Fast movements throughout the crypto industry make it possible to overlook major developments while your eyes are off the screen.
Nine key updates shape the space, from significant protocol upgrades to game-changing proposals. Let’s look into these crypto updates to stay at the top of our game.
1) Aave Votes to Leave Polygon
Aave decided to leave Polygon following a governance proposal by Polygon DAO that required changing the fate of bridged assets. This strategic move produces uncertainty regarding network DeFi development plans and corporate growth strategies. Out of choice, Aave will dedicate itself to Arbitrum and Ethereum mainnet due to their larger liquidity resources.
AAVE just proposed to essentially leave Polygon, as a result of the recent bridge rehypothication proposal.
I reckon most people will see this as an overreaction, but it’s actually quite a legitimate concern.
If the bridge proposal passes, assets on polygon become… pic.twitter.com/idp51BgOPI
— 0xWenMoon 闻月 💙🧡 (@0xWenMoon) December 16, 2024
2) Arbitrum Puts Treasury ETH to Work
Arbitrum is optimizing its 5,000 ETH Treasury with a multi-layered strategy. It stakes ETH with Lido for wstETH, loops it into Aave V3 for liquid staking, and lends some on Fluid to support liquidity. This implementation establishes Arbitrum as the top choice for DeFi lending market control.
2/ Arbitrum votes to deploy Treasury $ETH to generate yield:
Stake 5,000 ETH with Lido for wstETH, deposit it into Aave V3 on Arbitrum for LST/LRT looping.
Then lend 2,500 ETH on Fluid for ETH lending and DEX liquidity pic.twitter.com/GOt77FbxC0
— Ignas | DeFi (@DefiIgnas) February 24, 2025
3) Lido Introduces v3
Users who stake Ethereum will find the best possible advantages through Lido v3’s latest release. The system upgrade allows institutions to join DeFi trading while providing traders with secure leverage features.
Lido v3 aims to evolve the leading liquid staking protocol to be able to service a wider market of node operators and opportunities while maintaining stETH fungibility and decentralization:
– node operators can tap into deep stETH liquidity while keeping relationships (and… https://t.co/MeFqkdxKzi pic.twitter.com/uJbh4Jkxqt
— Felix Lutsch (@FelixLts) February 21, 2025
Key highlights include:
- New possibilities for node operators to stake their resources enable them to access stETH market pools.
- Integrating stETH and SymbioticFi enables holders to gather secondary benefits by restaking stETH.
- Special protection features prevent stETH losses when slashing occurs.
Through this update, Lido moves toward achieving its position as the top Ethereum staking marketplace.
4) Uniswap v4 Growth Slows Down
Despite initial enthusiasm about Uniswap v4, everyone could observe scant growth activities in the following months. Currently, the system holds $87 million in value while daily trading operates at v3 standards with $1.7 billion in transactions, but this will increase. Unichain is the blockchain platform for Uniswap, which maintains a current value of $9.4M.
4/ Uniswap v4 launched about a month ago, but growth is slow with TVL at just $87M and daily volumes at only $22M (vs to $1.7B on V3).
Unichain went live shortly after, but TVL stands at $9.4M
I’m still bullish on Uniswap as they are pushing towards greater UX/UI for all L2s.… pic.twitter.com/wLgAPw3KY8
— Ignas | DeFi (@DefiIgnas) February 24, 2025
The Uniswap Foundation plans to boost adoption with two key actions:
- A $95 million grant fund to support ecosystem growth.
- A $25 million operational budget to enhance development and operations.
5) $AO Goes Live on Mainnet
The Layer 1 blockchain solution AO launched its main network recently. The “hyper-parallel computer” network uses artificial intelligence and decentralization applications as its targeted programming operations.
Like Bitcoin, AO has a maximum supply of 21 million tokens yet distributes rewards to AR token users. However, AO encounters decreased user interest due to several UX issues, small token numbers, and centralization uncertainty among its biggest token owners.
AO mainnet: LIVE 🟢
The dynamic permaweb, powered by AO and Arweave, is here to reshape the internet.
Join us: https://t.co/MRPlRgaOIK
Learn more: https://t.co/IkNlUsUxPK
Start building: https://t.co/1egEr607Vn pic.twitter.com/5dX8gYO6qs
— ao (@aoTheComputer) February 8, 2025
6) Farcaster Introduces an Integrated Wallet
A smooth transaction process through Farcaster is possible since it comes with an integrated cryptocurrency wallet. The integrated destination wallet accessible in social applications will allow X users to carry out quick transactions without interrupting their current workflow or making them switch between interfaces. Farcaster remains dedicated to creating novel advancements in social crypto solutions.
Introducing Wallet
– No complicated set up
– 100% reliable mobile transactions
– No app switching required pic.twitter.com/qUiq6kysaq— Dan Romero (@dwr) February 21, 2025
7) Aave v3.3 Improves Security
With its updated risk and reward management systems, Aave v3.3 eliminates any risk of “death spiral” occurrences during operation. Instead of relying on AAVE stakers to cover the bad debt, Aave v3.3 allows lent asset staking for extra yield.
It does this while implementing automated slashing and network-specific coverage, creating a more resilient and sustainable lending protocol.
The Aave v3.3 upgrade from @bgdlabs is live.
This upgrade introduces changes in managing bad debt and liquidations, setting the stage for Umbrella. pic.twitter.com/z3LhIYGBPR
— Aave (@aave) February 24, 2025
8) Ethereum’s Pectra Fork & EIP-7702
Ethereum’s upcoming Pectra upgrade introduces EIP-7702, a major advancement that enhances transaction efficiency. This upgrade has improved the functionality of standard wallets, making them function as smart contracts during temporary windows.
- Gas-free transactions (sponsored by dApps).
- Users can perform approve and swap actions simultaneously through batch transactions.
- Enhanced security features, like session keys.
The Ethereum Foundation has also announced the Open Intents Framework. It will unite 30+ teams to solve cross-chain UX issues. Ethereum is finally addressing its long-standing user experience problems, making it more accessible for the next wave of adoption.
⚡ INSIGHT: Ethereum’s upcoming Pectra hard fork brings huge improvements for users — but the single most important scaling upgrade has been left out.
Feat @Consensys and 2077Collective, via Cointelegraph Magazine pic.twitter.com/2RohqjzN3M
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 29, 2025
9) Fluid Hits $10 Billion in Volume
Fluid has reached a massive milestone, processing $10 billion in trading volume on Ethereum in 100 days. This is the fastest-ever growth for a DeFi protocol. With 18% of all Ethereum DEX volume flowing through Fluid, it’s becoming a top player in the “fundamentals are back” narrative, emphasizing efficiency and deep liquidity.
Fluid hit $10 billion in cumulative volume on Ethereum in 100 days, fastest ever. pic.twitter.com/aK0O0iYOez
— Troy (@troyharris__) February 6, 2025
Conclusion
Crypto never stops evolving, and these developments highlight only how fast things change. The industry continues to innovate remarkably, from Aave’s migration and Ethereum’s UX upgrades to Lido’s staking enhancements and Uniswap’s funding initiatives. There’s always more happening in crypto.
Disclaimer
The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to accepted levels of risk tolerance of the writer/reviewers, and their risk tolerance may be different from yours.
We are not responsible for any losses that you may incur as a result of any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments, so please do your due diligence.
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