Solana
Hardware, storefront and ecosystem news for Solana.
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PYUSD Arrives in Venmo on Arbitrum, Putting the Stablecoin in Front of 67 Million Monthly Users
PayPal's stablecoin, PYUSD, is now available to eligible Venmo users on the Arbitrum network, providing access to over 67 million monthly active accounts. This integration marks a significant step in expanding consumer access to PYUSD on an Ethereum Layer 2 solution, following its earlier deployment on Arbitrum by PayPal. Users can buy, sell, send, and spend PYUSD within Venmo with no transaction fees, though external wallet transfers incur network fees. Balances held within Venmo or PayPal can earn rewards, with PayPal promoting a 4% annual rate in 2026.
Kintara Arrives on Solana dApp Store, Opening the MMO to Seeker Handset Owners
Kintara, an MMO inspired by RuneScape, has launched on the Solana dApp Store, making it accessible to owners of Seeker mobile devices. The game requires a Solana wallet with at least 1 KINS token for access and premium features. Kintara has seen rapid user growth since its release in May 2026, with features like a marketplace for trading gold and KINS.
Mattle Run Launches Season 17 With 500,000 MATTLE and 100,000 SKR Up for Grabs
Mattle Fun has launched Season 17 of its game Mattle Run, running from August 21 to September 20, 2026, with a prize pool of 500,000 MATTLE and 100,000 SKR tokens. This season reintroduces SKR, the Solana Mobile token, integrating it further into Mattle's ecosystem. Points are earned through quests, in-game purchases, and referrals, with monthly leaderboard resets to maintain competition.
Solana Trims Per-Block Compute as It Steps Down to 350ms Slots
Solana's Mainnet is reducing its slot time from 400 milliseconds to 350 milliseconds, which will also decrease the per-block compute ceiling. This change aims to increase scheduling opportunities without a proportional increase in per-second compute allowance. The network is also adjusting per-slot budgets for account writes, votes, and data allocation.
Fake $FLOWER Solana Airdrop Spreads From Yakkamon’s Stolen X Account
A fake $FLOWER airdrop is circulating on Solana, originating from Yakkamon's compromised X account, which the studio no longer controls. Yakkamon has clarified that $FLOWER is an ERC-20 token on Base and Ronin, and no Solana version exists, warning players that the circulating offer is a wallet drainer scam.
Guilds Go Live in AFK Heroes: Members Can Earn Up to 25% Extra $AFKHERO
AFK Heroes has launched its new Guilds feature, allowing members to earn up to 25% more $AFKHERO tokens, along with 100% more XP and Gold. This update is part of the game's Season 2 content, which also includes crafting, tournaments, and PvP. The introduction of guilds aims to boost player engagement and in-game rewards, though specific tier requirements for maximum bonuses have not been publicly detailed.
Seeker Summer hits its final stretch: Solana Mobile taps Offline Protocol’s MINE for Round 4
Solana Mobile's Seeker Summer campaign has entered its final round, Round 4, featuring the MINE app by Offline Protocol. This round focuses on connecting a Seed Vault Wallet and mining the mesh network for 10 minutes. The campaign, which began July 7 and ends August 30, has previously distributed 81 million SKR tokens across three rounds, with MINE utilizing Bluetooth and WiFi Direct for data transfer without an internet connection.
Shard Legends Locks In August 25 Date for SLCW Token Generation Event
Shard Legends: Clan Wars will hold its Token Generation Event for the SLCW token on August 25, 2026, hosted on a major centralized exchange. The game will introduce 11 days of gameplay expansions before the event to increase player engagement, with 83% of the total token supply allocated for player distribution. The game features auto battler and MMORPG elements on Solana and BNB Chain, with a player-driven economy and governance system.
Solana Gets Direct Access to MoneyGram’s 500,000 Cash Counters as Ramps Expands Beyond Stellar
MoneyGram Ramps has expanded its services beyond Stellar to include the Solana blockchain, providing direct access to its network of nearly 500,000 retail cash counters. This integration allows Solana wallets, such as Rift, to directly deposit and withdraw cash using USDC, eliminating the need for third-party bridges. The expansion aims to facilitate remittances, cross-border payouts, and aid distribution by connecting digital assets to physical cash networks globally.
MoneyGram Ramps goes live on Solana, offering cash-out across 170 countries
MoneyGram has launched its "Ramps" service on the Solana blockchain, enabling users to convert cash into digital assets and vice versa across 170 countries. This integration aims to simplify cross-border payments by leveraging MoneyGram's existing network without requiring users to directly interact with blockchain technology. The move follows MoneyGram's previous collaborations with the Stellar Development Foundation and its own stablecoin initiative, MGUSD.
Solana’s collectibles wave: Metaplex Core clears 1.5 million mints over June and July
Metaplex reported over 1.5 million Core assets minted across June and July, marking consecutive record months and pushing the lifetime total beyond 8 million. During this period, Candy Digital, Beezie, and Collector Crypt also moved inventory onto the Solana standard, featuring licenses like MLB and DC Comics. The Metaplex Core standard offers lower minting costs and enforced royalties at the code level, which was a key factor for platforms like Candy Digital.
AFK Heroes’ first 45 days: $53K spent by players, $14.3K earned back
In its first 45 days, AFK Heroes saw players spend $53,000 worth of AFKHERO tokens while only earning $14,300 back. The in-game marketplace facilitated $48,060 in sales from over 391,000 listings. This voxel idle RPG, launched on Solana, has implemented changes to its reward system and introduced features like guilds and crafting with its Season 2 update.
Critters Quest goes live on Solana mainnet with Masters in first, Clones a day later
Critters Quest has officially launched its mainnet game on the Solana blockchain, concluding nearly two years of development. Master Edition NFT holders gain immediate access, followed by Clone Edition holders after a 24-hour delay. The game features a 4X gameplay loop involving building, gathering, crafting, hunting, and raiding, with an integrated economy powered by the $QUEST token and Solana NFTs.
Sixteen validators back a Solana fee overhaul that would push daily SOL burns past $650,000
A Solana proposal, SIMD-0553, aims to overhaul transaction fees by charging based on network resources used, potentially increasing daily SOL burns to between 7,500 and 9,000 SOL. This change, combined with SIMD-0550 which doubles the annual disinflation rate, is intended to compress SOL supply. However, the proposal currently lacks widespread validator support, with infrastructure firm Helius providing nearly two-thirds of the signaled SOL.
Kamino Brings Institutional Credit On-Chain With $25M USDC Commodity Yield Vault
Kamino has launched Kamino Institutional Yield, a new framework designed to connect on-chain deposits with real-world institutional credit markets. The first vault, Commodity Yield, is now live with an initial deposit capacity of $25 million USDC, aiming to provide institutional-grade credit on the Solana blockchain. This initiative is part of Kamino's broader strategy to serve as an infrastructure layer for institutional finance and tokenized assets.
Solana Blitz v7 Kicks Off Monday as MagicBlock Hands Builders Five App Ideas
MagicBlock has announced that Solana Blitz v7, a recurring weekend hackathon series built on their Ephemeral Rollups technology, will commence on Monday. To assist developers, the company has provided five app concepts for the upcoming sprint. Previous editions of Solana Blitz have included prize pools and specific themes, with cumulative projects surpassing 200 by June.
From Solana mint to streaming: Claynosaurz debuts on Prime Video ahead of a 39-episode show
The NFT collection Claynosaurz has expanded beyond digital collectibles with the debut of three short animated episodes on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV, serving as a teaser for a 39-episode series. This move into mainstream media has boosted the collection's floor price on Solana. The brand aims to become a global franchise, with plans for a full animated series, collectible cards, and a mobile game, while also offering equity options to eligible NFT holders.
AFK Heroes Makes Hero Power Level a Deciding Factor in Reward Pool Splits
AFK Heroes has updated its reward pool distribution to include hero Power Level as a deciding factor, meaning stronger heroes will now claim a larger share of rewards. This change comes weeks after a significant overhaul that increased daily emissions and introduced an Earning Boost. The game, which launched on Solana in June, aims to incentivize player progression and engagement within its play-to-earn economy.
Solana’s Block Building Is Getting a Compliance Layer. Flowra and Honeypot Are Wiring It In.
Solana's infrastructure is integrating a compliance layer through a partnership between Flowra and Honeypot to address sanctions law requirements for institutional validators. This integration embeds sanctions screening directly into the block construction process, allowing validators to define and enforce their own rules before transactions are finalized on-chain. The move aims to attract institutional capital by providing necessary regulatory controls within the network's infrastructure.
MoonPay puts a non-custodial Solana wallet inside ChatGPT and Claude with PayBox
MoonPay has launched PayBox, a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet that integrates with AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude. This allows users to manage crypto assets, trade, and make purchases directly within chat interfaces across multiple blockchains including Solana and Ethereum. The system uses multi-party computation for key security and offers two permission modes for transactions.
