Starknet

**Blob Arena has returned with a complete reset** The popular game has wiped the slate clean: - Daily progress reset - Weekly progress reset - All leaderboard standings reset This marks a fresh start for all players, coming roughly a month after the previous soft reset in March that only affected top-ranked players. That earlier reset had halved trophies for the top 100 players while preserving progress for lower ranks. The full reset gives everyone an equal opportunity to climb the rankings from scratch.

Two new blockchain games have launched on mainnet: **Abyss** - A roguelite slot-machine game combining dungeon-crawling mechanics with casino-style gameplay. **Midgard** - A platform that allows players to wager on their onchain gaming performance and skills. Both games are now accessible to players, expanding the options for onchain gaming experiences. These launches add to the growing roster of web3 games that integrate blockchain technology directly into gameplay mechanics. [Learn more about Midgard](https://x.com/PlayMidgard/status/2045111033434427849)

**Share Internet**, backed by StarkWare, has closed a seed funding round to develop a payment infrastructure for Africa. **Key Details:** - The project will leverage **Starknet** blockchain technology - Focus on creating accessible payment solutions for the African market - Aims to combine decentralized infrastructure with user-friendly experience The initiative represents StarkWare's continued expansion into practical payment applications, building on Starknet's capabilities for micro-payments and trading with enhanced privacy features.

**Starkzap continues momentum with 3.5k downloads** The development tool has reached approximately 3,500 downloads, showing steady growth from 2,800 users two weeks prior. **Key highlights:** - Growing developer adoption across the ecosystem - Thread demonstrates practical build examples - Tool simplifies development process The platform enables builders to create applications more efficiently. Examples of projects built with Starkzap are available in the referenced thread. Developers can access the tool at [starkzap.io](https://starkzap.io/)

**Privilys has officially launched its beta version**, marking a significant milestone as the first Layer 3 solution built on Starknet. **Key Features:** - First L3 infrastructure on Starknet - Privacy-powered neobank functionality - Beta version now accessible to users **Context:** This launch follows Starknet's February announcement about bringing privacy solutions to Bitcoin. The team indicated they would share design details and roadmap information in the coming weeks. Privilys represents a practical application of Starknet's privacy technology, combining Layer 3 scalability with banking services.

Starknet has published pre-release notes for version 0.14.2, marking the next iteration of network upgrades. This follows the successful deployment of v0.13.4, which introduced Cairo-Native for faster smart contract execution, L2 gas pricing for more accurate transaction fees, and stateful compression to reduce storage costs. The v0.13.4 update delivered significant optimizations that lowered fees for Starknet users and improved the developer experience. The new v0.14.2 pre-release notes are now available for community review. **Key context:** - v0.13.4 went live on testnet in February 2025 - Previous version included Cairo-Native, L2 gas, and stateful compression - v0.14.2 details available at [community forum](https://community.starknet.io/t/0-14-2-pre-release-notes/116146)

Starknet mainnet experienced a brief ~10 minute downtime starting at 8:10 AM UTC on April 20 for the v0.14.2 protocol upgrade. **Key Changes:** - **In-protocol proof verification** - Starknet can now verify proofs natively at the protocol level, eliminating expensive application-layer workarounds - **Native privacy unlocked** - Enables STRK20 and strkBTC tokens with built-in privacy features - **zkThreads foundation** - Lays groundwork for infinite scaling through parallel execution - **Decentralization building blocks** - Adds infrastructure for future decentralized validation The upgrade passed community vote on April 16 after STRK stakers and delegators approved the changes. Additional improvements include revised storage economics and StarkGate token contract upgrades. This represents a fundamental shift in how Starknet handles proof verification, moving critical functionality from the application layer into the core protocol.

**strkBTC is set to launch by end of April/early May**, bringing a new Bitcoin wrapper to Starknet that combines hard money principles with privacy and DeFi productivity. **Key features:** - Privacy-enabled Bitcoin transactions - Built on STRK20s privacy technology - Compliance integrated from day one - Full DeFi composability on Starknet **What this means:** Bitcoin holders will be able to do more than just HODL - they can participate in Starknet's DeFi ecosystem while maintaining privacy. The asset aims to provide Bitcoiners with confidential balances and private transfers. **Get involved:** Interested users can contact the team at [strk20.starknet.io](https://strk20.starknet.io/) to participate in the upcoming launch. Bitcoin can already be bridged to Starknet in preparation. This launch is part of Starknet's broader privacy initiative, which includes STRK20s - a privacy layer for all ERC-20 tokens with built-in compliance.

Starknet has activated **post-quantum resistant wallets** on its network, marking a significant step in blockchain security. **Key Features:** - No address changes required for users - No hard fork needed for implementation - Proving system already post-quantum by design - Seamless upgrade path for existing wallets This development positions Starknet ahead of potential quantum computing threats to blockchain security, while maintaining backward compatibility.

**Starkzap** is lowering the barrier to entry for blockchain development. The platform demonstrates how developers can quickly transform app ideas into functional onchain applications. This represents a significant shift in blockchain development accessibility. **Key points:** - Building consumer apps on Starknet has become straightforward - Developers can create virtually any application type - The platform abstracts away blockchain complexity - No deep technical blockchain knowledge required This development signals a maturation of blockchain infrastructure, where the underlying technology becomes invisible to both developers and end users. The focus shifts from technical implementation to actual user experience and functionality.