• Devcon SEA releases its schedule.

• Franklin Templeton launches BENJI on Base.

• Optimism supports ERC-7683.

• Zircuit airdrop for EIGEN holders.

Devcon released the schedule for Devcon VII, the largest Ethereum developer conference, set to take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from November 12-15. The event will feature more than 300 hours of talks, panels, and workshops covering topics such as security, layer 2, applied cryptography, real-world Ethereum, coordination, core protocol, and developer experience. Alongside the schedule, Devcon released Devcon Passport, a mobile-first Progressive Web App that allows users to sign in with Ethereum, customize their agenda, and receive event notifications. Devcon Week will run from November 9-17, with an expected attendance of over 12,000 people, making it the biggest Devcon to date.

Franklin Templeton launched its OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) on Base, offering tokenized access to U.S. Treasury securities and repurchase agreements. Shares, trading under the ticker BENJI, maintain a stable price of $1 per share and currently provide a 7-Day Effective Yield of about 4.7%. Accessible to both retail and institutional investors via the Franklin Templeton platform, the fund has a market capitalization of more than $400 million and supports tokenized assets across seven networks. Base is the second-largest Layer 2 network by TVL with nearly $8 billion in assets, according to L2Beat.

Optimism announced support for ERC-7683, a cross-chain intents standard co-developed by Across Protocol and Uniswap Labs. ERC-7683 allows order fillers from any compatible system to fulfill user intents by adhering to a unified order structure. Optimism is implementing the standard on top of its native interoperability architecture.By adopting ERC-7683, Optimism extends native interoperability to order fillers in the broader Ethereum ecosystem. Together, ERC-7683 and Superchain Interoperability help enhance the speed, security, and cost-efficiency of cross-chain transfers for users.

Zircuit, an EVM-compatible ZK-Rollup, has announced the Zircuit Fairdrop for EIGEN token holders and stakers. Users who held or staked a minimum of 3 EIGEN tokens as of October 8, 2024, qualify for a share of 2% of the ZRC token supply, with each eligible wallet receiving an equal allocation. Zircuit is an LRT re-staking protocol that aggregates LRT deposits into a shared staking pool.

• Ethereum maintains blob target

• Uniswap integrates Venmo

• xERC20 launchpad

• Argot Collective spins out of EF

• USDC Grant Program winners

• Elipses raises $21m

• Base activates Fraud Proofs on mainnet.

• Bungee launches chain abstracted swaps to beta.

• Fluid launches the Fluid DEX.

• Powdr Labs releases powdrVM 0.1.

Base activated fault proofs on its Layer 2 network, introducing permissionless output proposals and permissionless challenges. With output proposals, anyone can submit claims about the chain’s state, while challenges allow anyone to dispute fraudulent withdrawals. Successful challengers earn the bonds of invalid claims, incentivizing community participation. The upgrade brings Base closer to Stage 1 decentralization, where rollups operate with working proof systems and maintain a multi-sig override mechanism. For now, upgrades require approval from contributors across Base and Optimism, but the transition to a Security Council will complete the step of Stage 1. Looking ahead, Base will work toward Stage 2 by adopting a multi-proof system. As outlined by Vitalik, Stage 2 marks full decentralization, where the Security Council will no longer have the power to alter the chain’s state root.

Bungee introduced its chain-abstraction swaps to beta, allowing users to perform actions across multiple chains. As a global liquidity marketplace, Bungee leverages gasless signatures, allowing users to execute swaps without the need for bridging native gas tokens. The beta release smart contracts are yet to undergo audits. Bungee Protocol runs on Socket Protocol, a chain-abstraction framework that uses Modular Orderflow Actions (MOFA) to execute user requests. Offchain execution agents such as sequencers, validators, solvers, and keepers—compete to fulfill user requests, ensuring optimal performance while covering native gas fees.

Fluid, a liquidity layer developed by Instadapp, launched the Fluid DEX to mainnet. Fluid DEX is a decentralized exchange focused on maximizing capital efficiency. It introduces innovative features like Smart Debt and Smart Collateral, enabling users to convert their debt into trading liquidity by deploying it as collateral within AMM pools. By doing so, users can earn trading and lending fees to offset borrowing costs—and in some cases, even profit from borrowing. Leading DEX aggregators, including Kyber, CoWSwap, Paraswap, and 1inch, are set to integrate support for Fluid DEX.

Powdr Labs released powdrVM 0.1, a specialized virtual machine designed for proving computations using zero-knowledge proofs. powdrVM 0.1 is fully compatible with Rust and supports multiple ZK proving systems, including Plonky3 and Halo2. Developers can build complex ZK applications and generate proofs for long-running computations. Powdr Labs is a project spun-out of the Ethereum Foundation focused on ZK research and tooling.

• Ethereum Staking Penalty Simulator

• Synthetix proposal to acquire Kwenta

• Coinbase Q3 report

• U.S. Treasury report on digital assets

• gon.id domains on Polygon

• Flashbots Protect turns 3

• Deep Blue integrates with Arbitrum

• Setting Your Pet Rock Free

• Swell L2 migrates to OP Stack.

• Lido integrates CCIP for direct staking.

• Base offers free smart contract monitoring.

• Rhinestone Protocol goes live.

Swell Network announced that it's transitioning away from Polygon CDK and will instead build its Swell L2 restaked rollup on the OP Stack. As part of this move, Swell L2 will join the Superchain, alongside networks like Base, Ink, and Soneium, aligning with Superchain interoperability, governance standards, and shared upgrades. Earlier this month, Swell introduced details of its native SWELL governance token. Although SWELL was initially going to serve as the gas token, the protocol will now use ETH for gas fees to ensure seamless integration with the Superchain. Swell L2 will bring its unique Proof of Restake mechanism. Swell Network has over $1.3 billion in TVL.

Lido, the largest liquid staking protocol, integrated Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), enabling Direct Staking from any Layer 2 network. The new feature allows users to stake ETH directly from Arbitrum, Base, or Optimism and receive wstETH in a single transaction, simplifying the staking process. Direct Staking leverages CCIP’s Programmable Token Transfers to streamline cross-chain transactions. The implementation either sends ETH and staking instructions to Ethereum mainnet, where wstETH is minted and bridged back to a user’s L2 wallet, or its deposits ETH on L2 and immediately sends wstETH from local liquidity pools to the user, with the deposited ETH later sent to Ethereum mainnet for staking.

Base is now providing free access to smart contract monitoring and analytics tools for protocols and apps built on its network. Powered by the Web3 security platform Hexagate, the initiative aims to help developers create secure and reliable protocols. With the tools, developers can monitor transactions, detect bugs, receive real-time alerts, and take action to safeguard user assets. The Base team already uses Hexagate’s solutions to enhance security on Base. Builders on Base can now apply for real-time, ML-based threat monitoring for up to 10 smart contracts.

Rhinestone Protocol 1.0, a new interoperability protocol for Modular Smart Accounts, is now live on mainnet. Rhinestone aims to address vendor lock-in, ecosystem fragmentation, and security risks by allowing developers to build Modules that enhance smart accounts. Developers can now use Rhinstone to build, extend, and integrate Modular Smart Accounts across EVM chains.

• Vitalik Buterin: Part 6 The Splurge

• Confidential ERC-20 Framework 

• Privy supports Coinbase Wallet

• Bungee Protocol opens early access

• ZKsync TIP001 goes onchain

• Consensys cuts 20% of staff

• Dydx cuts 35% of staff

• OP FND grants 25m OP to Kraken

• SEC chair should withdraw all frivolous cases

• Talent Protocol launches TALENT

• Base Fault proofs tomorrow