Yesterday's 1-of-1 Ethereum Daily collectible winner is @highplains66 🏆 Thank you for your support!

Korea’s largest exchange, Upbit, plans to launch a Layer 2 using the Optimism OP Stack. The move would place another major centralized exchange directly onchain with its own L2 infrastructure.

Why this matters: An exchange-operated L2 could funnel users and liquidity into the Ethereum ecosystem at scale.

Ronin Network selected Optimism’s OP Stack and announced partnerships with EigenDA, Boundless, and Cartesi to power its roadmap. The update signals Ronin’s alignment with the Superchain vision while expanding data availability and developer tooling.

Why this matters: Standardizing on OP Stack improves interoperability and lowers integration costs for Ronin's users and builders.

Protocol Guild released its inaugural Compensation Report, noting many Ethereum core developers are earning 50% or less of their market value. The report highlights funding realities across teams that maintain and advance Ethereum’s protocol and how the Protocol Guild fills that wage gap.

Why this matters: Sustained, transparent funding for core contributors is essential for network security and long-term roadmap delivery.

Forkcast.org now hosts videos, transcripts, and chat logs for Ethereum’s three recurring protocol calls in one place. The update improves discoverability and archival of decision-relevant engineering discussions.

Why this matters: Better primary-source access helps researchers and builders track consensus changes and upgrade planning.

Stablecoin inflows to Ethereum mainnet reached $2.9 billion for the first time. The figure reflects heightened capital rotation onto Ethereum.

Why this matters: Strong inflows can presage higher onchain activity and liquidity conditions for apps and DeFi.

SharpLink Gaming disclosed a $1.5 billion buyback program with the stocks mNAV below 1.00. The announcement notes capital allocation mechanics relevant to holders.

Why this matters: Large buybacks can affect float dynamics and may influence how crypto-adjacent public equities trade.

HashKey Group unveiled a $500 million Digital Asset Treasury product investing in ETH and BTC.

Why this matters: Institutional treasuries allocating to ETH broaden the base of long-term holders and potential liquidity providers.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is preparing to list perpetual futures contracts for ETH and BTC. The plan would introduce listed perpetuals alongside existing derivatives markets.

Why this matters: Exchange-listed perpetuals could attract new participants and deepen market structure around ETH.

Ethena Labs announced an integration of their USDe token across the entire Binance platform. The connection expands access to Ethena products for Binance's 280 million users.

Why this matters: Exchange integrations can accelerate user growth and improve liquidity for app mechanisms.

Cap shared details of its first major delegation partnership with Renzo Protocol and Symbiotic. The setup demonstrates how the protocol leverages a novel mechanism and restaking to provide uncollateralized lending. insurance, and yield for stcUSD holders.

Why this matters: Delegation structures can professionalize capital routing and risk management for app ecosystems.

Georgios Konstantopoulos announced Porto is production ready, open source, and live on Ethereum, Optimism, Base, Arbitrum, Celo, and Polygon. The release targets developers building across EVM environments.

Why this matters: Multi-chain availability plus open sourcing can speed adoption and composability for developer tooling.

Arman Aurobindo of zkVerify highlighted a new tool from ZKV Protocol, Succinct Labs, and Apple that verifies photos. The work showcases verifiable media primitives.

Why this matters: Trustable media proofs are foundational for identity, provenance, and AI-era content authenticity onchain.

Avantis Finance announced its token AVNT is now live. Availability marks a new phase for protocol incentives and governance.

Why this matters: Token launches often align incentives between users, liquidity providers, and protocol stewards.

Spark disclosed it has joined as a Morpho Labs Curator. The role involves contributing to curation processes for borrow and earn programs.

Why this matters: Curator sets can improve risk calibration and market efficiency for lending protocols.

Virtuals opened project submissions for the “Ethereum is for AI” Hackathon. The event features $100,000 in prizes for participating teams.

Why this matters: Incentivized hackathons catalyze new app ideas at the AI-crypto intersection.

Ondo Finance outlined details and a partnership related to Fidelity’s new FDIT tokenized fund. The announcement describes how tokenized assets can interface with onchain finance rails.

Why this matters: Institutional tokenization efforts deepen the pipeline of real-world assets settling on Ethereum.

Aligned Layer announced a strategic partnership with 4Mica to enable services that extend a line of credit via cryptographic fair-exchange guarantees. The collaboration targets new designs for secure service exchange.

Why this matters: Novel cryptographic guarantees can unlock trust-minimized credit and service markets onchain.

Five new products were launched across the Ethereum mainnet and Top 10 Layer 2's. Click here for the details on each launch.

Why this matters: Discovery threads help users find fresh tools and teams gain early traction.

The Arbitrum Foundation published its H1 2025 progress report. The update summarizes milestones across governance, ecosystem growth, and technology.

Why this matters: Transparent reporting helps tokenholders and builders evaluate roadmap execution.

L2BEAT introduced a Partnership Fund aimed at developing a sustainable business model for the L2 Data provider.

Why this matters: Dedicated funding can accelerate tooling, education, and standards across Layer 2s.

Optimism shared details from Season 8 Retro Funding, with 182 builders rewarded. The program recognizes impactful public goods and ecosystem contributions.

Why this matters: Sustained retroactive funding incentivizes long-term, non-excludable work that benefits all network participants.

@Shadowfax announced the Blob Arena Guild Competition is now live on Starknet. The campaign engages the community around the L2's gaming community.

Why this matters: Community competitions can stress-test infrastructure while onboarding new users to L2 mechanics.

Eli Schein shared that Art Blocks has raised more than $50 million for charitable causes. The contribution reflects cumulative proceeds across Art Blocks’ initiatives.

Aerodrome Finance published a blog post previewing community-focused token launch mechanics rolling out soon. The piece describes how launch design choices can broaden participation and distribution.

The Rage shared an article analyzing a new U.S. Senate market structure bill. The write-up outlines potential implications for crypto market venues and participants.

Ant Digital plans to tokenize more than $8 billion worth of energy assets, per reporting. The initiative highlights ongoing institutional tokenization across real-world asset classes.

Click here for the latest Ethereum research and development updates.

Click here for a rolling list of Ethereum-based events.

Click here for a list of new job opportunities in the Ethereum ecosystem announced on X.

For more Ethereum updates subscribe to Ethereum Daily and follow us on the social media platforms below.

Disclosures: Ethereum Daily is an independent publication and does not offer financial or investment advice. Content may include opinions, affiliate links, or references to projects in which contributors have a financial interest. Always do your own research.