Release Date: December 25, 2025
Author: BlockBeats Editorial Department

Over the past 24 hours, the crypto market has witnessed multifaceted dynamics ranging from macroeconomic discussions to specific ecosystem developments.

Mainstream topics have focused on DeFi governance controversies and institutional lending expansion. In terms of ecosystem development, attention has gathered around Ethereum upgrade progress, Perp DEX governance decisions, and other ecosystem innovations.

I. Mainstream Topics

1. Uniswap Foundation Executive Compensation Controversy Continues to Heat Up

Recent tax disclosures show that the Foundation disbursed nearly $10 million in grants in 2024, yet spent approximately $4.8 million on employee compensation, with total executive compensation reaching $3.87 million, including a $700,000 annual salary for the former DevRel lead and $540,000 for the governance lead. The incident stems from community questioning of the Foundation’s efficiency. Compared to the Optimism Grants Council, which delivered over 6 times more funding at a lower cost (around $2.14 million plus additional fees), this has sparked strong dissatisfaction among UNI holders.

In community discussions, many criticized this as a “disgrace” for DAO governance, emphasizing that executive compensation accounts for 22% of the Foundation’s expenditures, far exceeding industry standards, and questioning its actual value contribution, such as developer growth and research output. Some views considered the legal role’s compensation too low, but overall it was seen as an abuse of holder interests, leading to disappointment in DAO participation and calls for transparency.

2. Maple Finance Lending Scale Hits All-Time High

The platform issued a single $500 million USDC loan yesterday, while outstanding borrowing reached a new peak, marking a surge in assets under management from $500 million to over $5 billion in 2025, with total loan issuance exceeding $8.5 billion and generating over $25 million in annualized revenue. A founder’s letter reviewed milestones, including collaborations with Aave, Pendle, etc., to expand cross-chain products, introduce AI integration and HYPE collateralized loans, and set a 2026 target of $10 billion ARR, emphasizing real sustainable yield rather than incentive-driven growth.

Community response has been positive, praising its stability in risk-adjusted returns, standardized internal credit assessment, and multi-chain expansion (e.g., Linea, Solana). Protocol revenue grew 300% and returned value to SYRUP holders through a 25% buyback mechanism. Discussion focuses on its potential as an on-chain asset management standard and how integrations with partners like Spark and Plasma could accelerate institutional adoption.

II. Mainstream Ecosystem Dynamics

1. Ethereum Hegota Network Upgrade Timeline Announced

The Ethereum Foundation released the 2026 Hegota upgrade roadmap on December 22, following Fusaka (which introduced PeerDAS) and Glamsterdam (Block-level Access Lists and Proposer-Builder Separation). This upgrade focuses on integrating selected EIPs. Key milestones include January 8 to February 4 for submitting Headliner proposals via the Ethereum Magicians forum (using templates to assess necessity, impact, technical readiness, and designated champions), February 5 to 26 for discussion and final selection across four All Core Devs meetings, followed by a 30-day window for non-Headliner proposals. FOCIL (EIP-7805, anti-censorship feature) is already under consideration. The upgrade aims to enhance network efficiency, decentralization, and security, with the timeline trackable on Forkcast.

Community discussion is positive, viewing this as strengthening Ethereum’s long-term vision, such as protecting investment value and maintaining node operation decentralization. Some perspectives emphasize its focus on state data reduction, which will drive L2 ecosystem unification (EIL proposal). Developers see it as persistent infrastructure building. Overall feedback is optimistic about its protective effect for ETH holders, though potential changes require attention.

2. Perp DEX Governance Dynamics

Hyperliquid validators and stakers approved a proposal to permanently burn HYPE tokens held by the assistance fund. Previously, fund purchases were considered economically equivalent to burning; this move provides clear clarification and strengthens governance transparency. The founder expressed gratitude for community participation and looks forward to future developments. Meanwhile, Kinetiq launched the KIP2 proposal, aimed at driving protocol optimization (specific details to be further disclosed).

Community response is enthusiastic, with many viewing this as a signal of Hyperliquid’s unstoppable momentum, boosting confidence in the team and sparking discussions on topics like when to deploy cash or launch DAT. Some feedback focuses on the positive impact of the burn, emphasizing its potential boost to price and the ecosystem. Although there are a few inquiries about buying timing, overall it is seen as a successful example of governance processes, driving evolution in the Perp DEX competitive landscape.

3. Other Ecosystem Developments

MegaETH ecosystem prediction market project Rocket Finance completed a $1.5 million seed round led by Electric Capital, with participation from Bodhi Ventures, Tangent, Amber Group, and others. The project introduces a “redistribution market” mechanism, allowing users to make real-time predictions based on price feeds, with no binary betting, no liquidation, uncapped returns, and support for multi-prediction capital reuse, emphasizing “trading movement, not outcomes.” Former Augur CEO Matt Liston announced the construction of an Agentic prediction market project, combining LLMs (encoding the past) and prediction markets (aggregating future beliefs) to form a “cognitive finance” system. Its design draws inspiration from the Augur token fork, generating excitement.

Community discussion is optimistic, viewing Rocket as an innovative breakthrough in prediction markets, praising its no-liquidation design and video preview. Feedback on Matt’s return is strong, considered a major win driving DeFi cognitive upgrades. Although the funding announcement sparked jokes about a “new casino patch,” overall sentiment is positive about its potential for MegaETH and the prediction ecosystem.