Judge Dismisses Kent v. PoolTogether Case

Quick Take

• A judge dismisses the PoolTogether case.
• Maple Finance introduces open-term loans.
• The EF launches the Run A Node Grants initiative.
• Synthetix releases an alpha version of a V3 spot market.

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Judge Dismisses Kent v. PoolTogether Case

NY Judge Frederic Block dismissed a case in favor of prize savings protocol PoolTogether (defendant), citing the plaintiff’s lack of standing to sue. Alternative motions to compel arbitration were also denied. The long-standing case against PoolTogether was filed in late 2021 by Joseph Kent, a former technology lead for Senator Elizabeth Warren. Kent accused PoolTogether of operating as an illegal lottery under NY state law. Notably, Kent had filed the lawsuit after depositing $10 into the protocol.

Maple Finance Introduces Open-Term Loans

Credit market protocol Maple Finance introduced support for open-term loans, allowing borrowers to take out loans without an explicit maturity date. The new loan structure, which carries a higher borrowing rate than fixed-term loans, allows borrowers to close loans early without incurring prepayment penalties.

Delegates, which are entities responsible for managing loans, have the ability to call open-term loans at any time. Loans may be called due to liquidity needs, loan risk factors, loan health, or market conditions. Callable loans provide certainty for lenders by increasing pool liquidity and reducing waiting queues for withdrawal requests.

Applications Open For Run A Node Grants

The EF Ecosystem Support Program opened applications for its "Run A Node Grants" initiative. The foundation is seeking proposals that expand the diversity of Ethereum nodes, with a focus on geographical diversity. Accepted applicants will receive either a Dappnode device or reimbursement of costs for custom node hardware builds.

Participants must be willing to operate a node for two years and are required to submit Ethereum Node Records. Awardees will be selected based on the creativity, impact, and significance of their proposal, with a preference given to those in remote locations. Anyone interested in running a node can apply between now and June 20th.

Synthetix V3 Spot Market Alpha Release

Synthetix released an alpha version of a synthetic ETH spot market on V3, the latest iteration of the protocol that aims to serve as a derivatives liquidity layer. The experimental market supports atomic orders for buying and selling synths. Atomic orders offer composability with other contracts but are vulnerable to front running.

The spot market also supports asynchronous orders, which mitigate front running but complicate composability. The new market also features skew fees, utilization fees, and interest rates to incentivize traders and liquidity providers. Synthetix now plans to integrate cross-chain functionality and perpetual futures markets on V3.

.box Blockchain Native TLD Enabled Via ENS

ENS founder Nick Johnson unveiled my.box, a new blockchain-native TLD that can link ENS domains with exact match ICANN domains. According to Nick, owners of a domain NFT will own both a .eth ENS and the associated .box DNS domain. Nick noted that since the TLD is managed by ICANN, there will be a way for .box SLDs to be seized by regulatory agencies.

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