Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly roundup of key developments in cryptocurrency technology. I'm Marc Hochstein, CoinDesk's deputy editor-in-chief.
In this issue:
- Bitcoin introduces a DEX through the Nomic bridge
- Union Labs raises $12 million for expansion
- Jesse Pollak reflects on BALD from Base
- Justin Drake outlines Ethereum's Beam Chain strategy and comments on Solana
Network News
Ethereum's Revenue Rises: Steno Research recently reported a significant increase in Ethereum's transaction revenue. This surge followed Donald Trump's election victory. Analyst Mads Eberhardt pointed out that this is crucial for all on-chain activities. Higher revenue means better staking rewards and more ether (ETH) being burned through transaction fees. This boosts Ethereum's overall tokenomics. Interestingly, the amount of USDT on Ethereum has now surpassed that on Tron for the first time in over two years. This indicates a strong rise in on-chain activity and a growing demand for ether for transactions.
Bitcoin DEX Launch: Osmosis, a decentralized exchange (DEX) built for the Cosmos blockchain, has created a bridge to Bitcoin. This move marks a strategic shift toward the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. In June, the governing DAO of Osmosis voted to implement the Bitcoin bridge, known as Nomic. It went live on Tuesday. Now, users can deposit their BTC and receive a token called alloyed BTC (allBTC) on Osmosis. Matt Bell, CEO of Turbofish, the team behind Nomic, stated that the entire process remains decentralized, eliminating the need for intermediaries like Bitgo or Coinbase. Osmosis aims to leverage the value of BTC to enhance liquidity in the broader crypto ecosystem.
Union Labs Secures Funding: Union Labs has successfully raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Gumi Cryptos Capital and Longhash Ventures. This funding will help expand Union’s core team, improve partner integrations, and foster ecosystem growth. This round follows a previous $4 million seed financing raised last year. Notable participants include Borderless Capital and angel investors from the Polygon, Celestia, Movement, and Berachain communities. Union’s main product is a modular, zero-knowledge (ZK) interoperability layer that simplifies asset transfers between Ethereum and Cosmos. They plan to launch their mainnet in early 2025. The team is also looking to address Bitcoin's scripting limitations to enable secure asset transfers across Bitcoin L2s and the multichain ecosystem, enhancing DeFi on Bitcoin.
BALD on Base: Critics have called the Base blockchain, created by Coinbase, too centralized. But the launch of BALD, a meme coin created on Base last year, challenges that notion. Jesse Pollak, founder of Base, noted that BALD showed the platform wouldn't be entirely controlled or curated. Unfortunately, BALD ultimately turned out to be a rug pull.
Ethereum's Beam Chain: Developer Justin Drake recently presented his proposal for a significant overhaul of Ethereum's consensus layer, called the Beam Chain, during the recent Devcon event in Bangkok. He clarified that this proposal is not about competing with rivals but about ensuring Ethereum's long-term viability. Despite Ethereum's growing adoption, which has led to higher costs and slower transactions, Drake does not see Solana as a threat. He emphasized that the Beam Chain focuses on improving the long-term health and security of the consensus layer rather than immediate performance. Drake pointed out that Solana prioritizes performance over network health.
Click here for the full interview by CoinDesk's Margaux Nijkerk.
Money Center
What are the odds? Polymarket maintains a loyal user base a month after the election, according to data.
Deals and Grants
- GraFun expands to the TON Network to enable memecoin creation directly in Telegram.
- Tokenized Uranium launches on the Tezos Blockchain with involvement from Archax and Cameco.
- Grayscale files to convert its Solana Trust into an ETF.
Regulatory and Policy
Crypto cash supported 53 members of the upcoming U.S. Congress. An opinion piece states that the issue of de-banking requires urgent attention.
Calendar
Here are some key upcoming events:
- Dec. 4-5: India Blockchain Week, Bangalore
- Dec. 5-6: Emergence, Prague
- Dec. 9-12: Abu Dhabi Finance Week
- Dec. 11-12: AI Summit NYC
- Dec. 11-14: Taipei Blockchain Week
- Jan. 9-12, 2025: CES, Las Vegas
- Jan. 15-19: World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland
- Jan. 21-25: WAGMI conference, Miami
- Jan. 24-25: Adopting Bitcoin, Cape Town, South Africa
- Jan. 30-31: PLAN B Forum, San Salvador, El Salvador
- Feb. 1-6: Satoshi Roundtable, Dubai
- Feb. 19-20, 2025: ConsensusHK, Hong Kong
- Feb. 23-24: NFT Paris
- Feb. 23-March 2: ETHDenver
- May 14-16: Consensus, Toronto
- May 27-29: Bitcoin 2025, Las Vegas
Ethereum Blockchain
Justin Drake
Marc Hochstein