Frax Approves BUIDL Collateral
Frax governance approved the integration of BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized U.S. Treasury fund as collateral for its Frax USD stablecoin.
Frax approves BUIDL as collateral.
Kartik introduces Anon World.
IDRISS announces its IDRISS token.
Claims for ZKsync’s $ZK close soon.
Frax governance approved the integration of BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized U.S. Treasury fund as collateral for its Frax USD stablecoin. The proposal introduced by Securitize in December 2024, positions BUIDL as a yield-generating, low-risk asset for Frax USD's reserves. BUIDL invests in U.S. Treasury bills, notes, cash, and repurchase agreements, focusing on liquidity and stability. Pegged to the U.S. dollar, BUIDL is issued as an ERC-20 token and is available on Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Optimism, and Arbitrum. In September 2024, Securitize collaborated with Ethena Labs to launch UStb, a new stablecoin also backed by the BUIDL fund. Frax USD is currently a top 10 stablecoin by market cap.
Blockchain developer Kartik introduced Anon World, an anonymous social network built on Farcaster. The platform allows users to browse and create anonymous posts by leveraging zk-based credentials, which are generated and stored locally in the user’s browser. The verified credentials enable users to make anonymous posts, which are then shared to X and Farcaster. Anon World combines anonymous and non-anonymous replies within a Reddit-like interface. Currently, the platform supports ERC20 credentials on Base, with plans to expand to additional chains and credential types in the future. It also facilitates the creation of new communities—groups of users connected by shared credentials, backed by a token, and linked via a shared Farcaster account and wallet.
IDRISS, a browser extension designed for crypto micropayments, direct trading, and DAO vote alerts, introduced its governance token, the IDRISS token. The token will be native to Base and the Superchain, with a total supply of 1 billion. A retroactive airdrop of 20% of the supply is planned for application users on January 27th. The IDRISS extension enables users to send and receive crypto directly on X and Farcaster, featuring tipping badges for registered users. IDRISS also supports Polymarket trading. Looking ahead, IDRISS plans to launch a revenue-sharing mechanism in Q2 2025.
Token claims for ZKsync’s ZK token airdrop will close on January 3, 2025, at 11:59 PM CEST. Unclaimed tokens will be returned to the token assembly. ZKsync launched its ZK token on June 17, 2024, with 3.67 billion tokens allocated for the initial airdrop. Approximately 100 million tokens remain unclaimed. ZK token holders can delegate, propose, and vote on protocol upgrades.
IRS Finalizes DeFi Broker Requirement
The rule requires DeFi protocols that facilitate digital asset sales to collect and report information to the IRS about their users.
IRS finalizes DeFi broker reporting requirement.
Coin Center comments on IRS midnight broker rule.
Tim Beiko shares an ACD 2024 Recap.
Reservoir Swap goes live on Ink.
The IRS and the Department of the Treasury have finalized regulations that now require DeFi protocols that facilitate digital asset sales to collect and report information to the IRS about their users. The rule also requires protocols to furnish a new form to their users, called 1099-DA, outlining taxes due to the government. The new regulations were first proposed as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021. Scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, the new rule classifies DeFi Brokers under the same tax reporting requirements as centralized exchanges.
Coin Center released an analysis of the IRS's newly finalized "midnight broker rule," criticizing its imposition of inappropriate and unconstitutional KYC requirements on software providers. While Coin Center supports tax reporting obligations for custodial intermediaries, it strongly opposes extending the requirements to non-custodial entities like software developers. With the rule now finalized, Coin Center is urging the incoming Congress to invoke the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to rescind it. Coin Center also calls for lawsuits to challenge the rule's constitutionality. Coin Center has a track record of successfully litigating against the U.S. government, including a victory in the appeal of the IRS's Form 6050I reporting requirement.
Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko published a recap of improvements made to the AllCoreDevs (ACD) process in 2024. Client teams shifted to written upgrade preferences, which improved asynchronous input collection and allowed teams to review EIPs ahead of calls. Synchronous discussions are now reserved for high-priority proposals. Another improvement in 2024 was the introduction of EIP-7723, which established a formal guide for Network Upgrade Inclusion Stages. The guide outlines five stages: Proposed for Inclusion (PFI), Considered for Inclusion (CFI), Scheduled for Inclusion (SFI), Declined for Inclusion (DFI), and Included. Looking to the future, the Fusaka upgrade, planned after Pectra, will focus on EOF and PeerDAS. The upgrade following Fusaka, Amsterdam, will focus on Ethereum’s transition from Merkle to Verkle trees.
Reservoir Swap, an alternative client for the Uniswap protocol, is now live on Ink, Kraken's OP Stack Layer 2 network. Users can now swap tokens, create and manage liquidity pools, and explore data for Uniswap V2 and V3 contract deployments on Ink. Powered by Reservoir infrastructure, the DEX client features instant bridging liquidity through Relay Protocol.
ETH bridged to Base 2x'd in 90 days
Erigon Benefits of Caplin
Talent releases Onchain Wrapped
Ethereum core dev updates sources
Fuel runs on Ethereum on ARM
State of Wallets 2024
USDY to go live on Plume
Chainlink Introduces Smart Value Recapture
An oracle solution designed to help DeFi protocols reclaim non-toxic MEV generated by Chainlink Price Feeds.
Chainlink introduces an Oracle Price Feed MEV solution.
Tim Beiko shares an update on all things Pectra.
Base schedules the Holocene Network Upgrade.
ZKsync Ignite starts on January 6th.
Chainlink introduced Smart Value Recapture (SVR), an oracle solution designed to help DeFi applications reclaim non-toxic Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) generated by Chainlink Price Feeds. When oracle price updates trigger liquidations, protocols often do not capture the resulting extractable value. SVR enables DeFi protocols to recapture MEV related to lending and liquidations. Using Flashbots MEV-Share and a "Dual Aggregator" architecture, SVR ensures efficient and secure oracle data transmission while incorporating a fallback to standard price feeds. The system auctions liquidation rights to searchers, redirecting the auction revenue split between 60% for the integrating DeFi protocol and 40% to Chainlink.
Tim Beiko, Ethereum core developer and coordinator of the AllCoreDevs (ACD) calls, shared an update on Pectra, Ethereum’s upcoming upgrade that consists of the execution layer update, Prague, and the consensus layer update, Electra. Pectra will mark Ethereum's most ambitious upgrade to date, with 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) included in the final scope. Initially, the upgrade featured 20 EIPs but was later split into two forks to streamline development and implementation. The blob target for the network was also doubled from 3 to 6 blobs per block, with a maximum of 9 blobs allowed per block. Developers are now focused on ensuring devnet stability and security. Once devnet-5 proves successful, client teams will work on testnet forks.
Base, the second-largest rollup by TVL, is scheduled to activate the Holocene Network Upgrade on mainnet on Thursday, January 9, 2024, at 18:00 UTC. The upgrade introduces Holocene Block Derivation, MIPS Contracts, and EIP-1559 Configurability, designed to improve functionality, performance, and scalability. The Holocene Block Derivation update simplifies the block derivation pipeline, optimizing performance for the Fault Proof System and improving cross-network interoperability. To ensure compatibility with the upgrade, node operators must update their node software to v0.11.1 before this activation timestamp.
ZKsync Ignite, a 9-month program featuring 300 million ZK tokens in incentives on ZKsync Era, will go live on January 6, 2025. The program aims to enhance DeFi liquidity and increase TVL on ZKsync Era and across Elastic Chains. A DeFi Steering Committee (DSC) will oversee token allocations and assess the program's performance.