• Pectra-ready client releases for testnet.

• Vitalik's blog on a higher L1 gas limit.

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The Pectra network upgrade is scheduled to go live on the Holesky testnet on February 24 at 21:55 UTC, followed by the Sepolia testnet on March 5 at 7:29 UTC. Client teams have released updated versions of their software with support for Pectra. Node operators on testnet must update their client software before the activation. The upgrade introduces 11 EIPs, including Account Abstraction EIP-7702, which transitions EOAs into smart accounts with capabilities like transaction batching, gas sponsorship, and recovery options. EIP-7251 increases the maximum balance validators can earn rewards on, EIP-7002 introduces execution layer-triggerable withdrawals, and EIP-6110 removes the delay between validator deposits and processing. Pectra will increase Ethereum's blob capacity by 50%, boosting data throughput for Layer 2 scaling solutions. Other EIPs enhance the protocol's efficiency, including precompiles, state modifications, and execution layer requests. Updates to the Engine API will improve node communication. The activation of Pectra on mainnet is anticipated for April 2025.

Vitalik Buterin published a blog post discussing the benefits of a higher L1 gas limit following the Ethereum network’s recent increase to a 36 million gas block limit. Vitalik argues that expanding L1 capacity supports economical cross-chain transfers, ensures affordable mass exits to L1, and reduces the cost of L1 operations. He also highlighted the importance of enabling frequent and economically viable proof submissions to L1. While increasing the gas limit offers several advantages, Vitalik cautions that it is easy to increase but difficult to decrease without potential centralization risks. He advocates for a balanced approach for the long-term scaling of the L1.

• Pectra information page

• Balancer V3 deploys on Base

• Yuga sells Meebits IP

• Grayscale seeks staking approval

• EIP-7732 ePBS #17 notes

• L2 interop is coming

• SEC path to end Coinbase lawsuit

• Abstract releases creator features

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• OpenSea Foundation unveils $SEA.

• Scroll launches its Security Council.

• Paradigm releases Foundry v1.0.

• EF deploys 50,000 ETH into DeFi.

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The OpenSea Foundation confirmed the upcoming launch of its native NFT marketplace token, $SEA. The foundation emphasized that historical OpenSea usage will play a key role in the token’s distribution. It also assured that the claims process would be simple and U.S. users would be eligible. However, no launch timeline has been provided. OpenSea v2 (OS2), a fully redesigned version of the NFT marketplace that introduces XP rewards for users, is also now live in open beta. OS2 integrates NFTs and ERC-20 tokens in one place, supports 14 chains, enables native cross-chain purchasing, and enforces a 0.5% marketplace fee. Users can now earn XP for making listings, placing collection offers, and maintaining loyalty to OpenSea.

Scroll, an EVM-equivalent ZK Rollup, established the Scroll Security Council, a 12-member governance body tasked with overseeing protocol upgrades, emergency responses, and governance oversight to enhance the security of the Scroll network. The council has the authority to bypass Scroll governance for urgent upgrades. Approval from a 9-of-12 multisig is required to execute changes. Members serve in staggered bi-annual elections, divided into two six-member cohorts. The current council includes representatives from L2BEAT, OpenZeppelin, the Ethereum Foundation, Zellic, Gauntlet, Rotki, Powdr, and Shield3. The launch aligns with Scroll’s goal of achieving Stage-1 rollup decentralization, which requires the presence of a security council.

Paradigm released Foundry v1.0, a major update to its Ethereum development toolkit, bringing faster compilation, improved testing, enhanced debugging, greater stability, and support for upcoming Pectra and Fusaka EIPs. The release introduces new cheat codes for gas snapshots, wallet utilities, code deployment, and symbolic execution, enabling a more developer-friendly experience. The release also includes faster feedback loops and better test coverage. Foundry is designed to provide quick and efficient smart contract development, testing, and deployment. Developers can now upgrade to Foundry v1.0 or refer to the migration guide for details on breaking changes.

The Ethereum Foundation finalized its initial deployment of 50,000 ETH into DeFi as part of its commitment to having a more active role in the Ethereum ecosystem. The allocation includes 10,000 ETH in Spark Protocol, 30,800 ETH in Aave, and 4,200 ETH in Compound Finance. The Foundation’s 3-of-5 Safe wallet now holds approximately $133 million in assets.

• ACDE #205 summary

• Pectra client releases for testnets

• Nethermind releases v1.31.0 

• dDocs releases Comments v0.2

• ZKLend suffers $9.5m exploit

• Union Fintech launches ZK Stack chain

• Ephemery testnet activates Pectra

• OnchainKit introduces Earn

• Coinbase $6.6b in Q4 earnings

• Doodles introduces $DOOD

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• Arbitrum BoLD goes live on mainnet.

• Lens Chain adopts GHO as its gas token.

• Paradigm releases Reth v1.2.

• CBOE seeks approval for staking ETF.

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Arbitrum Bounded Liquidity Delay (BOLD), a dispute resolution protocol featuring interactive fraud proofs, is now live on mainnet. BOLD allows anyone to run a validator node, enabling permissionless validation. BOLD protects against delay attacks by implementing a fixed upper limit of 7 days for resolving disputes. Delay attacks occur when malicious actors spend funds to delay the confirmation of transactions. With BOLD, honest validators can collaborate and pool resources to successfully win disputes, even when facing multiple malicious actors. Arbitrum Orbit chains will be able to adopt BOLD by updating their Arbitrum Nitro stack.

Lens Chain, a SocialFi L2 built on ZKsync’s ZK Stack, announced plans to adopt Aave’s GHO stablecoin as its gas token. The implementation follows the GHO Gas Token Framework developed by Aave Labs, aiming to enhance user onboarding and minimize friction. Transaction fees will be dynamically priced in GHO, adjusting to the Ethereum gas market. GHO’s integration with the ZKSync Shared Bridge serves as the primary liquidity bridge and will enable seamless GHO minting on Lens Chain. Lens Chain will roll out in three phases, evolving from a Validium to a Volition. The network will process financial transactions in ZK Rollup mode while handling social transactions in Validium mode.

Paradigm released Reth v1.2, the latest version of its Ethereum execution client written in Rust. The release includes a new default gas limit of 36 million, a parallelized state root computation system, and Pectra hardfork readiness for Holesky and Sepolia testnets. The update delivers a 50% improvement in engine_newPayload call latencies and enhances state root computation efficiency. The release maintains Reth’s goal of combining Erigon’s compact archive node architecture with high-performance execution while moving towards further optimizations. Reth aims to improve Ethereum node stability, with optimizations in sync time, storage, and RPC throughput. Future releases will expand support to OP Stack L2s.

CBOE submitted Form 19b-4 to the SEC, seeking approval to enable staking in the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart noted that it marks the first ETF filing to request staking. Once approved, the SEC would still need to greenlight the required Form S-1 filings before trading can commence. Following the news, ETH surged 2.5% to $2,750.

• EF Reddit AMA on 25th Feb

• Prysm releases v5.3.0

• Base increases gas target to 25 mgas/s

• ZKsync introduces ChonkyBFT consensus

• Artemis copies Defillama

• Layer3 releases Guild Competitions

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