The Protocol: EIGEN Riches Tempt Ethereum Devs, Even as ETF Approval Nears

This text appears to be a summary of news articles related to the crypto and blockchain industry for the week ending May 27, 2023. The summary includes information about various companies and projects in the industry, as well as market data and upcoming events.

The unexpected good news about potential approval of Ethereum spot ETFs by U.S. regulators has caused a significant surge in Ethereum’s value – a 21% increase, marking its strongest weekly growth since last August.

Beneath the tranquil exterior, however, lies simmering discord among Ethereum’s developer community regarding the direction and degree of decentralization for the leading blockchain platform for smart contracts. This undercurrent of disagreement intensified this week with disclosures that two prominent figures in the Ethereum Foundation received substantial token rewards from EigenLayer, a groundbreaking staking protocol whose potential risks to Ethereum’s system have raised concerns. Continue reading for more insights.

ALSO:

ETH

Network news

The Protocol: EIGEN Riches Tempt Ethereum Devs, Even as ETF Approval Nears

As a researcher delving into the latest developments within the Ethereum community, I can’t help but draw attention to Dankrad Feist of the Ethereum Foundation. This influential figure has recently made headlines with his proposal, aptly named “danksharding,” which has sparked quite a buzz in our circle.

MEV SNIPING! It’s not clear exactly what started it all, but top Ethereum developers locked horns on the social-media platform X, in an intense and almost uncomfortable-to-observe debate touching on the practice of maximal extractable value, or MEV – essentially, the use of sophisticated trading bots to frontrun user transactions at the point of execution. On May 16, Ethereum core developer Péter Szilágyi tweeted about his despair over the lack of progress in pushing to solve some of the blockchain’s most vexing issues. “Voila, the banking system recreated,” he wrote. One of his points was that Ethereum had “glorified” MEV, remarking, ostensibly in sarcasm, that it was “futile to fight against MEV, so might as well lean hard on it, right?” (As chronicled in last week’s issue of The Protocol, even U.S. government officials now appear to characterize MEV as standard operating procedure on the blockchain.) Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist retweeted Szilágyi’s post with the comment, “This is such a lazy take if you can’t also tell me what your supposed solutions are that let local block producers extract MEV.” A back-and-forth ensued, and then Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin chimed in, tweeting that “I’m really proud that Ethereum does not have any culture of trying to prevent people from speaking their minds, even when they have very negative feelings toward major things in the protocol or ecosystem.” Buterin, who is known to write long, interrupted his work on a project in Kenya to bang out a 3,000-word-plus essay breaking down the issues, concluding: “I also do not think that the situation is anywhere near as hopeless as Peter’s tweets imply.”

A tweet from Vitalik Buterin sparked a new controversy when Cobie questioned how he felt about Ethereum developers or researchers accepting large sums of money to advise projects built on the Ethereum network, potentially having conflicting incentives with Ethereum. This became clearer when it was revealed that Justin Drake and Feist, both Ethereum Foundation developers, had taken paid roles at EigenFoundation, which supports the controversial project EigenLayer. The news led to a debate on Twitter about whether this constituted a conflict of interest, with some arguing that even if they promised not to let it influence their judgment, it would be impossible to do so personally. A witty commentator quipped that the Ethereum researchers were “restaking themselves now.”

ALSO:

JUST IN: Bitcoin Is Coming to Ethereum Stalwart MetaMask: Sources
Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist who has claimed repeatedly to be Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, lied “extensively and repeatedly” in both his written and oral evidence in a major court case in the U.K., according to a scathing judgment in the case.
Eclipse Labs, the primary developer behind the modular Ethereum layer-2 network Eclipse, which is powered by Solana Virtual Machine and Celestia data availability and claims to be ultrafast, appointed Vijay Chetty as its new CEO. His predecessor, Neel Somani, stepped down last week amid sexual assault allegations, though he described them as false.
Alexey Pertsev, developer of the coin mixer Tornado Cash, filed an appeal with the s-Hertogenbosch court of appeal after being found guilty of money laundering on Tuesday , a spokesperson for the court said.
Cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Kraken and other crypto firms have joined an alliance aimed at responding to and preventing online fraud and scams, including so-called pig butchering schemes.

Protocol Village

As a crypto investor, I’d like to share with you some of the most noteworthy developments in the blockchain world that have caught my attention over the past week. These updates showcase significant advancements in technology and provide intriguing insights into the ever-evolving cryptocurrency landscape.

As a data analyst, I would present my findings by saying: “I compared the throughput-latency performance of Mysticeti-C with current leading consensus protocols based on data from Arxiv. The resulting graph illustrates how Mysticeti-C fares against these benchmarks.”

The Sui Foundation, which backs the development of the Sui blockchain utilizing Move smart-contracts language, has reportedly achieved the deployment of Mysticeti, a novel consensus protocol, on its testnet. This new protocol is claimed to decrease consensus time for Sui by approximately 80%, bringing it down to an industry-leading 390 milliseconds.

2. StarkWare, the main developer firm behind the layer-2 blockchain Starknet, shared Wednesday plans for its own zero-knowledge rollup compatible with the existing Ethereum infrastructure, a setup commonly known as a zkEVM. The zkEVM, called Kakarot, already in testing, will be available via the Starknet Stack, a set of software tools that make it easier for developers to spin up their own customized application-specific chains.

As a crypto investor, I’m excited about the latest development from Gnosis. They have introduced “Metri,” an on-chain self-custodial wallet that operates within their ecosystem. This means that more users can now access the world of decentralized finance applications in a secure and autonomous way.

The privacy-focused Ethereum layer 2 solution, COTI V2, announced the launch of its development network (devnet). This devnet introduces Garbled Circuits, a groundbreaking innovation in blockchain technology. Garbled Circuits reportedly deliver privacy benefits 1,000 times faster and 250 times more efficiently than existing solutions, as claimed by the development team.

5. Bitcoin layer 2 Bitfinity has introduced its Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to bring smart contracts Bitcoin protocols and harness Runes to enable Bitcoin DeFi apps. Built on the Internet Computer (ICP) protocol, Bitfinity integrates with the Bitcoin network and allows asset bridging to other blockchains. Internet Computer’s tech stack will allow applications that use Ethereum’s smart contract programming language Solidity to access Bitcoin-based tokens.

What to Expect at Consensus 2024: Spotlight on Blockchain Tech

At Consensus 2024, Ethan Buchman, the co-founder of Cosmos and CEO of Informal Systems, is set to discuss the “bitcoinization of Cosmos” in a scheduled speech. (Bradley Keoun)

Bitcoin layer 2s. Ethereum restaking. Interoperability. AI. DePIN. Next-generation cryptography.

As a crypto investor, I’m excited to share that there are several groundbreaking blockchain tech topics on the agenda at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2024 conference. Happening from Wednesday, May 29, through Friday, May 31, in Austin, Texas, this is an event you won’t want to miss! Some of the topics include:

Blockchain developers have an exciting three-day feast ahead: they’ll gain insights into the latest crypto technologies from Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, and XRP Ledger, taught by industry leaders.

Go here for the full post by Bradley Keoun

Money Center

Fundraisings

Farcaster, a blockchain-based social-media project, has secured $150 million in a fundraising round led by Paradigm, with participation from a16z, Haun, USV, Variant and Standard Crypto, according to a post by founder Dan Romero.
Kelp DAO, a liquid restaking platform, closed a $9 million private sale led by SCB Limited and Laser Digital (Digital asset arm of Nomura Global), according to the team.
Param Labs, an independent game and infrastructure development company behind the game Kiraverse, and 3-D asset creation platform Pixel to Poly, announced a fundraise of $7 million in an investment round led by Animoca Brands.
OKX Ventures announced a strategic investment in Monad Labs, which is developing a “developer-forward smart contract platform that is poised to revolutionize the decentralized digital landscape,” according to the team.
Lightspeed Faction, a blockchain venture capital firm, has announced a $7.7 million Series A investment in WeatherXM AG, a core contributor to the WeatherXM Network.

WeatherXM’s “M5” bundle (WeatherXM)

Editor’s Observation: The recent blog entry penned by influencer Cobie regarding deceptive cryptocurrency fundraising methods has generated significant attention. Furthermore, for a comprehensive understanding of the topic, consider reading Impossible Finance’s Calvin Chu’s in-depth post on node sales.

Deals and grants

Phantom, the leading crypto wallet in the Solana ecosystem, has bought Web3-focused browser extension wallet Bitski, the companies said on Tuesday.
The decentralized funding protocol Polimec “has launched to aid community-funded Polkadot projects with a transparent, regulatory-compliant way to raise funds and issue tokens,” according to the team.
Pyth, a blockchain oracle project, is “launching their Ecosystem Grants Program with 50 million PYTH (worth ~$22M at today’s prices) dedicated towards this activation,” according to the team.
RootstockLabs announced that the fifth wave of their grants program has commenced, “offering more opportunities for Web3 entrepreneurs to build on Bitcoin.” According to the team: “In addition, RootstockLabs is committing an extra $3 million to enhance the Rootstock ecosystem, supporting the grants program and strategic integrations with leading protocols and developer tools.
The Hashgraph Association has signed a strategic partnership with the Qatar Financial Centre to launch a $50 million Digital Assets Venture Studio, according to the team.

Ether market roundup

ETH

PEPE

Data and Tokens

Izzy Englander’s Millennium, Paul Singer’s Elliott Among Bitcoin ETF Holders
ZkSync, Ethereum Layer-2 Network, Hints at Airdrop By End of June
Solana Meme Coin Factory Pump.Fun Compromised by ‘Bonding Curve’ Exploit
Donald Trump-Themed Meme Coins Breed Crypto Millionaires as MAGA Token Surged
Crypto Derivatives DEX Aevo’s Token Jumps 10% as Binance Labs Discloses Investment

Calendar

May 29-31: Consensus, Austin Texas.

May 29-31: Bitcoin Seoul.

June 11-13: Apex, the XRP Ledger Developer Summit, Amsterdam.

July 8-11: EthCC, Brussels.

July 25-27: Bitcoin 2024, Nashville.

Aug. 19-21: Web3 Summit, Berlin.

Sept. 19-21: Solana Breakpoint, Singapore.

Sept. 1-7: Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul.

Sept. 30-Oct. 2: Messari Mainnet, New York.

Oct. 9-11: Permissionless, Salt Lake City.

Oct. 21-22: Cosmoverse, Dubai.

Oct. 23-24: Cardano Summit, Dubai.

Oct. 30-31: Chainlink SmartCon, Hong Kong

Nov 12-14: Devcon 7, Bangkok.

Nov. 20-21: North American Blockchain Summit, Dallas.

Feb. 19-20, 2025: ConsensusHK, Hong Kong

2024-05-22 19:57