Ethereum rolled out its long-awaited “Pectra” upgrade, delivering the blockchain’s most substantial changes since its 2022 switch to proof-of-stake.

New Hampshire has become the first U.S. state to approve the use of public funds to invest in bitcoin, a move that puts the state at the forefront of crypto finance policy in the U.S.

Citigroup is joining forces with Switzerland’s SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) to digitize the opaque world of late-stage, pre-IPO equity—part of a $75 billion market long dominated by PDFs, paper contracts and fragmented workflows.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Ethereum Activates ‘Pectra’ Upgrade, Raising Max Stake and Advancing Wallet Flexibility
• New Hampshire Becomes First U.S. State to Approve Bitcoin Reserve for Public Funds
• Citi Partners With SDX to Tokenize $75B Pre-IPO Shares Market for Institutional Investors

Ethereum Activates ‘Pectra’ Upgrade, Raising Max Stake and Advancing Wallet Flexibility

Ethereum rolled out its long-awaited “Pectra” upgrade, delivering the blockchain’s most substantial changes since its 2022 switch to proof-of-stake.

The update went live at 10:05 UTC and finalized roughly 13 minutes later, ushering in a set of upgrades designed to make staking more efficient and crypto wallets more functional. Central to the update is a raise in the maximum stake for validators—from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH—making it easier for infrastructure providers to consolidate operations.

Previously, institutions staking large amounts had to break up their holdings into dozens or even hundreds of validators. That approach not only generated higher costs but also contributed to congestion and long wait times for new validators. 

Now, larger participants can combine stakes into fewer nodes, cutting overhead and reducing strain on Ethereum’s peer-to-peer network.

“This means small operators can compound their stake directly, while large ones can consolidate validators to reduce bandwidth use,” wrote Ethereum Foundation’s Tim Beiko on X.

Another key feature is EIP-7702, which introduces temporary smart contract functionality to regular wallets. This could let users pay transaction fees in stablecoins or recover accounts without needing seed phrases—features aimed at making crypto wallets easier to use.

Pectra also includes nine other technical changes, mostly geared toward developers and staking services.

New Hampshire Becomes First U.S. State to Approve Bitcoin Reserve for Public Funds

New Hampshire has become the first U.S. state to approve the use of public funds to invest in bitcoin, a move that puts the state at the forefront of crypto finance policy in the U.S.

Governor Kelly Ayotte signed the bill into law on Tuesday, giving the state treasurer the authority to allocate up to 5% of available funds into digital assets that meet a minimum $500 billion market cap threshold. For now, that limits investment options to bitcoin, the only cryptocurrency large enough to qualify.

The new law marks a rare win for crypto advocates at the state level. While several states including Arizona and Florida made similar legislative pushes earlier this year, most efforts stalled or were vetoed. In Arizona, a reserve bill made it to the governor’s desk before being blocked. In Florida, the measure was withdrawn.

Citi Partners With SDX to Tokenize $75B Pre-IPO Shares Market for Institutional Investors

Citigroup is joining forces with Switzerland’s SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) to digitize the opaque world of late-stage, pre-IPO equity—part of a $75 billion market long dominated by PDFs, paper contracts and fragmented workflows.

The two institutions announced they will tokenize private shares on SDX’s blockchain-based Central Securities Depository (CSD). Citi will serve as both the custodian and issuer agent, with the platform set to launch by the third quarter of 2025. 

Initially, it will be available to institutional and eligible investors in Switzerland, Singapore and parts of Asia. U.S. investors are excluded. The project targets high-growth companies that are staying private longer as IPO windows remain narrow. 

As a result, demand for secondary market trading of private shares has surged, yet infrastructure hasn’t kept pace, the firms said.

The SDX platform, built on R3’s Corda blockchain, uses a Swiss legal framework that allows tokenized securities to appear in investor accounts like traditional assets, without requiring new technical skills or wallet setups. It’s a contrast to earlier Web3 efforts that ran into legal and regulatory walls.

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