Welcome to this week’s issue of The Baking Sheet!

Google Cloud x Tezos

Google Cloud and the Tezos Foundation announced a partnership to enhance web3 application development and provide new services to Google Cloud customers. The partnership aims to enable Google Cloud customers to become 'Tezos Bakers,' which are network validators that receive rewards for helping run the proof-of-stake mechanism of the Tezos blockchain. The partnership will make it easier for institutions to join the Tezos ecosystem and onboard into the space.

The collaboration between Google Cloud and Tezos is will provide developers and enterprises with enhanced developer tooling and infrastructure to accelerate their product timelines. Through the corporate baking program, new and existing Google Cloud customers will be able to build web3 applications and deploy nodes and indexers on Tezos’ protocol. The partnership aims to reduce friction for companies looking to participate on-chain and help developers deploy nodes on the blockchain. It will lower the barrier to entry for developers to build on the Tezos blockchain.

Tezos developers will also be able to benefit from this partnership, as some startups incubated by Tezos will receive credits and mentorships from Google.

In summary, the partnership between Google Cloud and Tezos is a significant development in the blockchain industry as it simplifies the task for companies and developers in building and maintaining applications on top of the Tezos blockchain. The partnership also highlights the increasing adoption of blockchain technology in different industries, with potential benefits such as enhanced security, transparency, and cost savings.

Additional to this massive announcement, Tezos is currently involved in a project to digitize all of the registered vehicle titles in California to the blockchain, as the Department of Motor Vehicles in California revealed in January.

Explore the Story of HEN on fx(hash)

One of the most notable platforms for crypto art is Hic et Nunc, which means "here and now" in Latin. Hic et Nunc is a decentralized marketplace that runs on the Tezos blockchain. Hic et Nunc was launched in early 2021 by Rafael Lima who aimed to create a fair, open, and inclusive platform for artists and collectors to showcase and trade their works.

Since its launch on Tezos, Hic et Nunc has attracted a vibrant and diverse community of artists, collectors, curators, and enthusiasts from around the world. Some of the most notable features of Hic et Nunc include its curation system, which allows users to vote for their favorite artworks and earn reputation points, its social features, which enable users to follow, chat, and collaborate with each other, and its gamification elements, which include badges, quests, and challenges.

However, Hic et Nunc did not emerge out of thin air. It has roots in the broader crypto art movement that has been brewing for several years, and owes much to the pioneering efforts of early adopters, developers, and supporters who dared to challenge the status quo and cultivate a bold new culture. One such person is Michael Nicolaou, a crypto art collector and writer who has documented and celebrated the origins of the crypto art movement in a two-part digital scroll titled "A New Frontier" and "A Journey Through the Seasons".

Michael's scroll offers a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes drama and conflicts that often accompany the birth of new movements and communities. He recounts the controversies and debates that emerged around issues such as copyright, plagiarism, authenticity, and community governance. He also acknowledges the contributions and collaborations of the many artists, collectors, and enthusiasts who have contributed to the growth and diversity of the crypto art movement.

This Week in the Tezos Ecosystem

TezQuakeAid Reaches Over 100K in Donations for Turkey and Syria

TezQuakeAid, an initiative that was launched to aid those affected by the recent earthquake in Turkey and the ongoing crisis in Syria, has received an overwhelming response. As of February 20, 2023, donations have approached 100K, and the organizers have expressed gratitude to all those who have contributed.

However, the aftermath of the devastating events in Turkey and Syria requires substantial resources for recovery and rebuilding, and there is much work still to be done. The TezQuakeAid initiative is ongoing, and the organizers have not set a specific end date for it.

Tezos artists and collectors are being urged to join the initiative in any way possible and contribute to the cause. The organizers have expressed appreciation for everyone's compassion and solidarity during this time of crisis.

TezQuakeAid was launched in response to the 2023 Aegean Sea earthquake, which struck the western coast of Turkey on February 5, 2023. The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.7, resulted in the deaths of more than 300 people and injured thousands of others. It also caused significant damage to buildings and infrastructure.

The situation in Syria remains critical, with millions of people affected by the ongoing conflict and in need of humanitarian assistance. The funds raised by TezQuakeAid will be used to support relief efforts in both Turkey and Syria.

The TezQuakeAid initiative has received an incredible response from the Tezos community, and the organizers are calling on more people to join the cause. With ongoing crises in Turkey and Syria, there is a pressing need for humanitarian assistance, and every donation can make a difference. Tezos' blockchain platform provides a secure and efficient means to facilitate these donations, and we encourage everyone to support this initiative in any way possible.

Introducing objkt.one -- a new curated space on Tezos

objkt.one, a new 1/1 curated space by objkt, is set to launch on March 1st, 2023, showcasing the most exclusive digital art on Tezos. The space is curated by Objkt and will provide an opportunity for art collectors and enthusiasts to experience the rarity of digital art.

The debut launch will feature some of the most prominent artists in the Tezos community, including Coldie, ThisArtMovement, Nate Esway, Esra Ersen, Gary Edward Blum, OriginalGoldCat, Jenni Pasanen, Jesse Draxler, Kevin Abosch, LN0ir, LM_netwebs, Max Papeschi, Mimmo Dabbrescia, Neurocolor, omentejovem, Qubibien, Zancan, and Alja Paris.

Each piece of artwork featured in Objktone will be a 1/1 edition, making it the only one of its kind in existence. The exclusivity of these artworks adds a unique value proposition for collectors, who can now acquire rare pieces of digital art on the Tezos blockchain.

As the digital art market continues to grow, platforms like Objktone are crucial in providing a space for exclusive and rare artwork, allowing collectors to experience the thrill of owning a unique piece of art. With its curated selection of artists and exclusive 1/1 editions, Objktone is set to become a significant player in the Tezos digital art market.

Emergents TCG launches own marketplace

Emergents, a trading card game (TCG) has launched its own marketplace for its NFT cards. The marketplace offers a buy-back option for collectors, allowing them to sell their cards back at a price fixed by an algorithm, which is currently set at 90% of the card's current market price.

The marketplace also includes quests, where players can complete specific actions to increase the rarity of their cards and unlock new art and cosmetic upgrades. All moves and play history of NFT playing cards used in the game are registered on the Tezos blockchain. The value of the cards will be determined on secondary markets like OBJKT.com.

Check out XTZ.news for full coverage on this new product launch

State of Tezos Q4 2022 Analyst Call

To expand on the release of the State of Tezos Q4 2022, Messari Research Analyst Nick Garcia is joined by Arthur Breitman, Co-Founder of Tezos, and Mason Edwards, Chief Commercial Officer of Tezos Foundation for an in-depth conversation about the current state of Tezos, their Q4 performance, and the team's roadmap for the future.

This Week in Tezos Development

Batcher - Liquidity & Composability | Marigold

Marigold discusses a new feature called "Batcher" to the Tezos blockchain that aims to enhance liquidity and composability of DeFi applications. Batcher is a smart contract that bundles multiple transactions into a single batch, allowing them to be executed simultaneously on the Tezos blockchain. This feature can reduce transaction fees, increase liquidity, and improve transaction speed, making it a valuable tool for various DeFi applications. The article provides an overview of how Batcher works and its potential benefits for users, as well as its potential impact on the Tezos DeFi ecosystem.

Kiln 0.15.2 is now available  | Oxhead Alpha

The latest version of Kiln, version 0.15.2, is now available for download. This version includes a new feature that allows users to download and verify snapshots from XTZ-Shots automatically. It also includes a fix for an error message related to voting, specifically the "found no ledger" error. Users can download Kiln 0.15.2 from the website http://tezos-kiln.org.

LigoLANG updates | TriliTech

LigoLANG has shared some updates, including the planned release of version 0.61 in two weeks, which will feature some minor breaking changes. They are also working on a new version of Ligo, V1, that will simplify contract syntax. Additionally, a new team of developers from Trilitech is working on the LISA project, a Tezos Smart Contract language, with an aim to integrate it into LIGO in 6 to 10 months. More information will be shared as work progresses and people can contact LigoLANG for any questions they may have.

Release candidate of Octez (v16.0~rc2) | Nomadic Labs

v16.0~rc2, the second release candidate for Octez 16.0 is available. If this release candidate proves to be stable, it will be released as version 16.0.We invite you to test this release candidate on test networks such as Ghostnet or Mumbainet. The latter can now be joined using the mumbainet built-in network alias.

Octez v16.0~rc2 1 introduces the following breaking change:

• It is no longer possible to export snapshots from storage created by Octez v13.0 or earlier, as they are not compatible with the context pruning storage layout.

Compared to v16.0~rc1, this release candidate:

• Improves the performance of the octez-smart-rollup-node binary, by drastically reducing disk consumption.

• Fixes an issue where old context storages (that is, from data directories created by Octez v13.0 or earlier) would become corrupted at cycle dawn.

• Fixes an issue with the docker images that resulted in a “permission denied” error on entrypoint.sh. Docker images should now work seamlessly.

The full changelog and update instructions are available in the version 16 release page 10.

The Git tag for this release is v16.0-rc2 and the corresponding commit hash is a2b26dc44674be9e5801f162d18146057ae68992.

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