Tag: Project Updates

Bybit to Support Celo Network Upgrade

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has announced its support for the upcoming Celo (CELO) network upgrade, scheduled for July 21, 2026, at 4:00 PM UTC.

Service Suspensions

To facilitate a seamless transition during the upgrade, Bybit will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Celo (CELO) starting at 3:30 PM UTC on July 21, 2026.

Trading activities on the platform will remain unaffected by this upgrade.

Resumption Notifications

Bybit will not issue separate announcements regarding the resumption of Celo (CELO) deposit and withdrawal services. Users seeking to be notified when these services are back online are advised to visit the Deposit or Withdrawal page and activate the “Set Alert” function.

Further details about the Celo network upgrade can be found in the official release notes.

Cardano has successfully implemented the Van Rossem hard fork, marking a significant milestone as its first upgrade to be ratified entirely through on-chain governance. This event signifies a pivotal shift in the blockchain’s development model, moving towards community-driven decision-making and away from direct intervention by its founding development company, Input Output.

The Van Rossem upgrade, which transitions the Cardano network to protocol version 11, received substantial approval from its decentralized representatives. Delegated Representatives (DReps) voted in favor at 77.63%, surpassing the 60% threshold, while Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) backed the proposal with 52.7% approval, exceeding the 51% requirement. The Constitutional Committee also granted its approval, confirming the community’s consensus.

Named in honor of Cardano contributor Max van Rossem, who passed away in October 2025, this upgrade is an intra-era improvement focused on specific enhancements rather than a core structural rebuild. Its primary objective is to reduce the execution costs for Plutus smart contracts, the engine behind Cardano’s decentralized applications (dApps), including DeFi platforms and NFT marketplaces. Lowering these costs aims to enable developers to run more complex applications more efficiently and affordably.

The upgrade bundles several technical proposals, such as new cryptographic tools for faster digital signature verification and a security enhancement requiring unique cryptographic keys for each stake pool, closing a known attack vector. Protocol Version 11 specifically introduces constant-time array indexing, native Value handling, faster list traversal, and new cryptographic primitives, ensuring built-in functions operate across Plutus V1, V2, and V3 without altering the transaction shape.

This successful on-chain ratification builds upon Cardano’s governance evolution, following the Chang hard fork in 2024 which introduced on-chain voting, and the Plomin hard fork in early 2025 that empowered token holders with direct decision-making capabilities. The Van Rossem upgrade represents a key step in this progression, demonstrating the network’s growing capacity for self-governance.

Looking ahead, the Van Rossem upgrade is a technical prerequisite for the more ambitious Ouroboros Leios upgrade. Ouroboros Leios aims to significantly overhaul Cardano’s transaction processing, targeting a 30 to 65 times increase in throughput, potentially exceeding 1,000 transactions per second. The Ouroboros Leios public testnet, Musashi Dojo, launched on June 23, with founder Charlie Hoskinson anticipating the mainnet launch before the end of 2026.

In parallel, Input Output announced it may begin handing over core development responsibilities to external specialist teams starting in August. The Van Rossem upgrade is the first to be executed under this new decentralized development paradigm.

Market indicators and on-chain activity present a mixed outlook. While overall market sentiment is described as bearish, the hard fork announcement appears to have stabilized ADA prices, preventing a retest of deeper support levels. Data per Santiment indicates that whales holding between 100,000 and 100 million ADA tokens have increased their balances to the highest level since 2023, suggesting accumulation by larger holders, while smaller holders have reportedly reduced their exposure. Technical indicators show the 50-day exponential moving average below the 200-day, a configuration often viewed as bearish. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 48.8, considered neutral, and the Average Directional Index (ADX), measuring trend strength, is at a weak 16.1. However, the directional component of the ADX has shifted from bearish to bullish, which some traders watch as a potential notable period signal.

For everyday users, the immediate impact of the Van Rossem upgrade is not expected to be noticeable. Developers, however, stand to benefit from reduced costs for running Plutus smart contracts. The successful execution of this upgrade underscores Cardano’s commitment to decentralization and sets the stage for future advancements in network scalability and efficiency.

Why This Matters

The materials describe a narrow update: Cardano executed a hard fork, implementing the Van Rossem upgrade and transitioning to protocol version 11. The exact date of the Van Rossem hard fork implementation beyond ‘over the weekend’.

Broader Context

Source materials place the factual news in this context: Cardano has been building toward this governance model since the Chang hard fork in 2024, which first introduced on-chain voting, followed by the Plomin hard fork in early 2025, which gave token holders real decision-making power.

Hyperliquid is set to launch its HIP-4 network upgrade, a development designed to democratize the creation of prediction markets by enabling users beyond validators to deploy them. Announced on July 20, the upgrade introduces a system of validator-approved templates and a required staking mechanism for deployers, aiming to balance increased accessibility with robust risk management.

The core of HIP-4 shifts prediction market creation from a validator-exclusive function to a permissionless model. To ensure market integrity, deployers will utilize on-chain, validator-approved templates. This standardization aims to provide clarity and consistency across newly created markets.

A key component of the new system is a staking requirement for market deployers. Users must stake 500,000 HYPE tokens, locked for six months. This financial commitment acts as a safeguard; Hyperliquid stated that validators can slash stakes for poorly defined or incorrectly settled markets. Additionally, leaving a market unsettled for over a week will also result in a stake slash, emphasizing timely resolution.

Initially, deployers will have capacity for markets with up to 100 outcomes or 200 outcome tokens, exclusively supporting AQAv2 quote tokens. Future updates are planned to include an auction mechanism for additional deployer allocation and configurable fees, though specific timelines are not yet available.

The HIP-4 upgrade will first launch on the testnet before moving to mainnet. Hyperliquid has indicated that users will be notified upon the testnet launch and that documentation will be updated accordingly. Preliminary specifications are subject to change based on community feedback.

This development occurs amidst significant growth in the prediction market sector. Notional volume across prediction platforms reached $50.7 billion in June, with Q2 2026 volumes totaling $113.8 billion. This expansion highlights growing user interest in prediction-based financial instruments.

The native HYPE token was trading near $60, down approximately 1% in the 24 hours prior to reporting, but remains up about 34% year-on-year. The token’s performance is presented as factual data, separate from the upgrade’s immediate impact, given the pending launch details.

Uncertainty remains regarding the precise timeline for the testnet and mainnet deployments of HIP-4, as well as the specifics of future features like the auction mechanism and configurable fees. Hyperliquid has indicated that further details will be provided as the launch approaches.

Why This Matters

The materials describe a narrow update: Hyperliquid is introducing the HIP-4 network upgrade, which will allow users other than validators to create prediction markets. The exact date of the testnet and mainnet launch for HIP-4.

Broader Context

Source materials place the factual news in this context: Hyperliquid’s upcoming HIP-4 network upgrade.

Cardano’s Founding Developer Cedes Control of Core Infrastructure

Input Output Global (IOG), the primary developer behind the Cardano blockchain, announced Friday it will transfer control of key blockchain infrastructure to external specialist firms. This significant shift, commencing in August, will see the Haskell node, Plutus smart-contract platform, Daedalus wallet, and Hydra scaling technology all transition to outside management.

External Firms to Oversee Cardano’s Core Components

Among the firms taking over are Se7en Labs, a development agency with prior experience in Solana infrastructure, and Teragone, a cryptographic research team already spearheading development of Mithril, Cardano’s stake-based signature protocol. The plan involves running at least three independent node implementations in Haskell, Rust, and Go concurrently. Oversight of these operations will be managed by community bodies Intersect and Pragma. This comprehensive transition is slated to conclude by 2027.

The blockchain’s new guiding principle will be: “Built by many, owned by all.”

Voltaire Era Nears Completion with Decentralization Push

Charles Hoskinson, Cardano’s founder, characterized this move as the final push of the Voltaire era, the phase of governance and decentralization that Cardano has been progressively building towards since 2024. “Our partners are ready, and the ecosystem now has many diverse options,” Hoskinson stated in the IOG Group announcement.

Cardano’s protocol and governance mechanisms are already decentralized. This transition extends that decentralization to its engineering operations.

An official statement from Input Output Group on July 17, 2026, read: “The last stage of the Voltaire era is full decentralization of node and reference blueprint development. Since 2024, IOG and its partners have carefully managed a process that will conclude…”

Van Rossem Hard Fork Set to Go Live

The Van Rossem hard fork is scheduled to go live on the mainnet on July 18 at 21:44 UTC. This upgrade, ratified on July 13 with 77.63% approval from delegated community representatives, will advance Cardano to Protocol Version 11. It also introduces new Plutus built-in functions aimed at reducing smart contract execution costs.

Market Performance and Investor Sentiment

Cardano, trading under the ticker ADA, saw a modest increase of approximately 2% on the day, trading near $0.165 with a market capitalization of $6 billion. Open interest in ADA futures stands at around $193 million. The current long-to-short ratio of 2.84 suggests that a majority of traders are anticipating a price surge.

Input Output Global’s Future Focus

For Input Output Global, this handover marks the end of a significant chapter. The company will now redirect its efforts towards research and new ventures through its IO Labs and IO Ventures divisions. The responsibility will fall upon the community to demonstrate whether a decentralized engineering model can achieve greater velocity than the system it is replacing.

Technical Analysis and Future Outlook

From a purely technical standpoint, a rapid upward trend appears unlikely in the immediate future. ADA has not approached its 2024 highs of nearly $1.20, and current chart indicators are not encouraging. The coin has been in a downward grind since August 2025, with the 50-week exponential moving average falling below the 200-week average.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI), a momentum indicator, is currently at 34. On a scale of 0 to 100, readings above 70 are considered overbought and below 30 oversold. The Average Directional Index (ADX), which measures trend strength, indicates a strong bearish long-term trend. Investing at current levels appears to be an act of faith rather than a conviction-based trade.

However, ADA has surprised traders in the past. If the Van Rossem hard fork successfully delivers on its cost-reduction promises, the Leios upgrade arrives as scheduled, and decentralized engineering proves more productive than the current model, investors holding ADA at 16 cents could potentially see significant upside.

Bybit to Support NEAR Protocol Network Upgrade

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has announced its support for the upcoming v2.13.0 network upgrade of the NEAR Protocol. The upgrade is scheduled to occur on July 20, 2026, at 00:00 AM UTC.

Service Suspensions

To facilitate a seamless transition, Bybit will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for the NEAR Protocol. This suspension will commence on July 19, 2026, at 11:30 PM UTC.

Trading Unaffected

The exchange has clarified that other trading activities on the platform will not be impacted by the network upgrade.

Resumption Notifications

Bybit will not issue further announcements regarding the resumption of NEAR Protocol deposit and withdrawal services. Users seeking to be notified when these services are back online are advised to visit the Deposit or Withdrawal page and select the “Set Alert” option.

Further details regarding the NEAR Protocol upgrade can be found in the official release notes.

The Pi Network Core Team has implemented a redesign of its mining app and app profile page, aiming to enhance user experience and navigation. This update introduces a new side menu for easier access to key features and includes a dark mode, representing the initial phase of a broader refresh based on user feedback. These user-centric enhancements coincide with the PI token facing market challenges, including recent price declines and an upcoming significant token unlock.

The redesigned mining app, used by over 60 million engaged Pioneers, now features a side menu that consolidates important information and ecosystem components. According to the Pi Network Core Team, this aims to make features such as the Mainnet Checklist, mining information, and featured Pi Apps more accessible and understandable. The update also incorporates a dark mode and an improved visual hierarchy, reflecting the team’s stated goal of enhancing clarity, style, and usability while maintaining core functionalities. This iterative approach to design changes is presented as a response to extensive user feedback, with the team emphasizing the need for thoughtful and gradual implementation.

Despite these development efforts, the PI token has experienced a downturn in its market performance. The token recently fell below the $0.10 support level, reaching a new all-time low of just over $0.07, according to CoinGecko data. While there was a subsequent rebound, challenging $0.085, this upward movement was reportedly short-lived, with the price falling back to $0.073 before a minor daily increase saw it trading at $0.078.

Adding to market concerns, PiScan data indicates that approximately 130 million PI coins are scheduled for unlocking in the next month. The implications of this unlock on the PI token’s price remain a point of uncertainty.

The Pi Network’s current situation presents a divergence between ongoing development aimed at improving the user experience within its ecosystem and the performance of its native token in the broader cryptocurrency market. The long-term impact of the app redesign on user engagement and the PI token’s market value, particularly in light of the upcoming unlock, remains to be seen. The Core Team’s strategy focuses on iterative improvements to the user interface, while market dynamics continue to present challenges for the PI token.

Why This Matters

The materials describe a narrow update: The Pi Network Core Team has launched a redesign of its mining app and app profile page, introducing a new side menu for easier access to features like the Mainnet Checklist, mining information, and featured Pi Apps. The long-term impact of the app redesign on user engagement and the Pi Network ecosystem.

Broader Context

Source materials place the factual news in this context: Amid all the controversial feedback and token price moves as of late, Pi Network’s Core Team continues with outlining new initiatives aimed at improving the overall user experience.

Jesse Pollak, the executive previously leading the consumer Base app, has acknowledged a strategic misstep, admitting that his prior focus on builders driving adoption through onchain social growth was flawed. Pollak has since handed over the consumer Base app to trader Cobie and is refocusing his efforts on developing the Base chain itself, with the aim of establishing it as the platform for global finance.

Pollak stated that his 2024-2025 strategy rested on two key bets: that builders would drive adoption and that growth would stem from onchain social interactions. He has now acknowledged that the latter bet was incorrect, describing the onchain social corner—which included platforms like Farcaster, Zora, miniapps, and creator coins—as having “disintegrated completely.” This strategic shift leaves Base trailing rivals in areas such as perps, prediction markets, tokenization, and payments.

Pollak apologized for his misjudgment regarding content coins, a sentiment echoed by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who previously commented that Base “messed up” in this area. Pollak’s vision for Base is now centered on becoming “the blockchain for global finance,” leveraging the combination of crypto, stablecoins, perps, prediction markets, and tokenization to onboard a significant number of users.

New Priorities and Leadership

For 2026, Pollak has identified three core priorities for Base: trading, payments, and agents. In line with this strategic pivot, Cobie will now be responsible for overseeing trading products at Coinbase, including the CB app, Pro, and Baseapp. This role places Cobie in a competitive market, facing challenges from centralized exchanges like Kraken, memecoin apps such as Pump Fun and Fomo, Robinhood’s expanding onchain offerings, and Kalshi’s growth in the prediction market space.

While Pollak’s admission signifies a strategic pivot, the exact timeline for Cobie’s impact on trading products, the specific reasons behind the perceived disintegration of the onchain social sector, and the success metrics for Base’s new priorities in trading, payments, and agents for 2026 remain uncertain. The blockchain’s future development and adoption will depend on the execution of these new strategic directions and Cobie’s ability to navigate the competitive landscape.

Why This Matters

The materials describe a narrow update: Jesse Pollak, who was running the Base blockchain, has transferred the consumer Base app to Cobie. The specific timeline for Cobie’s full integration and impact on trading products.

Broader Context

Source materials place the factual news in this context: Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner.

The Pi Network team has announced a July 22 deadline for the completion of Protocol v25, an update designed to enhance network stability and introduce support for privacy-preserving smart contracts. This development comes as the native PI token continues to experience significant price volatility.

Protocol v25 Development
The Pi Network team has been actively developing its protocol, with a series of updates leading up to the planned v25. Previous versions, including v19.6 in mid-Q1, v20.2 which laid the groundwork for smart contracts, and v22 and v23 in May, have been implemented. Protocol v24 was deployed in early June, with the latest announcement indicating that v25 is now targeted for completion by July 22.

According to the Pi Network team, Protocol v25 will primarily focus on improving network stability and reliability. Additionally, it is set to support new capabilities designed for more efficient and privacy-preserving smart contracts. The team has encouraged users to visit the Pi mining app for further details.

PI Token Price Action
Concurrently, the PI token has been subject to considerable price fluctuations. In recent days, the token reportedly broke down below the $0.10 support level, reaching all-time lows of just over $0.07. While there was a rebound of over 15% yesterday, pushing the price past $0.085 at one point, this upward movement was followed by a rejection. As of the latest reports, the PI token is trading below $0.074, marking an 8% decrease in the past 24 hours. Over the past two weeks, the token has seen a decline of more than 35% and remains over 97% below its all-time high recorded in February of the previous year.

Context and Uncertainty
The upcoming v25 upgrade introduces a degree of uncertainty regarding its potential impact on the PI token’s price. While the upgrade aims to bolster the network’s infrastructure, the immediate effect on market performance remains unclear. The PI token’s price trajectory has been characterized by sharp declines and minor rebounds, suggesting that market sentiment may not be directly or immediately influenced by development milestones alone.

Further context on the protocol’s development shows a slight slowdown in the pace of upgrades during Q2, despite the migration to versions v22 and v23 in May and the implementation of v24 in early June. The six weeks following v24’s deployment passed without major clarification on v25 until the recent announcement.

The Pi Network team’s announcement of the July 22 deadline for Protocol v25 provides a concrete target for the next phase of network development. The stated goals of enhancing stability and smart contract capabilities are key objectives for the project. However, the ongoing volatility of the PI token’s price highlights the complex relationship between technical development and market speculation in the cryptocurrency space. Whether the v25 upgrade will offer any sustained relief to the PI token’s price remains to be seen.

Why This Matters

The materials describe a narrow update: The Pi Network Core Team announced that Protocol v25 is scheduled to be completed by July 22, focusing on network stability, reliability, and enhanced smart contract capabilities. Whether the upcoming v25 upgrade will provide relief for the PI token’s price.

Broader Context

Source materials place the factual news in this context: Pi Network’s team has been trying to improve the overall ecosystem for months.

Jesse Pollak is stepping down from his role leading the Base App, shifting his focus to developing the Base blockchain as a platform for global finance. Leadership of the Base App will return to Coinbase, with Jordan Fish, also known as Cobie, set to take over its development.

Pollak acknowledged on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday that his previous strategy for the Base App, which centered on on-chain social experiences and creator coins, did not achieve the anticipated adoption. He stated that prediction markets, perpetuals, and stablecoins emerged as more effective drivers of user engagement for the Base network.

“The entire social side of the market that many of us had been building towards—Farcaster, Zora, miniapps, and yes, creator coins—disintegrated completely,” Pollak wrote. He admitted, “Whether it was timing wrong…or fully wrong, only time will tell, but regardless, I was definitively wrong.”

Base, launched in 2023, is Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network designed to facilitate faster and cheaper on-chain transactions. In 2025, Coinbase expanded the ecosystem with the Base App, which rebranded Coinbase Wallet into a comprehensive platform integrating crypto trading, social networking, messaging, AI tools, and creator monetization.

Why This Matters

This strategic pivot signifies a re-evaluation of Base’s product strategy, moving away from a social-centric approach towards more established financial use cases. Pollak’s acknowledgment that his prior strategy did not achieve expected adoption, coupled with the shift in focus to trading, payments, and AI agents, highlights a significant change in Base’s direction. The transition in leadership and focus underscores Base’s evolving direction within the blockchain landscape, aiming to become a blockchain for global finance.

Leadership Transition and Future Development

Pollak indicated that Cobie’s development of the Base App might diverge from his own preferences as the leader of Base, stating that Cobie will expand the app beyond the Base ecosystem in ways that Pollak “won’t love as the leader of Base.” He added, “we welcome the competition and believe it’s our duty to win the respect and commitment of those who rally to our banner.”

Pollak’s future efforts will be dedicated to growing Base as a blockchain for global finance, with the long-term ambition of making it the platform where the world’s money settles over the next century. For the remainder of 2026, Base’s priorities are set to include trading, payments, and AI agents.

Broader Context

Source materials place the factual news in this context: Base is Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network, built to make on-chain transactions faster and cheaper while serving as the foundation for Ethereum-based decentralized applications.