Quick Take

• Fusaka scope freeze timeline.

• Optimism schedules Upgrade 13.

• Circle expands USDC in Japan.

• Paradigm releases a report on DeFi.

Fusaka Scope Freeze Timeline

Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko shared an updated Fusaka upgrade timeline, targeting a scope freeze by April 10, 2025. Fusaka is the next upgrade after Pectra. Client teams are currently advised to provide feedback on which EIPs to include or remove. The Fusaka Meta EIP-7607 currently lists PeerDAS EIP-7594 and EOF Meta EIP-7692 scheduled for inclusion. EOF, a collection of approximately 11 EIPs designed to enhance code validation, has sparked debate, with some client teams advocating for its removal due to concerns over complexity. A Meta EIP acts as a central proposal, coordinating changes across both the execution and consensus layers for synchronized upgrades.

Optimism Superchain Upgrade 13

Optimism scheduled Upgrade 13 for OP Mainnet on April 1, 2025. The upgrade improves the Superchain’s fault proofs incident response, contract upgrade processes, and security mechanisms. The upgrade introduces a new system for upgrading L1 contracts across the Superchain, making contract upgrades more scalable and reliable. Improvements to the Fault Proofs Incident Response mechanism will enhance withdrawals and dispute handling. The upgrade also introduces the DeputyPauseModule, a Safe Module designed to enable quick, coordinated security responses via the Superchain-wide pause mechanism. Users are advised to complete any pending withdrawals to L1 before April 1 to avoid needing to submit a second proof. Alongside OP Mainnet, Ink Mainnet and Soneium Mainnet will also undergo the upgrade on April 1, 2025. OP Labs is also hosting a $250,000 audit competition on the latest Superchain interop upgrades to the OP Stack.

Circle Expands USDC In Japan

Circle, in partnership with Japanese fintech firm SBI Group, will launch USDC in Japan on March 26, 2025, through SBI’s cryptocurrency exchange, SBI VC Trade. Local exchanges, including Binance Japan, bitbank, and bitFlyer, also plan to list USDC. The launch is part of Circle’s expansion into Japan through Circle Japan. Circle and SBI Group aim to integrate USDC into Japan's digital finance landscape. The expansion will boost USDC’s market liquidity and foster institutional adoption. USDC is the second-largest stablecoin by market cap, with a total supply of $59 billion.

Paradigm DeFi In TradFi Report

Crypto investment firm Paradigm published a report outlining the growth of DeFi in traditional finance. Based on a survey of 300 traditional finance professionals, the report highlights a growing trend toward blockchain adoption for tokenization aimed at improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing financial services. The report reveals that over two-thirds of traditional finance firms are actively exploring DeFi, with a strong preference for public, permissionless blockchains over private, permissioned ones. Firms see DeFi as a future cornerstone of their core businesses, but a lack of clear regulations remains the biggest barrier to DeFi adoption.

Other News

• Euler hits $1b in TVL

• Aave hits $10b TVL on Linea

• Hyperlane deploys on Soneium

• Ethresearch: Max-Blobs Flag

• Ethresearch: New blob pricing EIP

• Nillion goes live on mainnet

• OpenZeppelin Safe Utils interface

• OpenZeppelin Cairo v2.0.0-alpha.0

• OP Labs dev researcher role

• Flaunch integrates Privy

• Scroll Open winners

• Superform introduces v2

See disclosures