News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily News: Tom Lee posted on X, expressing that he is pleased to see the Ethereum Foundation prudently addressing key issues related to financial infrastructure, economics, and the critical role of neutral blockchains like Ethereum in government and policy markets.
blockchain IP project Story Protocol has announced its transition into the DATA Foundation, shifting its core focus from general intellectual property (IP) infrastructure to an AI training data network. This move addresses the rapidly growing demand for "licensable and traceable training data."Alongside this transition, the project launched a new product called Trace. As an on-chain AI training data registration and auditing system, Trace generates verifiable on-chain "contribution certificates" for each piece of data. These certificates record the source, licensing terms, user consent, and payment information, helping AI model trainers confirm data compliance and traceability. (The Block)
Ink, an Ethereum Layer 2 network incubated by Kraken, has reached a multi-year infrastructure agreement with Optimism, upgrading to OP Enterprise Fully Managed.Under the agreement, Optimism will be responsible for running Ink's production infrastructure, while the Ink Foundation will focus on ecosystem growth and new financial products. Additionally, Ink will serve as a deep design partner for OP Enterprise, jointly advancing roadmap plans including programmable block construction, one-day Ethereum withdrawals, and sequencer-level compliance tools.Currently, applications built on the Ink network generate nearly $40 million in annual revenue. This partnership makes Ink another exchange-related blockchain network to join the fully managed layer service, following Bitpanda's Vision Chain. (The Block)
US President Trump signed two executive orders on Monday aimed at accelerating the nation's quantum computing capabilities and advancing the migration of government systems to post-quantum cryptography. While the orders do not directly mention Bitcoin, industry insiders believe this could benefit blockchain post-quantum security research and development.The two executive orders focus on defending against advanced cryptographic attacks and driving the frontier of quantum innovation. This includes a clear timeline: advancing quantum sensor construction by September 2028, and requiring federal high-value assets and high-impact systems to complete their post-quantum cryptography migration by the end of 2031.Alex Pruden, CEO of Project Eleven, stated that this means the US government will allocate funds and time to achieve post-quantum security goals. It may also extend these requirements to the entire federal contractor system, not just government agencies, thereby accelerating the practical application of post-quantum cryptographic technology.This policy comes amid growing attention within the blockchain industry to quantum threats. The Ethereum Foundation, Solana Foundation, and others have already begun advancing post-quantum security R&D, while the Bitcoin community is also discussing potential risks. Some Bitcoin held in publicly exposed addresses is considered vulnerable to private key derivation attacks once sufficiently powerful quantum computers emerge.Pruden noted that this executive order sets a clear deadline of 2031 for the adoption of post-quantum cryptography, which is more enforceable than the previous US government guidance which only proposed phasing out traditional cryptographic systems by 2035. For Bitcoin and the broader crypto industry, government-level investment in post-quantum security could accelerate the maturation of related tools, standards, and migration pathways.
The Ethereum Foundation (EF) officially announced on June 23 the completion of an internal reorganization that had been underway for several months, aimed at implementing its mission statement and financial management policies. As a result of the reorganization, EF laid off 54 employees—approximately 20% of its total workforce. The Foundation stated that departing employees will continue contributing to the Ethereum ecosystem in other capacities over the coming weeks.
According to a post by Hsiao-Wei Wang (@hwwonx), she has officially stepped down from her roles as Co-Executive Director and Board Member of the Ethereum Foundation, effective immediately. She stated that after careful consideration during her leave of absence, she believes stepping away at this time is the right decision, and she plans to devote more time to her family life going forward. She expressed pride in the Ethereum community’s achievements in building open, censorship-resistant infrastructure and emphasized that she will continue contributing as a member of the community.
Range, a stablecoin compliance startup, announced the completion of an $8.3 million Series A funding round, with participation from TX Ventures, SixThirty, Maven 11 Capital, Onigiri Capital, and others. The project's total funding to date has reached $11 million.Range provides a unified platform for companies operating both stablecoins and fiat currencies. Its core products include Unify, a real-time ledger system, and Protect, an on-chain transaction screening tool. Its clients include Circle, Solana Foundation, Stellar, Squads, and Jupiter, among others. The funds from this round will be used to expand the Unify and Protect products, grow the engineering and business development teams, and increase integrations and network coverage. (The Block)
according to Aztec Labs monitoring, the team is investigating a potential vulnerability affecting an Aztec payments product that was discontinued in 2021. Approximately $2 million was transferred from an immutable smart contract. This discontinued product is an immutable Stage 2 Rollup version that was deactivated in 2022. Aztec Labs does not hold the admin keys or any control over the system, and thus cannot pause or upgrade it. This incident is separate from the attack on the Aztec Connect product on June 14. The Aztec Foundation stated that the product affected by this attack is not associated with any smart contracts of the current network or the AZTEC ERC20 token.
According to PrimeMinister.kz, during his visit to Hong Kong, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev met with Chief Executive John Lee to discuss expanding trade and economic cooperation as well as collaboration in financial technology innovation. The centerpiece of the visit was the “Alatau City China Roadshow” investment roundtable, which attracted participation from numerous leading Hong Kong-based investment funds, financial institutions, and technology enterprises. During the meeting, the Alatau City Administration signed six cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with multiple international enterprises, primarily covering the following areas: • ANT Digital Technologies, a subsidiary of Ant Group: exploring participation in Alatau City’s digital infrastructure development and deployment of advanced fintech solutions; • Solana Foundation: reaching agreement on collaboration in Web3 ecosystem development, blockchain talent cultivation, and support for tech startups; • Dasco Capital and Templewater: signing an MOU to jointly establish a private equity fund focused on investments in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, with Alatau City designated as a priority investment target. Additionally, the Kazakh delegation held meetings with senior executives from major Hong Kong investment and development firms, including Henderson Land Development, Far East Consortium, Sun Hung Kai Properties, and Boshi Fund. Alatau City is a new economic growth hub launched under the directive of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. It operates under a special legal framework, drawing upon Hong Kong’s successful experience in investor protection and alignment with international regulatory standards.
A cryptography expert advisory committee led by Coinbase released a report stating that Bitcoin should immediately begin preparing for potential quantum computing attacks. However, the committee did not take a clear stance on whether to freeze the millions of bitcoins potentially vulnerable to quantum-computing theft in the future. The committee includes several leading experts, such as Justin Drake, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation. They argue that the current debate is not about *how* to introduce quantum-resistant signature schemes, but rather *how to handle* bitcoins held in long-dormant addresses that fail to migrate. One camp advocates setting a final deadline after which Bitcoin’s existing ECDSA and Schnorr signature schemes would no longer be supported, and unmigrated funds would be frozen—thereby preventing future quantum attackers from seizing large amounts of BTC and destabilizing markets. The other camp contends that freezing funds would effectively amount to asset confiscation, violating Bitcoin’s core principles of immutability and full user control over assets—and could set a precedent for future regulatory-driven freezes. The Coinbase advisory committee notes that these approaches are not mutually exclusive and could be combined. Yet it declines to state a position on whether “legacy BTC” should be frozen, asserting that the ultimate decision rests with Bitcoin’s community governance. It emphasizes two key points: first, technical development of quantum-resistant signature migration must begin immediately—not wait for governance debates to conclude; second, users must receive clear, timely risk communication to prevent prolonged uncertainty from harming the Bitcoin ecosystem.
According to PR Newswire, the Open Transaction Layer (OTL) officially launched on May 28 as an open industry initiative aimed at establishing a unified transaction coordination standard for on-chain finance. OTL defines shared protocols among institutions, non-custodial wallets, and AI agents for identity verification, messaging, and transaction coordination—covering the entire transaction lifecycle, including discovery, compliance, and settlement. The founding alliance comprises over 25 members, including leading financial institutions, payment service providers, and blockchain foundations such as Fireblocks, Checkout.com, Cross River Bank, MetaMask, Robinhood, Securitize, Wintermute, Solana Foundation, and Polygon. OTL’s technical specifications are built upon mature standards including W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and ISO 20022, and adopt a modular five-layer architecture covering Identity, Session, Transport, Messaging, and Application layers. The specifications have been published under an open-source license at otl.network, and the alliance is also open to additional institutional participation.
According to Bitcoin Laws, New Hampshire’s “Blockchain Foundation” bill HB 639 advanced today, with the state House and Senate reaching agreement on a compromise version of the bill—after each chamber had previously passed different versions. As disclosed, the bill aims to protect several related “rights,” including the right to pay with cryptocurrency, run nodes, and conduct mining activities.
Vitalik Buterin stated that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is not the “center of Ethereum,” but rather “a node within the ecosystem,” and is currently transitioning toward a smaller, more opinionated, and more sustainability-focused organizational structure. He explained that the Foundation will prioritize allocating its limited resources to work essential for Ethereum’s viability as a censorship-resistant, control-resistant, open, private, and secure system—work that would be unlikely to happen without the Foundation’s involvement—while also reducing ETH sales. Vitalik further noted that Ethereum should not pursue only maximum throughput and low latency, but should instead aim to be “impressive” in areas such as formal verification, chain availability consensus, and reducing reliance on intermediaries. He emphasized that the Foundation’s new structure is expected to gradually stabilize over the coming months.
: Digital asset infrastructure platform Fireblocks announced the launch of the "Agentic Payments Suite" to support the AI Agent payment framework of the x402 protocol, and simultaneously announced its joining of the x402 Foundation. It is reported that this suite covers the entire AI Agent payment process, including wallet infrastructure for Agents to initiate transfers, a merchant receiving layer, and settlement and risk control functions for compliant financial institutions. (Cointelegraph)
The Zcash Foundation released its Q1 2026 report, disclosing total liquid assets of approximately $36.7 million, including roughly $12.11 million in cash, 506,556 USDC, 85,412 ZEC (valued at ~$21.2 million), 41.8 BTC (valued at ~$2.85 million), and 12.02 ETH (valued at ~$25,000). The Zcash Foundation added that, although the first quarter of this year saw personnel changes within the Electric Coin Company’s development team and governance-related disputes, network operations remained unaffected, with transactions and block production continuing normally. On the regulatory front, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded its investigation without taking any enforcement action, thereby resolving long-standing regulatory uncertainty.
According to an official announcement, the blockchain infrastructure protocol project IOTA has named Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria as the first countries to implement the ADAPT initiative. These three countries were selected through a rigorous evaluation process assessing their political commitment, regulatory readiness, maturity of digital infrastructure, and private-sector engagement. Launched in November 2025, the African Digital Access and Public Infrastructure for Trade (ADAPT) initiative is spearheaded by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and co-developed with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the World Economic Forum, and the IOTA Foundation. ADAPT aims to build shared digital infrastructure for intra-African trade, covering digital identity, cross-border data exchange, and payment interoperability.
According to The Block, the Ethereum Foundation has recently experienced another wave of talent attrition: researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma announced their departures this Monday. Beek had worked at the Foundation for seven years and led the development of Ethereum’s Beacon Chain, making significant contributions to Ethereum’s transition to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism; Ma had been with the Foundation for approximately four years, contributing to mechanism design, cryptoeconomics, and protocol scalability, and co-authored EIP-7805—a proposal aimed at enhancing Ethereum’s censorship resistance. Earlier this year, in February, Co-Executive Director Tomasz K. Stańczak resigned; multiple other senior figures—including Josh Stark, Barnabé Monnot, and Tim Beiko—have also departed in succession.
Odaily Odaily, the Stellar Development Foundation and the Government of Bermuda have jointly announced that Bermuda will migrate key payment and financial services to the Stellar network, officially advancing the construction of a "fully on-chain national economy." The initiative is based on Bermuda's 2018 Digital Asset Business Act regulatory framework and aims to significantly reduce the 3%-5% (or even higher) payment processing costs currently borne by local merchants.According to the plan, Bermuda residents will soon be able to receive wages, pay for goods and services, settle government fees, and hold digital assets through digital wallets on the Stellar network. The government will pilot stablecoin payments, financial institutions will be able to access tokenized instruments, and related assets will also be used for government disbursements such as social service payments.
According to The Block, the Ethereum Foundation is restructuring its Protocol team, appointing Will Corcoran, Kev Wedderburn, and Fredrik as the new co-leads of the Protocol cluster. This reorganization comes as Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko plan to depart the organization, and Alex Stokes begins a sabbatical. The Protocol team is the Ethereum Foundation’s core team responsible for the design, research, development, and coordination of Ethereum’s base layer, covering areas such as security, cryptography, zkEVM, and peer-to-peer networking. The team is currently advancing Ethereum’s next major scalability upgrade, Glamsterdam, which aims to raise the gas limit ceiling and floor to 200 million and introduce ePBS. Subsequently, the team will shift its R&D focus toward the Hegotá upgrade and the FOCIL prototype to enhance Ethereum’s censorship resistance.
Odaily News Executives from PayPal and Google Cloud stated that in the future, commerce driven by AI Agents will operate on crypto payment rails, as AI Agents cannot use traditional bank accounts like humans.Richard Widmann, Head of Web3 Strategy at Google Cloud, stated that AI Agents are unable to open bank accounts from both a technical and regulatory standpoint, while cryptocurrencies offer an "excellent machine-readable payment interface." He revealed that Google has launched the open-source Agentic Payments Protocol (AP2) and donated it to the FIDO Foundation, with over 120 partners, including PayPal, already joining.May Zabaneh, Senior Vice President of Crypto at PayPal, indicated that the company views AI Agents as the next generation of commerce entry point following offline, online, and mobile payments. She noted that PYUSD, as PayPal's stablecoin, provides a naturally programmable payment layer for AI-native payments and global transactions.A PayPal survey shows that 95% of merchant websites currently see traffic from AI Agents, but only about 20% of merchants have machine-readable product catalogs. Zabaneh believes that merchants need to adapt to the AI Agent era as quickly as possible, or they will miss out on the next wave of commercial infrastructure upgrades.Additionally, the two also discussed the security and responsibility issues of AI Agents. Widmann stated that multi-party custody will become an important solution for Agent fund management. AI Agents should not have full control over private keys but should only hold a portion of the key fragments to reduce financial risk. (CoinDesk)