Valid Points

(Creative Commons, modified by CoinDesk)

Token airdrops – and the prospect of them – have become the default customer acquisition strategy for Ethereum's layer 2 scaling projects. But is this strategy sustainable?

By Sam Kessler

Apr 26, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. UTC

Apr 26, 2023

AnalysisEthereumlayer 2ZkevmZero-Knowledge ProofsOptimismArbitrumMatter LabsZksync eraValid PointsNewslettersValid PointsThe Protocol

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CoinDesk Winds Down Ethereum Validator ‘Zelda,’ and We Now Wait to Get Money Back

Following last week's milestone Shanghai upgrade, we moved to wind down CoinDesk's Ethereum validator project, but it could be a week before the 32 ETH we staked (about $67,000 worth) hits our wallet. C. Spencer Beggs, our director of engineering, breaks down the technical steps he's taken.

By Bradley Keoun

Apr 19, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. UTC

Apr 19, 2023

Valid PointsNewslettersEthereumValidatorsProof-of-StakeShanghai upgradeShapellaThe Protocol

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Ethereum's Shanghai Upgrade on Deck; Developers, Traders Aflutter With Anticipation

Developers and crypto market analysts are getting in their final words before staked ETH withdrawals are activated.

By Margaux Nijkerk

Apr 12, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. UTC

Apr 12, 2023

Valid PointsNewslettersEthereumShanghai upgradeProof-of-StakeThe Protocol

Partial snapshot of chart of CoinDesk Ethereum validator's daily financial results. (Beaconcha.in, modified by CoinDesk)

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CoinDesk’s Ethereum Validator Enters Final Weeks, Sitting on More Than $30K of Gains

To better chronicle the Ethereum blockchain's transition to a proof-of-stake network, CoinDesk started its own validator. We plunked down the 32 ETH (roughly $15K at the time) and laid the technical groundwork. With staking withdrawals due to start April 12, we take stock of the project.

By Bradley Keoun Sage D. Young Margaux Nijkerk

Apr 5, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. UTC

Apr 5, 2023

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Arbitrum Shows Just How Messy (and Tricky) Crypto Airdrops Can Be

Bugs, server crashes and scammers continue to plague crypto airdrops. Will regulatory pressures be next?

By Sam Kessler

Mar 29, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. UTC

Mar 29, 2023

Valid PointsNewslettersEthereumSecuritiesArbitrumHowey TestThe Protocol

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Latest Ethereum Blocks Suggest Validators Are Reversing Censorship

Noncensoring relays such as Agnostic and ultra sound are delivering more data blocks on Ethereum than Flashbots, the one-time king of MEV-delivering relays.

By Margaux Nijkerk

Mar 22, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. UTC

Mar 22, 2023

Valid PointsNewslettersEthereumMEVOFACValidatorsThe Protocol

MEV profits soared during this latest crypto crisis. (Midjourney/CoinDesk)

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MEV Rewards on Ethereum Reach All-Time High During SVB Bank Run and USDC Depeg

Profits made from MEV were more than twice as high as the last peak during the FTX implosion.

By Margaux Nijkerk

Mar 15, 2023 at 11:30 a.m. UTC

Mar 15, 2023

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Gitcoin’s Owocki Says Crypto Can Regenerate the World. Just Don’t Call Him Starry-Eyed

A programmer by training, Kevin Owocki's view of securities law is not based in any formal legal training but crypto optimism, evolutionary science, economics and legal theory, with a focus on the principal-agent problem.

By Sam Kessler

Mar 8, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. UTC

Mar 8, 2023