Month At A Glance — May 2025
A quick rundown of the latest happenings and significant milestones within the Tezos ecosystem for May 2025.
Welcome to our latest issue, Month At A Glance (May 2025), where we give a quick rundown of the latest happenings and significant milestones in the Tezos ecosystem on a monthly cadence.
This month wasn’t just busy, it was transformative. From major protocol upgrades and the activation of the Data Availability Layer (DAL), to new integrations, trailblazing community recognitions, and rapid growth across Layer 2, May delivered real progress across the board.
Let’s break it all down.
Ecosystem Insights
Rio Protocol Upgrade Activated 
After passing on-chain governance in April, the Rio upgrade officially went live on May 1st at block #8,767,488, bringing with it meaningful changes that push Tezos further into high-performance territory.
Key highlights:
Cycle length reduced: from 3 days to just 1, speeding up staking operations and governance responsiveness.
Stricter inactivity thresholds: Bakers now get flagged after 2 days of inactivity (down from 5), helping reinforce active participation.
10% of participation rewards now go to DAL contributors, tying protocol rewards directly to scaling infrastructure.
Rio isn’t just a performance bump, it’s the protocol paving the way for Tezos X, aligning incentives with participation and setting the stage for a new era of decentralized scalability. It’s a building block, but a big one.
Data Availability Layer (DAL) Activation
The Data Availability Layer (DAL) officially went live on Tezos at block #9,057,834, with over 145 bakers running attester nodes and contributing to the first DAL-attested slot on mainnet. It’s a huge step forward for scaling rollups on Tezos, and this time, it’s not theory, it’s real.
In short: rollups can now store transaction data off-chain, and any node can verify that data that’s available, without bloating Layer 1 or relying on trusted third parties. Bakers have become decentralized storage validators, and Tezos just gained the ability to scale without giving up decentralization.
Oh, and if you’re a baker not running a DAL node? You’re leaving 10% in rewards on the table.
Tezos is no longer preparing for scalable rollups. It’s shipping them.
Etherlink’s Dionysus Upgrade Activated
The Dionysus upgrade, Etherlink’s most significant kernel upgrade yet, was officially activated on May 21st, 2025, at block #15,262,162, following successful governance votes by Tezos bakers and the wider community.
Developed by Nomadic Labs, TriliTech, and Functori, Dionysus addresses real network bottlenecks observed during previous spikes in activity and turns those lessons into tangible performance gains. Here’s what it brings:
Smarter Gas Pricing: A reworked cost model eliminates unnecessary fee spikes during high-traffic periods, improving user experience and economic stability.
Support for Large Transactions: This fixes a key issue where near-limit transactions were rejected. The upgrade corrects gas estimates and safely allows the full use of Etherlink’s block capacity.
Fast Withdrawals for FA Tokens: Introduces the foundation for fast L2-to-L1 withdrawals of FA-standard tokens, expanding on the bridge improvements introduced in Calypso.
Streamlined FA Deposits: Updates the internal flow of token deposits, lifting restrictions, and aligning their behavior with standard transactions.
DAL Integration: Enables the sequencer to publish blocks through Tezos’ Data Availability Layer, setting the stage for increased throughput and future scalability.
EVM Cancun Compatibility: Brings full support for Ethereum’s Cancun upgrade, keeping Etherlink aligned with EVM standards. Support for Pectra is already underway.
Dionysus isn’t just a technical release, it’s a proof point. Etherlink is scaling up, governance is functioning, and Tezos Layer 2 is evolving into a high-performance environment ready for real-world use.
News From The Tezos Ecosystem: Quick Bits
Beyond those insights, the ecosystem saw plenty of other noteworthy developments worth a quick look:
Messari Q1 2025 Tezos Report: Messari’s latest report highlights major momentum, Etherlink’s TVL surged 6,200% QoQ to $10.8M, real-world asset DeFi projects like Uranium.io and Hanji Protocol gained ground, and DAL activation efforts picked up steam. The report also notes a strong cultural presence and 167+ active monthly developers across the ecosystem. Read the full report!
sogni.ai Joins Tezos via Etherlink: Generative AI platform sogni.ai is now building on Tezos and integrating with Etherlink to deliver lightning-fast AI tools for creators. Backed by TZ APAC’s Fortify Labs, sogni is kicking off its first chapter in the Tezos ecosystem.
The first Waves of Tezos Trailblazers Announced: May saw the reveal of multiple batches of Tezos Trailblazers, creators, bakers, educators, and builders recognized for their deep contributions to the ecosystem. From glitch artists and art curators to devs and community hosts, this diverse group is helping spread the Tezos mission across the globe. More Trailblazers are on the way, stay tuned.
IDRX Launches on Etherlink: The Indonesian Rupiah stablecoin $IDRX is now live on Etherlink, Tezos’ EVM-compatible Layer 2. Users can mint, redeem, and earn 3.5% yield simply by holding IDRX, all with fast transactions and low fees.
OddsHub Announces Integration with Etherlink: Prediction market platform OddsHub is bringing its on-chain betting and forecasting tools to Etherlink, turning tweets, headlines, and public sentiment into tradable markets.
AFI Protocol Joins Etherlink: Artificial Financial Intelligence (AFI) is coming to Etherlink, bringing AI-powered agents to Tezos’ fast, scalable L2. The integration aims to support more efficient, secure, and automated dApps for developers and users alike.
Events
Artz Fridays w Mikey de la Crème — May 2nd
Tuesday🎙Tezday Community Call — May 6th
Artz Fridays w Juniper Paisley —May 9th
Tuesday🎙Tezday w Amir Mushich —May 13th
Artz Fridays w Sansfomo (Randall) — May 16th
Tuesday🎙Tezday Community Call — May 20th
Tezos Town Hall #9: Rio Protocol Upgrade — May 22nd
Artz Fridays w Jams2Blues — May 23rd
Tuesday🎙Tezday w Malicious Sheep —May 27th
Artz Fridays Community Call — May 30th
Stay in the Conversation, Stay in the Know
Tezos Commons hosts a variety of community-oriented events and content. From podcasts, X-spaces, and long-form content, there’s something for everyone.
TezTalks Live
TezTalks Radio
X Spaces
X Shorts
Baking Sheet Newsletter
In-Depth Articles
You can also contact us on X or via email at [email protected].
Month At A Glance — May 2025 was originally published in Tezos Commons on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
