Welcome to the protocol, the weekly conclusion of Coindesk of the most important stories of the technological development of cryptocurrencies. I am Ben Schiller, the opinion of Coindesk and the publisher of features.
In this issue:
- Can the based rolls solve the Ethereum problem?
- Lido becomes modular
- Uniswap finally unveils Unichain
- Ethereum Pectra upgrade arrives
Network news
Rollups based in the rescue: In recent years, Ethereum has adopted a road 2 -scale roadmap – a plan that has encouraged the development of third -party auxiliary networks called “layer 2” – to help evolve the basic ecosystem Ethereum. The unloading activity on these restart networks has contributed to reducing costs and improving the speeds of end users, but it led to a massive and deeply fragmented ecosystem of layer 2. But while layer 2 networks All data dates back to Ethereum, they often find it difficult to communicate directly with each other, which means that passing assets and data between them can become expensive and heavy. There is also the risk of centralized sequencers: dependence on black boxes controlled by the company to transmit the transaction data between the blockchain layers. Consequently, some Ethereum developers push Rollup Tech which adopts a new approach to safety and interoperability: “rollers based on functionality”. Rather than handling them on a separate layer 2 network. The sequencer is full of transactions and subjects them to Ethereum for the regulations. Its massive community of validators – rather than a single centralized sequencer. Rolls like Optimism, Arbitrum, Base, Zksync and Blast quickly grew up to take charge of the more important transaction volumes than Ethereum itself. According to L2Beat, there are currently 140 layers of layer 2 live, but the operating experience between them – the passage of assets and other data between networks – has become awkward. As Ethereum becomes greater and that layer 2 networks become more integrated into its operation, improving communication between the layer -2 – in other words, the improvement of “composibility” – has become more important than ever. – Margaux Nijkerk Learn more.
Lido becomes modular: The developers behind Lido, the biggest cleansing service in Ethereum, proposed to reorganize the implementation platform with modular “boxes”. The new frame would introduce Stvaults, a customizable component designed to help Lido welcome more complex institutions and implementation strategies. Lido currently allows investors to pool their ether (ETH) and “join” their crypto – lock their tokens with the network, which contributes to secure it in exchange for interest. Lido was the liquid pioneer: users receive a receipt on their deposits called ETH (STTH) in Lido (STETH) that they can exchange at any time. With a liquid exercise on Lido, entering and getting out of the stimulus positions has become as simple as buying and selling Steth tokens. The STVAULTS of Lido V3 are “modular intelligent contracts designed to meet the various and scalable needs of Ethereum participants”, according to a press release shared with Coindesk. The upgrade would allow configurations beyond the cut and dry liquid. More specifically, STVAULTS will be able to help institutional shooters who wish to personalize their jealous configurations, nodes operators who wish to attract high volume employment and asset managers who wish . “What is important to understand with customizable infrastructure is that you can generally build even more complex products,” said Konstantin Lomashuk, founder of the Lido implementation protocol. – Margaux Nijkerk Learn more.
UNICHAIN finally: UNISWAP Labs, the main developer behind one of the greatest decentralized exchanges (DEX), UNISWAP, shared on February 13 that its long -awaited layer 2 network, Unichain, is now live. Propelled by the OP OP battery, Unichain – like the other Lays -2 Sur Ethereum – offer faster and cheaper transactions compared to Ethereum Mainnet. Developers can deploy applications on the network, which has been specifically optimized for decentralized finance (DEFI) and aims to serve as a “liquidity house between the channels”, according to Uniswap Labs. For Laboratoires Uniswap, the advantage of launching a layer-2 is twofold: it will offer better experience to users of Uniswap and similar platforms, and it will create a new income opportunity in the form of network fees. A representative of Uniswap Labs told Coindesk that around “around 20%” of the chain’s income would go directly to the company. Unichain has been in testing since October 2024 and has been classified by Laboratoires Uniswap as a “Stade-1” Rollup, which means that it has elements of decentralization but retains certain controlled guarantees centralized in this early phase. The network is built on the OP battery, a modular frame which allows developers to build interoperable-2-2-2 chains based on optimistic rolling technology. Several well-known teams have released their own Layer-2 based on Op Stack, including the “base” of Coinbase, “Ink” by Kraken “World Chain”, and “Soneium” by Sony. “We plan a world of many different use cases, whose trading is a small subset,” Adams told Coindesk in an interview. In collaboration with Ethereum Research and Development Firm Flashbots, the UNISWAP team said it created an environment of trusted execution (TEE) on Unichain, a secure field for more sensitive transactions and is supposed more advanced transactions and faster transaction purpose. – Margaux Nijkerk Learn more.
Pectra in April: Ethereum developers officially set test dates for Pectra, the first network upgrade in 11 months, putting it on the right track for a potential release date in April. Pectra will contain a range of improvements – with a particular accent on portfolios and validators – but it arrives at an increased control period for Ethereum, which recently faced the pressure of its community to refocus and catch up with competitors. The basic manufacturers of Ethereum decided Thursday during their bihebdomedary call “All Core Developers” to start testing Pectra on February 26 on the Holesky Testnet, with a follow -up test on the Network Testnet on March 5. If these tests succeed, the developers will meet on March 6 to determine when to officially launch the upgrade. According to Tim Beiko, the Ethereum Foundation Support Protocol, the developers expect the upgrade to reach the Mainnet in early April. PECTRA – A Portmanteau representing two distinct upgrades, Prague and Electra – includes eight major improvements to the second blockchain. Among the most anticipated, EIP-7702, which is supposed to improve the user experience of cryptographic portfolios. The Ethereum community has faced an identity crisis in recent weeks. His native token, Ether (ETH), is underperforming against other cryptocurrencies, and networks of competitors like Solana have attracted the attention and talent of the Ethereum ecosystem-the very first programmable blockchain and always the more treated. In the middle of the controversy – a large part intended for the Etheruem Foundation, which coordinates the chain upgrades and is currently undergoing a large leadership shuffle – the developers hope that Pectra will help put the network on a more stable foot. – Margaux Nijkerk Learn more.
Monetary center
Dispatch of Salvador
Berlín, a city of 20,000 inhabitants, houses the second circular economy of Bitcoin by El Salvador. “Bitcoin City already exists. This is called Berlín, “said a resident. Reports Tom Carreras.
Linksdao launches on the basis
Linksdao has started by selling NFT, but the market has evolved over time since.
Regulation and Policy
Hester Peirce, head of the new Cryptographic Working Group of the SEC, says that same is likely to get out of the regulator’s jurisdiction.