Layer 2

Hyperliquid

2026-09-29 06:32:36

Kinetiq launches Elysium testnet to extend Hyperliquid beyond HyperEVM

Kinetiq, the largest protocol by TVL in the Hyperliquid ecosystem, has rolled out the testnet for Elysium, a new Hyperliquid-focused Layer 2 built with the Arbitrum Orbit stack. The project is positioned as an answer to what many see as HyperEVM’s biggest limitation: performance that is still too constrained for complex, always-on applications around Hyperliquid. In Elysium’s design, transactions run on L2, settlement flows back to HyperEVM, and HYPE serves as the native gas token. The network’s pitch goes beyond faster execution. Elysium aims to let smart contracts tap more directly into HyperCore’s existing trading environment, including deeper order book data, prices, balances, positions, and lower-latency order placement. Kinetiq also presents Elysium as a path for newly issued tokens to move from AMM price discovery to spot trading and, eventually, HIP-3 perpetual markets. The value accrual model is split across KNTQ and HYPE. Under the published sequencer fee plan, 25% goes to app builders consuming blockspace, 25% to the Kinetiq treasury, and 50% to open-market KNTQ buybacks and burns. Meanwhile, HYPE is used as native gas, and activity on Elysium could feed back into HyperCore fees and USDC reserve-related revenue. Ascend, co-founded by KOL CryptoTomYT, is the first project to announce a deployment on Elysium.

140

Arbitrum

2026-09-28 16:43:56

Arbitrum Foundation launches security program with audit subsidies for builders

The Arbitrum Foundation has introduced the Arbitrum Security Program, a new initiative aimed at teams building on the Arbitrum platform. Under the program, eligible teams can receive subsidies for smart contract audits. The coverage spans applications on testnet, projects already deployed on mainnet, teams migrating from other blockchains, and dedicated Arbitrum chains. The announcement outlines the program’s target groups and keeps the focus on security support for projects across different stages of development and deployment within the Arbitrum ecosystem.

210

Ethereum

2026-09-27 10:50:30

Vitalik says Ethereum is moving from a blockchain toward a "cryptographic world computer"

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in a new essay, "The cryptographic world computer," that Ethereum could evolve over the coming years into a system that is fundamentally different from a traditional blockchain at the architectural level. According to Buterin, Ethereum already has general-purpose computation, proof-of-stake, zero-knowledge proofs, and Layer 2 scaling in place. The next phase, he wrote, would add a more adjustable computing architecture, multi-party block building, a highly optimized proof-of-stake design, and zero-knowledge proofs deeply integrated into the base layer. Buterin said that by around 2030, Ethereum’s core mechanisms for transaction verification, consensus, block construction, privacy, and computation could all look different. He pointed to a shift away from re-downloading and executing blocks, toward SNARK-based verification and PeerDAS for data availability checks. He also said block building could move from a single builder model to one involving multiple participants. In his view, Ethereum may eventually move beyond being a ledger and become a broader system that combines blockchain infrastructure, cryptographic privacy, verifiable computation, and decentralized off-chain components.

230

Ethereum

2026-09-22 07:14:09

Vitalik outlines EIP-8288, shifting signature and proof aggregation into Ethereum’s mempool

Vitalik Buterin used his ETHShanghai 2026 talk to lay out EIP-8288, a proposal he said could ease one of Ethereum’s hardest tradeoffs: scaling without giving up privacy or stronger cryptography. The design keeps large signatures and STARK proofs off-chain, then has mempool nodes aggregate them before block inclusion, so the chain only needs to verify a single proof for a batch of transactions. In Buterin’s framing, the proposal builds on EIP-8141, the native account abstraction upgrade expected in the next hard fork. Transactions would declare dependencies for signatures or proofs through compact frame structures, while the heavy cryptographic objects are absorbed and compressed in the mempool. He argued this could sharply reduce the cost of quantum-safe transactions, privacy-preserving applications, and proof publication for Layer 2 systems. Buterin also described the architecture as a form of specialized sharding for verification work, separating transaction business logic from expensive dependency checks. He said the approach could become one of Ethereum’s first practical paths for using RISC-V or a similar instruction set in proof expression, while early simulation tools, testnets, competitions, and prototype code are already under development around the proposal.

420

Ethereum

2026-09-21 12:01:00

Ethereum’s L2 boom is generating outsized profits while the base layer captures little of the upside

Layer 2 networks built on Ethereum are keeping most of the economic value generated on their chains while paying only a small amount back to Ethereum for settlement, according to data cited by PANews. Growthepie data shows Ethereum ecosystem chain revenue reached $52.19 million so far this month, with Robinhood Chain, Ethereum mainnet, Base and Polygon accounting for 98.5% of the total. Robinhood Chain alone posted about $39.06 million in revenue, up 1266% from the previous month. Yet over the past 30 days, the three chains that paid the most in L1 fees to Ethereum mainnet — Robinhood Chain, Base and World Chain — paid only about $18,000, $10,000 and $3,700, respectively. The gap has sharpened debate over Ethereum’s value capture model after blob-related costs fell and L2 margins climbed. PANews also cited commentary from Ignas, 0xTodd, ARK Invest’s Lorenzo Valente and researcher Lan Hu, who argued that Ethereum’s challenge is no longer whether to scale through L2s, but how to link L1 pricing and ETH’s role more directly to the economic activity taking place across those networks.

330

Shibarium

2026-09-21 06:28:21

Shibarium reorganization issue resolved as dRPC migration and node updates continue

Shibarium, the Layer 2 network tied to the Shiba Inu ecosystem, has resolved its network reorganization issue, according to Techub, citing Crypto.news. Work on the network is not yet fully complete, however. The report said the dRPC migration is still underway, alongside peer node updates and reindexing for the block explorer. The update points to a partial return to normal operations, while backend maintenance and infrastructure adjustments remain in progress. No additional timeline or technical details were provided in the source brief.

340

Optimism

2026-09-20 03:20:40

Optimism flags op-batcher v1.17.0 as required upgrade for OP Stack chains

Optimism has released op-batcher v1.17.0 and labeled it a required upgrade for operators running batcher infrastructure on OP Stack chains. The release adds compatibility with Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade, includes security updates, and introduces configurable limits for alternative data availability. The batcher is a core part of rollup infrastructure because it collects Layer 2 transaction data and submits it to Layer 1. If that component falls behind protocol requirements, a chain’s ability to publish transaction data could be affected. The update is part of broader work to keep OP Stack components, including the sequencer, batcher, and proposer, aligned with Ethereum’s roadmap. For end users, the change is expected to be largely invisible, while infrastructure teams are expected to complete the upgrade as required. The item was carried by Techub News and cited Bitcoinist.

300

Robinhood Cha

2026-09-20 03:03:41

Robinhood Chain booked $4.5 million in daily fees while paying Ethereum just $398

A report from South Korean media outlet Digital Asset compared Robinhood Chain’s recent growth with the economic value captured by Ethereum, pointing to a wide gap between fee generation on the Layer 2 network and the amount ultimately paid back to Ethereum. Citing data from Bitquery, the report said Robinhood Chain collected about $4.5 million in transaction fees on Sept. 3, while its data publishing and proof costs paid to Ethereum were only $398. The analysis argues that rising Layer 2 activity does not necessarily translate into proportional revenue for Ethereum itself. Instead, a large share of fee income appears to remain within the Layer 2 ecosystem. The item was attributed to @WuBlockchain in the Techub News brief.

280