Introduction
This report summarizes a series of important events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space in February 2025, which not only show the activity of the crypto market, but also contain trends for future developments; However, the occurrence of a number of security incidents, such as hacker attacks on exchanges and exploitation of smart contract vulnerabilities, once again warns industry participants to attach great importance to security risks and strengthen technical protection and risk management. Key developments include the increase of Ethereum Gas to nearly 32 million units, the launch of Ondo Chain, a Layer 1 public chain, Ondo Chain, the launch of Etherscan’s on-chain address credit scoring feature, the launch of SIMD-96 on Solana, the launch of Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM mainnet, the theft of approximately $1.5 billion in ETH from the Bybit exchange, the official release of StakeStone’s whitepaper, MetaMask supports Bitcoin and Solana, and introduces smart contract accounts.
Summary
- Ethereum raised its gas cap for the first time in three years, to nearly 32 million units
- Ondo Finance launched Ondo Chain, a Layer 1 public chain
- Etherscan launches on-chain address credit scoring feature
- SIMD-96 is now live on Solana, and validators receive the full priority fee
- Hyperliquid launches HyperEVM mainnet
- Bybit was hacked, and about $1.5 billion in ETH was stolen
- StakeStone has officially released its white paper
- MetaMask released a new roadmap to support Bitcoin and Solana, and introduced smart contract accounts
Timeline
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Focus on events
2/5 Ethereum raises gas cap for the first time in three years, increasing to nearly 32 million units
The Ethereum network raised the block gas cap from 30 million to nearly 32 million units (up to 36 million in the future) for the first time in the post-merge era on February 5, 2025, with the aim of enhancing transaction processing capacity and reducing congestion costs. This adjustment does not require a hard fork and will automatically take effect after being voted by more than half of the validators, marking the improvement of Ethereum’s governance flexibility. By increasing the gas cap, a single block can accommodate more transactions or complex operations, helping to optimize the DeFi application experience, alleviate network congestion during peak periods, and reduce user churn to chains like Solana. However, this may increase the operational burden of nodes in the short term, and balance performance and utility in the long term. 【1】
2/6 Ondo Finance Launches Layer 1 Public Chain Ondo Chain
Ondo Finance announced the launch of Ondo Chain, a Layer 1 public chain built for institutional financial markets, aiming to solve the current infrastructure barriers of public blockchains in the field of tokenized securities (RWA) and promote the on-chain transformation of global capital markets.
Ondo Chain combines the openness of the public chain with the compliance of the permissioned chain to provide institutions with a highly secure RWA issuance, management, and cross-chain liquidity solution. Key features include an institutional-grade network security model based on RWA staking, a regulated validator network, seamless connectivity to traditional financial networks, on-chain oracles, and native cross-chain communication mechanisms. Ondo Chain also employs a native proof-of-reserve mechanism to ensure transparency and full collateralization of RWA issuances. The launch of this innovative public chain may further promote the entry of institutional capital into the on-chain market and promote the integration of DeFi with the traditional securities market. 【2】
2/10 Etherscan Launches On-Chain Address Credit Scoring Feature
Ethereum explorer Etherscan recently launched an on-chain address credit scoring feature powered by the Blockchain Bureau. The feature analyzes on-chain activity, assesses the credit risk of user addresses, and provides a credit score for each address. The credit score ranges from “Thin File” to “Ultra Low Risk”, with a total of 8 levels. This scoring system enables users to judge the reliability of an address based on on-chain data, further improving the transparency and security of blockchain transactions. 【3】
As an excellent browser platform for the Ethereum blockchain, Etherscan has been committed to providing users with more efficient and transparent blockchain data query services. With this new feature, users can not only view transaction history, but also perform a credit assessment of on-chain addresses to better identify potential risks.
2/14 SIMD-96 is now live on Solana, validators receive full priority fees
According to SolanaFloor, SIMD-96 is now live on Solana. It changes the priority fee mechanism from a 50-50 split (50% is burned and 50% is allocated to validators) to a new model where 100% of the fees are distributed directly to validators. The Solana Ecosystem SIMD-0096 proposal was passed in May last year. This change could have a multifaceted impact on the Solana network. First, validators will receive more financial incentives, which helps increase their motivation and the decentralization of the network. However, the elimination of the fee burn mechanism may lead to an increase in the supply of SOL tokens, which will put downward pressure on the token price. In addition, the new fee allocation mechanism may raise community concerns about network inflation and centralization. 【4】
2/19 Hyperliquid Launches HyperEVM Mainnet
Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM mainnet is now live, introducing “universal programmability” to its Layer 1 blockchain, enabling developers to run Ethereum-compatible smart contracts. The initial release not only supports the transfer of spot HYPE between the local spot HYPE and the HyperEVM version of HYPE, but also inherits security and high performance with the help of the HyperBFT consensus mechanism. While current tools and analytics are still being refined, Hyper Foundation has launched a bug bounty program and plans to include ERC-20 native transfers and precompilation capabilities in future network upgrades. 【5】
This move marks a solid step forward for Hyperliquid in improving platform performance and expanding the boundaries of the ecosystem. By embedding Ethereum-compatible smart contract capabilities into its high-performance Layer 1, Hyperliquid will not only attract the attention of Ethereum developers, but also provide the technical foundation for the platform to introduce richer DeFi applications and innovations in the future. At the same time, the support for different forms of HYPE spot transfer ensures the seamless connection of liquidity within the platform, further improving market efficiency.
2/21 Bybit Hacked, About $1.5 Billion in ETH Stolen
On the night of February 21, 2025, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit suffered the largest hack in history. The exchange is suspected to have been successfully controlled by the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group by forging signature interfaces and implanting malicious smart contracts, and stole about 499,000 ETH (about $1.5 billion). Not only did the hack set the record for the largest theft in the history of the crypto industry, but it also had a profound impact on the entire market.
After the news broke, the price of ETH fell by more than 7% at one point, hitting as low as $2,618, and the market panic quickly spread, with users panic withdrawing a total of $2.4 billion in 24 hours. In the aftermath of the incident, the exchange responded quickly and cooperated with other exchanges, Gate.io also actively supported by assisting in the tracing and interception of stolen funds, among other assistance. Subsequently, the market sentiment gradually stabilized, and the ETH price recovered above $2,700 within 24 hours. Currently, the exchange is actively restoring ETH reserves to make up for losses due to hacking. 【6】
2/26 StakeStone Officially Released White Paper
StakeStone officially released its whitepaper on February 26th. According to the white paper, the protocol realizes the seamless flow of user assets and maximizes income among 30+ public chains through the issuance of interest-bearing assets STONE (ETH staking derivatives) and SBTC/STONEBTC (full-chain BTC liquidity tokens), combined with the liquidity aggregation tool LiquidityPad. The governance token STO adopts the veSTO (voting escrow) model, and locking the STO can obtain governance rights and participate in the protocol revenue share (25% of ETH staking rewards). In addition, StakeStone has designed a triple token burn mechanism: 20% of STO is burned for cross-chain fees, dynamic burn of liquidity mining rewards, and 50% of the protocol’s surplus is used for open market buybacks.
StakeStone’s omni-chain liquidity solution has the potential to reshape the DeFi competitive landscape, with its standardized interface for interest-bearing assets enabling ETH/BTC to achieve cross-chain yield compounding for the first time. The veSTO model may challenge the market share of centralized staking service providers such as Lido by binding governance rights and income rights. If the multi-burn mechanism works effectively, it can lead to significant deflationary expectations for STOs. The risk lies in the fact that the security verification mechanism of the cross-chain bridge has not been publicly audited, and the protocol TVL is highly dependent on the stability of collaboration with third-party infrastructure such as LayerZero and Wormhole. 【7】
2/28 MetaMask Releases New Roadmap to Support Bitcoin and Solana, and Introduces Smart Contract Accounts
MetaMask unveiled a new roadmap on February 28 to add support for the Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) networks, allowing users to manage multi-chain assets in the same wallet. At the same time, MetaMask will introduce smart contract accounts (CAs), which support transaction recovery mechanisms, enhance security, and allow for more complex automated transactions compared to traditional external accounts (EOAs). In addition, the wallet will support ERC-5792 batch transactions, reduce gas fees, improve transaction efficiency, and launch a MetaMask debit card in the United States to support crypto asset payments.
This upgrade has a far-reaching impact on the market. Multi-chain support has allowed MetaMask to further solidify its leading position in the wallet market, widening the gap with competitors such as Trust Wallet and Brave. The introduction of smart contract accounts is likely to drive the development of Ethereum account abstraction (AA) technology and improve the user-friendliness of Web3 applications. In addition, the launch of the MetaMask debit card will boost the popularity of crypto payments, accelerate the integration of cryptocurrencies with the real economy, and drive the overall market adoption rate up. 【8】
Summary
In February 2025, major events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space were frequent, demonstrating market dynamism and industry trends. Key developments in projects such as Ethereum, Metamask, SMID-96, Stackstone, Hyperliquid, and more, including platform launches, service expansions, token generation, feature introductions, mainnet launches, fee voting, and mining activities, highlight innovation, drive technology and community development, and inject new impetus into industry growth.
Resources:
- Coindesk,[https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/02/04/ethereum-raises-gas-limits-for-first-time-since-2021-boosting-eth-appeal](https:// www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/02/04/ethereum-raises-gas-limits-for-first-time-since-2021-boosting-eth-appeal)
- X,https://x.com/OndoFinance/status/1887522597480337672
- X,https://x.com/etherscan/status/1888401431641907591
- X,https://x.com/SolanaFloor/status/1889701379607794128
- Theblock,[https://www.theblock.co/post/341424/hyperliquid-launches-hyperevm-on-mainnet-to-bring-general-purpose-programmability](https:// www.theblock.co/post/341424/hyperliquid-launches-hyperevm-on-mainnet-to-bring-general-purpose-programmability)
- Coindesk,[https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/02/21/bitcoin-ether-slumps-as-crypto-prices-crumble-on-report-of-massive-usd1-4b-bybit-security-incident] (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/02/21/ bitcoin-ether-slumps-as-crypto-prices-crumble-on-report-of-massive-usd1-4b-bybit-security-incident)
- X,https://x.com/Stake_Stone/status/1894714594230460681
- X,https://x.com/MetaMask/status/1895292999615369660
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