Grants are sparked by a retreat led by Vitalik Buterin, and creations akin to NFTs are minted on the Bitcoin blockchain, garnering attention at Sotheby's. Meanwhile, a glitch in Ethereum's Nethermind client software resulted in the removal of 8% of validators.This episode is sponsored by the Stellar Community FundFollow the show here for more.In this installment of "The Protocol," hosts Brad Keoun, the founding editor of The Protocol Newsletter, and tech journalists Sam Kessler and Margaux Nijkerk,  explore the following stories:TOPICS | Zuzalu -  Vitalik Buterin-Led Retreat in MontenegroThe program aims to continue the "growth of the pop-up city movement" and "support technology-driven projects,” according to a post on Gitcoin.Genesis Cat NFT Sells for $254K in Sotheby's AuctionThe sale of the digital image from the Taproot Wizards project came as popularity surges for the NFT-like creations minted atop the Bitcoin blockchain's Ordinals protocol. All in, some 19 lots sold by Sotheby's raked in a combined $1.1 million.Ethereum outageThe lion's share of Ethereum's validators rely on the same piece of software to power their operations. According to some experts, this could be a big risk.EPISODE LINKS |  Zuzalu, Vitalik Buterin-Led Retreat in Montenegro, Inspires Grants for 'Zu-Villages' Bitcoin-Based Digital Art Image 'Genesis Cat' Sells for $254K in Sotheby's AuctionBug That Took Down 8% of Ethereum's Validators Sparks Worries About Even Bigger Outage Sign Up for THE PROTOCOL NEWSLETTER From Our Sponsor: The Stellar Community Fund (SCF) is an open-application awards program that draws on community input to support developers and startups building on Stellar and Soroban. Accelerate your web3 project today.Apply for Funding at communityfund.stellar.org-The Protocol has been produced and edited by senior producer Michele Musso and our executive producer is Jared Schwartz. Our theme song is “Take Me Back” by Strength To Last.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.