• Uniswap receives a Wells notice from the SEC.

• Chainlink Functions go live on Base.

• Layer N launches its phase 1 testnet.

• Swell opens deposits for its L2 network.

Uniswap Labs received a Wells notice from the SEC, indicating the regulatory agency’s intention to bring an enforcement action against the decentralized exchange. Hayden Adams, Uniswap's founder and CEO, expressed his readiness to fight the SEC's move, emphasizing his commitment to defend Uniswap and the broader industry. Marvin Ammori, Uniswap's Chief Legal Officer, said that the SEC’s arguments are weak, adding that the commission does not have the jurisdiction to regulate non-securities assets, lacks the grounds to categorize the Uniswap protocol as either a securities exchange or broker, and that the UNI token does not qualify as a security. This Wells notice is part of a broader pattern of SEC enforcement actions targeting major crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Shapeshift.

Chainlink launched Chainlink Functions on Base, allowing developers to connect smart contracts to APIs for executing trust-minimized computations. Chainlink Functions allow for the retrieval of API data and the execution of custom offchain logic. Developers on Base can now access to the Chainlink Functions Playground to integrate new features into their dapps. Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that connects smart contracts with external data sources. With over $5.3 billion in assets on its L2 network, Base is now the third-largest rollup by total value locked.

Layer N launched the first phase of its public testnet. Layer N is a L2 network of rollups interconnected through a shared communication and liquidity layer. Layer N supports the deployment of general VMs on its execution layer and uses EigenDA for data availability. Phase one introduces NordVM as the network's first custom VM. Users can now interact with NordVM by bridging and conducting transactions on the rollup. The roadmap for Layer N includes subsequent phases that introduce NEVM and the StateNet communication layer.

Swell Network opened deposits for its L2 network, allowing users to deposit native ETH, stETH, swETH, rswETH, eETH, and ALT tokens. The L2 network, built on Polygon CDK, introduces a restaked rollup architecture that offers native restaking yields and uses rswETH as its native gas fees. The Swell L2 is scheduled for a mainnet rollout in the third quarter of 2024.

• Dune supports Lens Protocol data

• EigenDA hits $500m delegated stake

• DELV launches Hyperdrive testnet

• Reach launches on Base

• Nethermind v1.26.0-exp.4 release

• Plonky3 advancements

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• 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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