Tezos
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The Baking Sheet - Issue #264
Welcome to Seoul
We’re back with a fresh edition of The Baking Sheet—and this week, all eyes are on what’s next for Tezos. Post-TezDev, the pace hasn’t slowed. If anything, it's picking up with the introduction of the 19th Tezos protocol proposal: Seoul.
Upgrades are always important, but Seoul stands out for what it brings to the table, especially for bakers and stakers. It’s another meaningful step forward in performance, staking UX, and governance participation. So let’s dive in.
Destination: Seoul: Tezos’ 19th Protocol Upgrade Proposal
The next chapter of Tezos is here with Protocol Proposal PtSeouLouXkxhg39oWzjxDWaCydNfR3RxCUrNe4Q9Ro8BTehcbh, known more simply as Seoul. Jointly introduced by Nomadic Labs, Trilitech, and Functori, the Seoul proposal brings major enhancements to the staking experience, collective key management, and block efficiency.
Here’s what’s in focus:
Native Multisig Accounts (tz4):For institutions and collaborative teams, Seoul introduces native multisig accounts using BLS signatures. It makes secure, shared control of staking and baking simpler—and more efficient.
Aggregated Attestations:Attestations are now grouped into a single operation per block for tz4 bakers. This could shrink bandwidth use by over 60x while paving the way for faster block times and smoother network scaling.
Open Unstake Finalization:Instead of waiting for users to finalize unstake operations manually, Seoul opens this step to anyone. This unlocks off-chain bots that can finalize unstakes automatically—making unstaking seamless for everyone.
As tz4 adoption grows, Tezos will move toward a world where every block can be attested by every baker. That brings better rewards alignment, simpler validation, and increased security. The proposal also adjusts governance delegation and includes early steps toward automated support tooling.
The proposal has already passed the proposal phase with over 75 million upvotes and is now headed for the exploration vote in six days. You can follow its progress on Tezos Agora.
To support the upcoming protocol, Nomadic Labs has also released Octez v23.0~rc1, the first release candidate for Octez v23. This version includes everything needed to interact with Seoul: support for tz4 delegates, native multisig features, and a new version of the
octez-baker
binary that automatically supports current and future protocols without requiring separate builds.
You can test Octez v23.0~rc1 now on Ghostnet or Seoulnet. For issues or feedback, head to Tezos GitLab or Discord.
Full details:
Release announcement
Changelog
Multisig explainer
Seoul is about making Tezos smoother, smarter, and more resilient without sacrificing the core values that got us here. And that’s just the start of what’s ahead in this week’s issue.
Midas Expands DeFi Access with Two New Products on Etherlink
While the Seoul upgrade sets the stage for broader protocol improvements, we’re also seeing meaningful progress from teams building directly on top of Tezos. This week, Midas unveiled two new institutional-grade DeFi products launching on Etherlink: mMEV and mRe7YIELD.
Midas has steadily built a reputation for tokenizing real-world financial strategies into self-custodied, permissionless ERC-20 smart contracts—starting with its earlier offerings, mBASIS and mTBILL. Those two products alone have attracted over $11 million in TVL on Etherlink. Now, with mMEV and mRe7YIELD, they’re taking things further.
mMEV offers market-neutral exposure across multiple ecosystems, tapping into arbitrage and high-efficiency strategies managed by MEV Capital.
mRe7YIELD provides access to diversified DeFi yield plays, overseen by Re7 Capital as the risk manager.
Both strategies are designed to be executed in a single transaction—no need to navigate multiple intermediaries or regional compliance frameworks. They aim to unlock complex financial exposure that’s composable, transparent, and secure, with Etherlink serving as the fast and cost-effective infrastructure behind it.
As David Relkin, head of DeFi at Nomadic Labs, put it: “Products like mMEV and mRe7YIELD finally make advanced yield-farming strategies accessible to institutional investors.”
Midas CEO Dennis Dinkelmeyer added that Etherlink provides the scalability and composability needed to bring structured financial strategies on-chain at scale.
This launch adds to Etherlink’s growing role as a home for serious DeFi builders, and with recent features like near-instant withdrawals and sub-minute finality now live, the environment is ripe for the next generation of financial products.
This Week in the Tezos Ecosystem
Apple Farm Season 2: New Rewards, New Rules
Apple Farm is back, Season 2 officially launches on July 24, and this time it's rolling out over $3 million in rewards, a brand new claim token, and a completely different way to earn.
If you participated in Season 1, you’ll recognize the familiar rhythm: participate in DeFi opportunities on Etherlink like lending, swapping, or providing liquidity, and start farming. But this season, rewards won’t be distributed as liquid tez at the end. Instead, you’ll earn applXTZ, a new claim token that unlocks value on your terms.
Here’s how it works:
Your applXTZ accrues every 8 hours.
You can claim whenever you want, no cooldowns, or lock-ins.
Once claimed, 20% of the reward becomes immediately redeemable for WXTZ.
The remaining 80% vests over six months.
Redeem early, and you keep only the vested portion unvested amounts are forfeited.
Each time you claim applXTZ, a separate vesting schedule begins. The longer you wait, the more of your WXTZ reward you can unlock. It’s a flexible, semi-liquid approach that rewards long-term engagement while giving you the choice to redeem early if needed.
The season runs for about three months, with reward recalibrations every two weeks. That means the best farming opportunities today might shift tomorrow so staying active pays off.
Follow Etherlink on X and check applefarm.xyz to stay ahead of protocol drops and yield updates.
Tezos Summer Events
Tree_Line: Zancan Solo Show at bitforms gallery
June 24 – August 2, 2025 | 131 Allen Street, NYC
Zancan’s first solo exhibition with bitforms gallery is set to open this month, marking the launch of a new annual partnership between the Tezos Foundation and bitforms. Tree_Line brings together a deeply considered body of work that reflects Zancan’s signature blend of generative algorithms and natural forms. Through the tree motif, the show explores structure, system, and the branching paths of creative logic.
bitforms gallery has been a longstanding force in new media art, and this partnership will shine a consistent spotlight on Tezos-based artists throughout the year under the curatorial direction of Steven Sacks.
The opening reception takes place Tuesday, June 24 from 5–9 PM. Expect light drinks, art, and great company.
RSVP: lu.ma/7zk9iwu3
🔴 Now Streaming: The Artist Journal with Adrian Pocobelli
In this episode of TezTalks Live, Stu sits down with artist and broadcaster Adrian Pocobelli, creator of Artist Journal, the long-running YouTube series covering the digital art market and collecting on the blockchain. With over 400 episodes under his belt, Adrian shares his journey from traditional artist to on-chain commentator, and how Tezos became a central part of that transformation.
We explore how Artist Journal grew into a platform for spotlighting blockchain-based art, why Tezos continues to attract a strong artistic community, and what separates it from other ecosystems. Adrian also reflects on how artists are carving out their place in the broader contemporary art world, and what it will take to shift perceptions beyond the NFT hype cycle.
From creator to curator, Adrian brings a thoughtful lens to the world of digital art and he’s just getting started.
🔍 In this episode, we’ll explore:
How Adrian discovered Tezos and found his place in its art community.
The origins and growth of Artist Journal, now with over 400 episodes.
Why Tezos remains a leading platform for digital artists.
Where blockchain art fits in the global contemporary art scene.
What’s needed to reframe the conversation around NFTs and blockchain art.
The evolving identity of the Tezos art ecosystem in 2025.
Watch the full episode on YouTube.
Powered by beehiiv
We’re back with a fresh edition of The Baking Sheet—and this week, all eyes are on what’s next for Tezos. Post-TezDev, the pace hasn’t slowed. If anything, it's picking up with the introduction of the 19th Tezos protocol proposal: Seoul.
Upgrades are always important, but Seoul stands out for what it brings to the table, especially for bakers and stakers. It’s another meaningful step forward in performance, staking UX, and governance participation. So let’s dive in.
Destination: Seoul: Tezos’ 19th Protocol Upgrade Proposal
The next chapter of Tezos is here with Protocol Proposal PtSeouLouXkxhg39oWzjxDWaCydNfR3RxCUrNe4Q9Ro8BTehcbh, known more simply as Seoul. Jointly introduced by Nomadic Labs, Trilitech, and Functori, the Seoul proposal brings major enhancements to the staking experience, collective key management, and block efficiency.
Here’s what’s in focus:
Native Multisig Accounts (tz4):For institutions and collaborative teams, Seoul introduces native multisig accounts using BLS signatures. It makes secure, shared control of staking and baking simpler—and more efficient.
Aggregated Attestations:Attestations are now grouped into a single operation per block for tz4 bakers. This could shrink bandwidth use by over 60x while paving the way for faster block times and smoother network scaling.
Open Unstake Finalization:Instead of waiting for users to finalize unstake operations manually, Seoul opens this step to anyone. This unlocks off-chain bots that can finalize unstakes automatically—making unstaking seamless for everyone.
As tz4 adoption grows, Tezos will move toward a world where every block can be attested by every baker. That brings better rewards alignment, simpler validation, and increased security. The proposal also adjusts governance delegation and includes early steps toward automated support tooling.
The proposal has already passed the proposal phase with over 75 million upvotes and is now headed for the exploration vote in six days. You can follow its progress on Tezos Agora.
To support the upcoming protocol, Nomadic Labs has also released Octez v23.0~rc1, the first release candidate for Octez v23. This version includes everything needed to interact with Seoul: support for tz4 delegates, native multisig features, and a new version of the
octez-baker
binary that automatically supports current and future protocols without requiring separate builds.
You can test Octez v23.0~rc1 now on Ghostnet or Seoulnet. For issues or feedback, head to Tezos GitLab or Discord.
Full details:
Release announcement
Changelog
Multisig explainer
Seoul is about making Tezos smoother, smarter, and more resilient without sacrificing the core values that got us here. And that’s just the start of what’s ahead in this week’s issue.
Midas Expands DeFi Access with Two New Products on Etherlink
While the Seoul upgrade sets the stage for broader protocol improvements, we’re also seeing meaningful progress from teams building directly on top of Tezos. This week, Midas unveiled two new institutional-grade DeFi products launching on Etherlink: mMEV and mRe7YIELD.
Midas has steadily built a reputation for tokenizing real-world financial strategies into self-custodied, permissionless ERC-20 smart contracts—starting with its earlier offerings, mBASIS and mTBILL. Those two products alone have attracted over $11 million in TVL on Etherlink. Now, with mMEV and mRe7YIELD, they’re taking things further.
mMEV offers market-neutral exposure across multiple ecosystems, tapping into arbitrage and high-efficiency strategies managed by MEV Capital.
mRe7YIELD provides access to diversified DeFi yield plays, overseen by Re7 Capital as the risk manager.
Both strategies are designed to be executed in a single transaction—no need to navigate multiple intermediaries or regional compliance frameworks. They aim to unlock complex financial exposure that’s composable, transparent, and secure, with Etherlink serving as the fast and cost-effective infrastructure behind it.
As David Relkin, head of DeFi at Nomadic Labs, put it: “Products like mMEV and mRe7YIELD finally make advanced yield-farming strategies accessible to institutional investors.”
Midas CEO Dennis Dinkelmeyer added that Etherlink provides the scalability and composability needed to bring structured financial strategies on-chain at scale.
This launch adds to Etherlink’s growing role as a home for serious DeFi builders, and with recent features like near-instant withdrawals and sub-minute finality now live, the environment is ripe for the next generation of financial products.
This Week in the Tezos Ecosystem
Apple Farm Season 2: New Rewards, New Rules
Apple Farm is back, Season 2 officially launches on July 24, and this time it's rolling out over $3 million in rewards, a brand new claim token, and a completely different way to earn.
If you participated in Season 1, you’ll recognize the familiar rhythm: participate in DeFi opportunities on Etherlink like lending, swapping, or providing liquidity, and start farming. But this season, rewards won’t be distributed as liquid tez at the end. Instead, you’ll earn applXTZ, a new claim token that unlocks value on your terms.
Here’s how it works:
Your applXTZ accrues every 8 hours.
You can claim whenever you want, no cooldowns, or lock-ins.
Once claimed, 20% of the reward becomes immediately redeemable for WXTZ.
The remaining 80% vests over six months.
Redeem early, and you keep only the vested portion unvested amounts are forfeited.
Each time you claim applXTZ, a separate vesting schedule begins. The longer you wait, the more of your WXTZ reward you can unlock. It’s a flexible, semi-liquid approach that rewards long-term engagement while giving you the choice to redeem early if needed.
The season runs for about three months, with reward recalibrations every two weeks. That means the best farming opportunities today might shift tomorrow so staying active pays off.
Follow Etherlink on X and check applefarm.xyz to stay ahead of protocol drops and yield updates.
Tezos Summer Events
Tree_Line: Zancan Solo Show at bitforms gallery
June 24 – August 2, 2025 | 131 Allen Street, NYC
Zancan’s first solo exhibition with bitforms gallery is set to open this month, marking the launch of a new annual partnership between the Tezos Foundation and bitforms. Tree_Line brings together a deeply considered body of work that reflects Zancan’s signature blend of generative algorithms and natural forms. Through the tree motif, the show explores structure, system, and the branching paths of creative logic.
bitforms gallery has been a longstanding force in new media art, and this partnership will shine a consistent spotlight on Tezos-based artists throughout the year under the curatorial direction of Steven Sacks.
The opening reception takes place Tuesday, June 24 from 5–9 PM. Expect light drinks, art, and great company.
RSVP: lu.ma/7zk9iwu3
🔴 Now Streaming: The Artist Journal with Adrian Pocobelli
In this episode of TezTalks Live, Stu sits down with artist and broadcaster Adrian Pocobelli, creator of Artist Journal, the long-running YouTube series covering the digital art market and collecting on the blockchain. With over 400 episodes under his belt, Adrian shares his journey from traditional artist to on-chain commentator, and how Tezos became a central part of that transformation.
We explore how Artist Journal grew into a platform for spotlighting blockchain-based art, why Tezos continues to attract a strong artistic community, and what separates it from other ecosystems. Adrian also reflects on how artists are carving out their place in the broader contemporary art world, and what it will take to shift perceptions beyond the NFT hype cycle.
From creator to curator, Adrian brings a thoughtful lens to the world of digital art and he’s just getting started.
🔍 In this episode, we’ll explore:
How Adrian discovered Tezos and found his place in its art community.
The origins and growth of Artist Journal, now with over 400 episodes.
Why Tezos remains a leading platform for digital artists.
Where blockchain art fits in the global contemporary art scene.
What’s needed to reframe the conversation around NFTs and blockchain art.
The evolving identity of the Tezos art ecosystem in 2025.
Watch the full episode on YouTube.
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Disclaimer: Includes third-party opinions. No financial advice. May include sponsored content. See T&Cs.