The Protocol: Ethereum Turns 10

In this issue:

Ethereum at 10: Where Next for the World Computer?
Linea to Burn ETH With Every Transaction in Bold L2 Upgrade
Solana Players Unveil ‘Internet Capital Markets’ Roadmap
Square Begins Rollout of Bitcoin Payments for Sellers, Targets Full Availability by 2026

Network news

In Other News

Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate owner of bitcoin said it has acquired roughly $2.4 billion worth of BTC using the funds from its new preferred stock (STRC) issuance. The firm sold nearly $2.5 billion worth of STRC, also dubbed “stretch,” to investors, significantly more than the originally planned $500 million. STRC, which aims to deliver a regular dividend to investors initially set at a 9% rate, will start trading on Wednesday on Nasdaq. With the proceeds, the company purchased 21,021 BTC at an average price of $117,256, according to a press release. That brings Strategy’s bitcoin holdings to 628,791 BTC, worth nearly $74 billion at current prices. — Krisztian Sandor Read more.
SharpLink Gaming (SBET), the Nasdaq-listed crypto treasury firm helmed by Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin, unveiled that its ether (ETH) holdings increased to 438,190 tokens, worth roughly $1.68 billion at current prices. The company bought 77,209 ether (ETH), or $297 million, through the week ending on July 27. It has also raised $279 million by selling shares, tapping at-the-market equity facility. The Minneapolis-based firm has pursued an aggressive treasury strategy since its late May pivot, raising funds to accumulate the second-largest cryptocurrency and staking the tokens in exchange for rewards. The firm said it has earned 722 ETH since then. — Kristzian Sandor Read more.

Regulatory and Policy

The digital assets industry’s most reliable U.S. Senate ally, Cynthia Lummis, has introduced her latest crypto bill, which would ensure mortgage borrowers could use their cryptocurrency holdings to help secure their loans. Last month, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte directed government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to come up with proposals detailing how they can include crypto holdings to underpin a mortgage. Lummis’ bill would “permit the holdings of a borrower in a digital asset, evidenced and maintained pursuant to a qualified custodial arrangement, to be included in the reserves of a borrower without conversion of the digital asset to United States dollars” — essentially codifying what Pulte is already seeking. “This legislation embraces an innovative path to wealth-building, keeping in mind the growing number of young Americans who possess digital assets,” Lummis said in a statement, suggesting those assets might help bridge the gap to otherwise unobtainable home ownership. — Jesse Hamilton Read more.
Roman Storm, the Tornado Cash developer standing trial in Manhattan on charges that the privacy tool he created helped hackers and other cyber criminals launder more than $1 billion in criminal proceeds, won’t take the stand, his lawyers told the court. Storm told District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) that he was aware that he had the right to testify in his own defense but chose not to. After Storm made his decision, his defense team, led by Keri Axel and Brian Klein of Waymaker LLP, rested their case on Tuesday afternoon. — Cheyenne Ligon Read more.