Binance Staking has secured two positions on the Neo Council. At the time of press, Binance has voted with approximately 2.1 million NEO to secure its places in the Top 21.

Binance is the world's largest custodial exchange with nearly US $9.07 billion in 24-hour volume, according to CoinCap.io. Binance Staking is a service that allows users to earn distributions offered on proof-of-stake or other networks that distribute rewards to participants.

The platform provides two types of staking: flexible and locked. Flexible staking offers fewer rewards but allows users to move the underlying assets at any time. Locked staking requires users to deposit a token for a specific time frame but provides higher yields. For example, a minimum of 0.01 NEO locked for 15, 30, 60, or 120 days will earn increasing yields of 5.79%, 7.49%, 8.79%, and 13.56% (made in GAS distributions), respectively.

In the announcement post, Neo Global Development said "Binance Staking's new membership in the Neo Council is expected to bring new diversity to the Neo community and increase cross-platform user engagement for both parties."

Under Neo's governance mechanism, NEO holders use their tokens to votes in 21 nodes that serve on the Neo Council. The Neo Council's task is to maintain the network's health and liveness. Council members vote on issues impacting the state of the Neo network, such as blockchain parameters (i.e., fees) and electing other onchain roles (i.e., oracle nodes, NeoFS ring nodes).

To vote, a wallet points its address to a candidate, and any NEO held in that wallet designates favor of the Council member. Neo Council members receive a proportional 10% share of the 5 GAS distributed in each new block. NEO holders that vote for Council members will receive 80%, and the final 10% is distributed among all NEO holders, regardless of if the tokens are used to vote or not.

Lyrebird is launching its algorithmic stablecoin protocol on Neo N3. Lyrebird's dollar-pegged token, USDL, and the stabilization utility token, LRB, will be released through Flamingo's reverse liquidity pools and through upcoming "airdroplet" events. Airdroplet is a designated term to differentiate initial, smaller airdrops from general airdrops that will occur as the Lyrebird ecosystem matures. The FRP-FLM-LRB pool will launch between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. (UTC) on Friday, April 29, 2022.

The Lyrebird reverse pool will be seeded with 5 million LRB, which at an initial price of US $0.01 per LRB means it will have an equivalent worth of $50,000. The LRB will be paired against an equivalent $50,000 in FLM.

Approximately 1.5 million LRB will be released through Flamingo's reverse liquidity pools each year. Reverse pools allow users to stake LRB or USDL along with another token into a pool and, in return, receive LRB or USDL tokens as a reward.

Airdroplet Distribution
The first round of LRB airdrops will go to Lyrebird ecosystem participants for being early members in the Discord server or for testing the protocol on Neo N3 TestNet. The Lyrebird team anticipates distributing approximately 500,000 LRB through airdroplets, and there are no time-lock restrictions on any of these distributions. The snapshots for those who qualified have already been taken and will not be modified.

There are approximately 60 addresses on Neo TestNet that own LRB or USDL, and each address will receive an airdrop of 5,000 LRB tokens.

Roughly 260 Discord server members qualified for the airdrop and have already been whitelisted. Server members with green-colored handles have been approved, and those with yellow should be processed soon. Those who qualify will receive 1,000 LRB each.

Lyrebird Stablecoin Pool
The Lyrebird USDL stablecoin reverse liquidity pool will launch on Flamingo when the price of LRB shows signs of reduced volatility. The team states the purpose of the LRB token is designed to absorb USDL's volatility. Therefore, the pool will launch once the market has determined a relatively consistent value for LRB.

When the FRP-USDL-FLM reverse pool launches, there will be $50,000 USDL paired against $50,000 equivalent in FLM. However, rewards for the reverse pool will be distributed in LRB.

The Lyrebird team aims to incentivize on-demand minting of USDL through the Lyrebird website instead of releasing the stablecoin through reverse pool rewards. Therefore, the FRP-USDL-FLM pool will distribute LRB, with the goal that users will swap LRB for USDL, then provide it as liquidity in the reverse pool.

Payvo is coming, and it is going to be our best wallet yet! Read on to find out everything that has changed since our last update, including the transition from a desktop app to a fully web-based application. There is a lot to cover, so let's get straight into it!

#Payvo is Now 100% Web-Based
When we set out to build a next-gen wallet, we had a few key goals in mind:

1. Payvo needs to be the best white label out-of-the-box solution possible.
2. Payvo needs to easily integrate with any ARK-based network.
3. Payvo needs to be user and developer friendly while featuring the intuitive interfaces we have become known for.
4. Payvo needs to be modern and future-proof.
5. If you have spent any time with Web3, then you are probably familiar with the major shift towards web-based interfaces for both DeFi and wallet management. The truth is, desktop applications are outdated, so we need to make sure that we keep up with industry standards and trends. There are a lot of benefits with a move towards a web-based application, so let's take a look at a couple of the most important ones.

#Payvo Will Always be Up-to-Date
One of the most frequent support emails we get is that someone cannot see their funds, or they stopped receiving rewards from their delegate, or that their wallet is, in some way, failing to properly update the network data. In almost all cases, the solution is to update the wallet to the latest version.

With Payvo, you will always be up-to-date, meaning you will no longer have to worry whether you have the most recent version or not—it will just work. Period.

This also means that it is easier for us to push regular updates and make changes without disrupting you as the user. This leads to a better development cycle and an ability to create a more seamless interface for the end user.

#One App, Multiple Operating Systems
With the shift to a web-based application, Payvo will effectively become 'one-size-fits-all.' Whether you are on a desktop, laptop, iPad, or mobile phone, Payvo will provide a unified experience across all of your devices. Simply access the URL, and you are off to the races!

This greatly benefits developers who no longer need to maintain multiple codebases or submit to Apple or Google for approval of the mobile app. This greatly reduces the time required to get your fork up and running and makes maintenance easy.

Not only that, but the web-based application eliminates some of the restrictions caused by the previous use of Electron. This will make some features more efficient and easier to work with (such as web workers). Payvo also loads faster, runs smoother, and generally provides a better experience for both users and developers.

#White Label and Built for ARK
The shift to a web-based application is merely one of the only major changes with Payvo. We have spent a lot of time looking at our goals as a company and have put significant effort into getting back to basics. While we originally envisioned Payvo as a multi-wallet that would support BTC, Ethereum, and other assets, we feel like we need to stay squarely focused on providing the best possible solution for the ARK Ecosystem and those who fork the ARK Blockchain Framework.

As such, our goal is to make Payvo the best possible white-label solution for ARK Based networks and focus on making it plug-and-play within the ecosystem. With this change, we will also be moving away from running 'Live Service' applications directly from the ARK Ecosystem, SCIC. Everything that we build will be freely available as open-source software for anyone to run. We do not want to be the single point of failure nor pick and choose which networks matter the most. We love all of our bridgechains and want to give each and every one of them the opportunity to provide a robust application suite and set of features to their communities.

All we ask is that you leave the license in place, give us credit where credit is due, and if you get famous, give us a shout and let us know all the cool stuff you are doing!

#So When Can We Use Payvo?
We expect to have a public beta version available within the first half of March. The beta version will be fully functional and support the following features:

Fully Customizable Networks - Decide which networks you want to see inside the wallet as well as those you don't want to interact with.
Custom Networks - Add any v2.7+ Core-based network to the Payvo Wallet by providing a valid node address.
Server Management - Add your own custom nodes for interacting and/or broadcasting transactions. You are in full control (if you want to be).
Swap Integration - Payvo will come with built-in integration for both ChangeNow and Changelly at launch.
News Feed - Payvo will feature a news feed powered by FTX (previously Blockfolio) for relevant (listed) networks (only ARK at launch).
We could not be more excited to get Payvo into your hands. We believe these changes make for the best wallet we have ever produced and will provide for a more robust, futureproof white label solution for ARK Based Blockchains. Stay tuned to our blog so you do not miss out on the upcoming Beta. We cannot wait to hear all your feedback!

On the 21st of August 2021, we migrated the Lisk Mainnet to v3 which introduced numerous improvements to Lisk, such as multisignature accounts, a new address system, a new DPoS consensus algorithm, and a dynamic fee system. In order to meet internal deadlines, we had to focus our development resources on delivering these new improvements. This resulted in moving all frontend development resources to Lisk Desktop, hence compromising the availability of Lisk Mobile on launch day.

Today, we are proud to announce the release of Lisk Mobile v2.0.0 which reintroduces the core feature of Lisk on smartphones. Namely, the convenient sending and receiving of transactions. More advanced features like voting or multisignature accounts are solely available on Lisk Desktop to give our community the easiest and most user friendly experience on their mobile devices.

The next release will be Lisk Mobile v3.0.0, and will provide access to the Lisk interoperability solution which marks the launch of the Lisk blockchain application platform later this year.

New Features in Detail
Lisk Mobile v2.0.0 focuses on four topics, the access to Lisk v3 and its various new features, user experience and design improvements, Bitcoin support removal, and finally the overall security enhancements.

Access to Lisk v3
The recent major update of our Mainnet to Lisk v3 brought a wide range of new features and improvements to Lisk. From improved scalability to much lower fees, including a more decentralized DPoS blockchain and network, to a completely secure address system. In fact, as these are such major improvements it is highly recommended to view our announcement blog post of the Lisk Mainnet v3 migration, also please make sure to read the linked articles.

Internally, Lisk Mobile has a special focus. To be the most accessible wallet for the Lisk ecosystem. Taking that into consideration we have purposely limited the available feature-set solely for the sending and receiving of transactions.

User Experience and Design Improvements
Since releasing the previous Lisk Mobile we have been busy collecting community feedback to enhance and improve it even further. With Lisk Mobile v2.0.0 we focused on delivering many improvements to make its usage even easier and more convenient, as well as more consistent with our brand as can be seen in the images below.

Dashboard
Send LSK
Bookmarks

The further development of Stratis' InterFlux protocol has been quietly simmering, focusing on incorporating Token Swaps between Ethereum and the Cirrus Blockchain, enabling popular ERC20 Tokens to find their way to the Stratis Ecosystem. The added functionality within InterFlux is a critical development for Stratis, further bridging the gap between Stratis Blockchain Technologies and Ethereum.

Active projects, such as Opdex, the first wholly decentralized exchange on Stratis, benefit significantly from this further development. Providing the availability and access to popular and established tokens on Ethereum, such as USDT (Tether), Binance USD, SHIBA INU, Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), and many more. Testing has already begun internally, with deployment to Testnet expected to occur in the coming days. A two week testing period will be undertaken on Testnet, with the view to promote to Mainnet after successful test criteria is met.

The further development also lays the foundation for supporting the ERC721 standard. Enabling the transfer of NFTs on Ethereum to Stratis for listing on Stratisphere.com resulting in NFT sales incurring 0% Platform Fees and significantly reduced transactional costs. You should expect to see some high-profile transfers occur once the ERC721 becomes activated in the near future! Stratisphere.com is the worlds first zero-fee decentralized NFT Marketplace, offering ultra-low transactional costs and a great user experience. Hundreds of NFTs have already been sold by various content creators using the platform, some of which are established community members with hidden talents, and some are brand new to our ever-growing community!

As always, development progress and community participation requests can be seen within our Discord Server. Be sure to join to keep track of the progress and get involved with testing the new functionality on our Testnet.

Neo community developer Robert Oschler has won second place in the SocialFi category of the Metaverse Alliance hackathon. Oschler's project, Neo3D Live, is a 3D metaverse world that allows users to interact with one another's avatars and participate in events like real-time auctions.

Oschler developed Neo3D Live so that anyone in any part of the world can access the 3D world, regardless of their ability to purchase powerful equipment. Neo3D Live was designed for most of the world's internet users – those without VR headsets or high-end equipment. He said:

Let Metaverse residents form meaningful connections in a virtual world that will run on common hardware, including the millions of smartphones that may be the only link to the Metaverse a citizen in an economically disadvantaged region has. This is a link that has the true power to uplift the millions, if not billions of hard-working, intelligent, decent human beings who have the misfortune of being born in a region that is not economically gifted like other parts of the world.

The platform leverages the ThreeJS graphics library, a graphics engine that is widely accessible. Neo3D Live runs on almost any browser and device, so there is no need for high-powered computer setups.

The platform's beta version allows users to congregate in a digital 3D environment. Real-time video conferencing is embedded into the moveable characters, so participants can see those they're communicating with via live video feed. Oschler said, "By combining true video conferencing where participants can see each other's faces as they talk to one another and move about a fun virtual world, people can once again feel the natural human joy of forming groups based on both social and spatial relationships like they would at a party or a shopping mall."

Oschler also incorporated other elements to make the space feel more natural and interactive. In Neo3D Live, intelligent objects are embedded in the virtual world, responding to an avatar's presence. For example, walking up to a wall with an embedded YouTube video will trigger the video to begin playing. And to create a more real-life experience, a user can hear the sounds of their movements and that of others around them.

NFT Showcase
The first demo of Neo3D Live included the NFT Showcase, a custom room where an individual can purchase an NFT on auction. A demonstration of the live auction can be found below:

The NFT designer can determine who can participate in the Showcase by whitelisting public wallet addresses on Neo N3.

The Neo3D Live smart contract supports derivative commissions, so collectors can earn profits when they sell an artist's NFTs if the artist grants them that right. Further, Oschler intends the NFTs bought and sold through Neo3D Live to be viewable and transferable via third-party marketplaces (i.e., Sky Hut, GhostMarket).

Looking forward, he aims to develop and release a drag-and-drop toolkit (that doesn't require coding ability), so anyone can build a virtual world.

Tezos has secured a partnership with French esports giant Team Vitality. The three-year deal aims to bring Team Vitality closer to its fans than ever before by leveraging Tezos' energy-efficient blockchain.

Tezos Enters Esports Space
Tezos has entered into another game-changing partnership.

The Layer 1 blockchain, which prides itself on energy efficiency, announced a three-year partnership with French esports organization Team Vitality Thursday. Although details about what the partnership entails are still vague, Team Vitality stated that the deal would "revolutionize" its fan experience.

As part of the new deal, Team Vitality explained that the collaboration would help educate their fans on the benefits of blockchain as part of the gaming experience and showcase the advancements of these technologies. Additionally, the organization's CEO Nicolas Maurer explained what the partnership would mean for the esports team, stating:

"This is truly a game-changing partnership for Vitality, which feels appropriate given 2022 is set to be the biggest year in our history. The opportunities Tezos can bring to strengthen the relationship between us and our fans is incredibly exciting, and we're immensely proud to have Tezos join us on this journey."

For Tezos, the partnership appears to include brand visibility, possibly in the form of sponsorship logos on Team Vitality players' jerseys. "Tezos will be represented by top-performing Team Vitality rosters and star athletes and through unrivaled brand visibility across the esports ecosystem," Team Vitality said in a press release.

Last year, Tezos signed several major partnerships to boost its visibility. In June, Tezos made deals with Formula One racing teams McLaren and Red Bull Racing to launch collectible NFTs. Both teams stated that Tezos' low carbon footprint factored into partnering with the blockchain.

Last month, video game developer Ubisoft announced it would be launching NFTs on the Tezos-based Quartz platform, only to be hit with severe backlash from the gaming community. Despite this, Ubisoft put out a statement confirming that it will still pursue non-fungible tokens, explaining that the move is "a major change that will take time."

Despite attracting a lot of attention from brands, Tezos has otherwise struggled to gain significant momentum in the crypto space in recent months while other competing Layer 1 blockchains have seen huge growth. Musicians, artists, and art collectors appear to be some of the blockchain's biggest enthusiasts (besides Ethereum, Tezos is arguably the biggest hub for digital art NFTs, and it's also hosted NFT collections from the likes of Mike Shinoda and Doja Cat).  

Through its new partnership with Team Vitality, Tezos will be hoping to attract a new demographic of esports fans. However, after how poorly Ubisoft's foray into NFTs was received, whether Team Vitality's fans will be receptive remains to be seen. 

Neo users can beta test Saffron Finance V2 by staking and withdrawing SFI, NEO, and GAS on the N3 TestNet. Saffron is also giving away 30 Neoverse blindboxes to users who provide feedback.

To participate, beta testers must first acquire TestNet NEO and GAS from the Neo N3 TestNet faucet, which can distribute 50 NEO and 50 GAS per IP address every 24 hours. Then, testers need to request SFI TestNet tokens in the Neo Saffron Beta Testing Telegram channel. The NeoLine Chrome extension wallet is required to use Saffron.

The Saffron V2 beta platform currently offers a dashboard displaying the total value locked for each coin and APR rates for rewards (distributed in SFI). Additionally, users can deposit and withdraw NEO, GAS, and SFI from single-sided staking pools.

According to Psykeeper, Saffron founder, initial plans for the platform's launch on Neo include single-sided staking, followed by adding support for Flamingo. The Saffron development team plans to integrate with Flamingo on the N3 TestNet first, before MainNet.

At the time of press, there is a tentative late-Feb. 2022 timeframe for Saffron's launch on N3 MainNet.

Saffron is also giving away 30 Neoverse blindbox NFTs. To become eligible, participants need to email dingo@saffron.finance and share the N3 address they used for testing along with a minimum of one sentence of feedback about their experience.

About Saffron Finance
Saffron is a peer-to-peer risk management platform. It distribute yields according to liquidity deposits in particular tranches and offers an insurance fund that generates yields. Saffron offers its users a selection of risk profiles for its supported liquidity pools.

There are three tranches that depositors can utilize: senior, junior, and fee. If an event requires funds to be covered, such as a mass liquidation event, assets from the junior tranche and insurance fund will cover the senior tranche first, then the junior tranche. Junior tranche deposits receive a higher portion of the platform's earnings in exchange for their lower coverage priority.

Saffron joined the N3 Early Adoption Program in Oct. 2021, with the intention to launch a liquidity mining service on Flamingo Finance. The Saffron ecosystem utilizes a governance token, SFI, which liquidity providers must stake to gain access to higher-yield tranches. When Saffron V2 launches, SFI stakers will also receive fees from swapping and staking activities on the protocol.