In this week\\\'s issue of The Protocol, our newsletter on blockchain tech, we\\\'re covering the Optimism\\\'s $42.5M token pledge to Kraken, crypto VC funding, grants for Bitcoin open-source developers, and Polymarket\\\'s (negligible) impact on Polygon\\\'s bottom line.

Termina, the SVM-as-a-Service platform by Nitro Labs, has raised a $4 million seed funding round, led by Lemniscap. [NOTE: SVM stands for Solana Virtual Machine — the operating environment for smart c

Some $350 million notional value of November call options traded on CME with a breakeven bitcoin price of nearly $80,000, anticipating a rally next month, one analyst noted.

With regulatory certainty, the national security benefits of digital assets and blockchain technology will grow exponentially, say four national security experts.

The T-REX 2X long MSTR Daily Target ETF (MSTU) has rallied 235% since its introduction six weeks ago, an annualized equivalent return of 57,000%, according to Bloomberg analysis.

As much as a third of the prediction market\\\'s volume is inflated by traders buying and selling the same shares repeatedly, Fortune reported, citing blockchain researchers. They could be doing it to farm a future airdropped token.

Instead of parsing the Howey test, founders should prioritize making tokens useful and fair, say Jake Chervinsky and Rebecca Rettig.

Creator Or Dadosh says Venn creates a \\\"completely new economy\\\" for crypto security.

Florida\\\'s chief financial officer proposed that the funds that support retired state workers should dabble in crypto, inspired by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump\\\'s support for the U.S. government stockpiling bitcoin {{BTC}}.

Ether {{ETH}} is primed for a period of upside price action after underperforming against bitcoin {{BTC}} in recent weeks. Skeptics have claimed that the emergence of layer-2 networks has seen Ethereum fall out of favor among DeFi traders, but the data tells a different story.

The crypto industry faces the next big risk on the way to a maturing asset class: irrelevance, says Ilan Solot.

Public blockchains — with their open architecture and unrestricted participation — are set to drive the next wave of financial innovation just as the internet did for communication and commerce, says Markus Infanger.

Customers of payments giant Visa can now integrate their eligible debit card into their Coinbase accounts and deposit funds, at times instantly, the two firms announced on Tuesday.

BOB\\\'s aim is to create bridges between itself and layer-1 blockchains like Ethereum, with the ultimate goal of making Bitcoin the center of DeFi. Its decision adds to the critical mass of blockchain developers choosing to build on Optimism\\\'s OP Stack.

The firm\\\'s founders, who have worked in the blockchain space for years, are using crypto to incentivize an army of people who can earn from labeling data for AI models.