1. Bitgo Announces Plan to Transfer Control of WBTC Product to Joint Venture with BiT Global link

BA Labs published a paper on MakerDAO’s forum, highlighting that BitGo has announced plans to transfer control of the WBTC product to a joint venture with BiT Global. This move will decentralize custody from the U.S. to regions including Hong Kong and Singapore. Justin Sun is expected to have significant influence or control over the joint venture managing WBTC. In response, BA Labs has proposed urgent measures to limit the growth of WBTC exposure.

Justin Sun responded, stating that there have been no changes to WBTC. He emphasized that the auditing process is conducted in real-time, and his involvement with WBTC is purely strategic. He does not control the private keys of the WBTC reserves and cannot move any BTC reserves. Sun assured that Bitglobal and BitGo will not sign any transactions without proper auditing. The keys remain protected using BitGo’s cold wallet technology and offline keys, with backups in multiple countries and regions.

MakerDAO is set to initiate a vote on August 12 to propose a “Reduction in WBTC Collateral Size” to mitigate potential risks associated with the change in custody. The proposal suggests reducing the WBTC-A, WBTC-B, and WBTC-C DC-IAM (Debt Ceiling — Instant Access Module) caps from $500M, $250M, and $500M, respectively, to zero. Additionally, SparkLend proposes banning the borrowing of WBTC and reducing the WBTC loan collateral ratio from 74% to zero. BA Labs, a crypto risk analysis firm, supports these actions to curb the growth of WBTC exposure and address the potential risks arising from the change in custody.

BitGo CEO Mike Belshe, in an interview with The Block, downplayed Justin Sun’s involvement in the joint venture, reiterating BitGo’s longstanding commitment to security. He mentioned that BiT Global has a dedicated team managing multiple client accounts, ensuring the safe custody of assets. They cannot lend out these assets or transfer them to anyone, including Justin Sun or himself, without violating the law and risking imprisonment. Belshe also expressed a willingness to assist MakerDAO with due diligence to alleviate any concerns.

2. Coinbase May Launch cbBTC and Establish Bitcoin Economy on Base Network link

Coinbase has teased the upcoming launch of “cbBTC” in a recent tweet but has yet to reveal specific details. Jesse Pollak, the head of the Base protocol, a Layer 2 network supported by Coinbase, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “I love bitcoin, am so grateful for it’s role kickstarting crypto, and we’re going to build a massive bitcoin economy on base.”

3. Worldcoin Partners with MIMOS to Integrate Technology into Malaysia’s Digital Infrastructure link

The Worldcoin Foundation, Tools for Humanity (TFH), and MyEG have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MIMOS Berhad, the application research and development arm of the Malaysian government, to integrate Worldcoin technology into the country’s digital infrastructure. This collaboration aims to leverage the Worldcoin protocol and TFH technology to enhance digital credential-related processes. The new Worldcoin initiative in Malaysia will allow individuals to verify their identity using iris imaging technology developed by TFH for Worldcoin.

4. EigenLayer Faces Controversy Over Employee Acquisition of Ecosystem Project Airdrop Tokens link

The restaking protocol EigenLayer has sparked controversy after it was revealed that its employees received substantial amounts of tokens through airdrops from ecosystem projects. EigenLayer’s development company, Eigen Labs, reportedly provided a list of employee wallet addresses to projects preparing to issue tokens, including Ether.Fi, Renzo, and AltLayer. Some project teams claimed they actively sought this list, while at least one team stated they did not request it and felt compelled to airdrop tokens to Eigen Labs employees. It was reported that Eigen Labs employees received up to $5 million worth of tokens through these airdrops. In response to the controversy, Eigen Labs and the Eigen Foundation prohibited employees from accepting such airdrops as of May this year and implemented stricter internal policies to prevent conflicts of interest or similar issues from arising again.

EigenLayer officially stated that there was no evidence or indication that any Eigen Labs employees exerted undue pressure on any team to benefit the company or its employees improperly. They emphasized that their internal policy changes in May have eliminated any potential incentive imbalance for Eigen Labs employees in future airdrops, stipulating that employees cannot receive future airdrops, which can only be directed to the company.

According to CoinDesk, analyst @defioasis conducted an on-chain investigation and identified 51 addresses suspected to belong to Eigen Labs employees, collectively receiving 487,933 ETHFI, 1,964,838 ALT, and 1,335,090 REZ tokens, with a peak value exceeding $5.5 million. The addresses sold approximately 40% of the ETHFI, ALT, and REZ airdrops they received. A comparison of the investigation results with CoinDesk’s findings showed that the suspected employee addresses received a similar amount of ETHFI tokens, more ALT tokens, and fewer REZ tokens.

5. Optimism Introduces Native Interoperability Between Layer 2 Chains in Ecosystem link

Optimism developers have released a roadmap outlining plans to introduce native interoperability between Layer 2 chains within the ecosystem, including OP Mainnet, Zora, Base, and others. This initiative will involve a messaging protocol, a universal token standard (SuperchainERC20), and a fault-tolerant system for secure asset transfers. The goal of the interoperability solution is to make the Superchain operate like a single blockchain — enabling users, assets, and developers to move seamlessly across networks.

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6. Arbitrum Community Approves Proposal to Enable ARB Staking and Adjust Governance link

The Arbitrum community has voted in favor of enabling ARB staking and adjusting governance proposals, with an approval rate of 91.54%. This proposal aims to unlock ARB utility through staking, enhancing the governance and security of the Arbitrum protocol, though it will not yet distribute fees to token holders. By staking ARB and delegating tokens to users who actively participate in governance, token holders will be able to capture value. The proposal also introduces liquid staking for ARB tokens (stARB) through the Tally protocol, allowing for automatic compounding of future rewards and compatibility with DeFi, including (re)staking.

According to the timeline, this vote was an initial review on Snapshot. Following its approval, an on-chain proposal will be published on Tally this month to request funding and initiate development. Smart contracts will be submitted for audit in September, and a full implementation of ARB staking will be proposed on-chain via Tally in October.

7. Grayscale Announces Launch of New Single-Asset Fund for MakerDAO Governance Token MKR link

Asset management firm Grayscale has announced the launch of a new single-asset fund focused on MakerDAO’s governance token, MKR. This closed-end fund is available to eligible individual and institutional accredited investors. Similar to Grayscale’s other single-asset trusts, the fund does not allow for direct redemptions, which may result in price deviations between the secondary market shares and the underlying asset. This launch follows Grayscale’s recent introduction of single-asset funds for the decentralized AI project Bittensor’s TAO token and the L1 blockchain Sui (SUI).

8. dYdX Chain to Roll Out Major Fall Update Featuring Permissionless Markets and MegaVault Introduction link

dYdX Chain has announced its largest upgrade since launch, set to roll out this fall. The new features include:

Permissionless Market Listings: Users will be able to list nearly any market on dYdX Chain instantly without needing governance approval.

Introduction of MegaVault: Users can provide liquidity and participate in earnings through MegaVault on dYdX.

Promotion Programs: New initiatives to support and incentivize usage.

Permissioned Keys: A more secure and customizable environment for institutional and high-value traders.

9. DOGS Unveils Tokenomics in Telegram Community link

The native meme project DOGS on Telegram has released its tokenomics, with a total supply of 550 billion tokens. Of these, 81.5% are allocated to the community, with 73% designated for Telegram OGs. The remaining 10% is allocated for the team and future development, while 8.5% is reserved for liquidity and listing activities. Over the next few weeks, $DOGS will also launch mintable and tradable on-chain emojis.

According to official data, 42.2 million users are eligible for airdrops, with an average allocation of 9,500 DOGS per user. DOGS will be available for claim starting August 16, with tokens redeemable via Telegram Wallet or selected CEXs. OKX has recently announced the listing of DOGS for spot trading.

10. UniSat Founder: Fractal Resets OP_CAT on Testnet Today, Plans Mainnet Activation on September 1 link

UniSat founder Lorenzo announced that the Bitcoin scaling solution Fractal has reset OP_CAT on the testnet and will activate OP_CAT on the mainnet on the first day of September. Currently, Fractal is developing 3–5 cross-chain bridge methods to transfer assets from the Bitcoin mainnet to Fractal. Fractal will introduce a developer program potentially larger than any form of airdrop, aimed at projects impacting the real-world adoption of Bitcoin scaling. The platform will support BRC-20, Runes, and other natively supported Bitcoin protocols, employing a modular approach for interoperability. It will gradually enable an advanced Bitcoin virtual machine to build applications within TapRoot. Additionally, a model for off-chain execution in BRC-20-Swap is being tested, which may evolve into Fractal Swap or potentially PizzaSwap.

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