Publication Date: February 4, 2025 Author: BlockBeats Editorial Department

Over the past 24 hours, the crypto market has evolved simultaneously on multiple levels. Mainstream discussions have focused on the recalibration of Ethereum's scaling logic and the decentralized controversy sparked by the exposure of early Bitcoin historical documents. In terms of ecosystem development, Solana is leading the way in AI-powered agent-based autonomous credit systems, the Ethereum community is accelerating convergence around L2 screening and agent standards, and the Perp DEX sector continues to heat up in terms of user experience and structural innovation.

I. Mainstream Topics

1. Vitalik Buterin re-evaluates L2 positioning: the original vision is no longer applicable, and calls for finding a new role.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin recently published a lengthy article pointing out that with the significant improvement in Ethereum's L1 scalability (gas limits are expected to increase substantially around 2026) and the much slower-than-expected evolution of L2 towards "Phase 2," the past notion of L2 as a "branded shard of Ethereum" is no longer valid. He emphasized that L1 is rapidly returning to its core focus on scaling, and L2 is no longer needed as a "crutch" for performance scaling.

Against this backdrop, Vitalik suggested that L2 reposition its value and shift towards differentiated directions such as enhanced privacy, deep optimization for specific applications, extreme scalability, non-financial scenarios, ultra-low latency architecture, or built-in oracles; if it continues to handle ETH-related assets, it should at least reach Stage 1 and strengthen interoperability with the Ethereum mainnet as much as possible.

He also mentioned the upcoming Pectra upgrade (expected in March), which will increase the target capacity of blobs from 3 to 6, effectively doubling the data throughput for L2, and proposed the idea of ​​dynamically adjusting parameters through staker voting to reduce the need for hard forks.

The related statements sparked heated discussions within the community. Some interpreted them as a "negation" of the L2 roadmap or a strategic shift, expressing concerns about the valuation logic and long-term adoption prospects of L2 projects. Others saw it as a pragmatic clarification, arguing that the enhancement of L1 capabilities is itself a positive development, helping to force L2 to focus on truly irreplaceable differentiated value (such as privacy, AI, and application specialization). The discussion centered on questions such as "Is Ethereum no longer dependent on L2?", "Which L2 projects can survive?", and "Does Pectra truly alleviate capacity bottlenecks?" In the Chinese community, the claim that "Vitalik abandoned the L2 roadmap" is widely circulated, but a more accurate understanding is that it's not an abandonment, but rather a redefinition.

2. Polymarket plans to open a free grocery store in New York.

Polymarket has announced the opening of "The Polymarket," a free grocery store in New York City, claiming it to be the first of its kind in the city. The project has signed a formal lease and donated $1 million to Food Bank For NYC to address food insecurity across the city. The store is scheduled to open on February 12th at noon, open to all New York residents with no purchase required, emphasizing its "completely free, fully stocked" nature and community outreach.

Meanwhile, prediction market platform Kalshi quickly followed suit, hosting a limited-time free grocery event at Westside Market (84 3rd Ave, NYC). The event lasted for several hours and attracted thousands of people. Kalshi stated that this initiative aimed to encourage more companies to participate in similar community initiatives.

The news sparked significant attention within the community, but opinions were clearly divided. Some users highly praised Polymarket's approach, seeing it as an example of "capital power being directly transformed into public welfare," even comparing it to the governance capabilities of local governments, arguing that its social benefits outweighed slogan-based collectivist practices; Kalshi's follow-up action was also praised as "decent" and "pragmatic," demonstrating actual execution.

However, criticisms are equally concentrated. Many worry that the model is unsustainable, predicting that stores may be emptied quickly after opening, or rapidly shrink due to abuse, security issues, and operating costs. Others point out that high-value goods may be the first to run out of stock, and the project may ultimately become burdened with cumbersome management and compliance issues. Overall, the event is widely seen as a highly impactful marketing campaign, but its long-term viability remains questionable in a low-trust, high-cost urban environment like New York. Some are also calling for a greater focus on employment and structural support rather than short-term free distribution.

3. The controversy surrounding Epstein's connections to the early Bitcoin community continues to escalate.

Newly disclosed Epstein filings (from the DOJ and the House Oversight Committee) reveal that Jeffrey Epstein was deeply involved in the crypto industry between 2014 and 2017. This included investing approximately $3 million in Coinbase's Series C through an introduction by Brock Pierce; donating a total of $525,000 to the MIT Digital Currency Initiative to support Bitcoin Core developers and fill funding gaps following the Bitcoin Foundation's bankruptcy; and maintaining close contact with key figures such as Adam Back, continuously tracking Bitcoin's development and attempting to act as a "mediator" within the network. Related email chains show that Epstein viewed Bitcoin as a "revolutionary form of currency" and actively sought meetings with developers.

This disclosure sparked a strong reaction in the Bitcoin community. Some were shocked that "Epstein's funds were present in the early days of Bitcoin," questioning the degree of centralization in the early ecosystem, whether key figures such as Adam Back and Blockstream were affected, and even speculating about manipulation by a so-called "three-letter organization." Other developers and veterans quickly refuted this, emphasizing that Bitcoin's code is open-source and transparent, nodes and miners can refuse any malicious modifications, Epstein's influence is limited, and it did not change the decentralized nature of the protocol itself.

Discussions surrounding the incident have gradually focused on several core issues: whether Bitcoin is truly decentralized, whether the early funding structure harbors systemic risks, and whether this wave of public opinion constitutes a FUD attack against Bitcoin.

4. Y Combinator supports startups accepting investments in stablecoins such as USDC.

On the funding front, Y Combinator announced that its startups can choose to receive $500,000 in investment in the form of stablecoins such as USDC, emphasizing that stablecoins are driving global financial innovation, especially in practical applications in regions like India and Latin America. The Solana Foundation is also providing resources to encourage the use of USDC within the Solana ecosystem.

The market reaction was generally positive, with most views viewing it as an important milestone in the mainstreaming of stablecoins and a clear signal of the "crypto-native funding" model. A few concerns focused on regulatory uncertainty and potential volatility risks, but overall it was still interpreted as a boon to the USDC and Solana ecosystem.

II. Mainstream Ecosystem Dynamics

1. Solana: AI Agents Start "Borrowing Money on Their Own"

t54.ai has launched Claw Credit on Solana, the first credit system in the Solana ecosystem to be autonomously operated by an AI agent. Under this system, agents can independently apply for credit limits without human intervention to purchase x402 services (such as computing power, APIs, etc.).

Claw Credit is powered by t54's risk engine. Agents must pre-qualify using the OpenClaw skill, then activate their credit limit using an invitation code, and gradually build a credit score through a "consumption-repayment" cycle. The Solana Foundation reiterated in related discussions that "Solana is built for agents," and its high performance and low latency are considered important foundations supporting the agent economy.

Overall feedback has been positive, with many users viewing it as a crucial step towards "agent autonomy," particularly in addressing the issue of AI agents shutting down due to depleted funds. Discussions have focused on three main areas: first, whether more complex forms of economic cooperation (such as credit sharing and transfer) will emerge between agents; second, security and risk control constraints, with some projects (such as Tau Net) emphasizing the need to prevent tipping injections and policy drift during long-term operation; and third, the potential for application layer innovation, with Bankr Bot being repeatedly mentioned as an experimental example of "agents issuing their own tokens or managing assets."

Optimism prevailed, with the narrative of "agents starting to apply for funding themselves" spreading widely, but some remained cautious about the long-term reliability of the risk engine. Overall, the event further solidified Solana's leading position in the "agent economy" narrative.

2. Ethereum: L2 screening accelerated, proxy standards implemented.

Aave's DAO voted to shut down its V3 deployments on zkSync, Metis, and Soneium due to persistently low usage, lack of organic growth, and inability to contribute substantial revenue to the protocols in the short term. Aave also clarified that any new L2 deployments in the future must have a viable path to generate at least $2 million in annual revenue.

Aave's decision to "shut down its chain" quickly sparked discussions about the sustainability of L2 blockchains. Many users bluntly called it a "ghost chain purge" and even regarded "whether Aave is deployed" as a barometer of L2 blockchain viability, once again questioning the economic rationality of multi-chain expansion.

ERC-8004 has been officially launched on Base, making it the first L2 database to support this standard. This standard aims to provide AI agents with a discovery mechanism and a portable reputation system. The Base team positions it as a "public registry" to facilitate interaction between untrusted agents, and Jesse Pollak has confirmed that any agent can freely register.

ERC-8004 received significant positive feedback and was hailed as a landmark event in the "Base-driven proxy wave," with developers beginning to discuss building new proxy networks based on this standard (such as Olas, which has already registered hundreds of proxies).

Euphoria (@Euphoria_fi), a member of the MegaETH ecosystem, has announced the launch of the Taparton competition: a two-week event starting February 16th, open to 5,000 traders and offering Rolex and cash rewards. The protocol emphasizes a mobile-first, gamified experience, allowing participants to trade options and perpetual contracts with a single click.

Euphoria's Tapathon leans more towards emotion-driven strategies, with the community describing it as "more like a game than a transaction." There's high anticipation for its public launch and prize mechanism, but a minority has questioned the originality of its marketing copy and AI-generated content. Overall, the Ethereum community's focus is shifting from "multi-chain deployment" to "proxy infrastructure + DeFi structure optimization."

3. Perp DEX: Accelerated Structural Innovation, User Experience Becomes a Core Variable

Lighter (@lighter_xyz) responded to Vitalik's latest statement on the positioning of L2, reiterating its choice of being an Ethereum ZK Rollup and emphasizing "extending Ethereum, not decoupling from Ethereum." The protocol focuses on verifiable finance and high-frequency trading, currently boasting top-ranking TPS and fourth-ranking TVL, and is about to launch the Lighter EVM.

Lighter has gained significant support, with users generally acknowledging its "standing on the side of Ethereum" and anticipating that the launch of EVM will further enhance the composability and playability of DeFi.

Ventures, an exchange based on HIP-3, has released a V2 upgrade: a brand-new front end that supports 24/7 trading of pre-IPO assets, indices, and stocks; it also introduces point incentives (500,000 points per week, with bonuses for vHYPE holdings), referral rebates (10%–60%), a growth model (with fees reduced by up to 90%), and increases the leverage limit to 20x.

Ventuals V2 has been hailed as "another level" due to its UI/UX improvements, with invitation codes circulating widely within the community and its ability to attract TradFi users being repeatedly mentioned.

Perps.fun launched the first perpetual contract launchpad on Hyperliquid, emphasizing a "simplified process for creating new futures markets" to lower the barrier to entry for developers and project teams.

Perps.fun has primarily sparked developer interest and is seen as an "interesting experimental launchpad," but some have pointed out that markets can technically be created quickly on Hyperliquid, and its differentiation remains to be seen. Overall, the perps sector is brimming with innovative spirit, but discussions about regulatory boundaries and transaction speeds continue.

4. Other: Predicting the market's "entering the community" – marketing or a long-term strategy?

Polymarket announced the opening of its first free grocery store in New York City, "The Polymarket," and a $1 million donation to Food Bank For NYC. The store will open on February 12 and is open to all New York residents. Almost simultaneously, Kalshi also launched a free grocery event (February 3 at noon, West Side Market), limited to $50 per person. Both emphasized "giving back to the community" and attempted to increase public awareness of prediction markets.

The event sparked highly polarized opinions. Some hailed it as a "marketing genius," particularly praising Polymarket's execution in pre-booking the venue and accompanying it with charitable donations; others considered it a short-term gimmick, questioning its sustainability and joking that "it would be sold out in 15 minutes" and "it would be difficult to operate long-term given New York's security and policy environment."

Kalshi was seen by some users as a "temporary follow-up" and their motives were viewed with skepticism. Nevertheless, the community generally acknowledged that such offline actions were effective in terms of brand exposure and public engagement, at least successfully pushing the prediction market into a broader social context.