Today in crypto, Ethereum’s Fusaka form debuted on its final testnet, Polymarket is preparing to relaunch trading services in the US within weeks and Circle has debuted its Arc blockchain testnet.
Ethereum’s Fusaka fork primed for mainnet after final testnet debut
Ethereum’s next major upgrade, Fusaka, went live on the blockchain’s final testnet, Hoodi, on Tuesday, setting the stage for its Dec. 3 mainnet launch that is slated to add several scalability and security improvements to the network.
Fusaka will add several Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), such as Peer Data Availability Sampling, or PeerDAS, via EIP-7594, enabling validators to read smaller pieces of data on layer 2 networks as opposed to full blobs, boosting node efficiency.
EIP-7825 and EIP-7935 are also included in the update, which aim to raise the gas limit and improve efficiency as Ethereum prepares to unlock parallel execution, the processing of multiple smart contracts at the same time. Other EIPs in the update focus on improving zero-knowledge rollups.
The upgrade is looking to improve Ethereum’s scalability, one third of the so-called “blockchain trilemma” coined by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin that also includes decentralization and security.
Polymarket eyes November for US relaunch: Report
Prediction platform Polymarket is reportedly eyeing launching trading services in the United States in a matter of weeks.
According to a Tuesday Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter, Polymarket plans to initially launch limited trades available to US residents before the end of November, with an emphasis on sports betting.
The relaunch report came about two months after the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said it had issued a no-action letter to a crypto derivatives exchange and clearinghouse acquired by Polymarket. This move set the stage for the company to “go live in the USA,” according to CEO Shayne Coplan.
Reports from September suggested that, should Polymarket reopen to US markets, the company could have a valuation as high as $10 billion. As of June, the predictions platform was valued at about $1 billion following a $200-million funding round.
As of Tuesday, Polymarket’s website showed a waitlist, saying that it would “soon be available for US traders.” Cointelegraph reached out to the company for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Circle debuts Arc testnet with participation by BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Visa
Circle, the world’s second-largest stablecoin issuer, launched the public testnet for Arc, its open layer-1 blockchain network built to bring global financial infrastructure onchain.
The rollout, which Circle calls the “Economic Operating System for the internet,” includes participation from over 100 major companies spanning banking, capital markets and fintech — among them BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Visa, Mastercard and State Street, according to a Tuesday announcement.
“With Arc’s public testnet, we’re seeing remarkable early momentum as leading companies, protocols, and projects begin to build and test,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said. “Combined, these companies reach billions of users, move, exchange, and custody hundreds of trillions in assets and payments,” he added.
Arc is designed to provide predictable US dollar-based fees, sub-second finality and optional privacy controls, directly integrating with Circle’s USDC (USDC) stablecoin and payments stack. It aims to support a broad range of financial applications, from lending and capital markets to global payments and foreign exchange (FX).
The testnet launch has drawn engagement from major institutions such as Apollo, BNY Mellon, Intercontinental Exchange and Deutsche Bank, as well as global payment firms Mastercard, FIS, Paysafe and Nuvei.
