Author: Olivia Martinez

Notes from the Ethereum Foundation’s Protocol Security team on running coordinated AI agents against real protocol code, including how we organize the work, what holds up under scrutiny, and what client teams and security researchers can take from it. This post stands on its own; later posts will go deeper on individual clients. What we’ve been running, and what surprised us On the Ethereum Foundation’s Protocol Security team, we’ve been running coordinated AI agents against the kinds of systems the network depends on, like systems software, cryptographic code, and contracts that have to be right. The agents found real bugs.…

Ethereum is a protocol undergoing significant changes. Client teams are upgrading the protocol to scale to meet global demand while improving security and decentralization. Beyond protocol development, a critical shift in Ethereum has been the movement away from ‘Eth1’ and ‘Eth2’ terminology. As of late 2021, core developers stopped using the terminology, preferring ‘execution layer’ and ‘consensus layer’, respectively. Today, as highlighted in our Q1 roadmap, ethereum.org makes the same shift. Eth1 → execution layerEth2 → consensus layerExecution layer + consensus layer = Ethereum Let’s explore why. Tl;dr; The terms Eth1 and Eth2 (Ethereum 2.0) are being phased outExecution layer (Eth1) and consensus layer…

It’s always fun to hear about new grants as they’re awarded, but what happens after the announcement? In this series, we’ll check in on a couple of projects that are well underway – or already at the finish line. Read on to learn about some recent milestones and achievements by grantees! GASOL (GAS Optimization TooLkit) The COSTA group works on formal techniques, modeling and implementations related to verification and optimization of programs. Members Elvira Albert, Pablo Gordillo and Albert Rubio are applying that expertise to Ethereum smart contracts with GASOL, a framework for optimizing gas consumption. Every Ethereum smart contract…

tl;dr Merge progress — minor spec updates, engineering full steam ahead 🚂No progress in client diversity. Be selfish, run a minority client! Merge update First of all — fantastic work to all of the engineering teams on the Kintsugi sprint, which culminated in the launch of the Kintsugi Merge testnet. It is incredible to see 3 execution clients and 5 consensus clients for a total of 15 different pairings operating on a unified front. Kintsugi🍵, the first long-standing Merge testnet, was not without excitement. The #TestingTheMerge effort hammered the testnet with transactions, bad blocks, and a number of other chaotic…

In our last post, we outlined Devconnect as a week-long gathering that will feature independent Ethereum events, which aim to bring the Ethereum community together in smaller groups to talk, learn about, or make serious progress on specific subjects. Learn more at Devconnect.org Announcing Devconnect Dates Save the date: Devconnect is scheduled to take place in Amsterdam between April 18-25 2022. While we continue to closely monitor evolving COVID-measures in Amsterdam, things are progressing in the right direction, and we’re organizing quickly. With that, we wanted to share a lot more about what you’ll find in Amsterdam. By (and for)…

Community & educationWeb3 LagosConference in Lagos, Nigeria covering a variety of topics including making the switch from Web2 to Web3.Community & educationBlockchain FellowshipESatyaThree month online course aiming to familiarize Nepalese developers with the key elements of blockchain technology through instruction and project-based learning.Community & educationEthereum Eje Cafetero MeetupsEthereum Eje CafeteroCommunity talks and meetups in Colombia’s Coffee Region.Community & educationETH CUBAKickstarting community growth in Cuba.Community & educationEthereum MedellínPlatohedroCommunity development in Medellín, Colombia.Community & educationEthereum TegucigalpaSupport for Ethereum community development in Honduras including meetups, developer events and Spanish-language Ethereum content.Community & education0xPARC Organization supporting applied cryptography research and development.Community & educationETHGlobalVirtual and…

Queridos Amigos, A few years ago, we outlined what Devcon was all about in the original version of this post, and spoke to our renewed focus on growing the Ethereum ecosystem. In this updated version, we’re excited to re-announce Devcon 6, and to share details on our site-selection, timing and more. 🥁 Devcon 6: 11-14 October 2022 in Bogotá 🥁 The next edition of Devcon will take place in Bogotá, Colombia at the beautiful Agora Bogotá Convention Center! The City We can’t wait for the entire ecosystem to meet Bogotá; the capital city of Colombia and one of Latin America’s…

Application InfrastructureDeveloper toolingEthereumJS maintenanceMaintenance for the EthereumJS TypeScript stack to ensure reliability and compatibility with execution-layer changes. This includes implementing protocol updates, improving tests, and supporting downstream developers.LinkApplication layerResearchProtecting Ethereum User Anonymity via TorEnhances Ethereum light client privacy by integrating Tor. This project designs and implements a Tor-based mitigation scheme, improving user anonymity and network resilience.Application layerEcosystem developmentERC-8004 Developers EngagementFosters ERC-8004 community growth by providing technical assistance and coordinating builder engagement. Supports decentralized AI engineers through direct feedback and Devconnect event curation.Application layerDeveloper toolingBuidlGuidl: AI-Ready Ethereum Education & Infrastructure MaintenanceTransitions flagship Ethereum education and developer tools, including SpeedRunEthereum and Scaffold-ETH…

TL;DR: We are excited to announce that applications are now open for the seventh cohort of the Ethereum Protocol Fellowship (EPF7). EPF provides a pathway for aspiring protocol developers to make meaningful contributions to Ethereum. In each cohort, a diverse group is assembled to work toward advancing Ethereum’s roadmap focused on the core properties that define Ethereum; censorship resistance, open source, privacy, and security. This includes the development of client implementations, testing and specifications, and engaging with the latest core protocol research. With an overarching goal of finding placement for fellows in R&D teams working on core protocol development, EPF…

This past week, just over 100 Ethereum core contributors gathered above the Arctic Circle — in Longyearbyen, Svalbard — for the Soldøgn Interop: a week of intense work on the Glamsterdam network upgrade. Soldøgn followed last year’s Berlinterop, but returned to the format used by Amphora 🏺, Edelweiss 🏔️, and Nyota ✨: a single-track week of focused, multi-client progress toward a specific upgrade — in this case, hardening Glamsterdam. By Friday, the group had delivered on its three core goals: alignment on a post-Glamsterdam gas limit floor of 200M, stable ePBS implementations running with external builders, and final EIP-8037 repricing…