The Protocol: Vana Introduces Token Standard for Data-Backed Assets

2 months ago

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's play wrap-up of the astir important stories successful cryptocurrency tech development. I'm Ben Schiller.

In this issue:

Vana launches token standard

Hashgraph to debut backstage blockchain

ASICs volition look much similar servers

An interrogation with Gensyn’s Ben Fielding

This nonfiction is featured successful the latest contented of The Protocol, our play newsletter exploring the tech down crypto, 1 artifact astatine a time. Sign up here to get it successful your inbox each Wednesday.

Network News

VANA’S DATA-BACKED TOKEN STANDARD: Crypto enthusiasts mightiness person heard of the ERC-20 token standard, which provides guidelines to guarantee that tokens created connected the Ethereum astute declaration blockchain are compatible and tin interact with different tokens and applications wrong the network. A akin modular for data-backed tokens, called VRC-20, has present emerged. Vana, an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain that helps users monetize idiosyncratic information by bundling it into DataDAOs for AI exemplary training, introduced the caller standard aboriginal this week to boost spot and transparency successful the marketplace for data-backed integer assets. The VRC-20 modular plan includes circumstantial criteria specified arsenic fixed supply, governance, and liquidity rules portion ensuring existent information entree by tying tokens to existent information utility. Additionally, it promotes continuous liquidity done rewards that guarantee marketplace stability. "This isn’t speculation. This is existent financialization of data," Vana noted connected X. Vana launched its mainnet successful December, with VANA arsenic its autochthonal cryptocurrency. Since then, the web has onboarded implicit 12 cardinal information points done aggregate DataDAOs, reflecting beardown request for user-owned data. DataDAOs oregon information liquidity pools are decentralized marketplaces that bring information on-chain arsenic transferable integer tokens. DLPs are wherever information is contributed, tokenized and made acceptable for usage successful applications specified arsenic AI exemplary training. — Omkar Godbole Read more.

HASHGRAPH LINES UP Q3 PRIVATE CHAIN: Hashgraph, the blockchain improvement steadfast focusing connected the Hedera (HBAR) network, is gathering a private, permissioned blockchain for enterprises successful highly regulated industries with plans to debut successful the 3rd 4th of 2025. HashSphere, built with Hedera's technology, aims to span backstage and nationalist distributed ledgers, ensuring compliance with regulations portion maintaining interoperability, the institution said Monday. Hashgraph is looking to supply services to plus managers, banks and outgo providers seeking secure, low-cost cross-border transactions with stablecoins.While nationalist blockchains connection information and transparency, enterprises successful industries similar concern and payments often look compliance challenges, peculiarly with cognize your lawsuit (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements. HashSphere addresses this by restricting entree to verified participants, enabling firms to make tokenized assets, AI-powered services and different blockchain-based products portion gathering regulatory standards. The web besides integrates Hedera’s existing tools, including the Token Service for managing integer assets and the Consensus Service for signaling transactions with trusted timestamps. The level is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to deploy decentralized applications utilizing Solidity and different EVM languages. — Kris Sandor Read more.

ASICS TO BE MORE LIKE SERVERS: In the beginning, determination were lone CPUs, past GPUs, for bitcoin mining. Then came the mighty ASIC successful 2013, and with it, the “shoebox” signifier origin that has go emblematic of the bitcoin mining industry. What comes next? ASIC manufacturers are progressively betting connected a hydro-cooled server rack plan to go a important information of bitcoin mining fleets, leaning into the “direct-to-chip” cooling for further ratio gains. Last September, Bitmain announced its exemplary U3S21EXPH developed successful a concern with Hut 8. Its U3 plan means that 1 portion takes up 3 spaces successful a accepted server rack. MicroBT soon followed with its M63 Hydro series, arsenic did Bitdeer’s Sealminer A2 Hydro unit. Following suit, Auradine released its server rack model, the AH3880, this March. Its U2 design, which occupies 2 server slots, is simply a spot smaller, but it packs much hashrate per portion of abstraction astatine 600 TH/s (or 300 TH/s per slot) versus Bitmain’s 860 TH/s (286.66 TH/s per slot). The payment of a server rack ASIC lies successful standardization. Bitcoin miners are progressively marching successful measurement with the accepted datacenter industry, and that manufacture could spot 40% adoption of nonstop liquid-to-chip cooling by 2026, according to information halfway developer Cyrus One. If miners follow this design, past theoretically, they tin optimize their proviso chains by converging connected server designs that are becoming champion signifier successful the big-boy information halfway sector. — Colin Harper, Blockspace Read more.

GENSYN CEO BEN FIELDING: Ten years ago, erstwhile helium was inactive a young AI researcher opening his PhD track, Ben Fielding explored however “swarms” of AI — clusters of galore antithetic models — could speech to each different and larn from each other, which mightiness amended the corporate whole. There was conscionable 1 problem: He was handcuffed by the realities of that noisy instrumentality beneath his desk. And helium knew helium was outgunned by Google and different Big Tech. Compute constraints would ever beryllium an issue, helium realized. The solution? Decentralized AI. Fielding co-founded Gensyn (along with Harry Grieve) successful 2020, oregon years earlier Decentralized AI became fashionable. The task was initially known for gathering decentralized compute, but the imaginativeness is really thing wider: “The web for instrumentality intelligence.” They’re gathering solutions up and down the tech stack. And now, a decennary aft Fielding’s noisy table annoyed his lab-mates, the aboriginal tools of Gensyn are retired successful the wild. Gensyn precocious released its “RL Swarms” protocol (a descendant of Fielding’s PhD work) and conscionable launched its Testnet — which brings blockchain into the fold. Fielding talked with Jeff Wilser astir AI Swarms, however blockchain snaps into the puzzle, and shares wherefore each innovators — not conscionable tech giants — “should person the close to physique instrumentality learning technologies.” — Jeff Wilser Read more.

In Other News

Web3 lacks a dedicated representation layer, making its existent architecture inefficient and hard to scale. Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) offers a solution by enhancing information propagation and retention ratio successful decentralized systems. Implementing RLNC tin code Web3's scalability challenges by optimizing representation and information entree without compromising decentralization, says Muriel Médard, co-founder of Optimum. Read her op-ed here.

Ripple, an enterprise-focused blockchain work intimately tied to the XRP Ledger (XRP), said connected Wednesday it has integrated its stablecoin to the company's cross-border payments strategy to boost adoption for Ripple USD (RLUSD). Select Ripple Payments customers including cross-border outgo providers BKK Forex and iSend are already utilizing the stablecoin to amended their treasury operations, the institution said. Ripple plans to further grow the token's availability of its token to payments customers. RLUSD reached a $244 cardinal marketplace capitalization, increasing 87% implicit the past month. — Kris Sandor reports.

Regulatory and Policy

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped oregon paused implicit a twelve ongoing cases (and mislaid one) since U.S. President Donald Trump retook bureau conscionable implicit 2 months agone and appointed Commissioner Mark Uyeda arsenic acting chair. Here is simply a rundown of what’s near connected the SEC’s enforcement docket. — Nik De reports.