🇦🇷 Buenos Aires Ready

Ethereum's weekly All Core Developer calls generate significant discussion that can be challenging to follow. A new **"Checkpoint" series** addresses this by providing: - High-level updates every 4-6 weeks - Digestible summaries of core development progress - Regular tracking of important protocol changes The series aims to make Ethereum's technical development more accessible to the broader community by condensing complex developer discussions into manageable updates.

**Ethereum privacy is set for a breakthrough in 2026**, driven by enterprise demand for confidential blockchain transactions. **Why enterprises need privacy:** - Companies won't move critical operations onchain without privacy guarantees - Business deal terms and payment details are highly sensitive information - Current blockchain transparency exposes competitive data **Two key privacy requirements:** - Payment & transfer privacy for money movement - Contract terms privacy for deal details **Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) are the solution** - they prove transactions are valid without revealing details. **Major progress achieved:** - EY reports **1,000x efficiency improvement** since 2018 - Transaction costs dropped from $100 to $0.05 in gas fees - Multiple Layer 2 privacy networks emerging: Aztec, COTI, Miden, Nightfall **Timeline expectations:** - Complex private transactions will be cost-efficient within 18-24 months - Privacy networks currently in testnet phase - 2026 predicted as the golden year for Ethereum privacy **Important distinction:** Privacy ≠ anonymity. The goal is protecting business data from competitors, not hiding from regulators. With $2.2 billion stolen in crypto hacks during 2024, privacy-by-default solutions are becoming essential for mass adoption.

**Key Ethereum Developments:** - Pectra upgrade live with smart account features and 2x L2 capacity - Stripe launches stablecoin accounts in 101 countries - Uniswap reaches $3T all-time swap volume - Multiple L2s reach Stage 1: Base, Kinto, Scroll, and Starknet **Technical Achievements:** - ZKSync achieves full EVM equivalence - SuccinctLabs/RiscZero reduces block proving to 12s - Aztec launches public testnet for private L2 **Adoption Highlights:** - Coinbase integrates Farcaster social - AAVE partners with ANT for RWA marketplace - WorldID verifies 12.5M humans on L2 - MorphoLabs hits $1B TVL on Base

Microsoft Fabric users can now access Ethereum blockchain data through Space and Time's integration. This development marks a significant step in enterprise blockchain adoption. - The integration enables direct querying of Ethereum on-chain data - Space and Time, operating on ZKsync Chain, provides ZK-verified data - Enterprise users can now access trustless, queryable blockchain data for business analytics This collaboration bridges the gap between traditional enterprise systems and blockchain technology, making Web3 data more accessible to mainstream businesses.