Weekly Recap: Key Shifts and Milestones Across the Crypto Ecosystem

The first week of July brought notable advancements in crypto infrastructure, governance, and trading.

According to Wu Blockchain, major ecosystems such as Ethereum, Polygon, and Hyperliquid unveiled new initiatives, while DAO governance and real-world asset investment strategies took center stage. Below is a full breakdown of this week’s most important developments.

Ethereum Community Foundation launches to support non-tokenized infrastructure

Ethereum core developer Zak Cole announced the formation of the Ethereum Community Foundation (ECF), which aims to fund “token-less” public goods and real-world asset initiatives. The foundation will prioritize projects like on-chain tokenization of stocks and real estate, along with core infrastructure fixes—such as correcting blob space pricing inefficiencies—to strengthen ETH’s long-term value.

WLFI token may soon trade as World Liberty Financial votes on proposal

The World Liberty Financial community, a project associated with the Trump family, has submitted a proposal to make its $WLFI token publicly tradable. If passed, tokens held by early supporters would be unlocked, though core team and advisor allocations would remain locked. The community is also voting on future token distribution and incentive models.

Polygon and GSR introduce Katana, a curated DeFi Layer-2 on Ethereum

Polygon Labs and crypto trading firm GSR jointly launched Katana, an Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain focused on sustainable DeFi yields. Katana uses a centralized application selection process and the VaultBridge protocol to redirect user assets into Morpho lending pools, aiming to reduce inflationary risks while offering low-risk, steady returns.

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SonicCS 2.0 doubles consensus speed, slashes memory usage by 68%

Sonic Research released SonicCS 2.0, a major consensus upgrade using a DAG framework and SIMD parallelization. Over 200 mainnet epochs, the upgrade demonstrated 2x faster speeds and 68% lower memory requirements. The team plans to integrate it into client software and publish detailed technical documentation.

Hyperliquid surpasses $1.5 trillion in trading volume

Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid reached a significant milestone with $1.571 trillion in perpetual futures volume over the past year. The protocol generated $56 million in fees in June alone, pushing its total cumulative revenue to $310 million—outpacing the combined volume of all other on-chain perpetual trading platforms.

Ondo and Pantera unveil $250 million fund for RWA tokenization

Ondo Finance and Pantera Capital announced a joint $250 million fund called Catalyst to support real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. The fund will invest in both equity and tokens, prioritizing projects that enable automated on-chain rebalancing and expand institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure for tokenized financial assets.

Jupiter’s Core Working Group dissolves, returns 4.5M $JUP to treasury

Jupiter DAO’s Core Working Group (CWG) formally disbanded after fulfilling its initial mandate. The team returned 4.5 million vested $JUP tokens to the DAO treasury. Some members, including Morten, will join the main Jupiter team, while others will contribute individually to DAO 2.0 restructuring efforts.

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PancakeSwap v3 liquidity pools now live on Solana

PancakeSwap has officially deployed its v3 liquidity pools on the Solana mainnet, supporting assets such as BONK, PYUSD, and EURC. With fee shares as high as 84% for LPs and transaction fees as low as 0.01%, the DEX posted record-breaking $325 billion in June volume and $529 billion for Q2 2025, lifting its lifetime volume above $1.8 trillion.

Lido passes dual-governance proposal empowering stETH holders

Lido DAO approved a dual-governance mechanism giving stETH holders veto power over decisions made by LDO holders. The system includes time-locked delays and a critical “angry exit” clause that halts proposals if 10% of total value is locked. Launched on July 4, the mechanism has been endorsed by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Sky’s execution vote enables SPK mining and upgrade rollout

Sky announced the approval of a new execution vote enabling SPK mining for SKY stakers and USDS suppliers, while also pushing forward the MKR-to-SKY upgrade. The changes will be deployed starting June 30, with a full rollout and formal announcement expected soon.

Conclusion

From Ethereum’s non-token funding push to Hyperliquid’s dominance in trading and new governance models at Lido and Sky, this week reflected the crypto industry’s continued evolution. As highlighted by Wu Blockchain, these initiatives point to growing institutional interest, DeFi maturity, and deeper integration of real-world assets into on-chain systems. The second half of 2025 is already shaping up to be pivotal for the next phase of adoption and innovation.

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Kosta Gushterov

Kosta has been working in the crypto industry for over 4 years. He strives to present different perspectives on a given topic and enjoys the sector for its transparency and dynamism. In his work, he focuses on balanced coverage of events and developments in the crypto space, providing information to his readers from a neutral perspective.