The Filecoin community made its first-ever appearance at India Blockchain Week with FIL Bangalore, a 2-day event featuring in-depth conversations exploring distributed storage and development opportunities on the Filecoin network. Hosted by Huddle01, the event was supported by Filecoin Foundation and Protocol Labs, among others. Juan Benet took the keynote stage to talk about the prime developer environment for Web3 innovation in India.

Filecoin Orbit Bangalore, hosted by Builder's Tribe, kept the momentum going with a one-day event focused on startups, networking with 150 talented developers, and funding the next and best projects building on the network. Filecoin Foundation is working to grow and foster the decentralized web through programs like the Orbit Community Program, empowering community members across the globe with a common platform.

ETHIndia, sponsored by Filecoin Foundation & Protocol Labs, finished the week strong by drawing over 180 project submissions for bounties using Filecoin/IPFS. Together, these three events laid the groundwork for a successful week of ecosystem learning, building, and growth.

File it away. Filecoin Network Day and the Filecoin Data Onboarding Workshop are set for December 15 at the Eliena Hotel in Seoul, Korea. If you’re in the region, you won’t want to miss out on the chance to meet other storage providers, investors, Filecoin experts, and ecosystem partners while exploring the Filecoin roadmap. See the full agenda.

Filecoin v17 🦈 is here.The Shark upgrade will incrementally introduce the Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM) and the ability for programmable smart contracts to the Filecoin network.

• The v17 update will see five new FIPs implemented to the network. Nodes are encouraged to update as soon as possible and must be on lotus v1.18.0 to successfully complete the upgrade. Learn more.

Filecoin Plus collected 120+ new applications for the fourth round of Notary Elections. These applications outline the applicant's ability to verify and help onboard quality data onto the Filecoin network and how much time the Notary would have to dedicate to the program. Applications are scored individually and grouped by geographic region, with all scores shared publicly in Github. Newly selected Notaries were taken from the top applicants per region and announced on December 12.

Numbers Protocol launched the Jade Mainnet, which will provide individuals and platforms the means to secure their assets through blockchain technology by facilitating core functions, such as asset registration, royalty distribution, and native NFT minting. Numbers is built on Filecoin and IPFS, and Numbers’ COO Vera Wu talked about the Jade Mainnet launch on stage at FIL Lisbon. Watch the video.

Coinbase podcast features Filecoin Foundation’s Marta Belcher. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Head of U.S. Policy Kara Calvert joined Chris Lehane, Chief Strategy Officer at Haun Ventures, and FF’s Marta Belcher for the Around The Block podcast. The group discussed the results of the Midterm elections, what to expect next in crypto policy, and how we can work with policymakers to protect crypto users and ensure that innovation can thrive.

The results are in!🏆 Filecoin Foundation’s Ally Haire and Protocol Labs’ Dawn Kelly were judges in the largest Chainlink Fall Hackathon ever, which included 10,000 developers and 340 projects. You can watch the full video of the December 2 closing ceremony or check out the winners at hack.chain.link.

Introducing the Space Warp Program!On December 8, Applications for Next Step Microgrants totaling up to 5K were announced in preparation for the FVM Mainnet launch in February. If you're ready to start building on the FVM or integrate it into your project, apply today!