MetaMask's Power Protocol vs. Ethereum's Dencun Dilemma

• Intents-Based Routing Mechanism by MetaMask
• Gas Limit Increase Proposal
• Workforce Reduction at NEAR Foundation
• Decommissioning of BNB Beacon Chain
• MetaMask's New Project
• Updates from the Protocol Village
• 1. Taiko
• 2. Parallel Network
• 3. Chainlink
• 4. Hedera Council
• 5. Lagrange Labs
• 6. Hacken

Intents-Based Routing Mechanism by MetaMask

Last month, a discussion about the rise of intents as a blockchain design principle was featured in The Protocol. Capitalising on this trend, popular crypto wallet MetaMask, developed by Ethereum$2,315 -2.42%'s Consensys, has silently launched a version of intents-based routing mechanism. This new development could significantly alter how users interact with blockchains.

Gas Limit Increase Proposal

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin suggested last week on Reddit's Ask Me Anything that it would be reasonable to increase the network's gas limit. This technical term refers to the number of transactions that can be processed in each new block. He proposed an increase to 40M or so, signifying a 33% increase from the current limit of 30 million gas. Buterin's proposal is based on Moore's law, which notes that computing power appears to double every year. This is key because Ethereum's state - the complete record of the blockchain's history - requires a substantial amount of data. If computing power continues to increase, the network should be able to handle a higher transaction capacity, potentially reducing fees for end-users.

Workforce Reduction at NEAR Foundation

Unanticipated changes have occurred within the NEAR Foundation following Illia Polosukhin's appointment as CEO. A substantial cutback in the workforce has been announced, with a 40% reduction impacting 35 colleagues. Polosukhin's decision was reached after a comprehensive review of the foundation's activities, which revealed areas for improvement. The foundation's financial picture is solid, with over $285 million in government-issued currencies and 305 million NEAR tokens worth over $1B, alongside $70 million of investments and loans.

Decommissioning of BNB Beacon Chain

A plan called Fusion has been announced by the Binance-incubated BNB$312 -5.65% Chain ecosystem. The plan involves decommissioning the original BNB Beacon Chain and reinforcing the sister BNB Smart Chain. This proposal was designed to overcome legacy services and technical debt, paving the way for faster development.

MetaMask's New Project

MetaMask, Ethereum's most popular crypto wallet, is currently testing a new transaction routing technology. This development could have a significant impact on the flow of value through the second-largest blockchain network. The technology leverages the concept of intents, allowing users to specify the outcome they desire from their transactions, rather than the process to achieve it. The new technology is being developed by Special Mechanisms Group (SMG), a blockchain infrastructure firm purchased by MetaMask's parent company, Consensys, last year.

Updates from the Protocol Village

1. Taiko

Taiko, currently developing a type-1 zkEVM to help scale the Ethereum blockchain, has announced the launch of Katla, its alpha-6 testnet. The plan is to launch Taiko's mainnet in 2024.

2. Parallel Network

Parallel$1.09 0.15% Network has officially launched on the mainnet and is open to developers. This network is the first non-custodial omni-chain margin protocol, allowing liquidity to be pooled across multiple chains.

3. Chainlink

Chainlink$15.6 -4.61%'s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) has integrated Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) to simplify USDC transfers across chains. Developers can now build cross-chain use cases involving USDC transfers for payments and other DeFi interactions.

4. Hedera Council

The Hedera$0.089 -1.07% Council has welcomed its newest member, electronics maker Hitachi America, Ltd. (Hitachi). Hitachi plans to create proof-of-concepts for end-to-end supply chain and sustainability solutions on Hedera in the coming year.

5. Lagrange Labs

Lagrange Labs has integrated its light client protocol, Lagrange State Committees (LSC), for the Ethereum layer-2 network Mantle.

6. Hacken

Blockchain security auditor, Hacken$0.038 0.38%, has introduced an open-source Rust library for code coverage generation for WASM-based protocols.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker