Ethereum's EIP-4844 Upgrade Enhances Data Availability

**Three years ago today**, Ethereum completed The Merge - its historic transition from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. **Key achievements:** - Energy consumption reduced by ~99.99% - Foundation established for future scalability improvements - Network security maintained through validator staking The upgrade marked a pivotal moment in blockchain technology, demonstrating that major networks can successfully transition to more sustainable consensus mechanisms. [Learn more about The Merge](https://ethereum.org/roadmap/merge/)

**Focus Tree**, a new productivity app, has launched on Starknet to help students maintain focus during study sessions. The app combines several key features: - **Timer-based focus sessions** that block distracting apps like TikTok and Instagram - **Community elements** for social accountability - **Digital rewards and NFTs** for completing sessions - **Virtual garden growth** as users progress Built on Ethereum's Layer 2 solution Starknet, Focus Tree aims to make productivity **open, social, and user-owned** through web3 integration. The app has shown strong early adoption with **65k unique active wallets** and consistent activity above 60k users in recent periods, making it one of the top traffic drivers on the Starknet network. Focus Tree represents a practical application of blockchain technology in the education and productivity space, gamifying study habits while giving users ownership of their achievements.

**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.

A new 'Checkpoint' series has been introduced to provide condensed updates from Ethereum's weekly All Core Developer calls. - Series will cover 4-5 calls per update - Focus on high-level development progress - Aims to make technical discussions more accessible The initiative comes as Ethereum continues to evolve, with recent discussions including the Dencun upgrade coordination among core developers. *Follow the Checkpoint series to stay informed about Ethereum's technical development without getting overwhelmed by weekly details.*