GM Digest #406 — RIP
Good Morning with Valuable Alpha / News
Matter Labs Cut 16% of the Staffs
Matter Labs, the company behind ZKsync, announced a 16% workforce reduction. According to a long post by @gluk64 founder and CEO of Matter Labs
Strategic Layoffs: Matter Labs cut 16% of its staff, focusing on niche tech applications and interoperability with Elastic Chain amidst competitive pressures in the Ethereum L2 space.
Employee Support: The company offered severance, extended healthcare, and career support to the 24 affected employees, indicating a commitment to humane layoffs.
Market & Future Focus: Despite the layoffs, Matter Labs continues strategic hiring and innovation, with the market showing resilience in faith towards ZKsync's technology.
Penpie Exploited with $27m in Damage
• Earlier today, a security breach targeting Penpie led to some loss of funds ($27m). @pendle_fi promptly paused the contracts, effectively safeguarding ~$105M that could have been further drained from Penpie
• @Penpiexyz_io has paused all deposits and withdrawals and is working to address the exploit. All other Magpie ecosystem projects aren’t impacted by the exploit
• Given the track record of the Magpie / Penpie guys, they’ll overcome this challenge & definitely come back stronger
Arbitrum Launches Stylus MultiVM
Dual VM Integration: Arbitrum StylusVM merges EVM with WASM, allowing smart contracts in Solidity, Rust, C, and C++, enhancing interoperability and developer accessibility.
Performance Boost: Utilizes WASM for potentially lower costs and faster execution, broadening the appeal for developers beyond blockchain.
Market Impact: StylusVM's introduction is seen as a game-changer, fostering innovation in DeFi, gaming, and more, with positive feedback from the developer community.
Hermetica on Arch
• @HermeticaFi is introducing USDh, a fully Bitcoin-backed stablecoin that offers price-stable position using the futures market, with potential yields up to 25% APY
• Currently issued on Bitcoin L1 via the Runes protocol, Hermetica plans to integrate with @ArchNtwrk, a bridgeless execution platform for smart contracts on Bitcoin
• Arch's architecture enables efficient DeFi functionalities like AMMs and DEXs directly on Bitcoin
• Hermetica is currently preparing to deploy USDh on Bitcoin using Arch and is translating its code into Rust for this purpose
Kodiak x StakeStone
• @Stake_Stone, a cross-chain liquidity asset protocol with over $500M TVL, has partnered with @KodiakFi and expanded to the Berachain ecosystem
• StakeStone offers the STONE token for ETH holders, providing staking yields while maintaining stable value. They plan to launch STONEBTC as well for Bitcoin holders
• This partnership allows users to stake ETH or BTC and receive STONE or STONEBTC on Berachain, participate in Proof of Liquidity, and earn yields
• StakeStone's integration with Kodiak also enables users to provide liquidity and use LP tokens across various DeFi platforms on Berachain
Ethos Testnet
• @ethos_network, a dApp focused on rewarding reputation and combating fraud in crypto, is launching on the Base Sepolia testnet on Sept 20
• Only those on the waitlist, which closes in today, can participate
• The testnet will pressure test the app's features, with users creating profiles, reviewing others, and providing feedback. Early participants may be eligible for the mainnet launch, limited to 100 initial invites
Stylus Mainnet
• @arbitrum announced that Stylus is now on Mainnet on Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova
• Stylus provides tools for developing smart contracts in performant and secure languages and supports any languages that compiles down to WebAssembly (WASM). This introduces a co-equal virtual machine that is completely interoperable with the EVM and is designed to execute WASM instead of EVM bytecode
• WASM VM will also allow users to reduce gas costs for complex smart contracts
Ethena x Etherfi x EigenLayer
• @ethena_labs announced that they have partnered with @eigenlayer and @ether_fi to introduce USDe as the first dollar denominated token that can be used as security within its generalized shared security platform
• This allows USDe to be used as restaked collateral for those who prefer to use a more stable asset. In the future, USDe will also enable a more sustainable restaking model with an embedded value accrual that does not rely quite as much on inflationary governance token rewards to restaking activity
• Additionally, USDe will be able to de deposited on ether.fi to service the creation of a new Liquid Restaking Token (LRT) eUSD
Introducing Branded LSTs
• @dinero_xyz introduces Branded LSTs, a new cross-chain liquid staking solution built on top of pxETH. These Branded LSTs enable Layer 1 and Layer 2 protocols to launch their own native LSTs, backed by apxETH, offering the highest ETH staking yield in crypto to a broader user base
• The Branded LSTs uses LayerZero’s omnichain messaging protocol. When users deposit into a partner’s LST, their ETH is staked with Dinero on Ethereum mainnet. After staking, we use LayerZero to mint “partnerETH” instead of apxETH on the partner’s L2. From that point, users begin earning staking yield automatically
• The team announced that Movement (moveETH) will be one of their partners once live
Misc News
• @SamsungNext invests in @StartaleHQ, who are building on @soneium
• @Dolomite_io is live on @berachain v2 Bartio