Understanding RWAs

The tangible assets represented by RWAs are essentially assets that have substantive value and are acknowledged universally, meaning the value and ownership of these assets are widely accepted and understood, making them viable for transactions, investments, and other financial operations globally. They are objects with economic value, owned by individuals or enterprises, and are expected to produce future economic benefits. The ownership can be transformed into value through sale or licensing. These tangible assets make up a significant portion of total global financial value

The integration of these universally acknowledged tangible assets into the blockchain and DeFi via RWAs is a groundbreaking innovation. Through tokenization, tangible assets can be represented as tokens on a blockchain, enabling them to be easily and securely bought, sold, or traded on digital platforms. This fusion of traditional assets with digital technology aims at enhancing liquidity, accessibility, and transparency, improving the experience for asset buyers and owners alike.

Why are RWAs Useful?

Since tangible assets from traditional finance comprise a significant portion of total global financial value, they should be seriously considered in any investor’s diversified portfolio. For people with considerable crypto exposure, integrating a mix of these tangible traditional assets can make for a more robust portfolio. Unfortunately, access to these traditional assets are curtailed by many factors, including high entry barriers, regulatory and geographic restrictions, and liquidity issues.

Traditional assets like real estate and commodities often require substantial initial investment. Similarly, while there are various denominations available, a reasonable investment in bonds also demands a significant outlay, limiting participation mainly to already wealthy individuals. Regulations, jurisdictions, and geographic locations play a critical role in asset accessibility. Different countries have varied regulations concerning asset ownership and investment, which may prevent international participants from investing, or make it practically infeasible without institutional help. Again, this usually requires people to already have a certain amount of wealth.

Finally, assets like real estate and commodities generally lack immediate liquidity. Converting these assets into cash can often be a lengthy and complex process, making it less appealing for people with lower time frame preferences or needing to exit positions rapidly.

Crypto RWA tokens present innovative solutions to these challenges inherent in traditional financial assets. One of the most transformative benefits they offer is the ability to lower entry barriers. By enabling fractional ownership of real-world assets, they make it possible for people to purchase tokens that represent a portion of assets like real estate or bonds. This approach fundamentally reduces the initial capital requirement, broadening accessibility to a diverse range of people who might have previously been priced out of such markets.

Beyond this, the global nature of blockchain technology shatters geographical and regulatory constraints. It provides a platform where assets, previously tethered by regional regulations or jurisdictional restrictions, become universally accessible. This global reach ensures people from various parts of the world can tap into opportunities they might have been denied, or priced out of in the past. Furthermore, the inherent design of cryptocurrency exchanges enhances the liquidity of traditionally illiquid assets. People find themselves equipped with the agility to swiftly enter or exit positions, tailoring their strategies to evolving market conditions.

Finally, the essence of tokenization lies in its ability to divide tangible assets into smaller, digestible units. This mechanism not only democratizes investment access but also paves the way for a more diversified and inclusive landscape of asset ownership. In essence, RWA tokens bridge the old with the new, a more level playing field in traditional financial markets.

Current Prominent Examples of RWAs

RWAs are a fast evolving sector of the crypto landscape. The following are some of the use cases for RWAs:

1. Bonds: RWA tokens can be used to earn yield via bond RWA tokens, which are backed by sovereign bonds, such as US Treasury bills and bonds. By tokenizing these bonds, people can earn yield on their investment while also enjoying the benefits of blockchain technology such as increased transparency, liquidity, and fractional ownership.

2. Real Estate: Tokenized real estate allows people to own a fraction of a property and earn rental income from it. This can help democratize real estate investing and make it accessible to more people.

3. Commodities: Tokenized fine art allows people to own a fraction of a painting or sculpture and earn income from it. This can help make fine art investing more accessible to people who might not have the means to purchase an entire artwork.

4. Art and Collectibles: Maecenas and other platforms have transformed art and collectible ownership by enabling the buying of fractional ownership in artworks or collectibles.

5. Equipment and Machinery: Firms are now exploring the tokenization of industrial equipment and machinery, allowing for fractional ownership and usage rights, thus optimizing asset utilization.

RWAs are breathing new life into the asset landscape by bridging the traditional with the technological. Their integration into the blockchain and DeFi spaces is a milestone in fostering inclusivity, innovation, and a broader spectrum of investment opportunities. As technology evolves, the application and utility of RWAs are expected to explode, reshaping the way people approach investment and asset management.

Monad is a high-performance blockchain platform designed as an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible Layer 1 (L1) scaling solution. The smart contract platform offers full compatibility with the EVM, all while focusing on scalability and decentralization.

Key Takeaways

• Monad is a high-performance blockchain platform designed as an EVM-compatible Layer 1 scaling solution.

• Monad offers full compatibility with the EVM, allowing users and developers to access existing apps within the Ethereum ecosystem.

• Monad claims to have a throughput of 10,000 transactions per second (tps).

The technical limitations of Ethereum, the pioneer smart contract platform, and other existing infrastructures like Solana have been some of the most critical challenges in the blockchain industry. Hence, the need for scalable and decentralized blockchain solutions has become extremely urgent over the last few years. To address these issues, Monad promises enhanced efficiency with a high throughput of 10,000 transactions per second.

The Team Behind Monad

The Monad blockchain was designed by Monad Labs, a diverse group of professionals brought together by co-founders Keone Hon (CEO), James Hunsaker (CTO), and Eunice Giarta (COO). The team is experienced in low-latency programming and distributed systems design and claims to be building towards a more performant future in blockchain technology.

Scaling the EVM

The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is a component of the Ethereum network that is responsible for the execution of smart contracts. The EVM has been vital in the rise of decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi). However, the growing popularity of DeFi and the continuous expansion of dApps has resulted in significant challenges for the EVM – especially in terms of scalability.

One of the biggest challenges around scaling the EVM is that it is single-threaded, which means all transactions are executed sequentially. This limits the number of transactions that can be processed within a single time period, and also increases the time of execution.

At time of writing, there are two proposed solutions to scaling the EVM: sharding and parallel processing.

Sharding

Sharding involves splitting a larger blockchain network across multiple shards, increasing storage capacity and enhancing performance. Each shard holds a set of smart contracts and account balances, where nodes are assigned to individual shards to verify transactions and operations. Instead of every node being responsible for every transaction across the network, nodes are now assigned to specific shards, only coming together to agree on a universal Layer 1 state.

Parallel Processing

Parallel processing is also known as parallelization, or parallel transaction execution. By structuring the network to process transactions simultaneously instead of processing transactions sequentially, more transactions can be validated at the same time. Monad uses parallel processing, offering developers a high throughput Layer 1 that is EVM-compatible, making it easy for them to port their dApps over.

How Does Monad Work?

Monad is able to improve on Ethereum Virtual Machine’s limitations while retaining its desired qualities, thanks to its combination of various innovative technological mechanisms. For instance, the blockchain offers full bytecode compatibility for the EVM, which enables the migration of existing Ethereum applications to Monad without code changes. Monad is also equipped with full Ethereum RPC (remote procedure call) compatibility, facilitating the use of infrastructures, such as self-custodial wallets and blockchain explorers.

Specifically, Monad provides optimizations in four primary areas, and they include;

Parallel Execution

Most existing EVM-compatible blockchains, including Ethereum, Avalanche, and Binance Smart Chain (BSC), process transactions in a sequential order. Monad, on the other hand, achieves scalability by executing transactions in parallel.

However, Monad performs parallel transaction execution while maintaining compatibility with Ethereum by structuring its blocks similarly, i.e. with a linearly ordered set of transactions. This ensures that despite the different execution mechanics, the outcomes of Monad’s transaction execution remain identical to those in Ethereum.

Typically, a blockchain must first determine and confirm which transactions can be processed independently before executing them in parallel. However, Monad employs optimistic execution, where the blockchain assumes that all transactions can be executed independently and tries to process them simultaneously.

Nonetheless, an incorrect execution could occur if two transactions, which are dependent on each other, are processed simultaneously. For instance, one of the transactions might require the other (suitably called prerequisite) transaction’s output as its own input. Monad resolves this by re-executing the incorrectly executed transaction with the “updated” data from its prerequisite transaction.

Finally, Monad uses a static code analyzer to predict transactions that depend on each other. This would help to save time that would normally have been used in trying to execute transactions that have prerequisite transactions.

Deferred Execution

Another highlight mechanism of the Monad blockchain is that transaction execution is separated from the consensus process. This implies that transactions don’t have to be processed before the blockchain nodes reach a consensus on the ordering of transactions in a block — as opposed to the Ethereum network.

In Ethereum, the execution mechanism is designed such that all nodes have to process transactions before reaching consensus — all within a limited timeframe. This also requires setting conservative limits on the computational workload in order to maintain network reliability and performance.

Monad allows the nodes to determine and agree on a block’s state before the transactions within the block are executed. This way, transaction execution does not hold up the consensus process. Ultimately, this “deferred execution" mechanism helps enhance the efficiency and scalability of the network, enabling it to process more transactions within a shorter period.

MonadBFT

MonadBFT, an optimized derivative of the HotStuff algorithm, is the high-performance consensus mechanism of the Monad blockchain. It is designed to streamline communication between validating nodes and block leaders, reducing the consensus rounds and improving efficiency.

To reach consensus on a new block with MonadBFT (Byzantine Fault Tolerance), the block leader sends proof to the validating nodes that the previous block is valid. The nodes then directly send a signed “yes” message to the next leader, approving the block and signaling the readiness to move forward.

In a scenario where the block leader times out and the nodes fail to reach consensus, MonadBFT will trigger its fallback mechanism. It is a secondary communication process that consumes more time and requires mutual communication between all validators. However, this fallback mechanism ensures that the Monad blockchain still reaches consensus irrespective of delays or failures.

MonadDb

MonadDb is a custom on-chain database for storing the state of the Monad blockchain. Most Ethereum clients use data structures different from Ethereum’s Merkle Patricia Trie data structure, resulting in a suboptimal storage solution as one data structure will need to be embedded into the other data structure.

Given that Monad executes transactions in parallel, multiple transactions need to be able to read and write the database simultaneously. To address this, MonadDb employs a Patricia Trie data structure both on-disk and in-memory, which offers proper asynchronous i/o support to the database.

This allows the blockchain to execute multiple transactions in parallel and perform work asynchronously.

Benefits of Monad

As already mentioned, Monad seeks to fill the gaps left behind by other EVM-compatible blockchains. The following are some of the advantages offered by the Monad blockchain.

EVM Compatibility

One of the highlight features of Monad is its full compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. This capability enables developers to migrate their existing applications on Ethereum to Monad without any code modifications while avoiding further investment in resources and development time.

Furthermore, full EVM compatibility facilitates the integration of a wide array of Ethereum-based tools, libraries, and infrastructures to the Monad blockchain. This interoperability offers a scalable solution to existing projects seeking to improve their efficiency while also being able to leverage Ethereum’s vast resources.

Lower Fees and Fast Transactions

Monad is designed to tackle the scalability challenges associated with most EVM-compatible blockchains. Monad provides a high throughput by employing a combination of different mechanisms, such as parallel execution and deferred execution, which enables more transactions to be handled in less time.

This reduction in network congestion leads to faster transaction times, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency of the blockchain. The increased efficiency also contributes to the lower transaction fees observed on Monad, making it a more economical option compared to Ethereum.

Potential Risks of Monad

While the Monad blockchain has numerous advantages, it also bears some potential drawbacks.

Technical Complexity

Indeed, Monad offers outstanding benefits in terms of scalability and overall performance. However, the advanced nature of its mechanics introduces a level of technical complexity that can be potentially challenging for both end-users and developers.

Due to the technical complexity, the cost of developing and maintaining applications and infrastructures on Monad may be unfavorable, especially for small-scale project developers and teams. Also, the intricacies behind the blockchain’s mechanisms, like parallel execution, may introduce unforeseen vulnerabilities and risks.

Centralization Concerns

Another potential challenge associated with the Monad blockchain is the issue of centralization. Specifically, venture capital (VC) involvement in the project adds an interesting perspective to this centralization conversation. Recently, Monad Labs successfully completed a $225 million funding round led by Paradigm, with contributions from other firms like Electric Capital, Coinbase Ventures, GSR Ventures, and so on.

For context, investors often receive a significant portion of a blockchain’s token supply as part of incentives for their investment. For instance, the Celestia project reserved more than 35% of its native token (TIA) supply for its investors. With only a few entities controlling a substantial amount of tokens, there can be an imbalance in the governance and decision-making processes within the network.

This disproportionate token distribution can lead to centralization of power, where large investors have the power to influence over network upgrades, policy changes, and other vital decisions.

Monad vs. Other EVM-Compatible Blockchains

There are multiple other EVM-compatible blockchain in the space, including BSC, Polygon, and Avalanche. Let's a take a look at Monad, and how it lines up against incumbents within the space.

Feature

Ethereum

Monad

BNB Smart Chain (BSC)

Polygon

Avalanche

Consensus Mechanism

Proof of Stake

MonadBFT

Proof of Staked Authority

Proof of Stake

Avalanche Consensus

Scalability Approach

Layer 1

Layer 1

Layer 1

Layer 2/Sidechain

Layer 1/Subnets

Transaction Speed

~ 15 tps

~ 10,000 tps (projected)

60 - 100 tps

~ 7,000 tps

~ 4,500 tps

EVM Compatibility

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Gas Fees

Variable, often high

Low

Low

Low

Low

Developer Tools

Extensive

Extensive

Extensive

Extensive

Extensive

Notable Features

Decentralization, high security

Innovative execution mechanisms, Scalability focus

Low fees

Layer 2 scaling, zkRollups

Subnet infrastructure

Conclusion

In this article, we explored Monad as an EVM-compatible Layer 1 designed for scalability, discussing how the blockchain network addresses the critical challenges faced by Ethereum. This piece highlights the various mechanisms Monad employs to process blockchain transactions efficiently while maintaining EVM compatibility and decentralization. Moreover, we discussed the benefits of Monad over other EVM-compatible chains and its potential downsides.

Looking forward, Monad shows significant potential to positively change the trajectory of Blockchain technology. With a scalable and efficient platform, the blockchain can become home to a wide range of developers and projects looking to overcome the limitations of existing blockchain networks. At the same time, the continuous development and improvement of Monad indicates the capacity of this project to encourage innovation in the decentralized finance industry.

A key feature of Sophon’s farming pools is its booster program, an optional mechanism that allows participants to multiply the potential rewards earned by their deposit in exchange for permanently allocating some or all of their deposited assets for the purpose of providing liquidity on Sophon mainnet. This booster function will have the effect of multiplying either some or all of a user’s deposits in Sophon’s farming pools, creating even more reward potential. You can activate a booster by permanently locking any portion or all of your deposited assets. That means this liquidity is permanent to Sophon protocol, and can not be withdrawn. An activated boost multiplies your deposit by 5x (Thus, generating 5 times the original SP).

It’s important to note that the deposited assets used to activate boosters will be permanently allocated for the purpose of providing liquidity on Sophon mainnet with no option to withdraw in the future.

The primary assets users can deposit are BEAM and BEAM/ETH LP. Other farms will be released in due course.

The 10% of the total $SOPH supply dedicated to the Sophon liquidity farming period is anticipated to attract a large number of users, and an initial collection of pools will be launched, with an additional pool planned to launch in the following weeks.

SP given to participants will accrue in real-time, and users can view their accumulated rewards through Sophon’s Farming Portal. The rate of reward accrual differs by pool, but the primary rate of accrual is driven by the amount a user has deposited in a pool compared with the other deposits for that pool.

Any participation in the Sophon liquidity farming period will be subject to the user agreeing to the Token Airdrop Terms and Conditions and applicable Disclaimers, which will be published on Sophon’s website on or prior to the start of the liquidity farming period.

About Sophon

Sophon is an entertainment-focused ecosystem built as a modular rollup leveraging zkSync’s ZK Stack technology. As a ZK chain leveraging the ZK Stack, Sophon is intended to be tailored for any high throughput applications such as artificial intelligence and gaming. Sophon facilitates the connection between developers and users, backed by a robust strategic collaboration with ecosystems like zkSync, Beam, Zentry, and Aethir.

Leveraging the ZK Stack, Sophon is positioned to become a leading provider in the entertainment and blockchain space, leveraging the most future-proof Ethereum L2 out there. Node operators can engage with a blockchain network designed to shape the future of entertainment and blockchain technology, ensuring a decentralized, efficient, and user-centric environment.

The inEVM bridge is now live on mainnet. Start exploring the inEVM now.

What is Injective and inEVM?

Injective is a Cosmos blockchain supporting CosmWasm smart contracts and out-of-the-box modules such as a completely decentralized orderbook. It focuses on making DeFi applications easy to build and access.

inEVM is the new EVM-compatible rollup designed to facilitate composability across Injective and Ethereum. The inEVM is an Arbitrum Orbit stack chain developed in collaboration between Injective and Caldera.

And coming in the future is the Cascade inSVM, a rollup supporting Solana smart contracts and developer tooling.

All of these chains with different VMs makes interoperability between them extremely complex. The easiest way to connect them all is Hyperlane:

Why Hyperlane

Permissionless Interoperability

Permissionless Interoperability enables anyone to deploy Hyperlane to any chain. Interoperability and bridging for anyone, no need to ask the core team or wait in line.

The permissionless scaling of Hyperlane uniquely enables the Injective eco to connect to more chains and more ecosystems, without needing to rely on any bridge team.

Multi-VM Interoperability

Hyperlane’s modular and open-source design enables anyone to adapt Hyperlane contracts for any smart contract environment. Check out our implementation guide if you’re interested in adapting Hyperlane for new VMs.

Injective and Caldera specifically preferred Hyperlane due to our support for many VM environments and our ready out-of-the-box deployments.

Hyperlane originally just supported permissionless interoperability for EVM. But over time, external teams have adapted Hyperlane for multiple other VMs, such as SVM, CosmWasm, MoveVM, and more in the pipeline.

Out-of-the-Box Bridging

Hyperlane offers Warp Routes, an out-of-the-box token bridging application on Hyperlane. Warp Routes enable deployers to open up permissionless bridging for any asset between any Hyperlane-connected chain. It’s especially useful for assets that existing bridges won’t whitelist.

In addition Hyperlane offers a warp UI template for anyone to build a white label bridge on top of Hyperlane. In this case, the inEVM bridge.

What’s New

The primary use case of the Hyperlane x Injective integration will be bridging.

Warp Routes, Hyperlane’s token bridge application, were deployed for 3 tokens to start:

• INJ between the original Injective chain and inEVM

• USDC between ETH and inEVM

• USDT between ETH and inEVM

INJ, the native token of Injective, will be accessible on inEVM as a result.

What’s Next

Hyperlane will be pivotal in bringing interop to the upcoming inSVM rollup as well. The most efficient way to adapt interoperability and bridging to the complex Solana VM environment is with the permissionless and modular architecture of Hyperlane.

The inEVM bridging is already live on mainnet, try it now at bridge.inevm.com or Nexus.

More about Hyperlane

Hyperlane is the permissionless interoperability layer connecting the modular ecosystem. With Hyperlane, anyone can connect any blockchain, rollup, appchain, on any VM. Additionally, Hyperlane’s modular security stack gives developers the power to customize their interchain security to their needs.

While Farcaster shares similarities with traditional social networks, it introduces new terminology:

Farcaster VocabularyEquivalent Common Social Media Termcastpostchannelsgroupsframeweb app

Key points about Farcaster include:

• It functions as a standard social network, allowing individuals to:

  • Set up an account

  • Share content

  • Engage with content shared by others

These functionalities align with the general expectations of a social network. However, Farcaster distinguishes itself through these integrated web3 aspects:

• An Ethereum (EVM) address is required to create a Farcaster account. This address will be linked to your account and used to sign messages and publish them on the Farcaster protocol (unlike the traditional username/password method). Messages of any activity identified as posts, replies, follows, etc.

• User account data like profile details are stored on-chain. This is done via a smart contract (e.g., Id Registry) deployed on Optimism mainnnet. Other data, like Casts, etc., are stored off-chain on Farcaster's storage network called Hubs.

• Usernames can be managed on-chain via ENS, ensuring users have sovereignty over their identity compared to centralized entities, who can revoke usernames at their discretion. Anyone can call the ENSRegistry contract to resolve a username to its custody address.

• Users can create and embed decentralized applications within their posts (e.g., a mint NFT button, 1-click DAO vote, etc.). - Users can create and embed decentralized applications within their posts (e.g., a mint NFT button, 1-click DAO vote, etc.). These are called "Frames", and they must comply with the OpenGraph in order to render properly in a Cast. Some popular frames already built by others include @cookies, who built a seamless checkout experience in a Frame powered by Coinbase Commerce and $DEGEN, which is an ERC-20 token airdropped to the Farcaster community via BASE chain.

• The absence of a single entity owning the underlying data means that anyone with a Farcaster account can run a Farcaster node (aka Hub) and read/write data.

Farcaster's unique features are supported by:

• Specific smart contracts, each performing distinct functions to facilitate the decentralized experience

• Hubs, which refer to the open-source, decentralized, distributed peer-to-peer nodes that store and serve Farcaster data

Farcaster Architecture​

As discussed previously, Farcaster stores some data like account creation on-chain and other data like Casts on nodes referred to as Hubs.

Here is a high-level view:

Let's dive into more of the smart contracts utilized.

Farcaster utilizes three smart contracts (deployed on Optimism mainnet) to facilitate on-chain operations:

• Id Registry - This ID registry contract allows users to register, transfer, and recover accounts. It is tied to a fId, which is tied to the Ethereum address used during account creation

• Storage Registry - The storage registry contract keeps track of accounts and their storage rents. This is the same rent a user pays when creating an account and is used for their interactions (e.g., Casts, replies) on the Farcaster network.

• Key Registry - The key registry contract keeps track of keys registered to apps. This controls if an app can conduct activity (e.g., post, follow) on the user's behalf

To learn more details about each smart contract's functionalities, check out the documentation, and view the source code here.

Hubs​

The network of nodes storing and serving Farcaster data is called Hubs. This distributed, peer-to-peer network of nodes stores and validates the entire state of Farcaster (both on-chain and off-chain data) and communicates with one another to keep the state of Farcaster up-to-date.

Since Farcaster is open-source, any user can run their own Hub and be able to read/write data from Farcaster via the API. Current implementations of Hubs include Hubble (written in Rust and Typescript). Let's first dive into storage and how it's stored; then, we will dive into the message lifecycle and how it's validated/stored on a Hub.

Storage​

In order for an account to interact on the Farcaster network, it must first pay rent. This is usually a once-a-year fee that covers all the activity an account may conduct, such as casting, replying, following others, etc.

Each type of message gets allocated some rent, and any messages published after this rent amount has been exceeded result in the oldest message being pruned (by a Hub). Users can continue using the Farcaster protocol once the rent has been exceeded due to Hubs pruning and controlling the network load.

Now, let's talk about messages and how they get stored on a Hub.

Message Lifecyle​

The sync process for a Hub contains a two-phase process - gossip and diff sync. Let's outline how it is used in the lifecycle of data being stored/served on Hubs:

1. An account creates an interaction (e.g., Cast, React, Link) by signing the message

2. The message gets stored on a Hub and gets validated (e.g., is the signature valid? does it meet Cast requirements?)

3. The message is checked (async) for conflicts across storage and account limits (e.g., was the Cast deleted; a copy exists; does the account contain enough rent?)

4. If valid, the Hub propagates this message to other Hubs on the network (i.e., gossiping)

5. Periodically, a Hub will run diff sync to find messages that have been dropped and efficiently recover them

Note that running a Hub requires a minimum hardware requirement and does not generate revenue for users running the node. To control bad actors, Hubs monitor peers and score their behavior, ignoring bad behavior if detected. To learn more, check out the Hubs documentation.

Additional Resources​

• Farcaster documentation

• How to Build Farcaster Frames

How does AltLayer (ALT) work?

AltLayer's core innovation is the introduction of Restaked rollups. These rollups are essentially a set of three vertically integrated Actively Validated Services (AVSes) created on-demand for a given rollup. These AVSes offer verification of rollups' state correctness, faster finality, and decentralized sequencing.

Apart from that, AltLayer also offers a versatile, no-code RaaS launchpad that allows developers to spin up a customized rollup within minutes. The RaaS product supports multiple chains, virtual machines, rollup SDKs, sequencing services, and data availability layers.

AltLayer also introduces the concept of ephemeral rollups, which are highly resource-optimized rollups designed for dApps expecting a surge in demand. These rollups can be quickly spun up, used as needed, and then disposed of, providing the benefits of an application-specific rollup and a general-purpose Layer 1.

With these innovations, AltLayer presents a system with truly decentralized verifiers and sequencers, reduced time for transaction finalizations, strong interoperabilities, and a relatively high level of flexibility customizability.

AltLayer will airdrop ALT tokens to its early adopters and supporters. The ALT token is the native utility token of the AltLayer ecosystem. It serves several purposes:

• Economic bond: ALT token holders can stake their tokens to participate in the consensus mechanism and earn rewards for securing the network. Stakes will be slashes at detection of malicious activities.

• Governance: ALT token holders have voting rights that govern the protocol's development and operations.

• Fees: Transaction fees, storage fees, and other services within the AltLayer ecosystem are paid in ALT tokens and operators will receive a portion of these as their incentivizations.

ALT goes live on Bitget

AltLayer is a promising project that aims to revolutionize the rollup landscape by providing enhanced security, decentralization, interoperability, and faster finality. Its Restaked rollups and RaaS platform offer a unique and compelling solution for developers looking to launch their own rollups. With its strong team and ambitious roadmap, AltLayer has the potential to become a major player in the blockchain industry.

AltLayer (ALT) is now listed on Bitget and available for trade.

How to trade ALT on Bitget

Step 1: Go to the ALTUSDT spot trading page

Step 2: Enter the amount and the type of order, then click Buy/Sell.

For detailed instructions on how to trade spot in Bitget, please read The Uncensored Guide To Bitget Spot Trading .

The ALT token is a valuable asset for those who wish to participate in the AltLayer ecosystem. By staking their tokens, holders can earn staking rewards and contribute to the security of the network. Additionally, holders have governance rights and can participate in the decision-making process of the protocol. The ALT token also has utility as it is used to pay for transaction fees and other services within the AltLayer ecosystem.

ZetaChain's Mission At its core, ZetaChain aims to address the "cross-chain" and "multi-chain" issues that have hindered the seamless operation of blockchain ecosystems. Its mission is ambitious yet clear: to make the world of cryptocurrency and global finance accessible to anyone. ZetaChain envisions a future where users and developers can effortlessly navigate between different blockchains, harnessing the unique advantages of each, whether in payments, DeFi, liquidity, gaming, art, social networks, performance, security, or privacy.

Key Features of ZetaChain

1. Decentralized and Public ZetaChain is a decentralized and open blockchain network built on the robust foundations of Tendermint Consensus and Cosmos SDK. Transparency and trust are paramount in ZetaChain, as all transactions, including cross-chain transactions, are fully transparent and verifiable. Unlike many cross-chain solutions, ZetaChain operates in a trust-minimized manner, reducing centralization risks and vulnerabilities to hacks.

2. Hyper-Connected Nodes ZetaChain's network boasts hyper-connected nodes, which serve as observers, keeping a vigilant eye on transactions across all connected chains. These nodes provide a secure and decentralized environment for developers to create innovative cross-chain applications. They enable safe, decentralized reading and writing across interconnected chains.

3. Omnichain Message Passing With ZetaChain, developers can transmit messages, comprising both data and value, between various chains and levels with just a few function calls. This functionality simplifies the development of robust cross-chain applications, allowing developers to enhance their existing smart contracts with ease.

4. Omnichain Smart Contracts ZetaChain introduces native smart contracts that can interact with linked chains seamlessly. This innovation represents a fundamental shift in how applications are developed, enabling a new era of interoperability.

5. Managed External Assets ZetaChain's network and its decentralized applications can efficiently handle assets and vaults from other linked chains. This means that a decentralized app running on ZetaChain can coordinate and introduce smart contract logic to any linked chain, including non-smart-contract chains like Bitcoin and Dogecoin.

$ZETA Token At the heart of ZetaChain's ecosystem is $ZETA, which serves several critical functions:

1. Gas Fees $ZETA is the lifeblood of ZetaChain's smart contract operations, serving as the means to pay gas fees. These fees are essential for the execution of smart contracts, ensuring the uninterrupted flow of transactions and the overall smooth operation of the network.

2. Security Security is paramount in the world of blockchain, and $ZETA rises to the occasion by assuming a pivotal role in safeguarding the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) ZetaChain blockchain. Through mechanisms like bonding, staking, and slashing, $ZETA actively contributes to the network's security. This ensures that the ZetaChain ecosystem remains resilient against potential threats.

3. Cross-Chain Transactions $ZETA serves as the linchpin for cross-chain functionality within the ZetaChain ecosystem. It facilitates cross-chain transfers, enables swaps, and ensures the secure delivery of messages between interconnected blockchains. What sets $ZETA apart is its innovative one-way peg mechanism, simplifying cross-chain transactions while mitigating the risk of security breaches. This distinctive feature enhances the overall security and reliability of the ZetaChain network.

Closing In a world where blockchain interoperability is becoming increasingly crucial, ZetaChain stands out as a promising solution. With its focus on decentralization, security, and the simplification of cross-chain interactions, ZetaChain seeks to create a more accessible and interconnected blockchain ecosystem. As the project ramps up towards its mainnet launch in Q4 2023, it may very well reshape the way we view and utilize blockchain technology, ushering in a new era of seamless cross-chain collaboration and innovation.

At the same time, Dmail, which was originally built on the Internet Computer, is trying to bridge the gap between different chains. In addition, to support MetaMask(Ethereum) login earlier this year, in August, Dmail also supported BNB Chain login and BUSD payment, making it a step closer to a multi-chain ecosystem! Now we are working on KCC, Aptos, Polygon, Sui and etc.

And Dmail has raised a seed&strategic funding from Amino Capital, Hashkey Capital, Draper Dragon, KuCoin Labs, OIG VC, Spark Digital, Outliers Fund and other 20+ global top VCs. Meanwhile, Dmail is the winner of the 2021 Wanxiang Hackathon.

What is Dmail?

Dmail is an on-chain Email tool with the function of web3 asset transfer, each Dmail mailbox corresponds to a private “canister”. Dmail guarantees the safety of user information, and forms the fundamental decentralized identity (DID). With Dmail, users can access information, assets and DApps securely and seamlessly.

Email is the next generation web3-based collaborative platform that integrates the functions of message communication, asset management, data storage, workspace and etc. Over time, Dmail will become a fundamental infrastructure tool and DID for users to enter the web3 era, and will be a bridge that links web2 users to easily use blockchain services.

How Does Dmail Work?

Based on the unique architecture of the smart contract, all Dmail mailboxes are allocated a batch of private container “Canisters”. With the web3 digital signature system, the user information stored in the Dmail mailbox can be secured and avoided the risk of leakage.

Each email sending is equivalent to the interaction of the smart contract, that is, the interaction of the Canisters corresponding to each mailbox. During the interaction process, crypto assets can not only be used as the information in the container to interact and sent with emails; the Principal ID corresponding to the container can also constitute the basic decentralized digital identity (DID), which supports the borderless interaction between users with information and assets by accessing various applications.

In the process of implementing email encryption, the following ways:

1. Wallet login to achieve decentralized identity;

2. Distributed nodes and distributed storage based on a consensus algorithm ensure no downtime, ensure service continuity, and user data sovereignty and for-good storage, realizing the real web3;

3. The mail header and the mail body are separated, and the contract is chained and key encrypted to ensure the privacy of user data;

4. The agent robot realizes the bridge and link between web3 and web2;

5. Dual-ID verification is required for the recipient to send and receive for the first time, which solves the problem of spam.

Who Created Dmail?

Dmail has a decentralized administrative system with multiple-located offices globally such as the United States, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and China. The core team members have worked for leading companies in the Internet and encryption markets such as Google, Huobi, OKX, Tezos, Coinness and have extensive industry experience. The fusion of multi-culture background makes the development of Dmail full of vitality.

Why Choose Dmail?

Dmail has significant advantages regarding web3 information development.

Compared to the traditional web2 mailbox, Dmail is compatible with the product functions of web2, and the web3 application solves the defects of the old-generation products. At present, Dmail can already complete information interaction with most web2 mailboxes. Due to the involvement of blockchain technology and the application of three encryption levels (normal, advanced and full encryption), Dmail solves the problems of traditional mailbox information leakage, data attribution, and spam letters. Both ordinary C-end users and enterprise customers will not draw major concern about mailbox security.

The current development trend of the Internet leading companies reveals that the web3 has become unstoppable trend. To realize web3, DID undoubtedly carried very important functions and user attributes. Dmail is becoming the infrastructure for web3 DID functionality.

In the web2 era, the mailbox was already a kind of Internet identity identification; in web3 era, Dmail can still function the mailbox identification features to exist as the DID (decentralized identity) for users. At present, Dmail has launched the PFP NFT avatar setting function, combined with the NFT Domain account that firmly has the potential to act as a DID, which establishes the foundation for Dmail to continue to develop the DID function in the future.

In addition, the unique asset management function of the Dmail platform can also help users to realize the accumulation and appreciation of encrypted assets in the web3 era, and adapt to the economic incentive model of the web3 era. In terms of development progress, Dmail is the current mailbox DApp, the product that convene the majority function of web3 in an express development, which leads us to believe that Dmail can lead more users to the web3 era.

What Dmail Want?

The web3 universe is still in a long way and Dmail will continue the function of web2 mailbox, and endow new DID attributes to create an information service platform that serves more users as well as allowing more users to experience the efficiency, convenience and security of the web3 universe.

On the basis of the continuous development of web3 and its underlying technology, we hope to open up the indiscriminate transmission of information between traditional mailboxes and blockchain mailboxes with the Dmail mailbox application as the entrance, which will reduce the threshold for users and developers to participate in the encrypted world, and allow users to use the blockchain like you use the internet. Meanwhile, the Dmail can also create a portal for free communication for the development and prevalence of the new generation of Internet web3, and provide more convenient, safe and reliable services for Internet users in the new era, and become the cornerstone product of network applications in the web3.0 era.

Closing Thoughts

Dmail team has just celebrated its first anniversary, during which the vigorous team members experienced exploration and setbacks, and also experienced the honor and pride moment of being recognized. No matter what the situation is, all Dmail team members and the partners of the Dmail team are adhering to the original intention of the pioneers with a mindset of moving forward and great curiosity of  exploring the future for bring building Dmail into a web3-level information service DApp as well as  linking to  web3 for users.

CyberConnect is a groundbreaking decentralized social network that empowers users by giving them ownership of their digital identity, content, and social connections. In this litepaper, we delve into the core components of CyberConnect, including CyberProfile, CyberConnect Social Graph, and CyberWallet. By combining blockchain technology and token-powered protocols, CyberConnect aims to liberate users from the constraints of centralized social media and enable them to fully harness the potential of their digital social identities.

Introduction

The early days of the internet, known as Web 1.0, promised a free exchange of information without the control of a single company or platform. However, the advent of Web 2.0 and social media introduced a few profit-driven corporations that gained significant control over how people communicate, create content, and host their online identities. This centralized model led to a data monopoly, limiting user options and resulting in a lack of platform-freedom.

CyberConnect emerges as a decentralized social network to address the inefficiencies and inequities of centralized platforms. It is built on the principles of self-sovereignty, interoperability, composability, programmability, and scalability. By leveraging blockchain and token-powered protocols, CyberConnect offers a user-centric ecosystem that fosters user trust, content portability, and innovation.

The Problem with Centralized Social

Centralized social media platforms control users’ social connection data, leading to a misalignment of interests between platforms and users. Users’ social data is exploited to maximize profits, leaving them with limited alternatives for better experiences. This creates a data monopoly, with only a few social media platforms dominating the market.

Content creators often receive a small fraction of the revenue generated by social platforms, while users typically receive no compensation for their engagement and loyalty. Additionally, users find it challenging to switch platforms due to data silos and lack of interoperability.

Decentralized Social: Our Solution

CyberConnect proposes a decentralized social network that provides a level playing field for platforms and developers, allowing them to compete based on the best service offered. All end-user social media platforms build upon the same social data layer, removing the need for any single company to control access to data. This enables users to seamlessly migrate their online identities across platforms.

CyberProfile: Universal Web3 Identity Infrastructure

CyberProfile is a universal identity infrastructure that anchors users’ self-sovereign digital identity to their CyberConnect account. It stores basic personal information, usernames, avatars, and metadata. When users create content, a connection between the content and their profile is established, ensuring on-chain proof of the original creator and allowing for proper attribution and monetization.

CyberConnect Social Graph

The CyberConnect Social Graph stores social data, including connections between users, their content, and interests. It offers developers a toolkit for building composable applications that utilize social data from CyberConnect. The smart contracts enable programmability, tokenization of content, and various social interactions.

CyberWallet: An Accessible & Intuitive Web3 Wallet

CyberWallet is a user-friendly web3 wallet designed to provide a frictionless onboarding experience for new users. It features two tiers, Social and Pro, catering to different user needs and knowledge levels. CyberWallet supports gasless transactions and account abstraction, enabling easy cross-chain gas fee payments.

CYBER: CyberConnect’s Native Utility & Governance Token

CYBER is CyberConnect’s native utility and governance token. It allows token holders to participate in governance decisions and will be used for various functionalities within the ecosystem, such as payment for CyberProfile minting and gas fees in CyberWallet.

Conclusion & How to Get Involved

CyberConnect represents the future of decentralized social networking, where users regain control over their digital lives and creators can thrive in a fair and decentralized environment. To get involved, users can try out social products built on CyberConnect or experiment with dApps leveraging its technology. A public sale for CYBER tokens will be held on CoinList. In the coming months, an official whitepaper will provide more technical details about the protocol.

About CyberConnect

CyberConnect is web3’s leading decentralized social network, enabling developers to create user-centric social applications where users own their digital identities, content, and connections. The platform fosters connections between thousands of projects, creators, and users, promoting a thriving and equitable social networking ecosystem.

To join the decentralized social revolution, mint a CyberProfile and embrace the power of true ownership and meaningful connections.

Join CyberConnect Community

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• Version control

• Git

In this article, we’ll first explain those two principles. Then, we’ll dig into more about GitHub and how you can actually use GitHub to work with WordPress and/or Kinsta.

What Is Version Control?

Version control helps developers track and manage changes to a software project’s code. As a software project grows, version control becomes essential. Take WordPress…

At this point, WordPress is a pretty big project. If a core developer wanted to work on one specific part of the WordPress codebase, it wouldn’t be safe or efficient to have them directly edit the “official” source code.

Instead, version control lets developers safely work through branching and merging.

With branching, a developer duplicates part of the source code (called the repository). The developer can then safely make changes to that part of the code without affecting the rest of the project.

Then, once the developer gets his or her part of the code working properly, he or she can merge that code back into the main source code to make it official.

All of these changes are then tracked and can be reverted if need be.

What Is Git?

Git is a specific open-source version control system created by Linus Torvalds in 2005.

Specifically, Git is a distributed version control system, which means that the entire codebase and history is available on every developer’s computer, which allows for easy branching and merging.

According to a Stack Overflow developer survey, over 87% of developers use Git.

What Is GitHub?

GitHub is a for-profit company that offers a cloud-based Git repository hosting service. Essentially, it makes it a lot easier for individuals and teams to use Git for version control and collaboration.

GitHub’s interface is user-friendly enough so even novice coders can take advantage of Git. Without GitHub, using Git generally requires a bit more technical savvy and use of the command line.

GitHub is so user-friendly, though, that some people even use GitHub to manage other types of projects – like writing books.

Additionally, anyone can sign up and host a public code repository for free, which makes GitHub especially popular with open-source projects.

As a company, GitHub makes money by selling hosted private code repositories, as well as other business-focused plans that make it easier for organizations to manage team members and security. We utilize Github extensively at Kinsta to manage and develop internal projects.

How To Use Git And GitHub At Kinsta

Kinsta offers a Git client so that you can use SSH to pull down your own Git repository from GitHub (or other similar services).

Other Ways To Use Git And GitHub With WordPress

Many WordPress theme and plugin developers host their projects’ source code at GitHub. For example, you can view the Elementor page builder code, the Zerif Lite theme source code, and lots more.

But there are also WordPress plugins that help you use Git with WordPress more directly.

For example, VersionPress aims to bring the power of Git to regular WordPress actions, like updating a post or installing a plugin. VersionPress adds version control for both your WordPress database and files.

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At a high level, GitHub is a website and cloud-based service that helps developers store and manage their code, as well as track and control changes to their code. To understand exactly what GitHub is, you need to know two connected principles:

• Version control

• Git

In this article, we’ll first explain those two principles. Then, we’ll dig into more about GitHub and how you can actually use GitHub to work with WordPress and/or Kinsta.

What Is Version Control?

Version control helps developers track and manage changes to a software project’s code. As a software project grows, version control becomes essential. Take WordPress…

At this point, WordPress is a pretty big project. If a core developer wanted to work on one specific part of the WordPress codebase, it wouldn’t be safe or efficient to have them directly edit the “official” source code.

Instead, version control lets developers safely work through branching and merging.

With branching, a developer duplicates part of the source code (called the repository). The developer can then safely make changes to that part of the code without affecting the rest of the project.

Then, once the developer gets his or her part of the code working properly, he or she can merge that code back into the main source code to make it official.

All of these changes are then tracked and can be reverted if need be.

What Is Git?

Git is a specific open-source version control system created by Linus Torvalds in 2005.

Specifically, Git is a distributed version control system, which means that the entire codebase and history is available on every developer’s computer, which allows for easy branching and merging.

According to a Stack Overflow developer survey, over 87% of developers use Git.

What Is GitHub?

GitHub is a for-profit company that offers a cloud-based Git repository hosting service. Essentially, it makes it a lot easier for individuals and teams to use Git for version control and collaboration.

GitHub’s interface is user-friendly enough so even novice coders can take advantage of Git. Without GitHub, using Git generally requires a bit more technical savvy and use of the command line.

GitHub is so user-friendly, though, that some people even use GitHub to manage other types of projects – like writing books.

Additionally, anyone can sign up and host a public code repository for free, which makes GitHub especially popular with open-source projects.

As a company, GitHub makes money by selling hosted private code repositories, as well as other business-focused plans that make it easier for organizations to manage team members and security. We utilize Github extensively at Kinsta to manage and develop internal projects.

The GitHub homepage

Check out our video to learn the difference between Git and Github

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Exploring The GitHub Interface

To give you a basic understanding of what the GitHub interface looks like, here’s the WordPress source code hosted at a GitHub repository:

The WordPress code at GitHub

From here, you can view the various branches that are being worked on, as well as when someone made a commit (this is kind of like “saving” a file). Depending on how a repository is set up, you also might be able to create your own branch and make your own commits there.

And once you made some changes, you could submit that code back to a branch by making a pull request. A pull request is basically asking the person in charge of the branch to include your code. And it also helps that person see exactly what you’ve changed in the code.

If you wanted to edit some or all of the WordPress source code on your own account on a more permanent basis, you could also fork it by clicking the Fork button (a fork is similar in concept to a branch, but a fork is more permanent):

An example of forking code

WordPress itself was originally a fork of b2/cafelog. If you want a bit more information on how you can use GitHub, GitHub’s Hello World guide offers a beginner-friendly tutorial for getting started.

How To Use Git And GitHub At Kinsta

Kinsta offers a Git client so that you can use SSH to pull down your own Git repository from GitHub (or other similar services).

If you’re interested in using Git or GitHub at Kinsta, please read this help article for full instructions.

Other Ways To Use Git And GitHub With WordPress

Many WordPress theme and plugin developers host their projects’ source code at GitHub. For example, you can view the Elementor page builder code, the Zerif Lite theme source code, and lots more.

But there are also WordPress plugins that help you use Git with WordPress more directly.

For example, VersionPress aims to bring the power of Git to regular WordPress actions, like updating a post or installing a plugin. VersionPress adds version control for both your WordPress database and files.

VersionPress

WP Pusher is another Git-based plugin that lets you deploy themes and plugins directly from GitHub to your WordPress site.

How To Get Started With GitHub

To get started with GitHub:

• Sign up for a free GitHub account

• Follow the GitHub Hello World guide to understand the most popular actions you’ll likely want to take

• Read: WordPress Version Control (What It Is and Best Solutions)

• Read: Git vs Github: What’s the Difference and How to Get Started with Both 

The project has gained interest from some well-known funds raising over $25 Million for further development. These names include Coinbase Ventures, Crypto.com, Circle Ventures and others.

How To Use DeBank?

After connecting your wallet to the website, you may need to verify your address to start using the dashboard.

When the transaction is signed you will be able to access your profile page by selecting it on the left side of your screen.

When you open your profile DeBank will give you an overview of all the assets belonging to your wallet, if it is tracking the protocol and chain you are on. It is also possible to track funds on all blockchains individually. Simply select the chain of your choice and the dashboard will give you an overview of your assets on that chain.

NFT tracking is included but not all marketplaces are covered. If the NFT is in your wallet it should show up on DeBank.

The approval page is very useful if you have given permission to protocols that you want to revoke. It will not only show you which protocols have permission to spend your tokens but also how much capital is at risk if these permissions get used in a malicious way.

If you want to stay safe and organized, you can use this option to revoke any permission you have given on the chains that are supported by DeBank.

Bundles allow you to track multiple wallets if there is a need for it. Simply add the addresses you want to a bundle and they will be tracked. It is possible to create multiple bundles as well.

DeBank also offers a complete DeFi List that tracks almost all major protocols and projects on 17 different chains. Users that want to discover new investment opportunities can easily find them by filtering by blockchain and niche on DeBank.

For example, if you are looking for DEX aggregators on Ethereum all you have to do is select ETH as the preferred chain and DEX-Aggregator as the second option.

Lastly, DeBank can greatly help those that are involved in multiple projects and want to participate in governance. The dashboard aggregates all active proposals from a lot of different projects and gives users a simple overview of them. There is also an option to view only those that are of interest to you based on your wallet holdings.

Conclusion

At the time of writing DeBank was still under heavy development. Some features like Swaps will be migrated from the app while others will have significant improvements. As for the functionality, there is no question that DeBank can be of great value to DeFi users that are involved in multiple projects at the same time.

Not only does it provide a very detailed overview of your portfolio, but it also keeps track of many different projects and their governance proposals. With DeBank it should be easy to stay organized and informed at the same time.

Worldcoin is a cryptocurrency and digital identity project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Alex Blania and Max Novendstern. It aims to address income inequality through its unique World ID feature, which will serve as “proof-of-personhood,” as described by Sam Altman. After two years in development and amid high anticipation, the project was launched on July 24, 2023.

The crypto-focused project was co-founded by the trio with a three-part mission: to create a global unique digital identity, a global currency (Worldcoin token) and an app that enables payment, purchases and transfers using its token alongside other cryptocurrencies and traditional assets.

Tools for Humanity (TFH) is the company building Worldcoin and raised $115 million in a Series C round led by Blockchain Capital in May 2023. Prior rounds included investments from a16z, Khosla ventures and others.

Worldcoin is an open-source, decentralized protocol embraced by a worldwide community of developers and technologists and aims to be self-sufficient, fostering a true decentralized vision.

How does Worldcoin work?

Scan your retina in exchange for cryptocurrencies and generate a unique digital identity establishing one’s proof-of-personhood among the growing sea of AI robots.

At the heart of the Worldcoin project is the concept of proof-of-personhood established by an eye-scanning device called the Orb. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), proving identity in the future will be more important than ever and the question — human or machine? — will definitely take center stage.

Worldcoin’s white paper highlights that specialized biometric gear might be the only long-term practical way to provide AI-safe proof-of-personhood verifications, which led to the creation of the Orb. The Orb is of high importance in Worldcoin’s ecosystem:

• Every individual will need to get their retina scanned via the Orb for biometric verification.

• Anyone across the globe can sign up regardless of their location or background.

• Worldcoin is expanding its “orbing” of people by setting up centers across 35 countries and growing.

• The “Orb,” a special silver ball about the size of a bowling ball, is used to conduct in-person iris scans on individuals. The Orb scans the person’s iris to confirm their human identification before generating their unique World ID.

• Worldcoin collected 2 million users in its beta and is ramping up its operations to onboard more users. Early adopters are being awarded Worldcoin (WLD), the native token of the Worldcoin protocol.

  Individuals need to download the World app, scan their retinas at Orb centers, and generate a unique World ID, which will give them access to the decentralized Worldcoin ecosystem. As the network grows, so will various decentralized applications (DApps) and utilities on it. Developers can create online and mobile applications on the Worldcoin protocol using the World ID Software Development Kit (SDK).

• What is a Worldcoin token, and how can I get token incentives?

  The Worldcoin Orb gives WLD tokens to those who get their eyes scanned. Token incentives will be on the Optimism mainnet.

  Worldcoin (WLD) is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum mainnet. Prior to its official launch, Worldcoin Protocol successfully migrated to the OP mainnet, which was formerly referred to as the Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Optimism. The transition means the Worldcoin protocol is now on Ethereum with bridges for Optimism and Polygon PoS.

• During the beta phase, WLD was only available to early adopters as incentives for their participation in getting their eyes scanned. WLD was allocated to as many as 2 million unique new users during the beta. Worldcoin will continue these incentives post-launch, with the amount diminishing as more people are onboarded. Apart from this, Orb Operators are also rewarded with WLD issuance.

  WLD’s supply will be capped to 10 billion tokens for a duration of 15 years. However, after the 15-year period, the governance committee of the Worldcoin Protocol will have the authority to decide whether or not to increase the token supply, set at a maximum rate of 1.5% per year (the default rate is set at 0%). Additionally, the governance team will also determine how these newly minted tokens will be allocated or distributed within the network.

  As per the tokenomics, 75% of the tokens have been earmarked for the community, 9.8% to the initial development team, 13.5% to the investors of Tools for Humanity and 1.7% in reserve. The combination of World ID and the WLD token will hold a significant role in protocol governance. Users will actively engage in shaping the future of the Worldcoin ecosystem, establishing it as a true community-driven initiative.

• How to buy Worldcoin tokens

  WLD token is listed and available via various avenues allowing people to choose the option of purchasing that best suits their needs. Prices are subject to market trends.

  WLD is available for purchase on all major centralized exchanges (CEXs), such as Binance, KuCoin, OKX, Bybit and Huobi. CEXs, such as Binance, offer multiple purchase options via credit card or bank deposit, or buying a stablecoin like Tether (USDT) or Binance USD (BUSD), and then using that coin to buy WLD.

  It is also available for swaps on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms like Uniswap and PancakeSwap. The levels of security, dependability and liquidity vary among platforms. Sam Altman and co-founder Alex Blania expressed in an open letter that the WLD token would only be accessible in regions of the world where legal compliance is more feasible.

  At the time of launch on July 24, 2023, WLD was unavailable in United States, with the company clearly stating that the use, purchase or access of WLD tokens is not intended for U.S. persons, including U.S. citizens, residents, individuals located within the U.S., as well as companies incorporated, located or registered in the United States. Moreover, anyone who completes an Orb scan in the U.S. would not be eligible for the token drop.

• Is it worth investing in Worldcoin?

  Worldcoin has sparked interest globally, with some expressing bullish forecasts, while others fearing privacy risks. One must educate themself on all aspects before making any investments.

  Worldcoin has received mixed reviews — from criticism and controversy to futuristic and cool. When news of the retina scanners became public in late 2021, renowned whistleblower Edward Snowden expressed resistance to the concept of scanning human eyes as a requirement for receiving cryptocurrency. The project has drawn severe criticism globally over perceived privacy risks.

  On the other hand, Silicon Valley investors have shown massive interest in the project and confidence in the founding team. In the era of generative AI and human-like interaction by bots, Worldcoin is a unique project poised to serve as a differentiator source between humans and AI bots in the digital world. The company’s own AI-based prediction models have estimated that over 1 billion people will have gazed into the Orb by 2023.

A blockchain bridge is a tool that lets you port assets from one blockchain to another, solving one of the main pain points within blockchains – a lack of interoperability.

Since blockchain assets are often not compatible with one another, bridges create synthetic derivatives that represent an asset from another blockchain.

If you use a bridge to send one Solana coin to an Ethereum wallet, that wallet will receive a token that has been “wrapped” by the bridge – converted to a token based on the target blockchain. In this case, the Ethereum wallet would receive a "bridge" version of Solana that has been converted to an ERC-20 token – the generic token standard for fungible tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.

While bridges open up new markets and work toward a brighter multi-chain future, they come with their own security challenges, as proven by a huge $326 million exploit on the nascent Wormhole bridge in February 2022.

Types of blockchain bridges

Some bridges, known as unidirectional or one-way bridges, allow you to port assets only to the target blockchain and not the other way around. For instance, Wrapped Bitcoin allows you to send bitcoin to the Ethereum blockchain – to convert BTC to an ERC-20 stablecoin – but it doesn’t let you send ether to the Bitcoin blockchain.

Other bridges like Wormhole and Multichain are bidirectional, or two-way, meaning you can freely convert assets to and from blockchains. Just as you can send Solana to Ethereum’s blockchain, you can send ether to Solana.

Read more: What is Solana?

Bridges are either custodial (also known as centralized or trusted) or noncustodial (decentralized or trustless). The difference explains who controls the tokens that are used to create the bridged assets. All wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) is held in custody by BitGo, making it a centralized bridge. Conversely, bridged assets on Wormhole are held by the protocol, meaning it is more decentralized.

While hardline advocates of decentralization might venture that the custodial nature of WBTC makes it less secure than decentralized alternatives, bridges that decentralize custody over bridged assets aren't necessarily safer, as shown by the Wormhole bridge exploit.

Why use a blockchain bridge?

Porting assets from one blockchain to another blockchain comes with a myriad of benefits. First, the blockchain onto which you port assets might be cheaper and faster than its native blockchain. This is certainly true for Ethereum, where high transaction fees and slow throughput make it difficult for newcomers to get involved in decentralized finance (DeFi).

If investors ported assets to a layer 2 network – a faster blockchain that sits atop the Ethereum blockchain, like Arbitrum or Polygon – they could trade ERC-20 tokens for a fraction of the cost without sacrificing exposure to Ethereum tokens.

Other investors might use bridges to make the most of markets that exist only on another blockchain. For instance, the DeFi protocol Orca is available only on Solana, but supports a wrapped version of ETH.

Bridges are becoming easier to use. Many DeFi protocols have integrated bridges to let their users swap tokens from different protocols without having to leave the platform. This makes the process of converting tokens through bridges less cumbersome.

What are the biggest blockchain bridges?

According to DeFi Llama, there was $21.8 billion worth of crypto locked in bridges as of March 2022. The largest blockchain bridge is Wrapped Bitcoin, accounting for almost half of the bridge market, with $10.2 billion in total value locked (TVL). DeFi Llama pegs Multichain as the largest cross-chain bridge, with about $7 billion in TVL.

A dashboard on Dune Analytics shows that the Avalanche Bridge is the largest Ethereum bridge, with about $6 billion in TVL, followed by Polygon ($5 billion TVL) and the Fantom Anyswap Bridge ($4.2 billion TVL).

Are blockchain bridges safe?

Like with all of crypto, your capital is at risk. Some novel decentralized bridges are relatively untested and even those that have been tested are subject to exploits. The most notable recent example is Wormhole, but a week before that attack, a bridge called Qubit was exploited for $80 million.

Read More: How to Stay Safe in DeFi

According to analysis from blockchain analytic firm Elliptic, the Wormhole attack occurred because Wormhole allowed the attacker to mint 120,000 worth of wrapped ethereum without having to stake any ETH. The attacker then withdrew the free WETH. A high-frequency trading firm called Jump Trading covered the losses to bail out the protocol.

Trusted bridges have different risk profiles. Instead of the risk that an attacker exploits the protocol and drains it of funds, the risk is that the company that holds staked assets is corrupt or negligent or loses control over the assets because of incompetence or because of orders from a third party, such as if a government requests that the company freeze assets.

Luckily, there is a wide range of wallet options that lie on a spectrum from completely self-controlled to completely outsourced. Digital-asset holders should consider what is best for their personal situations. With options like cold storage (explained below), your personal security practices can matter greatly.

For the extremely risk-averse, there are ways to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies via traditional financial markets that provide third-party custody, usually through a broker. These include futures contracts and exchange-traded funds that invest in them, over-the-counter trust and publicly traded companies with crypto holdings or a dedicated business strategy in the industry including MicroStrategyMSTR -0.9%, a business-software company that keeps buying bitcoin; money-transfer specialist Square; and miners Riot Blockchain and Marathon Digital.

For those who elect to hold their digital assets outside of the traditional financial arena, deciding what kind of wallet to use is a must. The main options are: custodial versus non-custodial and hot versus cold. Users then have to select a specific wallet from those possibilities. Each option provides trade-offs between ownership, ease of use, and security.

Custodial Wallets

Custodial wallets are those that are held by someone on your behalf. If you keep assets on centralized exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken or Gemini, you have to use a custodial wallet. Custodial wallets are by far the most convenient because accessing your crypto is the same as a login experience for an online broker.

Custodial wallets can be appropriate for the average crypto investor whose digital assets make up a small percentage of an overall portfolio. It also makes sense if you do not trust in your ability to store crypto. Having a custodial wallet involves opening an account with a third party. You use a username, password and typically a two-tier verification system like a personal-identification number or randomized authentication code. Users can also easily linklink -0.2% a bank account to make instant purchases and verify one’s identity to increase spending limits or send and receive crypto. Instead of share price, these wallets show the number of digital assets held and the portfolio value.

The biggest risk to custodial wallets are exchange hacks and the custodian becoming insolvent. Sophisticated exchanges will typically hold most of their coins in cold storage, have multifaceted authenticity measures and use complex firewalls. However, this does not mean that they are immune to attack. In 2019, hackers stole $40 million of bitcoin in an orchestrated attack that used phishing scams and viruses against the popular Binance exchange. Furthermore, as seen with centralized finance lending platforms and exchanges like CelsiusCEL 0.0%, Voyager, and FTX, these institutions can freeze accounts and withdrawals if they face liquidity issues. Relying on third parties is easy, but it brings its own set of risks.

Non-Custodial Wallets

This category comes in two temperatures: hot and cold. Hot wallets are those that require an internet connection to access. They can be in desktop, web or mobile form. Cold wallets do not rely on the internet. Cold wallets are physical devices that are nearly impossible to compromise because they are not connected to the internet.

Hot Wallets

Hot wallets are sometimes referred to as software wallets.

Desktop wallets keep a user’s private keys stored on the computer’s hard drive. Desktop wallets are relatively easy to use. Examples include Exodus Wallet and Atomic Wallet for multiple digital assets or Electrum and Bitcoinbitcoin +0.5%BTC 0.0% Core specifically for the Bitcoin network.

Unfortunately, desktop wallets can be susceptible to malware. A trend with non-custodial wallets is that your assets are as secure as your individual security practices– and people fall victim to phishing scams quite regularly. Between 2019 and 2020, hackers stole over $22 million of bitcoin from Electrum wallets by sending users fake messages telling them to update their software. When this was done, malware was installed that stole their funds the next time they logged into their desktop wallets. Such events can be avoided by retaining the official version of the software or only downloading updates from the official website.

Another kind of hot wallet is web-based. Web wallets include MetaMask, Phantom and Trust Wallet. Coinbase also offers a version for users that prefer self-custody. These wallets do not store private keys or personal information. They also allow users to sign transactions and interact with blockchain protocols. In addition, many popular decentralized applications have built integrations with these wallets to make it easy for users to access their crypto holdings when using them. For these reasons, they are the most popular type of non-custodial wallet. Like desktop wallets, they can also be subject to phishing scams and malware.

Cold Wallets

Storing your digital assets offline begins with choosing a hardware wallet. The most popular manufacturers are Ledger and Trezor. Though nefarious actors have been known to try to steal crypto by tampering hardware wallet devices, sometimes by compromising their supply chains, offline storage is by far the most secure because there is no internet connection involved.

With cold wallets, your crypto is as safe as your personal security practices. Theft, loss and physical destruction of the device does not have to mean a permanent loss of assets, as the seed phrase coupled with a new device can be used to recover the funds on a new device. However, theft or loss of both seed phrase and device usually means the assets are not recoverable. If maintaining physical custody sounds stressful, perhaps a custodial wallet or desktop wallet are options to consider.

One common security approach is to rely on custodial or software wallets for digital assets that will be used in the nearnear -2% future and cold storage for long-term savings in a manner similar to checkings and savings accounts with a bank.

Conclusion

Crypto wallet options are a lot like storing physical gold. Some people don’t trust in their own ability to keep the metal secure in a safe at home. They can forget the combination or a thief who found it written down could access the gold. To avoid such anxiety, this kind of person would outsource crypto storage to a third party and have a custodial wallet, though that brings the risk of government confiscation.

“Not your keys, not your coins” is a common refrain among digital-asset aficionados who dislike third-party custody; but let’s be honest, the horror stories of people losing millions of dollars worth of bitcoin by misplacing their private keys are enough for anyone to second guess their ability to self-custody their tokens.

Crypto owners should know their priorities and limitations. For those that only have or want a small amount of exposure, some exchanges are heavily regulated and prioritize security. Dealing with private keys and cold wallets is not for everyone. At the same time, having all your eggs in one basket may not be the safest bet, especially if it involves a large part of your net worth.

Introduction

In the span of a few years, cryptocurrencies have grown from digital novelties to trillion-dollar technologies with the potential to disrupt the global financial system. Bitcoin and hundreds of other cryptocurrencies are increasingly held as investments and used as currencies to buy a swath of goods and services, such as software, digital real estate, and illegal drugs.

To their proponents, cryptocurrencies are a democratizing force, wresting the power of money creation and control from central banks and Wall Street. Critics, however, say that a lack of regulation for cryptocurrencies empowers criminal groups, terrorist organizations, and rogue states, while the assets themselves stoke inequality, suffer from drastic market volatility, and consume vast amounts of electricity. Regulations vary considerably around the world, with some governments embracing cryptocurrencies and others banning or limiting their use. As of February 2023, 114 countries, including the United States, are considering introducing their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to compete with the cryptocurrency boom.

What are cryptocurrencies?

So called for their use of cryptography principles to mint virtual coins, cryptocurrencies are typically exchanged on decentralized computer networks between people with virtual wallets. These transactions are recorded publicly on distributed, tamper-proof ledgers known as blockchains. This open-source framework prevents coins from being duplicated and eliminates the need for a central authority such as a bank to validate transactions. Bitcoin, created in 2009 by the pseudonymous software engineer Satoshi Nakamoto, is by far the most prominent cryptocurrency, and its market capitalization has peaked at over $1 trillion. Numerous others, including Ethereum, the second-most popular, have proliferated in recent years.

Cryptocurrency users send funds between digital wallet addresses. These transactions are then recorded into a sequence of numbers known as a “block” and confirmed across the network. Blockchains do not record real names or physical addresses, only the transfers between digital wallets, and thus confer a degree of anonymity on users. Some cryptocurrencies, such as Monero, claim to provide additional privacy. However, if the identity of a wallet owner becomes known, their transactions can be traced.

Bitcoin “miners” earn coins by organizing these blocks, thereby validating transactions on the network; the process requires a system known as “proof of work,” based on using computers to solve math problems. Many cryptocurrencies use this method, but Ethereum and some others instead use a validation mechanism known as “proof of stake.” In Bitcoin’s case, a transaction block is added to the chain every ten minutes, at which point new Bitcoin is awarded. (The reward decreases steadily over time.) The total supply of Bitcoin is capped at twenty-one million coins, but not all cryptocurrencies have such a constraint.

The prices of Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies vary based on global supply and demand. However, the values of some cryptocurrencies are fixed because they are backed by other assets, thus earning them the name “stablecoins.” While these coins tend to claim a peg to a traditional currency, such as $1 per coin, many such currencies were knocked from their pegs during a spate of volatility in 2022.

Why are they popular?

Once dismissed as a fringe interest of tech evangelists, cryptocurrencies—particularly Bitcoin—have skyrocketed to mainstream popularity and trillion dollar valuations. In November 2021, the price of Bitcoin surged to more than $60,000 for the first time. (By February 2023, it had fallen to $23,000.) As of mid 2022, an estimated 20 percent of U.S. adults polled by NBC News had invested in, traded, or used cryptocurrency.

Different currencies have different appeals, but the popularity of cryptocurrencies largely stems from their decentralized nature: They can be transferred relatively quickly and anonymously, even across borders, without the need for a bank that could block the transaction or charge a fee. Dissidents in authoritarian countries have raised funds in Bitcoin to circumvent state controls, including to avoid U.S. sanctions on Russia.

Some experts say that digital assets are primarily tools for investment. People buy cryptocurrencies “because of a speculative belief that these tokens are going to go up in the future, because a new future is being built on the blockchain,” says CFR Senior Fellow Sebastian Mallaby. “It’s a very risky bet, as the last twelve months have shown.”

The price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fluctuates wildly, and some experts say this limits their usefulness as a means of transaction. (Most buyers and sellers don’t want to accept payment in something whose value can change dramatically from day to day.) Nevertheless, some businesses accept Bitcoin. Many investors see Bitcoin as a speculative asset to hold over time, rather than make payments with, and it often draws comparisons to gold. Some see Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation because the supply is permanently fixed unlike those of fiat currencies, which central banks can expand indefinitely. However, after Bitcoin plummeted amid stock market volatility in 2022, many experts questioned this argument. The valuation of other cryptocurrencies can be harder to explain, though many are associated with a larger project within the digital asset industry. Some cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin, were created as jokes, but have retained value and garnered investment from high profile investors.

In countries with historically weak currencies, including several Latin American and African countries, Bitcoin has become popular with populist leaders. In 2021, El Salvador made waves by becoming the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender (residents can pay taxes and settle debts with it), though the move has sparked protests. Some politicians in other parts of the region have expressed support for the idea.

Stablecoins, meanwhile, have the potential to rival fiat currencies as the dominant form of payments, experts say. Their value is relatively stable, and they can be sent instantly without the transaction fees associated with credit cards or international remittance services such as Western Union. In addition, because stablecoins can be used by anyone with a smartphone, they represent an opportunity to bring millions of people who lack traditional bank accounts into the financial system. However, they have drawn increased scrutiny from regulators, especially after several stablecoins sunk below their $1 pegs during 2022’s market volatility.

What is “DeFi”?

Cryptocurrencies and blockchains have given rise to a new constellation of “decentralized finance” or DeFi businesses and projects. Essentially the cryptocurrency version of Wall Street, DeFi aims to offer people access to financial services—borrowing, lending, and trading—without the need for legacy institutions such as banks and brokerages, which often take large commissions and other fees. Instead, “smart contracts” automatically execute transactions when certain conditions are met. DeFi is surging in popularity, with investors pouring tens of billions of dollars into the sector.

Most DeFi apps are built on the Ethereum blockchain. Because of its usefulness in tracking transactions, blockchain technology has a range of potential applications beyond cryptocurrency, experts say, such as facilitating real estate deals and international trade [PDF].

“You can imagine a new kind of financial system being constructed out of blockchain-based tokens that have advantages over the old, centralized kinds of money. You trust the code, and you trust the blockchain and the decentralized ledger, and it’s a new way of organizing finance,” says CFR’s Mallaby.

Are Cryptocurrencies Still the Future of Money?

What challenges has this created?

Cryptocurrencies have also given rise to a new set of challenges for governments to contend with, including concerns over criminal activity, environmental harms, and consumer protection.

Illicit activities. In recent years, cybercriminals have increasingly carried out ransomware attacks, by which they infiltrate and shut down computer networks and then demand payment to restore them, often in cryptocurrency. Drug cartels and money launderers are also “increasingly incorporating virtual currency” into their activities, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) most recent annual assessment. U.S. and European authorities have shut down a number of so-called darknet markets—websites where anonymous individuals can use cryptocurrency to buy and sell illegal goods and services, primarily narcotics. Critics say these enforcement efforts have fallen short, exemplified by the theft of over $1 billion in cryptocurrency by a North Korean hacking group in 2022.

Terrorism and sanctions evasion. The primacy of the U.S. dollar has provided the United States unrivaled power to impose crippling economic sanctions. However, states including Iran, North Korea, and Russia are increasingly using cryptocurrency to evade U.S. sanctions. Meanwhile, terrorist groups such as the self-proclaimed Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and the military wing of the Palestinian organization Hamas also traffic in cryptocurrency.

Environmental harms. Bitcoin mining is an enormously energy-intensive process: the network now consumes more electricity than many countries. This has sparked fears about the cryptocurrency’s contribution to climate change. Cryptocurrency proponents say this problem can be solved using renewable energy; El Salvador’s president has pledged to use volcanic energy to mine Bitcoin, for example. Environmental concerns reportedly prompted Ethereum’s move to a proof of stake model, which uses less energy.

Volatility and lack of regulation. The rapid rise of cryptocurrencies and DeFi enterprises means that billions of dollars in transactions are now taking place in a relatively unregulated sector, raising concerns about fraud, tax evasion, and cybersecurity, as well as broader financial stability. If cryptocurrencies become a dominant form of global payments, they could limit the ability of central banks, particularly those in smaller countries, to set monetary policy through control of the money supply.

After high levels of volatility diminished the value of several prominent cryptocurrencies in 2022, a handful of crypto firms were unable to pay back their lenders, which were primarily other crypto firms. Many borrowers and lenders declared bankruptcy, including FTX, at the time the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange. The collapse of FTX and other firms resulted in tens of billions of dollars in losses to investors, though traditional financial firms were relatively unscathed.

What are governments doing about this?

Many governments have taken a hands-off approach to crypto, but its rapid ascent and evolution, coupled with the rise of DeFi, has forced regulators to begin crafting rules for the emerging sector. Regulations vary widely around the world, with some governments embracing cryptocurrencies and others banning them outright. The challenge for regulators, experts say, is to develop rules that limit traditional financial risks without stifling innovation.

In the United States, policymakers have indicated they are slowly moving to regulate cryptocurrencies and the emerging DeFi sector. However, cryptocurrencies do not fit neatly into the existing regulatory framework, creating ambiguity that lawmakers will likely have to resolve. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has called the cryptocurrency sector a “Wild West,” and urged Congress to give the SEC greater powers. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have both called for stronger regulations of stablecoins. But regulators have thus far been reluctant to extend crypto investors the same protections that exist in more traditional finance, such as deposit insurance. “If you buy crypto-assets and the price goes to zero at some point, please don’t be surprised and don’t expect taxpayers to socialize your losses,” the Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ Christopher J. Waller said in 2023.

To limit illicit activities, authorities have targeted the exchanges that allow users to convert cryptocurrencies to U.S. dollars and other national currencies. Under pressure from regulators, major exchanges including Coinbase, Binance, and Gemini adhere to “know your customer” and other anti–money laundering requirements. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies, meanwhile, have learned to leverage the traceability of most cryptocurrencies by using blockchains to analyze and track criminal activity. For example, some of the ransom paid to the Colonial Pipeline hackers was later recovered by the FBI. In August 2022, the Treasury Department announced a crackdown on so-called cryptocurrency mixers that criminals can use to anonymize transactions on the blockchain, calling them a “threat to U.S. national security.”

China, which accounts for most of the world’s Bitcoin mining, has moved aggressively to crack down on cryptocurrencies. In September 2021, Chinese authorities announced a sweeping ban on all crypto transactions and mining, causing the price of some cryptocurrencies to fall sharply in the immediate aftermath. According to the U.S. Law Library of Congress, eight other countries (Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Qatar, and Tunisia) have banned cryptocurrencies [PDF], while dozens more have sought to restrict adoption of digital assets. Still, most governments have so far taken a relatively limited approach.

What is a central bank digital currency?

In an effort to assert sovereignty, many central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, are considering introducing their own digital cash, known as a central bank digital currency (CBDC). For proponents, CBDCs promise the speed and other benefits of cryptocurrency without the associated risks. Dozens of countries—together representing more than 90 percent of the global economy—are exploring CBDCs. Eleven countries have fully launched CBDCs. All are lower-income and ten are in the Caribbean (Nigeria is the eleventh). Since piloting a digital yuan in 2019, China is now expected to extend its CBDC pilot program to its population of over one billion by the end of 2023. In the United States, there is reportedly disagreement among Fed officials over the need for a digital dollar.

Experts say interest in CBDCs intensified in 2019 when Facebook announced it would create its own digital currency called Libra, potentially offering a new payment option for its more than two billion users. (The company has since scaled back the project, renamed Diem.) China is another motivating factor: A digital yuan could give Beijing even more control over its economy and citizens, and threaten the U.S. dollar’s status as the favored international reserve currency, experts say.

One way to implement CBDCs would be for citizens to have accounts directly with the central bank [PDF]. This would give governments powerful new ways of managing the economy—stimulus payments and other benefits could be credited to people directly, for example—and the central bank’s imprimatur would make CBDCs a safe digital asset to hold. But their introduction could also create new problems, experts say, by centralizing an enormous amount of power, data, and risk within a single bank and potentially compromising privacy and cybersecurity.

Some experts say the potential for CBDCs to cut out commercial banks as intermediaries carries risks, because these banks perform a critical economic role by creating and allocating credit (i.e., making loans). If people chose to bank directly with the Fed, that would require the central bank to either facilitate consumer borrowing, which it might not be equipped to do, or find new ways of injecting credit. For these reasons, some experts say private, regulated digital currencies are preferable to CBDCs.

Recommended Resources

In this 2008 paper [PDF], pseudonymous engineer Satoshi Nakomoto proposes Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency.

In this free Massachusetts Institute of Technology class, SEC Chair Gary Gensler explores Bitcoin, blockchains, and money.

The Economist examines the potential benefits and risks of DeFi.

For CFR’s Asia Unbound blog, Saher Naumaan assesses potential U.S. policy responses to North Korean cryptocurrency theft.

The Atlantic Council tracks the status of CBDCs around the world.

“High tech.  Low life.”

Cyberpunk is also a culture with attitude and a distinct style.  Anti-authoritarian, brand-averse, tech-literate; these are just some of the qualities you may find in a cyberpunk.

It’s all there; high-tech, hard-boiled detective, femme fatale, a city at night.

Looking for a long answer?  Read on!

Cyberpunk Origins

Cyberpunk began as a literary movement but has become a subcultural organism. “What is Cyberpunk?” is a complex and multi-layered question, whose answer is ever-changing as the subculture and our perception of the future changes. The tendrils, that began in the written word, have infiltrated beyond movies to all forms of art, fashion and philosophy generating an all-encompassing and ever-growing subculture.

There are number of ways to examine the origins of the cyberpunk movement. The term “cyberpunk” itself can be traced to the short story Cyberpunk by Bruce Bethke. Then of course, there are the core cyberpunk authors that are generally accepted to have laid the ground work of the cyberpunk movement William Gibson (Gibson is considered the founder of Cyberpunk), Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker, John Shirley and Lewis Shiner. There are also a number of precursor novels that had strong themes and imagery that would be later associated with the cyberpunk genre such as The Demolished Man (1953) and The Stars My Destination (1956) by Alfred Bester, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) by Phillip K. Dick, Dr. Adder (Written in 1972, but not published until 1984) by K.W. Jeter, Gravity’s Rainbow (1973) by Thomas Pynchon, The Shockwave Rider (1975) by John Brunner, and True Names (1981) by Vernor Vinge. More recently Neal Stephenson, author of Snow Crash (1992), is largely credited with bringing cyberpunk into the post-cyberpunk era.

William Gibson

Blade Runner

“I was afraid to watch Blade Runner in the theater because I was afraid the movie would be better than what I myself had been able to imagine. In a way, I was right to be afraid, because even the first few minutes were better.”

“I met Ridley Scott years later, maybe a decade or more after Blade Runner was released. I told him what Neuromancer was made of, and he had basically the same list of ingredients for Blade Runner.” – William Gibson

Blade Runner and Neuromancer were a convergence event that created the filmological and literary birth of a movement. Blade Runner influenced, and still does, all cyberpunk that would come after it visually, the same way that Neuromancer influenced, and still does, all cyberpunk literature. Cyberpunk never was just a literary genre.

Finding A Definition

We can break down a basic definition of cyberpunk by dissecting the word itself. Cyber refers to technology, and is most often associated with cyberspace (this word was originally coined by William Gibson himself), and cybernetic enhancements to the body. But this can can also refer to other technologies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology for instance.

Punk, on the other hand, refers to the people and the attitude that cyberpunk has. Protagonists in cyberpunk tend to be outsiders, anti-heros, outcasts, criminals, visionaries, dissenters, and misfits. The underlying aspect that applies to all of these groups is their subversive nature.

One version of a cyberpunk from the in-development Cyberpunk 2077 game.

To subvert is to overthrow or undermine something. The cyberpunk genre itself subverted science fiction, and we never looked back. To be punk is to question authority, and to actively subvert any of that authority you don’t agree with. Different people do this in different ways, just as our cyberpunk protagonists do. An example is Motoko Kusanagi from the Ghost in the Shell franchise. On the surface she seems to be a tool and agent for the Japanese government.  This is true, but this is not what defines her, nor how she defines herself. Throughout the series she is not afraid to go rogue and take things into her own hands if it will get her closer to what she thinks is right – fuck the politicians. She is a subversive element within the government.

The Essence Of Cyberpunk

There are a number of quotes that help to illustrate the essence of cyberpunk:

“The future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed.” – William Gibson

This quote puts the cyber/punk and the “High Tech, Low Life,” dichotomy into context. There exists today high technology, but this technology has failed to erode away social divisions leaving a disparity between the classes which leads to social strife. In addition, although this technology exists the low class does not have the means by which to benefit from it, thus widening the divide as the rich elite get richer and thus have more access to technology.

The physically divided city of Hengsha from Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

“Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human being.” – Bruce Sterling

This is an important concept. We do terrible things to rats in the pursuit of progress, and we are not impervious to any of them. Many cyberpunk plots resolve around some sort of drug effect or brain tampering that we have, in reality, already done to rats. It’s just a matter of time before we start tampering with ourselves in the same ways. Rats are just the preview.

“The street finds it’s own use for things.” – William Gibson

This gets down to the punk/low life aspect of cyberpunk and puts it into the context of the open source, maker, and DIY movements. The rate of technological development is so fast that we generate a lot of stuff that is just there, and obsolete. These things lose their perceived value and are discarded, but then this refuse can be repurposed and used in ways that the original creators never would have imagined. Like using a DVD player to test for HIV.

Cyberpunk Off-Shoots

Biopunk is a subgenre of cyberpunk, that focuses more on the biological technologies such as genetic manipulation. Often cited examples are Gattaca, and Dark Angel. These can be considered cyberpunk because although Biopunk tends to lack the cyberspace and cybernetic aspects that cyberpunk sports, it is faithful to the “High Tech, Low Life,” aspects. It is a different visualization of the same ideas.

Post-Cyberpunk is a modern reaction to the now antiquated visual qualities of ’80s inspired cyberpunk. Post-Cyberpunk tends to have a greater focus on Transhumanism, space travel, and emerging technologies that weren’t imagined at the time of the ’80s.

Being Cyberpunk

A cyberpunk has attitude. This attitude is culturally and socially aware, just like the fiction from which they take their name. They question everything and anyone and decide for themselves what they believe is true. This path to understanding yields different world views and opinions, but diversity is key to a successful population. A cyberpunk knows that the system isn’t in your favor, and the deck is stacked against you. A cyberpunk knows how to hack the system so that doesn’t matter. Don’t fuck with a cyberpunk.

A cyberpunk has style. This style can be different for each person. It can be practical (Mil-Tec) or flashy (Cybergoth). The style often mirrors the cyberpunk personal philosophy and thus can vary drastically. There are recurring themes such as traditional punk, Blade Runner-inspired, Matrix-inspired, CPUs, Mil-Tec, and Cybergoth.

When Is Cyberpunk?

Cyberpunk is now. Many of the things that were predicted in cyberpunk are coming to pass today. Improvements in prosthetics and brain computer interface have resulted in brain controlled prosthetics, a mainstay of cyberpunk. Corporations increasing dominate global politics, and influence culture creating a situation ripe for subversion. The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer, creating a larger and larger divide. The cyberworld is ever merging with the real world through things such as the Internet of Things, social media, mobile technology, virtual reality, and augmented reality. Hackers have brought gangs, corporations, governments, and individuals to their knees. We have entered the cyberpunk age. Welcome.

Cyberpunk has spread to all forms of media, creating a subculture rather a simple genre. There are cyberpunk movies, television, comics, music, and art everywhere. All you have to do is look. Cyberpunk has influenced fashion, architecture, and philosophy. Cyberpunk has become much more than what it was when it began. And it will continue to evolve and become more relevant as we move further from the Cyberpunk Now into the Cyberpunk Future.

As the hype around AI has accelerated, vendors have been scrambling to promote how their products and services use it. Often, what they refer to as AI is simply a component of the technology, such as machine learning. AI requires a foundation of specialized hardware and software for writing and training machine learning algorithms. No single programming language is synonymous with AI, but Python, R, Java, C++ and Julia have features popular with AI developers.

In general, AI systems work by ingesting large amounts of labeled training data, analyzing the data for correlations and patterns, and using these patterns to make predictions about future states. In this way, a chatbot that is fed examples of text can learn to generate lifelike exchanges with people, or an image recognition tool can learn to identify and describe objects in images by reviewing millions of examples. New, rapidly improving generative AI techniques can create realistic text, images, music and other media.

AI programming focuses on cognitive skills that include the following:

• Learning. This aspect of AI programming focuses on acquiring data and creating rules for how to turn it into actionable information. The rules, which are called algorithms, provide computing devices with step-by-step instructions for how to complete a specific task.

• Reasoning. This aspect of AI programming focuses on choosing the right algorithm to reach a desired outcome.

• Self-correction. This aspect of AI programming is designed to continually fine-tune algorithms and ensure they provide the most accurate results possible.

• Creativity. This aspect of AI uses neural networks, rules-based systems, statistical methods and other AI techniques to generate new images, new text, new music and new ideas.

Differences between AI, machine learning and deep learning

AI, machine learning and deep learning are common terms in enterprise IT and sometimes used interchangeably, especially by companies in their marketing materials. But there are distinctions. The term AI, coined in the 1950s, refers to the simulation of human intelligence by machines. It covers an ever-changing set of capabilities as new technologies are developed. Technologies that come under the umbrella of AI include machine learning and deep learning.

Machine learning enables software applications to become more accurate at predicting outcomes without being explicitly programmed to do so. Machine learning algorithms use historical data as input to predict new output values. This approach became vastly more effective with the rise of large data sets to train on. Deep learning, a subset of machine learning, is based on our understanding of how the brain is structured. Deep learning's use of artificial neural networks structure is the underpinning of recent advances in AI, including self-driving cars and ChatGPT.

Why is artificial intelligence important?

AI is important for its potential to change how we live, work and play. It has been effectively used in business to automate tasks done by humans, including customer service work, lead generation, fraud detection and quality control. In a number of areas, AI can perform tasks much better than humans. Particularly when it comes to repetitive, detail-oriented tasks, such as analyzing large numbers of legal documents to ensure relevant fields are filled in properly, AI tools often complete jobs quickly and with relatively few errors. Because of the massive data sets it can process, AI can also give enterprises insights into their operations they might not have been aware of. The rapidly expanding population of generative AI tools will be important in fields ranging from education and marketing to product design.

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• The future of AI: What to expect in the next 5 years

• Types of AI algorithms and how they work

• AI regulation: What businesses need to know in 2023

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Indeed, advances in AI techniques have not only helped fuel an explosion in efficiency, but opened the door to entirely new business opportunities for some larger enterprises. Prior to the current wave of AI, it would have been hard to imagine using computer software to connect riders to taxis, but Uber has become a Fortune 500 company by doing just that.

AI has become central to many of today's largest and most successful companies, including Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft and Meta, where AI technologies are used to improve operations and outpace competitors. At Alphabet subsidiary Google, for example, AI is central to its search engine, Waymo's self-driving cars and Google Brain, which invented the transformer neural network architecture that underpins the recent breakthroughs in natural language processing.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence?

Artificial neural networks and deep learning AI technologies are quickly evolving, primarily because AI can process large amounts of data much faster and make predictions more accurately than humanly possible.

While the huge volume of data created on a daily basis would bury a human researcher, AI applications using machine learning can take that data and quickly turn it into actionable information. As of this writing, a primary disadvantage of AI is that it is expensive to process the large amounts of data AI programming requires. As AI techniques are incorporated into more products and services, organizations must also be attuned to AI's potential to create biased and discriminatory systems, intentionally or inadvertently.

Advantages of AI

The following are some advantages of AI.

• Good at detail-oriented jobs. AI has proven to be as good or better than doctors at diagnosing certain cancers, including breast cancer and melanoma.

• Reduced time for data-heavy tasks. AI is widely used in data-heavy industries, including banking and securities, pharma and insurance, to reduce the time it takes to analyze big data sets. Financial services, for example, routinely use AI to process loan applications and detect fraud.

• Saves labor and increases productivity. An example here is the use of warehouse automation, which grew during the pandemic and is expected to increase with the integration of AI and machine learning.

• Delivers consistent results. The best AI translation tools deliver high levels of consistency, offering even small businesses the ability to reach customers in their native language.

• Can improve customer satisfaction through personalization. AI can personalize content, messaging, ads, recommendations and websites to individual customers.

• AI-powered virtual agents are always available. AI programs do not need to sleep or take breaks, providing 24/7 service.

Disadvantages of AI

The following are some disadvantages of AI.

• Expensive.

• Requires deep technical expertise.

• Limited supply of qualified workers to build AI tools.

• Reflects the biases of its training data, at scale.

• Lack of ability to generalize from one task to another.

• Eliminates human jobs, increasing unemployment rates.

Strong AI vs. weak AI

AI can be categorized as weak or strong.

• Weak AI, also known as narrow AI, is designed and trained to complete a specific task. Industrial robots and virtual personal assistants, such as Apple's Siri, use weak AI.

• Strong AI, also known as artificial general intelligence (AGI), describes programming that can replicate the cognitive abilities of the human brain. When presented with an unfamiliar task, a strong AI system can use fuzzy logic to apply knowledge from one domain to another and find a solution autonomously. In theory, a strong AI program should be able to pass both a Turing test and the Chinese Room argument.

What are the 4 types of artificial intelligence?

Arend Hintze, an assistant professor of integrative biology and computer science and engineering at Michigan State University, explained that AI can be categorized into four types, beginning with the task-specific intelligent systems in wide use today and progressing to sentient systems, which do not yet exist. The categories are as follows.

• Type 1: Reactive machines. These AI systems have no memory and are task-specific. An example is Deep Blue, the IBM chess program that beat Garry Kasparov in the 1990s. Deep Blue can identify pieces on a chessboard and make predictions, but because it has no memory, it cannot use past experiences to inform future ones.

• Type 2: Limited memory. These AI systems have memory, so they can use past experiences to inform future decisions. Some of the decision-making functions in self-driving cars are designed this way.

• Type 3: Theory of mind. Theory of mind is a psychology term. When applied to AI, it means the system would have the social intelligence to understand emotions. This type of AI will be able to infer human intentions and predict behavior, a necessary skill for AI systems to become integral members of human teams.

• Type 4: Self-awareness. In this category, AI systems have a sense of self, which gives them consciousness. Machines with self-awareness understand their own current state. This type of AI does not yet exist.

DAVID PETERSSON

These are commonly described as the four main types of AI.

What are examples of AI technology and how is it used today?

AI is incorporated into a variety of different types of technology. Here are seven examples.

Automation. When paired with AI technologies, automation tools can expand the volume and types of tasks performed. An example is robotic process automation (RPA), a type of software that automates repetitive, rules-based data processing tasks traditionally done by humans. When combined with machine learning and emerging AI tools, RPA can automate bigger portions of enterprise jobs, enabling RPA's tactical bots to pass along intelligence from AI and respond to process changes.

Machine learning. This is the science of getting a computer to act without programming. Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that, in very simple terms, can be thought of as the automation of predictive analytics. There are three types of machine learning algorithms:

• Supervised learning. Data sets are labeled so that patterns can be detected and used to label new data sets.

• Unsupervised learning. Data sets aren't labeled and are sorted according to similarities or differences.

• Reinforcement learning. Data sets aren't labeled but, after performing an action or several actions, the AI system is given feedback.

Machine vision. This technology gives a machine the ability to see. Machine vision captures and analyzes visual information using a camera, analog-to-digital conversion and digital signal processing. It is often compared to human eyesight, but machine vision isn't bound by biology and can be programmed to see through walls, for example. It is used in a range of applications from signature identification to medical image analysis. Computer vision, which is focused on machine-based image processing, is often conflated with machine vision.

Natural language processing (NLP). This is the processing of human language by a computer program. One of the older and best-known examples of NLP is spam detection, which looks at the subject line and text of an email and decides if it's junk. Current approaches to NLP are based on machine learning. NLP tasks include text translation, sentiment analysis and speech recognition.

Robotics. This field of engineering focuses on the design and manufacturing of robots. Robots are often used to perform tasks that are difficult for humans to perform or perform consistently. For example, robots are used in car production assembly lines or by NASA to move large objects in space. Researchers also use machine learning to build robots that can interact in social settings.

Self-driving cars. Autonomous vehicles use a combination of computer vision, image recognition and deep learning to build automated skills to pilot a vehicle while staying in a given lane and avoiding unexpected obstructions, such as pedestrians.

Text, image and audio generation. Generative AI techniques, which create various types of media from text prompts, are being applied extensively across businesses to create a seemingly limitless range of content types from photorealistic art to email responses and screenplays.

AI is not just one technology.

What are the applications of AI?

Artificial intelligence has made its way into a wide variety of markets. Here are 11 examples.

AI in healthcare. The biggest bets are on improving patient outcomes and reducing costs. Companies are applying machine learning to make better and faster medical diagnoses than humans. One of the best-known healthcare technologies is IBM Watson. It understands natural language and can respond to questions asked of it. The system mines patient data and other available data sources to form a hypothesis, which it then presents with a confidence scoring schema. Other AI applications include using online virtual health assistants and chatbots to help patients and healthcare customers find medical information, schedule appointments, understand the billing process and complete other administrative processes. An array of AI technologies is also being used to predict, fight and understand pandemics such as COVID-19.

AI in business. Machine learning algorithms are being integrated into analytics and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms to uncover information on how to better serve customers. Chatbots have been incorporated into websites to provide immediate service to customers. The rapid advancement of generative AI technology such as ChatGPT is expected to have far-reaching consequences: eliminating jobs, revolutionizing product design and disrupting business models.

AI in education. AI can automate grading, giving educators more time for other tasks. It can assess students and adapt to their needs, helping them work at their own pace. AI tutors can provide additional support to students, ensuring they stay on track. The technology could also change where and how students learn, perhaps even replacing some teachers. As demonstrated by ChatGPT, Bard and other large language models, generative AI can help educators craft course work and other teaching materials and engage students in new ways. The advent of these tools also forces educators to rethink student homework and testing and revise policies on plagiarism.

AI in finance. AI in personal finance applications, such as Intuit Mint or TurboTax, is disrupting financial institutions. Applications such as these collect personal data and provide financial advice. Other programs, such as IBM Watson, have been applied to the process of buying a home. Today, artificial intelligence software performs much of the trading on Wall Street.

AI in law. The discovery process -- sifting through documents -- in law is often overwhelming for humans. Using AI to help automate the legal industry's labor-intensive processes is saving time and improving client service. Law firms use machine learning to describe data and predict outcomes, computer vision to classify and extract information from documents, and NLP to interpret requests for information.

AI in entertainment and media. The entertainment business uses AI techniques for targeted advertising, recommending content, distribution, detecting fraud, creating scripts and making movies. Automated journalism helps newsrooms streamline media workflows reducing time, costs and complexity. Newsrooms use AI to automate routine tasks, such as data entry and proofreading; and to research topics and assist with headlines. How journalism can reliably use ChatGPT and other generative AI to generate content is open to question.

AI in software coding and IT processes. New generative AI tools can be used to produce application code based on natural language prompts, but it is early days for these tools and unlikely they will replace software engineers soon. AI is also being used to automate many IT processes, including data entry, fraud detection, customer service, and predictive maintenance and security.

Security. AI and machine learning are at the top of the buzzword list security vendors use to market their products, so buyers should approach with caution. Still, AI techniques are being successfully applied to multiple aspects of cybersecurity, including anomaly detection, solving the false-positive problem and conducting behavioral threat analytics. Organizations use machine learning in security information and event management (SIEM) software and related areas to detect anomalies and identify suspicious activities that indicate threats. By analyzing data and using logic to identify similarities to known malicious code, AI can provide alerts to new and emerging attacks much sooner than human employees and previous technology iterations.

AI in manufacturing. Manufacturing has been at the forefront of incorporating robots into the workflow. For example, the industrial robots that were at one time programmed to perform single tasks and separated from human workers, increasingly function as cobots: Smaller, multitasking robots that collaborate with humans and take on responsibility for more parts of the job in warehouses, factory floors and other workspaces.

AI in banking. Banks are successfully employing chatbots to make their customers aware of services and offerings and to handle transactions that don't require human intervention. AI virtual assistants are used to improve and cut the costs of compliance with banking regulations. Banking organizations use AI to improve their decision-making for loans, set credit limits and identify investment opportunities.

AI in transportation. In addition to AI's fundamental role in operating autonomous vehicles, AI technologies are used in transportation to manage traffic, predict flight delays, and make ocean shipping safer and more efficient. In supply chains, AI is replacing traditional methods of forecasting demand and predicting disruptions, a trend accelerated by COVID-19 when many companies were caught off guard by the effects of a global pandemic on the supply and demand of goods.

Augmented intelligence vs. artificial intelligence

Some industry experts have argued that the term artificial intelligence is too closely linked to popular culture, which has caused the general public to have improbable expectations about how AI will change the workplace and life in general. They have suggested using the term augmented intelligence to differentiate between AI systems that act autonomously -- popular culture examples include Hal 9000 and The Terminator -- and AI tools that support humans.

• Augmented intelligence. Some researchers and marketers hope the label augmented intelligence, which has a more neutral connotation, will help people understand that most implementations of AI will be weak and simply improve products and services. Examples include automatically surfacing important information in business intelligence reports or highlighting important information in legal filings. The rapid adoption of ChatGPT and Bard across industry indicates a willingness to use AI to support human decision-making.

• Artificial intelligence. True AI, or AGI, is closely associated with the concept of the technological singularity -- a future ruled by an artificial superintelligence that far surpasses the human brain's ability to understand it or how it is shaping our reality. This remains within the realm of science fiction, though some developers are working on the problem. Many believe that technologies such as quantum computing could play an important role in making AGI a reality and that we should reserve the use of the term AI for this kind of general intelligence.

Ethical use of artificial intelligence

While AI tools present a range of new functionality for businesses, the use of AI also raises ethical questions because, for better or worse, an AI system will reinforce what it has already learned.

This can be problematic because machine learning algorithms, which underpin many of the most advanced AI tools, are only as smart as the data they are given in training. Because a human being selects what data is used to train an AI program, the potential for machine learning bias is inherent and must be monitored closely.

Anyone looking to use machine learning as part of real-world, in-production systems needs to factor ethics into their AI training processes and strive to avoid bias. This is especially true when using AI algorithms that are inherently unexplainable in deep learning and generative adversarial network (GAN) applications.

Explainability is a potential stumbling block to using AI in industries that operate under strict regulatory compliance requirements. For example, financial institutions in the United States operate under regulations that require them to explain their credit-issuing decisions. When a decision to refuse credit is made by AI programming, however, it can be difficult to explain how the decision was arrived at because the AI tools used to make such decisions operate by teasing out subtle correlations between thousands of variables. When the decision-making process cannot be explained, the program may be referred to as black box AI.

In summary, AI's ethical challenges include the following: bias, due to improperly trained algorithms and human bias; misuse, due to deepfakes and phishing; legal concerns, including AI libel and copyright issues; elimination of jobs; and data privacy concerns, particularly in the banking, healthcare and legal fields.

These components make up responsible AI use.

AI governance and regulations

Despite potential risks, there are currently few regulations governing the use of AI tools, and where laws do exist, they typically pertain to AI indirectly. For example, as previously mentioned, U.S. Fair Lending regulations require financial institutions to explain credit decisions to potential customers. This limits the extent to which lenders can use deep learning algorithms, which by their nature are opaque and lack explainability.

The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is considering AI regulations. GDPR's strict limits on how enterprises can use consumer data already limits the training and functionality of many consumer-facing AI applications.

Policymakers in the U.S. have yet to issue AI legislation, but that could change soon. A "Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights" published in October 2022 by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) guides businesses on how to implement ethical AI systems. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also called for AI regulations in a report released in March 2023.

Crafting laws to regulate AI will not be easy, in part because AI comprises a variety of technologies that companies use for different ends, and partly because regulations can come at the cost of AI progress and development. The rapid evolution of AI technologies is another obstacle to forming meaningful regulation of AI, as are the challenges presented by AI's lack of transparency that make it difficult to see how the algorithms reach their results. Moreover, technology breakthroughs and novel applications such as ChatGPT and Dall-E can make existing laws instantly obsolete. And, of course, the laws that governments do manage to craft to regulate AI don't stop criminals from using the technology with malicious intent.

AI has had a long and sometimes controversial history from the Turing test in 1950 to today's generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT.

What is the history of AI?

The concept of inanimate objects endowed with intelligence has been around since ancient times. The Greek god Hephaestus was depicted in myths as forging robot-like servants out of gold. Engineers in ancient Egypt built statues of gods animated by priests. Throughout the centuries, thinkers from Aristotle to the 13th century Spanish theologian Ramon Llull to René Descartes and Thomas Bayes used the tools and logic of their times to describe human thought processes as symbols, laying the foundation for AI concepts such as general knowledge representation.

The late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries brought forth the foundational work that would give rise to the modern computer. In 1836, Cambridge University mathematician Charles Babbage and Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, invented the first design for a programmable machine.

1940s. Princeton mathematician John Von Neumann conceived the architecture for the stored-program computer -- the idea that a computer's program and the data it processes can be kept in the computer's memory. And Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts laid the foundation for neural networks.

1950s. With the advent of modern computers, scientists could test their ideas about machine intelligence. One method for determining whether a computer has intelligence was devised by the British mathematician and World War II code-breaker Alan Turing. The Turing test focused on a computer's ability to fool interrogators into believing its responses to their questions were made by a human being.

1956. The modern field of artificial intelligence is widely cited as starting this year during a summer conference at Dartmouth College. Sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the conference was attended by 10 luminaries in the field, including AI pioneers Marvin Minsky, Oliver Selfridge and John McCarthy, who is credited with coining the term artificial intelligence. Also in attendance were Allen Newell, a computer scientist, and Herbert A. Simon, an economist, political scientist and cognitive psychologist. The two presented their groundbreaking Logic Theorist, a computer program capable of proving certain mathematical theorems and referred to as the first AI program.

1950s and 1960s. In the wake of the Dartmouth College conference, leaders in the fledgling field of AI predicted that a man-made intelligence equivalent to the human brain was around the corner, attracting major government and industry support. Indeed, nearly 20 years of well-funded basic research generated significant advances in AI: For example, in the late 1950s, Newell and Simon published the General Problem Solver (GPS) algorithm, which fell short of solving complex problems but laid the foundations for developing more sophisticated cognitive architectures; and McCarthy developed Lisp, a language for AI programming still used today. In the mid-1960s, MIT Professor Joseph Weizenbaum developed ELIZA, an early NLP program that laid the foundation for today's chatbots.

1970s and 1980s. The achievement of artificial general intelligence proved elusive, not imminent, hampered by limitations in computer processing and memory and by the complexity of the problem. Government and corporations backed away from their support of AI research, leading to a fallow period lasting from 1974 to 1980 known as the first "AI Winter." In the 1980s, research on deep learning techniques and industry's adoption of Edward Feigenbaum's expert systems sparked a new wave of AI enthusiasm, only to be followed by another collapse of government funding and industry support. The second AI winter lasted until the mid-1990s.

1990s. Increases in computational power and an explosion of data sparked an AI renaissance in the late 1990s that set the stage for the remarkable advances in AI we see today. The combination of big data and increased computational power propelled breakthroughs in NLP, computer vision, robotics, machine learning and deep learning. In 1997, as advances in AI accelerated, IBM's Deep Blue defeated Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, becoming the first computer program to beat a world chess champion.

2000s. Further advances in machine learning, deep learning, NLP, speech recognition and computer vision gave rise to products and services that have shaped the way we live today. These include the 2000 launch of Google's search engine and the 2001 launch of Amazon's recommendation engine. Netflix developed its recommendation system for movies, Facebook introduced its facial recognition system and Microsoft launched its speech recognition system for transcribing speech into text. IBM launched Watson and Google started its self-driving initiative, Waymo.

2010s. The decade between 2010 and 2020 saw a steady stream of AI developments. These include the launch of Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa voice assistants; IBM Watson's victories on Jeopardy; self-driving cars; the development of the first generative adversarial network; the launch of TensorFlow, Google's open source deep learning framework; the founding of research lab OpenAI, developers of the GPT-3 language model and Dall-E image generator; the defeat of world Go champion Lee Sedol by Google DeepMind's AlphaGo; and the implementation of AI-based systems that detect cancers with a high degree of accuracy.

2020s. The current decade has seen the advent of generative AI, a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce new content. Generative AI starts with a prompt that could be in the form of a text, an image, a video, a design, musical notes or any input that the AI system can process. Various AI algorithms then return new content in response to the prompt. Content can include essays, solutions to problems, or realistic fakes created from pictures or audio of a person. The abilities of language models such as ChatGPT-3, Google's Bard and Microsoft's Megatron-Turing NLG have wowed the world, but the technology is still in early stages, as evidenced by its tendency to hallucinate or skew answers.

AI tools and services

AI tools and services are evolving at a rapid rate. Current innovations in AI tools and services can be traced to the 2012 AlexNet neural network that ushered in a new era of high-performance AI built on GPUs and large data sets. The key change was the ability to train neural networks on massive amounts of data across multiple GPU cores in parallel in a more scalable way.

Over the last several years, the symbiotic relationship between AI discoveries at Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, and the hardware innovations pioneered by Nvidia have enabled running ever-larger AI models on more connected GPUs, driving game-changing improvements in performance and scalability.

The collaboration among these AI luminaries was crucial for the recent success of ChatGPT, not to mention dozens of other breakout AI services. Here is a rundown of important innovations in AI tools and services.

Transformers. Google, for example, led the way in finding a more efficient process for provisioning AI training across a large cluster of commodity PCs with GPUs. This paved the way for the discovery of transformers that automate many aspects of training AI on unlabeled data.

Hardware optimization. Just as important, hardware vendors like Nvidia are also optimizing the microcode for running across multiple GPU cores in parallel for the most popular algorithms. Nvidia claimed the combination of faster hardware, more efficient AI algorithms, fine-tuning GPU instructions and better data center integration is driving a million-fold improvement in AI performance. Nvidia is also working with all cloud center providers to make this capability more accessible as AI-as-a-Service through IaaS, SaaS and PaaS models.

Generative pre-trained transformers. The AI stack has also evolved rapidly over the last few years. Previously enterprises would have to train their AI models from scratch. Increasingly vendors such as OpenAI, Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and others provide generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs), which can be fine-tuned for a specific task at a dramatically reduced cost, expertise and time. Whereas some of the largest models are estimated to cost $5 million to $10 million per run, enterprises can fine-tune the resulting models for a few thousand dollars. This results in faster time to market and reduces risk.

AI cloud services. Among the biggest roadblocks that prevent enterprises from effectively using AI in their businesses are the data engineering and data science tasks required to weave AI capabilities into new apps or to develop new ones. All the leading cloud providers are rolling out their own branded AI as service offerings to streamline data prep, model development and application deployment. Top examples include AWS AI Services, Google Cloud AI, Microsoft Azure AI platform, IBM AI solutions and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure AI Services.

Cutting-edge AI models as a service. Leading AI model developers also offer cutting-edge AI models on top of these cloud services. OpenAI has dozens of large language models optimized for chat, NLP, image generation and code generation that are provisioned through Azure. Nvidia has pursued a more cloud-agnostic approach by selling AI infrastructure and foundational models optimized for text, images and medical data available across all cloud providers. Hundreds of other players are offering models customized for various industries and use cases as well.

Proof-of-stake is a cryptocurrency consensus mechanism for processing transactions and creating new blocks in a blockchain. A consensus mechanism is a method for validating entries into a distributed database and keeping the database secure. In the case of cryptocurrency, the database is called a blockchain—so the consensus mechanism secures the blockchain.

Learn more about proof-of-stake and how it is different from proof-of-work. Additionally, find out the issues proof-of-stake attempts to address within the cryptocurrency industry.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Under proof-of-stake (POS), validators are chosen based on the number of staked coins they have.

• Proof-of-stake (POS) was created as an alternative to proof-of-work (POW), the original consensus mechanism used to validate transactions and open new blocks.

• While PoW mechanisms require miners to solve cryptographic puzzles, PoS mechanisms require validators to hold and stake tokens for the privilege of earning transaction fees.

• Proof-of-stake (POS) is seen as less risky regarding the potential for an attack on the network, as it structures compensation in a way that makes an attack less advantageous.

• The next block writer on the blockchain is selected at random, with higher odds being assigned to nodes with larger stake positions.

Understanding Proof-of-Stake (PoS)

Proof-of-stake reduces the amount of computational work needed to verify blocks and transactions. Under proof-of-work, hefty computing requirements kept the blockchain secure. Proof-of-stake changes the way blocks are verified using the machines of coin owners, so there doesn't need to be as much computational work done. The owners offer their coins as collateral—staking—for the chance to validate blocks and earn rewards.1

Validators are selected randomly to confirm transactions and validate block information. This system randomizes who gets to collect fees rather than using a competitive rewards-based mechanism like proof-of-work.1

To become a validator, a coin owner must "stake" a specific amount of coins. For instance, Ethereum requires 32 ETH to be staked before a user can operate a node.1 Blocks are validated by multiple validators, and when a specific number of validators verify that the block is accurate, it is finalized and closed.

To activate your own validator, you'll need to stake 32 ETH; however, you don't need to stake that much ETH to participate in validation. You can join validation pools using "liquid staking" which uses an ERC-20 token that represents your ETH.2

Different proof-of-stake mechanisms may use various methods to reach a consensus. For example, when Ethereum introduces sharding, a validator will verify the transactions and add them to a shard block, which requires no more than 128 validators to form a voting "committee."3 Once shards are validated and a block created, two-thirds of the validators must agree that the transaction is valid, then the block is closed.

How Is Proof-of-Stake Different From Proof-of-Work?

Both consensus mechanisms help blockchains synchronize data, validate information, and process transactions. Each method has proven successful at maintaining a blockchain, although each has pros and cons. However, the two algorithms have very different approaches.

Under PoS, block creators are called validators. A validator checks transactions, verifies activity, votes on outcomes, and maintains records. Under PoW, block creators are called miners. Miners work to solve for the hash, a cryptographic number, to verify transactions. In return for solving the hash, they are rewarded with a coin.

To "buy into" the position of becoming a block creator, you need to own enough coins or tokens to become a validator on a PoS blockchain. For PoW, miners must invest in processing equipment and incur hefty energy charges to power the machines attempting to solve the computations.

The equipment and energy costs under PoW mechanisms are expensive, limiting access to mining and strengthening the security of the blockchain. PoS blockchains reduce the amount of processing power needed to validate block information and transactions. The mechanism also lowers network congestion and removes the rewards-based incentive PoW blockchains have.

Proof of StakeProof of WorkBlock creators are called validatorsBlock creators are called minersParticipants must own coins or tokens to become a validatorParticipants must buy equipment and energy to become a minerEnergy efficientNot energy efficientSecurity through community controlRobust security due to expensive upfront requirementValidators receive transactions fees as rewardsMiners receive block rewards

Goals of Proof-of-Stake

Proof-of-stake is designed to reduce network congestion and address environmental sustainability concerns surrounding the proof-of-work (PoW) protocol. Proof-of-work is a competitive approach to verifying transactions, which naturally encourages people to look for ways to gain an advantage, especially since monetary value is involved.

Bitcoin miners earn bitcoin by verifying transactions and blocks. However, they pay their operating expenses like electricity and rent with fiat currency. So what's really happening is that miners exchange energy for cryptocurrency, which causes PoW mining to use as much energy as some small countries.4

The PoS mechanism seeks to solve these problems by effectively substituting staking for computational power, whereby the network randomizes an individual's mining ability. This means there should be a drastic reduction in energy consumption since miners can no longer rely on massive farms of single-purpose hardware to gain an advantage. For example, Ethereum's transition from PoW to PoS reduced the blockchain's energy consumption by 99.84%.5

The first cryptocurrency to adopt the PoS method was Peercoin. It was followed by Nxt, Blackcoin, and ShadowCoin soon after.6

Proof-of-Stake Security

Long touted as a threat to cryptocurrency fans, the 51% attack is a concern when PoS is used, but there is doubt it will occur. Under PoW, a 51% attack is when an entity controls more than 50% of the miners in a network and uses that majority to alter the blockchain. In PoS, a group or individual would have to own 51% of the staked cryptocurrency.

It's very expensive to control 51% of staked cryptocurrency. Under Ethereum's PoS, if a 51% attack occurred, the honest validators in the network could vote to disregard the altered blockchain and burn the offender(s) staked ETH. This incentivizes validators to act in good faith to benefit the cryptocurrency and the network.1

Most other security features of PoS are not advertised, as this might create an opportunity to circumvent security measures. However, most PoS systems have extra security features in place that add to the inherent security behind blockchains and PoS mechanisms.1

What Is Proof-of-Stake vs. Proof-of-Work?

Proof-of-Stake (POS) uses randomly selected validators to confirm transactions and create new blocks. Proof-of-Work (POW) uses a competitive validation method to confirm transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain.

Is Proof-of-Stake a Certificate?

Proof-of-Stake is a consensus mechanism where cryptocurrency validators share the task of validating transactions. There are currently no certificates issued.

How Do You Earn Proof-of-Stake?

Proof of Stake (POS) is a built-in consensus mechanism used by a blockchain network. It cannot be earned, but you can help secure a network and earn rewards by using a cryptocurrency client that participates in PoS validating or becoming a validator.7

Can Bitcoin Be Converted to Proof-of-Stake?

It's possible that Bitcoin can change to proof-of-stake. However, it takes years to implement successfully, and the community would need to agree to the change.

The Bottom Line

Proof-of-stake is a mechanism used to verify blockchain transactions. It differs from proof-of-work significantly, mainly in the fact that it incentivizes honest behavior by rewarding those who put their crypto up as collateral for a chance to earn more.

The world of blockchain technologies and cryptocurrency is home to a lot of specialist terms, many of which are incomprehensible to crypto beginners. “Testnet” and “mainnet” are two of them, and we’ll explain what they are in this article.

What is a testnet?

A testnet is a test version of a network providing a prototype version of a blockchain that can be tested on without having to use real tokens or introduce risk to the functioning of the main blockchain. The project tokens do not yet have any real value at this stage.

Testnets allow developers to make sure there are no bugs or other issues, and if they identify any they can fix them before officially releasing the crypto project to market. This final product is known as the mainnet.

The test network continues to exist after the final version of the network has been launched. It is used to conduct various experiments and, since blockchains are updated on a regular basis, developers need a safe place where they can test their updates before migrating them to the mainnet.

What is a mainnet and how does it differ from the testnet?

The mainnet represents a crypto project’s core operating network. When developers announce a mainnet launch, this means the blockchain is ready to operate fully. Launch dates can usually be found on a project’s official website, in the roadmap section.

Key differences between mainnets and testnets:

• A mainnet is an official, fully-fledged crypto project with a "live" blockchain. The testnet is the initial stage in the creation of the platform.

• The mainnet is a complete product that’s ready to be used by the community, while the testnet is an alternative version of the network designed for testing.

• The coins used on the mainnet have real value, while testnet tokens do not.

• Crypto projects that are at the testnet stage still have a lot to prove to a community, unlike projects that have officially launched their main blockchain.

How to make money on a testnet

When it comes to earnings, there are two kinds of testnet.

• Incentivized. In this case, users are rewarded for assisting with the testing of new crypto projects. Rewards can take the form of native tokens or the possibility of acquiring them even before the official project launch, early access to the beta version, etc.

• Non-incentivized. Testnet participants are not guaranteed to be rewarded, but the most active testers will often receive bonuses of some kind.

You can make money by testing the technical side of a testnet or its interface.

Interface testing

This option doesn’t require any special equipment or knowledge. Testers are given the opportunity to test different features of the platform, find bugs, conduct transactions with test tokens or stake them. If you encounter difficulties or identify errors, all you need to do is describe the problem in detail.

For example, you may be asked to connect your wallet to the platform. Test tokens will be sent to the wallet and you’ll be required to carry out a transaction with them. You’ll be paid in real coins for this. There are no guarantees, but you can sometimes make good money by doing these kinds of simple actions. For example, at one point ParaSwap testers made $5,000 on test transactions, while Uniswap sent 4,000 tokens to testnet participants (worth $18,960 at the time of writing). Rewards do vary of course, and you may only receive $100, but that doesn’t seem too bad for carrying out basic actions.

Technical tests

Making money on technical tests is slightly more difficult. Some degree of relevant knowledge is required, as testers have to run one of the nodes on the blockchain. Simple instructions for setting up and launching nodes may not exist yet, and the technical requirements for hardware and connecting to the network may prove to be quite high.

You’ll need a computer, a virtual server and money to rent it out. It’s impossible to say for sure how long network tests need to run for – it could be anything from a month to a year.

How much can you make on this kind of testnet? That also varies. If you’re lucky, you could earn as much as Solana testers, who received 100 SOL per month. That’s currently worth $2,190.

Where to find testnets

Nodes.Guru — the largest testnet aggregator.

If you’re a beginner, select a project with one spanner. These are the simplest ones and the least demanding when it comes to hardware.

DropsEarn

It’s also worth monitoring upcoming crypto projects as well as existing ones, and participating in all the available projects that fit your criteria. You may only earn money on 10–20% of them, but you’ll also gain experience which will help you participate in more complex testnets and earn larger rewards in future.

Testnets are not always a quick or easy way to earn crypto, but the likelihood of earning a decent amount is fairly high.

By providing a platform for creating verified profiles, showcasing skills, and building reputations, Gitcoin Passport enhances visibility, credibility, and collaboration opportunities. It aligns with the ethos of open-source development and fosters a vibrant community of talented individuals working towards common goals. As the decentralized ecosystem continues to evolve, Gitcoin Passport remains a valuable tool for developers to navigate and succeed in this new digital frontier.