Cartesi Ecosystem Updates #1 (2025)

Newsletter/Feb 7, 2025/Marketing Unit

Tech

A new Cartesi Machine release is on the way, bringing exciting new features! Running it natively is now simpler and 2x faster, thanks to the latest optimizations.

On the Node side, the stable V2 release has arrived. With support from Espresso, it will power Drawing Canvas in the upcoming Testnet launch.

Cartesi has joined forces with EigenLayer for Experiment Week #3, a week full of exploring new use cases at the intersection of Cartesi’s Linux-powered coprocessor and EigenLayer’s restaking protocol. This week-long exploration is all about engineering possibilities and going after the use cases that will bring the next billion users onchain. No biggie. Follow the hackathon here.

What sets the Cartesi Coprocessor apart is its integration of a Linux-compatible RISC-V Virtual Machine, providing developers with a familiar and versatile environment for executing computations. This compatibility bridges the gap between traditional software development and blockchain innovation, allowing the reuse of existing software libraries and tools. No more reinventing the wheel.

By pairing EigenLayer's innovative restaking approach with a Linux coprocessor, we're essentially bringing a secure, scalable, real-world computer to life within the blockchain ecosystem.

If you’re eager to learn more, catch the stream with Nader from EigenLayer and our dear João. Or join the Discord and check out the dedicated Experiment Week channels.

Ecosystem

Bug Buster's smart contract bounty feature is now live on Testnet, and they've just released their second tutorial showing how to create a bug bounty for smart contracts that import OpenZeppelin contracts as external dependencies. Join their Telegram to share feedback, hone your audit skills, and help shape the future of Bug Buster.

Meanwhile, RIVES has wrapped up Creator Season, with over 1,400 gameplay submissions and nine cartridges created. If you missed the action, you can catch the recap stream here.

For digital artists—Drawing Canvas is gearing up for its Sepolia Testnet launch! This onchain creative space lets users collaborate on artwork, co-monetize drawings through NFTs, participate in contests, and more. During this phase, a select group of participants will help rigorously test the platform to finetune the dApp for optimal performance and user experience for the full release.

Locale Network, a Web3 lending platform providing dynamically adjusting smart contract loans with real-time data transparency and low-risk guaranteed loans for small business owners, has some exciting updates to share. They’ve redesigned both the architecture and UI, based on community feedback. A key part of this upgrade is their shift to the Cartesi Machine for in-house proof generation. But the biggest evolution is that Locale Network is now becoming a protocol extension product, expanding its reach by enabling compatibility with multiple lending products—diversifying both usage and funding sources.

Over in Brazil, Cartesi Rollups are now live on the Brazilian Blockchain Network in a basic form, with ongoing progress to expand functionality. Meanwhile, Prof. Antonio Rocha from UFF has developed machine learning algorithms that can "unlearn" based on user requests—without retraining. These are already deployed within the Cartesi Machine and will soon integrate with Brazil’s blockchain infrastructure.

On the Niterói (Rio de Janeiro) front, the work on the city's Mobility System (MbNit) and public transport upgrades is advancing, with a demo that can be seen in our latest Updates Call. Moreso, the bike-sharing dApp—built with a local startup for carbon compensation on Cartesi—is also demo-ready!

Cartesi Grants Program

Four new requests for proposals (RFPs) have been included in the wave 2 of CGP, and we're looking for builders to submit grant applications to bring them to life.

1️⃣ Bridge ZK and Cartesi – Develop frameworks, solutions, or tutorials that simplify integrating RiscZero’s zkVM with Cartesi.2️⃣ Timelock Decryption with Drand – Implement drand-based timelock decryption to enable trustless, delayed data access for Ethereum smart contracts.3️⃣ Read-Only SQLite for Cartesi – Integrate read-only SQLite databases with Cartesi’s coprocessor for cost-efficient, secure data lookups in Ethereum smart contracts.4️⃣ Efficient secp256r1 Passkey Verification – Help integrate secp256r1 passkey verification with Cartesi’s coprocessor, reducing gas costs for large-scale authentication on Ethereum.

Explore all the available RFPs here and get involved! To read all about our ongoing grants program, check our previous blog post.

Not a developer yourself but know someone who is? Refer them through the DevDrop Incentive Program and earn $500 in CTSI when they submit a proposal that gets successfully funded!

Developer Advocacy

The DevRel team has been busy building everything developers need to dive into Experiment Week we’re hosting with EigenLayer—from coprocessor docs to tooling. They've mapped out a complete journey in the first iteration of the docs, making it easier than ever to get started.

Don't miss the two latest episodes of I Build, Therefore I Am (Brain to Board). One features Mayur Relekar, founder of Arcana, while the other features Max Hatesuer and Carlo Fragni from the RIVES core team. Peep all the episodes here on the refreshed podcast page.

Community

First things first, wishing our Chinese community a Happy Lunar New Year of the Wood Snake! We kicked it off in style by distributing $2000 in CTSI red envelopes for quizzes in the Chinese Telegram community.

The community has been racing—no joke—on Jokerace, thanks to a fun bracket-style tournament organized by The Rollup for projects in the EigenLayer ecosystem. With everyone's support, Cartesi dominated the first two rounds and secured a spot in the next stage!

We need your help to take it all the way! Cast your vote in the next rounds—each vote costs just 0.0001 ETH ($0.28) on Base, and every voter will be rewarded with EIGEN tokens. Let’s win this together.

Upcoming Events

Heading to ETHDenver? Meet some of our contributors on the ground and join us for our Back to the Future event with Espresso (duh!) on the night of the 24th of February—this time with a fresh new format. Stay tuned for more details. 👀

Any gamers? Stop by the Cartesi Game Night hosted on the 27th of February to catch the latest on the games powered by Cartesi: Fastlane, World Tycoon, RIVES, Drawing Canvas. Whether you're a game developer, founder, builder, angel investor, or just eager to connect with gaming innovators, this event is for you. Come network, discover new games, and be part of the next wave of onchain gaming innovation!

For an overview, you can always check Cartesi’s public events calendar.