• 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

• Rocket Pool activates the Saturn 0 upgrade.

• Vyper outlines security enhancements.

• Astria goes live on mainnet alpha.

• Infinex raises $67.7 million.

Decentralized Ethereum staking protocol Rocket Pool, successfully activated the Saturn 0 upgrade on October 28, 2024, at 0 UTC. The Saturn 0 upgrade removes the RPL stake requirement for new minipools, allowing solo stakers to deploy minipools with just 8 ETH. It also included a Houston Hotfix and RPL Tokenomics Rework. While RPL is no longer mandatory, staking still provides access to additional rewards, boosted APY, and governance participation within the Protocol DAO. ETH-only minipools now earn a 5% base commission, with opportunities to increase yield through the new Dynamic Commission model by joining the Smoothing Pool. Saturn 0 is the first in a series of three planned upgrades. Future upgrades will introduce protocol fee sharing and lower minimum stake requirements. Read more: Saturn Explainer.

Vyper, the second-most popular smart contract programming language, published a blog on the current state of its security. Over the last year, the team has completed 12 audits, launched two bug bounty programs, hosted a security contest, and implemented a contract monitoring system, addressing over 100 security findings. The enhanced security efforts come as Vyper experienced critical zero-day vulnerability last year. In addition to audits, Vyper has expanded its testing infrastructure and developed a runtime semantics interpreter called ivy. To maintain progress, Vyper is seeking community support through public goods funding initiatives.

Astria, a shared sequencing layer, is now live on mainnet alpha, enabling rollups to use the network for decentralized sequencing. Astria uses Celestia for data availability and offers fast confirmations with 2-second block times and single-slot finality. Astria only sequences transactions without executing them, giving rollups the flexibility to choose their preferred execution layer. The mainnet alpha operates on a proof-of-authority (PoA) consensus with an initial set of 11 validators. Developers can now build on Astria mainnet using the Astria Stack and the Astria Execution API.

Infinex raised $67.7 million through its token crowdfund by selling over 40,000 Patron NFTs to community members and angel investors. The platform focuses on competing with centralized exchanges by enhancing the user experience and leveraging smart accounts to reduce friction. Infinex serves as a streamlined interface for trading Synthetix Perpetuals.

• Vitalik: Ethereum’s Future Part 5

• Teku v24.10.3 release

• Gnosis GNO Holder report

• Coinbase files amicus brief

• Hey introduces Lists

• Privacy first RPC endpoint

• Shift introduces USDC support

• Succinct introduces a rebrand

• Gelato raises $11m

• Astria goes live on mainnet

• Robinhood integrates election markets

• Safe supports multichain address deployments.

• Lido’s Community Staking Module goes live.

• Velodrome expands its MetaDEX to Superseed.

Safe introduced a new feature that allows users to reserve a smart wallet account with the same address across 15 supported networks. Now live on the Safe user interface, the feature allows users to reserve their address in a single click. Once reserved, the address can receive funds and the smart contract can be deployed at any time. Safe also offers sponsored transactions on networks like Gnosis, Polygon PoS, Polygon zkEVM, Base, OP Mainnet, Arbitrum, Linea, and Blast, enabling wallet deployments without requiring native gas tokens. The release includes a new sidebar interface that simplifies switching between multiple accounts. The feature is compatible only with Safe version 1.3.0 or later.

Lido’s Community Staking Module (CSM), a permissionless staking solution that allows node operators to run validators through the Lido protocol, is now live on mainnet. The module lowers the barrier for solo stakers by allowing participation with a collateral stake of 2.4 ETH for the first validator and 1.3 ETH for additional validators. The launch is an early adoption phase initially available to qualified solo stakers. Lido states that operators using CSM can earn up to 2.37x higher rewards compared to traditional solo staking. As a key component of the Lido Staking Router, a controller contract designed to integrate modular validator pools, the CSM enables node participation from solo stakers, DAOs, and DVT clusters.

Velodrome announced plans to launch support for Superseed on the Velodrome Superchain, a MetaDEX serving as the primary liquidity hub on the Superhain. Superseed is a DeFi-focused protocol built on the OP Stack that features a native collateralized debt position system called SuperCDP. SuperCDP allows users to lock assets as collateral to mint and borrow the Superseed stablecoin, enabling access to interest-free, self-repaying loans. veVELO holders will be able vote and direct emissions towards liquidity gauges on Superseed's L2. Superseed will also provide incentives for the launch. The Velodrome Superchain already includes nine OP Stack chains. 

• ACDE #199 recap

• Arbitrum Portal refresh

• Etherscan API V2 beta release

• Flashbots deprecates geth-based builder

• Devcon VI attendance forecast

• Lens Network in next 6 months

• Ethresearch: Local fee markets 

• L2Beat adds a search bar

• Aether Farcaster AI agent

• U.S. investigates Tether