#915 - Aztec Launches Alpha Network
A fully functional upgrade that brings native privacy to data, identity, and computation to mainnet alpha.
Aztec launches Alpha Network.
Quantum breakthrough threatens crypto.
Fe relaunches with Fe 26.0.
Ethereum UX curated mapping.
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Listen to this episode from Ethereum News on Spotify. Aztec launches the Alpha Network. New quantum breakthrough threatens elliptic curve signatures. And Fe relaunches its smart contract language with Fe 26.0. Read more: https://ethdaily.io/915 Sponsor: Lido Earn lets you deploy ETH or stablecoins into curated DeFi strategies for optimised yield.
](https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fN4HD3p77jVl8cLTuYiXG)
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Aztec Network, a privacy-focused Layer 2 on Ethereum, launched its Alpha Network, a fully functional upgrade that brings native privacy to data, identity, and computation. Developers can now build smart contracts and apps where privacy is the default, from execution to settlement. The launch follows nine years of development on a privacy-first architecture. Aztec first rolled out Aztec Ignition in November 2025. While further upgrades are planned before Beta, developers can start building on the network. Aztec also opened sign-ups for a smart contract course.
Justin Drake highlighted two new research papers that show quantum improvements that make future quantum attacks on modern cryptography, such as the elliptic curve signatures used by Ethereum, more plausible. Drake emphasized that the breakthroughs suggest that private keys for 256-bit elliptic curves, such as secp256k1, could be recovered in minutes on quantum computers. The technical details from Google Quantum AI's paper were sensitive enough that they were released using a zero-knowledge proof generated by Succinct's SP1 zkVM. He estimates there is roughly a 10% chance that quantum computers could break real cryptographic keys by 2032. Drake underscored the growing urgency around post-quantum cryptography. Ethereum is already working on a coordinated, multi-year transition toward quantum resistance, with phased upgrades across protocol layers.
Fe released version 26.0, a complete overhaul of its smart contract programming language, introducing a stronger type system and improved safety model. The update adds a new effect system that requires functions to explicitly declare side effects, such as storage access or external calls. It also adopts immutability by default. The relaunch includes a redesigned contract architecture, giving developers more precise control over EVM behavior and low-level operations. It also introduces a new compiler backend built on SSA. Fe combines Python-like syntax with a Rust-inspired design, featuring generics, traits, algebraic data types, and a simplified ownership and borrowing model. Fe version 26.0 is still experimental and not yet ready for production use.
EthUX curated map
Base releases 2026 mission
Teku v26.4.0 release
TheDAO Security Fund QF round
Fake NFT scam at EthCC
AltLayer SOC 2 compliance
Privacy Pools roadmap
Aligned TGE tokenomics
Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes only, not endorsement or investment advice. The accuracy of information is not guaranteed.
#914 - Aave V4 Goes Live On Ethereum
Aave V4 is now live for over 20 assets across three initial liquidity hubs. The launch includes a new interface called Aave Pro.
Aave V4 goes live on Ethereum.
Ethereum Economic Zone (EEZ).
Linea activates Yield Boost.
Geth critical fix v1.17.2.
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Listen to this episode from Ethereum News on Spotify. Aave V4 goes live on Ethereum mainnet. The Ethereum Economic Zone (EEZ) is announced. Linea activates Yield Boost. And Geth releases critical fix v1.17.2. Read more: https://ethdaily.io/914 Earn 10% real yield on your dollars, fully onchain.
](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0QPMRMKndJARRbilPInCBh)
EarnUSD is a stablecoin vault by Lido for earning transparent, onchain USD-denominated rewards. Get started today at stake.lido.fi/earn
Aave V4 is now live on Ethereum mainnet, introducing a new hub-and-spoke architecture with support for over 20 assets across three initial liquidity hubs. The launch includes a redesigned interface called Aave Pro. The Liquidity Hubs supply capital to multiple specialized lending markets, known as Spokes, each with its own rules and risk parameters. The three hubs include the Core Hub as the primary liquidity pool, the Prime Hub offering a more controlled collateral environment, and the Plus Hub designed for stablecoin strategies. Aave v4 uses Chainlink’s oracle infrastructure for asset pricing, while the upgrade enhances capital efficiency. Caps and markets will be gradually expanded through governance. Aave v3 will still remain available, and no action is required for users.
Gnosis, ZisK, and the Ethereum Foundation introduced the Ethereum Economic Zone (EEZ), a new L1↔L2 framework designed to unify Ethereum into a single composable system. The initiative addresses key shortcomings of today’s L2 landscape, including fragmented liquidity, limited interoperability, and the operational burden of deploying and maintaining applications across multiple chains. At its core, EEZ enables synchronous composability across chains, allowing smart contracts on L2s to interact directly with Ethereum mainnet and other EEZ rollups within a single atomic transaction. The architecture creates shared liquidity and a unified security model. The framework is powered by recent advances in real-time zero-knowledge proofs, making cross-chain composability feasible. The team plans to release detailed technical specifications and performance benchmarks, expand developer tooling and integration pathways, and grow the network of contributors and ecosystem partners.
Linea launched Yield Boost, it’s native system that turns idle bridged ETH on Linea into productive liquidity. A portion of bridged ETH is staked in the Lido v3 StakingVault on Ethereum mainnet, generating staking rewards and supporting Ethereum L1 economic security. Similar to Katana, the rewards are directed to liquidity providers and DeFi protocols on Linea. Up to 60% of Total Value Secured (TVS) can be staked. Users retain full control over their ETH and can withdraw anytime thanks to multi-layered safeguards, including a liquidity buffer of ~40% TVS, permissionless rebalancing, and a stETH fallback mechanism.
Geth v1.17.2 critical fix
History of account abstraction
Nikolai’s 33rd birthday
Ethresearch: decoupled consensus
Increase Max Contract Size to 64KiB
Bitmine buys 71k ETH
Aave deploys on X Layer
DeFi Saver supports Aave v4
Linea is moving to RISC-V
Ethrex updates to ZisK 0.16.0
Frame Txs: Statelessness Lens
Steakhouse suffers DNS hijack
Due obtains MiCA license
SWIFT shared ledger MVP
Benji leaves Base, joins X
Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes only, not endorsement or investment advice. The accuracy of information is not guaranteed.
#913 - ZK Nethermind Executes Ethereum Blocks
The Nethermind team successfully executed Ethereum mainnet blocks on Zisk, a RISC-V–based zkVM, using ZK-Nethermind.
Ethereum blocks executed on Zisk.
Lido proposes LDO buyback.
Quick Slots info hub.
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Listen to this episode from Ethereum News on Spotify. ZK Nethermind executes Ethereum blocks on Zisk. Lido proposes an LDO token buyback. And Carl Beek releases quickslots.info. Read more: https://ethdaily.io/913 Borrow against ETH at 0.50%.
](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4MzoaQVDEmDKLO58YtaXZI)
EarnUSD is a stablecoin vault by Lido for earning transparent, onchain USD-denominated rewards. Get started today at stake.lido.fi/earn
The Nethermind team successfully executed Ethereum mainnet blocks on Zisk, a RISC-V–based zkVM, using ZK-Nethermind. The milestone shows that their EVM client can operate within zero-knowledge proof systems, paving the way for scalable Ethereum verification. Building on its ZK-Nethermind efforts, including formal verification of RISC-V zkVM circuits with Lean and CertiPlonk for Plonky3, the team overcame RISC-V compilation challenges to enable ZK-compatible Ethereum execution. ZK-Nethermind now moves from research to active development, focusing on full mainnet block compatibility and performance optimization, potentially accelerating Ethereum’s ZK rollup adoption by leveraging existing client infrastructure.
Lido proposed a one-time LDO buyback program, deploying up to 10,000 stETH, currently worth $20m, from the DAO treasury, aiming to take advantage of what it believed to be an undervaluation of LDO. The initiative is separate from its planned long-term automated buyback system (NEST). The proposal argues that LDO is significantly undervalued relative to ETH. The LDO/ETH ratio isaround 0.00016, roughly 63% below its two-year median. LDO is currently trading near $0.29. Execution would occur in controlled batches of 1,000 stETH, using limit orders and dollar-cost averaging to minimize slippage and market impact. Lido remains the largest liquid staking provider, with over 8.9 million ETH staked, representing about 23% market share.
Ethereum core developer Carl Beek launched quickslots.info, an information hub detailing EIP-8198 (“Quick Slots”), which proposes variable slot timing infrastructure to enable slots shorter than the current 12 seconds. The proposal specifically targets a reduction to 8-second slots, while maintaining throughput per second. Shorter slots would enhance Ethereum’s user experience with faster transaction confirmations, deposits, and payments. They also improve protocol efficiency by tightening DEX pricing, reducing MEV surplus, lowering empty block occurrence, accelerating sequencing for base rollups, and decreasing reliance on preconfirmations.
Ethereal news weekly #17
CROPS inspector
Synthesis closing ceremony
PolygonPoS hits 10k checkpoints
Bread co-op embeds Kohaku
Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes only, not endorsement or investment advice. The accuracy of information is not guaranteed.