Starknet Ecosystem Accelerates with BTCFi Launch and Major Infrastructure Upgrades

Starknet Research has released its latest weekly newsletter, Roundup 208, covering developments in the Starknet ecosystem. **Key Points:** - The roundup provides a complete recap of the previous week's news - Available at [Starknet Research Substack](https://starknetresearch.substack.com/p/starknet-roundup-208) - Continues the publication's regular weekly coverage of Starknet updates The newsletter includes the standard disclaimer that content is for informational purposes only and not financial advice. Readers are reminded to stay safe and do their own research when engaging with blockchain projects.

A new Loot Survivor contest has launched, featuring inter-guild competition with 100,000 STRK tokens at stake. **Key Details:** - Multiple guilds competing against each other - Prize pool: 100K STRK - Contest format brings together different community groups **Context:** This follows StarkWare's previous Loot Survivor initiatives in January, which included: - Weekly Friday streams with community vs. StarkWare team challenges - A week-long contest (ended Jan 30) offering 35K STRK to top players The increased prize pool and guild-based format represent an evolution in the game's competitive structure.

**Eternum has relaunched on Mainnet**, bringing fully onchain strategy gameplay reminiscent of classic titles like Age of Empires and Travian. **Key Details:** - The game is now live and accessible to players - Features competitive gameplay with a **$50,000 prize pool** - Early participation provides strategic advantages - Designed for players who enjoyed classic real-time strategy games The game represents a notable entry in the onchain gaming space, combining nostalgic strategy mechanics with blockchain technology. Players interested in competitive strategy gaming may want to explore the platform early to establish positioning.

**Extended** has added five new trading markets to its onchain platform this week: - **Four equities**: CRCL (Circle), MU (Micron), MSFT (Microsoft), and SNDK (SanDisk) - **One commodity**: XBR (Brent Crude Oil) The platform now offers **over 20 traditional finance markets** directly onchain through Starknet. This follows recent additions including commodities like copper, natural gas, and platinum, plus major tech stocks such as Google, NVIDIA, AMD, Tesla, MSTR, and Amazon. Extended continues bridging traditional markets with blockchain infrastructure, allowing users to trade familiar assets in a decentralized environment.

A new infrastructure roadmap for 2026 has been released, outlining three core priorities: - **Execution**: Delivering on commitments and building functional infrastructure - **Decentralization**: Advancing distributed network architecture - **Improved economics**: Enhancing financial sustainability and efficiency This roadmap builds on earlier commitments from January 2026, which emphasized execution, transparency, and practical infrastructure development. The focus remains on tangible progress rather than theoretical promises, with additional updates expected throughout the year.