Welcome to The Protocol, your weekly update on the latest developments in cryptocurrency tech. I'm Margaux Nijkerk, CoinDesk's Tech & Protocols reporter. This issue covers significant network news, including Ethereum's 10-year anniversary. When Ethereum launched in 2015, it aimed to push the boundaries of blockchain technology.
A decade later, it has revolutionized finance, culture, and software, despite facing numerous challenges. As Ethereum marks this milestone, its price has seen a notable increase, reaching $3,800 in July.
The ecosystem has also witnessed a surge in new use cases, such as tokenization and stablecoin growth, with companies now holding ETH in their treasuries for both long-term value and yield generation. Leading figures in Ethereum's ecosystem reflect on the past decade and the project's future. Read more about Ethereum's journey and its potential for further growth.
Additionally, Linea, an Ethereum layer-2 network, has announced comprehensive upgrades to deepen its integration with the layer 1 network. These upgrades include ETH-native staking on bridged assets, a protocol-level ETH burn mechanism, and the allocation of 85% of its token supply to ecosystem development. This move is expected to position Ethereum for greater institutional interest and reinforce Linea as a hub for innovations in on-chain capital markets. The upgrades will also introduce a deflationary mechanism by burning LINEA tokens.
Solana's ecosystem has unveiled a roadmap for 'Internet Capital Markets,' focusing on decentralized, high-performance foundations for the next generation of on-chain financial applications. The roadmap emphasizes Application-Controlled Execution (ACE), giving smart contracts millisecond-level control over transaction sequencing.
This development aims to address market microstructure challenges and provide a more robust foundation for Solana-based applications. Furthermore, Jack Dorsey's Square has started rolling out bitcoin payments for merchants, enabling them to accept Lightning Network-powered BTC payments. The service, which settles payments in real-near time, is expected to be available to all merchants using Square's sales platform by next year. These developments highlight the ongoing evolution of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, with a focus on increased adoption, improved functionality, and greater mainstream acceptance.