Base announced the Azul upgrade, its first standalone network upgrade since departing Optimism's Superchain. The upgrade introduces multiproofs, enhancing security, decentralization, performance, and the overall developer experience. By combining Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) with zero-knowledge (ZK) proving, multiproofs move Base closer to Stage 2 decentralization.

Azul also streamlines the network architecture by consolidating operations onto a single execution client, base-reth-node, alongside a new consensus client, base-consensus, built on OP Kona. The upgrade is already running on testnet, with mainnet activation set for May 13, 2026. Node operators will need to transition to the new client stack ahead of that date.

Base is currently hosting a $250,000 audit competition on Immunefi running through May 4. Looking ahead, the team plans to introduce an enshrined token standard and Flashblock access lists by the end of June, followed by native account abstraction by the end of August.

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OP Labs introduced Privacy Boost, an SDK for adding confidentiality to any OP Stack chain. The release aims to help projects meet regulatory requirements such as MiCA, BSA, AML/KYC, and GDPR, which are difficult to satisfy when user transaction data is published on a public blockchain.

Privacy Boost combines zero-knowledge proofs with trusted execution environments, where ZK proofs ensure privacy and cryptographic integrity, while TEEs improve performance and simplify integration. Built on a UTXO-based model, the solution can generate proofs in under 500 milliseconds and includes a forced withdrawal feature. Privacy Boost is now live on OP Mainnet.

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The Arbitrum Security Council executed an emergency upgrade to freeze 30,766 ETH from an address involved in the KelpDAO exploit. As part of the recovery effort, $71 million in ETH was moved from the exploiter's wallet into a frozen intermediary address. The funds will remain frozen until an Arbitrum DAO vote approves further action.

Council member Patrick McCorry explained that the council briefly modified the chain's inbox contract on L1 to include a function enabling cross-chain messages that could impersonate any sender. Using this capability, a single transaction impersonated the exploiter's address to transfer the funds. Immediately afterward, the inbox contract was restored to its original state.

The Arbitrum DAO will need to decide how to allocate the recovered funds. It will need to determine whether to use them to compensate Aave users for losses or return them to KelpDAO to help restore rsETH backing.

Update (May 4, 2026): A U.S. law firm has filed a restraining notice in SDNY seeking to claim the frozen 30,766 ETH for its own clients, citing the exploit's attribution to North Korea's Lazarus Group. Aave LLC has filed an emergency motion to vacate the notice and is requesting a $300M bond if it stands. The DAO transfer vote remains legally blocked pending the court's decision.

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