The latest news: here are a few noteworthy stories to catch you up.
Crypto project updates
Zilliqa abandons its standalone L1 to become an Ethereum L2: After nine years, the public blockchain has admitted that its independent L1 never achieved sustainable scale. It’s transitioning into an Ethereum Layer 2 aimed at regulated institutions, while the $ZIL token remains unchanged. Put simply, it will rely on $ETH for security and settlement, with compliance-focused institutional use cases becoming its new selling point. Polygon proposes PIP-93 to consolidate its security councils: Several existing multisig councils would be merged into one, with 11 signers, an 8-of-11 multisig threshold, and a 7-day timelock. In plain English, “most people have to agree before the protocol can be changed, and then you have to wait a week.” This would make governance more robust, but also more centralized.
DeFi and assets
Lido launches Swaps, a built-in exchange feature: It supports direct swaps of $ETH and tokens on Arbitrum and Base, powered by CoW Protocol. Staking protocols are starting to become “one-stop shops.” Kraken parent company Payward and its clients buy AAVE: They have purchased tokens on the secondary market through affiliated funds and may continue to increase their holdings. The two sides are discussing further collaboration, as exchange-affiliated capital continues to move into DeFi blue chips.
Security alerts
SignalPlus suffers an attack: The breach originated with a compromised third-party Telegram account and affected a small number of accounts without IP allowlists enabled. Losses totaled less than $82,000, and the company has pledged to reimburse them in full. Another reminder that securing your Telegram account and setting up API allowlists are no small matters. Multiple users of iOS self-custody wallets report losses: GoPlus Security advises users to update to the latest iOS version as soon as possible and check for malicious apps. With self-custody, you’re responsible for your own private keys—so device security is asset security.
Macro and markets
Fed’s Hammack takes a hawkish stance: She says inflation remains too high and monetary policy needs to shift to a restrictive stance, favoring frequent, small rate adjustments. She also says the dollar’s reserve-currency status will be difficult to displace. After the midterm elections, Democrats control both chambers. Jeffries says there are no current plans to impeach Trump, with lowering the cost of living the priority; analysts say the White House’s scope to influence Fed appointments has narrowed. Among individual stocks, QCOM fell more than 12% in premarket trading, mainly due to a sharp year-over-year drop in mobile chip revenue. Apple is reportedly planning to issue up to around $7 billion in bonds, while also reportedly cutting its internal AI budget.
Do you think public blockchains switching to L2s can revive the ecosystems of older projects? Let’s discuss.
Crypto project updates
Zilliqa abandons its standalone L1 to become an Ethereum L2: After nine years, the public blockchain has admitted that its independent L1 never achieved sustainable scale. It’s transitioning into an Ethereum Layer 2 aimed at regulated institutions, while the $ZIL token remains unchanged. Put simply, it will rely on $ETH for security and settlement, with compliance-focused institutional use cases becoming its new selling point. Polygon proposes PIP-93 to consolidate its security councils: Several existing multisig councils would be merged into one, with 11 signers, an 8-of-11 multisig threshold, and a 7-day timelock. In plain English, “most people have to agree before the protocol can be changed, and then you have to wait a week.” This would make governance more robust, but also more centralized.
DeFi and assets
Lido launches Swaps, a built-in exchange feature: It supports direct swaps of $ETH and tokens on Arbitrum and Base, powered by CoW Protocol. Staking protocols are starting to become “one-stop shops.” Kraken parent company Payward and its clients buy AAVE: They have purchased tokens on the secondary market through affiliated funds and may continue to increase their holdings. The two sides are discussing further collaboration, as exchange-affiliated capital continues to move into DeFi blue chips.
Security alerts
SignalPlus suffers an attack: The breach originated with a compromised third-party Telegram account and affected a small number of accounts without IP allowlists enabled. Losses totaled less than $82,000, and the company has pledged to reimburse them in full. Another reminder that securing your Telegram account and setting up API allowlists are no small matters. Multiple users of iOS self-custody wallets report losses: GoPlus Security advises users to update to the latest iOS version as soon as possible and check for malicious apps. With self-custody, you’re responsible for your own private keys—so device security is asset security.
Macro and markets
Fed’s Hammack takes a hawkish stance: She says inflation remains too high and monetary policy needs to shift to a restrictive stance, favoring frequent, small rate adjustments. She also says the dollar’s reserve-currency status will be difficult to displace. After the midterm elections, Democrats control both chambers. Jeffries says there are no current plans to impeach Trump, with lowering the cost of living the priority; analysts say the White House’s scope to influence Fed appointments has narrowed. Among individual stocks, QCOM fell more than 12% in premarket trading, mainly due to a sharp year-over-year drop in mobile chip revenue. Apple is reportedly planning to issue up to around $7 billion in bonds, while also reportedly cutting its internal AI budget.
Do you think public blockchains switching to L2s can revive the ecosystems of older projects? Let’s discuss.