According to BlockBeats, on July 5th, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin posted that Ethereum researchers recently held a meeting in Berlin to continue discussions with client teams in Svalbard in April and updated the long-term protocol roadmap.

Vitalik stated that "Lean Ethereum" is not a single upgrade, but rather a series of protocol evolutions that will be gradually implemented over the next 3 to 4 years. Its impact can be compared to "The Merge" as the second major iteration, while the current stage may constitute the third major evolution.

He pointed out that future core changes to Ethereum may include: replacing direct verification with recursive STARK verification, introducing quantum-resistant cryptography, adjusting the consensus mechanism to a decoupled usable chain and finality design, and reconstructing the multi-dimensional Gas model and state structure.

At the state level, Ethereum may form a "two-layer state structure" around 2030, including about 2TB of traditional dynamic state and about 100TB of new scalable state to support the expansion needs of different application scenarios.

Vitalik emphasized that privacy capabilities will no longer be an add-on feature, but one of the core goals of protocol design. At the same time, the system will rely more on formal verification to improve security and drive the EVM to move to higher levels of abstraction in the future, with the underlying layer possibly gradually transitioning to RISC-V or leanISA architecture.

In addition, he mentioned that key parameters such as the gas cap, blob capacity, and block time will be adjusted multiple times in the coming years, and Ethereum will continue to scale through client optimization and protocol upgrades.

Vitalik concluded that Ethereum is entering a phase of continuous restructuring and expansion, with the goal of upgrading the underlying system without disrupting the existing application ecosystem.

According to BlockBeats, on July 5th, Thomas Sy, Head of Multi-Asset Solutions at New York Life Investment Management (NYLIM), stated that the next core application of tokenization will be enabling "personalized portfolio construction," rather than simply improving settlement efficiency or extending trading hours.

NYLIM manages approximately $807 billion, with about $11 billion handled by Sy's team. He pointed out that blockchain technology has the potential to enable asset management institutions to customize complex portfolio strategies for different investors on a large scale, a capability that is currently difficult to achieve in the traditional financial system.

Sy stated that the core of future asset management will shift towards "high customization," and blockchain is the only technological path that can achieve this goal at scale. He believes that tokenization is not just about putting ETFs, bonds, or private credit on the blockchain, but more importantly, about restructuring the way investment portfolios are constructed.

He also pointed out that current asset portfolios typically involve a mix of ETFs, bonds, and private equity assets, but due to operational complexity, personalized strategies are difficult to scale. Tokenization, on the other hand, is expected to "embed customized logic into the asset itself," reducing operating costs and improving efficiency.

Furthermore, Sy stated that stablecoins have become a key entry point for traditional finance to enter the blockchain space, with the current market size exceeding $300 billion, and are being used for cross-border payments and fund management. He believes this trend will gradually drive institutional demand for on-chain yield-generating assets.

Regarding decentralized finance (DeFi), NYLIM is still researching related applications, but Sy emphasized that institutional participation still requires more mature infrastructure, including improved tokenized collateral, liquidation mechanisms, and prime brokerage services.

According to BlockBeats, on July 5th, the Large County Sheriffs Association (MCSA) changed its stance on the Clarity Act from opposition to neutral. In a letter to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott and Senator Elizabeth Warren, the organization stated that some of its concerns regarding Section 604 of the bill had been addressed. Previously, the MCSA had warned that this provision could potentially weaken enforcement capabilities against illicit financial activities related to crypto assets.

Section 604 relates to the "Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act," and its core purpose is to limit the liability of decentralized protocol developers. Supporters argue that developers should not bear intermediary responsibility for user behavior; however, law enforcement agencies have previously expressed concern that this clause could create a regulatory and enforcement "loophole," affecting investigations into money laundering, ransomware, drug trafficking, and terrorist financing.

Despite shifting its stance to neutral, the MCSA still calls for the inclusion of mechanisms for local law enforcement agencies to participate in relevant research and coordination in subsequent revisions, in order to enhance the ability to investigate digital asset crimes.

Analysts believe that this change reduces a key obstacle to the CLARITY Act, increasing its likelihood of entering the Senate voting process. However, opposition from the banking sector to stablecoin yield products and DeFi regulation remains a major uncertainty.