NEAR has a monolithic mega-booth at Consensus 2023, where there have been a number of awesome NEAR announcements, talks, and events, including the big news out: the Blockchain Operating System is now live on Near.org and the NEAR Horizon accelerator is open for business. If you haven’t stopped by yet to meet our NEAR experts or are unable to attend, we’ve got you covered with all of the highlights.

Let’s take a look at everything NEAR at Consensus, including the BOS, NEAR Horizon, a submissions call for the latest edition of Women in Web3, and much more! And stay tuned for more NEAR at Consensus highlights over the next few days.

The BOS is now live on Near.org

On April 26th at Consensus, NEAR co-founder and Pagoda CEO Illia Polosukhin and Pagoda Chief Product Officer Alex Chiocchi announced that the Blockchain Operating System (BOS) — a real alternative to the Operating Systems of centralized platforms — is now live at near.org. 

As a blockchain operating system for an open web, the BOS is accessible to everyone, not just web3 natives. And it makes Web3 and Web2 easier than ever to access and navigate for users and developers alike. With the BOS, you no longer have to choose between decentralization and discoverability. Devs and users get the best of both worlds, whether they are new to Web3 experiences and want to play around, or developers looking to build an open web. 

Read the full BOS announcement here

NEAR Horizon: A revolutionary accelerator for Web3 startups

NEAR Foundation also announced the launch of Near Horizon, a Web3 accelerator program, on the 26th from Consensus. Built on the Blockchain Operating System (BOS), Horizon features a revolutionary marketplace where Web3 startups can find the support they need for building on Near and cross-chain platforms. 

Together with partners Dragonfly, Pantera, Decasonc, Blockchange, Fabric Ventures, dLab, Hashed, and Factomind, and Outlier Ventures, Near Horizon is on a mission to empower founding teams with the tools and support they require to accelerate the development of sustainable, profitable, innovative startups on Near.

Near Horizon’s robust network of support is a game-changer for Near builders, offering new opportunities and resources to propel the best minds in the Near ecosystem to success.

Read the full NEAR Horizon announcement here

NEAR opens submissions for Women in Web3 Changemakers 2023

Following its hugely successful launch a year ago, Women in Web3 is back! On Day 2 of Consensus, NEAR Foundation announced the return of its global Women in Web3 Changemakers list.  

Nominations are now open for 2023! Designed to showcase the talented and socially mindful women who make up the Web3 ecosystem, the initiative will once again spotlight ten exceptional leaders across the international sector and the amazing, sustainable work they do.

Members of the Web3 community — both men and women — are welcome to nominate and submit the names of female colleagues who they feel should be recognized for their exemplary contribution to Web3. Women who work in Web3 can also nominate themselves. 

Each nominee should meet the following criteria, which NEAR uses to define impact:

  1. Inclusion – driving ideas that are good for society, sustainable, and socially impactful.
  2. Influence – in the community and among peers.
  3. Innovation – contributing to interesting and socially impactful projects at work or independently.

The top ten Changemakers will be decided by you — the community! 

Important Dates for Submissions and Voting

More details on the voting process will be announced shortly. But here are some important dates.

Those selected will be included in the Women in Web3 Changemakers list, which will be shared with the press and the global community. NEAR will also feature the winners in a special series of video interviews that will air across NEAR’s social platforms and distribution network to share each award-winner’s story and contributions to Web3. Founders of Web3 companies that have made the list will also have the opportunity to meet with investors and pitch for funding at the event.

Google Cloud Unveils Web3 Startup Program 

Google Cloud recently made a splash in the Web3 space by announcing its Web3 Startup program via a Twitter thread during Consensus. Catering to seed and Series A projects and startups, the program offers up to $200K in cloud credits, and access to technical training. Recipients also receive partner perks including discounts on Nansen AI products and platform credits from Alchemy, and Thirdweb’s gasless contract deployment, support, and co-marketing opportunities.

Google’s support of Web3 will benefit founders building on the Blockchain Operating System (BOS) and those partnering with the recently launched NEAR Horizon, an accelerator revolutionizing how founders are supported in Web3. NEAR Horizon will enable founding teams to scale their project with the support they need, increasing the number of founding teams building great products with real-world value on the NEAR Protocol.

To apply, visit the application portal and explore more information on the official website.

Here’s how to get involved:

NEARCON is Returning to Lisbon and NEAR APAC is Headed to HCMC, Vietnam!

Today at Consensus, NEAR Foundation announced that NEARCON will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on November 7 – 10, 2023. In an effort to globally scale and create more accessible events, the NEAR Foundation also announced that NEAR APAC will take place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on September 8 – 12, 2023. Both events will gather an audience of builders, Web2 and Web3 entrepreneurs, industry professionals, investors, and creators from all over the world.

NEAR APAC will be the NEAR Ecosystem’s first and largest event in the APAC region. NEAR APAC delivers a world-class lineup of speakers to share latest APAC developments, unlimited potential of the blockchain industry, regional market insights, Web3 hacker festival, and insightful events for networking opportunities with local communities and partners. Head to https://nearapac.org/ on May 15th to secure your NEAR APAC tickets!

NEARCON, the NEAR Ecosystem’s Annual flagship conference is headed back to Lisbon. The Mainnet anniversary of the protocol’s launch and the biggest announcements from the Ecosystem will be featured at NEARCON. Hear from some of the most iconic names in Web3 speak on Technical updates, Web2 and Web3 trends, the latest on Governance and Regulation, Arts and Culture, and much more. 

This year the conference will take over two venues: Convento De Beato and Armazem Lisboa. Convento de Beato will host the core conference and will feature two larger stages whereas Armazem Lisboa will be Developers HQ where hackers will build all day. Both venues are just a 10 minute walk from each other. Mark your calendars because on June 1st NEARCON tickets will go live on nearcon.org!  

See you in HCMC and Lisbon this Fall!

Updates from around the NEAR Ecosystem

Mailchain brings encrypted communication to NEAR-based dApps

Mailchain, an open source, multi-chain communication layer for Web3, announced integration with NEAR. Now, NEAR developers can send encrypted messages between blockchain wallet addresses with simple, unified inbox to view and send messages and keep track of on-chain activity. 

NEAR’s vision has always been to onboard the next billion users to the Open Web. With Mailchain, these next billion users can communicate natively with one another, regardless of blockchain. 

Mailchain’s integration with NEAR is a significant step towards strengthening the interoperability mission of NEAR’s blockchain operating system (BOS). NEAR’s BOS and Mailchain are both chain-agnostic, prioritize usability and security, and together make Web3 more accessible and interoperable for users.

“Our vision aligns perfectly with NEAR’s–to onboard the next billion users,” said Tim Boeckmann, CEO of Mailchain. “When building Mailchain, we knew these next billion users would want to communicate with what mattered most to them, their blockchain identities. Mailchain’s secure communication protocol makes this a reality. We believe that this integration is a big step forwards for the developers who are building the next generation of the Internet.”

XP Network brings cross-chain NFT bridge to NEAR

During Consensus, the XP Network, a cross chain NFT bridge, went live on NEAR mainnet. XP Network allows NFT holders to transfer their NFTs to any other supported chain. XP Network recently showcased their cross-chain NFT bridge  by transferring a BSC NFT over to Near via the XP Network bridge, and selling it on Mintbase. 

Now, NFT marketplaces built on NEAR Protocol like Paras, Berry Club, Mintbase, Flux, Few & Far can list the most promising NFT collections from almost 30 other chains. XP Network’s integration will supercharge both arts and collectibles, as well as Web3 gaming on NEAR, with players now being able to buy and trade NFTs in-game across chains. 

kuutamo and Lattitude.sh give NEAR validators access to premium infrastructure

From Consensus, Kuutamo announced its partnership with enterprise-grade infrastructure provider Lattitude.sh, which will give developers and current NEAR validators more flexibility and control. NEAR validators using both kuutamo and Latitude can now access premium infrastructure at a limited promotional price, or apply for the kuutamo x Latitude Program.

A venture-backed technology company, Kuutamo offers a resilient and user-friendly node infrastructure, designed for the peer-to-peer economy. kuutamo launched the world’s first high availability node for the NEAR Protocol, giving users full control and flexibility (no lock-in effect) to execute their desired cloud strategies — differentiating itself from most large public cloud providers in the process.

Latitude is an emerging global leader, offering access to enterprise-grade infrastructure in the world’s most advanced data centers. In its partnership with kuutamo, Latitude is expanding its offering to developers and NEAR validators. Latitude already supports other leading blockchains and Web3 companies such as Solana, Ankr, and Riot Games.

WOMBI brings Web2-style analytics to NEAR

During Consensus, Wombi — a Web3 attribution platform — announced that it is now live on NEAR. With an aim to be the Google Analytics of Web3, Wombi helps decentralized app developers by connecting Web2 and Web3 funnels, so they can instantly see which marketing channels are bringing them the most impactful users. 

Wombi is now publicly available to all dApps fully live or building on the NEAR Blockchain Operating System or Protocol. All developers get free product and marketing analytics, making NEAR the first Layer 1 with a live attribution product. 

NEAR Foundation is excited to announce that NEAR is heading to the 2023 edition of Coindesk’s Consensus from April 26-28. 

NEAR has a massive base at this year’s Consensus, from which we will introduce devs and end users to the Blockchain Operating System. The Blockchain Operating System is an industry-first category, functioning as a common layer for browsing and discovering open web experiences with any blockchain.

Here is what to expect from NEAR at Consensus 2023. 

The Blockchain Operating System at Consensus 

If you saw NEAR’s big announcement out of ETHDenver, NEAR isn’t just a Layer 1 blockchain. It’s a Blockchain Operating System for the Open Web — your easy entry point into Web3. 

With the BOS, NEAR has built an industry first, with decentralized frontends and forkable components for developers. For end users, the BOS makes app discovery easy and social. All designed to bring billions of people into Web3, on any blockchain.

The BOS and much more will be on display at Consensus! 

The NEAR booth at Consensus 

Consensus is the world’s largest and longest-running crypto gathering, bringing together devs, VCs, founders, policymakers and many others in the Web3, blockchain, and cryptocurrency communities. NEAR will be at Consensus for three days of talks, panels, demos, parties, and more. 

The NEAR booth at Consensus will be souped-up and multi-faceted, delivering the latest tech and ecosystem updates for the Web3 community at Consensus! 

NEAR’s booth will feature 4 different components. Let’s explore them. 

BOS for Devs 

If you’re a developer, get onboarded into the Blockchain Operating System. Talk to NEAR and BOS experts. 

Get started learning how to build widgets and experiences within the BOS. Create interfaces, fork components, and much more, with NEAR experts as your guides.

BOS for End Users

If you’re an end user who loves Web3, experience how the Blockchain Operating System is revolutionizing the access to and discovery of Web3 apps and experiences. Set up an account and get access to all of the latest exciting experiences that are now live or being built on NEAR.

NEAR ecosystem members will be there to guide you throughout your Blockchain Operating System experience with demos, tutorials, and more! 

NEAR Ecosystem Showcase 

NEAR’s booth will also feature an Ecosystem Showcase component. Here you will learn about the latest game-changing announcements, and discover the apps and experiences being built on NEAR. 

NEAR Horizon Accelerator

The booth will also feature a space for NEAR Horizon, the ecosystem’s new accelerator. Meet with the Horizon team and get started on the Web3 funding and building journey. 

NEAR speakers at Consensus

Catch a number of exciting NEAR speakers and sessions at Consensus. The final list of participants and sessions is still being solidified. However, we do have some confirmed speakers to highlight. 

April 28th from 12:45pm – 1:30pm on Main Stage Illia Polosukhin, CEO of Pagoda and Co-Founder of NEAR on “Devs Doing Something: BUIDLing in a Bear Market” panel with Sergey Nazarov, Co-Founder of Chainlink and Emin Gun Sirer, CEO of Ava Labs.

April 28th from 3pm – 3:20pm on Protocol Village Stage — Illia Polosukhin, CEO of Pagoda and Co-Founder of NEAR, and Alex Chiocchi, Chief Product Officer of Pagoda will present on the latest Blockchain Operating System insights.

April 28th from 3:20pm – 3:35pm on Protocol Village Stage — Marieke Flament, CEO of Near Foundation and Special Guest VC 

April 28th from 3:35pm – 3:45pm on Protocol Village Stage — Alex Shevchenko, CEO and Co-Founder of Aurora: Web3 Cloud Containers

April 28th from 3:45pm – 4pm on Protocol Village Stage — Web3 Media Tech Panel. Special guests TBA.

Stay updated on the complete slate of confirmed speakers at Near.org/Consensus.

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