Bitcoins Ethereum\u2019s Glamsterdam, Bitcoin and quantum computing, and new Eigenlayer governance proposal
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Dec 24, 2025, 2:46\u202fp.m. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I\u2019m Margaux Nijkerk, a reporter at CoinDesk.<\/p>\n In this issue:<\/p>\n AAVE COMMUNITY SPLIT<\/strong>: Aave’s community members and participants have become sharply divided in recent weeks over control of the protocol\u2019s brand and related assets, intensifying an ongoing dispute over the relationship between the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and Aave Labs, the centralized developer firm that builds much of Aave\u2019s technology. The debate has drawn outsized attention because it cuts to a central question facing many of crypto\u2019s largest protocols: the tension between decentralized governance and the centralized teams that often drive execution. As protocols scale and brands accrue value, questions around who ultimately controls those assets, token holders or builders, are becoming harder to ignore. The dispute was triggered by Aave\u2019s integration of CoW Swap<\/a>, a trade execution tool, which resulted in swap fees flowing to Aave Labs rather than the DAO treasury. While Labs argued the revenue reflected interface-level development work, critics said the arrangement exposed a deeper issue: who ultimately controls the Aave brand, which has over $33 billion in locked into its network. That question has now become central to the debate over ownership of Aave\u2019s trademarks, domains, social accounts and other branded assets. Supporters of DAO control argue the proposal would align governance rights with those who bear economic risk, limit unilateral control by a private company, and ensure the Aave brand reflects a protocol governed and funded by token holders rather than a single builder. Those who support the Lab having that position counter that taking brand control away from the builders could slow development, complicate partnerships and blur accountability for running and promoting the protocol. The proposal has deeply divided community members, with opponents and supporters offering starkly different visions for the future of Aave. \u2014 Margaux Nijkerk & Shaurya Malwa <\/em>Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n ETHEREUM\u2019S GLAMSTERDAM PREPPING: <\/strong>Ethereum developers, fresh off last month\u2019s successful Fusaka upgrade, which cut down costs for nodes<\/a>, are already moving full-steam ahead on planning the blockchain\u2019s next major change. Enter \u201cGlamsterdam.\u201d The name is a portmanteau of two simultaneous upgrades taking place<\/a> on Ethereum\u2019s two core layers. The execution layer, where transaction rules and smart contracts live, will undergo the Amsterdam upgrade, while the consensus layer, which coordinates validators and finalizes blocks, will see an upgrade known as Gloas. At the heart of Glamsterdam is enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation<\/a> (ePBS), formally tracked as EIP-7732. The proposal would bake into Ethereum\u2019s core protocol a rule that separates nodes who build blocks from those who propose them, preventing any single actor from controlling which transactions are included or how they are ordered. Today, this separation largely relies on off-chain services known as relays, which introduces trust assumptions and centralization risks. Under ePBS, block builders would assemble blocks and cryptographically seal their contents, while proposers would simply choose the highest-paying block without being able to see or tamper with what\u2019s inside. The transactions would only be revealed after the block is finalized, reducing opportunities for manipulation and abuse related to MEV, or maximal extractable value<\/a> \u2014 the extra profit validators or builders can make by reordering, inserting or censoring transactions. \u2014 Margaux Nijkerk <\/em>Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n BITCOIN AND QUANTUM COMPUTING: <\/strong>Some Bitcoin developers are no longer arguing about whether quantum computing will break the network, but letting onlookers know how long it would take to prepare if it ever did. That shift was crystallized this week by longtime Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp, who said that while quantum computers are unlikely to threaten Bitcoin anytime soon, any meaningful defensive changes could take much longer than many assume. “No, quantum computers won’t break Bitcoin in the near future,” Lopp posted. “We’ll keep observing their evolution. Yet, making thoughtful changes to the protocol (and an unprecedented migration of funds) could easily take 5 to 10 years.” The discussion matters because Bitcoin\u2019s value increasingly depends on long-term confidence. As more institutional capital treats bitcoin as a multi-year holding, even distant technical risks can influence allocation decisions and shape how markets price uncertainty, as CoinDesk reported<\/a> on Saturday. \u2014 Shaurya Malwa <\/em>Read more<\/a>.<\/p>\n EIGENLAYER GOVERNANCE PROPOSAL:<\/strong> The foundation behind restaking protocol EigenLayer has proposed a governance change to introduce new incentives for the EIGEN token, focusing on productive network activity and fee generation. Under the plan outlined in a recent blog post<\/a>, a cornerstone of the proposal is the introduction of a fee model that channels revenue from Actively Validated Services (AVS) rewards and EigenCloud services back to EIGEN holders. AVSs\u2019 are blockchain-based services that use EigenLayer\u2019s security, relying on staked tokens and operators to keep it running honestly and correctly. The team argues this change will strengthen long-term value accrual for EIGEN token holders and better align token economics with real usage of EigenLayer\u2019s network. \u201cThis approach aligns incentives across the ecosystem: Stakers and Operators backing active services earn more, AVSs get the capital they need, and EIGEN benefits from improved tokenomics,\u201d according to the blog post. \u2013 Margaux Nijkerk <\/em>Read more.<\/a><\/p>\n More For You<\/p>\n KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market<\/p>\n<\/div>\n KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.<\/p>\n What to know: <\/p>\n![\"bitcoins](\"http:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/_next\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2Fs3y3vcno%2Fproduction%2F3a7a432489bb40de0b3b1307d8545fd4bb3abae8-1500x1000.jpg%3Fauto%3Dformat&w=3840&q=75\" "\\"bitcoins\\"")
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