Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly update on the most significant advancements in cryptocurrency technology. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, the Ethereum protocol reporter at CoinDesk.
In this edition, we will cover the following topics:
– Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade Faces Potential Delays
– Ethereum Foundation Announces New Co-Executive Directors
– Layer-2 BOB Expands DeFi Horizons with Fireblocks Integration
– MetaMask Introduces a Comprehensive New Roadmap
This article is featured in the latest issue of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter that delves into the technology driving the cryptocurrency world. Subscribe here to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday.
Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade Faces Potential Delays
Ethereum developers celebrated a key milestone this Wednesday as they conducted what was thought to be a successful test of the Pectra upgrade on the Sepolia test network. However, shortly after the test concluded, the network began to experience significant errors. This marked the second problematic test for the much-anticipated Pectra upgrade, which aims to enhance Ethereum’s efficiency, user experience, and validator system.
Initially, the test on March 5 appeared successful, but developers later discovered the addition of empty blocks to the blockchain. The Ethereum Foundation explained that this issue stemmed from “an issue with Sepolia’s permissioned deposit contract,” which hindered many execution layer clients from including transactions in the blocks. Importantly, this misconfiguration was specific to the Sepolia test and not a flaw in the Pectra upgrade itself. Yet, the incident has sparked discussions among developers about whether further testing is required before moving forward with Pectra’s launch on the Ethereum mainnet. Notably, the previous test on the Holesky testnet also faced configuration problems due to misconfigured validators.
Ethereum Foundation Announces New Co-Executive Directors
In a significant organizational shift, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) has appointed Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak as co-executive directors. This change follows the transition of Aya Miyaguchi to the role of president. The new leadership comes amid intense discussions within the community regarding the EF’s role in the ecosystem. Some members have critiqued the Foundation’s leadership, linking perceived shortcomings to the sluggish performance of Ethereum’s native token, ether (ETH), compared to other cryptocurrencies, and highlighting a recent decline in new developers joining Ethereum relative to competitors like Solana.
Additionally, former EF researcher Danny Ryan has announced his move to Etherealize, a new initiative aimed at facilitating Ethereum’s integration into Wall Street.
Layer-2 BOB Expands DeFi Horizons with Fireblocks Integration
The hybrid layer-2 network BOB is making strides in positioning Bitcoin at the forefront of the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape through its recent integration with Fireblocks, a prominent crypto custody firm. This partnership will provide over 2,000 users within the Fireblocks ecosystem access to BOB’s DeFi offerings, which boast a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $250 million. Users can now earn yield on their Bitcoin holdings through BOB’s innovative network.
MetaMask Introduces a Comprehensive New Roadmap
MetaMask, the widely-used self-custodial crypto wallet for the Ethereum network, unveiled an array of exciting enhancements aimed at enriching user experience. A pivotal aspect of MetaMask’s updated roadmap is the incorporation of smart contract capabilities into its existing wallet. Currently, MetaMask operates as an Externally Owned Account (EOA), which is governed by a public and private key. However, EOAs are susceptible to human error; if users forget their private key, they risk losing access to their crypto assets permanently.
In contrast, Ethereum also supports Contract Accounts (CAs), which are governed by code and include built-in recovery mechanisms and security checks for transaction verification. During ETHDenver, North America’s largest Ethereum conference, the MetaMask team highlighted that “smart-contract-based accounts allow us to solve a number of problems: allowing new powerful uses of the assets you hold, while simultaneously improving security.”
One of the key features designed to streamline the user experience in MetaMask is ERC-5792, also known as batched transactions. This feature enables users to consolidate multiple actions into a single transaction, such as “approve + swap,” thereby saving both time and gas fees.
In Other News
– Trading Titan Jump Is Regrouping Its U.S. Crypto Efforts: Insiders reveal that while Jump has continued its digital asset trading and market-making in other regions, crypto trading volume is accelerating globally.
– David Sacks Quietly Divested From Crypto Company Amid Conflict of Interest Controversy: Sacks’ venture firm, Craft Ventures, has exited its position in Bitwise as the new administration takes shape.
Regulatory and Policy Updates
Executives from various crypto companies, including Coinbase, Chainlink, and Exodus, are set to represent the industry at the upcoming U.S. President’s first White House crypto summit.
Upcoming Events
– March 18-20: Digital Asset Summit, New York
– April 8-10: Paris Blockchain Week
– April 30-May 1: Token 2049, Dubai
– May 14-16: Consensus, Toronto
– May 27-29: Bitcoin 2025, Las Vegas
– June 30-July 3: EthCC, Cannes
– October 1-2: Token2049, Singapore
