This story was featured in Episode 500.

Obol launched the Obol Collective, a consortium of over 50 entities dedicated to the development and adoption of distributed validators (DVs). The participants include staking protocols, client teams, software tools, community projects, and solo node operators. EtherFi and Lido have committed $1.5 billion of stake to be managed by DVs. The Obol Collective will initially oversee Obol’s 1% for Decentralization (1forDS) retroactive fund, which allocates 1% of staking rewards from DVs to projects that enhance Ethereum's decentralization. Obol intends to gradually decentralize the governance of the fund. Distributed validators enhance Ethereum's fault tolerance by mitigating risks associated with client bugs.

• ZKsync introduces Elastic Chains.

• Balancer releases its V3 codebase.

• RISC Zero introduces Blobstream Zero.

• Aave deploys native GHO on Arbirtum.

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ZKsync introduced Elastic Chains, a network of interoperable ZK rollups similar to Polygon’s Agglayer. Elastic Chains will include custom instances of ZK rollups, validiums, or volitions, all built on the ZK Stack. The chains will be interoperable amongst chains on the network, providing access to secure bridging, low fees, and unified liquidity. The Elastic Chain architecture features a ZK Router on Ethereum that manages state and shared liquidity and a ZK Gateway middleware that facilitates interactions with Ethereum. The framework aims to offer limitless chain expansion and seamless interoperability, secured by mathematical proofs. ZKsync anticipates over 20 ZK Stack chains to go live by the end of the year.

Balancer released its codebase for Balancer V3, the latest protocol iteration designed to simplify custom pool development. Balancer V3 introduces several innovations, including a transient accounting system via EIP-1153, re-entrant pool lifecycle hooks, native yield-bearing token support, fully boosted pools, and a flexible router design. Balancer V3 shifts core functions such as token management, fees, rate scaling, and liquidity operations, from the pool contracts into a unified vault contract. The unification ensures that all pools adhere to the same standards, maintaining consistent pool states across the protocol. Balancer is open to feedback for its V3 codebase, which is open-source under the GPL 3 license.

Blockchain infrastructure provider RISC Zero introduced Blobstream Zero, a zkVM-based Blobstream bridge designed to connect Celestia’s data availability layer with various blockchain ecosystems. Blobstream is Celestia’s solution for enabling rollups to utilize Celestia light clients for Data Availability Sampling. Blobstream Zero introduces the ability to verify Celestia DA using zero-knowledge proofs. The integration allows rollups and applications to generate proofs across chains more efficiently. Blobstream Zero also introduces ZK Coprocessors, enabling dapps on Ethereum, Optimism, and Solana to run data-intensive ZK programs without sacrificing composability.

Aave's GHO stablecoin is now natively available on Arbitrum One. The deployment uses Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), which uses a lock/burn and release/mint bridge mechanism. The launch is part of GHO’s cross-chain strategy aiming to make the stablecoin more accessible. The Aave DAO has allocated 750,000 ARB tokens from the Arbitrum Long-Term Incentives Pilot Program (LIPP) to incentivize GHO liquidity on Arbitrum.

• WalletConnect introduces Certifications

• Fluid introduces Refinancing

• Fork choice attacks in epbs

• Node message prop consumption

• Sentient raises $85m seed

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• Obol Network releases Charon v1.0.

• Circle issues stablecoins in Europe.

• Solutions for faster txs confirmation.

• U.S. Marshals Service uses Coinbase.

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Obol Network released Charon v1.0, the first long-term support (LTS) version of its distributed validator (DV) middleware client for Ethereum. The release supports distributed key generation, creating only partial validator key shares for each node in a DV cluster, without ever revealing a full private key. DVs enhance Ethereum’s fault tolerance by preventing a single point of failure. The client also prevents access to validator private key shares during runtime, minimizing the risk of private key leakage. Charon is also compatible with various client combinations. Lido and EtherFi have committed to integrating Charon into their staking operations. Obol plans to release 1.0 versions of its DV Launchpad, Obol Splits, and Obol SDK.

Circle is now a MiCA-compliant stablecoin issuer in Europe. A new Circle entity based in France is now natively issuing USDC and EURC stablecoins to European users. Circle has attained authorization as an E-Money Issuer by the French banking regulatory authority, with issuance managed by Circle France. Circle Mint, a solution for minting and redeeming USDC and EURC, is also live for European businesses. Reserves for the assets will be custodied in France. USDC and EURC are the only stablecoins that have attained MiCA compliance. USDC is currently the second-largest stablecoin with over $32 billion in circulation.

Vitalik Buterin published a new blog outlining solutions for fast transaction confirmations and potential development paths. Ethereum's current consensus operates with a 12-second slot and 6.4-minute epoch architecture. While rollups aim to provide faster confirmations, decentralized sequencing remains a challenge. Based preconfirmations offer confirmation guarantees for an additional fee. Buterin suggests improving transaction speeds by combining Single Slot Finality (SSF) with rollup or based preconfirmations. He also advocates further exploration of Orbit SSF, a proposed technique designed to reduce the number of validators required to sign messages in each slot, thereby reducing network load. Additionally, potential solutions could integrate server efficiencies with blockchain benefits like validity proofs.

The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), a division of the U.S. Department of Justice, is now using Coinbase Prime to custody and trade its large-cap digital assets. The USMS typically acquires cryptocurrencies through seizures and asset forfeitures. Coinbase Prime, an institutional custody service provided by Coinbase, now manages over $330 billion in assets for its customers, which includes government agencies.

• Uniswap supports Zora

• Mint L2 launches on mainnet

• Sony launching exchange in Japan

• Coinbase vs SEC update

• SEC sues Silvergate

• Devcon Scholars 7th July deadline

• OP Governance Season 6 begins

• WannaBet p2p betting on Base

• Ethereum issuance resources

• Proposal for AAVE on Aptos

• Moxie introduces a Farcaster protocol

• MACH AVS supports Arbitrum

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