#LessTrustMoreTruth is DOT Way - Newsletter Edition 82
In this week’s edition:
Editorial: #lesstrustmoretruth, reflecting the progress with DOT ways, and progress with Wag journalism.
Top Story - DOT is the Progress?: 3 years on from the first batch of parachain slots.
Featured Report - Uncovering the Evrloot Adventure: Part 1: our first investigative reporting.
Wag Roundup: News from our Finders Program between January 9th and January 15th.
Extras: Credits and anything else.
The full newsletter can be enjoyed via this link.
Editorial
What is up, my friends!
“Less trust, more truth” is a mantra our Chief Architect has emphasized on numerous occasions, often when citing the dangers posed by centralized entities. Yet, shouldn’t those building in the Web3 industry be held to a higher standard? This past week, there were two instances that likely left many questioning this.
While Web3 natives have been through a depeg or two with stablecoins, apparently it is now usual to market a 4yr bond as one and to change the documentation without much notice. Meanwhile, with all the AI mania touched upon last week, surely you trust the founders of a crypto-AI focused DAO to know how to launch it fairly.
Despite the explanations and changes, it can still leave the community with a bitter aftertaste. Distribution to KOLs is something the Polkadot DAO knows a thing or two about, and whether it’s DeFi or memecoins, transparency through governance remains fundamental. OpenGov is DOT way, where it is about #lesstrustmoretruth.
Also this week, we wish Moonbeam a happy birthday, serving as a reminder of when parachains went live on Polkadot. In this week’s top story, we’ll reflect on the ecosystem’s progress; naturally, there’s been quite a bit of development among the first batch of parachain slots winners.
Speaking of firsts, we have a special feature in this week’s edition that we hinted at when we paused our newsletter for the festive break. We’ve long strived to further develop our newsletter with investigative journalism pieces, and at long last, we’ll be releasing the first part of our undercover story that follows the launch of Evrloot’s dark fantasy MMO.
The timing of our special feature couldn’t be better, as WagMedia alumni Pnin releases his treasury-funded blockchain gaming documentary. Join us to start your creator journey, and perhaps one day, you could create something just as awesome.
Dodow, Chief Editor
Top Story of the Week - DOT is the Progress?
Written by Sanchez & Dodow
January marks the anniversary of the first batch of parachains going live on Polkadot in 2022. It was a hard-fought battle, with ~99,113,469 DOT contributed amongst the winners, worth at the time, significantly more than the ~$730,466,271 USD today.
While the order of the winning projects was Acala, Moonbeam, Astar, Parallel, and CLV (formerly Clover), the achievement likely offered little beyond bragging rights. Fast-forward to 2025, and let's look at the progress made since then.
Moonbeam celebrated its third anniversary since its launch on January 10, 2025, with impressive numbers highlighting many positive developments. Their journey has not been without challenges, which we previously covered in our featured report on their journey.
Having made it through the adversity, Moonbean now stands as a valuable cornerstone of the Polkadot ecosystem, with their MRL (Moonbeam Routed Liquidity) enabling much-needed liquidity. Furthermore, Moonbeam's direction with sustainability and its commitment to Latin America have taken shape.
Their latest proposal aims to direct over 80% of the inflation earmarked for the Parachain Bond Reserve towards their treasury to support ecosystem growth. Meanwhile, the recent partnership with Flamengo Esports for Web3 gaming, helps strengthen their presence in the local geography.
Similar to Moonbean, Astar also addresses general smart contract functionality, but in addition to EVM, they also support WASM. Despite their expansion to Ethereum, they remain popular within the ecosystem and have made solid progress..........…….
Check out our full newsletter for the full story
Featured Report - Uncovering the Evrloot Adventure: Part 1
Written by yay.oi
What’s rollin’, players! I’ve narrowly escaped a rather dicey situation, courtesy of dungeon master Dodow. While many were celebrating the birth of the Lord above, I was sent down into the underworld on a deep-cover mission, successfully infiltrating a clandestine looting community that has been operating under our noses this whole time.
Word is that they originated in one of the darkest corners of Web3, but have since embraced the light… of the silvery moon. While their allegiance may tend towards the dark side, they do reward very handsomely. So listen carefully, and I’ll explain how you too can claim your share of the spoils.
Entry is through the Evrloot portal, but before that, make sure you forge a connection with their community. Trust me, you’ll need all the help you can get. An EVM wallet will get you past the gates easily, and come in handy later, but they are accommodating to no-coiners too.
Once you’re in, it’s time to choose your clan. My attempt to form my own WagMedia faction was swiftly curtailed by handler Dodow, who reminded me that a sudden influx of our budding ecosystem agents would likely arouse suspicions and blow my cover.
Clans with the most active players can receive a boost of up to 25% for Marks drops (more about those soon), so choose wisely. Renowned groups such as WUD Lumburjaks, despite their size, have been lagging, possibly due to other distractions. You’ll find yourself better cared for under the guidance of more experienced looters, such as the River Rangers.
While the true purpose of Marks remains adark secret, my sources have advised me to accumulate as many as possible. Rumors of a great Marks Generation Event in the second quarter of the yearhave begun to spread....……...
Wag Roundup
Written by yay.oi
MVP Workshop has launched the Parachain Runtime Builder (PRB), a streamlined platform for launching a Substrate-based solo-chain or parachain with no coding required.
Origin Trail announces the launch of the ElizaOS DKG Plugin. This plugin empowers AI agents with enhanced data reliability, data ownership, ethical compliance, and the potential for collaborative intelligence with other agents by storing their memories as transparent, verifiable, and shareable knowledge graphs.
With its parachain lease ending in December, the Subsocial chain has successfully migrated from core 51 to 54 and will continue operating with Coretime renewals every four weeks.
Hyperbridge has partnered with JOINN Finance, an upcoming platform that will offer regulatory compliant access to multi-chain tokenized real-world-assets, along with a USDC spending account powered by Mastercard.
How time flies! Moonbeam is already three years old. To celebrate, it is offering free mints of a commemorative third birthday NFT on Rarible.
Thanks to the listing of WUD on CoinGecko, the price of Gavun Wud’s eponymous token is now visible on Nova Wallet.
KodaDot is showcasing digital art at NFT Paris this year and has put out an open call for artists. All artworks minted on KodaDot by February 5th are eligible.
Evrloot has teamed up with KGeN for Green January, a campaign that aims to double the number of active players. Collect KGeN points from expeditions and tasks for a chance to share in a prize pool of 1 x Epic Ring, 2 x Rare Rings, and 25 x Forged Citizenship Papers (free character NFT upgrades).
Polkadot OpenGov Big Spender Referendum 1377 proposes to initiate a bounty with initial funding of 250K DOT. This bounty will support Rust developers to carry out tasks requested by OpenGov and reputable organizations such as the Fellowship.
Polkaworld hosted Chrissy Hill (Parity) on January 10th for a deep dive into recent Polkadot developments and the vision for 2025.
Extras
Awesome cover art created by SKULLZ.
For all you budding creators out there, don't hesitate any longer – join us now! There are plenty of rewards awaiting your creativity.