The Protocol: Ethereum Proposal That Could Make the Network Faster
CoinDesk’s Protocol provides a weekly cryptocurrency tech development summary. Key highlights include proposals to significantly increase Ethereum’s speed, advancements in zero-knowledge proof technology, regulatory developments, and upcoming industry events.
Ethereum developer Barnabé Monnot’s EIP-7782 proposes halving Ethereum’s block time from 12 seconds to 6, potentially doubling transaction processing speed. This could be integrated into the Glamsterdam upgrade in 2026, though implementation isn’t guaranteed. Faster blocks would improve user experience and efficiency.
Matter Labs, creators of ZKSync, introduced Airbender, a new cryptographic prover. Airbender generates zero-knowledge proofs for Ethereum in 35 seconds using a single GPU, surpassing competitor benchmarks and potentially lowering transaction fees. This speed improvement is crucial for applications like micropayments and high-frequency trading.
Norway’s Labour Party government plans a temporary ban on new energy-intensive proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining data centers starting in Autumn 2025. This aims to preserve electricity for other industries, despite Norway’s abundant renewable energy resources.
RippleX released version 2.5.0 of “rippled,” the XRP Ledger’s reference implementation. This includes seven amendments, including TokenEscrow for IOUs and multi-purpose tokens, Batch for atomic transaction execution, and PermissionedDEX for regulatory compliance. Validators are urged to upgrade for service continuity.
MicroStrategy (MSTR) shows its lowest 10-day realized volatility since acquiring Bitcoin in 2020, with low implied volatility as well. Bernstein upgraded its Coinbase (COIN) price target to $510, citing its role as a “universal bank” bridging various crypto market segments.
U.S. senators outlined principles for domestic crypto market regulation, focusing on stablecoins and a comprehensive regulatory framework. Texas became the first U.S. state to establish a publicly-funded Bitcoin reserve, allocating $10 million for Bitcoin purchases.
Upcoming events include Permissionless (June 24-26), EthCC (June 30-July 3), Web3 Summit (July 16-18), Korea Blockchain Week (Sept 22-28), Token2049 (Oct 1-2), Devconnect (Nov 17-22), Solana Breakpoint (Dec 11-13), Consensus Hong Kong (Feb 10-12, 2026), and Consensus Miami (May 5-7, 2026).
