Episode 420
📍 Ethereum's 'Pectra' upgrade is set to begin testing on the Holesky testnet on February 26 and Sepolia testnet on March 5, with a potential mainnet release in early April.
📍 The Pectra upgrade includes eight major improvements to the Ethereum blockchain, focusing on wallets and validators, such as EIP-7702, which enhances user experience, and EIP-7251, which increases staking limits for validators.
📍 Meanwhile, Sony's blockchain platform Soneium has launched its first music NFT collection, and the Czech Republic has eliminated taxes on long-term crypto gains, exempting users from paying taxes on assets held for over three years.
📍 Ondo Finance has revealed plans to launch its own Layer 1 blockchain, Ondo Chain, designed for institutional-grade real-world assets, with design advisors including Franklin Templeton and Google Cloud.
📍 The Czech Republic's central bank is also considering adding bitcoin to its reserves, despite European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde's skepticism about EU central banks adopting the cryptocurrency.
