Margaux Nijkerk

Margaux Nijkerk reports on the Ethereum protocol and L2s. A graduate of Johns Hopkins and Emory universities, she has a masters in International Affairs & Economics. She holds BTC and ETH above CoinDesk's disclosure threshold of $1,000.

Margaux Nijkerk

Latest from Margaux Nijkerk


Tech

In Win for Polygon's AggLayer, Magic Labs Unveils Chain Unification Network 'Newton'

Newton will allow for wallet solutions to plug into the AggLayer, which is a Polygon-backed effort to connect affiliated chains and allow tokens to freely move between them. Magic Labs claims its the first dedicated network for wallet solutions and chain unification.

Magic Labs CEO Sean Li

Tech

Is Optimism's 'Superchain' Winning the Ethereum Layer-2 Race?

One of the biggest trends of 2023 among the leading layer-2 projects on Ethereum was the emergence of “blockchain in a box,” where teams encouraged developers to clone their code to spin up new layer 2s. Now, one project in particular, Optimism, appears to be pulling away as the clear leader.

Optimism Foundation Chief Growth Officer Ryan Wyatt (Optimism Foundation)

Tech

Kraken Picked Optimism's 'Superchain' After Getting a Pile of OP Tokens

CoinDesk is first to report that the crypto exchange Kraken's decision to build on Optimism's OP Stack framework came with a big, previously undisclosed grant from the Optimism Foundation – of 25 million OP tokens, worth about $42.5 million at the current price.

Business deal. (Shutterstock)

Tech

Polymarket Is a Success for Polygon Blockchain – Everywhere But the Bottom Line

One of the major breakout successes this year for the team behind layer-2 blockchain Polygon is Polymarket. But according to data, Polymarket has only brought in about $27,000 of transaction fees for Polygon PoS in 2024.

Cumulative gas fees Polymarket on Polygon PoS in 2024 have totaled just over $27,000 this year, through Oct. 23. (Token Terminal)

Tech

Kraken Picks Optimism for New Layer-2 Network, Joining Coinbase's Base on 'Superchain'

The disclosure comes nearly a year after CoinDesk broke the news that Kraken was considering its own layer-2 network, following the runaway success enjoyed by Base after it launched in mid-2023.

Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell (CoinDesk)

Tech

Uniswap Developer Unveils Own Layer-2 Network, Unichain, Built on Optimism Tech

Uniswap Labs, developer of the top-ranked decentralized crypto exchange, Uniswap, says adding its own network will bring faster, cheaper transactions with more liquidity.

Uniswap Labs CEO Hayden Adams (Uniswap Labs)

Tech

Layer-2 Scroll Shares Plans for SCR Token Airdrop

The team said that the SCR token would be the first step in its roadmap to decentralization.

Scroll co-founder Sandy Peng (Bradley Keoun)

Tech

Avalanche Unveils $40M Grant Program Ahead of 'Avalanche9000' Upgrade

The program, called Retro9000, is supposed to encourage developers to build on Avalanche ahead of a much-anticipated upgrade known as Avalanche9000.

Ava Labs CEO Emin Gün Sirer (Ian Allison/CoinDesk)

Tech

Blockchain Data-Availability Project Celestia's Foundation Raises $100M

The news comes as as Celestia's native token, TIA, had fallen 54% since the beginning of 2024.

Celestial bodies. (NASA/Unsplash)

Markets

DeFi Lender Sky Ratifies Plan to Offboard Wrapped Bitcoin, Due to Sun Concerns

The matter has been closely followed in crypto markets, since the Sky platform has $200 million of loans collateralized by the token, and since WBTC is one of the biggest cryptocurrencies, with nearly $10 billion outstanding.

Sky. (ELG21/Pixabay)