According to Bloomberg, asset managers are hopeful that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve the first US Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) that invest directly in Ether. Despite previous market uncertainties, the recent feedback from the SEC to issuers last Friday was comprised of minor questions that are currently being addressed. In May, the SEC received filings from firms including BlackRock Inc., Fidelity Investments, 21Shares, and Invesco, all of which are awaiting approval. However, many issuers have yet to disclose the fees on their respective funds, a necessary step before the funds can begin trading. If the funds are approved, a significant question remains: will the Ether portfolios generate a demand similar to the one created by the historic debut of US spot-Bitcoin ETFs in January? These Bitcoin ETFs have since accumulated $52 billion in assets. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, has seen a 50% increase this year, despite a 1.6% drop to $3,409 as of 11:25 am in New York.

According to U.Today, Andrew Huang, the founder of the Paradigm-backed Conduit platform, has expressed his belief that Ethereum's Layer 2 solutions (L2s) should be able to inherit its level of decentralization at a low cost. He emphasized that this should be the ultimate goal for Ethereum (ETH). Huang further stated that Ethereum, the largest smart contract platform, should aim to become a public good that maximizes decentralization. All of its L2s should be able to inherit the same level of decentralization in a cost-effective manner. Huang also pointed out that creating artificial bottlenecks for L1/L1 interaction or maximizing fee transfer to L1 nodes is 'missing an opportunity'. He believes that the 'biggest opportunity' for Ethereum (ETH) lies in its unique status as a native currency of the internet. Huang's comments were in response to an analysis by Paradigm CTO Georgios Konstantopoulos, who suggested that 'forcing market structures' and overthinking might not be beneficial for the progress of L2s. Instead, L2 networks should focus solely on optimal upgradeability and accessibility, while 'interoperability' still appears to be a fabricated issue. In other news, Ether (ETH) is currently trading at $3,462, marking a 2% increase in the last 24 hours. Trading volume has surged by 57% overnight, exceeding $10 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data. However, the USD-denominated total value locked in Ethereum's L2s ecosystem is continuing to decline. Over the past month, it has dropped from $49.3 billion to $42.1 billion, as per L2Beat. Arbitrum (ARB), previously the undisputed leader by total value locked (TVL), is losing its traction, with its dominance falling below 40%. Its closest competitor, Base (BASE), is nearing 17%. Meanwhile, OP Mainnet is trying to maintain above the $15 billion level, and recent newsmaker Blast (BLAST) accounts for 6.9% of TVL in Ethereum's L2 ecosystem.

According to Foresight News, Taiko, an Ethereum second-layer network based on zkRollup, has announced a successful upgrade to its mainnet protocol to v1.7.0. This update is expected to significantly reduce the Gas usage of the Rollup protocol on Ethereum. The upgrade is a significant step forward for the network, as it aims to improve efficiency and reduce costs for users. The reduction in Gas usage is particularly important, as it can lead to lower transaction fees and faster processing times. This is a crucial development for Ethereum, as it continues to face challenges with scalability and high transaction costs. The upgrade by Taiko could potentially alleviate some of these issues, making the Ethereum network more efficient and user-friendly.

According to Foresight News, Parallel Network, a comprehensive L2 network, has activated the ETH withdrawal feature on Parallel L2. Users can now withdraw ETH from Parallel L2 to the Ethereum mainnet. This development is a significant step forward in enhancing the functionality and user experience of the Parallel Network.

According to PANews, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has been contemplating the Ethereum transaction confirmation method. The main network's transaction confirmation time of 5-20 seconds is already close to the speed of credit card transactions, which seems sufficient from a user perception standpoint. However, compared to the millisecond-level confirmation time of layer2, there is a certain security risk in the transaction confirmation difference between the main network and layer2. Therefore, optimizing the main network transaction confirmation time is more of a consideration to cater to the development strategy of layer2. Ethereum's current Gasper consensus mechanism adopts the core concepts of Slot and Epoch. Each Slot lasts 12 seconds, during which a group of Validators are selected to verify the current transaction status of the chain and vote. Every 32 Slots, which is 6.4 minutes, constitutes an Epoch, during which all Validators complete their voting. Transaction finality usually takes two Epochs, or 12.8 minutes, meaning a transaction becomes irreversible 12.8 minutes after it is initiated. Buterin believes this time is too long and has expressed dissatisfaction with the current Gasper consensus mechanism. He proposed a Single-slot finality improvement method, which can ensure that each block completes finality confirmation before the next block is generated, thereby speeding up the finality confirmation time. However, finality confirmation and transaction confirmation are two different things. This is not greatly related to the user-perceived 5-20 second transaction confirmation, but it becomes a significant issue when applied to the layer2 network. This is because the time for layer2 users to submit and confirm transactions will be shorter, not only better than the user-perceived time of 5-20 seconds, but possibly reaching millisecond levels. This is due to the pre-transaction confirmation mechanism adopted by layer2 as a whole. However, if the transaction finality confirmation time of the layer1 main network is too long, there will theoretically be some time difference risks on layer2. For example, users may confirm quickly on L1 and take subsequent actions, but may suffer financial losses due to the delay in L1 status confirmation. Moreover, since layer2 itself has certain centralization risks, the longer the time difference, the more potential unknown risks of centralization chaos. Therefore, in my view, Buterin's new article on optimizing the Ethereum main network transaction confirmation time is to some extent to cater to the major strategy of jointly promoting the layer2 system and layer1 system. Although some people in the market are pessimistic about layer2, layer2 has undoubtedly become a direction that Ethereum must consolidate in its development process. It is clear that Ethereum's future will definitely be a 'layered' strategic advancement, relying on layer1 to focus on security and decentralization, and layer2 to provide a stable and reliable interaction settlement environment will be the trend. Buterin's proposal to accelerate transaction confirmation is essentially to reduce the layer friction between layer1 and layer2, giving users a better front-end interaction environment in layer2 and a safer back-end settlement foundation.

According to PANews, Arkham monitoring has shown that a suspected Ethereum Foundation address has recently converted 100 ETH into 34.39 thousand DAI through the Cow Protocol. Spot On Chain reports that since January 2024, the Ethereum Foundation has sold 2266 ETH, obtaining DAI worth 6.56 million USD in return. It has been noted that since the beginning of this year, this suspected Ethereum Foundation address has been selling ETH for DAI almost every week or every other week through the Cow Protocol. The quantities typically sold are 50, 100, and 200 ETH.

According to Foresight News, Ethereum's Layer 2 network, Linea, has launched a free NFT minting event named 'Culture SZN'. The event will run for five weeks and is divided into four regular stages and one special stage. Users can mint NFTs every week during the regular stages from July 1 to August 1. They can also vote for their favorite NFTs, with the top five being selected to form Linea guilds. The event aims to engage users and promote the use of NFTs within the Linea network.

According to CryptoPotato, the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) native token has seen a considerable price increase in recent days, with a gain of over 20% in value within the last 24 hours. This surge is attributed to the growing anticipation for the forthcoming ENSv2 upgrade, which is expected to improve the efficiency and scalability of the naming service. ENS, the native token of the Ethereum Naming Service, has seen significant price surges, particularly in the last 24 hours. Based on Coingecko’s chart analytics, ENS moved from a low of approximately $26, a critical resistance level since May 2022, to a peak of about $33.1, representing nearly a 30% increase. At the time of writing, ENS has slightly decreased to around $31.6, still over 21% higher than its value on Sunday. ENS has gained over 42% in price over the past seven days, rising from a low of $22. The price surge accelerated on June 30, leading into July 1. Despite this strong performance, ENS is still trading 62% below its all-time high of over $83. Following this substantial increase, ENS is $10 million shy of achieving a market cap of $1 billion, entering the “billionaires club.” Crypto analyst Javon Marks shared an analysis of ENS price action, highlighting the potential for the token to reach the $76.121 target following its breakout. Marks noted that ENS is creating new post-breakout highs, suggesting that a continued breakout could result in an additional 138% increase, potentially propelling the token to the $76.121 target swiftly. ENS began showing signs of redeemability in mid-June after extended periods of up-and-down movements. However, stronger price actions have been seen since the recent announcement by the crypto naming service provider of ENSv2. According to their blog post, the new version aims to improve ENS’s affordability, flexibility, and scalability. The ENSv2 upgrade was first announced in May, leading to a substantial price performance. The developers have yet to announce the exact timing of the launch of this upgrade.

According to CryptoPotato, Ethereum's price is currently attempting to break through a significant level. If successful, the recent downturn could finally be reversed. The daily chart shows that the Ethereum price has been on a downward trend since it was rejected from the $4,000 resistance level in May. The market has since fallen below the $3,500 level, but it is currently testing it from below. If the price can reclaim this level, the cryptocurrency could potentially rally to values above $4,000. However, if the price is rejected and also loses the long-term bullish trendline and the 200-day moving average around the $3,000 level, the situation could worsen for Ethereum. On the 4-hour timeframe, there are early signs of a bullish reversal. The price has just broken above the large descending channel pattern, but it is currently struggling to break through the $3,500 resistance level. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicates that the momentum is bullish, suggesting the market might be able to break higher and begin the next upward move. This scenario would fail if the price drops back inside the channel. In addition to the technical analysis, it is beneficial to examine the futures market sentiment metrics. The funding rates metric, a key sentiment parameter, shows whether buyers or sellers are executing their futures orders more aggressively. The funding rates have been gradually decreasing since the first price rejection from the $4,000 level in March. The current funding rate values suggest that the futures market is no longer overheated, and the price could finally begin another sustainable rally higher.

According to Odaily, Ethereum's L2 network, Mint Blockchain, has announced the launch of its Public Mainnet, opening up the network to community users. Since the release of the Dev Mainnet on May 15, 2024, the mainnet infrastructure of Mint Blockchain has been fully operational, receiving support from over 100 ecosystem partners and more than 400,000 active on-chain addresses. In further news from the Mint community, Mint Blockchain is set to initiate mainnet activities in July, encouraging Web3 developers and community users to participate in the construction of the Mint Blockchain mainnet. This move is seen as a significant step in the development of the Ethereum network, and it is expected to foster increased participation and engagement from the community.

According to BlockBeats, Lido, a liquidity staking protocol, announced on July 1st that its Community Staking Module (CSM) testnet has been launched and will be open to all node operators around mid-July. The Community Staking Module is one of the initiatives introduced by Lido DAO to enhance decentralization and democratize access to Ethereum staking. This module aims to allow any node operator, especially community stakers, to enter without permission and run validation nodes using the Lido protocol. The goal of this module is to significantly expand and diversify Lido's operator collection. The launch of the CSM testnet is a significant step towards achieving this goal, and it is expected to bring about a more inclusive and diverse staking environment for Ethereum. The full launch of the CSM is anticipated to take place later in July, opening up opportunities for all node operators to participate in the Lido protocol.

According to Foresight News, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) returned the S-1 form to a potential Ethereum ETF issuer during its latest round of reviews last week. The S-1 form is the second step in the two-step process for ETF listing. The issuer's 19b-4 form, which is the first step, was approved on May 23. However, the S-1 form does not have a specific deadline, and the issuer must rely on the processing speed of the SEC.

According to Odaily, Nate Geraci, President of The ETF Store, has predicted that the Ethereum spot ETF will be the second most successful in the history of ETFs, following closely behind the Bitcoin spot ETF. This suggests that the two most successful ETFs in over 30 years will emerge this year. Geraci's prediction indicates a strong belief in the potential of Ethereum, a leading cryptocurrency, to make a significant impact in the ETF market. The Bitcoin spot ETF has already set a high bar, but the Ethereum spot ETF is expected to follow suit, marking a significant milestone in the history of ETFs. This development underscores the growing influence of cryptocurrencies in the financial market, with Bitcoin and Ethereum leading the charge. The success of these ETFs could pave the way for more cryptocurrency-based ETFs in the future, further integrating digital currencies into mainstream finance.

According to Odaily, a substantial transaction was detected involving a US government wallet. The transaction, which took place at 16:34, saw approximately 3,375 Ethereum (ETH) being transferred to an address beginning with 0x5ac4. The value of this transaction is estimated to be around 11.72 million US dollars. This significant movement of Ethereum from a government wallet indicates a noteworthy event in the cryptocurrency world. However, the purpose or the recipient of this transaction remains undisclosed. The address to which the Ethereum was transferred, identified only by its initial characters 0x5ac4, does not provide any further information about the recipient. The value of Ethereum being transferred, approximately 11.72 million US dollars, underscores the magnitude of this transaction. It is a clear indication of the significant role that cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, continue to play in financial transactions. This event also highlights the involvement of government entities in cryptocurrency transactions, a trend that has been growing in recent years.

On Jul 01, 2024, 01:33 AM (UTC). According to Binance Market Data, Ethereum (ETH) has crossed the 3,500 USDT benchmark and is now trading at 3,500.870117 USDT, with a narrowed 3.58% increase in 24 hours.

According to BlockBeats, on July 1, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published an article titled 'Delving into the slot-and-epoch architecture, a method to provide faster transaction confirmation times for Ethereum users'. The article stated that although transaction confirmation times on Ethereum L1 have been reduced to 5-20 seconds, comparable to credit card payment experiences, thanks to EIP-1559 and the stable block time after the merger, further reduction in latency still holds significant value, especially for applications requiring delays of a few hundred milliseconds or less. In the paper, Buterin introduced practical options explored by Ethereum to accelerate transaction confirmation speeds, with a particular emphasis on single-slot finality (SSF) in existing technology. Currently, Ethereum's Gasper consensus mechanism adopts the slot-and-epoch architecture, but this mechanism is complex and has a long finality confirmation time (12.8 minutes). SSF, through a mechanism similar to Tendermint, finalizes blocks before the next block is generated, while retaining the 'inactive leakage' mechanism to ensure the stable operation and recovery ability of the chain. The main challenge of SSF is that it puts a heavy load on the chain, but new proposals like Orbit SSF are working to alleviate this problem. The paper also discussed rollup pre-confirmation and pre-confirmation-based mechanisms. Buterin emphasized that the slot-and-epoch architecture is obviously correct, but not all slot-and-epoch architectures are equal. He advocates for a more comprehensive exploration of the design space, especially those options that have a stronger separation of concerns between these two mechanisms, to reduce transaction confirmation times and improve user experience.

According to U.Today, the Ethereum network recorded its lowest fees since 2016 on June 30. Data from Etherscan and Dune Analytics show that the average gas fee is currently at 3 Gwei ($0.14). Gas fees are the costs of various operations on the Ethereum blockchain, and by paying these fees, users help ensure the network's security. These fees also incentivize validators and prevent spam attacks. During the 2021 bull run, Ethereum's gas fees were significantly high due to the high demand in the non-fungible sector (NFT), leading some to argue that the network was unsustainable. This gave rise to more affordable alternatives such as Solana. However, despite strong transaction activity, Ethereum gas fees are currently at extremely low levels. The volume of the leading altcoin is on par with levels seen at the beginning of the year. The decrease in fees can be attributed to a higher level of efficiency in the Layer-1 market, a result of the combination of Layer-2 volume and the introduction of 'blob transactions' with EIP-4844. This has significantly boosted Ethereum's scalability. Brian Smocovich, founder of Pistachio Fi, noted that while there may still be gas spikes above 15 gwei during times of higher activity, the gas market has generally been more efficient post EIP-4844. The significant drop in fees means that Ethereum is no longer a deflationary network, as the amount of fees to burn is very small. This contradicts those who were promoting the 'ultra sound money' narrative prior to the Dencun upgrade. Over the past week, 14,393 ETH has been added to the network, translating into an annual supply growth of 0.62%. The total supply of Ethereum currently stands at 120,185,061 ETH, indicating that it is on track to reach a new peak in 2024.

According to BlockBeats, Ethereum, a leading cryptocurrency, experienced a brief surge, rising above $3400 on June 30. However, it currently trades at $3399.15, marking a 24-hour increase of 0.24%. The price of Ethereum, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has been fluctuating in recent times. Despite the volatility, the digital asset managed to climb above the $3400 mark, albeit for a short period. The current trading price of $3399.15 indicates a slight increase over the past 24 hours. This minor increase in Ethereum's price is part of the broader trends observed in the cryptocurrency market. The market is known for its volatility, with prices of digital assets often experiencing significant fluctuations. Despite these fluctuations, the overall trend for Ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies remains positive.

According to BlockBeats, as of June 28, Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) reported a negative premium rate of 1.29%. The data was originally reported by The Block. The negative premium rate indicates that the shares of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust are trading at a lower price than the actual value of the underlying asset, Ethereum in this case. This could be due to a variety of factors, including market sentiment and demand for Ethereum. It's important to note that this does not necessarily reflect negatively on Ethereum itself, but rather on the market's perception of the Grayscale Ethereum Trust. Investors and market watchers will be keeping a close eye on this development to see if it signals a broader trend in the market.

According to BlockBeats, Ethereum's Layer2 scaling solution, Scroll, has achieved a significant milestone. On June 30th, Scroll's Total Value Locked (TVL) surpassed $900 million, reaching a record high of $922.4 million. This represents a substantial increase of 17.35% over the past week. The Layer2 scaling solution is a critical component of Ethereum's infrastructure, designed to enhance the network's capacity and speed. Scroll's recent achievement underscores the growing adoption and trust in Ethereum's Layer2 solutions. The surge in TVL indicates a significant amount of assets are being locked into the Scroll network, demonstrating the confidence of users in the platform's security and potential. This milestone is a testament to the effectiveness of Ethereum's Layer2 scaling solutions in addressing the network's scalability issues. It also highlights the increasing demand for such solutions in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency market. The significant rise in Scroll's TVL over the past week suggests a positive trend for Ethereum's Layer2 solutions, indicating a promising future for the platform.