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ZKsync developer Matter Labs lays off 16% of its workforce

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3 months ago

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ZKsync's parent company Matter Labs lays off 16% of its workforce
  • Matter Labs has laid off 24 employees, over 16% of its workforce, amid market changes.
  • The company is shifting focus from general-purpose scaling to niche applications.
  • Despite layoffs, Matter Labs continues hiring for critical engineering and business roles.

Matter Labs, the company behind the Ethereum scaling network ZKsync, has announced the layoff of over 16% of its workforce, affecting 24 employees.

The announcement, made on September 3, 2024, by Matter Labs’ co-founder and CEO Alex Gluchowski, marks a significant shift for the company as it navigates the increasingly competitive landscape of Ethereum layer-2 scaling solutions.

Matter Labs restructuring amid market challenges

The layoffs come as Matter Labs re-evaluates its strategy in the face of changing market conditions and evolving business needs. It follows a large organizational planning exercise that revealed a mismatch between the company’s current talent and the needs of its future strategy.

According to Gluchowski, the decision to downsize was “the hardest change” he’s had to implement in the company’s six-year history.

In the layoff announcement, Gluchowski explained that the affected employees were notified of their termination and emphasized that the decision was not performance-related. He highlighted the necessity of aligning the company’s resources with its new strategic goals.

Despite the layoffs, Matter Labs is currently hiring for key roles in engineering, business development, and operations, underscoring its ongoing commitment to innovation and growth despite the reduction in staff.

Shifting focus from general-purpose to niche solutions

The layoffs are part of a broader strategic pivot for Matter Labs.

In June 2024, the company introduced the Elastic Chain, a new solution aimed at enhancing interoperability for the growing number of teams building custom chains on ZKsync. This launch has prompted Matter Labs to reconsider its positioning in the highly competitive Ethereum layer-2 ecosystem, which includes other major players like Coinbase’s Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

Gluchowski indicated that Matter Labs might be moving away from its initial focus as a general-purpose Ethereum scaler. Instead, the company is exploring more niche and case-specific applications of its technology, a move designed to better meet the needs of its users and stay competitive in the crowded market.

As Matter Labs adjusts its course, the company’s commitment to innovation remains strong. The layoffs, while difficult, are a step towards aligning its workforce and resources with its evolving strategy in the Ethereum scaling space.

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Blockchain

FIFA And Mythical Games Deal Highlights Role Of Blockchain In Sports Gaming

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1 week ago

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November 25, 2024

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The integration of blockchain technology and sports gaming continues as an international football federation partnered with a well-known crypto-based gaming studio to create a new football game for mobile users.

Football enthusiasts eagerly await the blockchain-powered free soccer game set to release next year.

FIFA Rivals

A new free-to-play mobile football game will debut in the summer of 2025. Crypto gaming firm and international football organization, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) developed a mobile game app called the FIFA Rivals.

Reports said that FIFA Rivals will be similar to the NFL Rivals game which was also developed by Mythical Games and launched in April 2023.

Users of Apple’s iOS and Android smartphones can access the Polkadot-powered mobile soccer game.

The crypto firm said the new mobile football game will tap the Mythos blockchain technology and Polkadot network. The same technology was also used in developing the NFL Rivals game.

Similarly, FIFA rivals will be built with the same technology and on the same Mythos blockchain.

According to the crypto gaming studio, FIFA Rivals will allow mobile gamers to manage their football clubs, saying that users can also compete against other players in “real-time” arcade gameplay.

“Build your squad, dominate the competition, and create your legacy in the newest title,” Mythical Games said.

As of today, the market cap of cryptocurrencies stood at $3.28 trillion. Chart: TradingView

Potential 100 Million Gamers

A Mythical Games executive predicted that more than 100 million gamers would be attracted to play FIFA Rivals.

The crypto gaming CEO, John Linden, explained that over 100 million FIFA Rivals gamers is possible because a comparable mobile game, NFL Rivals, has more than 6 million sign-ups from a far narrower audience.

Image: FIFA Rivals Teaser/BusinessWire

To contextualize this, the FIFA World Cup attracted around 5 billion people in 2022 while the NFL playoffs last year got an estimated 500 million viewers.

Blockchain And Sporting Trend

The FIFA-Mythical Games partnership is only one of the growing number of collaborations between cryptocurrency players and sporting associations, making more interactive and funnier experiences among fans.

The partnership adds to a growing trend of sporting associations partnering with blockchain gaming studios aimed at delivering fun and interactive experiences for fans.

One of the advantages of crypto-based games is that gamers can “own in-game assets and monetize them.”

The crypto gaming studio got its early success in Blankos Block Party. The company explained that it is a nonfungible token game that was transferred to Polkadot with at least 3 million monthly transactions.

The new mobile football game became a reality with the help of the Mythos Foundation launched in October 2022 which aimed to support new gamers and developers in the Mythical Games ecosystem.

Featured image from FIFA Rivals, chart from TradingView





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Sui and Franklin Templeton Team Up To Drive DeFi Adoption: Details

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2 weeks ago

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November 22, 2024

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Sui Foundation has recently made an important partnership agreement with Franklin Templeton Digital Assets, which will help develop DeFi solutions on the Sui platform. This will give the Sui ecosystem developers support and additional guidance in enhancing blockchain solutions and products.

Franklin Templeton Joins Sui Foundation to Support Blockchain Projects

A recent blog post reveals that Franklin Templeton Digital Assets will partner with the Sui Foundation to support developers deploying and working on Sui. The partnership will increase the use of decentralized finance (DeFi) in the execution of various projects and the deployment of enhanced blockchain technologies.

Franklin Templeton brings years of experience in blockchain-based technology, including node validation and investment strategies. Its dedicated research team focuses on tokenomics and leverages data science for informed decisions. Key projects highlighted by the partnership include Deepbook, Karrier One, and Ika, which showcase the scalability and security of the blockchain.

Sui Blockchain Records Impressive DeFi Growth Metrics

The blockchain has demonstrated remarkable performance in the DeFi sector since its mainnet launch in May 2023. It recorded a 675% growth in total value locked (TVL) and a 956% increase in DeFi transaction volume. These metrics underscore the platform’s efficiency, enabled by its massive parallelization technology, low transaction latency, and consistently low gas fees.

Projects like Deepbook and Karrier One benefit from Sui’s advanced infrastructure, driving developer interest and ecosystem expansion. The partnership with Franklin Templeton will boost this growth trajectory further.

Can Price Soar to $18 After 740% Rally?

Additionally, the blockchain’s native token, SUI, has seen a 740% price increase in just four months, outperforming other Layer-1 blockchains like Solana. The token is currently trading at $3.51, with analysts predicting that the SUI price could reach $18 during this bull cycle, provided it breaks key resistance levels at $3.93. Market analysts note that the price rally was driven by the blockchain’s innovative capabilities and growing DeFi adoption. 

Recently, the Sui Network faced a two-hour outage that temporarily halted block production. Validators encountered technical challenges, prompting the Sui team to deploy a fix swiftly. While the network resumed normal operations, the incident raised concerns among the community.

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Ronny Mugendi

Ronny Mugendi is a seasoned crypto journalist with four years of professional experience, having contributed significantly to various media outlets on cryptocurrency trends and technologies. With over 4000 published articles across various media outlets, he aims to inform, educate and introduce more people to the Blockchain and DeFi world. Outside of his journalism career, Ronny enjoys the thrill of bike riding, exploring new trails and landscapes.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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Bangkok to host Open AGI Summit and DevCon Conference to promote ethical AI development

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1 month ago

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October 31, 2024

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Bankok to host Open AGI Summit and DevCon Conference to promote ethical AI development
  • Bangkok will host the Open AGI Summit on November 13 alongside DevCon 2024.
  • The summit focuses on ethical AI development through decentralized governance models.
  • Prominent speakers include Pramod Viswanath and Sandeep Nailwal from leading firms.

Bangkok is set to be the epicenter of innovation as it hosts the Open AGI Summit on November 13, 2024, in conjunction with DevCon, a major blockchain developer conference.

These unique events aim to explore the intersection of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and decentralized technologies, fostering dialogue about the ethical implications of AI in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Supported by flagship partners including Google Cloud, Sentient, Polygon Labs, and SCB 10X|SCBX, the Open AGI Summit promises to engage both AI and blockchain communities.

All eyes on the Open AGI Summit

As the world advances toward AGI, concerns about centralized control and potential societal risks are becoming increasingly prominent. The Open AGI Summit seeks to address these anxieties by examining how decentralized, blockchain-based governance models can lead to safer and more transparent AI development.

By emphasizing collaboration and ethical dimensions, the summit aspires to ensure that AGI serves as a tool for universal benefit and prosperity.

The summit will feature prominent voices from the fields of AI, blockchain, and web3, including Pramod Viswanath, a professor of engineering at Princeton University, and Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon.

Nailwal highlights the critical decision society faces: to allow a handful of corporations to dominate AI technology or to embrace a future where AI is open, transparent, and accessible to all. He asserts that blockchain technology can ensure the equitable distribution of AI benefits, guided by collective values.

Discussions at the summit will cover essential topics, including advancements in AI safety research, decentralized governance structures, and ethical considerations in AI development.

Attendees can expect a deep dive into the innovative synergy between AI and blockchain, emphasizing emerging applications that could redefine industries.

Ultimately, the Open AGI Summit aims to bridge the gap between academia, industry, and the decentralized AI community, fostering collaboration towards responsible AGI development.

This convergence is essential for ensuring that AI technologies are built with a commitment to ethical principles and societal benefit, marking a significant step toward a safe and beneficial future for AGI.

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