Project Progress

Ethereum will undergo its most groundbreaking architectural upgrade since the "Merge." Today marks the official launch of the first L1-zkEVM Workshop, where a brand-new block verification system based on zero-knowledge proofs is being showcased for the first time. This solution is expected to enable faster block confirmation, reduce resource consumption, and significantly lower operational barriers. Ladislaus.eth, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, stated that this could be one of the most impactful upgrades in network history. The core of this roadmap is EIP-8025 "Optional Execution Proof," which allows some validators (zkAttesters) to confirm blocks through cryptographic proofs without re-executing each transaction. For existing nodes, this is an optional upgrade and will not be mandatory, but adopters will gain clear efficiency advantages.

The four core infrastructures of the LX ecosystem will be fully launched by 2026, including the underlying public chain LXChain, the LX exchange, the blockchain explorer LXExplorer, and the multi-chain payment tool LXPay, marking a new stage in LX's full-chain layout and ecosystem development.

Ripple announces the addition of Ethereum and Solana staking support to its institutional-grade custody platform, and through technical integrations with Securosys and Figment, provides banks and financial institutions with a more secure, compliant, one-stop digital asset management solution. This upgrade is seen as an important step for Ripple to transition from cross-border payments to a comprehensive blockchain infrastructure service provider. According to official disclosures, the new platform has integrated Securosys's Hardware Security Module (HSM), enabling secure management of private keys in both cloud and on-premises environments, meeting the high standards of regulatory agencies for asset security and audit compliance. At the same time, with Figment's node and staking technology, custodial clients can participate in PoS network staking without building their own validators, thereby earning on-chain rewards on mainstream public chains like Ethereum and Solana.

_Ripple expands its custody platform by adding Ethereum and Solana staking through a partnership with Figment for institutional clients._ Ripple has expanded its institutional custody platform to include staking for Ethereum and Solana. The company said the move supports growing demand from

Ripple has also improved its institutional tools by “upgrading Ripple Custody with advanced security, hardware, and services.” The aim of the company is to improve digital asset infrastructure and attract banks, funds, and regulated global entities. Ripple has continued to improve its institution

Ripple partners with Figment and Securosys to expand custody. The push staking feature supports ETH and SOL, adding HSM security support for local or cloud deployment. However, XRP monthly dropped 32% to $1.44, with total locked-up assets falling from $80 million to $49.6 million. Stablecoins are only $416 million, indicating that institutional infrastructure has not boosted the price.

Former FTX employees founded Backpack, which is in talks for a $1 billion valuation and a $50 million raise to become a unicorn. 1 billion tokens, with 37.5% locked after IPO and 37.5% circulating before IPO to prevent retail selling. Airdropped 250 million to early supporters and 1 million to Mad Lads NFT. Starting from Solana wallets, raised $17 million in Series A.

Ethereum Layer2 network MegaETH officially launches its mainnet, aiming to process 50,000 transactions per second and solve blockchain latency issues. Its core architecture SALT can reduce storage delays and has attracted multiple applications to go live, while also announcing specific performance metric restrictions for the issuance of MEGA tokens.

Chiliz, the pioneer in blockchain-based fan engagement, has unveiled a comprehensive three-phase strategic roadmap, headlined by a major push into the U.S. market ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The plan includes launching national team Fan Tokens, transitioning to an omnichain model for greater liquidity, and introducing new tokenomics that directly link its native CHZ token to ecosystem revenue. This move is significant as it represents Chiliz's evolution from a niche fan engagement p

Starpath is now live on the Pi Network testnet, providing a risk-free environment for users to experiment with trading and familiarize themselves with Web3. Developers can test applications. It serves as an educational bridge to turn complex concepts into practice. But the harsh reality is: the February migration of 300 million caused the biggest impact, with prices continuously falling close to 0.14, and OTC sell-offs brewing. Technological advances cannot change the overwhelming supply flood that crushes demand.

Xross Road announces the completion of a $1.5 million Pre-Seed funding round, which will be used for the development of its AI comic creation tool HANASEE, and to initiate the closed beta testing of the tool. Future plans include launching a blockchain copyright management system and seeking collaborations with intellectual property rights holders.

Stripe is arranging a new round of tender offers with a valuation of at least $140 billion, a jump of over $30 billion from last year's $107 billion. This payments giant has been frequently conducting tender offers since 2024, allowing employees to cash out without going public. Co-founder John Collison stated in January this year that Stripe is not in a rush to go public, as they lay off 300 employees while continuing to hire.

The Pi Network core team announced that all nodes must complete the v19.6 upgrade by February 12th. This is a mandatory requirement before the open network phase. Currently, over 16 million users have migrated to the mainnet. This upgrade is a crucial step in the phased transition from v19 to v23, and node operators are not allowed to skip versions and upgrade directly. The KYC verifier reward mechanism has entered final testing and is expected to be officially launched in March.

Sports blockchain platform Chiliz announces a three-phase roadmap to prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The plan includes re-entering the US market, launching national team tokens, activating Omnichain cross-chain functionality, and a 10% profit buyback mechanism for CHZ tokens. Future steps will introduce performance-based supply regulation, with victories triggering burns and losses leading to issuance increases. Starting in 2027, sports revenue streams and intellectual property will be tokenized.

The MegaETH mainnet launches today, enabling gasless transactions for new users. The token generation event will depend on stablecoin growth and app activity, with a focus on network use rather than price. Integration with Chainlink enhances DeFi access.

20 new Chainlink integrations rolled out across 8 services and 12 blockchains, including Ethereum, Linea, World Chain, and zkSync. MegaETH joined Chainlink Scale and launched with Data Feeds, Data Streams, and CCIP enabled from day one. Chainlink has announced 20 new integrations to its

Last weekend, MetaDAO, a Solana ecosystem platform, failed in its first ICO project Hurupay, which did not reach the minimum funding goal of $3 million, raising only about $2 million. The community believes that the reasons for the failure include overvaluation of the project, unclear team background, and changes in financing terms. All participant funds will be refunded.

Ethereum Domain Name Service ENS cancels the Layer-2 Namechain plan, opting to deploy ENSv2 directly on the mainnet. Lead developer nick.eth stated that gas costs have decreased by 99% over the past year, and Fusaka upgrade will raise the gas cap to 60 million, with a target of 200 million by 2026. ENS will focus resources on architectural improvements while maintaining L2 interoperability.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has approved five crypto institutions—Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos—to obtain nationwide trust bank charters, marking a thorough integration of TradFi and crypto. Federal licenses allow giants to connect directly to the Federal Reserve's clearing network, Fedwire, gaining real-time settlement capabilities. The acting OCC deputy director stated that new entrants benefit competition within the banking system.

ERC-8004 is about to go live on the Ethereum mainnet, providing a standardized solution for trust issues in AI Agents. The AP2 protocol promoted by Google and the x402 protocol have integrated payment scenarios, but cross-platform AI Agents face a key bottleneck in verifying each other's identity and reputation. ERC-8004 establishes a trusted communication mechanism through on-chain identity verification and reputation systems.