• 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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This story was featured in Episode 498.

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.

• SEC sues Consensys over MetaMask Staking.

• Arbitrum proposes to implement Timeboost.

• EigenLayer proposes a Uniswap V4 AVS.

• Igloo acquires the Frame L2.

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The SEC filed a lawsuit against Consensys for allegedly operating as an unregistered broker and facilitating the sale of securities through its MetaMask Swaps and MetaMask Staking services. MetaMask Swaps, which is MetaMask’s native DEX aggregator, allows users to swap tokens directly within their MetaMask wallet. The lawsuit mentions MetaMask’s 0.875% swap fee, which has generated $250 million in revenue for Consensys. The SEC claims that the Lido and Rocket Pool staking products, available through the MetaMask Staking portal, are securities. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties and demands that Consensys permanently cease offering the services. Previously, the SEC had subpoenaed Consensys and issued a Wells notice. Consensys and Coinbase are also suing the SEC for regulatory overreach.

Arbitrum released a proposal to implement Timeboost, a new transaction ordering policy, on Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova. Timeboost allows users to optionally pay a fee for priority block inclusion while mitigating the impact of MEV. The policy uses an encrypted mempool, ensuring that transaction details remain hidden until the transaction order is finalized. Implementing Timeboost will help users capitalize on arbitrage opportunities. The Arbitrum DAO will vote on Timeboost's configuration settings, which include options for adding a slight execution delay, choosing between ETH or ARB for fee payments, and deciding whether to burn the proceeds. Following a successful governance vote, Arbitrum will launch Timeboost on testnet.

EigenLayer introduced Request for AVS, a new proposal series designed to show potential applications and inspire projects to build on EigenLayer. The initial proposal requests for the creation of a Uniswap V4 AVS for operating an offchain matching engine, batching transactions, and facilitating access to real-world data. An EigenLayer AVS provides trustless offchain compute, reducing gas fees and enhancing the user and liquidity provider experience. A Uniswap V4 AVS can resolve issues around the coincidence of wants, dynamic fees during high volatility, LP position rebalancing, and maintaining a shared state across chains.

Igloo, the parent company of the Pudgy Penguins NFT, acquired Frame, an NFT-focused rollup. Initially, Frame was set to be built on the Arbitrum Nitro Stack. However, the project will now transition to contributing to Abstract, a consumer-focused rollup built on the ZK stack with EigenDA for data availability. The project announced that users who had claimed its yet-to-be-launched FRAME governance token will instead receive their rewards in Abstract’s native system.

• ACDC #136 recap

• IRS broker reporting rule

• Warpcast supports USDC payments

• Base implements MCP upgrade

• WalletConnect Protocol anniversary

• Superfluid introduces BORING

• Guanlet LRT risk dashboard

• Supreme Court overturns Chevron

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