• EigenLayer and EigenDA go live on mainnet.

• Relay launches Canonical +.

• Correlated attestation penalties analysis.

• Aerodrome Slipstream on April 22nd.

EigenLayer, Ethereum's largest restaking protocol with over $13 billion in TVL, has rolled out support for stake delegation, operator registration, and Actively Validated Services (AVS) on mainnet. The release signifies the initial completion of the protocol's three-phase launch. EigenDA, which is EigenLayer’s native data availability solution, is also live on mainnet beta as the inaugural AVS. The launch excludes features for in-protocol payments from AVSs to operators or mechanisms for slashing. Restakers on EigenLayer can delegate their restaked assets to one of the protocol's 200+ registered operators. The final, production-ready version of EigenDA is scheduled for release in the coming weeks, with plans to onboard more AVSs in the coming month.

Relay, an instant liquidity solution for cross-chain bridging, launched Canonical +, a new feature designed to streamline the process of using canonical bridges for large asset transfers. Canonical + simplifies the user experience by removing the need to perform multiple transactions in the typical canonical bridging process. By collecting an upfront fee, Relay directs prepaid gas fees to a relayer who executes the subsequent and final withdrawal transactions. Although canonical bridges are known for their 7-day withdrawal delay, they offer enhanced security and don’t incur additional bridge fees. A Reservoir Dune Analytics dashboard shows that users have left more than $17.8 million in canonical bridge contracts due to not completing their bridging transactions.

Ethereum researcher Toni Wahrstätter conducted a study on the effects of introducing penalties for validators with correlated behavior to discourage the centralization of node operations. Staking operators are incentivized to centralize due to the advantages of economies of scale. To counter centralization, Vitalik Buterin proposed an anti-correlation penalty. The penalty increases based on the number of missed attestations, aiming to deter the aggregation of validator operations. The study revealed that under the proposed penalty system, larger and medium-sized staking operations would incur higher penalties, whereas smaller staking groups would see a reduction in penalties.

Aerodrome, the leading AMM on Base, unveiled plans to launch Slipstream, its concentrated liquidity AMM, on Monday, April 22nd. Designed for low volatility and high trading volume token pairs, Slipstream enables liquidity providers to capture a larger share of the daily transaction volume, increasing their fee earnings. Developed from the UniV3 codebase, Slipstream has already been deployed into Velodrome, the Optimism-native version of the DEX. Aerodrome is the largest DEX on Base with over $664 million in TVL.

• Native USDC live on zkSync

• Base hits 300-400 TPS

• Seeking feedback on EIP-7251

• OP Labs Fault Proof deep dive

• Fabric launches an accelerator

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• MakerDAO approves Project Ethena.

• Degen Chain grants program.

• Angle launches USDA to private beta.

• Base surpasses $4 billion in TVL.

MakerDAO governance approved an executive vote that includes the allocation of 600 million DAI into Ethena's USDe stablecoin. The funds, sourced from MakerDAO's DAI credit facility, will be used to accept USDe as collateral through the Morpho lending protocol. The vote also extends the Governance Pause Delay (GSM) to 30 hours and increases the Spark MetaMorpho Vault DDM's maximum debt limit to 1 billion DAI. USDe is an overcollateralized stablecoin backed by stETH and derivative market positions in a cash-and-carry trading strategy. The decision to accept USDe for backing DAI has sparked debate, with concerns that fluctuations in USDe's stability might affect DAI's peg.

Syndicate introduced Deploy On Degen Week, an initiative offering 10 million DEGEN tokens in grants to teams who enhance the Degen Chain ecosystem. The event is scheduled for next week, from April 15-19, and will feature workshops aimed at supporting developers. Teams can now apply for grants through April 12th. The winning grant recipients will be announced on April 25th. Degen Chain is a Layer 3 network built on Arbitrum Orbit and uses the DEGEN community token for gas fees. Syndicate is seeking projects that innovate across exchanges, NFT platforms, gaming, and wallet services. Syndicate is also providing access to transaction APIs and free gas to developers building on Degen Chain.

Angle Protocol launched a private beta for its USDA stablecoin, offering OP token incentives to eligible users who convert USDC into USDA and deposit into Angle's stUSD savings solution. USDA is a stablecoin pegged to the USD that is backed by Real-World Assets (RWA) and DeFi assets. USDA uses the same framework as EURA, Angle's Euro-pegged stablecoin. During the beta phase, stUSD holders will continue to accrue yields on their USDA savings. Following this testing period, USDA is slated for integration with the Morpho Blue lending protocol for lending and borrowing. A broader launch of USDA is anticipated later this month, contingent on approval from Angle governance.

Base, the L2 rollup by Coinbase, achieved a new peak in transaction activity, averaging 36 transactions per second on Sunday. Data from Growthepie shows that Base saw over 432,000 daily active addresses on the network. Base has also reached its highest total value locked (TVL) at $4.4 billion, positioning it as the third-largest rollup in terms of TVL.

• Renzo goes live on Base

• PrismaFi lack of disclosure

• ETF issuers meet w/ SEC

• Libp2p retroactive grants round

• Block-auction-ePBS

• FriendTech release update

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• Farcaster introduces actions.

• Amicus briefs filed for Tornado Cash case.

• TLX unveils its governance token launch.

• MadFi raises a $1 million angel round.

Farcaster introduced Actions, a new feature for developers to build add-on extensions directly within Farcaster. The release enables users to seamlessly install and activate Actions through a Farcaster Frame. Actions are already supported across multiple clients including Warpcast, Nook, and Buttrfly, as well as mobile and web clients. A new Action button has been added to every cast. Actions can be programmed to perform a variety of tasks, such as interacting with databases or smart contracts and executing API calls on a user's behalf. Initially, only one Action can be engaged at a time. Among the first set of Actions introduced are upthumbs—a classic poke feature, USDC tipping, DEGEN token transfers, Farcaster ID verification, and the ability to gift Warps.

Crypto advocacy organizations Coin Center, DeFi Education Fund, and the Blockchain Association have each submitted an amicus brief in support of Tornado Cash developers in their ongoing legal battle. An amicus brief is a filing made by non-parties, offering insights that may impact the case's broad legal implications. Coin Center's submission argues that open-source software developers cannot control how their software is used by others, adding that the freedom to publish open-source code is a First Amendment right. The Blockchain Association's brief challenges the accusations of operating as an unlicensed money transmitter as the developers did not have control over the transactions processed by the platform. The DeFi Education Fund's brief addresses money laundering allegations, arguing that developers should not be held criminally liable for crimes by third parties.

TLX, a leveraged token protocol built on Synthetix perps, unveiled plans to launch its native token next week. Initially, 6% of the governance token's total supply will be dispersed through the initial airdrop. Upon claiming, the tokens will be immediately transferable without any vesting. TLX has a total token supply of 100,000,000. TLX says token farming won't be possible since the allocations have already been designated to users who voted in its ecosystem council elections and those who claimed liquidation points. An additional 4% of the token's supply is allocated as incentives over 26 weeks for users who lock their TLX tokens.

MadFi, a social platform leveraging Lens Protocol that enables communities to monetize through subscriptions, rewards, and revenue-sharing, has raised a $1 million angel round. MadFi is also behind $BONSAI, a memecoin on Polygon, with 10% initially distributed to active Lens profiles in early March. $BONSAI is currently used as an in-feed currency on Lens for NFT minting and tipping. MadFi will use the raised funds to further develop its platform and support ecosystem initiatives.

• eETH supported as USDA collateral

• EigenLayer webapp maintenance

• Puffer Finance public testnet

• Bankless: Aave vs MakerDAO

• Frax activates fee switch

• Aztec integrating Astria

• SEC to eventually approve ETH ETF

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