Tech, The Protocol, Newsletters, Ethereum, Testnet, Malware, Bots Also: Microsoft Raises Alarm of Malware Targeting Crypto Wallets; Halliday Raises $20M for AI Protocol; Sam Altman’s World and Razer Want to Defeat Gaming’s Bot Problem.
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap-up of an important tales in cryptocurrency tech improvement. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, CoinDesk’s Ethereum Reporter.
In this challenge:
Hello, Hoodi: Ethereum Welcomes a New Testnet
Microsoft Raises Alarm of Malware Targeting Coinbase, MetaMask Wallets
Halliday Raises $20M for AI Protocol to Eliminate Writing Smart Contracts for DeFi
Sam Altman’s World Network and Razer Want to Defeat Gaming’s Bot Problem
This article is featured within the newest challenge of The Protocol, our weekly e-newsletter exploring the tech behind crypto, one block at a time. Sign up here to get it in your inbox each Wednesday.
Network information
HELLO, HOODI: ETHEREUM WELCOMES A NEW TESTNET: Ethereum builders launched a new check community, Hoodi, this week that will likely be used to hold out the blockchain’s upcoming “Pectra” improve. Pectra will go dwell on Hoodi on March 26, and if all goes nicely, the long-awaited improve will proceed to Ethereum’s mainnet roughly 30 days later, according to the community’s core builders. Hoodi was created following defective Pectra exams on Ethereum’s different testnets, Holesky and Sepolia, which did not finalize correctly attributable to issues with how they have been configured. Test networks like Holesky, Sepolia, and Hoodi goal to imitate the primary Ethereum community — permitting builders the chance to check out code adjustments or main upgrades like Pectra in a low-stakes surroundings earlier than deploying them to the mainnet. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
MICROSOFT RAISES ALARM OF MALWARE TARGETING COINBASE, METAMASK WALLETS: Tech large Microsoft shared a new report warning of malware that targets 20 of the most well-liked cryptocurrency wallets used with the Google Chrome extension. Microsoft’s Incident Response researchers raised alarms of a brand new distant entry trojan (RAT), dubbed StilachiRAT, which may deploy “sophisticated techniques to evade detection, persist in the target environment, and exfiltrate sensitive data,” the group shared in a blog post. The malware was found in November 2024, and it may steal customers’ pockets info, and any credentials, together with usernames and passwords, saved of their Google Chrome browser. StilachiRAT targets 20 crypto wallets together with among the most widely-used ones like MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Phantom, OKX Wallet, and BNB Chain Wallet. While the malware has not been distributed extensively, Microsoft did share that it has not been in a position to determine what entity is behind the menace and laid out some mitigation tips for present targets together with putting in antivirus software program. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
HALLIDAY RAISES $20M FOR AI PROTOCOL TO ELIMINATE WRITING SMART CONTRACTS FOR DEFI: Artificial intelligence (AI)-focused blockchain protocol Halliday stated it raised $20 million to assist fund improvement of its Agentic Workflow Protocol (AWP), which goals to hurry improvement of decentralized finance (DeFi) functions and keep away from the necessity for programmers to write down good contracts. The Series A funding spherical was led by enterprise capital large Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) crypto arm. “Our mission is to pioneer the software era of blockchain, enabling developers to build applications in hours, not years,” Halliday stated in an emailed announcement. “With Halliday, you can never write a smart contract again.”— Jamie Crawley + AI Boost Read more.
SAM ALTMAN’S WORLD NETWORK AND RAZER WANT TO DEFEAT GAMING’S BOT PROBLEM: Sam Altman’s blockchain undertaking, World Network, is teaming up with gaming {hardware} agency Razer on a set of options designed to weed out bots from video video games. “Razer ID verified by World ID” is a single sign-on mechanism that can confirm actual human players from bots. It’s constructed atop Razer ID, Razer’s present login service, and can assist assure there’s “a real person behind every Razer ID account,” according to a statement shared by Razer and World. The collaboration between the two firms comes as artificial intelligence (AI) tools are seeping into every corner of online life — including inside of video games, which have been plagued by non-human AI “bots” since lengthy earlier than the rise of Altman’s ChatGPT. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
In Other News
EOS Network, identified for its scalable blockchain infrastructure, is rebranding to Vaulta because it pivots towards Web3 banking. The transition comes with a token swap that’s provisionally scheduled for the top of May. It additionally comes with the launch of the Vaulta Banking Advisory Council, a gaggle of economic and blockchain business specialists centered on bridging the hole between conventional banking and decentralized techniques. Members embody executives from Systemic Trust, Tetra, and ATB Financial, based on a press launch shared with CoinDesk. – Francisco Rodrigues reports.
Solana-based decentralized change Raydium is about to start out its personal token issuance platform within the coming weeks to drive extra income to the already-popular buying and selling service. Raydium’s LaunchLab will initially resemble the hit token issuance platform Pump.Fun, Blockworks first reported. Though builders say it’ll have a number of added options that make it extra interesting for token launches. – Shaurya Malwa reports.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is about to drop its enchantment towards Ripple, ending a four-year authorized battle, based on the corporate’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse. The XRP token, which is carefully related to Ripple, jumped 10% on Wednesday throughout U.S. morning hours after Garlinghouse posted about the news on X. – Krisztian Sandor and Helene Braun report.
Calendar
March 18-20: Digital Asset Summit, New York
April 8-10: Paris Blockchain Week
April 30-May 1: Token 2049, Dubai
May 14-16: Consensus, Toronto
May 20-22: Avalanche Summit, London
May 27-29: Bitcoin 2025, Las Vegas
June 30-July 3: EthCC, Cannes
Oct. 1-2: Token2049, Singapore
CoinDesk: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Crypto News and Price Data Read More