Pectra Goes Live On Mainnet

• Pectra hardfork goes live on mainnet.

• Stripe introduces Stablecoin Accounts.

• Obol unlocks OBOL token transferability.

• AggLayer CDK expands to be multistack.

The Pectra upgrade successfully activated on Ethereum mainnet at 10:05 UTC during epoch 364032, introducing 11 new EIPs to Ethereum with major improvements to account abstraction, validator UX, and blob scaling. Notable EIPs include Account Abstraction EIP-7702, which transitions EOAs into smart accounts with capabilities like transaction batching, gas sponsorship, and recovery options. EIP-7251 increases the maximum balance validators can earn rewards on, EIP-7002 introduces execution layer-triggerable withdrawals, and EIP-6110 removes the delay between validator deposits and processing. Pectra also increased Ethereum’s blob capacity by 50%, boosting data throughput for Layer 2 scaling solutions. 

Stripe launched Stablecoin Financial Accounts, a new service that enables businesses to hold, send, and receive both USD fiat and US dollar-pegged stablecoins. The product is now available to businesses incorporated in over 100 eligible countries. The service supports multi-rail transfers, allowing users to deposit or withdraw funds in either fiat currency or stablecoins. Stablecoins in the accounts are held in either USDC, issued by Circle, or USDB, a closed-loop stablecoin issued by Bridge—a Stripe-owned entity. All stablecoin holdings are custodied by Bridge. Users can make payments directly from their stablecoin balance to bank accounts or external crypto wallets. 

Obol Network unlocked transferability for its OBOL governance and utility token. Users who previously claimed the Obol airdrop can now redeem their non-transferable NFTs for the underlying OBOL tokens. The tokens are now tradable and can be staked for stOBOL—a liquid staking token that earns rewards while preserving governance rights within the DAO. In addition, users can earn Obol Incentives by staking ETH through Obol’s Distributed Validators (DVs). This can be done via qualified partners such as Chorus One, EtherFi, Swell, or Stakewise, or by operating a validator independently through Squad Staking. Obol Network currently secures over $1 billion in staked ETH.

The AggLayer Chain Development Kit (CDK), an open-source toolkit from Polygon for launching ZK-powered Layer 2 chains, now supports multiple deployment stacks—starting with a new configuration for Optimism’s OP Stack. The release enables developers to launch OP Stack chains with built-in  Agglayer interop. The release includes two configurations: cdk-opgeth and cdk-erigon. The implementations support up to 4,700+ TPS and use pessimistic ZK proofs. Polygon also plans to introduce custom zkRollups and Validium modes, and will expand support to other stacks, including Arbitrum Orbit. The Agglayer is a unified network of chains linked to Ethereum via a shared bridge contract, offering unified liquidity and cross-chain functionality.

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