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The Protocol: OKX Slashes Native Token Supply in Half
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I'm Margaux Nijkerk, CoinDesk's Tech & Protocols reporter. In this issue: OKX Slashes OKB Token Supply by 50% With $7.6B Burn, Price Surges ETH Transaction Volume Climbs on Price Rally, Cheaper DeFi Costs Weaponized Trading Bots Drain $1M From Crypto Users via AI-Generated YouTube Scam Babylon Introduces Trustless Bitcoin Vaults for BTC Staking Protocol Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Network news OKX SLASHES TOKEN SUPPLY IN HALF: OKB, the token of cryptocurrency exchange OKX, more than tripled to a record high after the company executed a one-time burn of 65.26 million OKB, cutting the supply by more than 50%. Burning the roughly $7.6 billion worth of tokens permanently reduces the maximum supply to 21 million, in line with the hard cap coded into Bitcoin. The burn, or sending the tokens to a wallet address that can't be accessed, was carried out from OKX's reserves and represents one of the largest deflationary events in exchange token history. The effect of the burn was instant. OKB jumped to $142 from $46 before retrenching to about $102. Trading volume skyrocketed 13,000% to $723 million as traders attempted to capitalize on the supply shock. The strategy mirrors that of BNB, the token of BNB Chain, which is associated with rival exchange Binance. That undergoes quarterly burns that often precede short-term rallies. — Oliver Knight Read more. ETH TRANSACTION VOLUME CLIMBS : Ethereum's transaction volume has been overall on an upward trajectory, closing in its all-time high of 1.9 million transactions in a single day in January 2024. The latest surge is drawing attention from both retail traders and institutional observers, as it reflects a confluence of technical improvements, favorable market sentiment, and a renewed appetite for on-chain activity. According to data from Etherscan, daily transaction counts have been consistently trending higher over the past several weeks. Other data shows seven-day averages of daily transactions have already surpassed their previous records. Analysts suggest that this momentum is being fueled by a combination of factors: a recent increase in network capacity, rising ether prices, and a reduction in transaction costs, particularly for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and stablecoin transfers. One of the biggest enablers of the current spike has been a substantial capacity boost on Ethereum's mainnet. The Fidelity Digital Assets Research Team told CoinDesk that 'Ethereum's Layer 1 is seeing a surge in transactions largely due to a 50% increase in the gas limit since March, which allows more transactions to fit into each block.' This upgrade has significantly increased throughput, enabling more efficient settlement and reducing congestion. As a result, stablecoin transfer costs have fallen consistently below a dollar, making DeFi activity and peer-to-peer payments far more affordable. Fidelity Digital Assets notes that DeFi currently tops the charts for ETH burns, underlining its central role in driving network activity. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more. WEAPONIZED TRADING BOTS STEAL $1M FROM CRYPTO USERS : Over $1 million has been siphoned from unsuspecting crypto users through malicious smart contracts posing as MEV trading bots, according to a new report by SentinelLABS. The campaign leveraged AI-generated YouTube videos, aged accounts, and obfuscated Solidity code to bypass basic user scrutiny and gain access to crypto wallets. Scammers appeared to be using AI-generated avatars and voices to reduce production costs and scale up video content. These tutorials are published on aged YouTube accounts populated with unrelated content and manipulated comment sections to give the illusion of credibility. In some cases, the videos are unlisted and likely distributed via Telegram or DMs. At the center of the scam was a smart contract promoted as a profitable arbitrage bot. Victims were instructed via YouTube tutorials to deploy the contract using Remix, fund it with ETH, and call a 'Start()' function. In reality, however, the contract routed funds to a concealed, attacker-controlled wallet, using techniques such as XOR obfuscation (which hides data by scrambling it with another value) and large decimal-to-hex conversions (which convert large numbers into wallet-readable address formats) to mask the destination address (which makes fund recovery trickier). — Shaurya Malwa Read more. BABYLON INTRODUCES TRUSTLESS BITCOIN VAULTS: Bitcoin project Babylon took another step toward offering a decentralized finance (DeFi) experience on its $5 billion staking protocol akin to that seen elsewhere in the crypto world. The latest development is the introduction of trustless vaults, designed to allow BTC holders to deposit their tokens without relying on a centralized entity, as outlined in a new white paper shared with CoinDesk. In DeFi ecosystems, trustless vaults are a form of digital asset storage or management that removes the need for users to trust a central authority or intermediary. Instead, the systems use smart contracts to ensure security and enforce the rules of the vault. Babylon says its vaults will allow bitcoin to be used as collateral in DeFi applications such as lending and stablecoin issuance, as well as the staking that its protocol provides. Users can also earn yield on their BTC holdings by staking it to support the operation of proof-of-stake networks. They then receive rewards paid in BABY, Babylon's native token. The development forms part of the broader movement to utilize the enormous value held in bitcoin to power DeFi activity across other blockchains. — Jamie Crawley Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option In Other News Sentient, a New York-based artificial intelligence company, has introduced The GRID, an open-source network designed for building and monetizing artificial general intelligence (AGI) systems. The company says the platform is aimed at providing a decentralized alternative to closed AI marketplaces from firms such as OpenAI. Developers can plug in their AI agents, models, or tools and earn token-based rewards, with usage fees and subscriptions available as optional monetization routes. At the time of its debut, The GRID hosts over 40 AI agents, 50 data sources, and more than 10 models, spanning both Web2 and Web3. These include tools like Napkin, a generative graphics engine, and Exa, a search startup, as well as blockchain-connected agents deployed across Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, and others. Users can access these through Sentient Chat, an interface for discovering and combining agents into workflows capable of handling tasks such as calendar coordination, code generation, and data visualization. — Oliver Knight Read more. Stripe has appointed Matt Huang, co-founder and managing partner of crypto venture capital firm Paradigm, as the chief executive officer of its upcoming blockchain Tempo. Huang, who already sits on Stripe's board, will retain his position at Paradigm. That's according to Fortune, citing sources familiar with the project. The move aligns with a growing trend of developing stablecoin-focused blockchains. These include Plasma, which recently attracted over $373 million in an oversubscribed token sale, and Tether-focused blockchain Stable.— Francisco Rodrigues Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Regulatory and Policy Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and wire fraud in Manhattan on Tuesday morning, three years after the dramatic $60 billion collapse of the Terra/Luna stablecoin ecosystem. The 33-year old South Korean national arrived in court in handcuffs and a canary yellow prison jumpsuit, a metal chain around his waist. He admitted that he "knowingly engaged in a scheme to defraud and did in fact defraud" purchasers of the TerraUSD stablecoin. Under the charges in the original indictment, which included seven other charges such as securities and commodities fraud, Kwon faced a maximum sentence of 135 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Kwon's plea agreement with the government slashes his maximum sentence to 25 years — 20 for the wire fraud charge, and five for the fraud conspiracy charge, which the judge can either order to be served consecutively or concurrently — but prosecutors will ask for a maximum of 12 years. After serving half his sentence in the U.S., Kwon will be eligible to apply to serve the rest of his sentence in his native South Korea. — Nikhilesh De & Cheyenne Ligon Read more. President Donald Trump's crypto adviser, Bo Hines, has departed after only months on the job, and the next in line — his deputy, Patrick Witt — will apparently be shepherding the industry's political priorities in Washington as it still seeks industry-wide regulations and the institution of a federal crypto stockpile. Witt shares a remarkably similar history with Hines – both ex-football stars who played at Yale before seeking law degrees and falling short in bids for Congressional seats. Witt had a brief stint as a free-agent quarterback for the New Orleans Saints after leading the Yale Bulldogs team that Hines later played on as wide receiver. Both ex-athletes tied their political careers closely to Trump in recent years, and Witt will now be the chief industry liaison for Trump's White House, according to his social-media profile on X that references the title Hines left behind.— Jesse Hamilton Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Calendar Sept. 22-28: Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul Oct. 1-2: Token2049, Singapore Oct. 13-15: Digital Asset Summit, London Oct. 16-17: European Blockchain Convention, Barcelona Nov. 17-22: Devconnect, Buenos Aires Dec. 11-13: Solana Breakpoint, Abu Dhabi Feb. 10-12, 2026: Consensus, Hong Kong May 5-7, 2026: Consensus, Miami
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30-07-2025
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The Protocol: Ethereum Turns Ten
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I'm Margaux Nijkerk, CoinDesk's Tech & Protocols reporter. In this issue: Ethereum At 10: Where Next For The World Computer? Linea to Burn ETH With Every Transaction in Bold L2 Upgrade Solana Players Unveil 'Internet Capital Markets' Roadmap Square Begins Rollout of Bitcoin Payments for Sellers, Targets Full Availability by 2026 Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Network news 10 YEARS OF ETHEREUM: When Ethereum launched on July 30, 2015, it set out to be more than just another cryptocurrency. It aimed to expand the boundaries of blockchain technology itself. While Bitcoin became digital gold, Ethereum pursued a more expansive vision: to be a decentralized 'World Computer'—programmable, extensible, and open-ended. A decade later, Ethereum has transformed finance, culture and software. Along the way, it has faced existential crises, volatile markets and fierce internal debates. Now, it stands on the cusp of a new era—one that may see it fully embraced by traditional finance. Ethereum has seen an uptick in the last two months as the project hits the 10 year milestone, with the price of ether (ETH) rebounding to reach $3,800 in July, after it languishing around $1,500 as recnetly as April. Over the last few months, the ecosystem has seen a new wave of use cases including tokenization and stablecoin growth, and the network also benefited from the trend of companies holding ETH in their treasuries, not just for long-term value, but to earn yield. On the anniversary, leading players from Ethereum's ecosystem weigh in on the last 10 years. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more. LINEA'S COMPREHENSIVE PROTOCOL CHANGES: Linea, an Ethereum layer-2 network incubated by Consensys, has unveiled a comprehensive suite of upgrades designed to embed the network deeper into the layer 1's economic and ideological fabric. Linea's updated road map, expected to roll out in October 2025, introduces ETH-native staking on bridged assets, a protocol-level ETH burn mechanism, and the allocation of 85% of its token supply to ecosystem development. This move comes as momentum in the Ethereum ecosystem is building, thanks to the growing institutional interest. The Linea team wrote in a press release shared with CoinDesk that their updates will 'position Ethereum to meet the needs of sophisticated capital as TradFi begins to onboard to DeFi, and reinforce Linea as a major home of future innovations in on-chain capital markets, staking, and infrastructure.' The team claims that of the updates, Linea will become the first layer 2 to burn ETH at the protocol level and commit 20% of net transaction fees toward reducing Ethereum supply. The remaining 80% of fees will be used to burn LINEA tokens, which are capped in supply, embedding deflationary pressure directly into network activity. 'Linea Mainnet will burn ETH with every transaction, use the LINEA token to support users, builders, and public goods, and return value to Ethereum's base layer, all while growing long-term value in the LINEA token-based economy,' said Declan Fox, Head of Linea, in the press release. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more. SOLANA PLAYERS UNVEIL 'INTERNET CAPITAL MARKETS' ROADMAP: Solana's ecosystem is coalescing around an updated vision its architects call 'Internet Capital Markets'—a decentralized, high-performance foundation for the next generation of on-chain financial applications. While the network has long focused on boosting bandwidth and slashing latency, its latest roadmap dives deep into market microstructure, arguing that the next leap forward lies in giving applications granular control over transaction execution. The roadmap, which was coauthored from leaders of the Solana Foundation, Anza, Jito Labs, DoubleZero, Drift and Multicoin Capital, centers on Application-Controlled Execution (ACE), which will give smart contracts millisecond-level authority over transaction sequencing. 'In our conversations with teams across the ecosystem, market microstructure is the single most important problem in Solana today,' the authors wrote. The new roadmap, published by Anza, a core contributor to the Solana blockchain, outlines six critical tradeoff dimensions: privacy vs. transparency, speedbumps vs. unfettered trading, inclusion vs. finality vs. latency, colocation vs. geographic decentralization, makers-first vs. takers-first priorities and flexible vs. opinionated architecture. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more. SQUARE BEGINS ROLLOUT OF BTC PAYMENTS FOR SELLERS: Jack Dorsey's Square (XYZ) has begun the rollout of bitcoin payments for merchants on its network. Square began onboarding the first sellers, enabling them to accept Lightning Network-powered BTC payments from customers, Owen Jennings, executive officer at Square's parent company Block (XYZ), posted on X last week. Payments are settled in real-near time using Bitcoin layer-2 Lightning, with Square processing the exchange into fiat. Square plans to make the service available to all merchants using its sales platform by next year. The company piloted the system at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas in May, allowing attendees to make purchases in BTC by scanning a barcode. — Jamie Crawley Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option In Other News Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate owner of bitcoin said it has acquired roughly $2.4 billion worth of BTC using the funds from its new preferred stock (STRC) issuance. The firm sold nearly $2.5 billion worth of STRC, also dubbed "stretch," to investors, significantly more than the originally planned $500 million. STRC, which aims to deliver a regular dividend to investors initially set at a 9% rate, will start trading on Wednesday on Nasdaq. With the proceeds, the company purchased 21,021 BTC at an average price of $117,256, according to a press release. That brings Strategy's bitcoin holdings to 628,791 BTC, worth nearly $74 billion at current prices. — Krisztian Sandor Read more. SharpLink Gaming (SBET), the Nasdaq-listed crypto treasury firm helmed by Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin, unveiled that its ether (ETH) holdings increased to 438,190 tokens, worth roughly $1.68 billion at current prices. The company bought 77,209 ether (ETH), or $297 million, through the week ending on July 27. It has also raised $279 million by selling shares, tapping at-the-market equity facility. The Minneapolis-based firm has pursued an aggressive treasury strategy since its late May pivot, raising funds to accumulate the second-largest cryptocurrency and staking the tokens in exchange for rewards. The firm said it has earned 722 ETH since then. — Kristzian Sandor Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Regulatory and Policy The digital assets industry's most reliable U.S. Senate ally, Cynthia Lummis, has introduced her latest crypto bill, which would ensure mortgage borrowers could use their cryptocurrency holdings to help secure their loans. Last month, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte directed government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to come up with proposals detailing how they can include crypto holdings to underpin a mortgage. Lummis' bill would "permit the holdings of a borrower in a digital asset, evidenced and maintained pursuant to a qualified custodial arrangement, to be included in the reserves of a borrower without conversion of the digital asset to United States dollars" — essentially codifying what Pulte is already seeking. "This legislation embraces an innovative path to wealth-building, keeping in mind the growing number of young Americans who possess digital assets," Lummis said in a statement, suggesting those assets might help bridge the gap to otherwise unobtainable home ownership. — Jesse Hamilton Read more. Roman Storm, the Tornado Cash developer standing trial in Manhattan on charges that the privacy tool he created helped hackers and other cyber criminals launder more than $1 billion in criminal proceeds, won't take the stand, his lawyers told the court. Storm told District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) that he was aware that he had the right to testify in his own defense but chose not to. After Storm made his decision, his defense team, led by Keri Axel and Brian Klein of Waymaker LLP, rested their case on Tuesday afternoon. — Cheyenne Ligon Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Calendar Sept. 22-28: Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul Oct. 1-2: Token2049, Singapore Oct. 13-15: Digital Asset Summit, London Oct. 16-17: European Blockchain Convention, Barcelona Nov. 17-22: Devconnect, Buenos Aires Dec. 11-13: Solana Breakpoint, Abu Dhabi Feb. 10-12, 2026: Consensus, Hong Kong May 5-7, 2026: Consensus, Miami Sign in to access your portfolio
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24-07-2025
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The Protocol: Ethereum Validator Exit Queue Backs Up
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I'm Margaux Nijkerk, CoinDesk's Tech & Protocols reporter. In this issue: Ethereum Validator Exit Queue Tops $2B as Stakers Rush to Quit After 160% Rally Jito Launches BAM to Reshape Solana's Blockspace Economy Ethereum Validators Signal Intention of Upping Gas Limit to 45M Dogecoin Could Soon Verify ZK Proofs Natively, Thanks to DogeOS Push Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Network news VALIDATOR EXIT QUEUE ON ETHEREUM BACKS UP: Ethereum's validator exit queue posted its longest wait time on record, a possible signal stakers are looking to pull funds after a major price rally in ether (ETH). As of Wednesday 09:00 UTC, nearly 625,000 ETH worth about $2.3 billion was in line to exit the network, data from shows. That's even larger than the amount waiting during the January 2024 spike, extending withdrawal delays to over 10 days, the data shows. The congestion is due to the dynamics of Ethereum's proof-of-stake model, which limits how quickly validators can join or leave the network. Validators are entities that stake tokens to help secure the blockchain in return for a reward. The exodus is likely due to profit-taking by those who staked ETH when the price was much lower and are now cashing out after it's rallied 160% from an early April trough. "When prices go up, people unstake and sell to lock in profits," said Andy Cronk, co-founder of staking service provider Figment. "We've seen this pattern for retail and institutional levels through many cycles." Unstaking spikes can also occur when large institutions move custodians or change their wallet tech, he said. — Krisztian Sandor Read more. JITO LAUNCHES BLOCK ASSEMBLY MARKETPLACE: The Jito Foundation introduced the Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM), a system aimed at improving how blocks are built and transactions sequenced on the Solana blockchain. BAM is designed to make 'transaction sequencing transparent and verifiable,' while enabling programmable innovation at the blockspace layer, unlocking new revenue opportunities for developers and reducing the harmful effects of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV). The launch builds on Jito's established infrastructure, including its widely adopted validator client, and the Jito Block Engine. BAM introduces a modular architecture with three key components. BAM Nodes are specialized schedulers that privately organize transactions using secure hardware. BAM Validators run the updated Jito-Solana software client and receive the ordered transactions from the nodes and execute them on-chain. Finally, Plugins will offer developers, traders and applications a programmable interface to interact with the scheduler, enabling customized transaction logic. According to the team, BAM will start up on mainnet in the coming weeks with an initial set of validators led by key Solana ecosystem participants such as Figment, Helius, SOL Strategies and Triton One. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more. ETHEREUM VALIDATORS BEGIN TO UP THE GAS LIMIT: According to the dashboard as of July 21, 49% of validators' staked ETH indicate that they are in favor of increasing the gas limit to reach 45 million units. On Ethereum, gas is the unit that measures the computational work required to execute transactions or smart contracts. Whenever a user interacts with the blockchain, they must pay a gas fee, which covers the cost of using Ethereum's computing resources. This ensures users pay in proportion to the complexity of their actions. Each block on Ethereum has a gas limit, which is the maximum amount of gas that can be consumed by all transactions in that block. If the total gas needed by pending transactions exceeds the block's limit, some transactions are postponed to future blocks. Because space is limited, transactions compete for inclusion, and those offering higher fees are more likely to be included first. The gas limit was last raised in February, when it was set to 36 million. That was the first time since 2021 that it had been increased, after more than half of the validators on the network supported the change, without needing a hard fork. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more. ZK PROOFS ON DOGECOIN?: Dogecoin might've started as a joke, but this upgrade isn't one. DogeOS, the app layer developed by the MyDoge wallet team, submitted a formal proposal to Dogecoin Core introducing a new opcode to enable the network to verify zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) natively. Developers aim to transform an unused part of the script system into a tool that can verify cryptographic proofs, starting with 'Groth16' (a specific type of proof widely used in ZK systems) and allowing for future upgrades. This would enable Dogecoin to support more advanced, off-chain applications, such as rollups and smart contracts, while maintaining the main chain's speed and simplicity. The approach is modular by design because proof systems are mode-selectable, and the opcode behavior is strictly opt-in. If the proof verifies, the script proceeds; if not, it fails. Old nodes remain compatible, treating the opcode as a no-op. No surprise forks, no VM bloat. — Shaurya Malwa Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option In Other News Polymarket, the cryptocurrency-powered prediction market that recently attained a billion-dollar valuation, is deciding whether to introduce its own customized stablecoin or accept a revenue- sharing deal with Circle based on the amount of USDC held on the platform, according to a person familiar with the plans. Polymarket's motivation to create its own stablecoin is simply to own the yield-generating reserves that back the large amount of Circle's USDC dollar-pegged token used to make bets on the popular betting platform, the person said. A Polymarket representative said no decision has been made. — Ian Allison Read more. SharpLink Gaming (SBET), the ether (ETH) treasury company led by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, continued its buying spree, bringing total holdings above $1.3 billion. The firm said in a Tuesday press release that it bought 79,949 ETH over the last week at an average price of $3,238, its largest weekly purchase. With the latest acquisition, the firm held 360,807 ETH as of July 20, worth roughly $1.33 billion at current prices. The company still has $96.6 million of funds raised by selling shares through its at-the-market equity for more ETH purchases, the company said. — Kristzian Sandor Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Regulatory and Policy President Donald Trump fulfilled part of his vow to establish U.S. crypto regulations, signing legislation into law that formally established rules for stablecoin issuers — marking a first step that the digital assets industry hopes will end with the more important regulatory regime governing the wider crypto markets. Before a crowd of crypto executives in the East Room of the White House, a jubilant Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which registered a massive 308-122 bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives on Thursday and an earlier 68-30 vote in the Senate — demonstrating a huge margin of support from walked into the packed room to be met by applauding lawmakers and industry leaders, including Coinbase's Brian Armstrong, Tether's Paolo Ardoino, Circle's Jeremy Allaire, Gemini's Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Kraken's Dave Ripley, Chainlink's Sergey Nazarov and others. — Jesse Hamilton & Nikilesh De Read more. The U.S. Senate is marching on in its effort to craft rules and regulations for the vast majority of the crypto market, releasing a discussion draft of a market structure bill that more clearly defines some of the frameworks the lawmakers are contemplating. The 35-page draft released Tuesday formulates new definitions for digital assets that are not securities, and directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to engage in rulemaking around these assets that would exempt them and their issuers from existing regulations. The bill later directs the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission to engage in joint rulemaking around certain aspects of crypto market activity, such as portfolio margining. — Nikilesh De Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Calendar Sept. 22-28: Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul Oct. 1-2: Token2049, Singapore Oct. 13-15: Digital Asset Summit, London Oct. 16-17: European Blockchain Convention, Barcelona Nov. 17-22: Devconnect, Buenos Aires Dec. 11-13: Solana Breakpoint, Abu Dhabi Feb. 10-12, 2026: Consensus, Hong Kong May 5-7, 2026: Consensus, Miami
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16-07-2025
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The Protocol: Layer-2 Eclipse's Airdrop Goes Live
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I'm Margaux Nijkerk, CoinDesk's Tech & Protocols reporter. In this issue: Eclipse Launches $ES Airdrop, Distributing 15% of Token Supply Risc Zero's 'Boundless' Incentivized Testnet Goes Live Bitcoin Devs Float Proposal to Freeze Quantum-Vulnerable Addresses — Even Satoshi Nakamoto's Aethir and Credible Introduce First DePIN-Powered Credit Card Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Network News ECLIPSE TOKEN GENERATION EVENT: Eclipse, the layer-2 that combines technology from the Ethereum and Solana blockchains, shared that it has gone live with an airdorp of its $ES token. The team behind the network shared that the initial distribution will occur over the next 30 days, and a total of 1 billion $ES tokens have been minted, with distribution structured to go to community incentives and long-term protocol sustainability. Of the supply, 15% is allocated to an airdrop and liquidity provisions for core community members and developers who have supported the network from the start. 35% will support ecosystem growth and research and development, aimed to help scale the network. Contributors will receive 19% of the supply, including team members, with a four year vesting period and three year lockup schedule. The remaining 31% is for early supporters and investors, who are subject to a three year lockup schedule to commit to Eclipse's roadmap long-term. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more. RISC-ZERO 'BOUNDLESS' INCENTIVIZED TESTNET GOES LIVE : Boundless, the decentralized zero-knowledge (ZK) compute marketplace powered by RISC Zero, has launched its incentivized testnet (which it is calling 'Mainnet Beta') on Base, Coinbase's Ethereum layer-2 network. With Boundless' incentivized testnet, developers can build and test applications in an environment as if the protocol is in fully live format. The network has already landed early support from industry heavyweights like the Ethereum Foundation, Wormhole and EigenLayer. A decentralized marketplace for zero-knowledge compute connects those who need zero-knowledge proofs — such as developers building rollups, bridges, or privacy-preserving applications — with a distributed network of independent 'ZK provers or miners' who generate and verify those proofs. Instead of relying on centralized parties, this model allows anyone with the right hardware to contribute computing power and be rewarded for doing that cryptographic work. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more. NEW BITCOIN PROPOSAL TO FREEZE QUANTAM-VULNERABLE ADDRESSES: A new Bitcoin draft proposal wants to do what's long been unthinkable: Freeze coins secured by legacy cryptography — including those in Satoshi Nakamoto's wallets — before quantum computers can crack them. That's according to a new draft proposal co-authored by Jameson Lopp and other crypto security researchers, which introduces a phased soft fork that turns quantum migration into a ticking clock. Fail to upgrade, and your coins become unspendable. That includes the roughly 1.1 million BTC tied to early pay-to-pubkey addresses, like those of Satoshi's and other early miners. 'This proposal is radically different from any in Bitcoin's history just as the threat posed by quantum computing is radically different from any other threat in Bitcoin's history,' the authors explained as a motivation for the proposal. 'Never before has Bitcoin faced an existential threat to its cryptographic primitives.' — Shaurya Malwa Read more. THE FIRST DEPIN POWERED CREDIT CARD: Aethir, a decentralized GPU cloud network, has teamed up with Credible Finance, a lending protocol, to introduce what they call the first credit card and loan product powered by a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN). The move is designed to give Aethir's native ATH token holders and node operators access to stablecoin credit without liquidating their tokens — a step toward blending on-chain infrastructure with real-world financial capital. The product, which debuted on Wednesday, lets eligible users collateralize their ATH tokens to access a revolving credit line or preload a no-fee card with ATH or stablecoins on Solana. Loan approvals and limits are determined by Credible's AI-driven credit engine, which evaluates a user's on-chain activity, asset holdings and transaction history. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option In Other News Ripple has expanded its institutional custody services into the Middle East, partnering with UAE-based tokenization platform Ctrl Alt to support Dubai's government-led real estate digitization initiative. The deal will see Ctrl Alt use Ripple's custody infrastructure to store tokenized property title deeds issued by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). — Shaurya Malwa Read more. SharpLink Gaming (SBET), the Nasdaq-listed firm with a crypto treasury strategy centered on ether ETH, on Tuesday said it has become the largest corporate holder of the asset with 280,706 ETH worth roughly $840 million at current prices. The firm raised $413 million via the issuance of over 24 million shares between July 7 and July 11, according to a press release. It purchased a total of 74,656 ETH over the past week at an average price of $2,852 each. Roughly $257 million of that fundraising remained for future ETH acquisitions, the firm said. — Kristzian Sandor Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Regulatory and Policy The House of Representatives on Tuesday did not vote on a procedural motion to advance a trio of crypto bills, but may vote Wednesday to advance the legislation. As it sped into its crypto-focused week on Tuesday, the U.S. House's process toward passing digital assets bills ground to a sudden halt over a procedural vote as members of the House Freedom Caucus objected to the way some of the legislation has developed under Senate dominance. The legislation still has strong, bipartisan support, suggesting the procedural mishap may be overcome as a further vote was scheduled for later Tuesday afternoon. This vote was canceled less than 15 minutes before it was set to begin, so the matter may not be raised again until early Wednesday — the same day the Digital Asset Markets Clarity Act was set to be voted on. — Jesse Hamilton, Stephen Alpher, & Nikilesh De Read more. A 12-person jury has been seated for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm's criminal trial, and opening arguments are set to begin later this afternoon in the Thurgood Marshall courthouse in Lower Manhattan. Seven women and five men with a diverse range of backgrounds and ages will decide whether the U.S. Department of Justice can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Storm engaged in conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. — Cheyenne Ligon & Nikilesh De Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Calendar July 16-18: Web3 Summit, Berlin Sept. 22-28: Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul Oct. 1-2: Token2049, Singapore Nov. 17-22: Devconnect, Buenos Aires Dec. 11-13: Solana Breakpoint, Abu Dhabi Feb. 10-12, 2026: Consensus, Hong Kong May 5-7, 2026: Consensus, Miami Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
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14-05-2025
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The Protocol: Lido Avoids Major Hack
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. This is Margaux Nijkerk and Sam Kessler, CoinDesk's Tech team. In this issue: Hacking Attempt on Lido Results in 1.4 Ether Lost From Oracle Provider Bitcoin DeFi Security Improves as Rootstock Boosts Hashrate Share Ethereum's Next Upgrade 'Fusaka' Could Cut Layer-2 and Validator Costs Telegram Cracks Down on $8 billion Crypto Crime Marketplace Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option LIDO AVOIDS MAJOR SECURITY BREACH: Lido, Ethereum's largest liquid staking protocol, avoided a major security incident after one of its nine oracle keys was compromised in what appears to be a low-impact but serious breach involving validator operator Chorus One. Lido secures over 25% of all ether (ETH) staked on Ethereum, making it one of the most systemically important protocols in the Ethereum ecosystem. The compromised key was tied to a hot wallet used for oracle reporting, leading to the theft of just 1.46 ETH ($4,200) in gas fees. No user funds were affected, and no broader compromise was detected, per X posts from both Lido and Chorus One. — Tim Craig Read more. BITCOIN DEFI BLOSSOMING: Decentralized finance (DeFi) on the Bitcoin blockchain may still be in its infancy relative to Ethereum, but Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi) is becoming safer and cheaper, crypto analytics firm Messari said in a new report. A central participant is Rootstock, one of the oldest Bitcoin layer-2 projects, crypto analytics firm Messari said in its "State of Rootstock" report. Rootstock is now secured by 81% of Bitcoin's total hashrate, meaning miners that account for amount the hashrate are also approving transactions on the layer 2. The figure was just 56% before the the onboarding of Foundry and Spiderpool, the world's largest and sixth-largest mining pools, respectively, in February. — Jamie Crawley Read more. FUSAKA PLANNING BEGINS: After the successful deployment last week of Pectra, Ethereum's biggest upgrade in more than a year, the network's core developers are already shifting focus to the next major chain upgrade: Fusaka. Pectra, the biggest code change to Ethereum since the Merge in 2022, introduced key changes aimed at making staking easier for institutions, improving wallet accessibility, and boosting transaction efficiency. Developers have already begun planning for Fusaka, the network's next upgrade, and have thus far agreed to include an Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) called "PeerDAS" that could help the network support larger "blobs" of transaction data. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more. TELEGRAM CRACKS DOWN ON CRYPTO CRIME MARKETPLACE: Messaging app Telegram has closed thousands of channels belonging to suspected Chinese crypto-crime marketplaces after new research shed light on the situation, according to Elliptic. The closure follows a report published by the blockchain analytics firm on Tuesday into the fast-growing Telegram-based marketplace called Xinbi Guarantee. The Colorado-incorporated marketplace has processed over $8.4 billion worth of transactions using Tether's USDT stablecoin since 2022. It facilitates services relating to money laundering, operating crypto scam compounds and other illicit services, such as intimidation and sex trafficking, according to Elliptic. — Tim Craig Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option Robinhood Markets (HOOD), the California-based financial services company, said it agreed to buy Canadian crypto firm WonderFi (WNDR) for $178.98 million. The all-cash acquisition values WonderFi at 36 Canadian cents per share, a 41% premium over its closing price prior to the announcement. — Omkar Godbole Read more. Stock and crypto trading platform eToro (ETOR) debuted at $52 a share on the Nasdaq exchange. The company raised about $312 million from investors by selling 6 million shares at a price of $52 a piece. The listing values the company at $4.2 billion. EToro became the first U.S. crypto company to go public following the market uncertainty wrought by President Donald Trump's tariff actions. — Helene Braun Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option The Gibraltar government said it plans to establish the world's first rules for the clearing and settlement of crypto derivatives, creating a regulatory framework to improve market integrity and reduce key risks. Working with the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) and crypto exchange Bullish (whose owner, Bullish Group, is also the parent of CoinDesk), the government has built a framework over the past six months that tailors traditional financial clearing regulations to the virtual asset market. — Jamie Crawley Read more. Unknown block type "divider", specify a component for it in the ` option May 14-16: Consensus, Toronto May 19-23: Solana Accelerate, New York City May 20-22: Avalanche Summit, London May 27-29: Bitcoin 2025, Las Vegas May 27-29: ETHPrague, Prague June 8-22: Berlin Blockchain Week, Berlin June 30-July 3: EthCC, Cannes July 16-18: Web3 Summit, Berlin Sept. 22-28: Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul Oct. 1-2: Token2049, Singapore Dec. 11-13: Solana Breakpoint, Abu Dhabi
