Networks & Protocols

• New Layer-1 blockchain Sui Network announced its launch on Sui Testnet Wave 1. The Testnet, expected to run for 2 – 3 weeks, consists of 20 validators and ~500 full nodes. On its way to Mainnet, this phase represents the first instance of the network with non-Mysten Labs operators. Are you interested in learning more about Sui Network? Please check out D-Core’s Sui Network review here.
• This week, Uniswap Labs released two new Smart Contracts. Permit2, a token approval contract, allows token approvals to be shared and managed across different applications creating a more unified, cost-efficient, and safer UX. The Universal Router unifies ERC20 and NFT swapping into a single swap router. Integrated with Permit2, users can swap multiple tokens and NFTs in one swap while saving on gas fees. The Universal Router is expected to become the default swap router for all Uniswap swaps soon. This thread has a quick summary.
• A new research paper by researchers at Chaincode Labs proposed countermeasures against jamming in the Lightening Network. In this paper, Clara Shikhelman and Sergei Tikhomirov offer a two-part solution, i.e., unconditional fees and local peer reputation. This Twitter thread sums up the problem and the solution.
• Core contributor to Synthetix Noah Litvin provided an update on the protocol’s progress with V3 and what’s in store for 2023. Per the post, the core contributors are on track to kick off the migration to V3 in January. The team is also rolling out improvements to the spot markets (optimized for cross-asset swaps) and perpetual futures markets.
• Fuel Labs, the contributors to the Fuel modular execution layer, announced the launch of the new Fuel Beta-2 Testnet, the second public Testnet. This network version is launched with a bridge to the Ethereum Goerli test network to facilitate cross-chain bridging. The Beta-2 is not an incentivized Testnet. Learn more here and await D-Core’s Review Report of Fuel soon.
• Tether was moving 1 billion USDT from Solana to Ethereum via a chain swap. As per the tweet, the total supply of Tether remains unchanged. Link.
• The embattled Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) briefed the result of a Technical Audit Report conducted by an auditor hired by them. A link to the blog post is here.
• As per the data produced by Mevboost.org, Flashbots continued to dominate the Mev Boost Relays market, with about 78.7% of the blocks relayed (~291.0k) by it. Interestingly, Falshbot’s dominance has slightly decreased by about 2.7% over the last three weeks. Newcomer, Relayooor gained traction with about 0.4% of the blocks relayed.

Venture Activity

• According to the data produced by Defilama, the total weekly value of fundraises increased 83% to $309.5 million week-over-week. There were 13 reported transactions with an average investment value of ~$23.8 million. The $200 million Series C raise by Matter Labs stood out among all the other deals.

An analysis of all 13 funding rounds shows that Seed and Private Rounds dominated the week, a similar trend to previous weeks in the month.

A broader sector-wise analysis of the Funding Rounds reflects that all the sectors, excluding CeFi, remained active in raising capital.

Regulatory

• Australia will treat crypto as an assets class in the 2022-23 budget. It means a less-favoured approach in taxation for the sector and it was the first time digital assets were discussed in a federal budget, which points to their rising popularity. Link.