Uniswap Introduces Unichain
Unichain is a DeFi-focused L2 built on the OP Stack expected to launch on mainnet by the end of 2024.
Uniswap introduces the Unichain.
Flashbots introduces Rollup-Boost.
Swell releases a SWELL airdrop checker.
Puffer Finance pledges 1% to Protocol Guild.
Uniswap introduced Unichain, a DeFi-focused L2 built on the OP Stack. Unichain is now live on testnet with a mainnet launch planned later this year. Unichain will be part of the Superchain and Uniswap Labs will become a core contributor to the OP Stack. Unichain will also support native Superchain Interoperability. Native interoperability enables seamless cross-chain message-passing between OP Stack chains. The SuperchainERC20 standard will eliminate the need for multiple bridged asset versions. Unichain will also support cross-chain intents standard ERC-7683, extending interoperability to the broader Ethereum ecosystem. Unichain features an initial 1-second confirmation time, which helps mitigate MEV. By having faster block times, the chain creates more stable market conditions, thereby reducing opportunities for MEV exploitation. According to Uniswap, Unichain will be approximately 95% cheaper than Ethereum L1.
In collaboration with Uniswap Labs, Flashbots developed Rollup-Boost, a verifiable block-building platform for rollups composed of modular elements called rollup extensions. A key component is the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)-based builder, which will be used to securely build blocks on Unichain. Unichain will also deploy a new validation network that allows multiple nodes to verify the accuracy and security of blocks produced by the TEE-based builder. The network adds finality, ensuring robustness against invalid blocks. Other components of Rollup-Boost include Flashblocks, which deliver 250ms block times for fast confirmations, and Verifiable Priority Ordering, a mechanism that guarantees transparent transaction ordering.
Swell Network, a restaked rollup built on Polygon CDK, announced the details of its native SWELL token, which will have a total supply of 10 billion. 8.5% of the supply, or 850 million tokens, will be distributed to Swell stakers based on a July 30th snapshot. Users can currently check their airdrop allocation on app.swellnetwork.io/dao/voyage. SWELL will serve as a governance, gas, and restaking token for Swell Network. Users will be able to restake SWELL for rSWELL, which can be used for governance. The Swell L2 network is still in a testnet phase.
Ethereum developer trent.eth publish an article exploring how the Protocol Guild supports the long-term sustainability and integrity of Ethereum development. Trent highlights three key resources that are developed within the Ethereum Commons: the network, the asset, and media. Trent notes that the Protocol Guild funds individuals rather than teams, helping maintain neutrality without teams exerting influence over development. Puffer Finance is the latest project to take the Protocol Guild pledge, allocating 1% of its token supply to the guild.
Optimism Launches Airdrop 5
The airdrop distributes 10 million OP tokens to more than 54,000 Superchain power users.
Optimism launches its fifth airdrop.
AltLayer supports OP Succinct.
Puffer Finance unveils $PUFFER.
Solidity releases v0.8.28.
Optimism launched its fifth airdrop, distributing 10 million OP tokens to 54,000 unique addresses. The airdrop targeted Superchain power users, rewarding those who interacted with at least 20 different contracts across the Superchain between March 15 and September 15, 2024. Bonus multipliers were also applied for criteria such as holding a minimum amount of delegated OP, interacting with 7 different chains in the Superchain, and participating in SuperFest. To date, Optimism has distributed over 265 million OP tokens through airdrops, with approximately 550 million OP tokens still reserved for future distributions.
AltLayer now supports OP Succinct, enabling seamless upgrades of OP Stack chains from optimistic to zk-rollups with minimal effort. Leveraging Succinct's SP1 prover, OP Succinct offers fast finality, sub-cent transaction fees, and reduces withdrawal delays from seven days to minutes. The implementation retains full EVM compatibility while utilizing ZKPs. The migration is simple, requiring only a single smart contract deployment and a lightweight setup, with no changes needed to existing OP Stack components. According to Succinct, its proving costs are expected to go down a further 5–10x later this year.
Puffer Finance, a liquid restaking infrastructure protocol, unveiled the upcoming launch of its governance token, $PUFFER, along with an airdrop. $PUFFER holders will govern key protocol parameters, including fees, limits, and security. Puffer will also feature a vote escrow mechanism, vePUFFER, which enables users to stake their $PUFFER tokens to gain voting rights. Initially, Puffer began as a liquid staking protocol with the introduction of Puffer LST and later expanded to liquid restaking and UniFi AVS. All three products will contribute fees to the Puffer treasury. Since launching in February 2024, Puffer has secured over 530,000 ETH in TVL and more than 5,000 active node operators.
Solidity released v0.8.28 of its compiler, featuring full support for transient storage state variables of value types. The update significantly optimizes memory usage by up to 80% and speeds up compilation in the IR pipeline by up to 25% for larger projects. It also introduces per-contract pipeline configuration, enabling more efficient selective bytecode generation for individual contracts. Solidity is the most widely used programming language for developing EVM smart contracts.
Gauntlet launches a web app
Base gas target is now 13 Mgas/s
SEC charges three market makers
Devcon.org is now on Swarm
Rocket Pool ETH-only validators
Delta raises $11m
Scroll Announces SCR Token
The initial SCR token airdrop for Scroll users and contributors will go live on October 22, 2024.
Scroll announces its SCR token airdrop.
Aave launches its v3.2 protocol upgrade.
Google Search supports ENS domains.
EF is looking to hire protocol testers.
Scroll, an EVM-equivalent ZK Rollup, announced its native protocol and governance token, SCR. With a total supply of 1 billion tokens, SCR will play a role in incentivizing the development of a decentralized prover network. The token distribution includes 15% for airdrops, with 7% allocated to an initial airdrop set to go live on October 22, 2024, marking one year since Scroll went live on mainnet.The airdrop snapshot will be taken on October 19, 2024. Details on airdrop eligibility are expected to be released in the coming week. The remaining 35% of the supply is dedicated to ecosystem growth, 10% to the Scroll Foundation Treasury, 23% to core contributors, and 17% to investors. Scroll is currently the largest ZK rollup by TVL with $1.2 billion in assets.
Aave launched its v3.2 upgrade, introducing Liquid eMode, an enhancement to its existing high-efficiency mode. eMode enables users to achieve higher Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratios when supplying and borrowing correlated assets. The new Liquid eMode feature allows assets to be eligible for multiple eModes, giving users the flexibility to choose their preferred eMode. The enhancement enables more advanced strategies and configurations, such as allowing assets to be designated as only borrowable, only collateral, or both. Additionally, the upgrade removes deprecated stable rate logic from the codebase, leading to improved gas efficiency for users.
Google Search now supports ENS domain searches, enabling users to instantly view the ETH balance of any .eth domain directly in search results. Currently, the feature only supports top-level domains and balances on Ethereum Mainnet. Subdomain resolution is not yet available. Google Search initially introduced support for Ethereum address balances in search results in May 2023. ENS is the leading naming protocol that turns hexadecimal wallet addresses into human-readable names, with nearly 2 million active .eth names registered to date.
The Ethereum Foundation is looking to hire two Protocol Testers: one focused on the Consensus Layer, needed immediately, and another focused on the Execution Layer, starting in 2025. The roles involve collaborating with testers, developers, and researchers to test protocol upgrades, enhance testing methods, and improve test infrastructure. EF positions are fully remote, welcoming candidates from any location worldwide.