Preface

This report summarizes significant events in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector from February 28 to March 6, 2025. These events highlight the vibrancy of the crypto market and signal emerging trends for future development.

Abstract

• MetaMask releases new roadmap, adding support for Bitcoin and Solana networks, and introduces smart contract accounts
• The 499,000 ETH stolen from Bybit has been fully laundered
• Aave expands to Sonic mainnet, deploying its V3 lending market
• Pendle introduces a Community Listing mechanism to support the creation of a permissionless yield market.

Key Developments and Updates

2/28 MetaMask Releases New Roadmap: Bitcoin and Solana Support Added, Smart Contract Account Introduced

On February 28, MetaMask announced a new roadmap that supports Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) networks, allowing users to manage multi-chain assets within a single wallet. Additionally, MetaMask will introduce Smart Contract Accounts (CA), which offer enhanced security and automated transaction capabilities compared to traditional Externally Owned Accounts (EOA). CA accounts will support transaction recovery mechanisms, enabling more sophisticated automated transactions. Furthermore, the wallet will support ERC-5792 batch transactions, reducing gas fees and improving transaction efficiency. MetaMask also plans to launch a debit card in the U.S., enabling crypto asset payments.

This upgrade is expected to have a significant market impact. Multi-chain support could further solidify MetaMask’s leading position in the wallet space, widening the gap with competitors like Trust Wallet and Brave. Introducing Smart Contract Accounts may accelerate the development of Ethereum’s Account Abstraction (AA) technology, improving the user-friendliness of Web3 applications. Additionally, the MetaMask debit card could drive broader adoption of crypto payments, accelerating the integration of cryptocurrencies into the real economy and boosting overall market adoption. [1]

3/4 of Bybit’s Stolen 499,000 ETH Fully Laundered

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin (@EmberCN), the hacker has fully laundered the 499,000 ETH (worth approximately $1.39 billion) stolen from Bybit, completing the process in 10 days. ETH’s price dropped by 23% during this period, falling from $2,780 to $2,130. The hacker primarily used THORChain for laundering, which reportedly processed $5.9 billion in transactions and generated $5.5 million in fees. Security remains the backbone of the cryptocurrency industry. Exchanges, platforms, and users must prioritize security measures, strengthen risk management, and improve regulatory frameworks to build a safer crypto ecosystem. Ensuring asset security is essential to earning user trust and driving the industry’s healthy development. [2]

3/4 Aave Expands to Sonic Mainnet, Deploys V3 Lending Market, and Releases New Community Proposal

Aave has completed its expansion and officially deployed its decentralized lending market on the high-performance blockchain Sonic. This cross-chain deployment was approved through Aave DAO’s governance proposal (AIP-365) and executed by the Aave Chan Initiative, a core contributing organization. Aave’s expansion to Sonic is backed by liquidity commitments, including $15 million in funding from the Sonic Foundation, up to 50 million native S tokens, and an additional $800,000 in stablecoins and migration incentives from Aave. [3]

At the same time, the Aave community has introduced a new proposal to update AAVE tokenomics. The Aavenomics “TEMP CHECK” was approved about six months ago. The proposal suggests using Umbrella as a protection mechanism for Aave users while redistributing part of Aave DAO’s excess revenue to Umbrella aToken stakers, positioning it as a growth tool. [4]

3/6 Pendle Introduces Community Listing Mechanism to Enable a Permissionless Yield Market

Pendle has announced the launch of a Community Listing mechanism aimed at transforming the platform into a fully permissionless yield market. Through this new process, any protocol can create its own yield market on Pendle. For example, external protocols can deploy ERC-20/4626 tokens on Pendle’s marketplace, with the team conducting a final (non-contract) review before adding them to the dApp whitelist. The Listing UI and Toolkit are set to go live in the coming weeks, aiming to achieve a fully self-service, permissionless listing process. The first asset to be listed through Community Listing is sUSDX, which offers sUSDX yield and 3x S points rewards.

In addition, Pendle has introduced Pendle Prime - Trusted by Pendle, where eligible pools will be moved to Pendle Prime. The Pendle team will conduct additional audits and ongoing evaluations to ensure that Prime assets meet the highest security and reliability standards.

Introducing the Community Listing mechanism will significantly enhance Pendle’s openness and accessibility, attracting more protocols and developers to its ecosystem. By enabling permissionless listings, Pendle is expected to expand its market influence, increase platform liquidity and activity, and drive broader adoption. Furthermore, Pendle Prime will strengthen the platform’s security and reliability, providing users with higher-quality asset choices, thereby increasing trust and engagement within the ecosystem. [5]

Summary

Between February 28 and March 6, 2025, several significant events shaped the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector. MetaMask unveiled a new roadmap that includes Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) network support, enabling single-wallet management of multi-chain assets. The massive theft of 499,000 ETH from Bybit reached its conclusion as the stolen funds were fully laundered. Aave protocol expanded its reach by deploying its decentralized lending market on Sonic, a high-performance blockchain. Additionally, Pendle introduced a Community Listing mechanism to foster its development as a permissionless yield market. These developments underscore the challenges and opportunities facing the industry regarding security, technical innovation, and regulatory compliance.


References:

1. X,https://x.com/MetaMask/status/1895292999615369660
2. X,https://x.com/EmberCN/status/1896728373340303440
3. X,https://x.com/aave/status/1896640279224168537
4. Aave,https://governance.aave.com/t/arfc-aavenomics-implementation-part-one/21248
5. X,https://x.com/pendle_fi/status/1897286225519931559

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