Ondo Launches USDY On Arbitrum
USDY is backed by U.S. Treasuries and is now accessible across applications on the Arbitrum ecosystems.
Ondo launches USDY on Arbitrum.
EF ESP Q2 grant allocations.
AltLayer deploys Kyoto 2.0.
Linea surpasses 350k subnames.
Ondo Finance, a protocol focused on onchain securities, launched its USDY yield-bearing stablecoin on Arbitrum One. USDY is backed by U.S. Treasuries and offers a yield of around 5.3% APY. The integration with Arbitrum enables users to access USDY across the Arbitrum ecosystem, including applications like Camelot and Dolomite. In June, the Arbitrum Stable Treasury Endowment Program (STEP) committee allocated 6 million ARB to Ondo’s USDY stablecoin as part of a strategic investment to diversify the Arbitrum DAO treasury into real-world asset (RWA) products. USDY was developed in partnership with Flux Finance
The EF Ecosystem Support Program released an allocation update of projects that received funding in Q2 2024. A total of $8.4 million was allocated to 94 different projects. The grant categories include community education, cryptography, developer tooling, consensus layer, execution layer, and protocol support. Grant recipients include Summer of Protocols, account abstraction core teams, and L2 Beat. The EF Ecosystem Support Program (ESP) runs several initiatives focused on providing both financial and non-financial support to teams. Users building projects that enhance Ethereum can visit esp.ethereum.foundation to view funding options.
AltLayer, a rollup-as-a-service provider, launched Kyoto 2.0, an Arbitrum Orbit chain deployed on Espresso's Cappuccino testnet. Kyoto 2.0 enables users and developers to test fast, economically secured preconfirmations provided by Espresso Network. The release also supports the Espresso Sequencing Marketplace. Users can access the network by adding Kyoto 2.0 to their wallets, bridging testnet funds, and deploying contracts. The testnet comes in preparation for Espresso’s upcoming mainnet launch. AltLayer will support Espresso Sequencing for native and restaked rollups on Arbitrum Orbit.
EIP-7742 Considered For Pectra
EIP-7742 aims to streamline the relationship between the consensus layer and the execution layer by removing redundancies.
EIP-7742 is CFI’d for Pectra.
Puffer Finance releases a roadmap update.
Gnosis considers changing its gas token.
Threshold Network proposes to migrate WBTC.
Ethereum core developers have added EIP-7742 to the list of EIPs considered for inclusion in the Pectra upgrade. EIP-7742 aims to streamline the relationship between the consensus layer and the execution layer by removing redundancies and enhancing flexibility in managing blob parameters. The proposal eliminates redundant blob maximum verification in the execution layer. EIP-7742 allows the execution layer to dynamically receive the blob target value from the consensus layer. The change not only facilitates more adaptable adjustments to the blob target value but also simplifies block construction by incorporating the target into the block header, ensuring security and protocol integrity.
Puffer Finance, a liquid restaking infrastructure protocol, released its updated roadmap, detailing key milestones and upcoming developments such as the launch of UniFi AVS. Set to go live at the end of August, UniFi AVS aims to deliver fast transaction speeds. The UniFi Rollup Testnet, set to release in September, aims to tackle liquidity fragmentation and strengthen network neutrality. The upcoming Puffer V2 upgrade, scheduled for early Q4, will reduce validator bond requirements by 50% and enhance user experience. The release will coincide with the Token Generation Event (TGE) for the $PUFI governance token. Since its launch in February 2024, Puffer has accumulated over 500,000 ETH in Total Value Locked (TVL) and more than 5,000 active node operators.
Gnosis Chain, an EVM-compatible chain using DAI as its gas token, is reconsidering its choice of gas token due to MakerDAO's rebrand into Sky and the subsequent migration of DAI to a new, more centralized stablecoin, called USDS. The change is problematic as USDS is not accessible to users in the UK and US and includes a "freeze" function that can blacklist wallet addresses. It could affect a user’s ability to pay gas fees on the Gnosis Chain. In response, Gnosis is exploring alternatives such as adopting decentralized stablecoins like RAI and LUSD, or using the GNO token as the gas token to better align with its decentralization ethos.
OpenSea Receives Wells Notice From SEC
The SEC alleges that NFT assets on the marketplace are securities. In response, OpenSea committed $5 million to a fund that covers legal fees for NFT artists who also receive a letter.
OpenSea receives a Wells notice from the SEC.
Starknet introduces support for parallel execution.
Centrifuge launches an RWA lending market.
Fluidkey releases its private transactions tool.
OpenSea announced that it has received a Wells notice from the SEC, alleging that NFT asset listings on the platform are securities. A Wells notice signals the SEC's intent to initiate enforcement action against the company. OpenSea co-founder Devin Finzer says the action stifles innovation and affects thousands of artists and creators. The action represents one of the first instances of the SEC targeting an NFT marketplace. NFTs are typically regarded as collectibles, digital art, and game items. In response to the letter, OpenSea has committed $5 million to a fund aimed at covering legal fees for NFT artists and developers who also receive a Wells notice.
Starknet v0.13.2 is now live on mainnet, introducing parallel execution and block packing to the network. Parallel execution allows multiple independent transactions to be processed simultaneously, enhancing throughput and reducing transaction confirmation times. Block packing decouples L2 block frequency from L1 costs by merging multiple L2 blocks into a single recursive proof. The feature enables 2-second transaction confirmations and sub-minute block times while optimizing gas usage, cutting L1 gas costs by up to 66%. Starknet is currently the fourth-largest ZK rollup by total value locked (TVL).
Centrifuge, an onchain credit protocol, launched an institutional RWA lending market on Base, powered by the Morpho Protocol. The market enables investors to deposit treasury tokens into permissioned Morpho Vaults, managed by Steakhouse Financial and Re7 Labs, and subsequently take out loans against their collateral. The supported assets include Anemoy’s Liquid Treasury Fund (LTF), Midas’s Short Term US Treasuries (mTBILL), and Hashnote’s US Yield Coin (USYC). The market also features an integration with Coinbase Verifications, allowing Coinbase users to easily self-attest their KYC status with a single click.
Fluidkey, a transaction privacy tooling provider, is now available to all users. Fluidkey provides a privacy-focused smart account that automatically generates a new address and reroutes funds for each payment made to the primary address. All generated addresses remain under the user's exclusive control without being publicly linked. Fluidkey supports transactions across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, Base, and OP Mainnet.
Abstract Chain global wallet
RISC Zero is open-source
Vitalik: Airdrops use case for ZK
Ethresearch: Encryption for Ethereum Rollups