The good, the great and the chaos: take a trip down memory lane with our retrospective on unarguably the most intense year in Bware Labs history so far.

Retrospective articles usually (USUALLY) are nothing more than a mere marketing gimmick, meant to showcase how the year has passed and to draw some last-minute engagement before the clock resets, before the stats go back to 0 and before you start thinking that you’ll go to the gym on Monday.

But what do you do when you literally had such a full year that only a retrospective, Year in Review type of work can help you put the entire timeline into place? Well, the Bware Labs team is in that sort of situation. 

2023 was, without a doubt, the most intense and full year in current Bware Labs history. With literally major releases after major releases, rises and falls, chaos and calm, we invite you to take a look at how this past year unfolded for our modest team of builders and innovators. 

BWARE LABS

2023 started with a shapeshift from Bware Labs. At the beginning of spring, Bware Labs launched its new vision and mission. Together, we moved towards our new goal of fully empowering Web3 developers in all their endeavors, mighty or small, to expand public adoption and onboard as many users as possible on next-gen dApps.

Bware Labs joined efforts with Polygon Labs, as Solution Providers for their Polygon Supernets service. 

In March of 2023, Bware Labs kicked off the first edition of The Bucharest Hackathon, alongside Genezio and a plethora of other partners such as Aptos, Amazon Web Services and MultiversX. 

The highlight of 2023’s spring was the release of the Aptos Delegated Staking (AIP6) mechanism, proposed and built by our engineers here at Bware Labs The main purpose of the Aptos Delegated Staking mechanism is to enable multiple parties to contribute to the protocol by delegating a minimum amount of 10 APT tokens.. 

The apex of 2023, for both Bware Labs and Blast, was the listing of the $INFRA token on four centralized exchanges (KuCoin, Mexc, BitMart and Gate.io) and three decentralized exchanges (Uniswap, TraderJoe and xExchange). The release of $INFRA represented the culmination of 2+ years hard work, meant to catalyze the decentralization of blockchain access via our Web3 development platform, Blast . 

With $INFRA live on May 30th, we headed into an extremely busy summer. From taking part in events such as EthCC in Paris where we have co-hosted our first international side-event, to kickstarting the Galactic Riders Ambassador Program, the summer of ‘23 was a celebration of Web3 and blockchain technology within the Bware Labs team and community. We also took part in Shardeum’s strategic investment round, along with more than 10 other investors. 

Fall then followed, with its scattering of golden leaves and rainy days. In such a cozy decor, it felt only natural that we should release the Bware Labs (and Blast) blog(s), so that our community can gather all their blockchain information, tips and tricks and news in one, well-curated place.

Later on, in October, we had the utmost pleasure (and relief) to release the latest product under the Bware Labs umbrella: GovScan! GovScan is a blockchain governance hub, created for tracking governance proposals on multiple blockchains easily. Users can set up GovScan on one of their preferred communication channels (i.e. Discord, Slack and Telegram) to receive timely updates on voting, proposal outcomes and product features.

Bware Labs was also the recipient of a grant from SSV Network, for building an Institutional ETH Staking Solution integrating SSV operators. $INFRA was also integrated within Tangem’s Hardware Cold Wallet through a newly formed collaboration.

Given this tumultuous year, it’s only natural that our overall numbers have expanded. We have forged new partnerships with amazing projects such as Linea and MultiversX and have joined the BNB Kickstarter Program! We also joined forces with MultiversX as official partners during their xDay event for 2023.

On the validator side, we have officially doubled the number of validators run by Bware Labs, currently amassing 44 validators. Bware Labs has also released 10 Faucets for various networks including Ethereum Holesky, Injective Mainnet and Testnet and Optimism.

Take a deep dive into all things Blast with the 2023 Year in Review blog article!

2024 and All That’s Next

One thing is for certain, 2023 was a lot. A lot to do, a lot to fix, a lot to invent, a lot to be happy about, a lot to stress over. 2023 was a lot. As challenging as it may sound however, this year has not only been rewarding, but also proof that hard work and dedication will always pay off, sooner rather than later.

This lot of feelings and experiences wouldn’t have been manageable and bearable however without the sense that an entire team has your back every step along the way. Thus we want to thank the entire Bware Labs team for pushing the vision forward and helping the project achieve its current status as a leading actor in the Web3 infrastructure space. 

As for what’s next? Blast is set to broaden its chain offering and enhance its capabilities, paving the way for a new, advanced approach to blockchain access and data provisioning. Ranging from an updated payment system to improved routing and greater decentralization, Blast aims to set a new standard for blockchain access in 2024. Meanwhile, Bware Labs remains committed to increasing blockchain ecosystem adoption as part of its collaboration with the most relevant blockchains in the industry, contributing significantly to the mainstream adoption of Web3 technologies.

Happy New Year from the Bware Labs team!