• Virgil Griffith is released from prison.

• Across integrates ZKsync’s ZK Stack.

• Biconomy Network goes live on mainnet.

• Rath introduces its DeFi yield protocol.

Virgil Griffith, an Ethereum researcher who was sentenced for violating U.S. sanctions after giving a presentation in North Korea, has been released from prison after serving 56 months. He is currently residing in a halfway house as he completes the final stages of his parole. A photo shared by Brantly Millegan shows Griffith standing with his parents just outside the prison. Griffith traveled to North Korea in April 2019 to attend and speak at the Pyongyang Blockchain Conference. Despite his presentation being based on publicly available information, he was arrested by the U.S. Department of Justice in November 2019 for providing technical knowledge to the regime. In April 2022, he was fined $100,000 and sentenced to 63 months in prison.

Across Protocol, a cross-chain bridge built on an intents-based architecture, integrated support for ZKsync’s ZK Stack, enabling easy deployments and integrations for ZK Stack-based chains. The first to go live is Lens Chain, a SocialFi-focused Validium chain built on ZKsync. The ZK Stack is a modular framework designed for launching custom ZK-powered Layer 2 networks. It offers native account abstraction, data compression, EVM compatibility, and hyperscalability through shared provers and fractal scaling. The infrastructure allows ZK Stack chains to share liquidity and user bases seamlessly. Across now supports all major L2 tech stacks, including OP Stack and Arbitrum Orbit.

Biconomy Network, a permissionless cross-chain execution protocol, is now live on mainnet. The network enables developers to build fully composable, multi-chain applications without needing to write or deploy smart contracts. Using a single API, SDK, and user signature, developers can trigger complex, cross-chain transactions through a unified interface. At the core of the protocol is the Modular Execution Environment (MEE), which abstracts execution away from individual blockchains. The Biconomy Network introduces Supertransactions, a bundled set of instructions across multiple chains, signed once by the user and executed by a decentralized network of nodes.

Rath Finance introduced its DeFi-as-a-service protocol that enables apps, wallets, and fintech platforms to access DeFi yields through a unified backend infrastructure. Rath allows frontends to tap into yield sources across multiple protocols and chains. Rath uses an auctioned liquidity model, where DeFi protocols bid for user capital. Rath will support yield from staking, lending, and structured DeFi products from protocols like Aave, Fluid, Ethena, Resolv, Morpho, Lido, Rocket Pool, and Curve.

• Arbitrum DAO turns 2

• Ethdotorg is accepting stories

• Etherscan transaction highlights

• Pectra upgrade guide

• The Road to Self-Sovereignty

• Beefy introduces Escrowed Sonic

• Magic Eden acquires Slingshot

• Eigen S2 stake drop deadline

• Trump announces 90-day tariff pause

• Lighthouse outlines Holesky incident

• AMA on EIP-7251 MaxEB 

• Synthetix sUSD depeg

See disclosures

• Spire Labs launches a Based L3.

• Ithaca introduces Proto.

• Market response to reciprocal tariffs.

• Eigen summer fellowship

Spire Labs launched a based L3 appchain on testnet with synchronous composability. A based L3 is a chain that leverages the L2’s existing sequencer instead of running its own centralized sequencer. It allows the L3 to interact with the L2 as if it were a native smart contract, enabling synchronous composability. The implementation is lightweight, cost-effective, and reduces infrastructure overhead. Spire Labs is an infrastructure provider building the Based Stack, an open-source framework that lets developers launch customizable appchains on Ethereum, advancing scalability and interoperability across L2s and L3s.

Ithaca released demos for Porto, a new TypeScript library that simplifies the integration of authentication, crypto payments, and account recovery into applications. Porto is modular, supports the latest account abstraction standards like EIP-7702 and RIP-7212, and works across web, mobile, and desktop platforms. The library includes an EIP-1193-compatible provider and integrates with popular tools like Wagmi and Privy. Key features include embedded onboarding with passkeys and WebAuthn, privacy-preserving identity using ZK Passport, built-in access controls, stealth addresses, ERC-7683 cross-chain compatibility, and multi-path recovery.

The price of ETH dropped to a low of $1,431 earlier today, a level not seen since January 2023, as market volatility surged in response to the Trump administration’s ongoing reciprocal tariffs. The broader crypto market saw over $1.5 billion in liquidations, pushing total market capitalization below $1.5 trillion. At the time of writing, ETH has rebounded slightly, trading at $1,585.

• Eigen summer fellowship

• Lens Chain releases Dev Dashboard

• Fee structure for EXECUTE-precompile

• Fed holds emergency meeting

• Interop Testing Call #32

• Read: Rollups & Preconfs

• Base distributes Builder rewards

• Local Ethereum roundup

• Etherealize on Bankless

See disclosures

• Lens Chain goes live on mainnet.

• Hyperlane introduces HYPER.

• SEC issues statement on stablecoins.

Lens Chain, a SocialFi Layer 2 built on ZKsync’s ZK Stack, is now live on mainnet. Over 650,000 user profiles and 125GB of protocol data was successfully migrated from Polygon PoS to the new elastic chain with no manual migration required for users. Lens Chain uses ZKsync for low-cost transactions, Aave’s GHO stablecoin for gas fee payments, and Avail’s data availability layer. With this launch, Lens introduces Lens V3, the latest version of its protocol. Lens V3 brings a modular architecture featuring an onchain Rules Engine, interoperability, and account abstraction. The rollout also includes Grove, a decentralized storage system. Initial apps on Lens Chain include Orb, Hey, Bonsai, and Tape. Users can bridge to Lens Chain via Across.

Interchain messaging protocol Hyperlane introduced HYPER, its native token used for staking, governance, and network security. The token is set to launch during the week of April 20, 2025, with a total supply of 1 billion tokens. As part of the launch, 7.5% of the total supply will be distributed through an initial airdrop, known as the Expansion Drop, to early users of the network. Users must complete a preclaim process by April 13, 2025, to receive the airdrop. Those eligible include users of applications and chains utilizing Warp Routes, protocols that integrated Hyperlane’s General Message Passing (GMP), and chains that have adopted Hyperlane as their canonical bridge. Hyperlane aims to serve as a permissionless standard for blockchain interoperability.

The SEC released a staff statement clarifying that "covered stablecoins" are not securities under the Securities Act. Covered stablecoins are crypto assets pegged 1:1 to the USD, redeemable on demand in unlimited amounts, and backed by low-risk liquid assets like U.S. Treasuries or cash equivalents. They are designed for payments, money transmission, and storing value, but not investment. The guidance allows issuers to mint and redeem covered stablecoins without registering with the SEC. However, the guidance does not apply to algorithmic stablecoins, stablecoins pegged to non-USD assets, or yield-bearing stablecoins.

• Across supports Lens Chain

• Beam Call #3 recap

• Fountain blog platform on Lens

• Mass liquidity mining program

• Infected leaves Base

• ENS joins Project Liberty Alliance

See disclosures