• 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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• Unichain goes live on mainnet.

• Lido V3 introduces stVaults.

• Chainlink CCIP goes live on Soneium.

• Aave V3 deploys on Linea.

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Unichain, Uniswap’s DeFi-focused Layer 2 built on the OP Stack, is now live on mainnet. Users can now bridge assets to Unichain via the Uniswap Wallet or web app, launch tokens, swap, and provide liquidity. Initial apps include Uniswap, Circle’s USDC, Across, Bungee, Privy, and Coinally. Developers can now deploy apps and create v4 hooks on Uniswap on Unichain. Unichain operates as a Stage 1 rollup with permissionless fault proofs and will soon support native Superchain interoperability, cross-chain intents, and sub-second confirmation times. The upcoming Unichain Validation Network (UVN) will enable anyone to run a UVN node and verify blocks, ensuring security and decentralization through a TEE-based builder and multi-node validation.

Lido Finance introduced Lido V3, an upgrade that transitions the protocol from pooled staking to decentralized Ethereum staking infrastructure. Lido V3 introduces stVaults, modular staking vaults that allow stakers, node operators, institutions, and protocols to customize their staking setups, including fee structure, validation infrastructure, and risk profile. Built on the Lido Core Protocol, stVaults provide access to deep stETH liquidity while supporting custodial and non-custodial setups, leveraged staking, and opt-in restaking exposure. To mitigate slashing risks, Lido V3 uses the Reserve Ratio (RR), ensuring that stVaults remain overcollateralized. Lido V3 will roll out in three phases. The early adopters phase will test re-staked vaults with pre-deposits, followed by a testnet deployment phase and the mainnet launch.

Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), a leading standard for enabling cross-chain functionality through arbitrary messaging, is now live on Soneium. The launch also includes Chainlink Data Streams and Data Feeds. Soneium, an OP Stack Layer 2 blockchain developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs, is designed for applications spanning entertainment, gaming, and finance. The project aims to onboard mainstream users into Web3 by integrating with Sony’s existing products and services. As part of the Superchain, Soneium contributes to the Superchain Collective, follows shared upgrades, and allocates a portion of sequencer revenue to retro funding.

Aave V3 is now live on Linea, an EVM-equivalent ZK-rollup developed by Consensys, making it the 12th supported chain on Aave. Users can now deposit assets such as ETH, WETH, wstETH, weETH, ezETH, WBTC, USDC, and USDT as collateral. The deployment enables borrowing in ETH, USDC, USDT, wstETH, and WBTC. Aave is the largest DeFi lending protocol with over $19 billion in TVL.

• Ethereum-wide L2 interop page

• Ethresearch: Distributed Encrypted Mempool

• SWELL incentives on Euler v2

• Superstate expands to Plume Network

• Proposal to deploy Aave V3 on Ink

• OpenSea v2 private beta XP

• WLFI announces Macro Strategy

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