Biweekly, we’ll round up the hottest news across the DeFi ecosystem to help you keep up to speed.  

Ethereum successfully and smoothly completed The Merge, its transition to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. (Ars Technica) 

Check out this new community built analytics dashboard for ETH post-Merge. (Ultrasound.money) 

Ethereum researcher Justin Drake estimates Ethereum’s transition to PoS will reduce worldwide energy consumption by 0.2%. (Twitter) 

Starbucks unveiled a Web3-powered Loyalty program called Starbucks Odyssey that will offer members the ability to earn digital collectibles in the form of NFTs. (Inc.) 

A new group called Afropolitan plans to build a “network state” for the African diaspora using blockchain technology for a digital currency and NFT passport. (Politico) 

Nasdaq is starting a crypto custody service for institutional investors. (Coindesk) 

Solana NFT Marketplace Metaplex has announced plans to form a DAO and launch a token – soon to be airdropped to NFT creators. (Decrypt) 

Compound, a DeFi OG, is building a bridge for tradfi institutions to DeFi with fixed rate lending through their program Compound Treasury. (Blockworks) 

OpenSea has announced plans to launch on the Layer 2 Arbitrum. (The Block) 

Colorado residents can now pay taxes with crypto through PayPal. (Coindesk)