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The Protocol: Berachain Follows Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade With ‘Bectra’

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, the Ethereum protocol reporter on CoinDesk’s Tech team.
In this issue:
- Berachain Taps Ethereum’s Pectra Playbook With ‘Bectra’ Upgrade
- Ethereum Foundation Lays Off Some Staff Amid R&D Restructuring
- Elon Musk Announces ‘Bitcoin-Style’ XChat, But Tech Experts Are Skeptical
- Taiwanese Crypto Exchange BitoPro Likely Hacked for $11M in May, ZachXBT Says
Network News
BERACHAIN’S PLAY ON PECTRA; BECTRA: Berachain is gearing up to be the first non-Ethereum Layer-1 blockchain to fully activate Ethereum’s new execution-layer features. Its Bectra hard fork –– named for Ethereum’s recent ‘Pectra’ upgrade — goes live today, giving more than 100 apps on the chain access to tools that could enhance how users and developers interact with the platform. Because Berachain’s consensus model is different from Ethereum’s, it doesn’t include Pectra’s consensus changes. But since it’s Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible, developers don’t need to rewrite existing contracts — a relief for the 200-plus apps already live on Berachain. For users, the Bectra upgrade means every wallet can now work like a smart account. They will be able to batch transactions in one click, set spending limits, pay gas with HONEY (Berachain’s stablecoin), or even set up recurring payments. Previously, these features needed custom contracts or third-party implementations (which carry security concerns). — Shaurya Malwa Read more.
ETHEREUM FOUNDATION LAYOFFS AMID RESTRUCTURING: The Ethereum Foundation has laid off some members of its research and development team as part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at refocusing on critical protocol design challenges, the organization said in a blog post. The shake-up comes as the Switzerland-based nonprofit grapples with ongoing criticism over its management and strategic direction. Some in the Ethereum community have warned for over a year that failure to address key technical hurdles could threaten Ethereum’s status as an industry leader, and the organization has already undergone leadership changes in part to address these concerns. The foundation is rebranding its Protocol Research and Development division under the simplified name “Protocol,” and is repositioning the group around three main priorities: scaling Ethereum’s base layer, expanding blobspace (a key part of its data availability strategy), and improving user experience. Due to these changes, several staffers were laid off, though the EF did not disclose how many folks were affected by these changes — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
TECH EXPERTS UNIMPRESSED AT MUSK’S BTC X-FEATURE: Billionaire X owner Elon Musk shared over the weekend the launch of a brand-new messaging app called XChat. Neither the bitcoin market nor the tech community is impressed. A key feature of the new offering is that it’s written with the Rust programming language and uses what Musk touted as «Bitcoin-style» encryption. While it sounds exciting, the crypto community is not particularly psyched, raising doubts about the platform’s Bitcoin-inspired technical promises.. «Bitcoin primarily uses signatures, not encryption. This is like saying, we decided to run our rocket on water, since NASA uses Hydrogen and Oxygen,» Ian Miers, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, said on X. — Omkar Godbole Read more.
CRYPTO EXCHANGE BITOPRO LIKELY HACKED FOR $11M, ZachXBT SAYS: Taiwanese cryptocurrency exchange BitoPro is suspected to have lost over $11.5 million worth of tokens in a May 8 exploit, widely-followed blockchain sleuth ZachXBT said in his Telegram group. The exploit involved unauthorized access to BitoPro’s hot wallets across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Tron, Solana, and Polygon. The stolen assets were then sold on decentralized exchanges, with proceeds laundered through privacy protocols such as Tornado Cash and Thorchain, and eventually moved to Wasabi Wallet, a Bitcoin mixing service. BitoPro has not issued any public statements acknowledging the breach since the supposed explicit. Users were informed of a temporary service suspension due to «system maintenance” last month, and there was little social chatter in popular crypto X circles around the incident at the time. — Shaurya Malwa Read more.
In Other News
- A representative of the Trump Organization said the group “knows nothing” about a crypto wallet project called the “$TRUMP Wallet,” despite the app’s branding and claims being tied to the U.S. president. “The Trump Organization knows nothing about this project,» a spokesperson for the Trump Organization told CoinDesk. Meanwhile, an X account linked to the President’s memecoins said that the wallet was “coming soon,” even after several of his representatives denied the rumors.— Helene Braun Read more.
- World Liberty Financial, the Trump family-backed crypto firm, just dropped $47 worth of its USD1 stablecoin to each wallet that participated in its WLFI token sale. The move comes as USD1, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by Treasuries and fiat reserves, expands across blockchains as result of Chainlink’s CCIP integration. — Shaurya Malwa Read more.
Regulatory and Policy
- French authorities have charged 25 people, including six minors, for their roles in a spate of crypto kidnappings in Paris, with the majority of the suspects connected to the recent failed kidnapping attempt of a crypto exchange CEO’s family, Paris’s public prosecutor’s office said, Le Monde reported Saturday. The investigation is focused on the kidnapping attempt of the daughter and grandson of the CEO of crypto exchange Paymium, Pierre Noizat, that occurred on May 13, the report said. — Camomile Shumba Read more.
- The U.S. Senate may be fast approaching a final vote on regulating stablecoins, which would be a high-water mark for crypto legislation in Congress, but Representative French Hill said the Senate’s bill has some key differences with a similar effort in the House of Representatives, and those would need to be ironed out before it can become law. «The bills are substantially similar,» said Hill, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee that has been at the forefront of the congressional negotiation over stablecoins for years, at an Atlantic Council event on Tuesday. «There are some differences that are not insurmountable but do need to be rectified and clarified.»— Jesse Hamilton Read more.
Calendar
- June 8-22: Berlin Blockchain Week, Berlin
- June 24-26: Permissionless, Brooklyn
- June 30-July 3: EthCC, Cannes
- 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
Uncategorized
Bitcoin Holds Above $105K Despite Donald Trump’s Threats Against Elon Musk

Bitcoin BTC held firm above $105,000 on Saturday despite an unusually combative and personal escalation in the Trump-Musk feud that could rattle traditional markets next week.
On Saturday, in a phone interview with NBC News, President Trump warned that there would be “serious consequences” if Elon Musk financially backed Democratic candidates running against Republicans who support the GOP’s budget bill. “If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump said, adding later, “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that.”
Trump, who has often boasted of past support from Musk, firmly dismissed the idea of mending ties. “No,” he said when asked whether he wished to repair the relationship. “I would assume so, yeah,” he added when asked if the rift was permanent.
Despite the intensifying feud between two of the most influential figures in U.S. politics and technology, Bitcoin remained unfazed. The cryptocurrency held onto earlier gains and continues to trade near weekly highs. The market’s composure suggests that traders may increasingly view BTC as a hedge against institutional dysfunction, or at least as an asset insulated from the partisan fallout that tends to impact equities more directly.
Technical Analysis Highlights
- BTC traded in a 24-hour range of $1,162 (1.13%), from a low of $104,624 to a high of $105,786, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.
- Strong support formed at $104,800, where above-average volume confirmed buyer interest.
- Resistance at $105,200 was broken and has since flipped into a short-term support zone.
- Volume peaked at 378 BTC during key breakout moments, especially around 13:43–13:46 and 13:53.
- A short consolidation occurred between $104,300–$104,600 before the final surge to near highs.
- An ascending price channel remains intact, showing bullish structure despite intermittent pullbacks.
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.
Uncategorized
Ether Holds Steady Above $2,500 as ETF Demand Signals Institutional Confidence

Ether ETH has rebounded firmly from key support near $2,460, recovering losses and stabilizing above the $2,500 threshold amid broader market volatility.
The rally follows a higher low formation backed by above-average volume, signaling growing market confidence.
Institutional participation appears to be reinforcing the trend, with BlackRock’s ETHA ETF reporting $492 million in net inflows last week.
Total holdings now exceed $4.84 billion, reinforcing long-term bullish sentiment even as price action remains sensitive to geopolitical developments.
Traders are watching to see if ETH can challenge resistance in the $2,520–$2,530 range.
Technical Analysis Highlights
- ETH traded within a $72 range over 24 hours, from a low of $2,460.35 to a high of $2,532.41.
- A key support zone formed at $2,460–$2,470, where ETH bounced on strong volume during midnight hours.
- Final hour surge reached $2,515.11, backed by 5,919 ETH in volume.
- Higher low structure established with interim support at $2,485 and resistance at $2,503.
- Final retracement held support at $2,507, with price consolidating around $2,510 into the close.
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.
Uncategorized
Coinbase, BiT Global End Legal Fight Over WBTC Delisting

Coinbase and BiT Global have reached a legal settlement that ended their dispute over the delisting of BiT Global’s wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) token on Coinbase.
According to a joint court filing, BiT Global has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against the crypto exchange with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be brought again in the future. The filing notes that both companies will cover their own legal expenses.
BiT Global had filed the lawsuit last year in the Northern District of California after Coinbase delisted the token over what it said was “unacceptable risk” that the tokenized BTC would “fall into the hands of Justin Sun.”
Sun became affiliated with wBTC in August last year through a partnership, prompting Coinbase to question BiT Global about his role. Sun, a Chinese-born crypto billionaire, has nevertheless been supporting the token, with World Liberty Financial dropping its cbBTC for wBTC after he joined as an advisor.
The suit alleged the exchange’s decision was unjustified and harmed the token’s liquidity and reputation while favoring Coinbase’s competing asset cbBTC. Coinbase launched cbBTC just two months before announcing it was delisting wBTC.
The dismissal does not disclose any settlement terms beyond the cost arrangement.
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