ChainCatcher news, Ethereum Layer2 scaling solution Starknet officially launches its crypto staking feature, becoming the first Ethereum L2 network to support users earning rewards through staking tokens. Users holding at least 20,000 STRK (approximately $12,000) can become validators, staking their assets as collateral to validate transactions and earn rewards; users holding less than 20,000 STRK can delegate their tokens to validators for staking.Users must wait 21 days to stake and retrieve their tokens, including the rewards generated during the staking period. Meanwhile, Bitwise Asset Management announced that it will operate a public validator node for STRK holders to delegate staking and provide independent validator services for institutional clients.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Zerion has launched its Ethereum Layer 2 network ZERO Network, allowing Zerion Wallet users to be exempt from Gas fees when trading, minting, exchanging, and cross-chain transactions.ZERO Network is built on ZKsync technology and is part of the Elastic Chain ecosystem, utilizing a dynamic scoring system "Onchain DNA" to assess whether an address qualifies for Gas-free transactions.Zerion also announced that it has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from angel investors, including Cooper Turley, Spencer Noon, Yearn chief developer Banteg, Alex Gluchowski, Patricio Worthalter, and NBA player Duncan Robinson. According to the project, angel investors from companies such as Lido, Daylight, Celestia, ETHGlobal, and OpenSea also participated.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, OKX Ventures has announced an investment in Corn, marking an important step in introducing Bitcoin applications within the Ethereum ecosystem. Corn is based on Arbitrum and integrates support from Coinbase, enabling BTC holders to easily access the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem. Through a unique, secure, and sustainable approach, Corn maximizes the potential of Bitcoin and has achieved several significant milestones, such as becoming the first Ethereum L2 network to use hybrid tokenized Bitcoin (BTCN) as Gas fees, and also the first network to implement Bitcoin security guarantees through Babylon, supporting BTC LST liquidity.At the core of Corn's innovation is BTCN, a hybrid tokenized Bitcoin supported 1:1 by native BTC. This unique model allows BTC holders to use BTC to pay Gas fees within the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem, preserving the core value of Bitcoin. Users can easily cross-chain their BTC to the Ethereum ecosystem with just one click.The ecosystem development of the Corn network is driven by its CORN token (popCORN) staking program, allowing community members to direct earnings towards ecological applications. This approach ensures sustainable growth of the network and incentivizes community members to actively participate in the network's development.

According to ChainCatcher news and L2BEAT data, the current total locked value of the Ethereum Layer 2 network is $36.33 billion, down 4.84% over the past 7 days. The top five in locked value are: Arbitrum One ($13.36 billion, down 2.87% over the past 7 days); Base ($7.53 billion, down 4.75% over the past 7 days); OP Mainnet ($5.9 billion, down 7.68% over the past 7 days); Mantle ($1.35 billion, down 5.84% over the past 7 days); Blast ($1.32 billion, down 8.6% over the past 7 days).

ChainCatcher news, according to L2BEAT data, the current total locked value of the Ethereum Layer 2 network is $38.87 billion, with a 7-day increase of 8.26%. The top five in locked value are: Arbitrum One ($15.84 billion, 7-day increase of 7%); Base ($6.54 billion, 7-day increase of 6.3%); OP Mainnet ($6.13 billion, 7-day increase of 11.22%); Blast ($1.77 billion, 7-day increase of 2.52%); Mantle ($1.26 billion, 7-day increase of 6.11%).

ChainCatcher news, according to Coindesk, Japanese giant Sony Group and Singapore's Startale Labs announced on Friday that they will launch a new Layer 2 network called Soneium on the Ethereum blockchain. Soneium is expected to go live on the test network in the coming days, utilizing Optimism Rollup technology and built using the OP Stack of the Optimism blockchain ecosystem.It is reported that the CEO of Startale Labs is Sota Watanabe, who is also the head of Sony Block Solutions Labs and a co-founder of Astar Network.

ChainCatcher news, according to L2BEAT data, the current total locked value of the Ethereum Layer 2 network is $36.04 billion, with a 3.34% decrease over the past seven days.The top five in locked value are: Arbitrum One ($14.78 billion, 7-day decrease of 2.34%); Base ($6.1 billion, 7-day decrease of 4.16%); OP Mainnet ($5.51 billion, 7-day decrease of 4.3%); Blast ($1.74 billion, 7-day decrease of 4.12%); Mantle ($1.19 billion, 7-day decrease of 0.16%).

ChainCatcher news, according to L2BEAT data, the current total locked value of Ethereum Layer 2 networks is $38.67 billion, down 10.03% in the last 7 days.The top five locked values are: Arbitrum One ($15.66 billion, down 8.36% in the last 7 days); Base ($6.46 billion, down 9.24% in the last 7 days); OP Mainnet ($5.79 billion, down 10.16% in the last 7 days); Blast ($2.01 billion, down 12.36% in the last 7 days); Mantle ($1.23 billion, down 5.91% in the last 7 days).

ChainCatcher message, according to L2BEAT data, the current total locked value of the Ethereum Layer 2 network is $42.74 billion, down 5.76% over the past 7 days. The top five locked values are: Arbitrum One ($17 billion, down 5.21% over the past 7 days); Base ($7.08 billion, down 4.96% over the past 7 days); OP Mainnet ($6.41 billion, down 6.29% over the past 7 days); Blast ($2.29 billion, down 13.35% over the past 7 days); Scroll ($1.31 billion, up 2.53% over the past 7 days).

ChainCatcher news indicates that the Ethereum Layer 2 network ZkSync is expected to conduct an airdrop at the end of June. It is reported that ZkSync posted on the X platform stating that it plans to "hand over governance" by the end of June. The upcoming v24 upgrade will be the last upgrade before the network governance is transferred to the community, and the "remaining missing parts" are expected to be in place by the end of June.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, Frax has now integrated with the Ethereum Layer 2 network Scroll, allowing users to exchange Frax assets on Sushiswap on Scroll. This integration is achieved through Axelar Network.

According to ChainCatcher news, data from Fjord Foundry shows that the Ethereum Layer 2 network LightLink has raised $5.28 million through a liquidity bootstrapping pool (LBP). Trading on CEX and DEX will begin on April 24 at 8 AM (UTC). Deposits are now open.According to the crypto data platform RootData, LightLink completed a $1.7 million extended seed round financing in April this year, led by MH Ventures and NxGen. The total amount raised in LightLink's seed round financing has reached $6.2 million, and the new funds will help the company continue to build a Web3 ecosystem for enterprise partners and improve proprietary technology to enable users to achieve gasless transactions.

ChainCatcher news, HashKey Group announced the launch of the Ethereum Layer2 network HashKey Chain on platform X.It is reported that HashKey Chain utilizes ZK-proof zero-knowledge proof technology, aiming to provide users with low-cost, efficient, and developer-friendly on-chain solutions, and will incentivize ecosystem contributors through HSK.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, OKX Ventures announced additional investment in the Ethereum Layer 2 network Taiko. Taiko is a decentralized Type-1 ZK-EVM. Since 2022, Taiko has been at the forefront of innovation, successfully conducting six testnets, with over 1,100,000 unique wallets, more than 30,000 proposers, and over 14,000 validators. There are more than 850,000 active community members on Discord, supporting over 100 real-time applications. Taiko plays a key role in scaling Ethereum and building a decentralized, permissionless, and secure Layer 2 architecture.Dora, the founder of OKX Ventures, stated that it is an honor to participate in the A round financing of the Ethereum Layer 2 network based on zkRollup—Taiko. So far, we have participated in two rounds of financing for Taiko and congratulate Taiko on its growth over the past year. Taiko continues to adhere to its original goal of building a fully decentralized network with decentralized sequencers and validators, allowing developers to leverage the powerful capabilities of Ethereum L1 without any modifications to existing dApps when deploying to the Taiko network. Taiko will launch its mainnet in the first half of 2024, entering the next milestone and ushering in explosive growth for its ecosystem.

ChainCatcher news, the Mint testnet of the Ethereum NFT Layer 2 network under NFTScan will launch on February 28, and the first 30 partners of the Mint blockchain ecosystem will also be announced.

ChainCatcher news, according to Dune data, the total number of accounts created on the Ethereum Layer 2 network Arbitrum is 14.054 million, with approximately 13.53 million active accounts, accounting for about 96.2%. In addition, the total number of transactions on the Arbitrum chain has reached approximately 515 million, and the number of contracts created on the chain has exceeded 4.233 million.

ChainCatcher news, Trust Wallet announced the integration of the Ethereum Layer 2 network Mantle mainnet. This integration introduces two features: it allows users to connect with various DApps available on the Mantle mainnet through Trust Wallet; Trust Wallet supports sending, receiving, and managing the native Mantle token MNT.

ChainCatcher message, as OKX announces the launch of the X1 testnet in collaboration with Polygon Labs, the multi-chain explorer OKLink has announced that it is the first official browser to support X1, providing aggregated support for Ethereum Layer 2 networks. Users can conveniently query real-time data across multiple dimensions such as total transaction volume, large transactions, and average Gas price at https://www.oklink.com/cn/x1-test.Currently, OKLink provides query support for a total of 34 chains, including Polygon zkEVM, Scroll, Base, and has recently announced long-term support for data queries from Avalanche users. According to the official website, OKLink offers token authorization queries, address monitoring and analysis tools, bytecode decompilation, and various on-chain thematic statistics such as developer tools and API incentive programs, as well as a centralized institution asset ranking. It also plans to integrate more public chains and Layer 2 platforms to provide leading and efficient on-chain data services for global Web3 users.

According to L2BEAT data, the TVL of Ethereum Layer 2 networks is currently $12 billion, with a 7-day increase of 9.85%. Among them, the TVL of the Arbitrum One network is $6.63 billion, with a 7-day increase of 10.78%; the TVL of the OP Mainnet network is $3 billion, with a 7-day increase of 9.44%; the TVL of the zkSync Era network is $463 million, with a 7-day increase of 15.45%; and the TVL of the Scroll network is $25.13 million, with a 7-day increase of 72.42%.

ChainCatcher news, the Polkadot ecosystem smart contract platform Astar Network has partnered with Polygon Labs to launch the Ethereum Layer 2 network Astar zkEVM. Astar stated that with the launch of Astar zkEVM, Astar Network will expand its cross-chain capabilities, aiming to become a gateway connecting the Ethereum and Polkadot ecosystems.It is reported that the Astar zkEVM testnet is planned to launch in the fourth quarter of this year, with sETH serving as the Gas token on the testnet.