• Pectra hardfork goes live on mainnet.

• Stripe introduces Stablecoin Accounts.

• Obol unlocks OBOL token transferability.

• AggLayer CDK expands to be multistack.

The Pectra upgrade successfully activated on Ethereum mainnet at 10:05 UTC during epoch 364032, introducing 11 new EIPs to Ethereum with major improvements to account abstraction, validator UX, and blob scaling. Notable EIPs include Account Abstraction EIP-7702, which transitions EOAs into smart accounts with capabilities like transaction batching, gas sponsorship, and recovery options. EIP-7251 increases the maximum balance validators can earn rewards on, EIP-7002 introduces execution layer-triggerable withdrawals, and EIP-6110 removes the delay between validator deposits and processing. Pectra also increased Ethereum's blob capacity by 50%, boosting data throughput for Layer 2 scaling solutions. 

Stripe launched Stablecoin Financial Accounts, a new service that enables businesses to hold, send, and receive both USD fiat and US dollar-pegged stablecoins. The product is now available to businesses incorporated in over 100 eligible countries. The service supports multi-rail transfers, allowing users to deposit or withdraw funds in either fiat currency or stablecoins. Stablecoins in the accounts are held in either USDC, issued by Circle, or USDB, a closed-loop stablecoin issued by Bridge—a Stripe-owned entity. All stablecoin holdings are custodied by Bridge. Users can make payments directly from their stablecoin balance to bank accounts or external crypto wallets. 

Obol Network unlocked transferability for its OBOL governance and utility token. Users who previously claimed the Obol airdrop can now redeem their non-transferable NFTs for the underlying OBOL tokens. The tokens are now tradable and can be staked for stOBOL—a liquid staking token that earns rewards while preserving governance rights within the DAO. In addition, users can earn Obol Incentives by staking ETH through Obol’s Distributed Validators (DVs). This can be done via qualified partners such as Chorus One, EtherFi, Swell, or Stakewise, or by operating a validator independently through Squad Staking. Obol Network currently secures over $1 billion in staked ETH.

The AggLayer Chain Development Kit (CDK), an open-source toolkit from Polygon for launching ZK-powered Layer 2 chains, now supports multiple deployment stacks—starting with a new configuration for Optimism’s OP Stack. The release enables developers to launch OP Stack chains with built-in  Agglayer interop. The release includes two configurations: cdk-opgeth and cdk-erigon. The implementations support up to 4,700+ TPS and use pessimistic ZK proofs. Polygon also plans to introduce custom zkRollups and Validium modes, and will expand support to other stacks, including Arbitrum Orbit. The Agglayer is a unified network of chains linked to Ethereum via a shared bridge contract, offering unified liquidity and cross-chain functionality.

• Pectra mainnet testing

• Pectra information page

• Track validator consolidations

• EIP-7702 risks PSA

• Etherscan EIP-7702 Auth List

• RevokeCash batch revoking

• Nethermind VC firm

• Pectra staking manager

• Biconomy partners with Newton

• $5.3m phished in April

Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes only, not endorsement or investment advice. The accuracy of information is not guaranteed.

• Coinbase unveils x402 payment protocol.

• ZKsync is fully EVM Equivalent.

• Paradigm introduces Across Prime.

• Chainlink introduces a rewards program.

Coinbase introduced x402, an open-source payment protocol that enables onchain stablecoin transactions over HTTP using the HTTP 402 "Payment Required" status code. x402 turns the status code into a functional onchain payment mechanism, enabling frictionless, pay-per-use payments for APIs, AI agents, compute, and content. When a client requests a premium resource, the server responds with 402 Payment Required and includes onchain payment details. The client then pays by sending a signed stablecoin transaction via an HTTP header. The server then fulfills the request upon verifying the payment. Developers can now integrate x402 with minimal code, using existing HTTP infrastructure.

ZKsync is now fully EVM-equivalent at the bytecode level, allowing developers to deploy existing Ethereum smart contracts on ZKsync without code changes or recompilation. Standard Ethereum tools like solc, foundry, and hardhat now work out of the box for smart contract development and deployments on ZKsync Era. EVM equivalence was introduced in ZKsync Era protocol version 27 (ZIP-9) via a new EVM Bytecode Interpreter. The interpreter allows EVM bytecode to run on ZKsync's native EraVM without altering its core execution model. No zk-specific compilers are required. ZKsync plans to expand this capability across the Elastic Chain network.

Paradigm released a white paper for Across Prime, a new capital-efficient, trustless, fast bridge model designed to improve upon existing intent-based bridges. Co-authored by Hart Lambur, Dan Robinson, Matt Rice, and the Across Protocol team, the paper proposes a solution to the fair exchange problem in cross-chain bridging. Across Prime introduces a bonded model in place of the traditional escrow-based design. In the bond model, users pay relayers directly, with the transaction secured by a relayer's bond. Each relayer posts a bond for a specific origin-to-destination route. A Turnstile contract on the origin chain enforces security by ensuring the bond covers all active (unfulfilled) intents. A corresponding Fulfillment contract on the destination chain tracks completed orders. The system uses Merkle roots to maintain consistency between chains and is fully compatible with the ERC-7683 crosschain intents standard.

Chainlink launched a new community rewards program enabling LINK Stakers to earn tokens from Chainlink Build projects, which are startups and protocols supported through the Chainlink Build accelerator. Rewards are distributed based on a combination of time-weighted average LINK staking and fixed allocations for both historical and active LINK stakers.

• Ethstaker Pectra watch party

• Uniswap Apps go live on Soneium

• Unichain on fair sequencing

• FinCEN statement on Samourai Wallet

• FS market structure bill

• ENS Domains turns 8

• Lens Spring Hackathon

• Holograph introduces 2.0

• Vaults FYI supports World Chain

• Polynomial derivatives roadmap

• Q/acc introduces points

Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes only, not endorsement or investment advice. The accuracy of information is not guaranteed.

• Vitalik proposes simplifying Ethereum L1.

• Unichain enables its TEE-based builder.

• Google Wallet leverages ZKPs.

• CCTP V2 goes live on Arbitrum.

Vitalik Buterin published a blog post outlining a vision to simplify Ethereum’s Layer 1 to be as minimal and understandable as Bitcoin within the next five years. He argues that protocol simplicity brings significant long-term benefits: it makes Ethereum easier to understand, reduces infrastructure and maintenance costs, lowers the risk of critical bugs, and fosters broader participation. To simplify the consensus layer, Vitalik proposes replacing epochs with a streamlined 3-slot finality mechanism, reducing the number of active validators, using STARK-based aggregation, and reworking validator lifecycle mechanics. On the execution side, Vitalik suggests replacing the bloated EVM with a simpler and more efficient virtual machine like RISC-V or Cairo. Vitalik also recommends using a unified erasure code across various protocol layers, adopting SSZ as a common serialization format, and transitioning to a shared binary Merkle tree for both execution and consensus. Vitalik emphasizes that the changes may sacrifice short-term convenience, but they will result in a more resilient and secure Ethereum in the long run.

Unichain enabled its Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)-based builder for block building and transaction ordering. The activation enhances transparency, MEV protection, revert protection, and provides users with encrypted mempools. Transaction ordering is based solely on priority fees and occurs within a verifiable TEE. The implementation is powered by Rollup-Boost, a verifiable block-building platform co-developed by Uniswap Labs and Flashbots. The milestone prepares Unichain for Flashblocks, which are 200ms sub-blocks that improve app latency and user experience, enabled via Rollup-Boost infrastructure.

Google Wallet is now leveraging Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) technology for privacy-preserving age verification. ZKPs allow users to prove they meet an age requirement without revealing full personal identity details. The ZKPs will power age checks across mobile devices, apps, and websites using Google’s Digital Credential API. The first implementation will be with Bumble, using Google Wallet digital IDs to verify identity and ZKPs for age verification. Future use cases include account recovery and accessing healthcare services.

CCTP V2, the latest version of Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, is now live on Arbitrum, enabling fast, secure, and capital-efficient USDC transfers using a burn-and-mint model, without relying on liquidity pools. The CCTP V2 upgrade introduces smart contract hooks for post-transfer actions. Arbitrum now joins Ethereum, Base, Avalanche, and Linea as supported CCTP V2 chains.

• Morpho launches Morpho Lite

• Pectra P2P metrics dashboard

• Obol DVs 500k ETH staked

• Circles UBI launching May 21st

• Discussion: Shorter vs faster block times

Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes only, not endorsement or investment advice. The accuracy of information is not guaranteed.