Welcome to Protocol, a weekly rap of Coindesk’s most important story in cryptocurrency technology development. I am Margaux Nickelk, a reporter for Coindsk.
In this issue:
- Jump Crypto’s FireDancer developer pushes Solana towards a bigger block
- Luke Dashjr denies hard fork claims as the bitcoin governance debate heats up
- UN: Experiments at Pension Funds Prove Blockchain as the “ultimate” identity technology
- Gate will deploy the token launcher “Gate Fan” on the new Layer 2 network
Network News
FireDancer Devs suggests removing block-level computing unit limits. With a bold shift in Solana’s scaling roadmap, Jump Crypto’s Firedancer Development team submits a proposal known as SIMD-0370 and removes block-level unit of calculation limits. Changes proposed by the team after the deployment of the Alpenglow upgrade could unlock the new regime of throughput by having block producers have larger blocks. In today’s design, each block is surrounded by a maximum allowed computing unit, safety measures, and maximum workload to ensure that the baller is not overwhelmed. Currently, Solana has a limit of 60 million computing units. Earlier this year, another group of Solana Core developers submitted a paper claiming it would raise the limit to 100 million units. However, with the upcoming Alpenglow upgrade, some developers say CAP is no longer needed. And if that cap is lifted, the block can fit as many transactions as possible, depending on how well the variator performs. Supporters say this flexibility could make Solana more resilient during periods of high demand, such as launching new tokens and defi activity spikes. A larger block means that more transactions can pass, reducing the kind of crowding and failed transactions that irritate users. Still, there is no specific difference for the end users as there is a debate that Solana’s blocks aren’t full today. – Margaux nijkerk read more.
Bitcoin Dev doubles the denial of hard forks: The debate over the future of Bitcoin is nothing new, but this week the debate took a more sharp edge. One of Bitcoin’s longtime developers has been at the heart of a storm about immutability, censorship, and the meaning of “saving” protocols. The controversy escalated on September 25th following an article published by Rage revealing that Luke Dashjr, a maintainer of the Bitcoin Knots software, has proposed a hard fork that installs a trusted multi-sig committee with the power to retroactively modify the blockchain, review transactions, and remove illegal content. Blockchain hard forks are permanent divergence from previous versions of blockchain software, and because new and older versions are not compatible, all participants must upgrade to the new protocol. The film allegedly claimed a leaked text message that Dashjr allegedly warned him that “Bitcoin is dead or you have to trust someone.” The story expands to X, bringing out hundreds of thousands of perspectives and strengthening the long-term philosophical lift. If Bitcoin remains a neutral payments tier, or developers should actively filter what counts as legitimate use of the network. Dashjr has completely rejected the claim. “The truth is that I’m not proposing anything like a hard fork. These bad actors are just keeping track of the straw to slander me and undermine my efforts to save Bitcoin again,” he writes. Anger responded with memes about the effectiveness of requiring that the story be known to know who sent the leaked message that it shared. Dashjr repeated his position over and over the next 24 hours. “No, nothing will change. No one is still looking for a hard fork,” he posted. In another reply, he emphasized, “There are no hard forks.” – Jamie Crowley read more.
Undouble on Blockchain: The United Nations relied on blockchain technology to overhaul its own pension system, and research into the process concluded that innovation is the “ultimate technology for digital identity verification.” The UN, which has been investigating the use of various blockchains over the years, has tried it with the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF), according to a white paper released this week. In collaboration with the Hyperledger Foundation, UN “sought to globally improve and protect the UN pension process by incorporating blockchain-supported digital identification infrastructure into production.” The United Nations Pension Fund was working with a 70-year-old system to identify beneficiaries in 190 countries. Documents show that errors and abuse are prone to occur, resulting in around 1,400 payment suspensions each year. So the organization has moved to blockchain-driven digital authentication, starting with its pilot program in 2020 and implementation in 2021. “The migration from physical documents has significantly reduced the processing time previously spent receiving, opening, scanning and archiving paper documents,” the paper states. – Jesse Hamilton read more.
Gate Rollout Token Launcher: Crypto Exchange Gate has announced Gate Fun, an on-chain platform that allows users to issue and trade tokens without coding. The platform runs on a gate layer and builds the company’s recently launched Layer-2 network based on the OP stack. GATE claims that users can create tokens within a minute by paying a small gasoline fee with GT, the network’s native token. Like the popular token launcher pump, token parameters such as name, symbols and initial purchase options can be customized via the one-click interface. Gate Fun can be accessed through Web3 wallets such as Metamask and Gate’s own account system. Tokens launched on the platform can be traded across multiple gate products, including Gate Alpha, Meme Go, and Swap. – Oliver Night read more.
In other news
- The Strategy (MSTR) lists second quarter profits in succession thanks to the rising price of Bitcoin. This will once again qualify for the S&P 500’s potential inclusion qualification. According to Strive’s Chief Risk Officer Jeff Walton, the strategy will win around $2.9 billion, or $10 per share, with the move from about 107,000 levels of Bitcoin to $114,000 at the end of the quarter. Over the past four quarters, MSTR has earned around $22.80 per share. This analytical factor is estimated to be $970 million deferred tax liability and net income is estimated at $2.9 billion. The analysis concludes with an estimated 12-month earnings (EPS) per share of $22.8, reflecting third-quarter positive EPS and third-quarter positive EPS ($32.6 and $10.1 respectively). James Van Stratten read more.
- Swiss Digital Asset Bank Sygnum has launched a new investment vehicle designed to generate Bitcoin yields without reducing investor exposure to price movements. Developed in partnership with Athens-based Starboard Digital, the BTC Alpha Fund uses an arbitrage strategy to target net annual revenues of 8%-10% paid directly in Bitcoin. The fund is resident in the Cayman Islands and caters to professional and institutional investors. By converting the arbitrage increase to Bitcoin, participants can increase the number of coins they hold, while benefiting from the long-term price increase of Bitcoin. Sygnum said the product has already attracted strong interest from clients looking for system-grade yield options for digital assets. This fund is because institutional investors aim to hold Bitcoin in their portfolios and use diversified finance (DEFI) to generate more income from holdings of BTC. Bitcoin Defi could become popular and open up a massive market, according to analysts. – Ian Allison read more.
Regulation and policy
- The White House retracted the nomination of former commodity futures trading commissioner Brian Quintz late Tuesday to run the agency, closing the month-long battle in which President Donald Trump chose to chair the agency. Trump hit Quintenz shortly after taking office. Quintenz has been an advisor to companies like Kalshi in the forecast market since joining the global policy director for venture company Andreessen Horowitz and leaving CFTC following his term as commissioner. – Nikhilesh read more.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission is breaking the door to welcome crypto custody with a wide range of companies that have acquired state charters as trust companies, a list that includes Coinbase, Kraken and other high profile names trust affiliates. The SEC’s investment management department issued a so-called non-action letter on Tuesday. This is a document that ensures that regulators do not pursue enforcement actions by those engaged in certain activities. – Jesse Hamilton read more.
calendar
- October 1st-2: Token2049, Singapore
- October 13th-15th: Digital Assets Summit, London
- October 16th-17th: European Blockchain Convention, Barcelona
- November 17th-22nd: DevConnect, Buenos Aires
- December 11th-13th: Solana Breakpoint, Abu Dhabi
- February 10-12, 2026: Consensus, Hong Kong
- February 17-21, 2026: Denver, Estenber
- March 30th – April. 2: Ethcc, Cannes
- May 5-7, 2026: Miami, Consensus
