# Ethereal news weekly #25

> Vitalik: EF will be smaller & more opinionated, Base Azul upgrade live with multiproofs, FTSE Russell US indexes: Bitmine & Sharplink to join

Date: 2026-05-29
Source: https://ethereal.news/ethereal-news-weekly-25/
Editor: Andrew B Coathup

Vitalik: EF will be smaller & more opinionated, Base Azul upgrade live with multiproofs, FTSE Russell US indexes: Bitmine & Sharplink to join

### Ecosystem

* Ethereum Foundation:  
  * Vitalik: [EF will be smaller & more opinionated](https://x.com/VitalikButerin/status/2058583593102844111), still in transition, should stabilize over next few months & board is expanding  
    * Ethereum should be deeply impressive in CROPS (censorship resistant, open source, private & secure): e.g. provably bug-free, available chain consensus & intermediary minimization  
    * ETH is most high-value product of Ethereum blockchain, EF is one node alongside other nodes & we need other heroes to help support ETH  
  * EF app relations: [DeFi sessions recap](https://lobsters.substack.com/p/defi-sessions-by-app-relations-ethereum), roundtables at EthCC with 70+ teams  
* Devcon 8 [supporters program](https://devcon.org/supporters/) applications open  
* ETH metrics:  
  * [Gas](https://ultrasound.money/#gas) (gwei): 0.2 average, 0 \- 3.5 (12.9 for zero net issuance)  
  * [ETH supply change](https://ultrasound.money/): 19k net issuance (7 days)  
  * [ETHUSD](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/ethereum): $1,975 \- $2,142 (all time high $4,946, August 24, 2025\)  
  * [ETH ETFs](https://dune.com/hildobby/eth-etfs): 5.2% of ETH supply  
  * [ETHBTC](https://ratiogang.com/): 0.027 (0.166 for the Flippening)

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### Enterprise

* FTSE Russell US indexes: [Bitmine](https://x.com/fundstrat/status/2058072346204741658) to join Russell 1000 and [Sharplink](https://s3.amazonaws.com/b2icontent.irpass.cc/2597/rl166675.pdf) to join Russell 2000 & 3000  
* [SoFi](https://investors.sofi.com/news/news-details/2026/SoFiUSD-Becomes-the-First-Stablecoin-Issued-by-a-US-National-Bank-to-Launch-on-a-Banking-Platform/default.aspx) (US national bank) members can buy, sell & hold SoFiUSD (stablecoin) in SoFi app  
* Cash App [send & receive USDC](https://cash.app/press/cash-app-stablecoins-all-customers) including on mainnet & Arbitrum, autoconverts to fiat  
* [Mastercard](https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/news-and-trends/press/2026/may/mastercard-granted-new-york-state-department-of-financial-servic.html) granted New York State BitLicense

### Applications

* [DeFi United](https://x.com/aave/status/2059008564794945552): Kelp rsETH backing restored & Aave markets operating normally  
* Privacy:  
  * L2BEAT [Privacy dashboard](https://l2beat.com/privacy/summary), TVL & deposit/withdrawal counts for Tornado Cash, Railgun & Privacy Pools and onchain privacy best practices  
  * [Kohaku SDK explainer](https://x.com/kassandraETH/status/2058896518698926103): embed shielded pool protocols into wallet layer  
* [TamaSwap](https://x.com/boredGenius/status/2060094391667372464) (DEX): no free lunch theorem checked via Lean, onchain html interface, no protocol fees, immutable, built with Tama \+ Verity  
* [Megapot x Protocol Guild](https://www.protocolguild.org/blog/20260528-a-lottery-that-funds-ethereum): onchain lottery on Base, $1 tickets, 10% of ticket sales & 10% of prizes won from ticket sales via referral link goes to Protocol Guild  
* [Poidh](https://x.com/kennyistyping/status/2057507451189293556) (pics or it didn't happen) as ephemeral DAOs

### Developers

* Banteg [EVM compiler benchmark](https://evm.banteg.xyz/), comparison of solc (Solidity) & Vyper compilers  
* Nomic Foundation Hardhat (dev framework):  
  * [Hardhat v3.7.0](https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/hardhat%403.7.0): Hardhat 3 out of beta & now stable  
  * [Hardhat v3.6.0](https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/hardhat%403.6.0): adds AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md files & skills in new projects and Solidity hooks for plugins to get compilation job errors & post-process artifacts  
* [Revert.wtf](https://revert.wtf) (tool): error explainer (EVM, RPC, provider, wallet, account abstraction, protocol & x402)  
* Privy [universal deposit addresses](https://privy.io/blog/introducing-universal-deposit-addresses), users generate persistent addresses, apps specify destination chain & token and Privy handles bridging, swapping & settlement  
* Biconomy [smart batching SDK](https://blog.biconomy.io/smart-batching-sdk-building-on-erc-8211-without-touching-solidity-2/) (TypeScript library): built on ERC8211  
* LI.FI [Intents](https://x.com/lifiprotocol/status/2059311145086017939) built on Open Intents Framework (OIF)  
* Etherscan [implementations for](https://x.com/etherscan/status/2059961706567344207): view proxy contracts that depend on implementation  
* [Sepolia testnet](https://ethereum-magicians.org/t/sepolia-testnet-replacement-sunsetting/28647) proposal to sunset in Q2/Q3 2027, with replacement testnet launching as PoW & reaching latest network upgrade in Q1 2027  
* [Remix AI bootcamp](https://www.encodeclub.com/programmes/remix-ai-bootcamp-for-real-world-impact) for real world impact, 5 weeks online, starts June 15  
* Application layer standards (ERCs):  
  * [ERC8269](https://github.com/ethereum/ERCs/pull/1763/changes): Body lease & credential broker (for ERC8264 agents)  
  * [ERC8270](https://github.com/ethereum/ERCs/pull/1766/changes): Canonical validator wrapper  
  * [ERC8273](https://github.com/ethereum/ERCs/pull/1770/changes): Attestation gated agentic actions  
  * [ERC8274](https://github.com/ethereum/ERCs/pull/1771/changes): AI inference proof verification  
  * [ERC8275](https://github.com/ethereum/ERCs/pull/1774/changes): Agent service discovery & escrow payments  
  * [ERC8276](https://github.com/ethereum/ERCs/pull/1767/changes): Non-fungible multi-token ownerOf  
  * [ERC8277](https://github.com/ethereum/ERCs/pull/1776/changes): Persistent identity token  
  * [ERC8278](https://github.com/ethereum/ERCs/pull/1777/changes): Service objects (ERC721 extension)

### Agents

* [Base MCP](https://x.com/base/status/2059305572793508045): connect Base Account and review & approve agent proposed actions

### Security

* Third-party Safe module \~[$3M exploit](https://x.com/safefndn/status/2058944551138808022) on mainnet & Base, victims had module enabled which allowed execution of arbitrary calldata using a string from the contract  
* StablR (EURR & USDR stablecoins) [exploit](https://x.com/StablREuro/status/2058520949075386683)  
* Stake DAO [unauthorised vsdCRV mint](https://x.com/StakeDAOHQ/status/2059938235724320959) on Arbitrum  
* TheDAO Security Fund: [Ethereum Security quadratic funding round results](https://forum.giveth.io/t/ethereum-security-qf-round-results-april-23-may-14-2026/2201), 134 projects shared $315k in donations from \~4k donors \+ 637 ETH matching pool  
  * Top 5 projects by matching: SEAL 911, The Red Guild, ZachXBT, Revoke.cash & SEAL Frameworks

### All core devs (main protocol calls)

#### All core devs \- consensus (ACDC) [\#179](https://forkcast.org/calls/acdc/179)

* [Glamsterdam](https://forkcast.org/upgrade/glamsterdam) upgrade (targeting mid-2026):  
  * [glamsterdam-devnet-4](https://glamsterdam-devnet-4.ethpandaops.io/): investigating implementation bug, plan to relaunch once fixed as glamsterdam-devnet-5 with same spec  
  * ethPandaOps [disruptoor](https://github.com/ethpandaops/disruptoor#readme) (tool): trigger short & long range reorgs & forks in Kurtosis  
  * Engine API SSZ: [move & refactor proposal](https://github.com/ethereum/execution-apis/pull/793) selected, led by Marius van der Wijden, faster deprecation path as can drop JSON RPC at Hegotá upgrade     
  * Reviewed consensus layer EIPs currently considered for inclusion:  
    * [EIP8080](https://forkcast.org/eips/8080) Let exits use consolidation queue, plan to decline for inclusion, confirm at next ACDC  
    * [EIP8061](https://forkcast.org/eips/8061) Increase exit & consolidation churn, plan to schedule for inclusion as implemented in devnets, confirm at next ACDC  
    * [EIP8045](https://forkcast.org/eips/8045) Exclude slashed validators from proposing, review implementation complexity  
    * [EIP7688](https://forkcast.org/eips/7688) Forward compatible consensus data structures, review whether to include once devnets stable  
* [Hegotá](https://forkcast.org/upgrade/hegota) upgrade (targeting late-2026):  
  * Non-headliners proposed for inclusion:  
    * [EIP8148](https://forkcast.org/eips/8148) custom sweep threshold for validators; [presentation](https://pitch.com/v/eip-8148-acdc-z4w5ev) 
* ACDC \#180 will trial 11am UTC start as more suitable for Australian timezones

### Layer 1

* ethPandaOps [Fast Confirmation Rule simulator](https://ethpandaops.io/posts/fcr-simulator/): replayed a year of mainnet data, zero false confirmations, 96% of slots would have been fast confirmed within 12 seconds  
* [Glamsterdam](https://forkcast.org/upgrade/glamsterdam) upgrade (targeting mid-2026):  
  * [ePBS security analysis](https://github.com/ethereum/epbs-security-analysis#readme), identified 6 properties design is meant to guarantee & where in spec code each guarantee is enforced, next step is line level proofs  
  * Glamsterdam repricings [\#8](https://forkcast.org/calls/price/008), breakout moving to ACDT  
* Nixo: Network upgrade [Scheduled for Inclusion (SFI) definition updated](https://x.com/nixorokish/status/2059016531548496035)  
* Ethereum improvement proposals (EIPs):  
  * [EIP8272](https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/pull/11726/changes): Recent roots for frame transactions; [explainer](https://x.com/soispoke/status/2059265180459004391)  
  * [EIP8279](https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/pull/11739/changes): Block access list byte floor 

### Research

* [Multi-party block construction](https://blockspace.forum/research/towards-mpbc.html) (MPBC) design, move from monolithic builder per block to blocks assembled from contributions of multiple builders

### Staking

* [Client diversity](https://clientdiversity.org/#distribution):  
  * Consensus layer: Lighthouse \~54% (data may not be accurate)  
* [Staking market share](https://dune.com/hildobby/eth2-staking): Lido 22% \[Note: [dual governance](https://dg.lido.fi/)\]  
* [Validators](https://pectrified.com/mainnet): 898k active (target 128k), 13k accumulating (0x02 withdrawal credentials)  
* Client releases:  
  * Consensus layer:  
    * Offchain [Prysm v7.1.4](https://github.com/OffchainLabs/prysm/releases/tag/v7.1.4) (maintenance): fixes, performance improvements & Glamsterdam upgrade work   
  * Execution layer:  
    * [Erigon v3.4.2](https://github.com/erigontech/erigon/releases/tag/v3.4.2) (recommended): fixes state-leak that could surface after tip reorg, improved receipt cache handling & DB/state merge  
    * Lambda [ethrex v14.0.0](https://github.com/lambdaclass/ethrex/releases/tag/v14.0.0): faster block execution & RLP import, adds EIP3155 opcodeTracer and DB schema changes (no resync required but can’t roll back)

### Layer 2

* Base [Azul upgrade](https://x.com/base/status/2060066368200876512) live with multiproofs (TEE & ZK provers), base-reth-node & base-consensus clients and adds Fusaka upgrade features  
* Optimism [stake-based priority ordering](https://x.com/Optimism/status/2059275328254832974), 4 week experiment live on OP Mainnet, participants who stake 100k+ OP get priority block positioning  
* Celo [OP-Succinct Lite](https://forum.celo.org/t/op-succinct-sp1-hypercube-upgrade-live-on-celo-mainnet/13349) upgraded to SP1 Hypercube, proof generation time expected to decrease by 75%+ & proof generation costs expected to decrease by 60%+

### Regulation

* US CFTC [joins Gemini in motion to vacate prospective provisions](https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9236-26) of Jan 2025 consent order from 2022 case  
* [Paxos subsidiary](https://www.paxos.com/newsroom/sec-registers-paxos-securities-settlement-company-as-a-clearing-agency) granted US SEC clearing agency registration  
* [Push by Aave Labs](https://x.com/aave/status/2059922168843304970) received UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approval to register as cryptoasset exchange provider

### General

* Privacy Stewards of Ethereum (PSE): [prove Taiwanese citizen digital certificate](https://x.com/PrivacyEthereum/status/2059620025447670046), OpenAC implementation  
* Vitalik started writing [decentralized governance sci-fi](https://vitalik.eth.limo/w/), two chapters so far

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*Editor: [@abcoathup](https://x.com/abcoathup)*  
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