Weekly Ecosystem Updates (October 12th - October 19th)

Ethereum Foundation Under Fire: Link

The Ethereum Foundation is facing criticism after a former core developer’s leaked letter exposed issues around governance, compensation, and centralization. The document alleges that decision-making is dominated by a small “elite” around Vitalik Buterin - contradicting the network’s decentralised ethos - and points to systemic under-payment of key contributors despite Ethereum’s vast market cap. 

Robinhood’s Tokenized Stocks Expansion: Link

Robinhood is bringing 493 U.S. stocks and ETFs on-chain, allowing users to trade tokenized versions that mirror the real-time price movements of underlying assets. These tokens don’t grant ownership rights but offer 24/7 access and liquidity - bridging traditional equities with the crypto ecosystem.

Ethereum Foundation Veteran Joins Stripe-Backed Tempo: Link

An Ethereum Foundation researcher has joined the Stripe-backed Tempo team, focusing on payments and stablecoin infrastructure while remaining a research adviser to Ethereum. Both ETH and Tempo share a “strong alignment” - with Tempo’s open-source payment tech expected to strengthen the broader Ethereum ecosystem.

Alipay Launches Ethereum Layer 2 via Jovay Network: Link

Alipay has entered the Ethereum ecosystem with a new Layer 2 project - Jovay Network - aimed at onboarding its 1.4 billion users to Web3. Built for scalability and compliance, Jovay bridges Alipay’s massive payment network with Ethereum’s decentralized infrastructure.

BNB Chain & BPN Partner to Power the Future of Onchain Payments: Link

BNB Chain has partnered with Better Payment Network (BPN) to build a multi-stablecoin global settlement network, a programmable, real-time payment layer powered by onchain liquidity.

CMB International, a subsidiary of China Merchants Bank, has launched its $3.8B Money Market Fund on BNB Chain: Link

By launching on BNB Chain, CMB International is extending institutional-grade access to the world of decentralized finance - bridging traditional financial strength with blockchain’s transparency and efficiency.

Four.Meme new feature, Token Name Protection: Link

To keep launches fair and simple, Four.Meme now blocks duplicate or similar names in Fair Mode.

Sign Secures $25.5M Strategic Investment Led by YZi Labs: Link

YZi Labs Announces Follow-on Investment in Sign to Scale National Blockchain Infra on BNB Chain

Solana Spot ETF Approved by SEC: Link
The SEC officially approved 21Shares’ Form 8-A, marking the first-ever Solana Spot ETF for U.S. investors - a major step toward mainstream adoption.

CME Group Launches CFTC-Regulated Solana Options: Link
The world’s largest derivatives exchange launched CFTC-approved $SOL options, bringing Solana exposure to the traditional finance derivatives market.

VanEck Updates Solana Staking ETF Filing:  Link
VanEck submitted an updated Solana Staking ETF prospectus with a 0.30% management fee, signaling growing institutional confidence in Solana.

a16z Invests $50M in Jito:  Link
a16z made a $50M strategic investment in Jito, acquiring $JTO and strengthening its presence in Solana’s staking and MEV ecosystem.

Bitwise Solana Staking ETP Crosses $100M AUM:  Link
Bitwise reported its Solana Staking ETP has surpassed $100M in assets, reinforcing institutional demand for onchain yield exposure.

Uniswap Expands to Solana:  Link
The leading DEX @Uniswap now supports Solana, allowing users to swap tokens and connect wallets alongside Ethereum and 13+ other chains.

Anza Proposes SIMD-0266: Efficient Token Program:  Link
Anza introduced P-Token, a major upgrade replacing the SPL Token - reducing compute usage by up to 98% and boosting network throughput.

Jupiter Unveils Ultra V3 Trading Engine:  Link
JupiterExchange launched Ultra V3, its most advanced trading engine to date, enabling faster and more efficient execution across Solana.

Gemini Adds Stablecoin Transfers on Solana:  Link
Gemini integrated $USDC and $USDT transfers on Solana, offering users faster, low-fee stablecoin transactions.

Gemini Launches First Solana Credit Card:  Link
Gemini introduced the first Solana-powered credit card, offering up to 4% rewards in $SOL with automatic staking for compounding yield.

$TSLAx Surpasses $25M Onchain Supply:  Link
The tokenized Tesla stock ($TSLAx) now holds $25M+ in supply and 14K+ holders, providing seamless real-world asset exposure on Solana.

Solana Game Pass Season 1 Goes Live Next Week:  Link
Players can explore 30+ Solana-based games through Galxe, complete weekly missions, and earn exclusive Solana Gaming rewards.

Anatoly Yakovenko Experiments with Percolator DEX:  Link
Solana’s founder is exploring a new perp DEX concept called Percolator, testing AI-driven AMM design using Claude AI.

Botanix exclusive NFTs minting:. Link

NFT mint exclusively for community stakers who joined when Botanix raised the vault cap from 50 to 100 BTC.

Sats Terminal Swaps integrated frBTC:. Link

Enabling users to directly trade the trust-minimized, 1:1 BTC-pegged wrapped token - issued by Subfrost for seamless interoperability across Bitcoin L1 DeFi protocols - against BTC or any Alkanes token like $DIESEL.

Babylon completed the first Trustless Vaults experiment:  Link

Babylon completed the first Trustless Vaults experiment enabling native Bitcoin to be used trustlessly as collateral for borrowing on Ethereum via a proof-of-concept tested on the Morpho.

BounceBit launched BounceBit v3:  Link

BounceBit launched V3 "Big Bank" with rebasing BB-tokens, 50x leverage perps DEX, unified CeDeFi vaults, and 28-day BB staking.

S&P Global Enters DeFi via Chainlink Integration:  Link

Base welcomed S&P Global credit ratings to onchain finance through a Chainlink-powered integration, marking a milestone for institutional data in DeFi.

Baseapp Launches Creator Coins:  Link

Baseapp introduced Creator Coins, allowing creators to share upside while rewarding community participation and engagement.

Coinbase Debuts CDP Embedded Wallets:  Link

Coinbase rolled out Embedded Wallets for developers - the fastest way to integrate secure wallets into any onchain app.

Coinbase Invests in CoinDCX at $2.45B Valuation:  Link

Coinbase Ventures backed CoinDCX, targeting over 100M users across India and the Middle East.

Virtuals Listed on Robinhood:  Link
Virtuals made its debut on Robinhood, bringing its AI agent protocol to mainstream retail investors.

Virtuals Launches Unicorn Leaderboard:  Link
The new Unicorn Leaderboard allocates 5% of total supply to $VIRTUAL stakers for each successful launch.

Recall Introduces Liquid AI Skill Markets:  Link
Recall launched AI skill markets featuring bounty systems and competitive ranking to reward model builders.

SolvProtocol Unlocks Bitcoin Yield on Base:  Link
SolvProtocol launched BTC yield generation vaults (1,000 BTC cap) through cbBTC integration, bridging Bitcoin to Base.

LiveArt Brings Luxury Assets Onchain:  Link
LiveArt introduced fractional trading for luxury collectibles - from Picassos to Rolexes - directly on Base.

Flexa Enables USDC Merchant Payments on Base:  Link
Flexa partnered with Base to enable merchant USDC payments without wallet complexity, boosting retail adoption.

Backpack Wallet Goes HyperEVM-Native:  Link

Backpack announced full support for HyperEVM, enabling seamless token management (e.g., HYPE balances) and app exploration (e.g., HypurrFi, Felix, Curve Finance, HyperLend).

Hybra Finance TGE Sprint (October 20–27):  Link

Hybra, boasting $2.71B cumulative volume and $5.37M fees, launched its TGE with a "Launch Sprint" featuring 100% points boosts on V4 dynamic-fee pools, $10K weekly cash drops, and $5K referrals. Airdrop claims open October 28, followed by presale/trading on October 29.

Hyperwave HWAVE LBP Concludes (October 20):  Link

The HWAVE liquidity bootstrap pool (LBP) ended at 1 PM UTC on October 20, triggering listings and Wave Point claims. This positions HWAVE as a key liquidity tool on HyperEVM, with buys directed via native pools.

Ventuals vHYPE Goes Live (October 16):  Link

Ventuals unveiled vHYPE, marking a "new chapter" in tokenizing private markets publicly on HyperEVM. Early participants are promised rewards, emphasizing venture-style access to illiquid assets.

Agora's Arrival on Monad (AUSD & earnAUSD Launch):  Link

Agora is deploying its stablecoin infrastructure on the Monad, partnering with Upshift to introduce AUSD (a 1:1 USD-backed institutional-grade digital dollar) and earnAUSD (a liquid yield token).

How Monad works:  Link

Monad, an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, released a comprehensive blog post, offering a high-level survey of its architecture designed for extreme scalability and decentralization.