Hello you beautiful builder!

It’s been a busy week for me. Just before wrapping up this newsletter I finished my first week of the Web3 Builders Alliance Solana Q2 2023 cohort. It’s an advanced, live learning bootcamp for Solana developers.

I also graduated the Nas.io Solana Developers cohort 2.

Personally, I think instructor-led group learning programs are a great way to learn something in-depth.

You’re learning from real-world examples, and you can lean on your classmates and instructor for help when needed.

While you’re too late to jump into this season, don’t worry, I’ll feature any upcoming programs right here in this newsletter so you won’t miss out!

⚔️ Solana NFT Showdown

The Solana Foundation is calling all creators to bring their business ideas to life in this one-of-a-kind NFT pitch competition!

Creators are invited to pitch a business plan for their projects aimed at creating “real world” impact for fashion, entertainment, gaming, creative agencies, and more.

The goal of the pitch competition is to “encourage a shift in the way NFT brands design their business plans prior to launching” according to Solana Foundation’s head of strategy Austin Federa.

To join the competition, projects must:

• Create a business pitch that includes the target community, problems to be solved, product vision, business model, and community engagement plans.

• Create a mockup of the style of the NFT collection.

• Submit as a PDF during the submission window in early June.

10 winners will get mentorship from industry experts, workshops, Breakpoint tickets, and more!

Join the Competition 

💎 Solana Developer News

Compressed NFT examples using @metaplex-foundation/js SDK - GitHub

Solana Reading List: A list of Solana resources - Article

4000+ list of Solana project GitHub repositories (JSON) - Gist

Curated Twitter list of Solana developers - List

What is an xNFT and how do you create one? - YouTube

Loading programs on a local validator with Amman - Article

Encrypting web3 transactions with Elusiv - Article

Grizzlython winner Underdog Protocol NextJS starter - GitHub

Crypto Startup School playlist from a16z - Playlist

5 minute guide to CandyPay Checkout - Tweet

A deep dive into Solana’s Sealevel runtime - Tweet

ANS Protocol roadmap - Tweet

🎙️ Listen to This…

New Podcast: Unlayered

Unlayered is an “alternative crypto” podcast hosted by @sal_coin and @SolBeachBum focused on highlighting all the amazing things happening on non-EVM chains like Solana

The first episode is an interview with @0xMert_ (Co-Founder & CEO of Helius) debunking the narrative that "Solana is Dead".

Solana is Dead w/Mert

Thanks for reading ✌️

I hope you found something useful here! If you have any suggestions or feedback just let me know what you think.