This edition of the newsletter dives into Big Time and Open Loot. Big Time is a free-to-play multiplayer RPG that launched in November 2023, combining AAA gaming expertise with crypto functionality through its native token and integration with Open Loot, a distribution platform connecting game studios with over 1.5 million registered players. We'll also share some interesting articles, portfolio updates and market highlights.
a) Introducing the EigenLayer Security Model
• EigenLayer is a protocol built on Ethereum that introduces Restaking, allowing users to stake various assets into smart contracts and extend Ethereum's crypto-economic security to additional applications, while creating a marketplace that connects restakers, operators, and actively validated services (AVSs).
• The protocol's latest security model introduces key concepts like Operator Sets, Total Stake, and Unique Stake, which provide greater flexibility and control by allowing operators to allocate specific percentages of their stake to different services while ensuring that each unit of ETH can only be slashed by a single Operator Set at any given time.
A Novel Approach to Operating and Securing Decentralized Services
b) If A 'ZK'-Prover Network Asks For Your Data. Don’t Give It to Them.
• Many ZK prover networks prioritize speed over privacy, expecting users to share their private witness data with untrusted provers, which contradicts the security expectations users have when they hear "zero-knowledge proofs."
• The article outlines several alternative approaches for private delegated proving, including zkSaaS, CoSNARKs, and Delegated Spartan, arguing that the future of ZK technology should focus on enabling local verifiable computation that can run on any device while using prover networks primarily for proof aggregation and composition rather than direct computation.
When many users hear the term zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), they assume privacy is built-in by default. After all, "zero-knowledge" sounds like it means "no one knows my data," right? Wrong. In reality, many ZK prover networks don't care about privacy at all - they care about speed. The dominant model
c) Introducing deep research
• OpenAI is launching "deep research" in ChatGPT, a new feature that performs multi-step web research and analysis, capable of completing tasks in tens of minutes that would take humans many hours, with accessibility initially limited to Pro users (100 queries/month) before expanding to Plus and Team users.
• The model powering deep research achieves new state-of-the-art performance on evaluations like Humanity's Last Exam (26.6% accuracy) and GAIA, showing significant improvements over previous models, particularly in areas like chemistry, humanities, social sciences, and mathematics.
a) Infrared Finance
• $1 billion across Infrared Boyco markets so far as they also go live on Berachain's mainnet
b) Pendle Finance
• Pendle, a DeFi protocol that enables yield trading, experienced remarkable growth in 2024 with TVL increasing 20x to $4.4B and daily trading volumes surging 100x to $96.4M, establishing itself as a major player in the yield trading sector.
• Looking ahead to 2025, Pendle plans to expand beyond EVM chains through three initiatives: improving their V2 protocol, building "Citadels" to reach non-EVM ecosystems and traditional finance, and launching "Boros" to capture funding rate yields from the $150B perpetual futures market.
The Pendle team was first formed in mid-2020, as we explored the idea of bringing fixed rates to the wild APYs of DeFi summer. It's been almost 5 years, an eternity in crypto, but that time has...
c) Arrakis Finance
• Arrakis has announced they are building on Uniswap V4 to help solve the increased complexity of liquidity providing (LPing) that comes with V4's new Hooks feature, which allows customizable pools.
• Through their Arrakis Pro platform, they will offer tools to optimize liquidity across different Hooks, develop their own Hooks including a Private Hook with MEV protection and dynamic fees, and provide a filler service to ensure proper order flow to pools.
TL;DR Arrakis is building on Uniswap V4 to drive better outcomes for LPs and token issuers. Arrakis Pro is developing several in-house Hooks and will use its modular architecture to help token issuers optimize their Protocol Owned Liquidity across Hooks.
In the ever-evolving landscape of GameFi (gaming in crypto), Big Time has emerged as a promising contender, bringing together traditional gaming excellence with innovative crypto mechanics. Launched in November 2023, this free-to-play multiplayer RPG introduced its native $BIGTIME token to power an engaging in-game economy while delivering an immersive gaming experience. The team behind Big Time is a veteran group from the gaming and tech industries, many of whom worked on high-profile games and AAA titles.
Veteran Leadership
Helming Big Time Studios is Ari Meilich, the co-founder and CEO whose crypto expertise was honed during his tenure as CEO of Decentraland (back when the concept of "metaverse" was still popular). His vision for Big Time stems from deep experience in virtual worlds and blockchain, driving the creation of a sustainable gaming ecosystem that bridges the gap between traditional gaming and crypto elements (ability to own your character and using tokens to facilitate an in-game economy).
Working alongside Meilich is co-founder and CTO Matthew Tonks, whose impressive background includes roles as a Senior AI programmer at Epic Games and software engineer at Electronic Arts. Under Tonks's technical leadership, Big Time has integrated cutting-edge tech, including advanced AI systems, to create a seamless gaming experience. In the current narrative of AI Agents, we see a future where they will be seamlessly integrated within games (as NPCs).
The development team reads like a who's who of gaming industry veterans, bringing together talent from legendary studios such as Epic Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Riot Games, and Electronic Arts. Their collective experience, spanning blockbuster titles from Fortnite to World of Warcraft, has been instrumental in crafting Big Time's engaging world and mechanics.
Big Time's gameplay
Big Time's universe revolves around the concept of time travel, offering players an opportunity to explore various historical eras and future dimensions in an interactive manner. The game seamlessly blends PvE and PvP mechanics, with a strong emphasis on cooperative gameplay that encourages players to form alliances and tackle challenges together.
The game's character system offers rich customization through 4 distinct classes. Players can step into the role of a stalwart Warrior, specializing in close combat and defensive tactics, or harness arcane powers as a Mage. Those preferring ranged combat can choose between the precise Gunslinger or the stealthy Rogue, each offering unique playstyles and strategic approaches to combat.
Strong community and healthy financials
Since its launch, Big Time has cultivated a thriving community of players and enthusiasts. With over 650k followers on Twitter and 300k active Discord members, the game has established a strong social presence across multiple platforms with a growing community. While exact player numbers remain fluid, estimates suggest the community has grown to potentially include millions of active users - although in a slump, gaming is still the most easily understood by non-natives.
The project's financial foundation is equally impressive. In 2021, Big Time secured $10.8 million in funding from prominent firms including FBG, Digital Currency Group, North Island Ventures, OKX, and Sound Ventures. This was further strengthened by the announcement of a $150 million fund in December 2024, dedicated to advancing web3 gaming development on the Open Loot platform.
The Open Loot eco
Open Loot has emerged as a crucial component of Big Time's success. As a distribution platform connecting game studios with over 1.5 million registered players, Open Loot provides essential infrastructure for crypto asset minting and distribution. The platform's sophisticated SDK enables seamless integration of digital collectibles and currencies into gameplay.
The ecosystem supports an impressive array of blockchain networks, accommodating direct USDC deposits through Ethereum, Solana, Tron, Arbitrum, Avalanche, and Base. For token swaps to USDC, the platform supports multiple networks including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, Litecoin, BSC, Arbitrum, Optimism, and zkSync.
$BIGTIME token
Big Time's economic structure cleverly utilizes two complementary tokens. The Big Time Token (BT) serves as the primary in-game currency, earned through gameplay and used for purchasing NFTs and upgrades. Meanwhile, the Open Loot Token (OL), launched in November 2024, facilitates marketplace transactions and enables cross-game compatibility, creating a broader ecosystem for digital asset trading and staking.
The future
The roadmap for Big Time appears ambitious yet achievable. Plans include expanding the game's content with new chapters and dungeons, introducing additional character classes, and enhancing NFT integration. The development team is also exploring mobile and cross-platform possibilities, along with potential entry into the competitive gaming scene.
Community engagement remains a priority, with discussions of implementing DAO governance to give players a voice in the game's evolution. The team is particularly focused on maintaining a careful balance in their play-to-earn mechanics, ensuring that gameplay enjoyment remains paramount while still offering meaningful economic opportunities.
Big Time represents more than just another entry in the GameFi. By combining AAA gaming expertise with sophisticated Web3 functionality, it's creating a new standard for what players can expect from GameFi projects. The platform's integration with Open Loot further strengthens its position, creating a robust ecosystem that serves both players and developers while pushing the boundaries of what's possible in blockchain gaming.
As the GameFi sector continues to mature, Big Time's approach to blending traditional gaming excellence with blockchain innovation may well serve as a blueprint for future successful projects in this space.
*Disclosure: Signum Capital hold a position in the company mentioned above and the information provided on this newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional nor investment advice.
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