Tech Headlines

1. Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Proposes "Native DVT Staking" Proposal to Enhance Ethereum's Security and Decentralization

https://www.theblock.co/post/386481/vitalik-buterin-floats-native-dvt-staking-proposal-boost-ethereum-security-decentralization

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a "native DVT staking" proposal, aiming to natively integrate Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) into Ethereum's staking protocol to enhance network security and promote decentralization. The proposal would allow validators to register multiple independent keys that jointly operate as a single grouped validator identity. Only when the number of signing parties reaches a preset threshold would actions such as block proposal or attestation be considered valid, thereby reducing the risk of validators going offline due to a single node failure or compromise. Unlike current DVT implementations that rely on complex external coordination layers, this approach would embed the mechanism directly into the protocol layer. Validators holding at least a multiple of the minimum staking requirement could set up to 16 keys and a signature threshold—effectively having multiple standard nodes collaborate to act as a single validator identity.

2. Optimism Releases Superchain's Quantum-Resistance Roadmap: Claims ECDSA EOAs Will Be Gradually Phased Out Over the Next 10 Years

https://x.com/Optimism/status/2015423032613855380

Optimism has released Superchain's quantum-resistance roadmap, with the core content being an announcement that it will gradually phase out externally owned accounts based on ECDSA signatures over the next ten years. The specific plan is that by January 2036, EOA transactions using ECDSA signatures on the OP mainnet and across the Superchain will be deprecated, and all such accounts will need to delegate their key management to smart contract accounts that support post-quantum signatures. The roadmap covers both the user and consensus layers. At the user layer, it will leverage account abstraction technology, via standards such as EIP-7702, to enable EOAs to gradually delegate signing authority to smart accounts capable of verifying post-quantum signatures. At the consensus layer, L2 sequencers and batch submitters will migrate to post-quantum signatures, while also calling on Ethereum itself to set a timetable to migrate validators from BLS signatures and KZG commitments to post-quantum algorithms. The entire upgrade process will be coordinated through hard forks, giving the ecosystem ten years to achieve a smooth transition.

3. a16z Crypto: Quantum Computing Threat Is Severely Polarized—Neither Excessive Optimism nor Excessive Worry Is Correct

https://www.theblockbeats.info/flash/329644

According to BlockBeats, on January 25, a16z Crypto published a long article, "Quantum Computing and Blockchains: Matching Urgency with Actual Threat," stating that the threat of quantum computing has become severely polarized, and that neither excessive optimism nor excessive worry is correct. Publicly disclosed progress in quantum computing is still far from being able to practically run Shor's algorithm to break RSA/ECDSA, but the long-term risk also cannot be completely ignored. The threat window that quantum computing poses to different cryptographic primitives varies greatly: encryption may face "harvest now, decrypt later" (HNDL) attacks and therefore needs to transition to post-quantum encryption as early as possible; signatures, however, are not easily affected by HNDL, and migrating too early to post-quantum signatures may instead introduce new risks such as performance degradation, immature implementations, and code vulnerabilities, so a cautious, step-by-step strategy should be adopted.

Industry Dynamics

1. UK FCA Enters Final Stage of Crypto Regulation Consultation, Seeks Feedback on Consumer Duty Rules

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/01/23/u-k-fca-moves-closer-to-crypto-regulation-with-final-consumer-duty-consultation

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has entered the final stage of its regulatory consultation on crypto companies and is seeking feedback, by March 12, on how its Consumer Duty rules should apply to crypto-asset firms, with the deadline set for March 12. The FCA plans to open the application window for crypto-asset authorizations in September 2026. Consumer Duty is an FCA rule intended to set a high standard for how financial firms treat retail customers. The rule requires firms to act in good faith, avoid causing foreseeable harm, and help people achieve their financial objectives. Firms must provide clear information, fair value, and support throughout the entire customer journey (and not only at the point of transaction).

2. Bank of Italy Governor: Stablecoins Can Only Play a Supplementary Role in the Monetary System

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bank-of-italy-panetta-tokenized-commercial-bank-money

According to Cointelegraph, Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta said that commercial bank money and central bank money will continue to serve as the cornerstone of the monetary system, while stablecoins can only play a supplementary role. He noted that the stability of stablecoins depends on their peg to fiat currencies, which limits their ability to operate independently within the financial system. Panetta believes that payments have become a core strategic competitive arena for banks; against the backdrop of the global economic center of gravity shifting toward technological power and a more fragmented geopolitical environment, digital finance is putting pressure on banks. The Bank of Italy maintains a cautious stance on stablecoins. The bank's deputy governor previously warned that "multi-issuer stablecoins" issued across multiple jurisdictions could pose legal, operational, and financial stability risks to the EU, and therefore should be confined to areas with equivalent regulatory standards and subject to strict reserve requirements.

3. Vietnam Has Begun Piloting a Formal Licensing Regime for Crypto-Asset Trading Platforms

https://cryptonews.com/news/vietnam-moves-crypto-exchanges-out-of-legal-gray-area-with-pilot-licensing/

According to Cryptonews, Vietnam's Ministry of Finance issued a resolution this week launching a pilot program for a formal licensing regime for cryptocurrency trading platforms, aiming to bring the industry—long operating in a legal gray area—into a regulatory framework. Under the resolution, the State Securities Commission will be responsible for issuing, amending, and revoking operating licenses for crypto-asset trading platforms, and has released detailed application guidelines. The regime requires applicants to be Vietnam-incorporated companies, with a minimum paid-in capital of 10 trillion Vietnamese dong (about $380 million), and to meet strict standards for infrastructure, governance, cybersecurity, and professional staffing. Some institutions are preparing for compliance and technology readiness through subsidiaries or partnerships.

In-Depth Analysis

1. Reconstructing the Performance and Technical Paradigm of Decentralized AI Operating Systems

https://www.theblockbeats.info/news/61014

As the convergence trend between Web3 and artificial intelligence continues to deepen, decentralized artificial intelligence (DeAI) solutions represented by 0G (Zero Gravity) are gradually coming to the fore. Through a design featuring logical module separation and multi-level parallel sharding, 0G is attempting to achieve breakthroughs in data processing capabilities, aiming to address potential performance bottlenecks in traditional data availability (DA) solutions when facing large-scale AI model deployments, and is claimed to deliver significant performance improvements in certain scenarios. The protocol proposes a four-layer collaborative system architecture of "settlement, storage, data availability, and computation," intended to improve issues that may exist in traditional blockchains such as insufficient storage resources and delayed computational response, and strives to build a runtime environment better suited to the data flows and execution logic of AI applications. By combining technologies such as trusted execution environments (TEE) and Proof of Random Access (PoRA), 0G is committed to providing a feasible, efficient data storage and retrieval solution for large-scale AI models, while exploring AI inference and training environments that balance privacy protection with verifiability, driving Web3 infrastructure to evolve toward supporting complex data processing.