Blockchain
MRHB DeFi: Successful US$5.5M Fundraise to Fuel Vision of Bringing Ethical DeFi to Excluded Communities Everywhere
MRHB DeFi, the world’s first decentralized finance ecosystem platform focused on ethical, sustainable and halal crypto opportunities, has successfully raised a total of USD 5.5 million through a series of private and public funding rounds which culminated in an initial DEX offering (IDO) that was oversubscribed on the DODO and ZeeDO launchpads.
Prior to its IDO, the startup gave the community direct access through two public sales on its official website, which saw tremendous support from its community of over 50,000 members.
“Our funding rounds have surpassed our expectations and prove beyond doubt the huge demand for ethics in the cryptoverse,” said MRHB DeFi CEO Naquib Mohammed. “We want to take the opportunity to express our heartfelt appreciation for our valued partners and loyal supporters, without whom we would not have made it this far. These are just the first steps of our ambitious multi-year journey that we have begun, together with our community, to ensure that everyone can participate in building an ecosystem where trust and values matter – hence giving access to the growing opportunities of the crypto-economy.”
The ethical startup is also backed by investors and partners which include Polygon Technology, Sheesha Finance, Australian Gulf Capital, Mozaic, NewTribe Capital, Blockchain Australia, Contango Digital Assets, Masary Capital, ZKSync, Acreditus Partners, EMGS Group, Sinofy Group, Sukhavati Protocol and MKD Capital amongst others.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
MRHB began as an idea 15 months ago, when Naquib, who was at that time working on Enterprise Blockchain use cases, was interviewed by a crypto news agency about the general trends of DLT.
The questions came around to the acceptance of crypto within the muslim communities in the Middle East, an interesting angle which led Naquib to delve further into the DeFi world, where he noticed the absence of halal projects. Understanding that there was a gap, he started putting down ideas and developing conversations with tech friends and like-minded connections, all of whom saw the immense possibilities with crypto but were disheartened by the absence of projects and protocols that were halal and consistent with their financial and ethical principles. The immense complexity of the cryptoverse as a whole also stood out as a further deterrent.
Resident in Saudi Arabia, he soon realised through various community discussions – both in the middle east and farther afield – that many fellow Millennials and Gen Z’ers were facing the same challenges and were hence avoiding the entire cryptoverse. This meant that many communities – especially Muslims – were excluded from the opportunities in this new tech frontier. Thus began his journey of taking on the challenge and goal of building a landmark halal project in the DeFi ecosystem.
Over the course of six months, Naquib assembled a team that included not just developers but reputable industry professionals and Shariah experts, all of whom shared his vision of creating an ethical DeFi ecosystem that reflects community values and beliefs. It would be the first to fill a major gap in the crypto space and address the needs of communities that number more than a billion, who have all thus far been excluded due to ethics, faith, fear and complexity.
While the DeFi offerings were aimed at adhering to ethical investment and financing principles rooted in Islamic Finance (primarily the prohibition on interest-based lending and income, and sectors deemed unethical or exploitative like gambling, pornography etc), MRHB would also be focused on removing technological complexity. Thus the overall objective was to build a more empowering and ethical community-focused platform that would also cater to those new to crypto while addressing the negative perception created by extensive instances of fraud, risk and opacity in the crypto space.
The Islamic Finance sector is the first target and is the largest and most active faith-based market. It is currently sized at around USD 3 trillion – attracting even a small portion of Islamic liquidity into DeFi will represent a major boost to the total value of the DeFi sector worldwide.
Community Focused and Community Supported
Approximately 85% of the funds raised came from the MRHB global community which spans from Canada to Australia – all of whom are looking for an ethical and halal entry into the cryptoverse. The inclusive startup is aptly named, with MRHB being short for “Marhaba”, which means “welcome” in Arabic, as the project ushers in entire crypto newbie communities.
The platform’s $MRHB token is now available for trades on PancakeSwap, one of the leading decentralized exchanges on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network and remains above the launch price in spite of overall bearish markets.
To reward the community and encourage more market liquidity, a 5 million pool of MRHB token rewards has been set aside for token holders who provide liquidity to the MRHB/BNB pool on PancakeSwap. These rewards are for the next two months and apply on top of their share of trading fees earned. Token lockups for early project supporters will begin soon, allowing liquidity providers to invest their $MRHB tokens and receive additional rewards.
MRHB DeFi is already moving forward with their production roadmap, having recently launched its Souq NFT Marketplace, the first NFT marketplace guaranteed to contain halal-only content. The launch of Sahal Wallet, a non-custodial mobile wallet featuring filtering technology that will allow for frictionless access to halal tokens, is slated for the middle of next month. The pioneering Liquidity Harvester, MRHB’s passive and stable crypto income product, will be launching in Q2 and the project is currently in advanced discussions with pioneering regulated institutional partners to offer halal crypto-wealth products. More decentralized and centralized exchange listings are also coming up in the near future, welcome news for the MRHB community.
Blockchain
Esposito Intellectual Enterprises (EIE) and Krown Technologies Announce Groundbreaking Partnership to Redefine Blockchain Innovation
Blockchain
Blocks & Headlines: Today in Blockchain – April 22, 2025 (Activity‑Weighted Consensus, Pectra Upgrade, Yoki Legacy, Verae–Evercycle, Earth Day)
As blockchain technologies mature and diversify, today’s highlights underscore a burgeoning shift: from consensus innovation and protocol upgrades to strategic partnerships and sustainability imperatives. In this edition, we unpack five pivotal developments shaping Web3, DeFi, NFTs, and enterprise-grade blockchain adoption:
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Activity‑Weighted Consensus Steals the Show at Paris Blockchain Week
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Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade: The Next Evolution in Scalability
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Astar’s Yoki Legacy Launches on Sony’s Soneium Blockchain
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Verae and Evercycle Forge Blockchain‑Enabled ITAM Partnership
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Earth Day 2025: Why an Efficient Blockchain Is a Smart Energy Choice
Together, these stories reveal key trends—innovative consensus models, cross‑chain interoperability, tokenized asset management, and an urgent focus on energy efficiency—driving blockchain’s trajectory in 2025.
1. Activity‑Weighted Consensus Steals the Show at Paris Blockchain Week
At the recent Paris Blockchain Week Conference, the concept of Activity‑Weighted Consensus (AWC) emerged as a potential game‑changer for network security and governance. Unlike Proof‑of‑Work (PoW) or Proof‑of‑Stake (PoS), AWC allocates block‑production rights based on a node’s continuous on‑chain engagement metrics—transaction relaying, smart‑contract interactions, and decentralized application hosting. Advocates argue that this model:
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Aligns Incentives with Ecosystem Health: Nodes that actively support dApps, relays, and DeFi protocols earn governance weight, dissuading passive stake‑hoarding and promoting network utility.
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Enhances Security: By requiring sustained activity rather than one‑time stake deposits, AWC makes long‑term collusion and stake concentration more costly and detectable.
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Fosters Decentralized Governance: Community participants demonstrating developer contributions or sustainable validator uptime can gain voting power, democratizing protocol upgrades and treasury decisions.
During the Paris sessions, leading research teams unveiled prototypes on testnets demonstrating up to 60% reduction in attack surface compared to vanilla PoS chains, without compromising block‑finality times. Critics, however, caution that accurately measuring “useful activity” demands robust oracles and could introduce new attack vectors if measurement data is manipulated.
Opinion: Activity‑Weighted Consensus represents a vital next step in consensus algorithm innovation—bridging the gap between security, decentralization, and real‑world utility. While the implementation complexity is nontrivial, protocols prioritizing ecosystem engagement could see higher network effects and healthier token economies. If designed with transparency and anti‑gaming safeguards, AWC could become a mainstream alternative by 2026.
Source: Cointelegraph
2. Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade: The Next Evolution in Scalability
Ethereum’s core developers have officially detailed the ambitious Pectra Upgrade, slated for Q4 2025. Building upon the success of past hard forks, Pectra aims to tackle two pillars: throughput and data availability. Key components include:
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Rollup‑Centric Sharding: Rather than full‑state sharding, Pectra introduces “data shards” optimized for rollups, increasing per‑shard throughput to 10 MB per block—3× current levels—while aggregating rollup proofs on‑chain.
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On‑Chain Data Availability Sampling (DAS): Incorporates KZG commitments to enable light clients to verify data availability without downloading entire blocks, bolstering security against data‑withholding attacks.
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EIP‑4990: Prover Optimization: Introduces optimized precompile contracts to accelerate zk‑SNARK and zk‑STARK proof verification by up to 40%, reducing gas costs for privacy and scaling solutions.
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Native Token Recycling: Pectra reallocates a portion of burnt ETH (post‑EIP‑1559) to a “Scaling Fund” administered via on‑chain governance, seeding grants for L2 rollups and data‑availability networks.
Analysis: Pectra’s rollup‑centric vision reaffirms Ethereum’s commitment to being the settlement layer for a multi‑chain ecosystem. By offloading execution to specialized rollups while securing data integrity on L1, Ethereum anticipates 50,000 TPS across aggregated rollups, vastly improving DeFi composability and reducing gas fee volatility. Critics note the increased client complexity and potential centralization risks if DAS providers consolidate.
Implications: For DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, and application developers, Pectra could slash transaction costs, enabling new use cases—from micro‑transactions to real‑time gaming—while maintaining the security assurances of Ethereum’s vast validator set. The Scaling Fund’s token recycling mechanism also sets a precedent for sustainable ecosystem funding.
Source: Gadgets360
3. Astar’s Yoki Legacy Launches on Sony’s Soneium Blockchain
In a landmark partnership bridging gaming and blockchain, Astar Network announced that Yoki Legacy, its flagship play‑to‑earn RPG, will deploy on Sony’s Soneium Blockchain starting May 2025. This collaboration offers:
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Cross‑Chain Interoperability: Utilizing Astar’s XCM (Cross‑Consensus Message) protocol, Yoki Legacy assets—NFTs, in‑game tokens, and governance rights—can transfer seamlessly between Astar (Polkadot) and Soneium, enabling multiverse gameplay.
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Eco‑Friendly Consensus: Soneium employs a hybrid PoS‑PoA model with carbon offsets verified on‑chain, aligning with Sony’s commitment to sustainability.
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Developer Toolkits: Joint SDKs allow game studios to tap both networks’ developer ecosystems, sharing middleware for asset minting, royalty management, and composable NFT design.
Opinion & Impact: This alliance signals Web3 gaming’s maturation, as major entertainment brands partner with public blockchains to reach broader audiences. Soneium’s consumer electronics pedigree and global distribution channels could propel Yoki Legacy into mainstream consoles—validating blockchain gaming beyond niche communities. Furthermore, asset interoperability across Astar and Soneium paves the way for unified gaming economies, where items retain value across genres and platforms, potentially reshaping in‑game monetization models.
Source: VentureBeat
4. Verae and Evercycle Forge Blockchain‑Enabled IT Asset Management
Industrial IoT specialist Verae and sustainability platform Evercycle have launched a blockchain‑powered IT Asset Management (ITAM) solution targeting circular‑economy compliance. By merging Verae’s device telemetry with Evercycle’s digital product passports on a Hyperledger Fabric network, the partnership offers:
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Provenance Tracking: Each hardware component—servers, routers, laptops—receives a tamper‑proof record of manufacture, warranty, maintenance, and end‑of‑life recycling status.
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Regulatory Compliance: Automated reporting modules help enterprises meet EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives and emerging Right to Repair regulations.
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Tokenized Incentives: “Green Credits” are issued when devices are refurbished or recycled according to verified processes, tradable within corporate sustainability marketplaces.
Analysis: As enterprises grapple with e‑waste—projected to reach 74 million metric tons by 2030—blockchain‑backed ITAM offers both auditability and circular‑economy incentives. By tokenizing responsible disposal, companies can transparently showcase ESG compliance to investors and regulators. Critics warn of integration challenges with legacy procurement systems and potential data privacy concerns if supply‑chain partners refuse on‑chain transparency.
Strategic Takeaway: This partnership exemplifies how permissioned blockchains can underpin enterprise sustainability efforts, harmonizing environmental goals with operational efficiency. For IT procurement and finance teams, on‑chain asset management reduces manual audits, accelerates warranty claims, and unlocks new value streams through tokenized recycling incentives.
Source: PR Newswire
5. Earth Day 2025: An Efficient Blockchain Is a Smart Energy Choice
In honor of Earth Day 2025, CoinGeek highlights how next‑gen blockchains—from Proof‑of‑History in Solana to Nakamoto PoA hybrids—are slashing energy consumption compared to legacy PoW networks. Key metrics include:
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Energy Efficiency: Modern PoS chains consume 99.9% less energy per transaction than Bitcoin, with some layer‑2 rollups achieving sub‑gram carbon footprints per transfer.
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Carbon‑Offset Innovations: Protocols like Algorand and Cardano integrate on‑chain carbon oracles that automatically retire carbon credits proportional to network activity.
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Green Data Centers: Validators increasingly deploy in solar‑ and wind‑powered facilities, with projects like EcoChain offering renewable‑energy staking pools.
Opinion: As mainstream scrutiny intensifies around crypto’s environmental impact, energy‑efficient protocols are not just eco‑friendly—they’re competitive differentiators. Enterprises and institutional investors demand sustainability assurances; blockchains failing to address carbon footprints risk regulatory backlash and reputational damage. By spotlighting energy‑optimized consensus and renewable‑powered infrastructure, the industry can redefine itself as a driver of green innovation.
Source: CoinGeek
Conclusion: Mapping the Blockchain Horizon
Today’s briefing underscores three overarching themes propelling blockchain forward:
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Consensus Reinvention: From activity‑weighted protocols to energy‑efficient hybrids, networks are refining consensus to boost security, scalability, and sustainability.
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Cross‑Chain & Enterprise Integration: Interoperability—whether via rollup‑centric upgrades, cross‑chain gaming partnerships, or permissioned frameworks for ITAM—enables seamless value flows across disparate ecosystems.
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Environmental & Regulatory Alignment: As global frameworks converge around ESG and circular‑economy mandates, blockchain applications that embed sustainability and compliance at their core will capture both market share and stakeholder trust.
For developers, enterprises, and investors alike, staying ahead means embracing not only technical breakthroughs but also governance models and partnerships that align blockchain with real‑world needs. Tune in tomorrow as we continue tracking the decentralized revolution—one block at a time.
The post Blocks & Headlines: Today in Blockchain – April 22, 2025 (Activity‑Weighted Consensus, Pectra Upgrade, Yoki Legacy, Verae–Evercycle, Earth Day) appeared first on News, Events, Advertising Options.
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