👽 Wake up, space invader

Launch-your-own-blockchain season continues!

My tweet from April continues to hold water.

Now, my prediction is that any chain whose origins or identity is not tied to a specific brand or product at its core is going to struggle to retain interest for a while.

I don’t make the rules — that just seems to be where things are heading.

— Kate Irwin

It’s all about you, kid

Zink, an SVM L1 from ATMTA, is the latest new blockchain to join the trend. ATMTA is the studio behind the in-development space exploration game Star Atlas, which for years was expected to use Solana’s mainnet for all its crypto elements. 

But that now appears to be changing. While some die-hard Solana fans might see the move as a shakeup, those unfazed by this reveal might argue Star Atlas making its own chain was inevitable for scalability, anyway.

Zink uses zero-knowledge proofs to power features like “zProfiles,” which will give users a central identity with “global permission settings” that can automate transactions and connect and apply to multiple apps, according to a statement. 

ATMTA founder and CEO Michael Wagner told me via email that Zink is intended to be a “generalist consumer blockchain” long term, but that initially the studio is looking to bring other crypto gaming studios onboard to use the Zink chain.

“Zink will start as a largely centralized and permissioned blockchain. We do anticipate a validator set that includes several external parties on mainnet launch; large validators from Solana. But generally, ATMTA wants to control how the L1 matures in the early phases, and prioritize performance for Star Atlas,” Wagner explained. 

“However, we have a roadmap that ultimately leads to going open access and permissionless. I would anticipate we achieve that within 18-24 months, though expect greater degrees of decentralization over time in a more iterative fashion,” he added.

The studio has slated Zink for a December mainnet launch. 

As with most blockchains, Zink’s native token of the same name will be used for staking, consensus and community incentives. 

Next month, a ZINK airdrop campaign will track community members’ activity and contributions to let them earn XP (and then ultimately the token). Playing Star Atlas and its affiliated games, like the SAGE browser game, will earn XP, as will locking up Star Atlas tokens ATLAS and POLIS.

Other existing chains focused on user identities include Worldcoin’s EVM blockchain, which seeks to discern between bots and humans, and the upcoming EVM L1 Moca Chain, which aims to give users more control over their identities and data.

How many of these blockchains we actually need is up for debate, of course, though ultimately metrics like revenue and user activity will answer that question in the long term.

It’s the summer of DATs and the party is going strong. 

But when October rolls around, everyone will be looking to DAS: London to hear from these meta-defining voices on where things stand and where they’re headed.

Get your ticket today with promo code: DROP100 for £100 off

📅 October 13-15 | London