Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, a reporter at CoinDesk.
In this issue:
- Uniswap Proposes Sweeping ‘UNIfication’ With UNI Burn and Protocol Fee Overhaul
- Monad Unveils Tokenomics Ahead of Nov. 24 MON Token Airdrop
- Bitcoin DeFi Gets Another Institutional Boost Through Anchorage Digital Custody
- Injective Launches Native EVM, Promising Faster and Cheaper DeFi
Network News
SWEEPING UNISWAP PROPOSAL OVERHAUL: Uniswap Labs and Uniswap Foundation, two of the main firms that help steer the Uniswap protocol, are joining forces to propose a sweeping governance proposal that would completely change the way the ecosystem works. The proposal, called “UNIfication,” aims to align incentives across the Uniswap ecosystem and position the protocol as the default exchange for tokenized assets. It would do this by activating protocol fees, burning millions of UNI tokens and consolidating the project’s key teams under a single growth strategy, according to a blog post dated Nov. 11 and briefly published on Nov. 10. Under the proposal, which DAO members will vote on, the protocol would redirect a portion of trading fees to a UNI burn mechanism and fees from Uniswap’s layer-2 network, Unichain, would also flow into the burn. Uniswap Labs also proposed a retroactive burn of 100 million UNI from the treasury, which the team claims would equal the amount that might have been burned if protocol fees had been active since launch. The changes related to Uniswap’s tokenomics are not the only restructuring happening to the ecosystem. Uniswap Labs, which is the main developer firm that supports the Uniswap protocol, will absorb the Uniswap Foundation’s ecosystem teams. If passed, UNIfication would mark the most significant evolution of Uniswap’s governance and economics since its token launch in 2020. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
MONAD TOKENOMICS EXPLAINED: Layer-1 blockchain Monad detailed the initial distribution of its native token, MON, as it prepares for the mainnet introduction on Nov. 24, a key milestone for the project that’s positioning itself as a high-performance, Ethereum-compatible network. The Monad Foundation said a public sale of 7.5% of the initial supply of the token will begin on Coinbase’s Token Sales platform on Nov. 17. The tokens will be priced at $0.025 each. An airdrop of 3.3% will kick off seven days later. The sale is intended to distribute MON more broadly ahead of the network’s activation, with the foundation emphasizing that the structure of its tokenomics is designed to encourage long-term participation rather than short-term speculation. In total, 38.5% of the initial supply will be allocated toward ecosystem development, 27% to the Monad team, 19.7% to investors, 7.5% to the public sale, 4% to the treasury and 3.3% to an airdrop. The foundation framed the release as the start of a gradual decentralization process, with additional supply entering circulation over time as the network grows. The majority of tokens will remain locked in the early months, with ecosystem and team allocations subject to vesting schedules to align long-term incentives. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
ANCHORAGE DABBLES IN BITCOIN DEFI: Cryptocurrency bank Anchorage Digital is opening institutional pathways into Bitcoin-native decentralized finance (DeFi), providing a regulated gateway to BOB’s Bitcoin–Ethereum ecosystem. The custody service provided by a U.S. federally chartered bank could provide a boost for institutional participants seeking yield opportunities in BOB’s $250 million total value locked (TVL) DeFi platform, according to an emailed announcement shared with CoinDesk. Anchorage also holds a Major Payment Institution License (MPI) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and provides a self-custody wallet called Porto. BOB (“Build on Bitcoin”) describes itself as a hybrid layer-2 network combining the security of Bitcoin and the DeFi capabilities of Ethereum, whereby users can use their BTC holdings to access yield opportunities in the broader blockchain ecosystem with Ethereum as the entry point. — Jamie Crawley Read more.
INJECTIVE ROLLS OUT NATIVE EVM: Layer-1 blockchain Injective rolled out what it calls its most significant upgrade yet: a native Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) layer. The upgrade aims to make Injective a go-to platform for developers and institutions by combining Ethereum compatibility with Injective’s existing high-speed infrastructure. The news comes nearly two weeks after Injective kicked off its buyback program, which allowed community members to commit the blockchain’s native token INJ to a pool that will be used to purchase and burn tokens and reduce overall supply, and in return receive a 10% yield from the ecosystem’s revenue. The launch of the native EVM on Tuesday also brings more than 40 decentralized applications (dapps) and infrastructure providers online, marking what the team describes as “a new era of onchain finance.” – Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
In Other News
- Circle Internet Group (CRCL), issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin USDC, reported third-quarter net income of $214 million, a year-over-year increase of 202%. Earnings per share (EPS) rose to $0.64, beating expectations of $0.22. Total revenue and reserve income more than doubled to $740 million. Circle has been at the forefront of the proliferation in the stablecoin sector in the last year, having debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in June. The total USDC in circulation has grown to $73.7 billion as of the end of Q3, 108% higher than a year ago. Circle also unveiled plans for Arc, a layer-1 blockchain designed to provide stablecoin payments, FX, and capital markets applications last quarter. More than 100 companies have joined Arc’s public testnet, Circle said in the earnings report. — Jamie Crawley & Helene Braun Read more.
- Visa is testing a system that lets businesses send payments directly to stablecoin wallets instead of to a card or bank account, the company announced Wednesday at Web Summit in Lisbon. Funds are delivered in dollar-backed stablecoins, such as Circle Internet’s (CRCL) USDC, Visa said. The pilot targets creators, freelancers and gig workers who often face delays in accessing their pay, especially when working across borders. Businesses can fund the payouts in fiat currency, while recipients choose to receive them in stablecoins — digital assets pegged to the U.S. dollar. Visa says the move expands access to money for people in countries with volatile currencies or limited banking infrastructure. Transactions are recorded on public blockchains, allowing for transparency and easier recordkeeping. “Launching stablecoin payouts is about enabling truly universal access to money in minutes — not days — for anyone, anywhere in the world,” said Chris Newkirk, president of Commercial & Money Movement Solutions at Visa. “Whether it’s a creator building a digital brand, a business reaching new global markets or a freelancer working across borders, everyone benefits from faster, more flexible money movement.” The program follows Visa’s earlier pilot, which started in September, which allowed businesses to pre-fund payouts using stablecoins. This new phase pushes stablecoin use closer to end users, potentially reshaping how online platforms pay global workers. — Ian Allison Read more.
Regulatory and Policy
- The Senate Agriculture Committee published its draft crypto market structure legislation on Monday, bringing the body a necessary step closer to advancing its answer to the House of Representatives’ Clarity Act legislation to define how exactly the Commodity Futures Trading Commission can oversee spot market trading. The draft bill, which still includes brackets indicating sections where lawmakers have yet to fully agree on details, marks a major step toward the government delineating where the CFTC’s jurisdiction ends and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s jurisdiction begins — a key question that only Congress can answer as these federal agencies ramp up their own efforts to publish guidance for crypto companies and other firms hoping to offer crypto-related services in the U.S. Still, a draft is just one step along the legislative path, and the Senate’s bandwidth has been narrowed by other urgent matters — especially the budget dispute that currently has the federal government shuttered. Senate staffers worked on the bill through the weekend, two individuals familiar with the situation told CoinDesk, even as lawmakers worked on a deal to end the government shutdown. — Jesse Hamilton Read more.
- Barely one year into the Europe Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regime, formulated to deliver a unified regulatory environment across the 30 nations in the European Economic Area, the cracks are beginning to show and there are signs EU regulators are looking to ensure they don’t get any wider. Concerns have already surfaced that some member states are handing out licenses in an overly expedited fashion, and now reports are emerging that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is preparing to take greater, more centralized control of crypto regulation across the countries within its purview. As yet, there’s little detail about ESMA’s plans, but MiCA policy watchers know where the clues lie. One likely change, which seems technical but could have significant knock-on effects, concerns sharing liquidity outside the EU and the use of unified order books. From a regulatory perspective, a shared order book blurs who is responsible for matching, disclosures, risk management and best execution. From a trader’s perspective, pooling buy and sell orders across a wider population creates greater liquidity, easier transactions and more accurate pricing. ESMA would not comment on shared order books specifically, but said in an email that the position stated in a Q&A earlier this year (which says that MiCA doesn’t permit a crypto trading firm to pool its order book with any non-EU, non-MiCA-regulated trading platforms) “is part of the effort that ESMA has made, and continues to make, to ensure a level playing field in the application of MiCA in the EU.” — Ian Allison Read more.
Calendar
- Nov. 17-22: Devconnect, Buenos Aires
- Dec. 11-13: Solana Breakpoint, Abu Dhabi
- Feb. 10-12, 2026: Consensus, Hong Kong
- Feb. 17-21, 2026: EthDenver, Denver
- Mar. 30-Apr. 2, 2026: EthCC, Cannes
- Apr.15-16, 2026: Paris Blockchain Week, Paris
- May 5-7, 2026: Consensus, Miami
