Kategorie: Ethereum News

• Google Cloud announced the new blockchain remote procedure call service on Sept. 17
• The blockchain RPC service is compatible with Ethereum and offers up to 100 requests per second.
• Google Cloud targets developers in the web3 space, aiming to scale development and deployment of decentralized applications.

Google’s cloud computing platform has announced the launch of a new Remote Procedure Call service aimed at supporting developers in the web3 space.

According to details in an announcement, Google Cloud’s blockchain RPC service is fully-compatible with Ethereum. Developers will leverage the new service for a cost-effective, scalable and reliable access to blockchain data.

The RPC service targets developers building decentralized applications across the Web3 ecosystem, from startups to large enterprises. All these will have the opportunity to leverage Google Cloud’s reliability and performance, the company said.

“Google Cloud’s Blockchain RPC offerings deliver fast response times – exactly what you’d expect from them,” Kyle Quintal, head of engineering at 0xArc, said in a statement.

“Coupled with the fact that Google Cloud follows the EIP1474 standards and has the free-tier option, we integrated its service into our system right away and haven’t looked back,” Quintal added.

Initial support for Ethereum

Other than offering a free tier, the Blockchain RPC allows for up to 100 requests per second. While it will initially support the Ethereum mainnet and testnets, Google Cloud plans to expand the service to more blockchain networks over the next one year.

Google Cloud will host a webinar aimed at discussing its new RPC product on October 10, 2024

This is Google Cloud’s latest Web3 push, with recent inroads including the addition of 11 blockchain networks to its public datasets program ‘BigQuery.’

The platform has also inked partnerships with multiple blockchain platforms, including Polygon, Sui and Fantom.

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• Ethereum devs consider splitting the Pectra upgrade into two phases for a 2025 launch.
• The first phase is targeted for release by February, with June seen as a deadline.
• Pectra upgrade includes the Prague (execution) and Electra (consensus) layer upgrades.

Ethereum developers are contemplating a split of the much-anticipated Pectra upgrade into two phases to ensure they launch something as early as possible to meet the community’s expectations.

During a meeting on September 12, developers discussed the potential of launching the first phase of Pectra by early 2025, with a February target being deemed feasible.

“There is broad agreement that if we split, the idea is to ship Pectra one as quickly as possible, with early next year as our target,” a developer shared at the Ethereum execution layer meeting. Another developer echoed this optimism, noting that a February release seems realistic given the potential split.

Developer Danno Ferrin suggested that the split would only be sensible if the first phase could be delivered in the first quarter of 2025, while Ethereum researcher Ansgar Dietrichs warned that if the first phase is not shipped by June, the upgrade would be considered a failure. According to Dietrichs, “a split where we still only ship the first half in June would be a failure.”

Industry experts share this sentiment, with Galaxy crypto researcher Christine Kim noting that the split is highly likely due to the complexity of the Pectra upgrade. She also indicated that the scope of the upgrade could change significantly if developers opt for a two-phase release.

What is the Ethereum Pectra Upgrade?

The Pectra upgrade, which combines two major components — the Prague upgrade focused on the execution layer and the Electra upgrade targeting the consensus layer — promises to significantly improve the scalability and operational efficiency of Ethereum blockchain.

However, the complexity of the upgrade has led to discussions about splitting it into two separate hard forks.

Despite the challenges, there remains widespread optimism in the Ethereum community. Both Ethereum researcher Christine Kim and educator Sassal have remarked that Pectra is shaping up to be one of the largest upgrades in Ethereum’s history, with Sassal calling it the biggest upgrade to date.

A final decision on the Pectra upgrade split is expected to be made at the next Ethereum All Core Developers (ACD) meeting on September 19.

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• Starknet community approved a dynamic minting curve for STRK tokens.
• The minting curve adjusts token supply based on staking participation levels.
• Starknet Foundation can modify minting parameters to manage inflation and rewards.

The Starknet community has successfully passed a proposal to implement a dynamic minting curve for STRK tokens, a significant move to balance staking incentives with token supply.

Nearly 98.94% of voters supported the new staking mechanism, which aims to offer more control over token inflation while incentivizing user participation. It makes Starknet the first major Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) to roll out staking functionality.

The new minting curve included in the approved proposal is based on “Proposal 2” by Professor Noam Nisan, with slight modifications. It will adjust the minting rate according to staking participation levels.

James Strudwick, executive director of the Starknet Foundation, described the approval as a game-opCEO of StarkWare, and echoed these sentiments, noting that the approval “gives the community a real stake — both literally and figuratively — in its future.”

How the dynamic minting curve works

The dynamic minting curve will adjust the token minting rate (M) based on the staking rate (S) and a constant (C), initially set at 1.6. The formula allows the token supply to be fine-tuned according to how many users are staking, preventing inflation when staking levels are high and encouraging participation when engagement is low.

Additionally, the Starknet Foundation or a designated monetary committee will be responsible for adjusting the minting parameters. This includes the ability to modify the constant (C) within a range of 1.0 to 4.0, depending on staking trends.

Any changes to minting rates will require public announcements and a two-week notice period for community review, ensuring transparency.

With this dynamic system in place, Starknet hopes to foster a more engaged community and incentivize long-term network participation, helping to ensure the stability and growth of the platform.

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• VanEck is closing its Ethereum Futures ETF (EFUT) by September 16, 2024.
• The EFUT saw low asset accumulation as compared to VanEck’s spot Ethereum ETF.
• Generally, Ethereum is facing challenges from competition and reduced network revenue and fees.

VanEck is set to close its Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT) by September 16, 2024, with liquidation expected by September 23.

EFUT, launched in October 2023, has struggled with low asset accumulation and performance compared to VanEck’s more successful spot Ethereum ETF (ETHV).

Strategic realignment

VanEck’s move to close the EFUT ETF comes as part of a strategic review of its ETF offerings. Launched in October 2023, EFUT was designed to provide exposure to Ethereum futures, but it amassed only $21 million in assets, contrasting sharply with the $63 million net inflows seen by the spot Ethereum ETF (ETHV).

The decision to liquidate EFUT aligns with VanEck’s ongoing assessment of factors such as performance, liquidity, and investor interest.

Shareholders of EFUT will receive cash distributions based on the net asset value of their holdings following the ETF’s closure and liquidation.

This shift reflects VanEck’s broader strategy of focusing on more successful crypto-related products.

Challenges facing Ethereum and Ether Futures ETF

VanEck’s August 2024 Crypto Monthly Recap highlights several challenges contributing to the recent Ethereum price struggles.

According to VanEck’s report, Ethereum’s share of decentralized exchange trading volume has dropped significantly from 42% in 2022 to 29% in 2024.

The report attributes this decline to several factors, including a general decrease in network revenue, deliberate policy decisions, and competition from higher-throughput blockchains such as Solana, Sui, and Aptos. These competitors are drawing speculative demand away from Ethereum, exacerbating its price issues.

Additionally, Ethereum’s layer-1 revenues have been impacted by competing layer-2 networks, which have led to a 99% drop in network fees since the Dencun upgrade in March 2024. This has intensified the competition within Ethereum’s ecosystem and driven the proliferation of layer-2 solutions, with some critics suggesting that the current number of Ethereum scaling solutions exceeds the necessary demand.

VanEck’s decision to close EFUT while continuing to offer other crypto-related products, such as the Digital Assets Mining ETF (DAM) and Bitcoin Strategy ETF (XBTF), underscores the firm’s ongoing engagement with digital assets despite the challenges facing Ethereum.

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