• Soneium goes live on mainnet.

• Polygon launches Season 2 grants.

• Ethereum Foundation leadership transitions.

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Soneium, an OP Stack Layer 2 chain developed by Sony Block Solutions Labs, is now live on mainnet. Soneium is designed as a general-purpose chain for applications across entertainment, gaming, and finance. The project aims to bring mainstream users into Web3 by integrating with Sony’s existing products and services. Users can now bridge to Soneium, mint NFTs, and swap on the network. Protocols live on the network include Velodrome, Astar Network, Chainlink, and Circle. As part of the Superchain, Soneium will contribute to the Superchain Collective, implement shared upgrades, and allocate a portion of sequencer revenue to retro funding.

Polygon is now accepting applications for Season 2 of the Polygon Community Grants Program (CGP). This season offers 35 million POL in grants, with 20 million POL allocated to a Direct Funding Track for general projects and 15 million POL dedicated to initiatives in AI agents, apps, infrastructure, DePIN, and memecoins. Grants will be distributed on a rolling basis by independent grant allocators. Participants will also gain access to tools, resources, dedicated support channels, networking opportunities, and marketing support. Applications are open from January 14 to April 15, 2025. The initiative is part of Polygon’s 1 billion POL grant program, which aims to grant 100 million POL per year over the next decade.

Hsiao-Wei Wang, Alex Stokes, and Barnabé Monnot have taken on new leadership roles at the Ethereum Foundation. Hsiao-Wei Wang has joined the Ethereum Foundation (EF) Leadership Team, while Barnabé Monnot and Alex Stokes have stepped into roles as co-leads of Ethereum Foundation Research (EFR). Previously, Hsiao-Wei Wang led the Consensus R&D team, Alex Stokes headed the Applied Research Group (ARG), and Barnabé Monnot served as the team lead for the Robust Incentives Group (RIG), all within the Ethereum Foundation. Ethereum Foundation Research (EFR) consists of five specialized teams, including Applied Research Group (ARG), Consensus R&D, Cryptography, Protocol Security, and Robust Incentives Group (RIG).

• Support ETH Daily on Gitcoin

• Base hits $100b Uniswap vol

• 2025 State of USDC report

• LayerZero Quick Merkle Database

• USDT added to Superchain Token List

• FT: AI Agents x Crypto

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• Euler V2 goes live on Base.

• Liquity V2 will launch in January.

• Coinbase secures a writ of mandamus.

• Ethereum X account is active again.

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Euler V2, the latest iteration of the lending protocol, is now live on Base, featuring ERC-4626-compatible governed and ungoverned vaults. Governed Vaults offer dynamic functionality, allowing DAOs, risk teams, or individuals to manage key parameters such as loan-to-value ratios, supply caps, and interest rate models in real-time. In contrast, Ungoverned Vaults are immutable, providing a fixed, stable configuration once deployed. Euler V2 supports leveraged positions, carry trade strategies and single-click execution workflows. The release follows the earlier pause of Euler V1 after a $200 million flash loan attack in 2022, from which the majority of funds were successfully recovered. Since its launch in September 2024, Euler V2 has achieved over $130 million TVL on Ethereum. Euler V2 on Base supports 11 initial assets and has already surpassed ~$5 million in TVL.

Decentralized borrowing protocol Liquity announced plans to launch its V2 release by the end of January 2025. Liquity V2 introduces user-set interest rates and multiple collateral support, including rETH and wstETH. It also introduces BOLD, its new yield-bearing stablecoin that will coexist alongside the existing LUSD stablecoin. Users will be able to stake BOLD for additional rewards. Liquity V2 also features Protocol Incentivized Liquidity (PIL), which allows LQTY stakers to direct subsidies from protocol interest revenue while still earning fees and rewards. Like Liquity V1, Liquity V2 will remain governance-minimized and immutable.

In a significant legal victory, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals granted Coinbase its petition for a writ of mandamus against the SEC, compelling the SEC to provide a more reasoned explanation for its denial of Coinbase's rulemaking petition. The court criticized the SEC’s handling of Coinbase’s rulemaking petition. Coinbase’s original petition, submitted in July 2022, sought much-needed regulatory clarity regarding the application of existing securities laws to the digital asset sector. Frustrated by the SEC’s prolonged inaction, Coinbase later sued the agency for failing to fulfill its legal duty to respond to rulemaking petitions within a reasonable timeframe. The court also expressed serious constitutional concerns about the SEC’s reliance on retroactive enforcement without first establishing clear guidance.

The official Ethereum X account made its first post in two years. The post comes as the Ethereum Foundation created its own dedicated X account, announcing that the general Ethereum account will now serve as an active platform for sharing updates from across the Ethereum ecosystem. Posts from the general Ethereum account will also be cross-posted on Lens, Farcaster, and Bluesky. Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation's separate account will focus exclusively on foundation-related updates, including news from EF teams, grants, and treasury activities.

• Hsiao-Wei Wang joins EF leadership

• Veil supports sharable links

• Eigen Protocol Cohort is live

• Superposition mainnet alpha launch

• Megaeth gets a new domain

• Obol announces a snapshot

• Derive announces launch program

• Trump executive orders on crypto

• Sparklend market upgrades

• Preconfirmations explainer

• $420m liquidated from crypto market

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• The USD0++ token devalues amid a redemption change.

• CFPB proposes rulemaking for crypto wallets.

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USD0++, a liquid derivative of USD0 that earns yield, has devalued from its long-standing $1 price. The drop follows Usual Protocol's announcement introducing a new redemption floor of 0.87 USD0 per USD0++, assigning its value akin to a zero-coupon bond with a four-year maturity. The change replaces the previous 1:1 redemption option. Usual Protocol allows users to stake USD0, its dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by treasury assets, to mint USD0++, a token that earns rewards in $USUAL tokens over a four-year lock-up. Following the announcement, significant holders, including Gauntlet, began exiting their USD0++ positions. The price of USD0++ reached a new low of about $0.91. Next week, users will be able to redeem USD0++ for USD0 at the 1:1 rate, but this requires forfeiting accrued rewards.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed new rulemaking to extend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) to include cryptocurrency wallets. Under the proposal, wallet providers would be held responsible for unauthorized transactions, including those resulting from fraud, theft, hacking, or leaked credentials. The proposal does not clarify on whether it applies exclusively to custodial wallets managed by third parties or also includes self-custody wallets controlled directly by users. In response, Coin Center released an analysis highlighting concerns about the rule’s constitutional implications, its vagueness, and its potential overreach. Public comments on the proposed rulemaking are being accepted until March 2025.

• Pectra on mainnet anticipated in March

• EIGEN town hall on 16th January

• Veil supports Coinbase Verification

• USDC goes live on Sonic

• Last Network acquires Astaria

• Graph launches Geo browser

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