Taiko Releases ZK-EVM Alpha-2 Testnet

Quick Take

• Taiko releases its ZK-EVM Alpha-2 Testnet.
• Coinbase receives a Wells notice from the SEC.
• Blobscan introduces its explorer for EIP-4844 blob transactions.
• ConsenSys launches an institutional staking marketplace.

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Taiko Releases ZK-EVM Alpha-2 Testnet

Taiko, an EVM-equivalent ZK-Rollup, launched the second iteration of its ZK-EVM Alpha Testnet. Coined as Askja, the new testnet allows anyone to join as a permissionless prover to generate validity proofs. Taiko is also rewarding provers with a share of up to 50,000 USDC. Provers will only be rewarded in the first 300,000 testnet blocks.

Askja uses Sepolia as its L1 network. Previously, the first testnet used a private PoA fork of Ethereum as its L1. Taiko is building a Type 1 ZK-EVM, which prioritizes full EVM-equivalence over ZK-proof generation speed. It also supports existing Ethereum tooling, allowing developers to deploy dapps on the rollup without code adjustments.

Blobscan Releases Blob Transaction Explorer

Blobscan released its data explorer for blob transactions, a new transaction type introduced by EIP-4844. The explorer currently displays basic data for blob transactions and allows users to search by transaction, block, blob, data hash, or address. Blobscan is currently synced with Devnet-4, the latest testnet for EIP-4844.

Also known as Proto-Danksharding, EIP-4844 is the first step toward complete data sharding on Ethereum. It offers cheaper data availability for rollups, reducing transaction fees and disk usage. In the coming months, Blobscan plans to release new search features and a REST API. The blobscan site and blob indexer are also open-source.

MetaMask Institutional Staking Marketplace

ConsenSys launched an institutional staking marketplace on MetaMask Institutional. The platform provides a one-click staking solution for institutions and offers access to staking infrastructure from Allnodes, Blockdaemon, Kiln Finance, and ConsenSys Staking. Each staking provider has their own certification type, infrastructure, and APY.

MetaMask Institutional is also releasing advanced features to its portfolio dashboard, which includes portfolio management, digital asset monitoring with PnL, and in-depth transaction reporting. The new features will be rolled out on March 27th. ConsenSys is also deploying its ZK-EVM public testnet on March 28th.

​​Coinbase Receives Wells Notice From SEC

Coinbase is the latest exchange to receive a Wells notice from the SEC over its asset listings and staking services. A Wells notice is a letter sent by the SEC indicating the agency plans to file an enforcement action against an individual or company. Last month, Kraken shut down its U.S. staking services due to an SEC complaint.

In 2021, the SEC reviewed Coinbase’s business practices and approved the company’s IPO. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal says the SEC has changed their mind about what is allowed and Coinbase is ready to dispute the SEC in court. The SEC has also failed to provide feedback on how to register with the agency as a crypto firm.

Coinbase Wallet As A Service Release

Wallet-as-a-service, a Coinbase product for creating customizable wallets, is now available as a self-service tool in Coinbase Cloud. Wallet as a service features a set of infrastructure APIs for companies to integrate wallets for their users. The tool uses multiparty computation-based wallets to abstract seed phrases from the user onboarding process.