Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum's co-founder, has hit back at critics. They claim he "doesn't care" about decentralized finance (DeFi). The backlash erupted over the weekend. Kain Warwick, yield farming pioneer, sparked the debate. He appeared on a crypto talk show on August 23. Warwick voiced frustration with the Ethereum Foundation's (EF) recognition of DeFi. "One of the most critical things that he's gotten wrong over the last five years is the importance of DeFi," Warwick said. He loves Vitalik but disagrees with his DeFi stance. Warwick claimed Buterin's language equates to "stop doing DeFi". This has irked the DeFi community. "Stop discouraging the main use case of the chain," he stressed. The criticism spread on social media. One user argued that Ethereum's value and DeFi are inseparable. Buterin broke his silence. He responded to a post questioning his support for USDC over DeFi. In his defense, Buterin clarified his views. He wants useful and sustainable applications. They should uphold permissionlessness and decentralization. "I think DEXes are great, and I use them every week," Buterin stated. He praised decentralized stablecoins and prediction markets. USDC? Less great, but practical. Buterin's not keen on unsustainable projects. He felt "no excitement" for the 2021 liquidity farming craze. It relied on temporary token issuances. The debate coincided with a large Ethereum transfer. The EF moved about 35,000 ETH ($96 million) to Kraken. It's just "treasury management", they say. This DeFi drama shows Ethereum's growing pains. Balancing innovation and sustainability isn't easy.

Sony, the Japanese tech behemoth, is launching its own blockchain. It's a big deal. Because big companies are capable of making big difference, thus insuring the increasing rate of the global crypto adoption. The company behind the Walkman is now eyeing Web3. Sony Block Solutions Labs, a joint venture with Singapore's Startale Labs, announced the move on Friday. Their new baby? It's called Soneium. It's a layer-2 network built on Ethereum. Soneium will use Optimism's OP Stack. This tech allows for cheaper transactions on Ethereum. The project signals a possible renewed interest from big companies in blockchain tech for consumers. Soneium's testnet is set to launch in the coming days. It'll join the ranks of other OP Stack users like Coinbase's "Base" and Worldcoin's "World Chain". Sota Watanabe, CEO of Startale Labs and director at Sony Block Solutions Labs, is spearheading the project. He's no newbie to the crypto world. Watanabe told CoinDesk: "The first year is all about onboarding Web3 people." He's keeping it real about the tech's current limitations. But Watanabe's got big plans. "Within two years, we're going to onboard Sony products," he said. Think Sony Bank, Sony Music, Sony Pictures – the works. And it doesn't stop there. "In three years, we would like to onboard not only Sony, but also all enterprises and all general dapps on top of it," Watanabe added. But he also mentioned that this is a general timeline. "We're going to try to onboard enterprises as many as possible from the first year,” Watanabe added. Startale Labs is going all-in on Soneium. They're moving away from their previous project, Astar zkEVM. “Astar zkEVM will be integrating its assets and underlying infrastructure with Soneium,” Watanabe explains. Sony's diving into the deep end of crypto. Will they sink or swim? Only time will tell.

Ethereum's sky-high transaction costs have long been a thorn in the side of crypto enthusiasts. But that's old news now. The network's gas fees have taken a nosedive, hitting record lows. This could be Ethereum's ticket to the big leagues. The numbers don't lie. EgyHash, a crypto trader and on-chain analyst, spilled the beans in a recent study shared by CryptoQuant. ETH's daily mean gas price has bottomed out at around 2.9 Gwei. That's uncharted territory. But wait, there's more. The daily mean fees in USD have plummeted to about $0.85, a multi-year low. As a result, the daily mean burn rate has hit rock bottom, with only about 115 ETH going up in smoke each day. Here's the kicker: despite the fee drop, Ethereum's daily mean transactions have held steady or even grown compared to the past two years. Not too shabby. So, what's behind this fee freefall? EgyHash points the finger squarely at the Dencun Upgrade, rolled out in March. This upgrade introduced "Blobs", a new type of transaction that slashes data publication costs on Ethereum by up to 100% for Layer 2 networks. This could be a game-changer for Ethereum. Lower fees make the platform more user-friendly and cost-effective for new applications, including NFTs and DeFi. It's like Ethereum just got a major facelift. The crypto community is buzzing with optimism. These rock-bottom fees show that Ethereum is serious about sustainability and cementing its place as top dog in the blockchain world. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. EgyHash reckons investors might not be popping champagne just yet. Why? A big chunk of ETH usage is moving to layer 2 solutions, which could lead to user and liquidity fragmentation. Since the Dencun Upgrade, ETH's price has been on a rollercoaster ride. It took a 35% nosedive even after Spot Ethereum ETFs got the green light. Meanwhile, the overall ETH supply has ballooned by about 197,000, worth a cool $500 million. So, is Ethereum's fee freefall a stroke of genius or a potential own goal? Only time will tell. But one thing's for sure: the crypto world is watching closely.

Ethereum's layer-2 scaling ecosystem has hit a new milestone. Daily transactions reached a record 12.42 million on August 12. This data comes from Growthepie, an Ethereum layer-2 block space analytics platform. Leon Waidmann, head of research at the Onchain Foundation, chimed in on X. He reckons "scalability is improving rapidly" and "user activity is at its peak." No kidding. The numbers are pretty impressive. Since the start of 2024, daily transactions have shot up by 140%. That's not small potatoes. Growthepie's counting method is worth noting. They only include transactions from users or smart contracts. System transactions don't make the cut. So what's driving this growth? Look no further than Base, Coinbase's L2 blockchain. It's been on fire lately. In late July, transactions on Base peaked at over 4 million. Basescan, a metrics platform for Base, backs this up. They're reporting a whopping 700% increase in daily transactions over the past six months. That's bonkers. Earlier this year, Cointelegraph pointed to memecoin mania as the culprit. Token minters are flocking to Base for its lower costs and higher throughput. L2beat, another industry metrics platform, has some interesting insights. Overall throughput is up, with average TPS doubling in just two months. More scaling platforms are popping up too. Growthepie dropped another bombshell. Layer-2 networks now host more stablecoins than Solana and Binance Chain combined. We're talking 150% more than Solana and 94% more than BNB Smart Chain. Meanwhile, Ethereum's layer-1 is chugging along steadily. Daily transactions have hovered around 1.1 million for most of this year, according to Etherscan. But here's a kicker: average gas fees on L1 Ethereum have hit yearly lows. Tether, the stablecoin issuer, minted 1 billion Tether for just 53 cents on August 13. Arkham, a blockchain intelligence platform, confirmed this.

Cardano, once hailed as Ethereum's potential successor, is facing a tough reality check. The blockchain network's adoption has stalled over the past year. What's going on with Cardano? According to recent data from analytics firm IntoTheBlock, user base is stalled. The numbers don't lie. Cardano's total holder count remains unchanged from a year ago, stuck at around 4.45 million. This plateau follows a period of significant growth during the 2021 bull run. IntoTheBlock's analysis paints a sobering picture. New investors aren't flocking to Cardano like they used to. The network's appeal as an Ethereum alternative seems to have lost its shine. So, what's the deal? It looks like other networks are stealing Cardano's thunder. Solana and Base are now the cool kids on the block, attracting investors who might've considered ADA in the past. This stagnation isn't great news for Cardano. A growing user base is crucial for any asset's long-term success. Without it, ADA might struggle to make significant moves in the future. But it's not all doom and gloom. Cardano's showing some signs of life in other areas. Since April, the network has maintained a stable trend in daily active addresses. This suggests a committed core community is still using the blockchain regularly. IntoTheBlock puts it this way: "Despite the slowdown in new users, the network's transaction count and active user base have remained stable since April, indicating a committed community that continues to engage with the protocol." Here's another bright spot: Cardano's been processing a whopping $7.2 billion in daily volume lately. That's nothing to sneeze at, outpacing many rival networks. There's also a silver lining in terms of investor behavior. HODLing conviction seems to be on the rise, with nearly 40% of ADA supply sitting dormant for a year or more. Looks like some folks are playing the long game. The big question now is whether Cardano can break out of this rut and attract fresh blood. The crypto world moves fast, and ADA needs to step up its game if it wants to stay relevant. Only time will tell if this is just a bump in the road or a sign of bigger troubles ahead.