Network news
AXIOM EMPLOYEE CHARGED IN ALLEGED PRIVATE TRAINING BY ZACHXBT: Blockchain detective ZachXBT said a senior employee at on-chain trading platform Axiom Exchange allegedly abused internal access to user data to track private wallets and potentially trade memecoins using insider information. In a thread posted on Axiom, founded in 2024 by Mist and Cal and a member of Y Combinator’s Winter 2025 cohort, has generated more than $390 million in revenue to date, according to the researcher. ZachXBT said it was hired to investigate allegations of misuse of internal tools. He did not say who held him. In audio clips shared in the thread, a person said to be Bauer allegedly claims that he can track “any Axiom user” by referral code, wallet address or UID and “find out anything that has to do with that person.” In the same recording, he describes initially investigating between 10 and 20 wallets and gradually increasing the activity “so it doesn’t look so suspicious.” — Oliver Caballero Read more.
PUBLICATION OF EF’S ‘STRAWMAP’ ROADMAP: The Ethereum Foundation published a roadmap saying it is building for the next decade, without surviving the current quarter. The document, called a “straw map” and published Wednesday by EF researcher Justin Drake, lays out a plan for seven hard forks through 2029. Hard forks are network-wide software updates that each node must implement or be left behind, making them the highest risk type of change Ethereum can make. The plan is organized around five objectives described as “northern stars.” These include a faster layer 1 with transaction finality in seconds; dramatically higher Layer 1 performance, capable of around 10,000 transactions per second (known as “gigabyte” scale); Layer 2 networks achieving “teragas” performance levels, or approximately 10 million TPS; Post-quantum cryptography and built-in privacy via protected ETH transfers. — Shaurya Malwa Read more.
ROBINHOOD CHAIN TEST NETWORK UPDATE: Robinhood’s testnet (HOOD) recorded 4 million transactions in its testchain’s first week of operation, the investment platform’s CEO Vlad Tenev said on “Developers are already leveraging our L2, designed for real-world tokenized assets and on-chain financial services,” Tenev wrote. Testnets are risk-free environments for developers to test experimental code and features before the mainnet goes live. The two stages of network development can be compared to a flight simulator and a commercial flight. The Robinhood Chain testnet came against the backdrop of a broader reckoning in the Ethereum world. Earlier this month, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated that the protocol’s Layer 2 (L2) rollup-focused roadmap “no longer makes sense,” arguing that many rollups have failed to achieve full decentralization and that Ethereum’s base layer is scaling faster than expected. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
OPENAI DIVES INTO SMART CONTRACTS: OpenAI is delving deeper into crypto security with the debut of EVMbench, a testing framework designed to measure how well artificial intelligence can understand and potentially secure smart contracts on Ethereum and similar blockchains. Smart contracts, self-executing code implemented on blockchains like Ethereum, underpin decentralized exchanges, lending protocols, and a wide range of on-chain financial applications. Since these contracts are typically immutable once implemented, vulnerabilities can be serious. EVMbench is OpenAI’s attempt to see if modern AI systems are up to the task of helping prevent such problems. Created in collaboration with cryptocurrency investment firm Paradigm, the benchmark is based on real-world smart contract vulnerabilities already discovered through security audits and contests. The system measures performance through three core capabilities: identifying security bugs, exploiting those bugs in a controlled environment, and fixing vulnerable code without breaking contracts. OpenAI says the goal is to establish a clear standard for evaluating AI systems in blockchain security, especially as decentralized finance continues to secure billions of dollars in user funds. The risks for smart contracts are only increasing. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
In other news
- Meta, the American tech giant led by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, aims to enter the stablecoin space later this year, pending a successful integration with a third-party company to facilitate payments using dollar-pegged token technology, according to three people familiar with the plans. The tech giant, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram and has more than 3 billion users, wants to begin its stablecoin integration early in the second half of this year, said one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans are not public. Meta plans to integrate a provider to help manage stablecoin-backed payments and implement a new wallet, the person said. A second person said that Meta sent a request for product (RFP) to third-party companies and mentioned Stripe as a possible candidate to test the stablecoin. The introduction of stablecoins would allow Meta to open payment avenues to its huge user base, while avoiding costly traditional banking fees, and potentially position it as a global leader in “social commerce” and cross-border remittances. — Ian Allison Read more.
- American Bitcoin (ABTC), the bitcoin mining company backed by President Donald Trump’s family, said it lost $59 million in the fourth quarter as the drop in the price of the largest cryptocurrency eroded the value of its holdings. The company, which went public in September, less than a month before the largest cryptocurrency hit a record high, is pursuing a dual mining and purchasing strategy, with about a third of its BTC coming from mining operations. The rest comes from open market purchases and strategic transactions, largely financed by the sale of shares. The company, which is 20% owned by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, generated $150.5 million through an at-the-market stock offering during the quarter. The capital allowed it to increase its bitcoin exposure per share by almost 50%. He now owns more than 6,000 BTC, he said. During the quarter, it mined bitcoins with a gross margin of 53%, suggesting that production costs were significantly below spot prices even as the cryptocurrency’s price fell. Revenue increased 22% compared to the third quarter. — Francesco Rodrigues and James Van Straten Read more.
Regulation and policy
- The Indiana state legislature authorized public retirement and savings plans to gain exposure to digital assets and spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), while affirming residents’ access to cryptocurrency investments. Governor Mike Braun is expected to sign HB 1042 into law within the next 10 days. Indiana joins at least seven other states, including Wyoming, Wisconsin, Michigan and Arizona, that have taken steps to integrate crypto-linked products into public investment frameworks. Nearly half of US state governments are on track to invest some of their money in cryptocurrencies or have already done so, and much of this trend has developed since President Donald Trump ordered his administration to establish a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. — Olivier Acuna Read more.
- The US Treasury Department sanctioned a Russian company, Operation Zero, and the people behind it, including Sergey Sergeyevich Zelenyuk, after accusing them of purchasing stolen cyber tools for millions in cryptocurrency and reselling those technologies, which were created for use by the US government. The tools were said to have originally been stolen by an Australian citizen, Peter Williams, who once worked at the defense contractor that created the national security-focused software “for the exclusive use of the United States government and select allies.” Williams pleaded guilty last year to selling trade secrets. “Treasury will continue to work alongside the rest of the Trump Administration to protect sensitive American intellectual property and safeguard our national security,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. Zelenyuk and the others are said to be the first people to be sanctioned under the American Intellectual Property Protection Act. — jesse hamilton Read more.
Calendar
- March 24-26, 2026: Digital Asset Summit, New York City
- From March 30 to April 30. 2, 2026: EthCC, Cannes
- April 15-16, 2026: Paris Blockchain Week, Paris
- April 29-30, 2026: Token2049, Dubai
- May 5-7, 2026: Consensus, Miami
- September 29 to October 1, 2026: Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul
- October 7-8, 2026: Token2049, Singapore
- November 3-6, 2026: Devcon, Mumbai
- November 15-17, 2026: Solana Breakpoint, London
