The Protocol: Which Ethereum Layer-2 Project ISN’T Competing to Land Celo?

In this week’s issue of The Protocol, we highlight layoffs hitting key firms as well, and how blockchain projects are competing for new mandates – specifically big Ethereum layer-2 developers like OP Labs, Polygon and Matter Labs vying to provide the technology for the Celo blockchain’s new network

Google Cloud Pushes Deeper Into Blockchain Data, Adding 11 Networks Including Polygon

Google’s cloud-computing business has stored historical data on Bitcoin since 2018, claiming the service provides faster access than can be obtained directly from the blockchain.

The Protocol: Ethereum Struggles With Sprawl as Optimism Airdrops $27M

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of Ethereum’s historic “Merge” – the shift to a more energy-efficient proof-of-stake network. But in some ways the largest smart-contract blockchain has become a victim of its own success: Staking is so popular that the number of network validators is mushrooming toward 1 million, introducing new concerns related to […]

Ethereum Blockchain Launches ‘Holesky’ Test Network, on First Anniversary of Historic ‘Merge’

The debut of the testing system – designed to be twice as big as the main network so developers can simulate massive scaling, comes a year after Ethereum completed its historic “Merge” shift to a “proof-of-stake” model from the original “proof-of-work” setup that Bitcoin uses.

The Protocol: The CFTC Is Cracking Down on Crypto

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission placed a trio of decentralized crypto platforms into its crosshairs last week. An aggressive set of charges from the CFTC – which zeroed in on how the trading platforms handle certain kinds of third-party token swaps – contrasted with the regulator’s more lenient image.