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📅Ethereum's Dencun Upgrade Scheduled For March 13
The Defiant Daily
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Ethereum's long-awaited Dencun upgrade is set for mainnet deployment on March 13 after passing its final testnet dress rehearsal earlier this week. The news also follows the Ethereum Foundation announcing a 10-week program to help onboard new core developers.
EigenLayer has attracted more than 10% of the circulating liquid staking supply. More than $3.5B worth of LSTs have entered the token since EigenLayer temporarily removed its pool limits on Feb. 5.
And in other news, Frax launched a modular Layer 2 network, Morpheus AI attracted $80M worth of stETH on launch day, and Mountain protocol's USDM is now the largest U.S. Treasuries-backed stablecoin.
✍️ In today’s newsletter:
- Dencun scheduled for mainnet on March 13
- EigenLayer absorbs 8% of staked Ether
- Frax deploys modular L2
- Degens pile $80M into Morpheus AI
- USDM grows to $153M in four months
🎙️The Defiant Podcast & Interviews:
📈 Markets in last 24 hrs:
| Ticker | Value | 24h |
|---|---|---|
| BTC | $45,333 | ↗ 2.45% |
| ETH | $2,426 | ↗ 0.08% |
| S&P 500 | $4,998 | ↗ 0.06% |
| GOLD | $2,032 | ↙ -0.15% |
| Arch WEB3 | 1.30pts | ↙ -0.91% |
| ↳ FINANCE | 1.15pts | ↙ -0.45% |
| ↳ INFRA | 1.61pts | ↙ -2.05% |
| ↳ CONSUMER | 1.33pts | ↗ 1.11% |
Learn more about Arch Indices here.
🎬 WATCH
Check out our discussion with Tina and Teddy to learn more about EigenLayer, the pioneering Ethereum restaking protocol. Also watch our podcast with Terraform Labs CEO, Chris Armani, to find out about the project's strategic pivot and the company's decision to file for bankruptcy.
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Ethereum
Dencun Scheduled For March 13 As Ethereum Aims To Onboard More Core Contributors
TLDR Ethereum's highly-anticipated Dencun will deploy on mainnet come March 13. The scheduling followed the Ethereum Foundation launching an educational program for prespective core contributors, and also unveiling its 2024 academic grants round.
SO WHAT Dencun is set to drive down the costs of transacting on Ethereum, especially on Layer 2, by replacing calldata with Binary Large Objects (blobs). Unlike calldata, blobs do not compete with Ethereum transactions for gas and are not permanently stored on the blockchain, improving data availability.
READ MORE: Dencun Scheduled For March 13 As Ethereum Aims To Onboard More Core Contributors
Staking
EigenLayer Amasses More Than 10% Of Circulating LSTs
TLDR EigenLayer, the pioneering Ethereum restaking protocol, now commands more than 10% of circulating liquid staking tokens. The protocol's TVL has tripled since its LST pool limits were temporarily removed on Feb. 5.
SO WHAT The Ether and LSTs deposited in EigenLayer's smart contracts now account for nearly 8% of staked Ether, making EigenLayer a major player within Ethereum's staking ecosystem. The project is now the fifth-largest DeFi protocol with $5.8B after overtaking Uniswap.
READ MORE: EigenLayer Amasses More Than 10% Of Circulating LSTs
Layer 2
Frax Launches Modular Layer 2 Blockchain
TLDR Frax is the latest project to get in on the modular blockchain movement with the launch of Fraxtal, an OP Stack-based Layer 2 network. The project will issue rewards to stakers that are calculated per block based on network utilization.
SO WHAT Frax is a top 20 DeFi protocol behind the popular FRAX stablecoin and frxETH liquid staking token. By leveraging the OP Stack, Frax is also the latest team to join Optimism's growing Superchain ecosystem.
READ MORE: Frax Launches Modular Layer 2 Blockchain
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AI
Morpheus AI Launch Attracts $50M Within Hours
TLDR Morpheus AI, a network for AI agents that can interact with smart contracts on behalf of users, has amassed more than $80M worth of stETH within its first day. Depositors will be rewarded with its MOR token, while yield generated from user deposits will fund a pool of protocol-owned utility.
SO WHAT Despite the buzz surrounding the recent artificial intelligence boom driven by sophisticated large-language models, developers have struggled to find use-cases for AI within the context of web3. Morpheus aims to change this by supporting smart contract execution powered by AI agents.
Stablecoins
Mountain Protocol's USDM Quietly Becomes Largest Treasury-Backed Stablecoin
TLDR Mountain Protocol's USDM token is now the largest stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasuries. The token now boasts a market cap of $153M just four months after launching.
SO WHAT Mountain Protocol is now the third-largest real-world asset-focused web3 protocol by TVL with $178.5M locked. Increasing demand for exposure to U.S. Treasuries on-chain has propelled impressive growth for the RWA sector.
READ MORE: Mountain Protocol's USDM Quietly Becomes Largest Treasury-Backed Stablecoin
🔎 OUR REPORTERS ARE WATCHING
🌍 ELSEWHERE
- New spot bitcoin ETFs amass 200,000 BTC in less than one month of trading (The Block)
- UK’s Planned Stablecoin Rules Need Reworking, Crypto Advocates Say (CoinDesk)
- Montenegro appellate court blocks Do Kwon’s extradition (CryptoSlate)
