Madhugiri Hard Fork on the Polygon Network
The Polygon team has implemented the Madhugiri protocol upgrade, which aims to increase network throughput by 33% and reduce consensus time to one second.
The hard fork implements three Ethereum improvement proposals (EIP-7823, 7825, and 7883), limiting gas consumption for resource-intensive operations and reducing the load on heavy transactions. A new communication type has also been added for the bridge between Ethereum and Polygon, making the architecture more flexible for future upgrades.
The upgrade strengthens the technical foundation for stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets. The head of payments at Polygon Labs called these changes an important step in preparing for a "stablecoin supercycle," emphasizing the network's importance for high-frequency financial transactions.
wXRP to Launch on Ethereum and Solana
Custody service Hex Trust has introduced a wrapped wXRP token, pegged 1:1 to the base XRP. This solution allows the asset to be used outside the XRP Ledger network—on Ethereum, Solana, Optimism, and HyperEVM. The list of supported blockchains is planned to expand in the future.
wXRP will be traded against Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin. Automated market makers will be able to create and redeem the token in a compliant environment.
Each wXRP is backed by real XRP held in custody. Users will be able to exchange the wrapped version for the original and earn through compatible decentralized platforms. The initial TVL will be $100 million, ensuring initial liquidity and stable pricing.
Zcash Developers Propose a Dynamic Fee System
Zcash developers have proposed introducing dynamic fees to avoid network congestion and rising transaction costs as the price of ZEC rises. Currently, fees are fixed, making attacks through cheap transactions possible.
The ZIP-317 update partially addressed this issue, but fees remain low. With the high price of ZEC, even simple anonymization can cost tens of tokens.
The new system will calculate fees based on the median value of recent blocks, round up amounts to protect privacy, and enable a temporary priority channel with increased fees during network congestion.
The mechanism is planned to be implemented in stages: first, testing, then widespread discussion and eventual adoption at the protocol level.
A Solo BTC Miner Earned $284,661
A solo miner with a hashrate of 270 TH/s mined block #927,474 and received 3,133 BTC (approximately $284,661), including a $689 fee. CKPool administrator Kol Kolivas estimated the odds of such a success at 1 in 30,000 per day.
This marks the 311th time a solo miner connected to CKPool has mined a block and received the full reward (the pool retains 2%). In November, another user with just 6 TH/s hashrate also mined a block and earned over $260,000, which Kolivas called extremely lucky.
Tether Wants to Buy Juventus Football Club
Tether has submitted a mandatory offer to acquire a controlling stake in Juventus Football Club from its majority owner, Exor Holdings, which holds 65.4% of the capital. The transaction is to be fully settled in cash. Tether already owns 10% of the club's shares and has expressed a desire to acquire the remainder. The company expressed admiration for the Juventus brand and is willing to invest up to €1 billion in the team's development. The company emphasized its financial strength: its net profit for the first nine months of 2025 exceeded $10 billion.
It's Been 15 Years Since Satoshi Nakamoto's Disappearance
On December 12, 2010, Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, left his final message on the BitcoinTalk forum. In it, he presented the update to version 0.3.19 and discussed protecting the network from DoS attacks.
Since then, Nakamoto's identity has remained a mystery. HBO's recent attempt to solve the mystery in the film "Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery" concluded with the claim that Peter Todd was the author—a claim he categorically denied.
In the 15 years since Nakamoto's disappearance, Bitcoin has grown from a technical experiment into a global financial asset with a market capitalization of approximately $1.8 trillion.
