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The Protocol: Layer-2 Eclipse’s Airdrop Goes Live
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, CoinDesk’s Tech & Protocols reporter.
In this issue:
- Eclipse Launches $ES Airdrop, Distributing 15% of Token Supply
- Risc Zero’s ‘Boundless’ Incentivized Testnet Goes Live
- Bitcoin Devs Float Proposal to Freeze Quantum-Vulnerable Addresses — Even Satoshi Nakamoto’s
- Aethir and Credible Introduce First DePIN-Powered Credit Card
Network News
ECLIPSE TOKEN GENERATION EVENT: Eclipse, the layer-2 that combines technology from the Ethereum and Solana blockchains, shared that it has gone live with an airdorp of its $ES token. The team behind the network shared that the initial distribution will occur over the next 30 days, and a total of 1 billion $ES tokens have been minted, with distribution structured to go to community incentives and long-term protocol sustainability. Of the supply, 15% is allocated to an airdrop and liquidity provisions for core community members and developers who have supported the network from the start. 35% will support ecosystem growth and research and development, aimed to help scale the network. Contributors will receive 19% of the supply, including team members, with a four year vesting period and three year lockup schedule. The remaining 31% is for early supporters and investors, who are subject to a three year lockup schedule to commit to Eclipse’s roadmap long-term. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
RISC-ZERO “BOUNDLESS” INCENTIVIZED TESTNET GOES LIVE : Boundless, the decentralized zero-knowledge (ZK) compute marketplace powered by RISC Zero, has launched its incentivized testnet (which it is calling “Mainnet Beta”) on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network. With Boundless’ incentivized testnet, developers can build and test applications in an environment as if the protocol is in fully live format. The network has already landed early support from industry heavyweights like the Ethereum Foundation, Wormhole and EigenLayer. A decentralized marketplace for zero-knowledge compute connects those who need zero-knowledge proofs — such as developers building rollups, bridges, or privacy-preserving applications — with a distributed network of independent “ZK provers or miners” who generate and verify those proofs. Instead of relying on centralized parties, this model allows anyone with the right hardware to contribute computing power and be rewarded for doing that cryptographic work. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
NEW BITCOIN PROPOSAL TO FREEZE QUANTAM-VULNERABLE ADDRESSES: A new Bitcoin draft proposal wants to do what’s long been unthinkable: Freeze coins secured by legacy cryptography — including those in Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallets — before quantum computers can crack them. That’s according to a new draft proposal co-authored by Jameson Lopp and other crypto security researchers, which introduces a phased soft fork that turns quantum migration into a ticking clock. Fail to upgrade, and your coins become unspendable. That includes the roughly 1.1 million BTC tied to early pay-to-pubkey addresses, like those of Satoshi’s and other early miners. “This proposal is radically different from any in Bitcoin’s history just as the threat posed by quantum computing is radically different from any other threat in Bitcoin’s history,” the authors explained as a motivation for the proposal. “Never before has Bitcoin faced an existential threat to its cryptographic primitives.” — Shaurya Malwa Read more.
THE FIRST DEPIN POWERED CREDIT CARD: Aethir, a decentralized GPU cloud network, has teamed up with Credible Finance, a lending protocol, to introduce what they call the first credit card and loan product powered by a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN). The move is designed to give Aethir’s native ATH token holders and node operators access to stablecoin credit without liquidating their tokens — a step toward blending on-chain infrastructure with real-world financial capital. The product, which debuted on Wednesday, lets eligible users collateralize their ATH tokens to access a revolving credit line or preload a no-fee card with ATH or stablecoins on Solana. Loan approvals and limits are determined by Credible’s AI-driven credit engine, which evaluates a user’s on-chain activity, asset holdings and transaction history. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
In Other News
- Ripple has expanded its institutional custody services into the Middle East, partnering with UAE-based tokenization platform Ctrl Alt to support Dubai’s government-led real estate digitization initiative. The deal will see Ctrl Alt use Ripple’s custody infrastructure to store tokenized property title deeds issued by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). — Shaurya Malwa Read more.
- SharpLink Gaming (SBET), the Nasdaq-listed firm with a crypto treasury strategy centered on ether ETH, on Tuesday said it has become the largest corporate holder of the asset with 280,706 ETH worth roughly $840 million at current prices. The firm raised $413 million via the issuance of over 24 million shares between July 7 and July 11, according to a press release. It purchased a total of 74,656 ETH over the past week at an average price of $2,852 each. Roughly $257 million of that fundraising remained for future ETH acquisitions, the firm said. — Kristzian Sandor Read more.
Regulatory and Policy
- The House of Representatives on Tuesday did not vote on a procedural motion to advance a trio of crypto bills, but may vote Wednesday to advance the legislation. As it sped into its crypto-focused week on Tuesday, the U.S. House’s process toward passing digital assets bills ground to a sudden halt over a procedural vote as members of the House Freedom Caucus objected to the way some of the legislation has developed under Senate dominance. The legislation still has strong, bipartisan support, suggesting the procedural mishap may be overcome as a further vote was scheduled for later Tuesday afternoon. This vote was canceled less than 15 minutes before it was set to begin, so the matter may not be raised again until early Wednesday — the same day the Digital Asset Markets Clarity Act was set to be voted on. — Jesse Hamilton, Stephen Alpher, & Nikilesh De Read more.
- A 12-person jury has been seated for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s criminal trial, and opening arguments are set to begin later this afternoon in the Thurgood Marshall courthouse in Lower Manhattan. Seven women and five men with a diverse range of backgrounds and ages will decide whether the U.S. Department of Justice can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Storm engaged in conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. — Cheyenne Ligon & Nikilesh De Read more.
Calendar
- July 16-18: Web3 Summit, Berlin
- Sept. 22-28: Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul
- Oct. 1-2: Token2049, Singapore
- Nov. 17-22: Devconnect, Buenos Aires
- Dec. 11-13: Solana Breakpoint, Abu Dhabi
- Feb. 10-12, 2026: Consensus, Hong Kong
- May 5-7, 2026: Consensus, Miami
Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.
Bitcoin (BTC) traded just above $115k in Asia Tuesday morning, slipping slightly after a strong start to the week.
The modest pullback followed a run of inflows into U.S. spot ETFs and lingering optimism that the Federal Reserve will cut rates next week. The moves left traders divided: is this recovery built on fragile foundations, or is crypto firmly back on track after last week’s CPI-driven jitters?
That debate is playing out across research desks. Glassnode’s weekly pulse emphasizes fragility. While ETF inflows surged nearly 200% last week and futures open interest jumped, the underlying spot market looks weak.
Buying conviction remains shallow, Glassnode writes, funding rates have softened, and profit-taking is on the rise with more than 92% of supply in profit.
Options traders have also scaled back downside hedges, pushing volatility spreads lower, which Glassnode warns leaves the market exposed if risk returns. The core message: ETFs and futures are supporting the rally, but without stronger spot flows, BTC remains vulnerable.
QCP takes the other side.
The Singapore-based desk says crypto is “back on track” after CPI confirmed tariff-led inflation without major surprises. They highlight five consecutive days of sizeable BTC ETF inflows, ETH’s biggest inflow in two weeks, and strength in XRP and SOL even after ETF delays.
Traders, they argue, are interpreting regulatory postponements as inevitability rather than rejection. With the Altcoin Season Index at a 90-day high, QCP sees BTC consolidation above $115k as the launchpad for rotation into higher-beta assets.
The divide underscores how Bitcoin’s current range near $115k–$116k is a battleground. Glassnode calls it fragile optimism; QCP calls it momentum. Which side is right may depend on whether ETF inflows keep offsetting profit-taking in the weeks ahead.
Market Movement
BTC: Bitcoin is consolidating near the $115,000 level as traders square positions ahead of expected U.S. Fed policy moves; institutional demand via spot Bitcoin ETFs is supporting upside
ETH: ETH is trading near $4500 in a key resistance band; gains are being helped by renewed institutional demand, tightening supply (exchange outflows), and positive technical setups.
Gold: Gold continues to hold near record highs, underpinned by expectations of Fed interest rate cuts, inflation risk, and investor demand for safe havens; gains tempered somewhat by profit‑taking and a firmer U.S. dollar
Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei 225 topped 45,000 for the first time Monday, leading Asia-Pacific gains as upbeat U.S.-China trade talks and a TikTok divestment framework lifted sentiment.
S&P 500: The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to close above 6,600 for the first time on Monday as upbeat U.S.-China trade talks and anticipation of a Fed meeting lifted stocks.
Elsewhere in Crypto
Wall Street giant Citigroup (C) has launched new ether (ETH) forecasts, calling for $4,300 by year-end, which would be a decline from the current $4,515.
That’s the base case though. The bank’s full assessment is wide enough to drive an army regiment through, with the bull case being $6,400 and the bear case $2,200.
The bank analysts said network activity remains the key driver of ether’s value, but much of the recent growth has been on layer-2s, where value “pass-through” to Ethereum’s base layer is unclear.
Citi assumes just 30% of layer-2 activity contributes to ether’s valuation, putting current prices above its activity-based model, likely due to strong inflows and excitement around tokenization and stablecoins.
A layer 1 network is the base layer, or the underlying infrastructure of a blockchain. Layer 2 refers to a set of off-chain systems or separate blockchains built on top of layer 1s.
Exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, though smaller than bitcoin’s (BTC), have a bigger price impact per dollar, but Citi expects them to remain limited given ether’s smaller market cap and lower visibility with new investors.
Macro factors are seen adding only modest support. With equities already near the bank’s S&P 500 6,600 target, the analysts do not expect major upside from risk assets.
Read more: Ether Bigger Beneficiary of Digital Asset Treasuries Than Bitcoin or Solana: StanChart
Stellar’s XLM token endured sharp swings over the past 24 hours, tumbling 3% as institutional selling pressure dominated order books. The asset declined from $0.39 to $0.38 between September 14 at 15:00 and September 15 at 14:00, with trading volumes peaking at 101.32 million—nearly triple its 24-hour average. The heaviest liquidation struck during the morning hours of September 15, when XLM collapsed from $0.395 to $0.376 within two hours, establishing $0.395 as firm resistance while tentative support formed near $0.375.
Despite the broader downtrend, intraday action highlighted moments of resilience. From 13:15 to 14:14 on September 15, XLM staged a brief recovery, jumping from $0.378 to a session high of $0.383 before closing the hour at $0.380. Trading volume surged above 10 million units during this window, with 3.45 million changing hands in a single minute as bulls attempted to push past resistance. While sellers capped momentum, the consolidation zone around $0.380–$0.381 now represents a potential support base.
Market dynamics suggest distribution patterns consistent with institutional profit-taking. The persistent supply overhead has reinforced resistance at $0.395, where repeated rally attempts have failed, while the emergence of support near $0.375 reflects opportunistic buying during liquidation waves. For traders, the $0.375–$0.395 band has become the key battleground that will define near-term direction.
Technical Indicators
- XLM retreated 3% from $0.39 to $0.38 during the previous 24-hours from 14 September 15:00 to 15 September 14:00.
- Trading volume peaked at 101.32 million during the 08:00 hour, nearly triple the 24-hour average of 24.47 million.
- Strong resistance established around $0.395 level during morning selloff.
- Key support emerged near $0.375 where buying interest materialized.
- Price range of $0.019 representing 5% volatility between peak and trough.
- Recovery attempts reached $0.383 by 13:00 before encountering selling pressure.
- Consolidation pattern formed around $0.380-$0.381 zone suggesting new support level.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
Asia Morning Briefing: Fragility or Back on Track? BTC Holds the Line at $115K
Wall Street Bank Citigroup Sees Ether Falling to $4,300 by Year-End
XLM Sees Heavy Volatility as Institutional Selling Weighs on Price
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