News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily Planet Daily reported that Vitalik Buterin stated that Ethereum is preparing for its largest upgrade since The Merge. (Solid Intel)
Vitalik published a research article proposing a "minimalist consensus chain" design approach for Ethereum PoS, combining single-slot finality, recursive STARK signature aggregation, and ZK proofs to shift significant state management responsibilities to the validators themselves.
According to a post by Vitalik Buterin (@VitalikButerin), Ethereum researchers recently held a meeting in Berlin to update the protocol's long-term development roadmap (strawmap.org). Vitalik pointed out that "Lean Ethereum" is not a single upgrade, but a series of improvements to be implemented in phases over the next three to four years. Its significance is comparable to "The Merge," almost covering the refactoring of every core module of the protocol. The main contents include: • Verification Mechanism: Introduce recursive STARKs to replace the existing direct re-execution method, becoming a first-class core component of the protocol • Quantum Safety: Priority significantly increased, all quantum-vulnerable components will be replaced, quantum-safe Blob design is already underway • Consensus Layer: Decouple availability chains and finality, achieve one to two rounds of finality, with better security and lower latency • State Layer: The existing dynamic state remains unchanged, but new types of state with stronger scalability will be added (such as UTXO storage, ring buffers, etc.). It is expected that by 2030, Ethereum will have 2TB of dynamic state + 100TB of new state. After migration of applications such as ERC20 and NFTs, gas fees can be reduced by more than 10 times • Privacy: Upgraded from an additional feature to a first-class goal, permeating designs such as Mempool and state trees • VM: In addition to EVM, leanISA or RISC-V will be introduced. The long-term goal is for the protocol layer to only directly
Vitalik Buterin stated on platform X that Ethereum researchers have finalized the "Ethereum Slimming" roadmap during a recent meeting in Berlin. This roadmap is not a single upgrade but a series of forks spanning 3 to 4 years. Starting from the "I-star" fork, it will become the third major phase of Ethereum and will replace most core components. Core changes include shifting verification from direct execution to recursive STARKs, introducing 1 to 2 rounds of finality in consensus, multi-dimensional gas pricing, and completely replacing existing schemes with quantum-resistant cryptography. In terms of the state model, the current dynamic state will only expand to approximately 2TB, while new scalable states such as UTXO and ring buffers will be introduced, with a total size potentially reaching 100TB, suitable for ERC20, NFTs, and DeFi. After rewriting, transaction fees can be reduced by more than 10 times; complex applications like Uniswap pools will retain their old state without mandatory migration. Privacy will be elevated to a first-class design goal, with all new components required to support quantum-resistant, intermediary-free private transactions. Formal verification will be fully deployed, and the exploration of introducing RISC-V or leanISA as the underlying protocol VM will be undertaken. The EVM may transition into a compilation-layer feature in the future. Gas limits, Blob capacity, and block times will be increased multiple times over the next 5 years, with the Glasterdam fork first raising the gas limit. Regarding the fork order, the H-star Hegota fork will be the last "pre-slimming" fork, after which the era of slimming will begin.
decentralized privacy protocol hinkal has released an update on a security incident, confirming that an attacker extracted approximately 797,000 USDC from its Ethereum contract through a series of transactions and exchanged it for about 454 ETH. Of this, roughly 410 ETH was subsequently transferred to Tornado Cash, while the remaining approximately 44.67 ETH was bridged to the Bitcoin network via THORChain. hinkal is currently collaborating with an external security team to trace the flow of funds.hinkal stated that the impact of this security incident is limited to the relevant fund pools on the Ethereum chain, and contracts on other chains remain unaffected. However, all contracts have been temporarily suspended for fixes and security verification. All affected users will be fully compensated at a 1:1 ratio, with specific compensation procedures and timelines to be announced in a subsequent update.
the Central Bank of Brazil stated during a hearing at the Congressional Economic Development Committee that stablecoins should be treated as electronic currency instruments, not digital assets. Fábio Araújo, an advisor to the Financial System Regulation Department of the Central Bank of Brazil, stated that digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum possess characteristics such as scarcity, transferability, and verifiability. Stablecoins, however, are different and should be understood as monetary instruments when they exhibit features of a means of payment. The Brazilian Congress is preparing to deliberate Bill No. 4308/2024, proposed by Congressman Aureo Ribeiro in 2024, to clarify rules for stablecoins. The Brazilian crypto economy association Abcripto opposes this classification. Its members include Binance, Coinbase, Fireblocks, Visa, Tether, OKX, and Ripio. Abcripto stated that this classification will lead to regulatory conflicts, affect stablecoin adoption among both institutional and retail users in Brazil, and hinder virtual asset service providers. The Central Bank of Brazil also recently issued a new resolution, elevating its supervision of virtual asset service providers to the same level as securities institutions. (Bitcoin.com News).
The DeFi Report's Ethereum Q2 2026 update shows that Ethereum's network revenue for the quarter rebounded slightly quarter-over-quarter, but still declined significantly year-over-year, while on-chain real yield, L1 economic activity, DeFi activity, and Layer 2 participation overall continued to weaken. The report noted that as user activity continues to migrate to Layer 2, competition for Ethereum mainnet block space decreased, leading to weakened priority fees and MEV capture capabilities.
Decentralized privacy protocol Hinkal Protocol announced that it has detected abnormal activity involving USDC on the Ethereum network within its system. Currently, only the Ethereum blockchain is affected, while other chains remain unaffected. As a precautionary measure, the affected smart contracts have been paused, and a comprehensive investigation and analysis of relevant on-chain transactions and activities is currently underway. The investigation is still ongoing, and updates will be released once information is confirmed.
On the eve of the U.S. Independence Day holiday, sentiment in the crypto market is gradually stabilizing. Bitcoin is holding above $61,000, and Ethereum has climbed above $1,700, continuing the rebound from the previous day. The unexpectedly weak U.S. non-farm payroll data earlier had cooled market expectations for further tightening by the Federal Reserve, rekindling demand for risk assets. Volatility in the options market has notably declined, with short-term implied volatility falling from recent highs into the low 30s range, as market sentiment shifts from panic hedging to relative calm. However, some institutions believe the data is not a one-sided "dovish signal." Accelerating wages and resilient consumer spending still support the Fed in maintaining a hawkish stance. The divergence between U.S. Treasury yields and stock market performance further indicates lingering disagreement over the policy path. (The Block)
QCP released its latest report stating that Bitcoin briefly fell below the $58,000 support level, touching a low near $57,700, before rebounding back above $60,000 after U.S. non-farm payroll data came in below expectations. Ethereum rebounded to $1,700 over the same period, up nearly 10% from its mid-week low. On the options market front, front-end implied volatility pulled back from recent highs, the term structure recovered to a positive spread, and market panic alleviated somewhat, though short-term downside protection demand persists.
according to official sources, OKX Flash Yield has now been upgraded, introducing two modes: Stake to Earn and Trade to Earn. Stake to Earn allows users to stake assets such as BTC, ETH, and OKB to receive new token airdrops; Trade to Earn enables users to participate in activities like splitting new tokens or USDT rewards by completing trading tasks for spot, futures, and other products.Additionally, Trade to Earn has introduced a new reward weighting mechanism, where users who participate earlier, accumulate more trading days, or trade designated tokens can earn a higher reward coefficient, thereby increasing their share of the reward distribution. Users can view and participate in related activities via the "Flash Yield" entry at the top of the Explore page in the OKX App.
Crypto bank Anchorage Digital has announced its integration with Lido, the largest liquid staking protocol on Ethereum, offering institutional clients direct access to its derivative asset, wstETH. Institutional users can now mint and redeem wstETH, earning Ethereum staking yields while benefiting from Anchorage’s custody and governance compliance framework. (The Block)
Ondo Finance has announced the launch of a third-party custodial tokenized securities solution in the United States, designed to comply with local regulatory frameworks. The underlying assets are issued on the Ethereum blockchain, and the company has partnered with financial infrastructure service provider Broadridge to offer tokenized stock holders comprehensive shareholder governance and proxy voting services.The solution adopts a two-tier compliance architecture: the underlying stocks remain held within the US licensed traditional custody system; Ondo’s registered transfer agent mints tokens on a 1:1 basis and deploys them on the Ethereum public chain, while the underlying physical securities are simultaneously held by a compliant custodian for safekeeping. (Prnewswire)
: Ondo Finance announced the launch of a third-party custodied tokenized securities solution operating within the current regulatory framework in the United States. The company has partnered with Broadridge Financial Solutions to provide complete shareholder governance and voting rights support for tokenized stock holders. According to the mechanism design, the underlying stocks remain within the traditional regulated custody system in the U.S., with tokens minted at a 1:1 ratio by Ondo's registered transfer agent and issued on the Ethereum blockchain, while the underlying assets are held by compliant custodians.
Ethereum Layer 2 project Taiko has reopened its cross-chain bridge. Taiko stated that the network is now fully recovered, all user funds have been replenished, and it will soon release a full post-mortem report on the vulnerability incident. (The Block)
The Ethereum Foundation's Global Policy Strategy (GPS) team has released the guide "Ethereum Basics for Governments and Institutions," aiming to help policymakers and institutional decision-makers understand Ethereum's operating mechanisms, governance models, and differences from other blockchain solutions. The guide emphasizes that relying on centralized systems brings systemic risks, while decentralized blockchains have the potential to mitigate such risks. Not all blockchains possess the attribute of "credible neutrality," and differences in technical architecture and governance models among blockchains will directly affect whether they can serve as public infrastructure in the long term. Ethereum holds advantages in areas such as resilience, economic security, client diversity, and ecosystem. It has operated continuously without interruption since launching in 2015, with economic security provided by approximately $76 billion in staked ETH, whereas most other Layer 1 networks rely on a single client, presenting higher systemic risks. The Ethereum Foundation stated that building applications on Ethereum does not introduce new centralized counterparty risks, as no single institution can modify rules, restrict access, or halt network operations. In comparison, control over some other Layer 1 networks is concentrated in foundations or corporate entities, which may bring governance and dependency risks.
According to CoinDesk, Wall Street bank Cantor Fitzgerald issued a research report indicating that the crypto market is entering the final phase of the current bear cycle. As of June 10, Bitcoin has declined approximately 51% from its 2025 peak, with 252 days having passed since the peak. Synthesizing the past three market cycles, BTC bottoms on average 384 days after the peak; based on this, the low point of this cycle is projected to appear around the end of October. Analysts also noted that the model is not a precise timing tool, and macro, regulatory, and geopolitical risks remain. Regarding network value assessment, Cantor believes Hyperliquid is the prime example of fee-driven token economics, Bitcoin remains the benchmark monetary asset, and Ethereum serves as the primary collateral layer for on-chain finance; Solana, Sui, XRP, and Zcash each possess differentiated advantages, but still need to prove that their ecosystem growth can translate into sustained token demand.
Odaily News: Former Ethereum Foundation researcher and Ethlabs member Ansgar Dietrichs stated on Laura Shin’s Unchained podcast that ETH, after failing to break through the $5,000 mark in five years, still lacks a clear value narrative. Ethlabs was established on June 22 by five former Ethereum Foundation researchers and is supported by Bitmine, Sharplink, and Consensys founder Joe Lubin. On-chain analytics firm Cryptoquant reports that over 32% of the total ETH supply, approximately 39.5 million ETH, is currently staked, while exchange balances continue to decline. The firm also noted that Ethereum’s daily active addresses and smart contract activity have reached record highs, yet the price of ETH has fallen more than 50% from its cycle high.
去中心化稳定币 USDD 宣布与 Gate DEX 联合推出的新一期双链奖励金活动已于 6 月 30 日正式上线。该活动于 6月 30日 18:00至 7月 30日 18:00(新加坡时间)期间举行,覆盖以太坊和 BNB Chain 两条公链。其中,以太坊链上活动提供基础 4%年化收益和 20,000 USDD 奖池;BNB Chain 链上活动提供基础 4%年化收益和 30,000 USDD 奖池,并能叠加 Gate DEX 多业务线“开门红”礼金及 USDD 质押量挑战赛奖励。 用户可通过 Gate DEX Earn-Stablecoins-Bonus 板块,将 USDT 转换为 USDD 并质押为 sUSDD 参与,已有用户收益将自动无缝衔接。官方提示,新用户参与活动前请确保钱包内有足够的 ETH或 BNB 作为 Gas 费。
According to The Block, Trump's annual financial disclosure report (totaling 927 pages) released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics shows that Trump received significant crypto-related income through his family crypto company World Liberty Financial (WLF), including over $65.6 million from the sale of WLF Holdco equity and approximately $236.25 million from WLF token sale allocations. Additionally, the report disclosed his cold wallets holding various crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC, LINK, AAVE, ENA, MOVE, and ONDO, and that he received approximately $1.8 million in Ethereum staking rewards. Trump also holds up to $100,000 in Coinbase stock and multiple investments in Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). In contrast, Vice President JD Vance's annual financial report is only 17 pages, disclosing that he holds Bitcoin valued at up to $500,000.