Cardano Summit 2023 Dubai: Adoption, Impact… And AGIX Staking

Posted on by Werner

Introduction

The growing global Web3 hub of Dubai hosted the a well-attended Cardano Summit 2023 Nov 2-4. With over 30,000 attendees representing a diverse range of industries and countries, the packed 3-day affair showed Cardano’s expanding influence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the course it’s charting in 2024 and beyond.

The summit’s main themes were adoption and impact. This tells us something about where the Cardano network stands in its journey to innovate in blockchain technology.

As the world’s premier peer-reviewed blockchain, the layer-1 network’s flagship network edition was  fertile ground for a wide range of high-quality discussions on its future and demonstrations of its present capabilities, including SingularityNET’s long-anticipated launch of AGIX staking on Cardano. 

This overview delves into the summit’s day-by-day activities, big announcements, and the future trajectory of Cardano in 2024. You can view some of the keynotes, panels and highlights at the Cardano Summit 2023 playlist on YouTube here.

Day-by-Day Overview

November 2nd: Inaugural Networking and ‘Battle of the Builders’

The summit kicked off with a networking soirée, featuring the ‘Battle of the Builders’. Sponsored by notable entities like the Cardano Foundation, CV Labs, and EMURGO, this event spotlighted the Cardano Market, an exhibition space for Summit participants, and an NFT Gallery. The evening successfully showed Cardano’s commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship within its ecosystem.

Summit Day One – Emphasis on Governance and Education

The first official day of the summit was marked by over 55 speakers engaging in keynote talks, panel discussions and masterclasses about operational resilience and the importance of education in blockchain. 

Panels explored the foundations of blockchain, and the importance of community engagement and transparency kept cropping up as a recurring theme. 

  • Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, discussed the importance of consent and operational resilience in the digital age, and how Cardano is enhancing social systems. 
  • Panels such as ‘Essential Governance: Building Strong Blockchain Foundations’ delved into the intricacies of creating robust blockchain platforms, emphasizing governance models and processes. 
  • Additionally, the importance of transparency and community engagement in Cardano’s age of Voltaire was a key discussion point, highlighting its commitment to an open and participatory ecosystem.

In the evening, Cardano Summit attendees were treated to a traditional Middle Eastern feast in the world’s fifth-largest desert – an atmospheric setting to network and share ideas.

Summit Day 2 – Focus on Adoption, Impact, and Blockchain for Good

The final day of the summit featured a plethora of workshops and panel discussions, with more than 70 speakers. The sessions focused on a range of topics, from the adoption and impact of blockchain technology to its potential in various sectors like agriculture, law enforcement, and decentralized social media. 

One of the panels, ‘Dubai’s Web3 Evolution’, explored how Dubai is positioning itself as a global center for Web3, highlighting the region’s forward-thinking regulations and infrastructure. The importance of open-source contributions and community involvement in such projects was also a prominent theme. 

The day culminated in the Gala Awards Dinner, where the winners of the Cardano Summit Awards and the inaugural Summit Hackathon were announced, celebrating the creativity and dedication within the Cardano community.

Credit: Tesfu Assefa

SingularityNET Unveils AGIX Staking on Cardano

With AI being the talk of the town in 2023 and probably 2024, a highlight of the summit was the announcement of the upcoming launch of pioneering decentralized AI platform SingularityNET’s AGIX staking on the Cardano blockchain. 

The staking solution is designed to be convenient, secure, and rewarding, supporting the growth of the SingularityNET platform. In this way, users can generate a yield from holding the token and contribute to the adoption of Cardano and SingularityNET.

SingularityNET COO Janet Adams and Chief AI Alchemist Dr. Mihaela Ulieru both participated in insightful panels discussing the convergence of AI and blockchain technology. 

Adams was part of the panel on ‘Applying AI Research to Blockchain Business Models’, which delved into how blockchain could unlock access to extensive datasets for AI scalability and robust data management. 

Ulieru’s panel, ‘Recalibrating Value, Identity and Impact through the Blockchain: The Cardano Impact Report’, explored sustainable blockchain impacts.

In an interview, Adams talked about the close relationship between founder Ben Goertzel and Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, and named three reasons for their alignment:

  1. common vision and goal for positive impact on humanity
  2. the mathematical foundation of the Cardano blockchain
  3. the strength of the community, which she called the most passionate in the world

Attendees had the opportunity to interact with the SingularityNET team, learn about their staking solution, and engage with other SingularityNET ecosystem projects like Rejuve.ai and NuNet.

Other Cardano Summit 2023 Highlights

Midnight Network Partnership

A major announcement was the IOG’s partnership with the Midnight Network, leveraging Polkadot’s Substrate framework. This collaboration highlights a significant stride in privacy-focused blockchain applications and incoming partner chains for Cardano. 

MinSwap Recognition

MinSwap highlighted its significant contributions to the Cardano ecosystem as well as its thriving developer community and portfolio of innovative projects.

Tadamon Partnership with UNDP

The Cardano Foundation’s partnership with Tadamon, a UNDP-led initiative, underscores Cardano’s commitment to leveraging blockchain for societal empowerment across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Battle of the Builders

In the Battle of the Builders competition, the final ten contestants demonstrated the vibrancy and versatility of the Cardano blockchain. 

  • NMKR – NFT creation and secondary marketplace
  • NEWM – music streaming governed by musicians
  • Xerberus – digital asset portfolio risk management
  • FiDa – insurance contract tokenization
  • Mehen USDM – bridging traditional finance and blockchain
  • Iagon – AI-driven shared storage platform
  • Maestro – Web3 stack for DApps and smart contracts
  • zkFold – scaling solution for Cardano
  • Finest – platform for trading tokenized real-world assets
  • TVVIN – improving accessibility to traditional assets

Winning Projects

  • First Place: Maestro won first place. Its platform allows users to build Web3 applications such as DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, blockchain analytics platforms, and wallets.
  • Second Place went to Newm, a music streaming marketplace governed by musicians and their fans.
  • Third Place: ZK Fold, a zero-knowledge rollups scaling solution for the Cardano blockchain.

What’s Next For Cardano in 2024? 

Cardano’s milestone Dubai event had a few initial technical hiccups but ultimately showcased the current capabilities of the Cardano ecosystem and set the stage for its future evolution which could one day see it rival Ethereum. 

As the blockchain ventures into new regions and integrates cutting-edge technologies like AI through projects like SingularityNET, it is poised to attract more developers and projects, which are the lifeblood for any Web3 network. 

The momentum generated at the summit and the strategic partnerships formed are indicative of Cardano’s promising trajectory in the blockchain space, and the commitment of its community – which was one of the strongest during 2021’s bull run – remains strong.

With its focus on innovation, community engagement, and global impact, Cardano is well-positioned to continue its growth trajectory and play a significant role in the blockchain industry in 2024 and beyond. 

Regulatory issues in certain jurisdictions still linger, but it’s clear that progressive new destinations such as the UAE are ready to take up the baton of innovation and partner with Cardano and its blossoming ecosystem.

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BitVM: Revolutionizing Bitcoin Contracts

Posted on by Samuel Birhanu

Introduction

BitVM is a groundbreaking computing paradigm that enables Turing-complete Bitcoin contracts without altering the network’s consensus rules. It operates on a verification principle similar to optimistic rollups, where computations are verified rather than executed on Bitcoin. The system requires minimal on-chain footprint, allowing complex computations without leaving traces in the chain. On-chain execution is only needed in disputes. This article explores the capabilities of BitVM and its architecture.

Expanding Bitcoin’s Capabilities

BitVM expands Bitcoin’s smart contract capabilities beyond basic operations like signatures, timelocks, and hashlocks. This opens up a whole new design space for more expressive Bitcoin contracts and off-chain computation. Imagine being able to play games like Chess or Poker directly on the Bitcoin network or verifying validity proofs in Bitcoin contracts. These are just some of the potential applications of BitVM.

The Architecture of BitVM

The architecture of BitVM is a fascinating blend of existing technologies and novel approaches. It bears similarities to Optimistic Rollups and the MATT proposal, both of which are well-known concepts in the blockchain space. However, what sets BitVM apart from these systems is its compatibility with the existing Bitcoin network. BitVM requires no changes to Bitcoin’s consensus rules, which means it can operate within the existing infrastructure of Bitcoin. This is a significant advantage as it allows for the implementation of BitVM without disrupting or dividing the Bitcoin network. In essence, BitVM’s architecture can be seen as a bridge between the robustness and security of Bitcoin’s existing infrastructure and the need for more complex and expressive contracts. It leverages the strengths of existing technologies while introducing new capabilities, creating a balance between innovation and compatibility.

Committing to Circuits

In computer science, any computable function can be represented as a Boolean circuit. BitVM applies this principle by expressing any circuit by composing gate commitments. It’s like creating an intricate blueprint for a machine where every step of execution is committed to in a Tapleaf. All these Tapleaves are combined into the same Taproot address, allowing the prover to execute any gate in the circuit.

Credit: Tesfu Assefa

Ensuring Fair Play

Of course, there need to be rules to ensure fair play. In case of fraud, the verifier can challenge the prover’s statement using a sequence of pre-signed transactions. If one party stops engaging, after some timeout, the other party wins the challenge and can take both deposits. This mechanism ensures that both parties have skin in the game and are incentivized to play fair.

Inputs and Outputs

In the BitVM system, the prover can set inputs by revealing corresponding bit commitments. A bit commitment is a cryptographic protocol that allows the prover to commit to a chosen value while keeping it hidden from others. In an ideal scenario, these commitments are revealed off-chain. This is done to minimize the on-chain footprint, which is the record of transactions on the blockchain. Minimizing the on-chain footprint is beneficial as it reduces the load on the blockchain network and enhances its scalability. However, in non-cooperative cases, the verifier can force the prover to reveal their inputs on-chain. This ensures transparency and allows for verification of transactions.

Limitations

While BitVM is efficient for expressing functions in simple NAND circuits, it is currently limited to two parties. However, it might be possible to have two-way channels and form a network similar to Lightning Network. Future research could explore combining BitVM with different off-chain protocols like Lightning Network or rollups.

Conclusion

BitVM has the potential to revolutionize Bitcoin contracts by enabling Turing-complete capabilities without altering the network’s consensus rules. By allowing verification of program execution through fraud proofs in large Taptrees, It expands Bitcoin’s smart contract capabilities and operates within the existing infrastructure of Bitcoin. With its unique architecture and commitment to fair play, BitVM opens up new possibilities for expressive contracts while maintaining compatibility with the robustness and security of Bitcoin. As the technology evolves, it will be exciting to see how BitVM integrates with other off-chain protocols and further enhances the Bitcoin ecosystem.

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Why Did Binance and CZ Settle With US Authorities for $4.3 Billion?

Posted on by Werner

Introduction

A feared potential black swan event has come and gone in crypto with little fanfare. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and its popular founder/CEO Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, have reached a massive settlement with U.S. authorities, marking a significant turning point in the crypto industry’s relationship with regulators as the next bull run looms large thanks to incoming catalysts like the BlackRock Bitcoin spot ETF and Bitcoin Halving. This comes on the back of the SEC also again going “back for seconds” against Kraken and publishing a list of what it considers crypto securities. 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had previously filed 13 charges against Binance and its CEO for: operating unregistered exchanges, broker-dealers, and clearing agencies, and misrepresenting trading controls and oversight. The CFTC, on the other hand, charged Binance and CZ with willful evasion of federal law and operating an illegal digital asset derivatives exchange.

The settlement, announced on Nov 21 and 22, 2023, sees Binance paying a whopping $4.3 billion. This settlement is the largest in Treasury history according to Janet Yellen, with CZ personally paying $50 million to the CFTC and posting bail for $175 million in order to return to his home in the UAE on bail. 

The charges against CZ are very serious and included failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at the crypto exchange in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act which birthed regulations such as the so-called Travel Rule requirement.

As part of the settlement, CZ pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering laws and agreed to step down from his role as CEO of Binance. It was announced on Nov 22 2022 that he has been replaced by the experienced ex-Abu Dhabi regulator Richard Teng in order to provide some much-needed stability at the world’s biggest crypto exchange. Zhao could see jail time if convicted. 

What’s next for Binance?

CZ will retain his stake in Binance, which could allow him to continue exerting some influence on the company. This is highly unlikely in the short term, as the criminal cases against him are ongoing and his behavior will be heavily scrutinized. Zhao’s demise at Binance draws comparisons with other axed exchange heads like FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (due for sentencing in 2024) and Arthur Hayes, previously the head of controversial exchange BitMEX, who faced similar charges in 2020. 

Both FTX and BitMEX embraced full compliance with anti-money laundering legislation after the departure of their founders; and the same is likely in store for Binance under the guidance of Teng. He stated that his focus would be on “reassuring users that they can remain confident in the financial strength, security, and safety of the company” and is a strong advocate for regulatory compliance.

The settlement also includes the appointment of independent compliance monitors for three- and five-year terms. These monitors will have sweeping powers to oversee Binance’s business practices, including how it adds new customers and how it interacts with jurisdictions subject to U.S. sanctions or surveillance. 

The Binance result is a highly significant development in the ongoing scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges by U.S. authorities. It sends a clear message to the industry about the importance of compliance with U.S. laws and regulations. Despite the hefty penalties, the settlement allows Binance to continue operating and potentially marks the start of a new chapter for the world’s largest exchange as well as the crypto industry. 

Credit: Tesfu Assefa

Why did the SEC charge Binance and CZ? 

The SEC previously filed 13 charges against Binance entities and CZ, alleging that since at least July 2017, Binance.com and Binance.US, while controlled by Zhao, operated as exchanges, brokers, dealers, and clearing agencies, earning at least $11.6 billion in revenue from transaction fees from U.S. customers. 

The SEC charged Binance for the unregistered offers and sales of BNB, BUSD, and crypto-lending products known as ‘Simple Earn’ and ‘BNB Vault’.

In addition to the SEC’s charges, Binance and CZ faced accusations from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC sued Binance for offering unregistered crypto derivatives in the U.S., alleging that Binance had a “maze of corporate entities” demonstrating the exchange’s “willful evasion of U.S. law”.

Binance settles, CZ pleads guilty to AML violations

In response to these charges, Binance and CZ have agreed to a series of settlements. CZ pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program, in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), and has resigned as CEO of Binance.

As part of the plea agreement, Binance has agreed to forfeit over $2.5 billion and to pay a criminal fine of over $1.8 billion, for a total financial penalty of over $4.3 billion. CZ will also pay a $50 million fine to the CFTC and may face potential prison time when he gets sentenced in 2024, ironically before Sam Bankman-Fried. 

In addition, Binance will make a “complete exit” from the U.S. (Binance.US, a different entity, will remain) and agree to strict oversight from monitors over the next several years.

These legal actions and settlements mark a significant moment in the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry. The SEC and other federal agencies have been increasing their scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges and other entities in what is known as Operation Chokepoint 2.0, seeking to enforce compliance with securities laws and other regulations. 

The actions against Binance and CZ are part of this broader trend, and the dominant exchange’s meek surrender could have significant implications for the future of the cryptocurrency industry which is gradually being reined in by regulators around the world. 

The settlements and CZ’s resignation may serve as a fresh start for Binance, which had been hamstrung by widespread market fears that U.S. authorities will shut it down globally. The settlement was seen as the only way for Binance to continue its business, giving them a fresh start in 2024 if all goes to plan.

With powerful new TradFi entrants like BlackRock and Fidelity knocking on its door, Binance’s actions are also bullish for the entire crypto industry, helping it to clear its collective closet of skeletons that regulators like Gary Gensler can point to when they argue that the whole market is manipulated.

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Checkmate Continuum: The Evolution of AI Chess Engines

Posted on by Daniel Dob

Chess, with its blend of strategy, foresight, and intellect, has captivated the human competitive spirit for centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient India, meandering through Persia, where it picked up the name ‘Shah Mat’ (‘the King is helpless’). In time, chess won global appeal – with millions worldwide hooked on this mental battleground, kings and pawns dance a strategic pattern towards victory or defeat.

Computation and automated logic machines found a fast companion in chess. The structured, rule-bound universe of chess clicked with the wheels of early computers, and the journey of chess and early AI began, giving birth to what we now know as AI chess engines. 

Let’s dive deeper into the intersection between chess and machine, exploring the birth, present, and future of AI chess engines. 

The Chessboard Meets the Circuit Board: A Historical Intersection

The tale of chess and computation began before the electronic age. The earliest hint of a chess engine traces back to Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science. Turing conceptualized a theoretical machine that could mimic the cognitive processes of a chess player. Though his ideas remained on paper, they sowed the seeds for a future where chess would become a research area for computational logicians.

Turing’s theoretical musings soon turned into practical applications. In 1951, Ferranti Mark I, the world’s first commercially available general-purpose computer, played a game of chess. Though rudimentary by today’s standards, it birthed computational chess. Chess has always been a vanguard problem for AI. Solving chess was the first step towards AGI, an appealing problem on which to test the foundation circuits of the new neural machines.

In 1997, Garry Kasparov, the reigning world chess champion, found himself battling IBM’s Deep Blue. The encounter was more than a game – it was a showdown between human intellect and machine logic. The world watched as IBM’s Deep Blue triumphed, marking the first time a world champion was defeated by a machine under tournament conditions. Since that defeat, AI dominance in chess was assured. Engines like Stockfish and AlphaZero have ELO that far outstrips even Magnus Carlsen. It’s over – in chess, the machines have won.  

Credit: Tesfu Assefa

Titans of the Chessboard: AI Engines vs Human Grandmasters

Stockfish, an open-source engine, is the zenith of directed evaluation, harnessing the power of extensive opening libraries and endgame tablebases. Its meticulous evaluation of millions of potential future positions brings brute force to back up this cleverness, combining into formidable tactical acumen.

AlphaZero, developed by DeepMind, took a new approach. It learned chess from scratch, with no pre-programmed knowledge apart from the basic rules. By playing astronomical numbers of games against itself, it achieved superhuman performance in a matter of hours, displaying a brand of chess that not only dominated human opponents, but was imbued with creativity once thought to be achievable only by organic neurons. 

In a 100-game match, AlphaZero triumphed over Stockfish. This was a significant milestone. The robot-battle was a spectacle, with AlphaZero often choosing less-trodden paths and displaying a proclivity for dynamic, unconventional play.

This is key; AlphaZero’s chess looks nothing like human chess. The neural engine was displaying levels of insight that watching grandmasters have to back-engineer to figure out the logic. The calculation potential of modern machines might mean playing an entirely different game. AlphaZero’s intuitive pattern recognition make it feel ‘smart’. It isn’t some beefy Turing calculator plodding through billions of steps, but a truly ‘thinking’ machine, with insights akin to human eureka. 

It hadn’t just ‘solved’ chess with raw processing power. That’s (probably) impossible. In sum, there are more possible moves in chess than atoms in the universe. And that’s if you only account for restricted sets of ‘sensible moves’. By turn one, Black has 900 moves. By turn twenty, it’s for all reasonable purposes already infinite. So far, we, even with immense processing power ‘dumb’ AI like Stockfish, can only calculate so far. That’s why AlphaZero’s pattern recognition is so enthralling, because it feels like our own – just aided and abetted by Stockfish-esque horsepower on top.

So the march of AI in chess doesn’t have to mean obsolescence for human players. Chess has been a standard bearer for AI for decades. Even though we admit our AI agents are better, perhaps there are things we can still learn from each other. Centaur chess is one such exploration, where human players use AI to play tournaments.

Checkmate Future: The Broader Implications of AI in Chess

In the training halls, AI chess engines are transforming the way players prepare and strategize. The ability of machines to simulate scenarios and dissect the implications of positions has become an invaluable tool for players aiming to hone their skills.

The evolution of AI in chess even has ripple effects beyond the game. The principles underlying the success of chess engines find resonance in other domains demanding strategic decision-making and problem-solving. Whether it’s optimizing complex logistics, navigating financial markets, or unraveling the mysteries of molecular structures, the essence of computational logic honed on the chessboard finds applications in many fields. Chess still holds a central place in AI research. Maia is one such example, a chess engine who makes human-like mistakes, and acts as a research platform for human AI interactions and naturalistic engagement in closed systems.

The saga of AI in chess is a microcosm of the larger narrative of AI in human society. It’s a narrative of augmentation, collaboration, and the ceaseless quest for knowledge. The chessboard, once a battleground of kings and queens, now stands as a battleground of men and machines, a symbol of a future where together, they venture into the realms of the unknown, chasing the shadow of perfection.

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