add new blog, Sig-wgs-recap. September 2025

src/content/Blog/Akash Communinity Pulse/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
+---
+title: "Akash Community Pulse — September 2025 Edition"
+description: "Your monthly roundup of updates from Akash Network Special Interest Groups (SIGs), Working Groups, Steering Committee, and the broader ecosystem "
+
+pubDate: "2025-09-30"
+draft: false
+archive: false
+categories:
+  - Community Pulse
+tags:
+  - Akash Network
+  - SIG Updates
+  - Working groups
+contributors:
+  - George Appiah
+bannerImage: ./banner-image.png
+
+---
+
+
+#  SIGs and WGs Recaps — September 2025 Edition
+
+Welcome to the **September 2025 edition of the Akash Community Pulse**, your monthly roundup of everything happening across the Akash Network’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs), Steering Committee, and broader ecosystem. Whether you’re a builder, validator, community contributor, or simply curious about what’s next, this Pulse keeps you informed.
+
+Want deeper insights? Full meeting notes are available on [GitHub](https://github.com/akash-network/community).
+
+Let’s dive into the key highlights and what’s ahead.
+
+![Akash Community Pulse — September 2025](./banner-image.jpg)
+
+## 👥 SIG — Community
+
+September was a month of collaboration, educational initiatives, and forward momentum across Akash’s community programs.
+
+**Key Updates:**
+
+- Community programs remain active across all tracks — **Vanguards, Ring Masters, Navigators, and Alchemists** — with growth in contributions and global engagement.
+- **Navigators** are now supported by a new sales/business development hire to assist with client onboarding.
+- **Alchemist program** continues to grow, now hosting five live courses on Akash EDU with 280+ student sign-ups.
+- The **Regional Leads program** was delayed slightly due to budget recalibration, but a Q4 governance proposal will outline new funding and pilot participants.
+- **Zealy missions** expanded to 15, with a $500 IO game platform contest planned to attract hobbyist developers.
+- Community-led initiatives continue, including preparations for Akash’s presence at **DevConnect Buenos Aires** and a new **VPN community project (vpn.akash.network)** under review.
+- **Molach Research** presented its **Sovereign Agent Framework**, showcasing self-sustaining AI agents powered by Akash infrastructure.
+
+**Action Call:**
+
+- Join the **DevConnect coordination channel** to participate in planning.
+- Apply to become a **Regional Lead** and support global expansion.
+- Participate in the **Zealy IO contest** and community GitHub discussions.
+
+
+## 🛠 SIG — Support
+
+The Support SIG achieved a major milestone this month with **zero open issues awaiting triage** — a first for the group.
+
+**Key Updates:**
+
+- All issues in the Support repository were proactively assigned upon creation, reflecting improved responsiveness and collaboration between the community, insiders, and core teams.
+- Key discussions centered around **CLI and AkashJS manifest submission issues**, which were traced to the JWT-enabled provider release and have since been resolved.
+- A stable post-rollback release was confirmed, and console deployments remained unaffected.
+- Preparations are underway for the **Cosmos SDK 53 network upgrade**, now shifted to October for additional testing.
+- Community support initiatives such as **Zealy** and **Contributions** programs continue to perform strongly, with growth metrics surpassing expectations.
+
+**Action Call:**
+
+- Continue surfacing trends from Discord for issue escalation.
+- Join the **Provider SIG** and **Steering Committee** sessions for migration updates.
+- Participate in the **Zealy** and **Contributions** initiatives.
+
+📅 **Next Support SIG Meeting:** October 2025
+
+
+## 📡 SIG — Providers
+
+The Providers SIG focused on migration readiness and ecosystem-wide adoption of JWT authentication.
+
+**Key Updates:**
+
+- The **Provider Console team** is finalizing JWT authentication integration and SDK 53 upgrade support, now in sandbox testing.
+- Work continues on the **Akash@Home** initiative, enabling simple ISO-based setup for home providers.
+- A recent provider release introducing JWT experienced a minor certificate bug, prompting a temporary rollback. A fixed version is expected imminently.
+- Providers are strongly encouraged to **upgrade before the SDK 53 network upgrade** to ensure job distribution optimization.
+- A **Dubai-based provider proposal** is under community review for potential funding via the community pool.
+
+**Action Call:**
+
+- Review and comment on the **Dubai Provider Proposal**.
+- Prepare infrastructure for the **SDK 53 upgrade**.
+- Join provider discussions in Discord for rollout updates.
+
+📅 **Next Providers SIG Meeting:** October 2025
+
+
+## 💰 SIG — Economics
+
+September’s Economics SIG focused on **leadership transition, network incentives, and foundation operations**.
+
+**Key Updates:**
+
+- Following **Scott Hewitson’s** transition from Overclock Labs, **Tyler Wright** and **Cheng Wang** now co-facilitate SIG Economics.
+- The **Decentralized Cloud Foundation (DCF) Operational Expenses Proposal** is being finalized to ensure independent, compliant global operations with professional fiduciary oversight.
+- **Tenant Incentive Programs (TIPs)** remain on track but are pending the **Cosmos SDK 53 migration**, which will unlock new functionalities.
+- **Provider Incentive Pilot 03 (PIP 03)** focuses on scaling GPU availability using next-gen chips (B200s, RTX 590s, Pro 6000s).
+- **PIP 04** will extend usage of existing GPUs (H100s) to maintain continuity and expand research-driven use cases.
+
+**Action Call:**
+
+- Review discussions for **DCF operational expenses** and **PIP 03–04**.
+- Engage in feedback threads ahead of upcoming on-chain votes.
+
+📅 **Next Economics SIG Meeting:** October 2025
+
+
+## 🎨 SIG — Design
+
+The Design SIG advanced Akash’s visual and user experience strategy across products and events.
+
+**Key Updates:**
+
+- **Design deliverables** completed for major events including Token 2049, Open Source AI Week, and the PyTorch Conference.
+- A new **design system** built with **shadCN components** is being integrated across all Akash products to enhance UI consistency and accessibility.
+- **Antidote** continues to lead digital and outdoor marketing campaigns; their H2 Growth Proposal introduces a quarterly review cycle.
+- **Stake Capital** presented a proposal for a $70K collaboration to onboard AI and Web3 projects through research and business development.
+- The **Website and Documentation Working Group** resumed asynchronous contributions, with outstanding contributor rewards set for payout.
+
+**Action Call:**
+
+- Review and comment on the **Stake Capital collaboration proposal**.
+- Contribute to ongoing **website and documentation updates** via GitHub.
+
+📅 **Next Design SIG Meeting:** October 2025
+
+
+## 🔗 SIG — Chain
+
+This month’s Chain SIG focused on **testnet progress**, **escrow feature readiness**, and **upgrade planning**.
+
+**Key Updates:**
+
+- The **Cosmos SDK 53** codebase is in its **code freeze phase**, with the **escrow account top-up feature (AEP75)** successfully integrated and tested.
+- Testnet is active and open for community participation, pending resolution of one provider issue.
+- Validators should prepare hardware with **128GB RAM and double swap space**.
+- The tentative upgrade date of **September 24** may shift to **October** to ensure sufficient preparation time.
+- Communication of final validator requirements will be announced in Discord and GitHub milestones.
+
+**Action Call:**
+
+- Prepare validator infrastructure for the upcoming upgrade.
+- Join testnet activities and report results in SIG Chain channels.
+
+📅 **Next Chain SIG Meeting:** October 2025
+
+
+## 🧭 Steering Committee
+
+The Steering Committee consolidated updates from all SIGs and discussed network readiness, proposals, and community growth.
+
+**Key Updates:**
+
+- The **Cosmos SDK 53 network upgrade** remains the top priority, with a short downtime expected during rollout.
+- CLI and provider bugs identified during testing are being resolved, with a patch release imminent.
+- Major event activations include **Token 2049**, **PyTorch Conference**, **SmartCon NYC**, **Austin Hackathon**, and **NeurIPS**.
+- The **University Ambassador Program** launches with ambassadors from top universities (UT Austin, USC, Cornell, Princeton).
+- The **Zealy Program** continues to scale, integrating **AkashVPN** challenges and game server demos.
+- The **Q4 Community Growth Proposal** introduces a phased rollout for the **Regional Leads Program**.
+- **Germany Beal’s Digital Immortality Framework** proposal advanced toward an on-chain vote, backed by validator engagement.
+- The **Decentralized Cloud Foundation (DCF)** proposal will move on-chain following final review.
+
+**Action Call:**
+
+- Review open governance proposals, especially **DCF operations (#1013)**.
+- Join the **University Ambassador** and **Zealy learning initiatives**.
+- Participate in **Hacktoberfest** and SIG contribution drives.
+
+📅 **Next Steering Committee Meeting:** October 2025
+
+
+## 🔮 What’s Ahead — October 2025
+
+- **Cosmos SDK 53 mainnet upgrade** and validator testing.
+- **JWT authentication rollout** across providers and consoles.
+- **Hacktoberfest** contribution drive and community rewards.
+- **DevConnect Buenos Aires** community presence and coordination.
+- **Stake Capital collaboration proposal** review and community feedback.
+- **Website redesign**, **console updates**, and **Zealy integrations**.
+
+
+### Stay involved. Stay informed.
+
+Join the conversation, contribute to proposals, and help shape the future of decentralized cloud computing:
+
+🔗 [GitHub](https://github.com/akash-network)  
+💬 [Discord](https://discord.gg/akash)  
+📚 [Docs](https://docs.akash.network)  
+📰 [X/Twitter](https://x.com/akashnet_)  
+🌐 [Website](https://akash.network)  
+📅 [Community Calendar](https://akash.network/community) — the source of truth for meeting times.
+