Ethereum Foundation & StarkWare Leaders to Discuss Scaling and DeFi

**tBTC**, a new Bitcoin bridge solution, has officially launched on Starknet and is now available through Ekubo Protocol. The integration will soon expand to Vesu platform as well. This follows Braavos' earlier Bitcoin bridging solution that enables: - One-click BTC to Starknet bridging - Automatic WBTC wrapping - Direct vault deposits These developments mark significant progress in making Bitcoin assets more productive within the Starknet ecosystem.

A Starknet-based application has achieved a significant milestone by ranking higher than established Web2 platforms including Airbnb, Uber, Strava, and Booking.com. This success demonstrates the potential of combining Web3 functionality with user-friendly Web2 interfaces. Key developments: - Focus Tree app onboarded 1M+ users with zero gas fees - Over 80k users migrated onchain - Total cost: $220 for 170k transactions - Average transaction cost: $0.001348 Karnot xyz has implemented L3 integration on Starknet, enabling seamless L2<>L3 interactions without bridges or network switching requirements. *Next milestone*: Realms Eternum to showcase onchain gaming capabilities on Starknet.

Starknet introduces major staking updates with two key features: - **Block Attestation**: Validators must now attest to randomly selected blocks during epochs. Only active validators receive rewards, with delegators affected by validator performance. - **Commission Changes**: Validators can set Maximum Commission Commitments with: - Locked maximum cap - Time-locked increases (up to 1 year) *Implementation Timeline*: - Phase 2 launches next week on Mainnet - Phase 3 planned for year-end This makes Starknet the first L2 to evolve its consensus mechanism while live in production.

Starknet has announced a significant architectural decision: all user accounts will be smart contracts by default. This approach builds on their foundational elements: - Native Account Abstraction built into protocol - Integration with Ethereum and Bitcoin - Powered by CairoVM and STARK proofs - Focus on Web2-level user experience This design choice enables advanced functionality for all users without additional complexity. The smart contract-based accounts allow for programmable transaction logic, enhanced security features, and greater flexibility in account management. *Key Benefit*: Users get sophisticated features without sacrificing simplicity.

Starknet is advancing its position as a key infrastructure player for onchain AI applications. The platform offers: - Full onchain computation capabilities - Support for compute-heavy applications - User-friendly development environment - Comprehensive frameworks and tools - Dedicated support programs Recent developments show practical applications, with Giza and Haiko creating a verifiable AI agent for automated liquidity management. This combines zkLM technology with AI agents to improve user experience while maintaining trustless operations. Learn more at [Starknet's AI Initiative](https://www.starknet.io/verifiable-ai-agents/)