• Arbitrum Universal Intent Engine.

• SOCKET integrates Agglayer infrastructure.

• Ethereum Protocol Studies Program.

• FDIC eases crypto banking rules.

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Offchain Labs introduced the Universal Intent Engine, an interoperability framework designed to enable seamless cross-chain swaps and transfers across Arbitrum and EVM-compatible chains. The engine allows users to specify their desired intent while a network of solvers compete for optimal execution based on cost and speed. The Universal Intent Engine is built on four core components: the Message Standard, the Broadcast Standard, Fast Settlement, and the Intent Dissemination Feed, a universal feed where users, solvers, and applications can interact and execute cross-chain intents. The Universal Intent Engine is set to launch by Q1 2025, with native crosschain operations rolling out in Q3 2025.

SOCKET is leveraging Polygon’s Agglayer to enable developers to build applications across chains without cross-chain messaging or bridging. The integration allows developers to compose Solidity contracts and deploy them on their own app gateway, which interacts with SOCKET to facilitate seamless cross-chain functions. Users interact with apps via the app gateway by simply sending signed messages that are processed in the gateway and then executed onchain, leveraging pessimistic proofs via the Agglayer. SOCKET is a chain abstraction protocol that enables a single unified balance and instant transactions, with no bridging required.

The Ethereum Foundation announced the return of Ethereum Protocol Studies (EPS), a structured learning program designed to make Ethereum’s core protocol more accessible. This year’s program will focus on Ethereum’s Execution and Consensus Layers, client architecture, and key research areas, providing participants with a deeper understanding of the network’s inner workings. Over the past year, EPS has expanded epf.wiki, a collaborative knowledge base on the Ethereum protocol. The 2025 program includes two onboarding weeks, six weeks of deep dives into Execution and Consensus Layers, live seminars with engineers and researchers, and a dedicated Discord server. A town hall Q&A will be held on February 12, 2025, at 15:00 UTC.

According to Barron, the FDIC is revising guidelines to allow banks to participate in crypto activities without requiring prior regulatory approval, including custody services and tokenized deposits. Under acting FDIC Chair Travis Hill, the agency is exploring ways to make it easier for banks to safely offer custody services for crypto assets. According to a person familiar with the matter, some banks have already met with FDIC officials to discuss offerings.

• MetaMask supports ENS on L2s

• MegaETH announces NFT token sale

• Reservoir raises $14m Series A

• Fabric releases V0 Constraints API

• Protocol Guild Annual Report

• 60 gas limit post-Pectra

• Ethresearch: Delayed Execution

• OP Retro Funding goes live

• CoW DAO delegate program

• Base stablecoin TVL hits $4b

• Cboe files 19b-4 for spot ETH ETFs

• Berachain releases airdrop checker

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• SEC crypto task force priorities.

• SEC scales back crypto enforcements.

• Coinbase Wallet to integrate Farcaster.

• EigenLayer Level 1 Agents.

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SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce announced the launch of the SEC Crypto Task Force’s initial webpage and key priorities for the program. The newly formed task force seeks to establish a clear and structured regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry, addressing shortcomings in the SEC’s prior lack of regulatory clarity. The task force already rescinded SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 121. Its key priorities include clarifying the security status of crypto assets, defining the SEC’s jurisdiction, exploring temporary relief for token issuers, improving registration pathways, addressing crypto-lending and staking, and fostering international cooperation. Commissioner Peirce emphasized that regulation should not be seen as an endorsement of any crypto product.

Coinbase Wallet announced plans to integrate the Farcaster social graph into an upcoming release of its mobile wallet app. The overhaul is designed to enhance app discovery, making it easier for users to find new apps while helping builders go viral. The new version, set to launch in the coming months, will be 10x faster, more user-friendly, and enable frictionless crypto payments. By leveraging Farcaster Frames v2, Coinbase Wallet will support mini-apps to merge social and crypto, allowing users to follow, trade, and share directly within the wallet. Frames are full-screen applications with dynamic features and seamless in-feed interactions. Creators will also have access to tools for building communities and monetizing.

EigenLayer introduced the Level 1 Agent, a standardized framework for integrating AI agents with verifiable tools. The framework enables AI agents to operate in a decentralized manner using EigenLayer’s Autonomous Verifiable Services (AVSs), backed by Ethereum’s cryptoeconomic security. The framework bridges the gap between onchain and offchain AI processing. Inference AVSs allow AI agents to perform offchain inference while maintaining verifiability. EigenDA provides decentralized, cost-effective data availability for AI agents to store memory. Policy AVSs enforce input/output constraints to prevent AI manipulation and ensure responsible decision-making. And Event-Driven Activation (EDA) AVSs enable AI agents to respond dynamically to onchain and offchain events.

• Lumia builds on Polygon CDK

• SEC scales back crypto enforcement

• G7 Network live on mainnet

• Tokenized RWAs on Gnosis

• Symbiosis deploys on Gnosis

• Wallet Connect community round

• Harpie introduces Harpie points

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• Polygon’s Agglayer activates Pessimistic Proofs.

• EF launches Pectra Proactive Grant Round.

• Block gas limit hits 32 million gas.

• ETH drops below $3,000.

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Agglayer v0.2 is now live on mainnet, introducing Pessimistic Proofs, a new type of zero-knowledge proof that is designed to safeguard the Agglayer from potential vulnerabilities on any individual chain while supporting different security models. Pessimistic Proofs assume that all connected chains may be unreliable. The Agglayer is a network of chains connected to Ethereum through a shared bridge contract with unified liquidity. Looking ahead, Polygon is developing Agglayer v3, which will introduce multi-stack capability, allowing even chains without ZK execution proofs to integrate seamlessly into the AggLayer ecosystem.

The Ethereum Foundation launched the Pectra Proactive Grant Round, a new funding initiative with a $200K grant pool aimed at strengthening tooling, infrastructure, and overall ecosystem readiness ahead of the Pectra upgrade. By supporting proactive development, the program seeks to prevent delays in rolling out the Pectra upgrade. Grant proposals can focus on core protocol support, tooling and infrastructure development, testing and security enhancements, and adoption and impact analysis. To be eligible, projects must be open-source, operate under a free and permissive license, and align with Pectra’s goals and priorities. Proposals are due by February 23rd, with winners selected in March 2025.

According to data from crypto researcher Dataalways, Ethereum’s block gas limit has reached 32 million gas per block. Evan Van Ness noted that this marks the first increase under proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus, with the last adjustment occurring in August 2021, when the limit was doubled from 15 million to 30 million gas. The increase comes as more than 50% of validators now signal support for a gas limit above 30 million. Raising the block gas limit enables higher transaction throughput and allows developers to build more complex applications, as each block can now hold more data. The adjustment does not require a hard fork. The block gas limit is expected to continue rising toward the current 36 million gas limit target.

Over the weekend, ETH's price plunged over 20%, reaching lows of approximately $2,100 on some exchanges. The decline coincided with the introduction of new U.S. tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China. Aave alone processed over $200 million in liquidations. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou estimated total crypto liquidations to be close to $8 billion, reporting that Bybit alone accounted for $2.1 billion. Since then, the market has partially recovered, with ETH trading around $2,800 at the time of recording.

• Lido supports stETH on Soneium

• Kyber exploiter indictment

• ZKP2P releases V2

• Trump Sovereign Wealth Fund

• Sablier supports instant airdrops

• Turnkey releases white paper

• Noon supports USN on ZKsync

• Privy AI wallet generator

• Dormant wallet moves 77.7k ETH

• Eric Trump: time to add ETH

• Sacks crypto plan

• Ethereum is the best base layer

• Uma Roy: L2 interop is broken

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