Welcome to the Protocol, Coindesk’s weekly wrapping of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I am Margaux Nijkerk, Coindesk’s Tech & Protocol’s reporter.
In this number:
- Vitalik Barterin’s new proposal is looking for 16.7 M Gashto on Ethereum to empty transaction stay
- Jack Dorsey reveals Bitchat: Offline, encrypted messaging inspired by Bitcoin
- Volkswagen Admt Taps Solana-Based HIVERS BEEE MAPS TO driverless data
- Eigen Labs Axes 25% of staff to focus on building Eigencloud
Network news
New Ethereum -Suggestions from Vitalik Butterin: A new Ethereum proposal, co-author of Vitalik Butterin and Toni Wahrstaettes, aims to introduce a hard cap on the maximum gas that a transaction can consume in a move, developers say could strengthen network stability and make the chain more viable to certain applications. The proposal, EIP-7983, proposes to limit individual transactions to 16,777,216 gas (2²⁴) – A sharp change from the current design, which technically allows a single transaction to consume the gas distribution of a whole block. As a design choice, it introduces several results and security challenges. When a single transaction consumes almost all of the gas available, it disturbs the distribution of workloads across the network and tends to make blocking less effective. So the proposed cap is expected to simplify technical challenges and adapt to Ethereum’s shifts to modularity, although it may require division of large transactions. – Shaurya Malwa Read more.
Jack Dorsey reveals Bitchat WhitePaper: Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter (now x) and fintech company block (Sq)Published a whitepaper for Bitchat, a decentralized messaging protocol that enables fully encrypted communication without the Internet. Bitchat would work over bluetooth low energy (Diaper)that allows nearby devices to form a mesh network that forwards messages HOP-BY-HOP, according to WhitePaper. When a message is sent, it would travel over units nearby, which acts as temporary nodes until it reaches its recipient, making it resistant in offline or censored environments. While Dorsey does not refer to Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency or Blockchain, Dorsey describes Bitchat as a “decentralized peer-to-peer-messaging application” that induces connections to Bitcoin WhitePaper’s intro, describing as a “peer-to-peer version of electronic cash.” – Jamie Crawley Read more.
Solana HIVAPS AND VOLKSWAGEN GOING TOEN: Volkswagen Admt, Carmaker’s Autonomous-Vehicle Testing subsidiary, Tapped HIVAPSE’S BEE MAPS to support its self-driving operations with real-time card data. Street-level images collected by Bee Maps contributors using HIVAPEMAPER cameras will be used to help validate Volkswagen’s self-driving technology in an attempt to increase it down the street of autonomous pick-ups and drop-offs, a BI Card spokesman told Coindesk. The deal highlights the growing adoption of crowddsourced geospatial data as autonomous riding sharing companies look for more accurate, up-to-date mapping infrastructure. It also shows the growth of decentralized physical infrastructure network (Depin)that use blockchain incentives for crowddsource data collection in the real world. HIVAPS IS ONE OF THE MOST KNOWLEDGE DEPIN PROJECTS IN THE SOLANA ECOSYSTEM. According to Wall Street JournalVolkswagen’s autonomous driving unit has tested its ‘Robotaxi’ fleet in recent months. In April, the company also announced a partnership with Uber to launch the service in US markets, with pilot operations set until the end of 2025 and a wider roll -out scheduled to 2026. – Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
Eigenlabs put staff in the middle of restructuring: Eigen labs, the most important developer company behind Restriving Protocol Eigenlayer, cut his workforce by 25%and lost 29 roles when CEO Sreeram Kannan said he restructured the company to focus on developing Eigencloud, whom he called a “verifiable” alternative to existing, Opaque Cloud services. The Seattle-based startup said the redundancies were not a cash crush response. The news comes as the company has treated its reasonable proportion of blowback, from not having certain key mechanisms in place at the launch of its main product, to having leading Ethereum Foundation -numbers receive large payouts for advisory roles. Eigenlayer was once one of the buzziest projects in Crypto and reached $ 20 billion in the total value locked in June 2024. It now has $ 12 billion. – Francisco Rodrigues Read more.
In other news
- Bit Digital (BTBT) is now the owner of more than 100,000 ether after replacing his Bitcoin stack along with a $ 172 million capital increase for even more of the world’s second largest crypto. From a stock of 24,434 ETH at the end of March, bit digital now has about 100,603 ETH ($ 189.2 million) Make it one of the biggest company ETH holders, the company said. Bit Digital revealed its plans to focus exclusively on ETH stack last month in a move that was not completely unexpected considering the more challenging environment that Bitcoin mine workers have experienced since last year’s halving. – Jamie Crawley Read more.
- US President Donald Trump’s Media & Technology Group (Nasdaq: DJT) Filed to List of a Crypto Exchange -Distributed Fund (ETF) It would track a selection of digital assets, the latest in a series of such efforts associated with the Trump mark. The proposed “Truth Social Crypto Blue Chip Etf” would have a portfolio of five tokens: Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and Cronos, according to a filing at SEC. Fifty -Fir’s percentage of the fund’s holdings would be shared between Bitcoin and Ether. Solana would make up 8%, Cronos 5%and XRP 2%. – Helene Braun Read more.
Legislative and politics
- US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control’s (Ofac) Sanctions against the privacy tool Tornado Cash cannot be discussed by the upcoming lawsuit against developer novel Storm, gave a federal judge. At a status conference in Manhattan on Tuesday, District Judge Katherine Polk Failla originally waived whether she would allow expert vitner to testify to the sanctions first introduced in August 2022, removed this March and subsequently found illegal by a Texas court. After hearing arguments from both prosecution and defense, Failla decided to give Storm’s movement In Limine Moving to prohibit the testimony of the sanctions completely and argued that it would simply be too confusing for a jury to do what she described as “mental gymnastics” of understanding why the sanctions were imposed and ultimately removed. – Cheyenne Ligon Read more.
- The US Department of Justice (Doj) Charged two people for their role in Omegapro, a crypto and investment ponzi scheme that scammed investors over $ 650 million. Michael Shannon Sims, a founder and promoter of omegapro, and Juan Carlos Reynoso, who led Omegapro’s operations in Latin America and some parts of the United States, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, according to documents. Omegapro was an international investment scheme that collapsed in 2022. By 2024, Andreas Szakacs, co -founder of the scheme, was arrested in Turkey for his commitment with Omegapro. – Parikshit Mishra Read more.
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