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Blockchain News
Medium
6d
379
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Theta EdgeCloud deploys Agentic Tools feature to support AI developers building on Theta blockchain
- Large language models (LLMs) can now interact dynamically with external systems and tools, enabling real-time tasks beyond text generation.
- Theta EdgeCloud introduces 'Agentic Tools' for RAG chatbots, enhancing agent-driven AI workflows.
- Developers can equip chatbots with capabilities like web search, code execution, and document manipulation for intelligent and goal-directed assistants.
- This feature supports user-defined Custom Tools and includes built-in tools like Web Search and Text-to-SQL.
- Developers can configure custom tools to access external resources via GET, POST, and PUT requests.
- An example provided shows the chatbot accessing BlueSky's API to find trending topics and providing links for each topic.
- The 'Web Search' tool enables chatbots to search the internet for information, while 'Text-to-SQL' converts natural language questions into SQL queries.
- Agentic Tools pave the way for Model Context Protocol (MCP), aiming to standardize AI model access to external tools and services securely.
- MCP could be integrated into the Theta EdgeCloud platform, potentially creating an MCP marketplace for users to deploy servers and earn tokens.
- These advancements empower developers to create more dynamic, context-aware AI agents with enhanced capabilities for various tasks and interactions.
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TechBullion
6d
371
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LUKSO Launches $150K LYX Builder Program to Turn Blockchain Profiles into Mini-Apps
- LUKSO has launched Hack The Grid, a builder challenge inviting developers to build mini-apps into Universal Profiles using LUKSO's feature: The Grid.
- A total of $150,000 LYX in grants will be awarded across multiple rounds, with 42,000 LYX available in the third round that opened on March 25.
- The Grid is a new feature within Universal Profiles that allows developers to create lightweight, context-aware applications that live inside profiles.
- Hack The Grid is open to developers, designers, and web3 builders to build profile-native agents, mini-apps for digital or phygital asset issuance, integrate identity and reputation into financial tooling, and create gamified experiences.
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Pymnts
6d
263
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NY Stock Exchange Parent ICE Exploring Use of Circle’s Stablecoin
- Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is collaborating with Circle to explore the use of Circle's stablecoin, known as USDC.
- The partnership aims to develop new products and solutions for ICE's customers by integrating USDC into major use cases.
- Circle's stablecoins and tokenized digital currencies could play a larger role in capital markets as they gain acceptance as an equivalent to the US Dollar.
- Stablecoins, such as USDC, offer faster and less expensive cross-border payment solutions, transforming corporate treasury operations and providing a unified global transfer of value.
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Hackernoon
6d
395
Image Credit: Hackernoon
Cryptocurrency Economics: Token Distribution, Ownership, and Market Decentralization
- Cryptocurrency economics play a significant role in blockchain-based economies, focusing on token distribution, ownership, and secondary markets.
- Initial token distribution is crucial, with various blockchain systems adopting different approaches like ICOs or mining incentives to allocate tokens.
- Token ownership diversity is vital for blockchain security, preventing the concentration of tokens in a few hands that could compromise the system's integrity.
- Factors driving token ownership centralization include initial centralized token allocation and incentives favoring hoarding rather than spending tokens.
- Secondary markets, where tokens are primarily distributed, face challenges like limited liquidity, lack of privacy guarantees, and susceptibility to market manipulation.
- Limited marketplaces and trading pairs pose risks to system stability and security, as fluctuations in token valuations can affect mining profitability and system liveness.
- Decentralization in token distribution and ownership helps ensure a healthy and sustainable blockchain ecosystem, mitigating risks associated with centralized control.
- Various blockchain projects have explored different mechanisms for token generation and distribution to promote a fair and diverse ownership landscape.
- The presence of custodians, rich participants, and centralized exchange platforms can impact token ownership diversity and secondary market decentralization.
- Inadequate token distribution and ownership diversity can lead to vulnerabilities in PoS and PoW systems, compromising the security and stability of the blockchain.
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Hackernoon
6d
115
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Can Blockchain Stay Fair for the Long Haul?
- Protocols like Bitcoin, Algorand, and Ouroboros Praos allow resource holders to participate directly in the protocol, with block producers forming pools in PoW and PoS systems.
- Pool leaders validate transactions in PoW, while in PoS, leaders control block creation and members delegate staking rights to the leader.
- Temporal discounting influences pooling behavior, with small miners preferring frequent small payments over rare large payments.
- Systems like Cosmos and EOS restrict participation in consensus, requiring parties without enough stake to delegate rights to a validator.
- The security of a ledger relies on honest majority participation, with concentration of power among few entities posing a threat.
- Concerns include liveness, safety, and stability hazards from power concentration and behavior of block proposers in blockchain systems.
- Smart contracts enable MEV-type attacks, impacting stability; the proposer-builder separation model aims to mitigate these attacks.
- In PoS systems, lack of self-healing poses a threat as adversaries can retain control indefinitely by prohibiting power shifts during temporary takeovers.
- A diverse stake distribution is crucial for protecting against takeovers in PoS systems.
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Hackernoon
6d
305
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Eclipse Attacks, Network Clusters & DNS Seeding
- Blockchain nodes communicate over a peer-to-peer (P2P) network, with researchers exploring decentralization properties.
- Network topology is crucial in terms of clustering properties and maintaining safety and liveness.
- Ledger systems must maintain connections to avoid eclipse attacks and ensure network partition tolerance.
- An attacker can compromise safety and privacy by isolating nodes in the network and controlling communications.
- Bootstrapping nodes need to connect to honest peers to avoid compromising system properties and privacy.
- Connecting to honest peers poses challenges due to the lack of knowledge about network participants.
- Catching up from genesis may not always be feasible, leading to potential safety violations in PoS systems.
- Maintaining network privacy and ensuring liveness are ongoing challenges in decentralized ledger systems.
- Some proposals aim to enhance privacy and security using computational assumptions rather than trusted setups.
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Hackernoon
6d
346
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Blockchain’s Single Point of Failure? The Software Running It
- Software development is a dimension of distributed ledgers that can lead to potential centralization.
- Having diverse software development and usage increases resilience to bugs in a product's code.
- Multiple node implementations, developed by different teams, contribute to a secure and reliable ecosystem.
- The wallet software responsible for managing digital assets is a major security consideration.
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Hackernoon
6d
164
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Blockchain’s Hardware Problem
- The role of hardware in the potential decentralization of blockchain systems has been reported in various research works.
- There are two categories of hardware in blockchain systems: physical and virtual.
- Physical hardware includes machines used directly by consensus participants, such as mining equipment.
- Virtual hardware refers to mining data centers and cloud services that offer hashing power or stake as a service.
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Hackernoon
6d
98
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SoK: A Stratified Approach to Blockchain Decentralization
- Decentralization in blockchain systems consists of multiple layers, from Hardware to Governance, with Geography as an overarching dimension.
- Key security properties like safety, liveness, privacy, and stability are crucial for distributed ledgers to maintain their integrity.
- A focus on (cyber-)security in blockchain systems assumes an adversarial environment where a single point of failure can compromise the ledger's properties.
- The methodology for analyzing decentralization involves identifying resources, parties controlling them, and risks to ledger properties.
- Assessing decentralization levels requires considering the significance of resources and legal entities behind them.
- The Minimum Decentralization Test (MDT) determines if a single legal entity could influence enough relevant parties to compromise ledger properties.
- The article delves into the importance of each layer in their framework, outlines case studies, and suggests future research directions.
- Authors include Christina Ovezik, Dimitris Karakostas, and Aggelos Kiayias from the University of Edinburgh and IOG.
- The paper is available on arxiv under the CC BY 4.0 DEED license.
- Reference to the OSI conceptual network model's stratification influences the structure of their decentralization analysis.
- Future research suggestions involve exploring various thresholds for acceptable volatility in non-cryptocurrency assets.
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Hackernoon
6d
325
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Why the Blockchain Might Not Be As Decentralized as You Think
- Decentralization in blockchain systems is a debated topic, with varying perspectives on the degree and aspects of decentralization offered by these systems.
- A systematization approach has been proposed to define and measure decentralization across multiple layers of blockchain systems, including hardware, software, network, consensus, economics, client API, governance, and geography.
- The concept of decentralization plays a crucial role in policy discussions, regulations, and determining the classification of digital assets by entities like the US SEC.
- Blockchains may exhibit decentralization in certain aspects but not in others, highlighting the nuanced nature of decentralization within these systems.
- Decentralization is often perceived as a means to an end rather than a guaranteed security, stability, or efficiency measure, with both centralized and decentralized systems having their strengths and weaknesses.
- The article emphasizes the need for a structured approach to measuring and achieving decentralization in blockchain systems to address the challenges and complexities involved.
- Various studies have explored decentralization in different layers of blockchain systems, pointing out potential risks and vulnerabilities associated with centralization in areas like hardware, software, network, consensus, economics, and governance.
- Existing taxonomies and methodologies for assessing decentralization in blockchain systems offer valuable insights but lack a comprehensive and consistent approach across all relevant layers.
- The proposed stratified methodology for measuring decentralization is demonstrated using Bitcoin as a case study, highlighting areas where blockchain systems may fail the Minimum Decentralization Test (MDT).
- The research contributes to the ongoing discourse on blockchain decentralization by providing a framework for analyzing and evaluating decentralization levels in blockchain systems.
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Pymnts
6d
239
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Wirex Launches Travel Booking Platform Enabling Payments in Bitcoin and USDT
- Wirex launched a travel booking platform that offers reduced rates on hotel stays and cash-back rewards when using a Wirex card.
- The platform, Wirex Travel, allows users to pay with bitcoin, USDT, or traditional currencies.
- Wirex already provides benefits to travelers such as zero foreign exchange fees, interbank exchange rates, and crypto rewards.
- With over 6 million customers across 130 countries, Wirex aims to make digital currencies as convenient and versatile as traditional money.
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TechBullion
6d
4
Image Credit: TechBullion
Bitcoin Cloud Mining Guide 2025: HashBeat’s Best Investment Plan Earns Up to $8,400 Daily
- Cloud mining has become a popular choice for mining cryptocurrencies without expensive hardware or technical expertise.
- HashBeat.com stands out in 2025 for its high-profit investment plans and AI-powered mining efficiency.
- HashBeat.com offers various investment plans, including the Bitcoin Cloud Mining Ultra Plan with potential daily earnings of up to $8,400.
- HashBeat.com prioritizes security, sustainability, and efficient use of resources for profitable crypto mining.
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TheNewsCrypto
6d
367
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Zeus Network Officially Launches APOLLO, First On-Chain Bitcoin Exchange on Solana
- Zeus Network has officially launched APOLLO, the first on-chain Bitcoin exchange on Solana.
- APOLLO enables the Solana-native asset, zBTC, to provide Bitcoin finance (BTCFi) prospects on Solana.
- Bitcoin holders can access Solana's DeFi ecosystem and enjoy cross-chain Bitcoin liquidity without relying on centralized wrapped solutions.
- APOLLO introduces a completely decentralized, non-custodial setting for Bitcoin liquidity through the lock-mint mechanism, offering a transparent and trustless experience.
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TechBullion
6d
78
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Solana, Polkadot, and Ozak AI Price Forecast – Which One Will See a 700% Surge First?
- Solana, Polkadot, and Ozak AI are high-potential assets in the crypto market.
- Solana (SOL) has shown resilience and could potentially deliver a 700% surge with increased institutional adoption, DeFi projects, and NFT expansion.
- Polkadot (DOT) has strong prospects with its interoperability and parachain technology, aiming for development milestones and cross-chain interoperability.
- Ozak AI (OZ) leverages AI and blockchain technology, offering predictive analytics for financial markets, and holds the potential for significant growth due to lower market cap and high upside.
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Dev
6d
156
Image Credit: Dev
From Web3 Complexity to No-Code
- Web3Wizz is a no-code platform that simplifies interaction with smart contracts.
- Web3Wizz has already processed over $700k in transactions.
- The founder aims to share knowledge about smart contract development, user-friendly DeFi interfaces, and the challenges of running a Web3 startup.
- Web3Wizz provides a 'wait, this actually makes sense' layer for Web3.
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