• ENS Labs partners with Linea to build Namechain.

• Relay introduces Deposit Addresses.

• Aligned introduces its ALIGN Genesis Drop.

• Fuel releases its FUEL eligibility checker.

ENS Labs announced that it has selected Linea’s ZK stack for the deplployment of Namechain, a zkEVM-based Layer 2 solution designed to enhance cost efficiency, performance, and the developer experience for ENS. ENS Labs chose Linea for its Type-2 zkEVM, high-performance prover, and commitment to Ethereum’s principles. Namechain is an integral part of the ENSv2 upgrade, which migrates primary .eth domain activities to Layer 2. It includes introducing new core contracts on both layers, deploying essential ENS infrastructure on Layer 2, and integrating the updates with the legacy system. While domain registrations and renewals will transition to Layer 2, name resolution will continue on Ethereum Layer 1. Linea is an EVM-equivalent ZK-rollup developed by Consensys. Linea was the first L2 network to deploy a trustless L2 resolver for ENS domains.  Linea was also the first zkEVM to implement CCIP Read, a standard that enables the retrieval of offchain or cross-chain data, such as ENS domains. Over 500k ENS subnames have been registered on Linea to date.

Relay Protocol introduced Deposit Addresses, a new feature enabling users to send funds to a Relay Deposit Address from any chain for seamless cross-chain bridging. The service facilitates fund transfers without the need for users to connect their wallets and supports major tokens across EVM chains, Solana, and Bitcoin. The service features automated error correction for transfers made to incorrect chains, duplicate deposits, and partial deposits. In cases of transaction issues, the system can automatically issue refunds to the original chain. Service integration for bridge providers involves setting a specific parameter in their API request, which prompts the system to generate deposit addresses as needed. The feature will soon be integrated into Relay’s user interface.

Aligned initiated the ALIGN Genesis Drop, allowing users to check if they qualify for ALIGN tokens and register a recipient address. The registration period for eligible users will close on December 23rd. ALIGN serves as a utility token, facilitating payment for proof verifications and dual staking to boost the security of the Aligned network. To be eligible for this drop, users must have held at least $50 USD worth of either MINA, STRK, POL, EIGEN, SCROLL, ZK, or TAIKO tokens at their historical lowest price. ALIGN has a total supply of 10 billion tokens, with 3 billion initially circulating and 2.6 billion allocated to the community. Aligned also allocated 1.5% of its supply to the Protocol Guild. Aligned aims to provide high throughput and cheap proof verification with low latency. Its first product, built as an Actively Validated Service (AVS) on top of EigenLayer, is currently live on mainnet beta.

• ACDE #202 agenda

• Fuel releases its eligibility checker

• Warpcast introduces Rewards

• Polygon comments on bridge proposal

• 2025 Ethereum events list

• Coin Center 2025 Priorities

• Coinbase responds to BiT Global lawsuit

• Remote enables USDC payouts

• Lido introduces Community Staking Tribes

• Velodrome will deploy on Soneium

• CyberKongz receives SEC Wells Notice

Gm, frens, it's a bit of a slow news day today. I'll catch up with more news tomorrow. 🫡

Lido, the leading liquid staking protocol by TVL, initiated the sunset of its liquid staking services for Polygon PoS. Effective today, staking via the Lido UI has been discontinued. Users holding stMATIC are encouraged to initiate withdrawals through the Lido on Polygon UI, which will remain operational until June 16, 2025. Post-June 16, 2025, any remaining withdrawals will have to be processed using block explorer tools. According to Lido, the decision to wind down was driven by factors such as low user adoption, insufficient rewards, high maintenance costs, and a strategic shift towards zkEVM solutions. The sunset was ratified by LDO token holders in a DAO vote held in November.

• Lighthouse v6.0.1 release

• Prysm v5.2.0 release

• Moonwell adds cbBTC vault

• Starknet achieves 100m staked STRK

• ZKsync ZIP-3 vote goes live

• Fluid x Lido alignment proposal

• Inclusion list committee selection writeup

• Activities of EF teams

• Introducing Plex (alpha)

• Latest wave of LastPass-related hacks

• Monad introduces the Monad Foundation

• MegaETH raises $10 million in 3 minutes.

• BiT Global sues Coinbase over WBTC.

• OpenSea registers the OpenSea Foundation.

MegaETH, an EVM-compatible Layer 2 blockchain, raised $10 million through a crowdfunding campaign hosted on Echo, an early-stage investing platform. The funding round closed in just three minutes, attracting participation from over 3,000 investors. The investment came in at the same valuation as MegaETH’s $20 million seed round in June. The seed round included backing from Dragonfly Capital, Vitalik Buterin, and Joseph Lubin. Coined as a "Real-Time Blockchain," MegaETH aims to deliver performance with 100,000 transactions per second (TPS), millisecond-level latency, and robust compute capacity. The platform ensures transaction settlement on Ethereum L1 while leveraging EigenDA for data availability.

BiT Global, a Hong Kong-based global custody platform, has filed a lawsuit against Coinbase over the delisting of WBTC, seeking $1 billion in compensation. The lawsuit alleges that Coinbase unfairly removed WBTC to prioritize its own wrapped Bitcoin product, cbBTC. The case was filed in the Northern District of California. Earlier this year, BitGo, the issuer of WBTC, transitioned ownership of the protocol to a joint venture involving BiT Global and Justin Sun. Following the transfer, major platforms, including MakerDAO, reduced their exposure to WBTC. Coinbase had announced that trading for WBTC on its exchange will cease on December 19, 2024.

OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace by cumulative trading volume, has registered the OpenSea Foundation in the Cayman Islands. The move suggests the possibility of a future token launch. Establishing a foundation provides a legal entity that enables a DAO to engage with offchain systems, facilitating tasks such as token issuance, legal compliance, and administrative support.

• ACDC #146 writeup

• Nethermind client powers 50% of nodes

• Electric Capital Developer Report

• Intro to blockchain mechanism

• Ink teases mainnet launch