• Hardhat 3 production-ready release.

• EigenLayer $23b in restaked assets.

• Google clarifies its crypto wallet policy.

• Giveth introduces Causes.

Ethereum tooling provider Hardhat released Hardhat 3, the newest version of its development environment and task runner for Ethereum smart contracts. The production-ready release, despite still being in beta, features a full overhaul, including performance-critical components rewritten in Rust, a modernized TypeScript CLI, and a new plugin system. It also adds OP Stack simulation and first-class Solidity testing capabilities. Hardhat simplifies the process of writing, testing, and debugging contracts written in EVM-compatible languages. Missing features will be added in upcoming updates. Developers can now migrate from Hardhat 2.

EigenLayer, the largest restaking protocol, has hit a new all-time high in economic security, surpassing $23 billion in total value restaked across ETH and EIGEN deposits. EigenLayer supports native ETH restaking, LST restaking for more than nine LSTs, and restaking for over 45 ERC-20 tokens. Of the total, $16.8 billion comes from natively restaked ETH, including over $4 billion in Lido’s stETH and about $700 million from restaked EIGEN. Autonomous Verifiable Services (AVSs) leverage EigenLayer’s economic security, using Ethereum restakers to secure consensus for their own networks. EigenDA is the largest AVS with 4.5 million ETH in total value restaked. EigenLayer first launched on mainnet on April 9, 2024. 

A new Google Play policy required all cryptocurrency software wallets to obtain licenses before being listed, covering 15 jurisdictions, including the US, EU, and others. The requirements include proof of FinCEN registration, a state money transmitter or banking license in the US, or MiCA authorization in the EU. Following a report by The Rage that the policy would also apply to non-custodial wallets, imposing regulatory burdens they are not legally required to meet, Google clarified that non-custodial wallets were never intended to be in scope. The company said it will update the policy language to reflect this. Rich Widmann, Google Cloud’s Head of Web3 Strategy, added that Google is working with dozens of crypto development shops and protocols to grow the ecosystem.

Public goods funding platform Giveth introduced Causes, which are collections of mission-aligned projects with allocations managed by an AI-powered Donation Agent. Users can donate to a Cause, and their contribution is automatically distributed across all projects in that Cause. Anyone can create a Cause to earn 3% of GIVbacks from every donation their Cause receives. All donations are converted to $GIV on Polygon and placed into the Cause pool, enabling a new flywheel for the GIVeconomy. The AI Donation Agent then evaluates each project using Giveth platform data, donation history, project updates, social media activity, and GIVpower rankings to redistribute funds to the most relevant projects.

• Aave hits $70b in TVL

• Etherscan turns 10

• Lido DVV hits $100m TVL

• Reducing SNARKs proof size

• Superbridge integrates Hyperlane

• Fount launches USD vault

• DEF mid-year letter

• DATs ready to buy ETH

• Gemini uses .eth

• DPRK IT worker scheme

• Free USDC sends for NY residents

• GameSquare to collaborate with Azuki

• BTCS earnings

• Do Kwon pleads guilty

Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes only, not endorsement or investment advice. The accuracy of information is not guaranteed.

• EIP-7999 proposal introduced.

• BitMine $20b stock offering.

• OpenZeppelin Contracts UI Builder.

• Building the World Ledger report.

The price of ETH is up 9% in the last 24 hours, trading above $4,600 at the time of recording.

Ethereum researcher Anders Elowsson introduced EIP-7999, a proposal for a unified multidimensional fee market on Ethereum, which would allow each transaction to specify one aggregate max gas fee. Under the proposal, transactions declare the maximum total ETH they’re willing to pay, and the protocol treats the budget as fungible across all resource types. A unified fee market combines separate fee mechanisms into one, with a single fee adjustment rate, generalized reserve pricing, and a gas normalization process that keeps relative prices stable even when gas limits change. The proposal initially applies to calldata as the first multidimensional resource, with potential future expansion to other EVM resources. The update aims to make Ethereum’s fee system more flexible and efficient.

BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc. filed a supplement to its Form S-3 shelf registration with the SEC to increase its “at-the-market” stock sale program to a total of $24.5 billion, a $20 billion increase from prior filings. The company has already sold about $4.5 billion of stock. Proceeds may be used for ETH purchases. BitMine is building on its strategic ETH reserve, which currently holds $5 billion worth of ETH, and aims to generate£¢££ yield through staking and other DeFi activities, while continuing its infrastructure business.

OpenZeppelin launched Contracts UI Builder, a no-code tool for quickly generating frontends for deployed smart contracts. Users can select any contract function and create a React-based interface in seconds, complete with wallet connection and multi-network support. Users can spin up a functional UI and export a fully packaged app.

• Building the World Ledger report

• Vitalik: On idea-driven ideas

• ETH ETF flows hit ATH of $1b

• Coinbase Stablecoin Bootstrap Fund

• Zak drained from extension

• ENS simple page

• Taiko Alethia client hotfix release

• ETHZilla buys 83k ETH

• SharpLink buys 5,226 ETH

• Stablecoins in Africa Part 2

• Circle introduces Arc L1

Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes only, not endorsement or investment advice. The accuracy of information is not guaranteed.

• Taiko activates preconfirmations.

• SharpLink Gaming to raise $400m.

• Bitmine reserve surpasses 1.1m ETH.

• Fede donates $500k to Storm.

Taiko, an EVM-equivalent ZK-Rollup, activated preconfirmations on the Taiko Alethia Mainnet, allowing transactions to be confirmed 20–30x faster, enabling around 2-second block times, without compromising decentralization. Preconfirmations allow preconfirmers to give users a fast, economically backed commitment that their transactions will be included in the next block. Preconfirmers face slashing penalties if they fail to deliver. The upgrade improves user experience for dApps, DeFi, gaming, and more, compared to the previous 12-second confirmation times inherited from Ethereum’s block time. In the initial “Phase 1” rollout, only select partners are whitelisted as preconfirmers. A future “Phase 2” upgrade will enable permissionless preconfirmation and block-building.

SharpLink Gaming announced plans to raise $400 million through a registered direct offering priced at $21.76 per share, set to close around August 12, 2025. Proceeds will be used to expand its strategic ETH reserve. The company currently holds approximately 598,800 ETH, withan additional $200 million in undeployed capital, and expects its total ETH holdings to exceed $3 billion. Fundamental Global Inc also kicked off its ETH treasury with a purchase of 47,311 ETH, worth $202.8 million. FG Nexus made a symbolic purchase of 6,400 ETH on July 30, 2025, the 10-year anniversary of Ethereum, and has since fully deployed its $200 million private placement to grow its ETH holdings.

BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc. purchased approximately 317,000 ETH this week, increasing its treasury to 1.15 million ETH valued at about $4.96 billion. The purchase represents a nearly $2 billion increase from last week. The company launched its ETH reserve strategy on June 30, aiming to acquire 5% of all ETH in circulation. BMNR is also currently the 25th most liquid US stock, with an average daily trading volume of $2.2 billion.

• Fede detained in Turkey

• Fede donates $500k to Storm

• Crypto Policy scorecard 

• Chainlink partners with ICE

• TestInProd Fusaka devnet

• UF proposes restructuring to DUNI

• Railgun $100m shielded

• Privacy Pools adds frxUSD, USDe

• Privacy on Ethereum #6

• Fluid hits $3b deposits

• Vitalik on Zora’s email requirement

• Pure Markets for Base tokens

Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes only, not endorsement or investment advice. The accuracy of information is not guaranteed.