Welcome to the Protocol, Coindesk’s weekly wrapping of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Ben Schiller.
In this number:
- Ethereum’s last pectra -test goes live
- Hyperliquid facilitates token transfers to defi
- Celo-migration to LAG-2 networks has finished
- Bitcoin Defi Expansion Faces fork Dilemma
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Network news
It’s alive! Ethereum Pectra Test: The final dress -General test for Ethereum’s upcoming pectra upgrade took place on Wednesday when Blockchain’s biggest changes in over a year were tested an extra time after a series of accidents. The upgrade of the new Hood Test Net was closely monitored when two previous tests, on Holeky and Sepolia Test Networks, failed to complete properly. After these tests, developers created a new test network, Hood, to give ecosystem players, especially effort providers, another test option, before the pectra upgrade hits Ethereum’s mainnet. The test involved passed Hood a number of code changes intended to make Ethereum more user -friendly for both end users as well as developers. One of these changes adds smart contract functionality to wallets, allowing wallet software developers to build new convenience -oriented features, as the possibility of paying transaction fees in cryptocurrencies other than ether (ETH). Testnets act as copies of a head blockchain and are used by developers to run through any head code changes in an environment with low effort, giving them a place to make any mistakes before reaching the mainnet. Hood was the last of three test nettes running through a simulation of pectra. Developers previously agreed that if everyone went well on Wednesday, Pectra would be monitored for about 30 days more and then finally activated at Ethereum’s mainnet. – Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
Hyperliquid facilitates tokens to defi: The decentralized financing sector (DEFI) is among the greatest drivers with value of value and revenue creation for crypto projects, but its complexity often leaves users entangled in a web of blockchains, bridges, wallets and tokens. A technical update of Hyperliquid makes this process easier for both developers and users, where the direct interconnection of tokens on Hypercore and Hyperevm platforms is now possible. Hypercore is its original platform for spot assets (think tokens, you can act directly), and Hyperevm, an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) network that performs smart contracts at Ethereum. Tokens on hypercore, called “core spot”, can be linked to their colleagues at Hyperevm and called “EVM Spot.” Once linked, users can transfer them using simple actions — as a “spot sender” on Hypercore or a standard ERC-20 transfer on Hyperevm. By letting symbols move directly between them-without a third-party dissemination can developer developers that cut the technical chops required to move assets, which is easy for heavy crypto trucks, but can be challenging for beginners. – Shaurya Malwa Read more.
Celo Migration to Layer-2: Celo Blockchain’s long-awaited plan to become an Ethereum-layer-2 chain has ended, concluding an almost two-year process, the most important organizations behind the network said Wednesday. The transition ends a long journey beginning back in July 2023 for the Layer-1 Blockchain, which included a community vote in July 2024 and a fierce competition won by optimism, among LAG-2 networks to convince the Celo ecosystem to build with their technology. The improved network – like other layers 2S – offers faster and cheaper transactions on top of Ethereum’s mainnet. Blockchain is run by Optimisms up stack, a customized framework that lets developers build Layer-2 networks based on Optimism’s technology. According to Rene Reisberg, CEO of the Celo Foundation, migration is the first of its kind in the Ethereum ecosystem, and is likely to be used as a plan for other EVM compatible blockchains that appear to be a LAG-2 network. – Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
Bitcoin Defi is facing fork Dilemma: Bitcoin developers who want to expand blockchain’s decentralized financing (DEFI) features are likely to consider zero-knowledge (ZK) proof, functionality that is not currently available and which requires a so-called soft fork or a new version of the software to introduce them. That’s a problem, according to Edan Yago, a Bitcoin veteran of over a decade and core contributor to Smart Contract Operating System Bitcoinos (BOS). “Frame of a blockchain, especially one with $ 2 trillion value of value on it, is like open -hearted surgery,” he said Coindesk in an interview. The ZK proof is a cryptographic method of proving the validity of statements while maintaining privacy by not revealing any information about it. The functionality is not available in Bitcoin’s software, but can be done through suggested implementations such as OP_CAT and OP_CTV. Yago said that developers should be able to find ways to enable them on Bitcoin without any fork. “The burden of proof is on developers to demonstrate that there is no other way to do this through smart technique,” he said. This is what Bos hopes to achieve through Bitsnark, a Bitcoin -Rollup Protocol that is part of the family of computer paradigms developed to scale the original blockchain. These appeared after the introduction of BitVM by Robin Linus in October 2023, which explained a framework for how Ethereum-like smart contracts could be activated on Bitcoin. Bitcoinos have now opened Sourced, what Yago describes as a “fully ready” Bitsnark protocol, which means that developers now have access to ZK verification on Bitcoin and can connect it to other blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana and Cardano. – Jamie Crawley Read more.
In other news
- In a two-hour interview with Coindesk senior anchor Christine Lee, strategy-executing chairman Michael Saylor discusses an American Bitcoin strategic reserve, which is why securities holders keep him sleepless and his own financial immortality. – Christine Lee Reports.
- Crypto-StartPlasma has revealed the technical features of its blockchain, designed for fast and effective global stableecoin transfers using a hot stuff-inspired consensus mechanism. – Omkar Godbole reports.
Legislative and politics
- The US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.), one of the leading Democrats who supports the crypto rejection, warned the industry against pushing for a “water” version of the long-awaited stableecoin laws currently moving through the Senate, and arguing that strict rules are needed to promote innovation and protect investors against banking. Valley in 2023 and The Collaps of the Cryps FTX in 2022. – Cheyenne Ligon report.
