Colosseum Codex: Solana RFPs, QuickNode Sample Apps, Jito Tips

As part of the Breakout Hackathon, Colosseum is running a series of livestream workshops to help builders level up their skills and strategy throughout the hackathon.

📅 The remaining sessions include:

• Apr 25: Mindset, Process, and Priorities - Making a Plan for Hackathon Season (Jeff Paul, Turbin3)
• May 1: Decentralizing the Whole Stack with Walrus (Daniel Leavitt, Walrus)
• May 6: Intro to Game Development on Solana (Jonas Hahn, Solana Foundation)
• May 8: Lessons Learned – How Not to Die (Arnold Lee, Sphere)
• May 10: From Localnet to Mainnet with Surfpool (Micaiah Reid, txtx)

All sessions are virtual, open to all Breakout Hackathon participants, and will be recorded and available for viewing after the event.

You don't want to miss any of these so subscribe to the calendar!

💡 Solana RFPs

The Solana Foundation has announced two new RFPs aimed at improving open-source developer tooling, with a total of up to $75,000 in available funding.

The first RFP focuses on improving the Solana Math Library, with a total budget of $45,000.

The goal is to expand the existing math crate by adding missing functionality, supporting additional data types, and implementing performance enhancements. Key deliverables include support for common bitwidths like u64, u128, and u256, a native muldiv operation, simplified and efficient rounding logic ($12,500), and general performance improvements.

The second RFP provides $30,000 in funding to develop a feature-complete Python renderer for Codama, a tool that generates standard IDLs and client libraries from Solana programs.

Currently, Python support is missing. The proposed work involves implementing the existing GitHub issue and matching the functionality already available in the Rust and JavaScript renderers.

Deliverables include merging the /renderers-python implementation into the Codama GitHub repository and maintaining the renderer for one year.

The application deadline for both RFPs is April 30, 2025, with project completion expected by July 31, 2025. Proposals should also include fixes for any audit issues that may arise.

Developers interested in contributing to essential Solana infrastructure are encouraged to apply. These tools will be widely used and trusted across the ecosystem.

Solana Foundation Public RFP Database

🧰 QuickNode Sample Solana Apps

QuickNode has released a library of sample applications designed to help developers accelerate their understanding of Web3 development across multiple blockchains, including Solana. 

These ready-to-use examples offer insight into how to build and deploy functional apps using QuickNode endpoints and Marketplace add-ons. 

Each application includes step-by-step implementation guidance and leverages common development tools such as TypeScript, Solana RPC, and various QuickNode services. 

• Solana Wallet Explorer: Retrieves token balances, transaction history, and NFTs for a specified wallet using a QuickNode Solana endpoint.
• Solana Action Blinker: Parses Solana Action URLs to execute, view, or generate Solana Actions. Users can connect their wallet and perform on-chain actions based on structured inputs.
• Solana Token Minter: Enables creation of fungible tokens on Solana with IPFS image upload support via QuickNode's IPFS API.
• Solana Stake UI: A streamlined interface for staking to a Solana validator. The app includes wallet integration and simplifies the staking process for users.
• Solana Jupiter Trading Bot: Implements a simple trading bot using Jupiter’s v6 API and QuickNode’s Metis add-on. The bot scans for profitable arbitrage opportunities between token pairs and executes trades.

Solana developers can explore the full library and access source code and tutorials as a resource for learning how to interact with the Solana blockchain.

QuickNode Sample Apps

📦 Jito Tip Deep Dive

Jito Tips have become the dominant method for transaction prioritization on Solana, now accounting for over 60% of priority fee volume, up from just 10% in April 2023. 

Originally designed for MEV searchers, Jito is now embedded across frontends, wallets, bots, and aggregators, functioning as a default inclusion layer for all transaction types. 

While most SOL tipped comes from a small group, broader adoption has been driven by UI-level defaults and integration into common user flows.

For teams building apps on Solana, this shift means users increasingly expect fast, reliable transaction inclusion even under volatile network conditions. 

Integrating Jito or offering configurable tip settings may soon be necessary for competitive UX as Jito tips become a structural part of the fee market. 

Jito's role in Solana Deep Dive

⭐ Highlights of the Week

Superhosts CO_HACK
Superhosts is bringing the Solana Breakout Hackathon to your city with CO_HACK events and is looking for community leaders to run local, IRL events during the global Breakout hackathon. If selected, you’ll receive funding, support, and the chance to showcase your community on a global stage.

MBC Breakout Student Track
Midwest Blockchain Conference is partnering with Colosseum to support student participation in the Breakout hackathon with added incentives and educational sessions including the MBC Participation Prize, a $2,500 prize pool for all MBC university teams that submit and meet all requirements, and Solana Accelerate tickets and travel for ~10 top participants.

Voting Modifications and Validator Voting Behavior
A new report from the Harkness Institute highlights how custom vote mods used by Solana validators can optimize rewards but risk network stability if widely adopted. The study tracks behaviors like vote lagging and backfilling, notes improvements from Timely Vote Credits (TVC), and includes testnet simulations to assess potential consensus risks.

Nigeria Web3 Landscape Report 2024
Hashed Emergent’s inaugural Nigeria Web3 Landscape Report showcases Nigeria’s rise as a leading Web3 hub in Africa, with over 80 startups raising $130M+ and 25% of respondents preferring to build with Solana, making it the top choice for developers working on DeFi and consumer-focused applications.

⚡ Quick Hits

Anchor vs Pinocchio - Choose your Solana Framework [video] - Turbin3

Winners of dev.fun Vibe Jam Winners Announced - @devfunpump

1000x: A dedicated ZK Compression hackathon running alongside Breakout - @LightProtocol

Learn the Importance of User Stories [video] - Turbin3

Blinks 101: The Fastest Way to Add Web3 Transactions to Any App [video] - @bjoerndotsol

Introducing LaunchLab, Raydium's all-in-one token launchpad - @RaydiumProtocol

Solana Changelog - 50M CU, Anchor, and Direct Mappin [video] - Jacob Creech

From the Crypto Trenches to the Hill: Why Solana Is Making a Big Push in Washington - Decrypt

How ZK can actually work on Solana - @Terminaxyz

⚙️ Tools & Resources

brine-ed25519 is a fast, low-overhead, Ed25519 signature verification library for the Solana SVM.

awesome-solana-security is a curates list of resources to help you build better and more secure Solana programs that has added a Codebases to Study project list.

ORAO Solana VRF generates on-chain randomness for Solana programs and has been upgraded to support Arbitrary Writable Accounts and Associated Lookup Tables (ALT).

cdp-sdk is a Client library for managing Solana accounts while relying on Coinbase Developer Platform to secure private keys.

👩‍🔧 Get Hired

• Range is hiring a Solana Rust Engineer to perform cutting-edge security research in Rust and Solana.
• Perena is hiring a Senior Product Engineer to build and scale applications across multiple platforms.
• Solana Foundation is hiring a Fullstack Engineer - Product to build user and business-facing products.
• ORO is hiring a Founding Backend Engineer and Founding Full Stack Engineer to build the programmable layer of gold.

📅 Event Calendar

Solana Security, Apr 23, Virtual
Join a virtual session with m4rio, top Solana security researcher, as he covers everything from common vulnerabilities to advanced exploit techniques to help developers build safer, more secure programs.

Solana Buildstation Belgrade @ Breakout Hackathon, Apr 28, Belgrade
Superteam Balkan and the Solana Foundation are hosting Solana Buildstation in Belgrade, a two-week accelerator for global Breakout hackathon participants, featuring mentorship, workshops, pitch practice, and a $10K demo day prize, all in a collaborative space to spark creativity and community.

Drift DeFi Day @ Accelerate NYC, May 21, NYC
Drift DeFi Day is a one-day summit during Solana Accelerate NYC, bringing together top minds in DeFi, innovation, and policy for keynotes, panels, and demos.

🎧 Listen to This

Validated

In this episode, Austin speaks with Brennan Watt, VP of Core Engineering at Anza, about the evolution of Solana’s validator clients.

The conversation centers on Agave, originally developed at Solana Labs and now, by Anza. Brennan offers perspective on the critical role validator clients play in overall network performance, recounting challenges encountered in 2022 and 2023 and the improvements that have shaped the current landscape.

They dive deep on topics such as memory allocation optimizations, the development of the Agave scheduler, and the broader movement toward a multi-client ecosystem.

Engineering Agave for Solana's Next Chapter w/ Brennan Watt (Anza)

Bonus Episodes

Futarchy as Humanity’s Newest Model for Governance with MetaDAO | Proph3t - Alpha Liquid Podcast

Matthew Mousa sits down with Proph3t, founder of MetaDAO, who explains how MetaDAO uses this system to evaluate proposals like hiring and investments, the mechanics behind decision markets, his journey into DeFi, the benefits of pseudonymity, and invites engineers and founders to get involved with MetaDAO.

Hylo: Decentralized Stablecoin on Solana - Chillcast

Plish, co-founder of Hylo, shares Hylo's design vs. traditional DeFi stablecoins, what xSOL is and how it absorbs volatility, performance of risk management during crashes, and Hylo's core products and future plans.

Termina and the Future of Network Extensions (feat. Yiwen, founder of Nitro Labs) - Solfate

In this episode of the Solfate Podcast Yiwen from Nitro Labs dives deep into Nitro Labs' product Termina, the concept of deconstructed rollups, the advantages of offloading high-compute tasks off-chain while ensuring on-chain security and verification, and strategies for monetizing advanced technical solutions.

Building Better On-chain Trading Infrastructure With Jarry Xiao (Ellipsis Labs) - The Gwart Show

Jarry Xiao, co-founder of Ellipsis Labs, chats TradFi and crypto infrastructure, Phoenix, their central limit order book on Solana, and introduces Atlas, their purpose-built blockchain for financial applications.

Chris Chung, Co-Founder of Titan, on Solana DeFi, DEX Aggregators and Stablecoins - Cryptonews

Chris Chung, CEO and Co-Founder of Titan, discusses building Solana’s first Meta DEX aggregator, the evolution of decentralized trading, and why stablecoins and payments could drive the next wave of crypto adoption.

Follow @mikehale on X or Warpcast!

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