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The Protocol: How Optimism Filled in Its Missing Tooth

Jun 11, 2024

Since its debut at the end of 2021, Ethereum layer-2 project Optimism has been beaming with success. However, there was a significant drawback – it was missing a crucial component known as “fault proofs.” These proofs are essential for validating and confirming the integrity of transactions in an “optimistic” rollup, which helps to filter out malicious ones. As of this week, that void has been filled.

ALSO:

    Crypto-lending comebackTop picks from the past week’s Protocol Village column: Biconomy, Ripple, XRP Ledger, Axelar, Lido, Mellow Finance, Symbiotic, Covalent, Arthur Hayes, Cardano, Charles Hoskinson.Solana takes action against the creeping problem of frontrunning and “sandwich attacks.”Polygon’s Community Grants Program worth 1B POL tokens.ZKsync, with newly stylized project name, sets criteria for next week’s ZK token airdrop.
The Protocol: How Optimism Filled in Its Missing Tooth

Network news

As a crypto investor, I’ve been closely following Optimism, the Ethereum layer-2 project that has gained popularity due to its association with notable blockchain projects like Coinbase’s Base and Worldcoin’s World Chain. However, I’ve long recognized that there was a fundamental issue beneath the surface: these optimistic rollups were built on an incorrect assumption that they could rely on Ethereum’s security apparatus. In reality, they lacked the essential functionality called “fault proofs,” which are crucial for challenging malicious actors.

FANCY ANOTHER ROUND IN THE CRYPTO LOAN MARKET? The crypto lending industry is bouncing back from the crypto winter that caused massive blowups among key players, according to a report by CoinDesk’s Aoyon Ashraf. This rebound can be attributed to the approval of spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and assets being returned to creditors from bankrupt crypto companies. The sector suffered significantly in 2022 as digital asset prices plummeted, leading to the bankruptcy filings of firms such as Celsius, BlockFi, and Genesis. However, since then, the price of cryptocurrencies has surged, with the CoinDesk 20 Index experiencing a gain of over 200% from its year-end 2022 value. Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder of crypto lending firm Ledn, shared his perspective during an interview at the Consensus 2024 conference in Austin, Texas: “I’m observing a market that has come back with renewed vigor.”

ALSO:

    After a UK court ruled in March that Craig Wright was not the creator of Bitcoin and didn’t author the original blockchain’s whitepaper, as he had claimed, he’s now being asked to cover costs of the legal proceedings. The Crypto Open Patent Alliance’s (COPA) legal representatives last week asked Judge James Mellor to grant that Wright pay 85% of the costs the group incurred in the legal proceedings.Almost $19 billion worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen in thefts dating back to 2011 and the industry continues to grapple with rising blockchain-related crime, according to a report from Crystal Intelligence.Artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto could add a combined $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030, asset manager Bitwise said in a report on Wednesday.

Protocol Village

As a dedicated researcher delving into the realm of blockchain technology, I’m excited to share with you some noteworthy advancements and developments from the previous week at Protocol Village. Stay tuned as we explore significant upgrades and breaking news within this dynamic field.

The Protocol: How Optimism Filled in Its Missing Tooth

Schematic of Biconomy’s ‘Delegated Authorization Network’ (Biconomy)

As a crypto investor, I’m excited about the latest development from Biconomy, a Web3 infrastructure company. They have introduced a new Delegated Authorization Network (DAN), which allows me to delegate certain on-chain activities to AI agents in a secure way. According to their press release, this network operates by granting approved AI projects access to my “Delegated Auth” keys stored on EigenLayer AVS (Actively Validated Services). This ensures that I maintain true autonomy over my assets while not compromising on security. You can read more about it in their blog post.
2. Announcing the launch of its XRPL EVM Sidechain on Wednesday, Ripple Labs – the creators of XRP Ledger – revealed that this long-awaited development comes with an integration with interoperability project Axelar. This new sidechain extends Ethereum compatibility to the XRP Ledger, thereby opening up possibilities for DeFi and Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization. The Axelar Bridge facilitates effortless transfer of assets between the two platforms, with wXRP serving as the native asset.

Lido DAO has announced a collaboration with Mellow Finance and Symbiotic. Through this partnership, users can earn yields by depositing into “vaults” offered by Mellow’s curators, including Steakhouse, P2P Validator, Re7 Labs, and MEV Capital. This initiative was unveiled on Tuesday.

4. Covalent, the decentralized network for indexing blockchain data, has appointed Arthur Hayes as its new strategic advisor. Currently serving as the chief investment officer of Maelstrom, Hayes will oversee the development of the Ethereum Wayback Machine. This project aims to process and securely store all Ethereum and EVM rollup data for use in artificial intelligence applications.

5. The Cardano network is set to move into the final phase of a multiyear program to become a wholly decentralized blockchain ecosystem later this month, co-founder Charles Hoskinson said in an X post Monday.

Solana Heavyweights Wage War Against Private Mempool Operators

The Protocol: How Optimism Filled in Its Missing Tooth

(Danny Nelson)

Validators on the Solana blockchain may be held accountable financially for their suspected involvement in economic assaults targeting crypto traders.

As a crypto investor following the Solana ecosystem, I was surprised to learn over the weekend that more than 30 validator operators had been removed from the Solana Foundation Delegation Program. Although they continue to function as validators on the network, they are now ineligible for the additional rewards or payout boosters that previously came with validating transactions on the Solana blockchain. I’ve heard from a reliable source that several of these operators were based in Russia.

The intensifying conflict between major players in the Solana validator community and a clandestine network of validators continues to unfold, with allegations that this covert group has been profiting from traders through a controversial tactic called “sandwich attacks.” In these attacks, bots are used to jump ahead of and subsequently follow trades that have yet to be executed.

Ongoing enforcement actions are being taken against operators found involved in mempools facilitating sandwich attacks on Solana, according to a representative from the foundation (Sunday).

Read the full story by CoinDesk’s Danny Nelson

Money Center

Fundraisings

    Ava Protocol, formerly OAK Network, secured $10 million in seed funding ($5.5 million initial and $4.5M seed+ rounds) to develop its Eigenlayer AVS for private autonomous transactions on Ethereum.Squads Labs Raises $10M Series A, Unveils Smart Wallet for Public Testing on iOSPolygon Creates New Grants Program, 1B POL Unlocked Over 10 YearsHow to Fund Open-Source Generative AI? With Crypto

Deals and grants

    Robinhood to Buy Crypto Exchange Bitstamp, in $200M All-Cash DealTether Expects to Invest Over $1B in Deals in the Next Year: BloombergCore, an Ethereum-compatible layer-1 blockchain project that relies on Bitcoin for its security setup, “is launching the BTCfi Summer Hackathon, a 12-week event designed to ignite innovation in the Bitcoin economy,” according to the team.Layer-2 network Polygon is starting a Community Grants Program to encourage builders to build in its ecosystem, Polygon Labs said on Tuesday. The program aims to place 1 billion POL, Polygon’s soon-to-rebrand MATIC token, into the hands of developers over the next 10 years. The program went live Tuesday with 35 million tokens, worth $23 million at current prices, eligible for distribution.

Data and Tokens

    ZKsync’s ZK Airdrop is Coming ‘Next Week,’ Here’s What to ExpectRune Christensen Explains Why He Wants to Remake Maker and Kill DAIDefi Protocol UwU Lend Suffers $19.3M Expolit: ArkhamAI-Linked Crypto Tokens Underperform as Apple’s Event Fails to Impress TradersIggy Azalea Says MOTHER Tokens Can Soon Be Used to Buy PhonesMeme Sector Sees Sharp Selloff as GameStop Losses Extend to 60%

Calendar

    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 KongNov 12-14: Devcon 7, Bangkok.Nov. 20-21: North American Blockchain Summit, Dallas.Feb. 19-20, 2025: ConsensusHK, Hong Kong.May 14-16: Consensus, Toronto.

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2024-06-12 21:40