As we welcome December, the Nexus ecosystem continues accelerating across protocol development, global community engagement, and creator-driven culture. This week brings major technical releases, AMAs across regions, new dApps on the Nexus testnet, and standout community artwork. Here’s everything you need to know.

Core Nexus developments

The team introduced NexusCore, purpose-built execution engines integrated directly into the protocol, delivering 100,000+ orders per second and sub-100ms latency, pushing verifiable trading far beyond general-purpose VMs.

A Guide to NexusCore

NexusCore introduces enshrined co-processors, or native execution engines built directly into the protocol, designed for speed and efficiency.

NexusDaniel McGlynn

Nexus architecture deep dive

A clear visual breakdown of Nexus’s three-layer architecture: Execution, Verification, and Consensus, illustrating how the protocol is designed for enshrined high-performance finance.

Nexus DEX Alpha Architecture: An Overview

In traditional finance, speed and trust are often at odds. Centralized exchanges offer low-latency trading and deep liquidity—but at the cost of opacity, custody risk, and system fragility. Blockchains promise transparency and composability, yet they struggle to meet the real-time demands of modern markets. Nexus was built to resolve

NexusDaniel McGlynn

Nexus DEX Alpha community call

Nexus Product Manager Alec James, Head of Content Daniel McGlynn and Community Manager Bria hosted a live AMA to walk the community through DEX Alpha features, feedback, and next steps.

Community Call 11.24.25

We hosted our latest community call and offered a detailed walkthrough of what the DEX Alpha represents for the future of onchain markets.

NexusNexus

Nexus APAC DEX Alpha AMA

Nexus APAC Community Manager Jack and Chinese Ambassador Xiaofeifei joined OpenBuild for the official Chinese AMA, covering DEX Alpha innovations, regional growth plans, and developer opportunities.

Nexus ecosystem and dApp updates

Sakuranexus NFT marketplace built on Nexus

The Sakuranexus builder (@jojo62562095) rolled out several updates, including refreshed pages, new features, and UI improvements. Community members are invited to test the marketplace live on the Nexus testnet. Try this NFT marketplace: https://sakuranexus.lovable.app

Exhibition DeFi

The builder behind this token launch and liquidity management project built on Nexus shared progress from their project built within the Nexus ecosystem, contributing to the growing wave of early DeFi experimentation on the testnet. 

Try Exhibition DeFi: https://app.exhibitiondefi.xyz

Community highlights

@lim51314 created an animated video telling Nexus’s journey from Daniel Marin’s 2022 dorm-room idea to a $27M-funded project with over one million nodes worldwide.

Nexus for newcomers

@Yura__eth shared a helpful overview of Nexus as a fair crypto Layer 1 with zkVM proofs, an enshrined perps DEX, and Testnet III NEX point opportunities ahead of the 2026 mainnet.

Explaining NexusCore as a coordination layer

@tomatofroots broke down how NexusCore coordinates identities, actions, and state across the ecosystem to enhance scalability and developer experience.

Cryptography and privacy at DevConnect

@Wartask1 recapped a DevConnect discussion between Nexus’s Jens Groth and Taceo’s Aisling Connolly on cryptography, privacy, and the role of AI in future financial systems.

Why verifiability is becoming default

@cryptheneon published a detailed thread positioning verifiability as the new industry default, exploring Nexus’s role in this shift.

What verifiable finance means

@ABams01 explained how zkVMs, compute networks, and proof-based systems reshape trust assumptions in financial infrastructure.

Community artwork

@shabashtuclub captures Nexus in a moonlift drifting aesthetic with a clean, futuristic style:

@Totoro_179 illustrated Nexus’s Execution - Verification - Consensus architecture in a layered visual concept:

@Shtihmas11 released a new video highlighting Nexus’s emerging stack and design approach.

December begins with strong momentum across the protocol, ecosystem, and community.

We are looking forward to more developments on our Layer 1 and DEX Alpha, more collaboration, and a productive month ahead as we continue building the future of verifiable financial systems together.