• Everclear launches on mainnet beta.

• Spec released for Decentralized Timeboost.

• Google Cloud launches an RPC service.

• The Fed cuts interest rates by half a point.

Interoperability protocol Everclear, previously known as Connext Network, launched its clearing layer on mainnet beta. Built as an Arbitrum Orbit rollup, it leverages Hyperlane and Eigenlayer to streamline cross-chain liquidity settlement. The protocol reduces rebalancing costs for solvers and intent-based bridges. Everclear enables chain abstraction, where a network of solvers competes to execute user requests on the target chain, removing the need for users to bridge. The process is automated through a Dutch auction system. Everclear also uses vbNEXT, a vote-bonded token mechanism that dynamically allocates liquidity where it’s needed most. 

Espresso Systems and Offchain Labs released a specification for Decentralized Timeboost, its latest version of a transaction ordering mechanism for sequencers designed to minimize the effects of MEV while ensuring low latency. The design allows users to pay a fee for priority block inclusion. Timeboost leverages an encrypted mempool, keeping transaction details hidden until a user's order is finalized. It will also be integrated into the Espresso marketplace, enabling rollups to auction the right to sequence transactions. The specification is now open for community feedback ahead of a planned mainnet release.

Google Cloud launched an Ethereum RPC Service, allowing developers to access reliable enterprise-grade RPC endpoints for their applications. The Remote Procedure Call (RPC) endpoints enable applications to interact with the Ethereum network by sending transactions and retrieving data. The service is fully compatible with Ethereum's JSON-RPC standard. Google Cloud plans to expand the service to support additional networks in the coming year. By using providers like Google Cloud, AWS, or Alchemy, developers can avoid the complexity of managing their own node infrastructure. Google Cloud first started to accept cryptocurrency payments for its services in early 2023.

The U.S. Federal Reserve reduced interest rates by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75% to 5%, marking the first rate cut since 2020. The decision was widely anticipated, with prediction markets estimating a 40% likelihood of the cut beforehand. The Fed emphasized that inflation is easing toward its 2% target. Shortly after the announcement, crypto prices remained largely stable, with ETH trading at just over $2,330.

• ETH Daily points leaderboard

• ZKsync announces its Security Council

• Privy introduces gas sponsorship

• Revolut may launch stablecoin

• StakeWise V3 packages on Dappnode

• WalletConnect introduces WCT token.

• EigenLayer to release programmatic incentives.

• Pectra Devnet 3 goes live.

• Congressmen seek SEC clarity on airdrops.

WalletConnect, a protocol that connects wallets to applications, introduced its native WCT token on OP Mainnet. WTC has a total supply of 1 billion and will serve as a fee, staking, and governance token. WalletConnect also rebranded as Reown, aiming to enhance web3 accessibility through its AppKit and WalletKit toolkits. About 185 million tokens are allocated to airdrops for wallets, apps, nodes, developers, and communities who have engaged with the WalletConnect Network. The first WCT airdrop will open on September 24, with distributions starting in October, although the token will initially be non-transferable. Launched in 2018, WalletConnect has facilitated 150 million wallet connections across 40,000 applications and 600 wallets.

EigenLayer announced plans to release Programmatic Incentives on mainnet on October 8, 2024, allowing restakers and operators to earn rewards for securing Actively Validated Services (AVSs). 4% of the total EIGEN supply is allocated to programmatic incentives with initial weekly emissions of 1.3 million EIGEN tokens. Restakers and operators will receive retroactive incentives proportional to their stake starting from August 15, 2024. To be eligible, restakers must have delegated their stake to a registered AVS operator. Actively Validated Services (AVSs) leverage the economic security of Ethereum restakers to secure consensus for their own networks.

The third Pectra devnet is now live, allowing developers to experiment with eight supported EIPs, including EIP-2537, EIP-2935, EIP-6110, EIP-7002, EIP-7251, EIP-7549, EIP-7685, and EIP-7702. A devnet is a testnet environment that allows developers to test EIPs. Developers can start using the available Pectra Devnet 3 RPC, faucet, and block explorer. A key feature of Devnet 3 is EIP-7702, an account abstraction standard initially proposed by Vitalik Buterin, which enables EOAs to temporarily function as smart wallets during a transaction. This week, core developers will decide whether to split Pectra EIPs and ship Devnet 3 as a standalone fork, with the remaining EIPs following in a subsequent fork.

Congressmen Tom Emmer and Patrick McHenry sent a letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler seeking clarity on the agency’s stance regarding airdrops. The lawmakers argue that the SEC is overstepping its authority by classifying certain airdrops as unregistered securities. The congressmen compared airdrops to loyalty rewards, asking how the SEC differentiates between the two. The letter asks for Gensler to provide answers to their questions by September 30th.

• Harvest introduces a GHO vault

• Mellow stakes with Obol

• 9Lives prediction market

• Base hits 4.5m daily txs

• Starknet growth grants

• Claims go live for EIGEN Stakedrop 2.

• Optimism announces Retro Funding Round 6.

• RISC Zero introduces Boundless.

• DeltaPrime suffers a $6m exploit.

Claims for the EIGEN Season 2 Stakedrop are now open. Stakers, operators, ecosystem partners, and community members can claim their share of 86 million EIGEN tokens. The claim window is open for six months, closing on March 16th, 2025. Although EIGEN is non-transferable, users can still restake and delegate their tokens. EIGEN, a Universal Intersubjective Work Token, provides social consensus as a service and will serve a role in future protocol governance. The token is expected to become transferable in the coming month and is currently trading at about $2.90 in Aevo’s pre-market. The Eigen Foundation also pledged an allocation to Protocol Guild.

Optimism announced the details for its sixth round of retroactive funding, which will allocate up to 3.5 million OP tokens to projects that have contributed to Superchain Governance. Eligible contributions include governance infrastructure and tooling, governance analytics and performance reports, as well as leadership roles within councils, commissions, and boards. Applications open on September 26th, with contributions needing to demonstrate impact between October 2023 and September 2024. Projects unrelated to Optimism governance and individual delegate participation are not eligible for this round. Badgeholders will vote in October, with grants set to be distributed in November.

RISC Zero, a blockchain infrastructure provider, introduced Boundless, a new scalability design leveraging zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to enable verifiable computing. With Boundless, computations performed by a single node can be verified by all nodes efficiently, without the need for re-execution. Boundless simplifies ZK integration for developers by offering familiar programming languages and streamlined proof aggregation. Boundless also supports cross-chain interactions, elastic scalability, and inherits security from the underlying target chains. The solution is currently in an  early testing phase.

DeltaPrime Blue, a lending protocol on Arbitrum One, suffered a private key compromise, leading to the loss of approximately $6 million in user funds. An attacker was able to artificially inflate their deposit balances to withdraw funds from multiple pools, including USDC, BTCb, and ARB. DeltaPrime has since contained the risk and is now working on asset recovery.

• ZKsync supports Chainlink CCIP

• SummerFi announced support for USDS

• New Devcon ticket wave

• Protocol Symposium session

• Peirce comments on NFT enforcement

• Rise raises $3.2m

• DBR claim via CEX