• Soneium introduces a Fast Finality Layer.

• Optimism launches the SuperStacks program.

• Farcaster launches Snapchain on mainnet.

• Safe restructures its team.

Soneium, an Optimism-based Layer 2, introduced a Fast Finality Layer designed to speed up transaction finality on the Layer 2 network. The new consensus layer was developed in collaboration with Astar Network, AltLayer, and EigenLayer to reduce finality delays from Ethereum’s current ~13 minute finality times to under 10 seconds. The Fast Finality Layer uses AltLayer’s MACH service for fast confirmations, an integration with EigenLayer for economic security, and leverages a dual staking model using Astar Network’s ASTR token and restaked ETH to secure the consensus layer. The collaboration extends ASTR’s role in Ethereum's shared security ecosystem.

Optimism launched SuperStacks, a new points-based rewards program offering incentives for users who provide liquidity across Superchain networks, including Base, OP Mainnet, Unichain, Soneium, Ink, and World Chain. The program focuses on interoperable assets, notably USDT0—the first Superchain interop-ready stablecoin, fully backed 1:1 by canonical USDT on Ethereum. Superchain interoperability enables native portability and fungibility of assets across all participating chains, reducing reliance on fragmented bridged tokens and enhancing security. Rewards are distributed based on the amount and duration of liquidity provision. The pilot will run from April 16 to June 30, 2025. Participating protocols include Uniswap, Velodrome, and Stargate.

Farcaster launched Snapchain, a high-performance data layer now live on mainnet. Snapchain delivers 10x cheaper storage, supports throughput exceeding 9,000 transactions per second (TPS), and introduces zero-cost signers, allowing users to add or remove apps for free. Snapchain already powers the Warpcast client, used to read and write data, improving cross-app performance. Built in Rust, Snapchain eliminates friction from micro-fees and enables seamless synchronization across apps. Snapchain combines blockchain reliability with social media user experience expectations.

Safe co-founder Lukas Schor announced that 14 team members are being laid off from Safe as part of a broader organizational restructuring. Going forward, Safe will operate through three teams: a revenue-driven product company, an innovation-focused R&D lab, and an ecosystem foundation dedicated to community and governance. Originally spun out of Gnosis in 2022, Safe secures over $100 billion in assets.

• Delayed Execution: EIP-7886 Info Doc

• Fast Confirmation Rule in Prysm

• Morpho curator referrals

• Ethereum builder journey

• Aave incentives for EURe

• Avail vibe coding with Lens

See disclosures

• Everclear launches on mainnet.

• Taiko collaborates with Fabric.

• Uniswap Unleashed goes live.

• Argent introduces easy bridging.

Interoperability protocol Everclear, previously known as Connext Network, launched its clearing layer on mainnet. Built as an Arbitrum Orbit rollup, Everclear leverages Hyperlane and Eigenlayer to streamline crosschain 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 intents on the target chain, removing the need for users to bridge. The process is automated through a Dutch auction system. Users can now transfer assets on Everclear across 20 supported chains. Everclear is also offering zero-fee rebalancing for WETH and USDC transfers across Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, and OP Mainnet.

Taiko announced a partnership with Commit-Boost and Fabric to advance preconfirmation infrastructure on Ethereum. The collaboration aims to distribute Commit-Boost to validators, expand PBS integrations, and standardize based rollup infrastructure through Fabric — with the goal of enabling L1 preconfirmations by 2025. Based preconfirmations allow validators to offer early transaction confirmation guarantees, improving user experience on rollups. Taiko is a based ZK-rollup on Ethereum; Fabric is a modular toolkit for standardizing rollup infrastructure; and Commit-Boost is a validator sidecar tool that enables secure, open participation in preconfirmation protocols.

Uniswap Unleashed, a multi-month liquidity mining campaign designed to boost liquidity and adoption of Uniswap v4, is now live. The initiative features $5 million in $UNI token incentives distributed across 12 liquidity pools on Unichain. The program was approved by Uniswap governance on March 21, 2025. Users can provide liquidity to eligible pools via Merkl to start accruing rewards, which can be claimed at any time. Incentives will be updated every two weeks, with new pools and additional chains introduced over time. The program, overseen by Guantlet, has already boosted Unichain’s TVL to over $100 million.

Argent launched Easy Bridging, a new feature that lets users deposit crypto from any chain directly into their Argent mobile wallet.  With just a simple token transfer, users can send assets from one chain and receive them on another. The feature is powered by Layerswap, enabling seamless transfers from both wallets and major centralized exchanges—including Coinbase, Binance, OKEx, KuCoin, and more—into supported Layer 2 networks. Argent Mobile is a smart contract wallet with built-in 2FA and secure account recovery.

• ZKsync suffers 111m ZK compromise

• Towns Protocol introduces TOWNS

• EigenLayer deploys on Sepolia

• Vitalik: Why I support privacy

• Web3 projects impacted by AWS

• Spire introduces DA Builder

• Lido joins Strategic ETH reserve

• USDe market cap decrease

See disclosures

• Celestia launches the mamo-1 testnet.

• Tomasz finalizes his EF leadership role.

• Clouted introduces the ETH Strategy protocol.

• WalletConnect enables WCT transferability.

Celestia launched mamo-1, a high-throughput testnet producing 128MB blocks every 6 seconds with 21.33MB/s data throughput—a 16x increase over Celestia mainnet. The testnet features 21 validators across Europe, simulating real-world network conditions and supporting light node sampling and data availability sampling (DAS). mamo-1 also introduces Vacuum!, Celestia’s new data propagation protocol. Vacuum! uses lazy gossiping and Validator Availability Certificates (VACs) to minimize redundant traffic and improve efficiency.  It implements the Pull-Based Broadcast Tree (PBBT), enabling fast blob dissemination. The performance leap advances Celestia toward its long-term goal of supporting 1GB block sizes.

Ethereum Foundation Co-Executive Director Tomasz Stańczak announced the formal start of his role following the signing of his contract. Since his appointment in early March, he engaged extensively with Ethereum builders and stakeholders, gathering feedback to create a broad strategy document for the EF. Tomasz is now focused on holding 1:1 meetings with EF staff to align internally before transitioning to the execution phase. He says he will define clear, actionable goals to advance the Foundation’s strategic direction. Alongside Co-Executive Director Hsiao-Wei Wang, Tomasz has already begun implementing internal operational improvements in coordination with team leads.

CloutedMind introduced ETH Strategy, a crypto-native protocol inspired by TradFi’s structured products, specifically following the MicroStrategy playbook, but for ETH. ETH Strategy introduces STRAT, a new asset that offers long-term, leveraged ETH exposure without liquidations or volatility decay. STRAT is created through the issuance of long-dated convertible bonds. The protocol sells convertible debt to USD lenders known as Bonders, who earn yield and can convert to STRAT if ETH appreciates. The structure reinforces ETH’s monetary premium as a foundational asset for collateral. The protocol is still in development.

WCT, the native governance and staking token of the WalletConnect Network, is now transferable. WCT was initially distributed as non-transferable tokens via an airdrop in November 2024. The token now trades at around $0.30 with a market cap of $56 million. WalletConnect, a protocol that enables wallet-to-app connections, has facilitated over 150 million connections since its launch in 2018.

Other News

• Kraken adds stock trading

• Onchain treasury growth

• Ethereum university tour

• Toni: Execution dependencies in blocks

• Simplified Ethereum roadmap

• OBOL unlocks on May 15

• Optimism announces S7 grants

See disclosures