codex

Colosseum Codex: Accelerator Mentors, Ackee School of Solana, and Agave Client Runtime

Colosseum Accelerator Mentors, Ackee School of Solana, Agave Client, Four Pillars Report, Breakpoint Tickets, and Helius Automatic Private Nodes

Mike Hale

Apr 4, 2024 — 5 min read

One year ago I set out on a mission to give something back to the Solana ecosystem when I published the first issue of what was then known as the mikehale.sol newsletter.

🎂 What a journey it's been!

I sent that first issue to a total of zero subscribers on Substack, then migrated to Beehiiv, before finally joining forces with Colosseum and rebranding as the Colosseum Codex with more than 12,000 subscribers.

Throughout this past year, I've done my best to dive into the complexities, celebrate breakthroughs, and navigate the challenges of being a Solana developer.

As we all move forward together I'll continue to do my best to bring you the latest trends, analysis, news, tools, and resources each week to support your journey in the Solana ecosystem.

Thank you all for being a part of this adventure!

Now, on to the fun stuff...

🏟️ Colosseum Accelerator Mentors

Up to 10 of the teams that win the Renaissance Hackathon will be accepted into the Colosseum Accelerator and receive $250k in funding, one-to-one support from Colosseum, and guidance from the mentors:

@aeyakovenko & @rajgokal of Solana Labs
@armaniferrante & @yver__ of Backpack
@kashdhanda & @akshaybd of Superteam
@buffalu__ of Jito
@0xMert_ of Helius
@cindyleowtt of Drift
@vibhu of DRiP
@BChillman of Phantom
@SimkinStepan of Squads
@y2kappa of Kamino
@edgarpavlovsky of MarginFi
@0xrwu of Tensor
@PhilHedayatnia of Airfoil
@0xdirichlet of Sphere
@therealchaseeb of Solana Foundation
@_RossCohen of Solana Labs
@jarxiao of Ellipsis Labs
@ArbVision of Tiplink

And don't forget that The Solana Renaissance Hackathon submission portal is now open. The deadline to submit a project is 11:59pm PST on April 8, 2024, but you can edit your submission info up until the deadline.

Good luck to everyone submitting a project!

🏫 Ackee School of Solana Season 5

Ackee Blockchain Security has announced the School of Solana Season 5, starting April 10.

This 9-week, fully online and free program, is designed for developers looking to enhance their expertise in blockchain technology, specifically Rust within the Solana ecosystem.

While open to all, this program requires applicants to have a basic understanding of programming. Season 5 promises an in-depth curriculum covering Solana and blockchain basics, Rust programming, Solana programming, culminating in a certification.

The course modules include:

Introduction to Solana and Blockchain
Introduction to Rust
Solana programming model I & II
Best development practices and debugging
Front-end for Solana Programs
Security
Final Lecture & Graduation
Bonus: SPL Tokens
Bonus: Gaming
Bonus: Token Extensions

With over 1300 applicants last season, early application is encouraged to secure a place in this prestigious program and applications close on April 7.

I was a part of the Ackee Winter School of Solana 2023 cohort and I highly recommend taking part in this program!

Join School of Solana Season 5

🌵 The Agave Client Runtime

The core element of Solana is its "Sealevel" SVM runtime, which manages transaction processing and updates to the Solana ledger. Its job is to execute Solana programs and concurrently manage state.

Written by Anza engineer Joe Caulfield (@realbuffalojoe), this is an in-depth exploration of the new Agave client codebase, and explains the underlying mechanisms of how Solana executes transactions.

The Agave Runtime

💎 Developer News

Solana Mega Report: Like Apple, but Unlike Apple
Blockchain research company Four Pillars has published an in-depth report on Solana, examining it from various angles including its architecture and ecosystem of products. According to the report, Solana stands out for its efforts to make blockchain technology more accessible, focusing on areas such as DePIN, mobile technology, gaming, and payment solutions.

Breakpoint Tickets On Sale
Tickets for Solana Breakpoint 2024, to be held in Singapore on September 20-21, 2024, are now available for purchase. Attendees can anticipate a lineup of leading speakers (TBA) and an opportunity to engage with the Solana community. General Admission tickets for $500, with discounts for developers, artists, and students.

Helius Automatic Private Nodes
Helius has announced the launch of Automatic Private Nodes, streamlining the process of setting up dedicated RPC or Geyser nodes. This allows users to easily select machine specifications, region, and plugins through the Helius platform.

💸 Funding

Web3 gaming platform Elixir Games has raised $14M in seed funding, with contributions from prominent backers including Square Enix, Shima Capital, and the Solana Foundation. This funding will boost Elixir Games' efforts to develop its gaming ecosystem, scheduled to go live in Q2 2024.

⚙️ Tools & Resources

mpl-core-candy-machine is A version of Candy Machine integrated with Core, which is now live to test on Devnet.

Buddy.Link SDK enables the integration of referral and reward systems into your applications without the need for custom development. It allows users to create and distribute referral links easily with referral tracking in the background or on dedicated referral pages.

Dynamic Routing is a new feature on Ironforge that gives developers the ability to set up routing rules that are specific to the RPC Method being used. Developers might select a sequential routing strategy for most endpoints but use a Parallel routing strategy for sendTransaction, which can benefit from simultaneous processing across multiple nodes.

⚡ Quick Hits

How to troubleshoot a new Anchor program - @mikemaccana

Tips to improve your transaction land rate with web3.js - @jordaaash

The 76 Devs Show-n-Tell: Solana Godot Game Dev SDK - YouTube

The Solana Ecosystem call now has its own website - @SuperteamDAO

bitsCrunch now provides in-depth analytics to projects within the Solana Ecosystem - bitsCrunch

MetaBlox’s Roam Network Migrates to Solana - @metablox

Solana Crossroads Content Sprint with up to $7000 in prizes - Solana Collective

How to Make a Great Hackathon Demo Video - Doc

Cubik Grants Round 1 contributors gave twice the size of the matching pool - @IrffanAsiff

7 top State of the Ecosystem articles and reports - @yashhsm

🎧 Listen to This

Solfate

In this conversation, Nick and Matty discuss the Solana Global Hackathons and the launch of Colosseum. Matty shares his background in crypto and how he got involved with the Solana ecosystem, starting at Solana Labs and then to Solana Foundation.

They explore the unique structure of the Solana Global Hackathons, which focus on driving long-term sustainable startups in the ecosystem. Matty explains the decision to leave the Solana Foundation and start Colosseum as an independent organization to build a product specifically catered to running hackathons.

Nick and Matty discuss the Colosseum accelerator program and venture fund, which invests in the top teams from the hackathons. Matty covers the terms and requirements for Colosseum funding, including the 7% equity stake and the remote nature of the accelerator program.

They also highlight the value of the network and mentors provided by Colosseum. Matty explains the importance of having a strong idea and a well-structured pitch in order to win a Colosseum hackathon. He also shares tips for creating a compelling submission video.

Finally, they discuss their excitement for projects that utilize token extensions and open up new markets in the ecosystem.

Scaling the Solana Hackathons (w/ Matty, co-founder of Colosseum)