The TON Blockchain ecosystem is set to expand. A new layer-2 network is in the works. It's called the TON Applications Chain (TAC). TAC will use Polygon's technology. This includes Polygon's Chain Development Kit and AggLayer. The Open Platform, a TON-focused investor, backs the project. The announcement came on Tuesday. It was made at the Ethereum Community Conference in Brussels. The new network will be EVM-compatible. This is a big deal. EVM compatibility means easy porting. Ethereum developers can move their apps to TAC with little fuss. And that is very promising as it opens so many doors for the TON ecosystem. The press release outlines TAC's goals. It aims to bring EVM-based decentralized apps to TON. It also wants to attract Ethereum developers to build for Telegram users. TAC could boost TON's capabilities. DeFi apps, gaming, and decentralized identity solutions are on the cards. Polygon's tech is key to this expansion. Pavel Altukhov, TAC's founder, explained the choice. "We chose Polygon for its EVM compatibility," he said. He also cited liquidity availability and deployment support as factors. This move follows a trend. Major blockchain companies have been launching layer-2 networks. Most have focused on Ethereum. Coinbase kicked things off last August. They launched "Base" using Optimism's OP Stack. Others followed suit. Celo and Worldcoin announced similar plans. OKX joined the party in April. They launched "X Layer" using Polygon's CDK. The layer-2 race is heating up, and TON is jumping in with both feet.

Consensys has unveiled a new product. The MetaMask Delegation Toolkit aims to simplify decentralized app development. It also seeks to improve Web3 user engagement. The toolkit will be available on Ethereum Virtual Machine chains. These include Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Linea, Optimism and Polygon. Dan Finlay, MetaMask co-founder, spoke about the toolkit's potential. "Parts of it can very easily be made chain agnostic," he told Cointelegraph. This suggests possible future expansion beyond Ethereum. A Consensys study highlighted the need for such tools. Only 8% of 15,000 respondents felt very familiar with Web3. Many find crypto overly complex. The toolkit aims to address this issue. It eliminates repetitive user actions. It also reduces direct interactions with Web3 infrastructure. Finlay explained the toolkit's flexibility. "You can invite a person to an experience and give them an allowance," he said. "The enforcement system is totally open-ended." The toolkit offers several key features. It enables instant user onboarding without extensions or downloads. It removes the need for seed phrase management. Gas fee management is also improved. The toolkit allows for gasless transactions. It can also postpone or reassign gas costs. Consensys recently acquired Wallet Guard. This security tool protects digital assets from fraud and theft. It will be integrated into MetaMask. Patrick Berarducci, Consensys' MetaMask lead, commented on the acquisition. He said it would protect users from "malicious DApps and scams."

Justin Bons, founder of Cyber Capital, has criticized Ethereum's Layer-2 (L2) solutions. He calls networks like Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism a "dystopian nightmare of centralization." Bons targets several top L2 solutions. He argues they have centralization risks that could allow network operators to control user funds. The centralization comes from "multi-sig" controls and centralized sequencers. These can potentially manipulate transaction order or freeze funds. Bons highlights specific vulnerabilities. Arbitrum and Base rely on multi-sig controls and permissioned proposers. This could allow instant access to user funds by a centralized authority. "Arbitrum – Can steal all user funds instantly with a multi-sig, has permissioned proposers, centralized operator can exploit MEV & centralized sequencer can censor," Bons stated. He noted similar issues with Base. "Base can steal all user funds instantly with a multi-sig, permissioned proposer can also steal all user funds, the centralized validator can freeze all funds, a centralized operator can exploit MEV & the centralized sequencer can censor." Optimism faces similar centralization concerns. Bons points out its ability to exploit maximal extractable value (MEV) and censor transactions. The industry reaction was mixed. Crypto pundit DBCrypto supported Bons' claims. He questioned the incentives for L2s to adopt a shared sequencer model. "Coinbase currently makes how many millions a month off Base? OP and ARB hold around 50% L2 market share currently? Will they choose to join a shared sequencer and give up much of their earnings?" DBCrypto asked. Bons expressed concern about broader implications. He cited naivety of engineers and misaligned venture capital incentives as factors. "VCs make much more money off ETH in the short term if it continues with L2 scaling," he concluded.

Hinkal Protocol has launched its Shared Privacy Protocol. The new system enables confidential transactions across multiple blockchains. The announcement came at EthCC 7. Hinkal outlined several key features of the protocol. Stakers can deploy native and staked assets. This generates additional yield. Yield tokens remain tradable on other decentralized applications. Traders benefit from an expanded Shielded pool. This obscures trading strategies. It also maximizes capital deployment across chains. Decentralized exchanges and applications can integrate the protocol. This grants users new privacy capabilities. Georgi Koreli, Hinkal's co-founder and CEO, stressed the importance of on-chain privacy. "It's critical for full crypto adoption in the institutional financial sector," he said. Koreli noted rapid adoption among institutional clients. He called the launch "a key milestone in unleashing community power and breaking privacy barriers." Hinkal claims institutional investors seek DeFi privacy comparable to traditional markets. However, achieving this requires substantial "Shielded TVL" on each blockchain, which is not an easy task. First of all, the crypto landscape's fragmentation poses challenges that need to be ovecome. Over 200 Layer-1 and Layer-2 blockchains exist. That translates into liquidity lacking incentives and privacy in DeFi is not scalable until now. Evgeny Gokhberg, founder of Re7 Capital and Hinkal investor, commented on the protocol. "It's the solution we've been searching for," he said. Gokhberg emphasized the need for compliant, discrete liquidations without disclosing transaction data.

Interoperability protocol ZKM has announced plans for a new Bitcoin Layer 2 solution named GOAT Network. It aims to be the first decentralized Bitcoin Layer 2 with shared network ownership. You've probably never heard of Layer 2 solutions of this kind, and yet it is set to launch in Q3 this year Kevin Liu, GOAT Network Core Contributor and ZKM co-founder, stated, "GOAT Network's launch of a Bitcoin L2 is a powerful first step in ZKM's quest to unite the fragmented Web3 universe." Liu emphasized their commitment to decentralization and shared ownership. GOAT Network will employ a decentralized sequencer model. This approach differs from other Bitcoin Layer 2s. Sequencer node operators will secure the network. They will earn yield on their bitcoin and fees for various activities. The project claims to be unique in its approach. "GOAT Network is the first Bitcoin L2 to share network ownership and fees, by decentralizing its sequencer," the team told The Block. They added that small holders can also participate in earning sustainable yield. ZKM's proving service will handle the ZK prover side. The team acknowledged that the decentralization of the Proof Network depends on ZKM's progress. GOAT Network boasts Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility. This feature enables smart contract functionality. It sets the project apart from Bitcoin's existing Layer 2, the Lightning Network. The network has secured commitments of 5,000 BTC from five institutional node operators. It plans to launch with seven operators, expanding over time. The authors claim that yield will come from various sources, including gas fees and mining rewards. So it's going to be a kind of a mixed bag, if you will. The project will utilize ZKM's Entangled Rollup technology. This provides native security from Bitcoin's Layer 1. GOAT Network aims to become a "Universal Layer 2," integrating with multiple ecosystems. GOAT Network has outlined its tokenomics. 42% of the GOAT token supply is reserved for mining activities. 6% is allocated for airdrops and 1% for influencers. The total supply will be 1 billion tokens.