Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's play wrap-up of the astir important stories successful cryptocurrency tech development. I'm Margaux Nijkerk, CoinDesk’s Ethereum reporter, filling successful for Ben Schiller.
In this issue:
Story Protocol launches to fto radical registry IP and get paid for it
Ethereum developers merchandise caller inaugural to simplify cross-chain transactions
Ethereum L1 monad joins forces with Orderly Network for DeFi boost
How a sitting president became crypto's astir sought-after investor
Network News
STORY PROTOCOL GOES LIVE: Story Protocol launched its intelligence property-focused blockchain and associated IP token past week. The blockchain is positioned arsenic the "world's intelligence spot network," providing users with a mode to registry their IP and way however others usage it. The aptly named "$IP" token, which Story announced earlier this month, is utilized for transaction fees and offers users a ballot successful the platform's governance system. So far, the IP focused blockchain seems to person had legs — astatine slightest with investors. PIP Labs, the chain's superior developer, raised $80 cardinal successful a Series B task backing circular led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), bringing the project's full backing to $140 million. PIP has sought to presumption Story astatine the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence, a mode for radical to way and get paid for information utilized to bid AI models. The Story mainnet motorboat accompanies the archetypal unlock lawsuit for the just-announced IP token. "Story is unlocking 25% of the archetypal 1 cardinal $IP, with 58.4% devoted to the ecosystem and community, foundation, and archetypal incentives," according to the project. — Sam Kessler Read more.
ETHEREUM DEVELOPERS RELEASE NEW OPEN INTENTS FRAMEWORK: A radical of apical Ethereum developers and leaders released Wednesday a caller model that would simplify and standardize cross-chain token transfers.
The initiative, called the Open Intents Framework (OIF), was kickstarted by contributors from the Ethereum Foundation and is supported by 25 projects including teams gathering layer-2s similar Arbitrum, Optimism, ZKsync, and Scroll, according to a property merchandise shared with CoinDesk.The extremity of the inaugural is to bring “intents” to each corners of the Ethereum ecosystem, which is simply a technological diagnostic that lets a blockchain idiosyncratic execute a circumstantial goal by asking an intermediary to fulfill that extremity (like a commercialized oregon transaction they privation to make.) There are immoderate standards retired determination that are already trying to marque cross-chain transactions easier by utilizing intents. ERC-7683, which was introduced by the squad down the decentralized speech Uniswap and the Across protocol, is one of those standards circulating the Ethereum abstraction lately, and is expected to code fragmentation and let much chains successful the Ethereum ecosystem to interoperate. But the OIF squad claims that they volition physique connected that modular done their model allowing intents to relation astatine scale. “By offering shared infrastructure and execution coordination, OIF makes intent-based transactions permissionless, efficient, and accessible for each projects,” the property merchandise said. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
MONAD AND ORDERLY JOIN FORCES: Monad, an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) layer-1 blockchain astir to motorboat its testnet, has joined forces with Orderly Network, a decentralized exchange (DEX) infrastructure supporting a scope of different chains, arsenic the platforms dispersed their nets wide successful anticipation of a 2nd decentralized finance (DeFi) summer. The accomplishment of the Monad testnet connected Wednesday volition supply traders with a accelerated EVM-compatible gathering tract and the anticipation of airdrops connected the L1. Orderly’s set of 20 oregon truthful marketplace makers includes Wintermute, Selini and Riverside, according to a property release. Firms successful the decentralized trading industry, which includes large exchanges similar Coinbase (COIN), are hoping for surge of DeFi activity successful the coming months arsenic the crypto-friendly medication of President Donald Trump gives crypto a regulatory tailwind. The archetypal DeFi summer, successful 2020, came blistery connected the heels of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts successful effect to the Covid outbreak. Orderly already offers users a shared bid publication crossed aggregate blockchains, including Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, Base, Mantle and Near. — Ian Allison Read more.
TRUMP - CRYPTO’S MOST INFLUENTIAL INVESTOR?: Crypto isn't each that antithetic from politics. According to Rushi Manche, the laminitis of blockchain institution Movement, "Crypto is an attraction game."It's fitting, then, that Donald Trump — the maestro of each things attraction — is truthful astatine location selling memecoins. But it's not conscionable Trump's interior ellipse that's managed to capitalize connected his crypto ventures, which see the $TRUMP coin and World Liberty Financial. Once a vocal crypto skeptic, the president has go the industry's largest "key sentiment leader" — oregon KOL, successful blockchain manufacture parlance: a trader whose portfolio is intimately watched by different investors deciding what to bargain and sell. Trump's foray into crypto has created a caller go-to-market playbook for ambitious token peddlers similar Manche — blockchain founders who recognize pumping the terms of a token tin beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic elbowing into a sitting president's crypto portfolio. The president's superior conveyance for blockchain trades is World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a decentralized concern (DeFi) task helium announced with his sons implicit the summer. After accruing much than $400 cardinal by selling a token, the company, which does not yet person a product, has built up a portfolio containing millions of dollars successful the assets of different crypto projects. On Wednesday, it announced it was launching an authoritative "strategic reserve" of crypto investments. The trades person already raised serious concerns astir conflicts of interest, insider dealing, and the precise quality of however power is leveraged successful the integer plus space. Trump's governmental opponents are calling for investigations into his increasing blockchain empire. But crypto founders similar Manche spot World Liberty's crypto investments arsenic thing different: a once-in-a-generation selling opportunity. "You request to person a merchandise roadmap that makes sense," said Manche. "But you besides request to person a strategy for your token." And what amended mode to boost the terms of your cryptocurrency than by publically tying it to the person of the escaped world? — Sam Kessler Read more.
In Other News
Libra Token’s Co-Creator Claimed He Paid Argentinian President Milei’s Sister: It was unclear if immoderate wealth was exchanged betwixt Davis and Milei's interior ellipse successful beforehand of Libra's launch. Danny Nelson reports.
Will Argentinian President Milei's Crypto 'Fiasco' Be a Deathblow for Memecoin Craze?: The latest frenzy that started with U.S. President Donald Trump's TRUMP memecoin motorboat and saw traders making and losing millions wrong minutes, mightiness person yet travel crashing down with the LIBRA token fiasco.
Regulatory and policy: EToro secures MiCA license from Cyprus to connection crypto services crossed EEA.
Calendar
Feb. 19-20, 2025: ConsensusHK, Hong Kong.
Feb. 23-24: NFT Paris
Feb 23-March 2: ETHDenver
March 18-19: Digital Asset Summit, London
May 14-16: Consensus, Toronto.
May 27-29: Bitcoin 2025, Las Vegas.