ethereum are the only blockchains with more than one validator client.
According to data from Messari the Firedancer platform sets a new standard for latency times.
Mad Lads Holders Are Whales
The Mad Lads are popping up all over the Solana ecosystem. Rudie AI is a chatbot that gathers information about on-chain data and generates responses.
How many Mad Lads holders have more than 10 Mad Lads in their wallets?
197 according to Rudie.
This data is confirmed by unique holder analytics on TIEXO. Additionally, there are 10+ holders with more than 50 Mad Lads!
#CreatorBash Challenge Warming Up
The #CreatorBash challenge started last week and entries are starting to roll in.
Sidaldo set the pace with a TRAILER for his entry. This kind of production value will be appreciated by Jakey, core member of Bell studios, as he begins filming for MAD MOVIE 3.
Solana NFT Showdown Winners
The Solana NFT Showdown has come to a close with five winners taking home the grand prize - flights to Breakpoint and mentorships from rockstar Solana devs.
Alchemy: Battle for Ankhos
Developed by a team of passionate strategy game players, Alchemy: Battle for Ankhos is a play-to-own, turn-based RPG powered by AI and played entirely in Discord. Alchemy: Battle for Ankos aims to provide players with genuine ownership over in-game assets using NFTs.
FAST (Food and Spaces Together)
FAST (Food and Spaces Together) is a pioneering project with a mission to revolutionize the real estate and food industries in Mexico. The platform combines real estate, food franchising, and customer loyalty incentives into a single model.
IAM
IAM aims to bridge the gap between physical fashion and digital identity by integrating e-commerce and blockchain technology. The platform utilizes smart contracts to merge NFTs, personal avatars, and real merchandise, enhancing uniqueness, diversity, and personalization in the PFP landscape.
ID8R
ID8R is a design app for the web3 ecosystem, with a mission to improve the visual appeal of NFTs on existing social platforms, while also amplifying their reach. ID8R allows collectors to create beautiful, shareable graphics that showcase their favorite NFTs, with plans to integrate AI-enabled features in the future.
Lupers
Lupers is an NFT collection and brand built around the narrative of a noble wolf race, offering more than just unique digital collectibles. It presents an immersive universe that blends digital art, blockchain technology, gaming, and interactive storytelling.