This Week on web3 5min recap

Market information, major news, and fundraising status for 9/14~9/20.

Good morning.
Mitsui from web3 researcher.

Every Monday will be a summary article about the web3 market for the past week.Please use it to catch up on information and trends!

①Pickup
②Market & News
③Projects funded

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①Pickup

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Pickups and descriptions of the week's news and fundraising projects of interest.

1,Jump Crypto's Frankendancer client released on Solana mainnet,Firedancer released on testnet.

• Kevin Bowers of Jump Crypto said during the Solana Breakpoint event that Jump's Frankendancer validator client has been released on the Solana mainnet

• Firedancer is currently on the testnet, with no mainnet release date announced yet

• The concept of Firedancer was born out of the need to solve the challenges faced by Solana, such as frequent network outages and limited scalability.

2,Ethernet's next major upgrade "Pectra" to be implemented in two parts

https://www.bankless.com/ethereum-pectra-eips?ref=bankless.ghost.io

• Ethereum's next major upgrade, "Pectra," is being considered for implementation in two parts.

• According to previous plans, the implementation of "Pectra" was set for the end of the first quarter of 2025.However, if this split is actually chosen, the first half of the upgrade could be released in February, the beginning of the first quarter

• The proposed split is being considered because "Pectra" is likely to be the most extensive Ethereum upgrade ever done, and could take too long to implement and test in one go, plus it is high risk

• The Pectra upgrade will include one meta EIP, which currently consists of 9 standard EIPs and another 11 constituent EIPs

  • 📝 EIP-2537 -BLS12-381 Introduces precompiling of curve operations, significantly speeding up and lowering the cost of BLS signature operations.This improves accessibility and performance of the Ethereum validator and reduces gas costs.

  • 🧮 EIP-2935- Implementation of storing hashes of previous blocks in special storage slots to increase efficiency and reliability of validating Ethereum data before stateless execution.

  • 🚪 EIP-7002- Allows validators to trigger termination and partial withdrawals using execution layer withdrawal credentials and enables more flexible options regarding re-staking and staking pools.

  • ⏫ EIP-7251 -Increases the maximum effective balance of Ethereum validators from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH, reducing the total number of validators required and simplifying the computational load on the network.

  • 📊 EIP-7594- Introduce Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS) to further optimize L2 and enhance transaction processing and scalability.

  • 🤖 EIP-7702- Add a new transaction type that sets the code for an EOA (externally owned account) during a single transaction, allowing a regular wallet to be temporarily converted to a smart contract wallet for improved UX.

  • 💨 EIP-7692 -A meta-EIP consisting of 11 constituent EIPs intended to enhance the EVM Object Format (EOF) to improve the efficiency of contract deployment and execution.

3,Solana Saga's cryptocurrency phone successor from Stealth as Seeker, pre-sales exceed 140,000 units.

• Solana Mobile Announces "Seeker" as the Name of Its Newest Smartphone

• The company says it has 140,000 units reserved at this time.

• Developed in collaboration with hardware company Fxtec, Seeker is expected to ship in mid-2025

• Solana Seeker features include Seed Vault Wallet, a mobile-first cryptocurrency wallet natively integrated with a self-managed seed vault built into the device, created in collaboration with Solflare

• The device also includes a new version of the Solana dApp Store that improves discoverability of apps for payments, DeFi, DePIN, NFT AI, and gaming; enhanced hardware specifications; and the Seeker Genesis Token.

4,Vitalik presses L2 decentralization, Stage 1 definition not allowed after next year

• Vitalik Buterin mentioned Ethernet's Layer 2 network at X.

• He said at X that, in principle, he will not publicly support L2 networks that do not reach "Stage 1" as he defines it after next year

• In a previous blog post, Mr. Buterin defined the stages of decentralization for Ethereum's L2 network as "Stage 0", "Stage 1", and "Stage 2".

• Stage 0 is the stage where developers can directly intervene to solve system problems with multisig, Stage 1 is the stage where the system basically relies on fraud and validity proofs and has limited multisig intervention, and Stage 2 is the stage where the system is fully decentralized and runs only on code.Stage 2 is "fully decentralized, operating only on code.

• According to L2Beat, there are currently only four Stage 1 L2 networks: Arbitrum One, OP mainnet, ZKsync Lite, and dYdX v3.

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②Market & News

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⛓️Blockchain

L1

Token prices have come back up a lot.

• Ethernet Foundation Researcher Danny Ryan Retires After Seven Years of Service

• Aptos Reports Record On-Chain Activity, But Skepticism About Bot Activity Remains

• Ethernet stakers see 7DMA revenue decline as activity on the chain has dropped 60% since March

• Bitwise CIO Compares Ethereum to Microsoft, Betting on Undervalued Advantage Despite Bearish Sentiment

• Ethernet's next major upgrade, Pectra, to be implemented in two parts

• Bitcoin trading plunges more than 50% in a week

• Polkadot Introduces Agile Coretime to Increase Network Efficiency

• Jump Crypto's Frankendancer Client Released on Solana Main Net, Firedancer Released on Test Net

• Solana Saga's cryptocurrency phone successor from Stealth as "Seeker"; pre-sales top 140,000 units

• BlackRock calls bitcoin a "unique decentralization vehicle" in a document sent to customers

L2

TVL is also returning.

• Bitcoin L2 "Stacks" (STX) Merges with Aptos (APT) for BTC Introduction

• Vitalic presses for L2 decentralization, Stage 1 definition not allowed after next year

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💰DeFi

Looking at the 7 days, TVL has come back a lot.

• Paxos to Issue Stablecoin with "Arbitrum One".Ether L2 is the first

• Coinbase deploys wrapped bitcoin "cbBTC" on Base and Ethereum

• Bernstein says DeFi yields will recover amid expected US rate cuts

• Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial announces plans to sell WLFI tokens

• EigenLayer Expands List of Re-Stakeable Assets with tBTC Integration

• Trump token WLFI approved, sales limited to accredited investors and non-US persons

• TON Foundation and Curb Finance Partner to Launch TON-based Stable Coin Swap

• Sky Completes Rebranding with New dApp and Token Release

• Sky prepares for Solana expansion

• SynFutures Launches Leveraged Purps to Track Polymarket Election Market

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🖼️NFT

Transaction volume is up slightly and Tx counts are down; Solana, Polygon, and Blast are especially growing.

• Mocaverse and Magic Eden Co-Launch MagicMoca NFT Launchpad, Adopt MOCA Coin as Preferred Currency for Marketplace Transactions

• DeGods Announces $DEGOD Token Burn, Releases Goodies

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🎮GameFi

It depends on the title, but many titles have a UAW down.

• Flappy Bird's Virtual Currency Reboot on Telegram with Notcoin, But Original Author and Fans Slam New Version

• Catizen Completes Business Model Upgrade, Leads Development of Telegram Application

• Treasure DAO Proposal Seeks to Move from Arbitrum to ZKsync

• Binance to Release Moonbix Play to Earn Game as Telegram Mini App

• Runescape-inspired MMO Cambria announces expansion to Ronin Network

• 'Catizen' Airdrops CATI Tokens

• Zynga's Crypto Games Team Spins Out and Unveils New Game

• Bananagan team investigates reports of users' wallets emptying and Telegram bots going offline

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👀Other

Dapps-related

• Nillion integrates with NEAR protocol, enhances privacy tools for developers

• WalletConnect plans to airdrop 185 million WCT in native token launch

• Nubank, South America's largest digital bank, to end trading of its own crypto asset, Nucoin

• Phantom Introduces Username to Popular Software Wallet

• World Coin tests facial recognition with World App

State, Legal & Regulatory Affairs

• India leads global grassroots adoption; Singapore's payments market booming; Indonesian traders see opportunity

• "Presumed Guilty": Sam Bankman Freed Appeals, Claims Judge Was Unfair

• Binance founder Jiao Zhangpong to be released next week

• Restaurant resolves controversial SEC action over NFT membership program

• Bhutanese government holds over $100 billion in bitcoin

• President Trump Engaged in Bitcoin Trading at Pub Key Bar in New York

• DeFi startup Rari Capital settles with SEC 

Other

• Residents of Norwegian town complain of noise from bitcoin mine, but now that the mine is closed, electricity bills will be raised by 20%

• Coinbase and Binance listings may be bullish, but usually not for long

• Binance suspected of insider trading for listing the "wrong" meme coin

• Circle Adopts Sui Blockchain for Broader USDC Integration

• Dragonfly reportedly wants to raise $500 million for fourth fund

• MicroStrategy buys 18,300 bitcoins for $1.1 billion, largest purchase in past three years

• Borderless Capital, Peaq and Solana Foundation back $100 million DePIN fund introduced

• Google Cloud Launches Blockchain RPC Service for Ethereum

• Binance co-founder publishes lengthy article reacting to recent coin listing criteria

• Bitget, Foresight Ventures invest $30 million in TON blockchain

• British Revolute Planning to Issue Its Own Stablecoin

• Token2049 in brief: Solana Seeker, BitGo Stablecoin and more.

• Moody's recommends DePIN as a promising approach to infrastructure

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③Projects funded

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Top 5 projects

1,The Open Network (TON)

• Overview:A layer 1 blockchain that is deeply integrated with Telegram.Offers fast transactions, low fees, user-friendly applications, and environmentally friendly features.

• Category:L1

• Procurement amount:$30M

• Investment Round：不明

• Investor：Bitget、Foresight Ventures

2、Drift Protocol

• Overview: Solana-based DEX for spot trading, perpetual futures and token swaps with an emphasis on capital efficiency and asset protection, most recently the forecast market BetRelease.

• Category:DEX

• Procurement amount:$25M

• Investment Round：Series B

• Investor：★Multicoin Capital、Blockchain Capital、Folius Ventures、Primitive

3、Helius

• Overview: Offers Solana RPC with top-class hardware, providing reliable and optimized performance for applications.

• Category: Infrastructure

• Procurement amount:$21.75M

• Investment Round:Series B

• Investors: ★HAUN Ventures, ★Founders fund, Foundation Capital, 6th Man Ventures (6MV), etc....

4,Hemi Labs

• Overview: A modular Layer 2 protocol that enhances scaling, security, and interoperability between Bitcoin and Ethereum with Hemi Virtual Machine (hVM) andHemi Bitcoin Kit (hBK), enabling seamless integration of Bitcoin and Ethereum for cross-chain dApp.

• Category:L2

• Procurement amount:$15M

• Investment Round:Seed

• Investors: ★Binance Labs Fund, ★Breyer Capital, ★Big Brain Holdings, Crypto com Capital,etc.

5,Permissionless Labs (Pipe Network)

• Overview: An incentivized Internet infrastructure project aimed at revolutionizing content delivery networks (CDNs).Users can provide computing power to extend CDN nodes and improve content delivery.

• Category: DePIN

• Procurement amount:$10M

• Investment Round: unknown

• Investor: Multicoin Capital

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👀Other projects

• Yellow Network[$10M/Seed]: a new generation Financial Information Exchange (FIE) network that enables direct P2P transactions between any blockchain and trading broker, aiming to interconnect the blockchain industry and solve the cryptocurrency liquidity fragmentation problem with proven traditional financial strategies.

• TrueX[$9M/Seed]:ModernA non-custodial stable coin native cryptocurrency exchange offering advanced trading technology for traders.With its proprietary matching engine and stable coin settlement (PYUSD), TrueX guarantees secure and efficient transactions.

• Fermah[$5.20M/Seed]: A universal proof generation layer that serves as a marketplace for Zero Knowledge (ZK) proof generation, connecting the supply and demand sides consisting of GPUs and FPGAs to provide ZK proof generation for a variety of use cases, including ZK rollups, bridges, and privacy-centric applications.

• Cudis[$5M/Seed]: HealthA web3 AI wellness company that develops smart rings that monitor metrics and allow users to access and own their health data via the Solana blockchain.You can also get AI advice based on your data.

• Vana[$5M/Strategic]: create a decentralized network of user-owned data pools where individuals can monetize their personal data.Focusing on bridging blockchain and AI, members can pool data from platforms such as Reddit, LinkedIn, X, etc., and this data can be sold to AI researchers, providing a new revenue stream for users.

• Octra[$4M/Pre Seed]A blockchain network focused on FHE, providing cryptographic tools for secure mathematical operations in isolated execution environments.

• LogX[$4M/Strategic]: liquidity solution optimized for persistent trading on the L2 blockchain.By aggregating liquidity across multiple chains, LogX provides users with a seamless transaction experience, eliminating the need to manage multiple transactions per gas price token or transaction.

• Rise Labs[$3.20M/Seed]: Layer 2 designed to revolutionize blockchain scalability with over 100,000 transactions per second.Aiming to realize Ethereum's vision, RISE maintains decentralization and security while delivering near instantaneous, low-cost transactionRealization.

• Limitless[$3M/Pre Seed]:A decentralized social forecasting protocol, where creators easily configure forecast markets and share them with the community.Users can trade, earn commissions, and make predictions based on the outcome of real-world events.

• MagicBlock[$3M/Pre Seed]: High performance engine built on Solana, designed to accelerate development of decentralized and unstoppable on-chain games and consumer applications.

• 0xAstra[$3M/Seed]Omni-chain strategy (SLG) game in which players build, expand, and defend their cosmic homeland.

• Bool Network[$2M/Seed]: a decentralized bitcoin verification layer that enhances bitcoin's scalability without changing bitcoin's core consensus; MPC-based distributed key management, Dynamic Hidden Committees (DHC), Ring Verifiable RandomFunction (Ring VRF) protocol to increase transaction throughput and address blockchain trilemmas.

• Amnis Finance[$2M/TBD]: Liquidity staking protocol built on the Aptos blockchain, maximizing APT token revenues while maintaining liquidity for users.

• Sorted[$1.50M/Pre Seed]: an unmanaged cryptocurrency wallet designed to promote financial inclusion for the unbanked and underbanked in emerging markets.

• Filament Finance[$1.10M/Seed]: a decentralized perpetual exchange (Perp DEX) that employs a hybrid model combining off-chain order books and on-chain liquidity pools.Solves the problems of low liquidity and capital inefficiencies in niche markets and optimizes liquidity provision and trading across a variety of assets.

• Aptos[TBD/TBD]: a secure andLayer 1 blockchain with a mission to help people achieve universal and equitable access to decentralized assets in a scalable manner.

• Blend Finance[TBD/Seed]:A decentralized, unmanaged liquidity market protocol built on Bitcoin Layer 2.Users can supply liquidity to generate passive income or borrow through over- or under-collateralized loans.

• Nametag[TBD/M&A]: A decentralized identity platform that allows users to own and manage their digital identities.Users can view their digital collections, achievements, and social credentials (Noken) on platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, and Discord.

• Forge[TBD/TBD]:Gamerscan integrate their gaming achievements and activities into a single profile and offer rewards for their participation.

• AmbrusStudio[TBD/Series A]:E4C: Final Salvation, in development, is the first mobile MOBA game to incorporate eSports into gameplay in the web3 gaming space.

• SunDog[TBD/TBD]:Dogmeme token on the TRON blockchain, inspired by memes.

• SolanaFM[TBD/M&A]: Solana Blockchain Explorer and Index Provider.

• Velo[TBD/TBD]:, Fast,blockchain infrastructure company specializing in the development of compliance-driven global payment networks that enable secure, cost-effective cross-border payments.

• Coinhall[TBD/M&A]: a leading interchain trading terminal that provides traders with real-time price charts, liquidity analysis, and aggregate swaps across multiple decentralized exchanges (AMM DEX) on supported networks such as Terra, Juno, Near, and Cosmos.

• Chaos Labs[TBD/TBD]Highly automated economic security and risk management platform for the DeFi protocol.

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Disclaimer：I carefully examine and write the information that I research, but since it is personally operated and there are many parts with English sources, there may be some paraphrasing or incorrect information. Please understand. Also, there may be introductions of Dapps, NFTs, and tokens in the articles, but there is absolutely no solicitation purpose. Please purchase and use them at your own risk.

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About us
🇯🇵🇺🇸🇰🇷🇨🇳🇪🇸 The English version of the web3 newsletter, which is available in 5 languages. Based on the concept of ``Learn more about web3 in 5 minutes a day,'' we deliver research articles five times a week, including explanations of popular web3 trends, project explanations, and introductions to the latest news.

Author
mitsui
A web3 researcher. Operating the newsletter "web3 Research" delivered in five languages around the world.

Contact
The author is a web3 researcher based in Japan. If you have a project that is interested in expanding to Japan, please contact the following:

• X：@web3researchgl

• Telegram：@mitsui0x

*Please note that this newsletter translates articles that are originally in Japanese. There may be translation mistakes such as mistranslations or paraphrasing, so please understand in advance.