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The Protocol

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Exploring the tech behind crypto one block at a time.

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Technologies

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

ALSO: Check out our exclusive interview with DYdX founder Antonio Juliano.

(taopaodao/ Unsplash)

Technologies

The Protocol: The CFTC Is Cracking Down on Crypto

The move marks a contrast to its previously 'lenient' image compared to the SEC.

(Héctor J. Rivas/ Unsplash)

Technologies

Hello Holesky, Ethereum’s Newest Testnet

The new network comes after years of growth for Ethereum’s developer community and will replace the Goerli testnet.

Ethereum (Unsplash)

Technologies

The Protocol: Ethereum Learns of Potential Defector as ‘Supreme Court’ Mooted

What is a blockchain “sequencer?” Here’s why you need to know, along with all the latest updates on crypto tech news and fundraising announcements.

(CHUTTERSNAP/Unsplash)

Technologies

The Protocol: Friend.tech Fades as Crypto Craze, but Ethereum Is Scaling

This week in blockchain tech: Polygon's new "chain development kit," Farcaster's move to Optimism, Shibarium's return and Interlay's new Bitcoin layer-2 network, and Pancake Swap expands to Consensys's Linea.

The silver lining from the Friend.tech episode is that it reveals Ethereum's scaling strategy might be working. (Creative Commons)

Technologies

The Protocol: Coinbase Blockchain's Viral Use Case Puts Focus on Optimism's Tech

The week in blockchain tech: Crypto-fueled social marketplace Friend.tech goes viral on Coinbase's new Base blockchain, Shiba Inu community's "Shibarium" network aims for fresh start, and Ethereum experts handicap the competition between leading technologies for layer-2 networks.

Chart shows surge in buyers on Base's Friend.tech app after the project announced it had received an investment earlier this year from the crypto-focused venture capital firm Paradigm. (Messari/Dune)

Technologies

The Protocol: Blockchains Keep Launching, From Sei to Shibarium

The week in blockchain tech: Two much-hyped networks debut, though the launches weren't quite as smooth as organizers might have hoped. ALSO: What is restaking? (Answer: it's the blockchain security trend you didn't know you needed to know about.)

Shiba Inu Doge dog (Getty Images)

Technologies

The Protocol: Coinbase Launches Own Blockchain as Sleuths Scour PayPal's Stablecoin Software

We're covering Coinbase's launch of "Base," a layer-2 network atop Ethereum, along with the crypto community's reaction to PayPal's new stablecoin and the brouhaha over Matter Labs' use of Polygon-crafted open-source software.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong (Coinbase)

Technologies

Ledger Recover Fiasco Exposes Gap Between Blockchain Ideals and Technical Reality

After a video went viral of what appears to be a hardware wallet getting smashed with a hammer and then blow-torched into a charred mass, Ledger (and all of the crypto industry) got a searing reminder on the importance of managing expectations.

Screen grab from video purporting to show a user smashing a hardware wallet with a hammer and then setting it ablaze with a blowtorch. (@oklahodl1/Twitter)

Technologies

Ethereum Briefly Stopped Finalizing Transactions. What Happened?

The loss in finality meant that blocks could have been tampered with, and while it isn’t supposed to affect end-user experiences, it did lead to some inconveniences for some applications.

(Shubham Dhage/Unsplash)