VeChain smart wallets launch, Polygon’s zkEVM prover, Plena’s

We are welcoming you to our weekly digest! Here, we discuss the latest trends and advancements in account abstraction, as well as bring some insights from Etherspot’s kitchen.
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VeChain introduces programmable smart contract wallets

VeChain, a leading enterprise-grade Layer 1 smart contract platform, has recently announced the activation of Account Abstraction on its blockchain. Also, the project introduced programmable smart contract wallets.
By simplifying the transaction signing process, this move promises to streamline user interactions with VeChain, making it more intuitive and secure.
Now users of VET can expect the following:

• multisignature authorizations
• account recovery options
• transaction whitelists

This development is part of VeChain’s broader strategy to bridge the divide between Web2 and Web3.
The announcement of AA on VeChain not only contributed to the platform’s technological advancements but also had a direct impact on its market performance. VET’s price soared to $0.035.

Polygon unveils open-source prover for enhanced Ethereum Layer 2s

Ethereum layer 2 leader Polygon has developed an open-source zkEVM prover enabling Ethereum Virtual Machine chains to leverage zero-knowledge proofs for greatly enhanced transaction scalability and efficiency.
This new Type 1 prover allows any EVM network like Ethereum mainnet or optimistic rollups to plug into zk-proof functionality, becoming highly scalable layer 2 solutions. Key benefits include essentially costless node operation and ultra-fast, inexpensive transactions.
For context, Polygon is already proving real Ethereum blocks at an average cost of just $0.002 to $0.003 per transaction. This order-of-magnitude efficiency leap can drive mass adoption by optimizing network participation costs.
By generating zk proofs for transactions executed on networks like Ethereum and various layer 2 chains, Polygon is providing invaluable open-source infrastructure to enhance scaling and interoperability.

Making the prover technology freely available embodies Polygon’s ethos of advancing public goods to grow the Ethereum ecosystem. It also progresses its ambitious Polygon 2.0 vision of fully bridging siloed networks into a unified coordinating protocol in 2024 and beyond.
Additionally, by eliminating the need for users and services to run resource-intensive full nodes, the Type 1 prover offers enhanced accessibility and censorship resistance to Ethereum’s trustless execution environment.
For optimistic rollups, a popular form of Ethereum scaling that bundles transactions off-chain, adopting Polygon’s prover can help avoid one widely cited drawback — the 1-week withdrawal delay funds face. This promises a much-improved experience for users.
Co-founder Brendan Farmer suggests imagining a world where zk proof generation at Ethereum’s base layer is possible. This removes the storage and syncing demands of running an Ethereum full archival node.

Plena joins the Cointelegraph Accelerator program

Plena, a notable “crypto super app” that introduced account abstraction even before Vitalik Buterin’s concept became widespread, has recently joined the Cointelegraph Accelerator.
The aim of this project is to address the inherent vulnerabilities of centralized financial systems, such as fraud, hacking, and insolvency risks, which have been exacerbated by an increase in ransomware attacks and highlighted by the IMF as a growing concern.
Despite the decentralized promise of cryptocurrencies, the prevalence of centralized exchanges poses significant security risks, underscored by the infamous Mt. Gox incident involving the loss of 850,000 Bitcoin.
Plena’s approach to mitigating these risks involves simplifying the crypto experience through an all-in-one self-custody platform that leverages account abstraction and artificial intelligence.
This technology blurs the traditional distinction between smart contract-controlled accounts and user-controlled accounts. It facilitates a more flexible and secure management of blockchain accounts.
The app, available on both Google Play Store and App Store, supports over 100,000 cryptocurrencies, integrates with over 150 dApps, and offers features like one-click transactions and automated purchasing.
In addition to its current offerings, Plena is developing PlenaGPT, an AI-powered tool for market analysis and investment recommendations.
By joining the Cointelegraph Accelerator, Plena aims to leverage the extensive media reach and marketing opportunities to further its mission of providing a seamless and secure crypto management platform.

Ethereum gas fees surge to 8-month peak amid ERC-404 token hype

Ethereum network gas prices have surged to their highest level since May 2022, fueled by intense speculation around experimental ERC-404 tokens. Average fees peaked around 70 gwei, with maximum charges nearing 380 gwei.

The ERC-404 trend traces back to the February 5th launch of Pandora protocol’s fractionalized NFT model. Projects utilizing this unofficial standard have since exploded, generating $600+ million trading volume and requiring nearly triple the gas of basic NFT transactions.
The hype intensified on February 9th across decentralized exchanges like Uniswap, where data shows ERC-404 activity dominated usage. Developers are responding to high fees, working to optimize gas costs down 300–400%.
Still, elevated network congestion and surging gas prices demonstrate challenges to Ethereum scaling. Although innovations like proof-of-stake seek to expand capacity, clear limitations exist currently amid viral manias like ERC-404’s fractionalized NFT boom.
With more players rushing to capitalize on new token standards, infrastructure strains may continue until technologies like layer 2 and sharding solutions progress further. For now, intense public interest appears capable of periodically driving gas costs and congestion to uncomfortable levels.
The dominant factor in spiking Ethereum gas prices seems tied to speculative fervor around fractionalized NFT models rather than network fundamental constraints. As crypto analysts note, it took just one project launch to kickstart an ERC-404 craze flooding decentralized exchanges with activity.
This shows how narratives in the still-nascent crypto sector can quickly snowball and place unexpected loads onto existing infrastructure. The fallout is higher fees for all applications and potential bottlenecks that hinder usability.