Weekly Project Updates: Optimism's Bedrock Upgrade, etc

1. ETH’s Weekly Summary

a. Arbitrum Pays $9 Million in Gas Fees to Ethereum in May link

According to Token Terminal data, in May, Arbitrum paid approximately $9 million in supplier fees to Ethereum, while Optimism paid around $4.5 million, both reaching all-time highs. Ethereum operates similarly to SaaS 2.0, charging L2 (Layer 2) networks about 80% of the fees, with users paying L2 fees where 80% serves as security cost for Ethereum and the remaining 20% is allocated as profit for the L2 sequencer.

b. Ethereum Developers Reach Consensus on Full Scope of Dencun Upgrade link

On June 8th, Ethereum developers reached a consensus on the full scope of the Dencun upgrade, which includes five Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) aimed at increasing data storage capacity and reducing fees. The core of the Dencun upgrade is EIP-4844, proto-danksharding, which expands the blockchain by freeing up more space for “blob” data and is expected to lower gas fees for L2 aggregations. EIP-1153 focuses on reducing the cost of on-chain storage data, thus improving block space. EIP-4788 enhances the design of bridges and staking pools. EIP-5656 introduces minor code changes related to the Ethereum Virtual Machine. EIP-6780 removes code that could potentially terminate smart contracts.

c. Over 3 Million ETH Unstaked Since the Shanghai Upgrade link

According to OKLink data, as of June 10th, over 3 million ETH have been withdrawn from staking since the Shanghai upgrade. The current number of validators is 608,332. The current staked ETH amount is 19.47 million, resulting in a staking rate of 16.19%.

2. Optimism Successfully Completes Bedrock Upgrade link

On June 7th, Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution Optimism successfully completed the Bedrock upgrade, bringing the blockchain closer to becoming a “superchain” composed of many interoperable mini-blockchains. This upgrade aims to enhance the functionality of the chain by reducing deposit confirmation time from 10 minutes to 1 minute and lowering gas fees by 40%. Additionally, Bedrock has transformed Optimism into a multi-client ecosystem, strengthening the stability of the blockchain.

According to the @OPLabsPBC data dashboard, following the completion of the Bedrock upgrade, Optimism DEX Trade gas savings have increased by 55% compared to before the upgrade, NFT Mint savings by 62%, NFT Trade savings by 45%, perpetual contract savings by 55%, ERC-20 transfer savings by 62%, ETH transfer savings by 66%, and deployment of medium-sized contracts savings by 33%, among others.

3. Starknet Announces Upcoming Release of v0.12.0 Version link

On June 5th, L2 network Starknet announced the upcoming release of version v0.12.0, which focuses on improving network throughput to enhance scalability and transaction latency. The sequencer introduces a new Rust implementation that enhances Cairo-rs, blockifier, and utilizes Papyrus storage to improve performance. Additionally, the release includes the removal of transaction pending status and the addition of new block hash system calls.

4. Three VCs File Lawsuit Against Curve Founder Michael Egorov for Fraud link

On June 9th, according to DL News, three venture capital firms, ParaFi, Framework Ventures, and 1kx, filed a lawsuit against Curve founder Michael Egorov for fraud and “misappropriation of trade secrets” resulting in financial losses. These companies had invested $1 million in Curve in 2020, and Michael Egorov allegedly deposited these investment funds into Curve’s liquidity pool. The VCs claim that their nearly $1 million funds were never returned, and they never received the CRV tokens worth tens of millions of dollars that they claimed to be entitled to. The lawsuit alleges that Egorov made false statements about the deployment of his assets in Curve Finance (Swiss Stake GmbH) and that he did not relinquish control to Curve DAO but instead sold CRV tokens to profit and maintain overwhelming control.

5. Sudoswap NFT AMM Protocol Announces Launch of Sudoswap V2 link

On June 9th, NFT AMM protocol sudoswap announced the launch of sudoswap v2. The new iteration introduces several features, including on-chain royalties without the need for off-chain intermediaries, a new smart contract called Creator Settings that allows NFT creators to determine parameters, support for ERC-1155, enabling batch listing, bidding, scanning, and merging of ERC-1155 NFTs, conditional orders with customizable conditions, fee streaming where fees are automatically sent to wallets after a transaction, and gas optimization. The v2 contract has undergone audits by Spearbit, PwnedNoMore, and Cyfrin Audits.

Following the v2 announcement, the SUDO token experienced a temporary increase of over 10%. However, according to @rob_0x data panel, the average daily trading volume of sudoswap in the past 7 days was $16,942, with an average daily fee capture of $85. The platform had an average of 39 users and 66 daily transactions, indicating relatively modest activity.

6. ENS to Support Web Domain Name .box Launching in September link

Ethereum Name Service (ENS) will be supporting a new web domain called “.box,” which is set to launch in September. This domain can be routed in web browsers, similar to traditional internet domains. The .box name or top-level domain is derived from a project called My.Box, and the registration and transfer of these domains will take place on the Ethereum blockchain. The founder of ENS stated that this will be the first blockchain-based internet naming service introduced for Ethereum users and enabled by the ENS protocol.

7. Blur Updates Bidding Points, Disqualifies Strategies such as Wash Trading and False Bidding from Receiving BLUR Rewards link link

On June 8th, Blur announced an update to their bidding points system, stating that loyalty, wash trading, and false bidding strategies will no longer be rewarded with BLUR tokens in the second quarter. Previously, Blur founder Pacman had promised to adjust the platform’s points system to ensure that risk-taking users receive appropriate rewards.

According to on-chain data, after the adjustment to the points system, Huang Licheng (machibigbrother.eth) deposited 2,941.2 ETH (worth $5.4 million) into the Blur:Bidding contract on June 8th at 16:02 to restart the process of earning Blur points. Previously, Huang had withdrawn funds from Blur due to dissatisfaction with the points system. Currently, machibigbrother.eth has accumulated a historical loss of 5,908 ETH.

8. Aave Introduces ARFC Proposal for the Launch of Native Stablecoin GHO on Ethereum Mainnet link

On June 7th, Aave released an ARFC proposal on their governance forum regarding the launch of the native stablecoin GHO on the Ethereum mainnet. The proposal suggests introducing GHO to the Ethereum mainnet using Aave V3 Ethereum Facilitator and FlashMinter Facilitator. If approved, users will be able to mint GHO using collateral, and the DAO treasury will receive GHO lending interest as additional revenue. After the launch of GHO, Aave also stated their intention to propose a multi-chain strategy to the community.

9. Uniswap Labs to Introduce FLAIR Metrics to Measure LP Competitiveness link

On June 6th, according to the official blog, Uniswap Labs announced the launch of a new metric called FLAIR, designed to measure the competitiveness of liquidity providers (LPs) in the blockchain and technology field. FLAIR takes into account the LPs’ transaction fees and competitive behavior, aiming to optimize capital allocation and evaluate historical performance. FLAIR is not only applicable to Uniswap v2 and v3 pools but can also be used in most typical automated market maker (AMM) cases.

10. TreasureDAO’s Eco Game The Beacon Reveals Future Plans link

TreasureDAO’s ecosystem game, The Beacon, has recently unveiled its future plans. The first milestone is the release of The Beacon’s Alpha version, scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. The long-term roadmap includes seasonal content and expansions, an interconnected universe within The Beacon that allows asset interoperability, and the introduction of more games and intellectual properties (IPs). In the short term, the shard system will be phased out, and the frequency of content and item drops will be adjusted.

Additionally, from June 5th to June 19th, the Harvester Event will take place, offering unique limited-edition items, new bosses, and different assets that play a crucial role within the event mechanics, all of which will generate MAGIC tokens. A destruction mechanism will also be introduced, starting with the Harvester Event in collaboration with Bridgeworld, allowing certain assets within The Beacon to be destroyed to promote and participate in the issuance of MAGIC tokens.