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A Year of Crypto Tech In Review

This special edition of the Protocol looks back at 2024’s groundbreaking developments and forward to what the coming year might bring for blockchain technology.
Let’s dive into the milestones, trends, and predictions shaping the next era of crypto.
This article is featured in the latest issue of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter exploring the tech behind crypto, one block at a time. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.
1. A Look Back: Top Crypto Tech Milestones of 2024
Ethereum’s Duncun Upgrade: 2024 marked Ethereum’s most significant network upgrade yet. Ethereum activated the Cancun-Deneb (Dencun) upgrade, a landmark improvement designed to enhance scalability and reduce data fees, marking a pivotal step in the network’s evolution. Duncun introduced proto-danksharding, a mechanism aimed at lowering costs for Layer-2 rollups by simplifying data availability and improving transaction throughput. The changes, though immensely debated, aimed to benefit developers and pave the way for further innovations in Ethereum’s roadmap, reinforcing its position as the leading smart contract platform.
Solana Locks in Value: Solana’s DeFi TVL hit $9 billion in total value locked (TVL) for the first time in three years, with its DeFi ecosystem experiencing even more growth. This achievement reflects increased user engagement and the expansion of decentralized applications on the platform. This growth was significantly helped by institutional adoption and major integrations. Financial giants like Franklin Templeton and Société Générale leveraged Solana for tokenized asset projects. Solana also expanded its reach with Robinhood adding SOL to its trading platform and Cboe Global Markets filing for Solana-linked ETFs, signaling increased confidence in its infrastructure.
Quantum Computing’s Warning Bell: Google’s advancements in quantum computing, particularly with its revolutionary quantum chip, raised alarms within the crypto community about the potential threats to blockchain security. The chip’s ability to solve problems far beyond the reach of classical computers reignited debates around Bitcoin’s reliance on traditional encryption methods and the broader implications for the crypto ecosystem. Experts emphasized the urgency of transitioning to quantum-resistant encryption to safeguard cryptocurrencies against future vulnerabilities. While current quantum computers are not yet capable of compromising blockchain networks, Google’s progress underscored the need for proactive measures to ensure the long-term security and resilience of digital assets.
Layer-2 Adoption Soars: Layer-2 adoption surged as projects like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base played pivotal roles in addressing Ethereum’s scalability challenges. Arbitrum continued to dominate the Layer-2 ecosystem, crossing 1 billion in transactions, driven by its strong developer support and DeFi integrations. Optimism continued to expand its influence with its OP Stack technology, which enable modular Layer-2 solutions and foster ecosystem-wide collaboration through its integration into Optimism’s Superchain. Base, a Layer-2 incubated by Coinbase, gained significant traction as it leveraged Coinbase’s extensive user base and on-ramps, with Franklin Templeton becoming the first asset manager to launch a tokenized treasury fund on the network.
DeFi Leaders Innovate: Aave became the focus of a new fund launched by Grayscale Investments in October, providing institutional and accredited investors with exposure to its governance token (AAVE) through a traditional investment vehicle; Uniswap Labs announced Unichain, a decentralized Layer-2 blockchain built with Optimism’s OP Stack, designed to enhance transaction speed, reduce costs, and improve cross-chain interoperability, with plans for a 2025 mainnet launch; and MakerDAO rebranded to Sky as part of its Endgame Plan, introducing new governance (SKY) and stablecoins (USDS), autonomous «Sky Stars,» deflationary tokenomics, and a roadmap for transitioning fully from MKR to SKY tokens.
2. Emerging Trends for 2025
AI x Blockchain: The integration of artificial intelligence and blockchain is set to revolutionize identity verification, predictive analytics, and smart contract automation — and, hopefully, curtail negative side effects of AI.
Regulated Crypto Hubs: Jurisdictions like Hong Kong, Dubai, and Singapore are positioning themselves as crypto-friendly innovation centers, attracting startups and institutional investors alike.
Interoperability Takes Center Stage: Cross-chain protocols will dominate development, enabling seamless asset transfers and collaboration between blockchain ecosystems.
3. Developer Spotlight: 2024 in Numbers
The Electric Capital Developer Report: The report highlighted sustained growth in blockchain development with a 35% increase in active developers. Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot, Base, and Polygon led the pack, showcasing their strong developer communities. Solana was the biggest draw for new developers, bringing in 7,625 new developers in 2024, surpassing Ethereum. Solana’s appeal, driven by its low fees, fast transactions and many memecoins, positions it as a formidable competitor in the smart contract arena.
4. What to Watch in 2025
Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade: Ethereum’s upcoming Pectra upgrade has been split into two phases, Prague and Electra, to ensure a smoother rollout of key improvements to the consensus and execution layers. The Electra phase will enhance validator efficiency, bolster network security, and introduce improved mechanisms for managing validator exits.
Scaling Solutions: ZK-rollups and modular blockchains will drive the next wave of scalability, ensuring smoother user experiences. Zero-knowledge proofs are emerging as a transformative technology, enabling enhanced privacy and efficiency while paving the way for a future where blockchain networks can scale seamlessly without compromising decentralization.
Decentralized Identity: The rise of decentralized identity solutions could redefine how users interact with Web3 platforms, emphasizing privacy and ownership.These systems leverage blockchain technology to give users control over their personal data, allowing them to verify their identities without relying on centralized authorities.
5. Final Thought
2024 set the stage for crypto’s next chapter, with breakthroughs in scalability, DeFi, and security shaping a transformative year ahead.
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CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: SUI and POL Rise 7.5%, Leading Index Higher

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.
The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 2556.62, up 2.1% (+52.39) since 4 p.m. ET on Monday.
Fifteen of 20 assets are trading higher.
Leaders: SUI (+7.5%) and POL (+7.5%).
Laggards: FIL (-4.5%) and XLM (-1.6%).
The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.
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Dutch Bank ING Said to Be Working on a New Stablecoin With Other TradFi and Crypto Firms

Dutch bank ING is working on a stablecoin, looking to take advantage of Europe’s new cryptocurrency regulations that came into force last year, according to two people with knowledge of the plans.
ING’s stablecoin project could take the form of a consortium effort involving other banks and crypto service providers, both people said.
“ING is working on a stablecoin project with a few other banks. It’s moving slow as multiple banks need board approval to set up a joint entity,” one of the sources said.
ING declined to comment.
Europe’s Markets in Crypto Assets regime [MiCA] requires stablecoin issuers across EU member countries to hold an authorization license, while promoting the potential of euro-denominated stablecoins (the vast majority of the stablecoins in circulation are pegged to the U.S. dollar).
MiCA’s stablecoin rules, which also require issuers to maintain significant reserves in banks based in Europe, have strengthened compliant offerings like Circle’s euro stablecoin EURC over its main rival Tether, according to a note early this year from JPMorgan.
Banks like ING entering the European stablecoin space means French lender Société Générale, the first big bank to offer a stablecoin through its SG Forge innovation division, will soon have some competition.
Read more: Stablecoin Market Could Grow to $2T by End-2028: Standard Chartered
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DAO Infrastructure Provider Tally Raises $8M to Scale On-Chain Governance

Tally, a leader in on-chain governance tooling, has secured $8 million in Series A funding aimed at scaling its governance technology to more crypto-native decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Tally is best known for the Tally Protocol, which powers infrastructure to help leading protocols conduct effective on-chain governance of their DAOs, including Arbitrum, Uniswap DAO, ZKsync, Wormhole, Eigenlayer, Obol and Hyperlane.
«We’ve built this complete stack of software for operating these on-chain organizations,» Dennison Bertram, CEO and co-founder of Tally Protocol, said in an interview with CoinDesk. «We can take you from your idea to launching your token, to distributing your membership or ownership, all the way to the value accrual for your protocol.»
The platform began as a DAO governance tool and has evolved into the most widely adopted software stack for on-chain organizations across the Ethereum and Solana blockchains, it said in a release.
«On-chain governance and capital formation could, in theory, dramatically reduce the complexity and cost of forming and operating organizations by moving these processes entirely into software rather than traditional jurisdictions guided by platforms like Tally,» Bertram said.
One day, on-chain organizations might be seen as a way to compete with nation states, he argued, referencing the costly and lawyer-intensive process of registering foundations and other legal entities typically used for crypto.
«Whoever embraces crypto really fully might actually be embracing fully the future,» he said.
Fixing vote turnout for better governance
One issue that Tally aims to tackle with funding from the Series A is low voter participation and apathy in DAO governance, which has led to sometimes controversial outcomes.
Last year, for example, a group of CompoundDAO token holders, called Golden Boys, successfully passed a controversial proposal to create a yield-bearing product called goldCOMP.
Despite initially gaining traction, the proposal faced significant controversy due to perceived irregularities, low voter turnout and a lack of widespread community engagement.
Ultimately, the Golden Boys agreed to cancel goldCOMP, which highlighted the broader issue of governance apathy within DAOs rather than any technical exploit or malicious intent.
«Many of the people that you should expect to vote ‘no’ on something like this didn’t show up,» Bertram said in an earlier interview. «What it shows is that the democratic process of governing a DAO is imperfect and needs improvement.»
To address this, Tally has developed staking mechanisms designed to reward active governance participants economically. Users can stake their governance tokens to receive Tally Liquid Staked Tokens (tLSTs), earning passive, auto-compounding yields while retaining voting rights within DAOs.
“This fundraise is really about leaning into the original vision,” Bertram said. “Now that we’ve proven that this works, that you can have these large organizations, it’s time to really scale it up.”
Institutions are getting involved in DAOs
Bertram also emphasized that recent regulatory clarity and shifts in attitude toward crypto governance in the U.S. have opened the door for increased institutional participation in DAOs.
“With this clarity, we’re going to get a lot more participation, not necessarily from average Joe token holders, but actually from large organizations that depend on the infrastructure they’re building on,” he said. “These organizations are going to need and want the ability to actually govern the infrastructure that they operate on.”
Ultimately, Bertram sees Tally’s role as pivotal in advancing decentralized governance and unlocking greater economic value for token holders by directly rewarding active, informed participants.
«Given the new acceptance of crypto as a key driver of future value in America, it’s time to scale it beyond crypto and make it a core primitive for creating new organizations,” he said.
The round was led by Appworks and Blockchain Capital with participation from BitGo amongst others.
Tally previously raised $7.5 million in 2021 across two funding rounds.
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