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Hi NoRamp Community,

Daily News:

1) ENS & GoDaddy Collaborate To Link Domains With Crypto Wallets

2) Epic Games to List Call of Duty-Style Crypto Game 'Shrapnel'

3) Farcaster Sees 400% Increase in DAUs Amid ‘Frames’ Frenzy

4) Vast Bank Exits Crypto Market, Closes Crypto Banking App

5) Sprinque & Mangopay Collaborate on B2B Marketplace Payments

ENS & GoDaddy Collaborate To Link Domains With Crypto Wallets:

• Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has formed a partnership with GoDaddy, a major player in internet domains, to enable easy linking of domain names to Ethereum addresses, enhancing Web3 functionalities like dApp access and crypto payments without additional fees.

• This collaboration, marking a "significant milestone" in the convergence of traditional internet and blockchain technology, allows GoDaddy users to connect their domains directly with decentralized identifiers on ENS, streamlining the process of using domains for blockchain-related activities.

• Despite an ongoing legal dispute between ENS and GoDaddy over the sale of the "eth.link" domain, this integration reflects a willingness to bridge legacy internet systems with the evolving Web3 landscape, promoting broader adoption of blockchain technology. The announcement has also positively impacted the ENS token price, which saw a significant increase in January.

Epic Games to List Call of Duty-Style Crypto Game 'Shrapnel':

• "Shrapnel," a Call of Duty-style crypto game, has launched on the Epic Games Store, entering the competition among high-budget web3 video games aiming for mainstream success. This move places "Shrapnel" alongside other notable blockchain-powered games like "Star Atlas" and "Illuvium," available in early-access to build community and refine gameplay.

• Developed by Neon Machine, "Shrapnel" is described as an AAA first-person extraction shooter, set in a dystopian future, with a development team comprising former Xbox and Electronic Arts employees. The game emphasizes community involvement in its development process, a departure from traditional AAA game launches, promising a free-to-play model by 2025.

• Early interest in "Shrapnel" appears strong, with its Discord community surpassing 100,000 members. The game's unique approach to early access and customization options for characters, weapons, and maps aims to position it as a leading title in blockchain gaming. Additionally, "Shrapnel" has raised $37.5 million in funding, indicating significant investor confidence in its potential.

Farcaster Sees 400% Increase in DAUs Amid ‘Frames’ Frenzy:

• The Farcaster protocol, a decentralized network for social media applications, experienced a 400% increase in daily active users within a week, attributed to the launch of Frames on its Warpcast app, growing from 5,000 to over 24,700 users.

• Frames, introduced on Jan. 27, significantly enhanced user engagement by allowing interactions with external links and applications directly within Warpcast, leading to a 1,000% increase in daily posts, reaching over two million by Feb. 3.

• Founded by ex-Coinbase engineers, Farcaster aims to be a "sufficiently decentralized" social network, with Warpcast as a client built on it. Frames leverage Farcasters' secure authentication system, ensuring transactions are safe without leaving the app, despite a temporary period of "degraded activity" due to the sudden surge in user engagement.

Vast Bank Exits Crypto Market, Closes Crypto Banking App:

• Vast Bank, based in Oklahoma, US, has announced the shutdown of its cryptocurrency mobile banking app, exiting the cryptocurrency market. The app, launched in 2021 in partnership with SAP and Coinbase, allowed customers to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies alongside traditional banking services, claiming to be the first US bank to offer such a service.

• The decision to disable and remove the app by January 31, 2024, comes after a consent order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which cited the bank for engaging in "unsafe or unsound practices" across various areas, including capital and strategic planning, risk management, and controls over new products and technologies.

• Vast Bank's closure of its crypto services and the liquidation of digital assets held in custody were influenced by the need to realign operations and comply with regulatory requirements. The bank's CEO, Tom Biolchini, referred to the move as a "strategic decision" to separate cryptocurrency ventures from its core community banking activities, in light of the OCC's directives specifically targeting the bank's cryptocurrency operations.

Sprinque & Mangopay Collaborate on B2B Marketplace Payments:

• Sprinque, a B2B payments platform, has announced a strategic partnership with Mangopay, a provider of modular payment infrastructure for marketplaces and platforms, aiming to enhance payment solutions for merchants and marketplaces by enabling growth and tapping into cross-border B2B opportunities.

• The collaboration focuses on providing customizable payment infrastructures and terms to support B2B marketplaces' expansion and revenue growth, leveraging Sprinque's expertise in enabling frictionless purchasing and Mangopay's comprehensive e-wallet solution and payment infrastructure.

• This partnership marks a significant step towards innovating payment processes in the B2B sector, offering marketplaces robust tools for flexible payment management, including buy now, pay later options for B2B customers, in response to the rapid growth of the B2B marketplace industry.

NoRamp:

NoRamp is building Web2’s favorite Web3 apps on our lightning-fast payment infra. Join our discord, dive into our our docs, or check out our website to learn more.