This week we have a whole bunch of stuff for you!

• Lilypad x D_D partnership announcement

• A DevNTell episode about security

• A new D_D proposal

• A new weekly Rust coding session with D_D OG Crypdough

📆 Upcoming Events

Lilypad 🤝 Developer DAO

We are proud to announce the partnership of Lilypad and D_D. Some stories feel like they were meant to happen—this one begins with open-source, shared values and a community of builders who never stopped experimenting. From the early days of Developer DAO, Lilypad core contributors have been in the trenches: hacking, shipping OSS, and dreaming of a more open future. That long-standing alignment has now evolved into an official partnership, fueled by intention and direction. 

Lilypad, an Open-Access AI Innovation Economy, is permissionless, cost-efficient, and built for the curious—just like Developer DAO, it’s rooted in empowering builders through open-source. Together, we’re unlocking opportunities for developers to explore, create, and earn across AI agents, compute protocols, and infra layers. This isn’t just a collaboration; it’s a continuation of a shared journey built on years of trust, code, and community. 

You’ll soon see joint bounties, educational initiatives, content, and maybe even a few surprises. Whether you're a researcher, a hacker, or launching your first AI project, there’s something for you in what Lilypad is building.

If you need a refresher, Lilypad co-founders Allison Haire and Stanley Bishop introduce Lilypad on the DevNTell Podcast.

☁️ Coming Soon: Launch of D_D Cloud

Exciting news! D_D Cloud is coming soon, and you can now join the waitlist to get early access.

As a special thank you, D_D members will receive exclusive credits to kickstart their cloud journey. Stay tuned for more details as we approach launch!

Secure your spot now.

DevNTell - Securing Crypto with MatterFi & SwissFortress

In this week's episode of DevNTell, we are joined by Michal "Mehow" Pospieszalski, founder of MatterFi and SwissFortress. MatterFi is an easy-to-use Fintech Infrastructure helping make finance more secure for humans and AI. SwissFortress is a private universal solution enabling "send to name" crypto wallets and custody systems meant to combat phishing.

Register to get notified when the show starts.

👩🏽‍💻 Join the MVP Hackathon with @Base in San Francisco

Compete to win up to $500K in funding and a spot in the next Alliance Accelerator cohort (ALL15).

Prizes:

• 1st Prize: Direct entry into the ALL15 cohort and up to $500K in investment from Alliance and Coinbase Ventures (terms apply).

• Runner-Up(s): An interview for possible admission into ALL15.

• Selected teams may also present at the Base Batches Demo Day in June.

Build your MVP in 5 days. Apply here before April 30.

🤝 Community Highlights

DevNTell - OpenMind: The OS for Intelligent Machines

Last week on DevNTell, Jan Liphardt, an associate professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University and founder of OpenMind, presented OpenMind to the DevNTell Community.

If you missed the show, you can catch it on Spotify.

Job Seekers

Disclaimer: Please do your due diligence about a role posted here.

• @plume2533  (Ernest) on D_D Discord Server is seeking collaboration with devs and early-stage teams using Web3 to build new forms of value, from infrastructure to community-driven platforms. @plume2533 is a senior brand and visual designer with 14+ years of experience. You can reach @plume2533 via DM or info@ernestotoo.com.

Initiatives

🏛 [DRAFT] A Foundation for the Future

This proposal seeks to create a new, leaner foundation for Developer DAO to succeed in the future by implementing the following changes:

One aligned core team under The Foundation with a renewed focus on community, product development, and sustainability.

Streaming Governance, Operations, and Finances.

Make your voice heard in the comments before the proposal goes up for voting.

👨🏽‍💻Weekly Rust Coding Series with Crypdough

Do you want to learn Rust or improve your Rust skills? If yes, then you are in luck as @crypdoughdoteth launches a new weekly session, Coding with Cryptodough, where he'll be live coding D_D Cloud features to help you learn new coding skills.

Where? D_D Discord VC5

When? Friday, April 18 at 5 pm UTC

⛅ D_D Cloud

The development of the first DAO’s hybrid cloud for blockchains and DApp solutions is in top gear, enabling us to launch before the second quarter of the year.

Join the waitlist here.

D_D Vibes

D_D vibes are back with a bang. Every Friday at 6 pm UTC on D_D Discord, the host @rohann06 and members gather on the Developer Voice Channel to yap about nothing and everything as life-changing connections are made during vibes. Drop in and join the conversation if you are free. 

👩🏽‍🏫Academy Sync

The D_D Academy is a sub-section of Developer DAO tasked with creating educational content for public goods. Are you interested in contributing educational content or development work to the Academy and being rewarded?

Join the Academy sync and find out how you can contribute. Reach out to @piablo.eth to learn how you can contribute as the Academy syncs are back and better. 

🐘 D_D Arweave Gateway

Delegate your ARIO tokens to our Arweave gateway, as we will share 10% of the rewards with you.

You can delegate your ARIO tokens here.

If you don’t have ARIO tokens yet, visit the ar.io website to learn how to obtain them.

📰 Community News

• @antho1404.eth on D_D needs your help to survey an AI product they are building. Take the survey if you can and visit the project page.

• Lilypad playground by @pbillingsby_; Run text-to-text models like Llama3.1:8B and Qwen2.5-Coder, or generate images with SDXL Turbo. Check out the playground, which is free to use.

• Web3Africa announces the Build Afrika: Code, Collaborate, and Scale Event. Event details are highlighted below:

  Date: Saturday, May 10, 2025

  Venue: The Zone, Gbagada, Lagos, Nigeria

  Time: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

  Register now as spots are limited. 

• Watch  @billyjitsu_ present how Morpho works as he builds a rate monitor to track which vault has the best rate for switching positions with Telegram notifications.

• Turn your brilliant idea into a funded reality: Vibe Coding 101. Register here

• AI Learning Assistant with RAG built on Lilypad Anura API by @jamiebones

• Build an EigenLayer Service in 13 minutes by @dabit3

📰 Ecosystem News

Bitcoin hashrate tops 1 Zetahash in historic first, trackers show

Bitcoin’s computing power reached a historic high, briefly surpassing 1 Zetahash per second (ZH/s) for the first time. Data from multiple trackers showed peaks between 1.02 and 1.1 ZH/s in early April, marking a 1,000x increase since 2016.

The milestone highlights Bitcoin’s growing security and decentralization, making attacks nearly impossible. In comparison, Litecoin’s hashrate is 40,000 times weaker. Discrepancies in tracking stem from different calculation methods, but the overall trend confirms rapid growth.

Major mining firms like MARA Holdings, Foundry USA, and AntPool drive the surge, deploying more efficient machines. However, less efficient miners could struggle if Bitcoin’s price doesn’t rebound.

Despite the network’s strength, Bitcoin’s price dropped nearly 10% in days amid broader market declines, partly due to fears of a U.S. recession. Over 20 publicly traded mining firms continue expanding operations, reinforcing the network’s resilience.

The whale, the hack, and the psychological earthquake that hit HEX

After storing his seed phrase online, a crypto whale lost $4.5 million in HEX tokens in a multi-year hack. The attacker, linked to the alias "Konpyl," slowly drained the victim’s staked funds since 2021, with stolen assets funneled through phishing scams and money-laundering schemes like Inferno Drainer.

The hack revealed connections to the fake Rabby wallet scam ($1.6M) and other crypto frauds. Investigators traced funds through Tornado Cash and DeFi platforms, uncovering a web of linked wallets tied to Konpyl—a figure previously linked to Dubai-based investment activities.

The victim, an elderly retiree, admitted his mistake but remains philosophical about the loss. The breach highlights the risks of cloud-stored seed phrases and the sophistication of long-term crypto theft.

Tokenized Real-World Assets Cross $20 Billion in Onchain Value

The tokenized asset market has smashed through the $20 billion barrier, with BlackRock's digital Treasury fund leading the charge. The sector grew 12% in just one month, proving to be one of crypto's hottest trends while other markets struggle.

BlackRock's BUIDL fund exploded by 190% to $2.3 billion, showing big money is serious about putting real-world investments on blockchain. Other major players like Tether Gold and Franklin Templeton are also seeing strong growth as nearly 95,000 investors pile into these digital versions of traditional assets.

Financial experts say this is just the beginning. As more real estate, commodities, and other tangible assets move onchain, they could unlock trillions currently trapped in old-school systems. What started as an experiment is now becoming a major bridge between Wall Street and crypto.

WAGMI!