gm, readers.

At Automata we work on protecting privacy and fairness. And in this newsletter, we find more reasons to talk about it. Explore headlines and catch up on the biggest crypto news in Web3 privacy.

This week:

• Pontem announces Lumio – the first L2 to support both EVM and Move VM

• Crust announces launch of EthDA – a scalable Ethereum Layer2 Data Availability solution

• Arbitrum’s rollups-as-a-service, Orbit, integrates NEAR’s data availability layer

• Vitalik Buterin proposes three ways to make Ethereum's proof of stake design simpler

Op-Ed:

• Ripple receives approval to become a Virtual Asset Service Provider by the Central Bank of Ireland

• Ethereum developers target January for the testnet deployment of the upcoming Dencum upgrade, enabling proto-danksharding

• Grayscale execs Barry Silbert, Mark Murphy quit the board of directors

• Worldcoin launches in Singapore after pausing in India

Zooming into ZK:

• zkSync experiences downtime on Christmas for approximately 5 hours

• Fuse announces Layer-2 network powered by Polygon CDK

• Aztec launches Zybil – a sybil-resistant identity protocol operating in the Aztec Sandbox

• Aleo announces the establishment of the Aleo Foundation

• ZKFair launches mainnet as TVL exceeds $100 million

• Clave introduces Universal Recovery solution using zk-email to verify email signatures

We dive into the details, so you don’t have to:

Arbitrum Orbit, a tool allowing developers to establish self-managed chains within the Arbitrum ecosystem, has now integrated with NEAR's data availability layer, offering a modular approach. This Ethereum L2/L3 scaling solution provides the flexibility for developers to create customized chains. With an L2 license approval from the Arbitrum DAO, these chains can settle transactions on Arbitrum One, Arbitrum Nova, or the Ethereum mainnet. The integration with NEAR DA enables developers to benefit from lower data availability costs, ultimately reducing the operating costs of these lightweight chains.

Scheduled for January 17, 2024, Ethereum developers are set to introduce the Dencun upgrade on the Goerli testnet, featuring the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844. This upgrade marks the implementation of proto-danksharding, a mechanism designed to optimize data storage for layer-2 rollup networks like Arbitrum, Base, Polygon zkEVM, and others. It involves a new data format known as "blobs" for temporary storage of transaction data. Unlike the current method where data is permanently stored in the "CALLDATA" field, blobs can be removed after 18 days. This shift is expected to significantly reduce transaction fees on Layer-2 networks.

Privacy-first Layer-1 blockchain Aleo has established the Aleo Foundation to steer and support the Aleo network, focusing on open-source governance, developer engagement, and promoting zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography. The Foundation's key initiatives include a comprehensive developer education program on Leo, their programming language, encouraging developers to create innovative ZK applications on Aleo. Alex Pruden, CEO of Aleo, envisions a future where digital and physical identities seamlessly intertwine, global money transfers are as simple as sending an email, and privacy and security coexist with personalized web experiences.

Connect with Automata on both X (Twitter) and Discord.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice or interpreted as investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and you should always do your own research before making any informed decisions when investing or trading.

gm, readers.

At Automata we work on protecting privacy and fairness. And in this newsletter, we find more reasons to talk about it. Explore headlines and catch up on the biggest crypto news in Web3 privacy.

This week:

• Pontem announces Lumio – the first L2 to support both EVM and Move VM

• Crust announces launch of EthDA – a scalable Ethereum Layer2 Data Availability solution

• Arbitrum’s rollups-as-a-service, Orbit, integrates NEAR’s data availability layer

• Vitalik Buterin proposes three ways to make Ethereum's proof of stake design simpler

Op-Ed:

• Ripple receives approval to become a Virtual Asset Service Provider by the Central Bank of Ireland

• Ethereum developers target January for the testnet deployment of the upcoming Dencum upgrade, enabling proto-danksharding

• Grayscale execs Barry Silbert, Mark Murphy quit the board of directors

• Worldcoin launches in Singapore after pausing in India

Zooming into ZK:

• zkSync experiences downtime on Christmas for approximately 5 hours

• Fuse announces Layer-2 network powered by Polygon CDK

• Aztec launches Zybil – a sybil-resistant identity protocol operating in the Aztec Sandbox

• Aleo announces the establishment of the Aleo Foundation

• ZKFair launches mainnet as TVL exceeds $100 million

• Clave introduces Universal Recovery solution using zk-email to verify email signatures

We dive into the details, so you don’t have to:

Arbitrum Orbit, a tool allowing developers to establish self-managed chains within the Arbitrum ecosystem, has now integrated with NEAR's data availability layer, offering a modular approach. This Ethereum L2/L3 scaling solution provides the flexibility for developers to create customized chains. With an L2 license approval from the Arbitrum DAO, these chains can settle transactions on Arbitrum One, Arbitrum Nova, or the Ethereum mainnet. The integration with NEAR DA enables developers to benefit from lower data availability costs, ultimately reducing the operating costs of these lightweight chains.

Scheduled for January 17, 2024, Ethereum developers are set to introduce the Dencun upgrade on the Goerli testnet, featuring the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844. This upgrade marks the implementation of proto-danksharding, a mechanism designed to optimize data storage for layer-2 rollup networks like Arbitrum, Base, Polygon zkEVM, and others. It involves a new data format known as "blobs" for temporary storage of transaction data. Unlike the current method where data is permanently stored in the "CALLDATA" field, blobs can be removed after 18 days. This shift is expected to significantly reduce transaction fees on Layer-2 networks.

Privacy-first Layer-1 blockchain Aleo has established the Aleo Foundation to steer and support the Aleo network, focusing on open-source governance, developer engagement, and promoting zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography. The Foundation's key initiatives include a comprehensive developer education program on Leo, their programming language, encouraging developers to create innovative ZK applications on Aleo. Alex Pruden, CEO of Aleo, envisions a future where digital and physical identities seamlessly intertwine, global money transfers are as simple as sending an email, and privacy and security coexist with personalized web experiences.

Connect with Automata on both X (Twitter) and Discord.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice or interpreted as investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and you should always do your own research before making any informed decisions when investing or trading.