Ethena Releases 2025 Roadmap
The roadmap includes the iUSDe stablecoin, a savings and payments app integrated with Telegram, and Ethereal perps and Derive options protocols.
Ethena releases its 2025 roadmap.
Coinbase receives access to FDIC letters.
Interest in bringing COIN stock to Base.
Veil privacy pool protocol on Base.
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Guy Young, the founder of Ethena Labs, released the 2025 roadmap aiming to integrate USDe across decentralized finance (DeFi), centralized finance (CeFi), and traditional finance (TradFi) sectors. Ethena Labs plans to roll out iUSDe, a regulatory-compliant stablecoin designed for institutional adoption, alongside a savings and payments app integrated with Telegram. The roadmap also includes the development of the Ethena Network and applications like Ethereal perps and Derive options protocols. Since its launch in February 2024, USDe, Ethena’s first stablecoin, has become the third-largest stablecoin by market cap. USDe is an overcollateralized, yield-bearing stablecoin backed by stETH, BTC, and derivatives positions.
Coinbase has obtained a series of unredacted FDIC letters revealing a coordinated effort by the agency to restrict banks from engaging in crypto-related activities. Coinbase filed a lawsuit against the FDIC in June 2024 under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), seeking to obtain the letters and hold the regulator accountable. The letters show that banks must notify the FDIC before initiating or continuing any crypto-asset-related activities. Institutions had to submit detailed information about the activities for regulatory review. The letters stressed confidentiality under FDIC rules, effectively shielding the agency’s coordinated efforts from public awareness.
Jesse Pollak, Base builder #1, expressed interest in bringing Coinbase’s COIN stock onchain to Base. The idea was shared in response to a concern raised by Coinbase ambassador CBduck.eth about the inefficiencies of traditional financial systems such as long processing times for deposits to clear into a brokerage. Assets will often incur price fluctuations during the long waiting period, whereas transaction settlement on Base takes seconds. Pollak emphasized his vision that "every asset in the world will be on Base." However, he clarified that there are currently no concrete plans to tokenize $COIN on Base. The move would first depend on achieving regulatory clarity to ensure the process is safe and compliant.
Veil launched v0.1 of its privacy pool protocol on Base mainnet. The protocol uses ZK-SNARKs to provide privacy for verified users depositing ETH into fixed deposit pools. A 0.5% fee is applied to deposits in VEIL pools. Currently, access to the protocol is permissioned, and it remains in an experimental, unaudited phase.
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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.
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