Crypto development has seen a recent surge in new blockchains, including layer-2 networks built atop Ethereum. This week, the Sei network launched, optimized for speed and trading applications, as well as the meme-obsessed Shiba Inu crypto community’s new Shibarium blockchain. As documented in The Protocol this week, these launches weren’t always so smooth. Our feature story takes a deep dive into “restaking” and a pioneering protocol called EigenLayer, which could be a potentially explosive technological trend. There are worries, though, that the practice may take on a life of its own, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has warned of the potential for systemic risk.
The Sei network launched to the public, and its native SEI token garnered more than $1 billion in trading volume after being listed on crypto exchanges. Jay Jog, co-founder of Sei Labs, said that the “solution” to providing faster performance of decentralized trading applications was a “fundamental rewrite of the underlying infrastructure.” After some wild first-day fluctuations, the SEI token had a market capitalization of about $343 million.
The Shiba Inu blockchain community launched its new layer-2 blockchain, Shibarium, built atop Ethereum. The goal is to reduce transaction fees for users involved in Shiba Inu ecosystem, but there is also a mechanism to boost the price of the SHIB token. The new blockchain will use BONE tokens as the primary gas token – used to pay fees; and some 70% of base fees will be converted into SHIB tokens and then burned.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, shut down Binance Connect, formerly known as Bifinity, just one year after its launch. The service allowed merchants to accept payments in crypto, supporting 50 digital assets and major credit-card networks including Visa and Mastercard.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump held $2.8 million in a cryptocurrency wallet as of early August; the blockchain-analysis firm Arkham Intelligence said it found what appears to be the wallet address, and it contains ether (ETH) along with wrapped ETH (wETH), Polygon’s MATIC tokens and the USDC stablecoin.
Injective Protocol, blockchain built for finance that claims to be the fastest among layer 1s, announced a new “2.0” tokenomics upgrade. The plan will “dramatically increase the amount of INJ burned weekly,” according to a blog post.
This week saw the launch of the Sei network, the Shiba Inu crypto community’s Shibarium blockchain, and the shutdown of Binance Connect. Former U.S. President Donald Trump was revealed to have held $2.8 million in a cryptocurrency wallet, and Injective Protocol announced a new tokenomics upgrade. These developments are part of a mini-explosion in new blockchains, including layer-2 networks built atop Ethereum, and a pioneering protocol called EigenLayer that could be a potentially explosive technological trend.