Mediaboss Marketing

What is CryptoSlate Alpha?

A web3 membership designed to empower you with cutting-edge insights and knowledge. Learn more

Welcome! You are connected to CryptoSlate Alpha. To manage your wallet connection, click the button below.

If you don't have enough, buy ACS on the following exchanges:

Access Protocol is a web3 monetization paywall. When users stake ACS, they can access paywalled content. Learn more

Disclaimer: By choosing to lock your ACS tokens with CryptoSlate, you accept and recognize that you will be bound by the terms and conditions of your third-party digital wallet provider, as well as any applicable terms and conditions of the Access Foundation. CryptoSlate shall have no responsibility or liability with regard to the provision, access, use, locking, security, integrity, value, or legal status of your ACS Tokens or your digital wallet, including any losses associated with your ACS tokens. It is solely your responsibility to assume the risks associated with locking your ACS tokens with CryptoSlate. For more information, visit our terms page.

Go here to see the original:

Ethereum MEV incentives limit decentralization new report shows - CryptoSlate

Andrew Milson, a senior software engineer at Immutable, recently submitted his own proof to StarkWares StarkNet verifier on Ethereum.

Generally speaking, a prover is a computational entity responsible for attesting that information is accurate without revealing its underlying data. Provers must create proofs that can be easily verified by a verifier.

The issue today is that many zero-knowledge (ZK) blockchain projects depend on one single, centralizedprover. In the event that node fails to submit proofs, transaction finality will be impacted.

But the process of decentralizing provers is no easy feat.

Milsons interest in STARKs is what started the entire ordeal, he told Blockworks.

When I found out they could be used to prove very large computations instantly in a small proof, I just lost my mind. It didnt even seem possible, and the mystery resulted in me becoming obsessed with figuring out how they worked, Milson said.

During this time, he built miniSTARK, a tool that enables you to prove the integrity of arbitrary computations using STARKs and also spent time learning about Cairo a STARK programming language.

Its simplicity is beautiful, and the fact that StarkNet is built on top of it strikes me as very strong, Milson said.

STARK verifiers are very similar in structure to their provers, Milson said.

Being able to see StarkWares verifier contracts on Ethereum essentially provided me with a blueprint that I was able to follow line by line, he said.

Milson began copying Solidity contracts into a foundry project and wrote tests for the verifyProof process, he said.

It was an iterative process that involved the following:

Each iteration, Id get slightly more lines of code passing until the whole test worked, Milson said. I used the passing proof and submitted it to Ethereum using Etherscanner. It was a real thrill once everything was submitted on-chain.

Milson believes that being able to submit his own prover is a step towards decentralization for StarkNet.

Teams in the community can start integrating the prover into their work which will bring a lot of scale and interesting use cases to the ecosystem, for example, onchain Gaming and ZKML, he said.

This sentiment is shared by Liron Hayman, the head of business development at Starkware.

This is a very important milestone towards decentralization of the Starknet tech stack. Andrew was able to develop his prover without viewing the code of StarkWares prover, Hayman told Blockworks. A mature decentralized blockchain like Starknet requires a vibrant community developing multiple implementations of each component. Andrews work is taking STARK technology to serious decentralization and by extension, towards fulfilling its potential.

Milson believes his work can also be viewed as an audit of StarkNets existing verifier and a testament to the security of the network.

I inspected every line of code and I couldnt find a bug which was honestly a bit disappointing considering how juicy StarkNets bug bounty program is, but really impressive on StarkWares behalf, Milson said.

Get the days top crypto news and insights delivered to your email every evening.Subscribe to Blockworks free newsletternow.

Want alpha sent directly to your inbox? Get degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance, cant-miss tweets and more fromBlockworks Researchs Daily Debrief.

Cant wait? Get our news the fastest way possible.Join us on Telegramand follow us onGoogle News.

Original post:

How to decentralize a prover, according to an engineer who did it for fun - Blockworks

PayPals new Ethereum-based stablecoin, PYUSD, has been seen as bittersweet news for the crypto community.

While it could finally see Ethereum find its place in mainstream adoption, it could also spell trouble for decentralization and personal control of assets, warns the community.

The new stablecoin, PayPal USD, was launched on Aug. 7 and is issued by Paxos Trust Co. the firm behind Binance USD (BUSD). Its built on Ethereum and designed for digital payments and Web3, with the firm saying it will soon be available to United States customers.

The launch has been seen as a boon for Ethereum adoption. Ethereum bulls Anthony Sassano and Ryan Sean Adams believe the ERC-20 stablecoin will push the blockchain closer toward becoming the money layer of the internet.

The number of daily active users on Ethereum currently hovers between 300,000-400,000, according to Etherscan.

However, Sean Adams noted that 430 million accounts actively use the online payment processor, which means that over 5% of the worlds 8 billion people could theoretically be onboarded onto Ethereum through PayPals new stablecoin.

Martin Koppelmann, the CEO and co-founder of Gnosis, added that by launching PYUSD on Ethereums base layer, Ethereum layer-2s will be able to interact with PYUSD too.

Others, including lawmakers, have seen it as another example of larger institutions embracing crypto, breathing new life into the traditional payments system.

In an Aug. 7 statement, Patrick McHenry, chair of the United States House Committee on Financial Services, said stablecoins like PayPals PYUSD hold promise as a pillar of our 21st century payments system.

However, not everyone is convinced about PayPals new stablecoin.

Several smart contract auditors highlighted that PYUSDs smart contract contains freezefunds and wipefrozenfunds functions, which they claim are textbook examples of centralization attack vectorsin Solidity contracts.

This concern was echoed by cryptocurrency researcher Chris Blec, who believes that PayPal will use the controversial functions where necessary.

Digital asset lawyer Sasha Hodder believes many characteristics of PayPals stablecoin resemble that of a censorship-enabled central bank digital currency. Another smart contract auditor noted that PYUSDs smart contract can be changed by PayPal at any time.

In October, PayPal was slammed for a controversial policy that couldve seen users fined $2,500 for spreading misinformation. The firm later backpedalled, claiming the policy update was published in error.

Related: PayPals crypto holdings increased by 56% in Q1 2023 to nearly $1B

Meanwhile, blockchain engineer Patrick Collins took a slightly more neutral view, suggesting that PayPals PYUSD could have been epic but believes some of the engineering choices were suboptimal such as choosing an outdated version of Solidity to program the contract, making the contract upgradeable and not making it gas efficient.

Sassano also explained in a separate post that while PayPals stablecoin is centralized, Ethereum users are free to choose whether they wish to use it or not.

PayPal said PYUSD will be rolled out within the next few weeks.

ETH is currently priced at $1,825, which is approximately the same price at the time of PayPals announcement about 10 hours ago, according to CoinGecko. Only minor fluctuations have been observed in ETHs price since then.

Magazine: DeFi Dad, Hall of Flame: Ethereum is woefully undervalued but growing more powerful

Read the rest here:

PayPal USD: Boon for Ethereum but not decentralization, says community - Cointelegraph

Unbelievably, Africa is a powerhouse of untapped potential resources: both natural and human. At least, it has over 1.3 billion population while the natural resources are immeasurable. The importance of this huge population, there are talented people. And least we forget, Africa consists of fifty five independent states. Every African State has a particular brand, from politics to economy, and from lifestyle through music and arts. Uganda, situated in East Africa, has its own popular brands.

Most probably, not many have heard of it. Uganda has talented kids group which is increasingly becoming so popular. The Ghetto Kids Uganda demonstrated as much at the 2023 Britains Got Talent (BGOT) show.

Despite spending their time in the sprawling slums of Kampala, the group of six kids left the BGOT audience in awe. Even with their humble background, they put up one of the worlds best dancing shows ever. They are the first African kids act to ever receive a golden buzzer from Bruno, one of the judges before their performance was even complete.

Besides, they received the most public votes at the semi-final, which advanced them directly to the shows final. This placed them among the 10 acts to ever compete in the finals. The Ghetto Kids Uganda did not win Britains Got Talent (BGOT) show in 2023. Instead, Viggo Venn, a Norwegian comedian won and walked home with 250,000 prize at the Royal Variety Performance.

Venn delighted the crowd once more with a routine inspired by high-visibility clothing in the championship round. The Norwegian pulled a fizzy dose of laughter among judges after convincing Judge Simon Cowell to don an identical high-vis jacket with rose flower speckles.

Dancer Lilliana Clifton, 13, and magician Cillian OConnor, 14, finished second and third respectively. Ghetto Kids Act Tonioli opened the event with a routine to a medley of songs including Africa by Toto. He was among other young performers who dominated the grand finale stage.

Some audience members booed the outcome because they werent thrilled with the audience choice. Interestingly, amazing opera vocalist Malakai Bayoh and motivational dancer Musa Motha, who lost his leg to amputation when he was just 11 years old, failed to finish in the top three.

Venn appeared stunned after declaration he won this years show. However, several quarters booed him and their Twitter was on fire. Sounded like a lot of boos there when #ViggoVenn was announced as the winner of #BritainsGotTalent. I thought he was great but a shock omissions from the final 3, and I think everyone thought the young lad would win. Bit of a deflated, down-beat end to the series #BGT2023 #BGT, said a tweep.

Another one added that 2023s BGOT was the most shambolic show ever held in the UK. NEVER EVER EVER EVER watching @BGT #BritainsGotTalent again. absolute shambles a guy running about in a high vis vest over so much proper genuine real talent? the boos in that audience, shocked faces and genuine tears said it all for me SHAMBLES, read the tweet.

The Ghetto Kids Uganda is a group of six, all aged between six and 13. They come from Kampalas sprawling slums and streets. Dauda Kavuma took in the six kids into the Ghetto Kids Foundation which he started years back to help needy children. He doubles up in his role as a guardian to the groups manager.

He told BBC that his group would inspire many other people going through various challenges in life. Kavuma joined the streets for survival after the passing on of his father when he was barely a teenager. He dug through trash to find scrap and sold fruits to stationary cars at traffic lights in Kampala City.

The 30-year-old harboured football ambitions when he was a little boy, but a friend later persuaded him to try singing. He got so much from singing and it occurred to him that he could use this talent to help street children.

Most people thought street kids have no value in society but I thought otherwise, AFP quotes him. I thought, what if I use music, dance and drama to transform the underprivileged in the ghettos. My inspiration was my love for music and to pay back to the society that has supported me through my hard life.

The Ghetto Kids Uganda Foundation headed by Kavuma is headquartered in a five-bedroom home tucked away in a maze of Makindye streets. He takes care of orphaned, homeless, or underprivileged kids here ensuring they have shelter, food, education and clothes.

The Ghetto Kids and Masaka Kids are two different mixed-gender choirs from Uganda based in Kampala and Masaka respectively. They both work independently but with a common goal of aiding underprivileged children in Uganda.

Read more here:

Safeguarded Token: The Third Way between Decentralization vs. State Protection Part 3 - Modern Diplomacy

Lido and its liquid staking currency stETH dominate the Ethereum staking service market and thats not necessarily a bad thing, according to Ethena Labs founder Guy Young.

If its a question of whats more important between liquidity and decentralization during times of market volatility, exchanges care far more about liquidity, says Young.

According to the company website, Ethena provides derivative infrastructure in order to transform Ethereum into the first crypto-native yield bearing stablecoin which is not reliant on the banking system: USDe [Unitary Status Dollar Ecoin].

The stablecoin achieves price stability, the website explains, through a delta-neutral hedging process across centralized and decentralized venues. On the 0xResearch podcast (Spotify/Apple), Ethena Labs founder Guy Young and head of research Conor Ryder discuss the liquidity-decentralization dilemma.

We just need to think about our users, Young says. How do things go wrong on our side? Thats with liquidity. In a period of market upheaval, its far less likely that centralization would be the primary cause of failure for USDe, he says.

The biggest risk to what were doing is making sure that collateral is liquid, he says. We have different things that were focusing on versus other [liquid staking token] providers who are more focused on that decentralization piece.

Im more focused on making sure that things are liquid and allow us to provide the best product that we can for our users.

Ryder adds that users are not necessarily reducing risk by taking on competing forms of staked Ethereum. Lido dominance isnt something that really concerns me right now. Its dominant for a reason, he says.

Lidos staking platform and liquid staking token, Lido Staked Ether (stETH), Ryder says, have the best validator set as well as being battle-tested and enjoying very good market traction.

These smaller, liquid staking tokens right now havent got that kind of market traction yet. Its not like youre diversifying by taking 10% stETH, 10% Rocketpool ETH (rETH), 10% whatever else. Such a strategy is only adding more risk, Ryder says.

Another major issue regarding stablecoin risk relates to solvency, which Young says is really a question of timing. If every single user wanted all of their money out at the exact same time, that would force you to crystallize that loss on withdrawal because youd have to take that collateral and give it back to the user, which doesnt represent the dollar that they thought they put in.

A lot of the risks that you saw with bonds blowing up in the real world in the last year was a question of, are you actually redeeming now to crystallize that loss on the market-to-market value of those bonds?

Its actually exactly the same sort of risk there, he says. Its just a question of how are you managing that duration risk.

One way to reduce solvency risks is an insurance fund, Young explains. The effective collateralization of the system will be more than one because youve got that pool of dollars basically sitting behind the stablecoin.

The insurance fund can act as a bidder of last resort, he says, to ensure stability in moments of price dislocation.

You can prove in real time that the whole thing is solvent because you have the collateral there where you can read and show users, and youve got the derivative positions, which again, you can read and show users, Young says.

One example, from Young: In a situation where USDe is trading at $0.95 on Curve, the insurance fund can act as a bidder of the open market USDe to socialize those gains between token holders on the other side.

Market panics are unavoidable, Young admits, but I think theres an interesting role that an insurance fund can play in also providing basically a bid to socialize those gains with token holders afterwards.

And you can only do that when you can prove that the system is actually collateralized at one and that its programmatic.

Get the days top crypto news and insights delivered to your email every evening.Subscribe to Blockworks free newsletternow.

Want alpha sent directly to your inbox? Get degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance, cant-miss tweets and more fromBlockworks Researchs Daily Debrief.

Cant wait? Get our news the fastest way possible.Join us on Telegramand follow us onGoogle News.

See original here:

Stablecoins need to focus on liquidity, not decentralization ... - Blockworks