Weekly Project Updates: ZK Trademark Dispute, Taiko Mainnet Launch, Friend Tech Considering Migration from Base, etc

Jun 01, 2024

1. Matter Labs: No New Trademark Applications for ZK link

Matter Labs expressed their gratitude to Vitalik Buterin, NEAR founder Illia Polosukhin, Hasu, and others for their suggestions on ensuring that terms like ZK remain freely accessible and protected from misuse. The community’s proposal, which they fully support, includes the following: establishing an ownerless legal entity whose sole purpose is to hold the trademarks for ZK and similar key terms. This entity must be led by a trusted, impartial organization or community member; it will provide free trademark licenses to everyone; and it will invite influential community figures and neutral organizations to join as guarantors. Matter Labs pledges not to file any new trademark applications for ZK. If an application is denied, they will not appeal. Matter Labs will never enforce any existing or future ZK trademarks except for defensive purposes, such as preventing lawsuits against them. Additionally, Matter Labs commits to financially supporting the creation of the community-led trademark holding entity and will transfer all applied-for ZK trademarks to this entity.

2. Polyhedra Network to Rename Code from ZK to ZKJ link

Polyhedra Network announced that when it lists on the cryptocurrency exchange HashKey Global this Friday, its token symbol will change from ZK to ZKJ. On Thursday, Polyhedra, Polygon, and StarkWare issued a joint statement condemning zkSync’s use of ZK as a token symbol and urged the community to demand Matter Labs withdraw all trademark applications and usage of the ZK symbol.

Linea, an L2 network backed by Consensys, tweeted its support for StarkWare’s statement, asserting that zkSync developer Matter Labs should withdraw its ZK trademark application. Linea stated that claiming ownership of a cryptographic branch used to develop permissionless, decentralized L2 execution environments through legal frameworks contradicts the principles and intentions of Ethereum.

3. OP Labs Releases Custom Gas Token Feature Beta link

OP Labs has announced that the beta version of its custom Gas token feature is now live on the OP Stack. Chain operators can enable this feature when deploying L2 or L3 chains, allowing the use of ERC20 tokens other than ETH for Gas fees. This capability permits projects to deploy chains utilizing their own tokens or community tokens as Gas tokens. Blockchain game developers can also deploy their own chains, using custom Gas tokens as in-game currency for players to pay Gas fees.

4. Taiko Mainnet Launches, Token Launch Expected in Weeks link

Since development began in 2022 and after seven testnets, the Ethereum rollup-based Taiko has launched on the mainnet. In its initial phase, Taiko’s Rollup protocol contracts on Ethereum are controlled by a multisig arrangement. Initially, the protocol requires SGX attestations and plans to gradually transition to a model where 50% of blocks use ZK proofs as part of its long-term scaling and security strategy. Additionally, Taiko has integrated a type-1 zero-knowledge virtual machine. The Taiko token is expected to be released a few weeks after the mainnet launch, alongside a points incentive program called Trailblazers. Taiko also plans to launch a DAO later this year to gradually transfer protocol control to its community.

5. ENS Labs Proposes Migration from Ethereum Mainnet to Layer 2 link

ENS Labs has proposed expanding the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) to Layer 2, branding this initiative as “ENSv2.” ENSv2 aims to enhance scalability and reduce gas fees by migrating core functionalities from the Ethereum mainnet to Layer 2 blockchains. However, ENS Labs has yet to choose a specific stack or Layer 2 network for this migration. Once completed, this new Layer 2 network will become the primary platform for users to interact with ENS.

According to ENS data panels, 175,000 new ENS domains have been registered this year, while the number of unique Ethereum addresses has grown by approximately 16.9 million, with new ENS domain registrations accounting for only about 1% of the new addresses. Despite maintaining monthly revenues exceeding one million dollars, ENS has seen higher revenues from renewals of old domains compared to new registrations in the past three months. The stagnation in new domain registrations on Ethereum could be a driving factor behind ENS Labs’ proposal to extend ENS services to Layer 2. Previously, Vitalik Buterin praised ENS as the most successful non-financial application.

6. Friend Tech Co-Founder Claims Rejection by Base Community, Considers Migration link

Racer, co-founder of the social app Friend Tech on the Base chain, announced early this morning that the team would pay $200,000 to anyone who can devise a method to migrate Friend Tech from Base without causing significant issues for users and that is compelling enough for the team to implement. Racer mentioned that the relationship between the Friend Tech team and Base has been consistently unstable and that they feel ostracized by the Base community. The original tweet is no longer visible.

In response, Jesse Pollak, head of Coinbase’s Base, tweeted acknowledging the Friend Tech team’s feelings of isolation and disconnection from certain parts of the Base and Ethereum ecosystem. Pollak expressed sadness at the possibility of the team leaving Base but also conveyed respect and support for their decision if they choose to do so.

7. Pump.fun Generates $14.12 Million in Fees in Last 30 Days, Surpasses Uniswap Labs link

Solana-based meme coin issuance platform pump.fun has generated fee revenue of $14.12 million in the past 30 days, surpassing Uniswap Labs to become the fourth largest protocol across all blockchain networks.

8. Uniswap Foundation Delays Token Staking and Delegation Rewards Vote link

The Uniswap Foundation tweeted that due to stakeholders raising new concerns, the proposal vote for Uniswap protocol governance scheduled for today (Friday) will be postponed. Given the immutability and sensitivity of the proposed upgrade, the Foundation made this decision.

Previously, the Uniswap Foundation announced that Uniswap v4 is set to launch later this year. They have collaborated with Uniswap Labs to select five top-tier audit firms, with audits scheduled to commence this week and expected to last for several months.

9. EOS Network Foundation Announces First Part of Token Economics in Effect, Staking Rewards Expected in June link

The EOS Network Foundation has announced the implementation of the first part of its token economics proposal. Changes include capping the total EOS token supply at 2.1 billion tokens, allocating funds to purchase 35 million EOS for RAM, and 315 million EOS for RAM market making. The second part of the proposal is forthcoming, aiming to transition to REX 2.0. Expected changes include initiating EOS staking rewards by the end of June, transferring system fees to block producers (BPs), redirecting staking rewards to REX, and extending the REX staking lockup period from 4 days to 21 days.

10. Atomicals Protocol Releases AVM Virtual Machine Whitepaper link

Atomicals Protocol released its AVM (Atomicals Virtual Machine) whitepaper on May 28th, aiming to enable the Bitcoin ecosystem with smart contract capabilities. According to @tmel0211’s interpretation, this initiative simulates a Bitcoin virtual machine, allowing the inherently “stateless” Bitcoin mainnet to support complex asset state management and processing beyond BTC itself. This includes capabilities similar to Turing-complete smart contracts. The whitepaper outlines a feasible approach for integrating a built-in virtual machine, addressing how it can execute within the application environment and ensure stable operation, though practical deployment and operational stability remain uncertain factors.

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