What Is Nubit and How to Take Part in the Nubit Alpha Testnet

How to Participate in the Nubit Alpha Testnet

You can connect your Keplr or Tomo wallet to start earning Nubit points by joining the Nubit community on X (Twitter), Discord, and Telegram and by interacting with applications through Telegram using your Nubit points.

Key Takeaways

• Nubit is protocol in Bitcoin Season 2 that is designed to be a data availability layer for the Bitcoin ecosystem and deliver Bitcoin-level security to applications and infrastructures. 

• Founded by UCSB computer science professor Yu Feng, Nubit has raised $11 million over two funding rounds from investors like OKX Ventures, Polychain Capital, and Animoca.

• Users can now participate in the Nubit Alpha Testnet Incentivized Campaign to interact with the Nubit testnet and earn points.

During the Bitcoin2024 conference held in Nashville, Tennessee, the concept of Bitcoin Season 2 was a hot topic among attendees. This transformative phase within the Bitcoin ecosystem is meant to scale Bitcoin by embracing technological advancements and exploring practical applications. One emerging protocol in Bitcoin Season 2 is Nubit, a data availability layer for the Bitcoin ecosystem that is designed to enable secure storage and data retrieval without putting additional strain on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Projects commonly face space constraints and high costs when attempting to use Bitcoin’s block space to secure their blockchains. Nubit aims to address these challenges by leveraging Bitcoin’s economic security and optimizing key metrics including fraud detection mechanisms, attestation security, and accessibility with zero knowledge technology. The end result is Bitcoin-level security for applications and infrastructures to take advantage of. 

Through this, Nubit is able to bridge the gap between Bitcoin-native solutions and the broader multi-chain ecosystem. The protocol has also integrated with other major players such as Babylon, Merlin Chain, and BounceBit to further enhance data availability and network scalability. On top of that, Nubit is developing a programmable, modular, and trustless execution layer for meta-protocols such as BRC-20 and Runes.

Nubit is able to fully inherit Bitcoin’s security through the implementation of Bitcoin’s native staking and Bitcoin anchoring methods. The Bitcoin staking approach allows for Bitcoin owners to participate in Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains directly without the need for third-party services. This allows for stronger economic security measures while improving liquidity for stakers. At the same time, Bitcoin anchoring allows users to quickly unbond staked assets while mitigating possible attacks by implementing checkpoints to invalidate any forks that originate before them.

Nubit was founded by UCSB computer science professor Yu Feng, and launched by Riema Labs, a project led by academic blockchain security experts. Riema Labs aims to revolutionize Bitcoin’s usability and security. At the time of writing, Nubit is the only project under the Riema Labs portfolio. 

On January 4, 2024, Riema Labs announced the conclusion of its angel investment round with an undisclosed amount for the launch of Nubit. Since then, Nubit raised $3 million in pre-seed funding on March 26, 2024, which attracted investors such as dao5, OKX Ventures, and Primitive Ventures. More recently, the protocol successfully closed an $8 million seed funding round led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Nomad Capital, Spartan Group, Gate Ventures, Animoca, and others. 

Nubit announced the launch of the Nubit Alpha Testnet Incentivized Campaign on June 8, 2024. The campaign aims to encourage interested users to explore and interact with the Nubit Testnet. It is divided into three phases which are referred to as Community Assemble, Light Node Quest, and Testnet Adventure. The Nubit Alpha Testnet is currently in Phase 3, Testnet Adventure, which will let users experience activities through consumer applications. 

However, do take note that at the time of writing, the Nubit team has not made any official announcements regarding a token launch or airdrop campaign. Therefore, following the steps below and participating in the Nubit Alpha Testnet Incentivized Campaign Phase 3 does not guarantee a future token airdrop allocation.

Step 1: Connect Wallet

Go to https://alpha.nubit.org/ and Connect Wallet. 

There are currently only two wallet options, Keplr and Tomo. Select whichever wallet you want to use. In this guide, we are using the Keplr wallet. 

Step 2: Earn Points

After connecting your wallet, scroll down to Phase 1 Community Assemble where you can complete three tasks to earn points. 

However, you will need a Galxe account to complete these steps. Click on the first task to be redirected to the Galxe campaign page.

Once you have logged in to your Galxe account, proceed to complete the three tasks. Click on each task to be redirected to the intended page. 

Back on the Nubit Alpha Testnet main page, you will start earning the points corresponding to the completed tasks. For example, in the image below, we have earned 1,000 points from following Nubit on X (formerly Twitter). 

If your points are not appearing, you can either Verify your Galxe account or refresh the page. 

Step 3: Interact with the Applications

You can then move on to Phase 3 Testnet Adventure since Phase 2 closed until further notice. 

Click on Log in with Telegram to open your Telegram application and connect your account.

Connecting the Nubit Alpha Testnet to your Telegram will give it access to your Name, Username, and Profile Picture. You can also choose to allow NubeeBot to message you on Telegram. 

Once it has connected, you will be able to see your points converted into coins for you to use in the Nubee game. 

Go ahead and Play the game and it will open the NubeeBot in your Telegram application.

Click on Start and NubeeBot will send you the message to Open Nubee. 

Open Nubee and you can participate in the BTC price fluctuation prediction game using your points. 

In this game, you need to predict whether the displayed BTC price will go Up or Down by betting your points. When the LIVE phase starts, you can no longer make predictions. 

Once the countdown timer ends, you will get your results. If your prediction is correct then you will win more points based on a multiplier but if you are incorrect, you will lose points.

The second game is Crossy Block brought by Suzume Games. Similarly to the NubeeBot, clicking Play will open the Suzume Games Telegram bot.

After clicking Start, you can Open SUZUME to open the Telegram mini application.

As part of your first interaction with Suzume Games, you can claim welcome gifts. 

Then select to Play Crossy Block. 

With Crossy Block, the aim of the game is to build a bridge long enough to connect two towers for your character to walk across.

To build your bridge, tap and hold until it looks like it can reach across. 

For both Nubee and Crossy Block, you might encounter issues opening the games on one device. We recommend switching between devices that your Telegram is logged into such as a desktop or mobile device.

Conclusion

Nubit is an emerging player in Bitcoin Season 2 by acting as a data availability layer for the Bitcoin ecosystem. This allows for applications to access the security of Bitcoin without adding more strain on the blockchain. Users can now participate in the Nubit Alpha Testnet Incentivized Campaign to earn points. 

This article is only for informational purposes and should not be taken as financial advice. Always check that you are connecting to the real application before connecting your wallet and be careful of airdrop scams.