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The Protocol: Layer-2 Eclipse’s Airdrop Goes Live

Published

2 месяца ago

16 июля, 2025

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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Wall Street Bank Citigroup Sees Ether Falling to $4,300 by Year-End

Published

5 часов ago

15 сентября, 2025

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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.

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XLM Sees Heavy Volatility as Institutional Selling Weighs on Price

Published

10 часов ago

15 сентября, 2025

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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.

XLM/USD (TradingView)

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.

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HBAR Tumbles 5% as Institutional Investors Trigger Mass Selloff

Published

10 часов ago

15 сентября, 2025

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Hedera Hashgraph’s HBAR token endured steep losses over a volatile 24-hour window between September 14 and 15, falling 5% from $0.24 to $0.23. The token’s trading range expanded by $0.01 — a move often linked to outsized institutional activity — as heavy corporate selling overwhelmed support levels. The sharpest move came between 07:00 and 08:00 UTC on September 15, when concentrated liquidation drove prices lower after days of resistance around $0.24.

Institutional trading volumes surged during the session, with more than 126 million tokens changing hands on the morning of September 15 — nearly three times the norm for corporate flows. Market participants attributed the spike to portfolio rebalancing by large stakeholders, with enterprise adoption jitters and mounting regulatory scrutiny providing the backdrop for the selloff.

Recovery efforts briefly emerged during the final hour of trading, when corporate buyers tested the $0.24 level before retreating. Between 13:32 and 13:35 UTC, one accumulation push saw 2.47 million tokens deployed in an effort to establish a price floor. Still, buying momentum ultimately faltered, with HBAR settling back into support at $0.23.

The turbulence underscores the token’s vulnerability to institutional distribution events. Analysts point to the failed breakout above $0.24 as confirmation of fresh resistance, with $0.23 now serving as the critical support zone. The surge in volume suggests major corporate participants are repositioning ahead of regulatory shifts, leaving HBAR’s near-term outlook dependent on whether enterprise buyers can mount sustained defenses above key support.

HBAR/USD (TradingView)

Technical Indicators Summary

Corporate resistance levels crystallized at $0.24 where institutional selling pressure consistently overwhelmed enterprise buying interest across multiple trading sessions.
Institutional support structures emerged around $0.23 levels where corporate buying programs have systematically absorbed selling pressure from retail and smaller institutional participants.
The unprecedented trading volume surge to 126.38 million tokens during the 08:00 morning session reflects enterprise-scale distribution strategies that overwhelmed corporate demand across major trading platforms.
Subsequent institutional momentum proved unsustainable as systematic selling pressure resumed between 13:37-13:44, driving corporate participants back toward $0.23 support zones with sustained volumes exceeding 1 million tokens, indicating ongoing institutional distribution.
Final trading periods exhibited diminishing corporate activity with zero recorded volume between 13:13-14:14, suggesting institutional participants adopted defensive positioning strategies as HBAR consolidated at $0.23 amid enterprise uncertainty.