Autor Cointelegraph By Brian Quarmby

Columbia Uni professor heads up a16z's new crypto research unit

Columbia Uni professor heads up a16z's new crypto research unit

Uverejnil používateľ | apr 22, 2022 |

Theoretical computer scientist and Columbia University professor Tim Roughgarden has been appointed the head of Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) new crypto research unit. Roughgarden’s resume includes more than three years as a professor of computer science at Columbia University in New York, along with a 14-year stint at Stanford. He has also served as a research partner at a16z since February last year. a16z is one of the most active venture capital firms in crypto, with its funds reportedly worth around $9 billion. Partly guided by the firm’s new unit which was announced earlier today, Roughgarden has stated that its funding into crypto research will grow by “many multiples of the next couple of years.”“We’re currently in a particular moment in time, witnessing a new multidisciplinary field (spurred by web3) blossom before our eyes. There are enormous opportunities to shape this field through research and education.”8/ As a research lab within a VC firm, a16z crypto research represents a new funding model for basic research—one that seems obvious in hindsight (with the long-term focus necessary for fundamental research already hard-wired into the firm’s business model).— Tim Roughgarden (@Tim_Roughgarden) April 21, 2022The firm highlighted Roughgarden’s experience in computer science, research and economics, along with his crypto and blockchain course at Columbia as one of the “best and most popular” introductions to crypto online. Roughgarden was one of the first to provide a formal analysis on the fee mechanism for Ethereum’s EIP-1559 upgrade. According to a16z, the research team will form a multidisciplinary lab that will work with the companies in its portfolio and others to solve “the important problems in the space,” increase user adoption and advance Web3 science and technology. Stanford University professor of computer science and electrical engineering Dan Boneh will also be joining Roughgarden as the senior research advisor. Boneh has worked with a16z for the past four years as a portfolio research advisor and also teaches applied cryptography at the Stanford Center for Blockchain Research. Major announcement from us today: we’re launching a16z crypto research to advance the science and technology of the next generation of the internet, led by the incomparable @Tim_Roughgarden https://t.co/KtvmP7fSkh— cdixon.eth (@cdixon) April 21, 2022

The firm noted that “new entrepreneurial idea for a Web3 application or protocol tends to uncover fresh research challenges” that are extremely important to solve in order to solidify the future of blockchain and crypto. Such challenges include the scaling and development of infrastructure, tokenomics that benefit all participants, and methods to build token economies in Web3 applications such as social media and gaming.“With the advent of Ethereum and other blockchains that are fully programmable, web3 has unlocked an extremely rich design space for innovation. It’s a space that we’ve only just begun to explore.”Related: a16z’s Chris Dixon tops ‘Midas List’ by turning $350M into $6B in 2021

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3 questions on financial literacy Bitcoiners flunk: Bank of Canada

3 questions on financial literacy Bitcoiners flunk: Bank of Canada

Uverejnil používateľ | apr 22, 2022 |

A study from the Bank of Canada found that Bitcoiners on average have lower financial literacy than those who don’t own Bitcoin (BTC). The study was compiled from four years of annual surveys from 2016 to 2020, with the sample sizes ranging anywhere from 1,987 to 3,893 respondents. The Bank of Canada’s full study is titled “Bitcoin Awareness, Ownership and Use: 2016-20” and was published on April 19. A key conclusion from the study was that: “Bitcoin owners displayed greater knowledge about the Bitcoin network than nonowners, yet they scored lower on questions testing financial literacy.”However the financial literacy testing was based on just three multiple choic questions that focused on interest rates, inflation and stock/mutual fund comprehension. The three Bitcoin questions focused on supply, the digital ledger and whether the network is backed by the government or not. Given the limited number of questions the idea they can accurately gauge someone’s financial literacy is arguable. On the other hand, the questions are pretty easy.Questions on financial literacy and Bitcoin: Bank of CanadaThe Bank of Canada’s researchers emphasized that the “interaction between financial literacy and participation in the market for crypto assets” is important to explore, as there are many risks associated with the sector that could be potentially avoided via further education. BitcoinersThe data found that over the four years, the average Bitcoin hodler fell in the demographic of young males aged between 18-and 34, and men accounted for at least double the number of women each year. The  gender gap has been a long-running and widely reported subject in crypto’s short history. “Overall, marginal effects are consistent with descriptive findings already discussed. We find that the probability of Bitcoin ownership decreases with being female, older and unemployed, but increases with education,” the report reads. In terms of a specific type of Bitcoin hodler, the report suggests that young educated men who scored low on financial literacy but earned more than $70,000 were the most typical type: “In particular, Canadians who were young, male, employed, had a university degree, high household income and relatively low financial literacy were more likely to own Bitcoin.”Related: 3.6M Americans to use crypto to make a purchase in 2022, research firm predictsNon-bitcoinersOn the other end of the spectrum, those that scored high on financial literacy were “more likely to be aware of Bitcoin but less likely to own it.”Notably, the reasons offered in the study for not owning Bitcoin that polled the most each year weren’t necessarily anti-Bitcoin, with a lack of understanding and current payment methods being satisfactory being the main answers. After those two reasons, the next highest reason each year was that respondents didn’t “trust a private currency that is not backed by a government.”“We find that between 2018 and 2020, the level of Bitcoin awareness and ownership among Canadians remained stable: nearly 90% of the population were aware of Bitcoin, while only 5% owned it.”An individual survey from this study dubbed “Cash Alternative Survey” was previously reported on by Cointelegraph, with the report suggesting that Canadians with a lower level of understanding of finance could be twice as likely to invest in crypto.

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AUSTRAC releases 2 new guides to help spot illicit crypto use

AUSTRAC releases 2 new guides to help spot illicit crypto use

Uverejnil používateľ | apr 21, 2022 |

Australian financial compliance enforcement agency AUSTRAC has released two new guides to help entities to spot when customers are using crypto for illicit means, or when they are being forced to pay the creators of ransomware.But it warned that debanking customers merely on suspicion of such activity was a harmful practice with serious negative effects.In an announcement posted earlier today, AUSTRAC noted that the growing acceptance, value and adoption of crypto and blockchain tech has been accompanied by an increase in cybercrime. “Cyber-enabled crime is an increasing threat to Australians. According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), 500 ransomware attacks were reported in the 2020-21 financial year, an increase of nearly 15 percent from the previous year,” AUSTRAC stated. The ransomware and “criminal abuse of digital currencies” guides are not only designed to help spot bad actors, but also to make it easier to report suspicious activity to AUSTRAC — something which businesses must do after reporting the matter to the police. Blockchain Australia CEO Steve Vallas welcomed the new guides, stating that the “use of digital currencies for criminal purposes has no place in our sector.”“Open dialogue, pro-active guidance and strong relationships between Government and industry are necessary to ensure businesses can identify and report behavior that puts Australians at risk of harm.”In the ransomware guide, AUSTRAC highlighted multiple indicators that a customer may be quickly trying to pay a ransom. The list included behaviors such as impatience over the speed of transactions, sudden large transactions from newly onboarded businesses and transfers of one’s entire holdings with a lack of account activity afterward. While the indicators might seem obvious, AUSTRAC pointed out that most “victims are often reluctant to report” as they are looking to get their businesses out of the clutches of attackers and up and running again as soon as possible. “Where possible, encourage your customers to report ransomware incidents to the ACSC’s ReportCyber service and law enforcement,” the guide reads. In the illicit crypto use-focused guide, AUSTRAC listed activities such as tax evasion, money laundering, scams and the purchase of illegal products on the darknet. The regulator paid the most attention to money laundering, as it gave a rundown of its key components which include “placement, layering and integration.” After purchasing digital assets with fiat (placement), the criminal will then attempt to convert the assets across different accounts and platforms (layering) to “distance the funds from the source.” Decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, mixers and privacy coins were stated as methods to do so. Finally, the bad actor will use the final variant of the funds to reintroduce the capital into traditional financial services or products (integration). “The conversion to and from government-issued currency is the point where a criminal is most exposed and identifiable,” the guide reads. Related: Australia’s first Bitcoin ETF could attract $1 billion after launch next weekNotably, the guide also urged traditional financial institutions to steer away from debanking customers, as this has been a key issue in the local crypto sector and could have major consequences if a lawful person has incorrectly been identified as a criminal. “Debanking legitimate and lawful businesses can negatively impact individuals and businesses. It can also increase the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing and negatively impacts Australia’s economy,” the guide warns.

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Derivatives exchange dYdX to become '100% decentralized by EOY'

Derivatives exchange dYdX to become '100% decentralized by EOY'

Uverejnil používateľ | apr 21, 2022 |

Ethereum Layer 2-based crypto derivatives trading platform dYdX has vowed to become “100% decentralized by EOY” via the protocol’s V4 update. dYdX primarily offers perpetual contracts, which are derivatives products that borrow elements from both spot margin trading and futures trading but do not have an expiry date. At present only certain components of dYdX are decentralized, including its Ethereum smart contracts, governance and staking. However its “orderbook and matching engine” are managed by dYdX Trading Inc. — the team that developed the platform. dYdX announced the V4 update on Twitter yesterday with a new roadmap outlining that: “You are not ready.” #DYDX will be 100% decentralized by EOY. You are not ready.https://t.co/0StvepVlgb— dYdX (@dYdX) April 19, 2022In a blog dYdX explained that the “primary aspect” of fully decentralizing the platform is focused on the orderbook and its matching engine. The team noted that the main challenges will be scaling throughput (transaction processing power), finality (off-chain trade matching) and fairness (operators not being able to extract value from legitimate trading activity) in a decentralized manner. “With V4, dYdX will become fully decentralized. There will no longer be central points of control or failure of the protocol; all aspects of the protocol that can be controlled will be fully controlled by the community,” the roadmap reads. Outlining why the platform is going fully decentralized, dYdX emphasized the “fundamental improvement” that decentralized finance (DeFi) provides over centralized financial services:“DeFi offers a massive improvement in transparency. For the first time, the financial system itself is no longer a black box to users. With DeFi, users can trust code instead of corporations.”The V4 update will see dYdX Trading Inc. receive zero trading fees moving forward. Additionally, the platform will also roll out more products and services, such as synthetics and spot and margin trading. While many DeFi projects often tout that they are “decentralized” due to smart contracts and their automated setups, they are often controlled by a small core team with access to a multisig admin key that gives them ‘god mode’ powers over the protocol. This is often a useful strategy to recover from errors while building the platform, but introduces centralized risks.U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler argued that DeFi is mostly centralized during an interview in August last year, noting that: “These so-called ‘decentralized finance’ platforms actually have a lot of centralization. There’s a group of entrepreneurs that are running these platforms.”Another DeFi project to announce the move to full decentralization, or being “fully self-sufficient” was DAI stablecoin creator and pioneering protocol MakerDAO in mid-2021. Related: DeFi token AAVE eyes 40% rally in May but ‘bull trap’ risks remainMaker Foundation CEO Rune Christensen noted in a blog post at the time that “the Protocol and the DAO will be determined by thousands or perhaps millions of engaged, enthusiastic community members.”Critics note however that MakerDAO has 5.1 billion centralized USDC stablecoins backing its DAI reserves so the true extent of its decentralization is arguable. There are currently 5.1 billion USDC and 499 million USDP in the PSM as reserves for Dai’s liquidity.Dai peg You can swap Dai for 1 US dollar at any time.— Maker (@MakerDAO) March 31, 2022

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Optimism-based projects spike on rumors of token airdrop

Optimism-based projects spike on rumors of token airdrop

Uverejnil používateľ | apr 20, 2022 |

The native token prices from multiple projects that employ Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution Optimism have spiked around 20% amid rumors that the network will soon launch a token and airdrop it to the community. Optimism is a Layer 2 scaling solution that utilizes Optimistic rollups to process a high amount of transactions off the Ethereum blockchain. The project touts that it can operate smart contracts 5 to 500X cheaper than Ethereum’s Layer 1. According to DeFiLlama, the platform currently accounts for $496.47 million worth of total value locked (TVL) from 30 different projects that use it to scale such as Synthetix (SNX), UniSwap (UNI), Stargate Finance (STG) and Perpetual Protocol to name a few. The rumors of a possible token distribution to users of the related projects started to swirl on Twitter earlier today after Optimism published a blog post titled “A New Chapter” which recapped the project’s performance since its launch early last year, along with outlining its plans moving forward. The team highlighted notable milestones over the past 12 months such as $17.4 billion worth of transaction volume, $24.5 million worth of revenue and saving $1.1 billion worth of gas fees.Optimism’s story so far, by the numbers:Saved $1.1B in gas feesOn-boarded 300k unique addressesSecured $900M of valueFacilitated $17.4B in TX volumeGenerated $24.5M in revenueA new chapter is near.Let’s take a minute to reflect on the path so far.— ✨ Optimism.io/amsterdam (@optimismPBC) April 19, 2022While Optimism didn’t directly state anything about launching or airdropping a native token, onlookers highlighted the last section of the post which outlines a new stage of development that will be driven by the community: “The network has grown by leaps and bounds, and it’s only getting better by the day. Our baby has learned to walk, and it’s nearly time to run. We’re nearing the end of a chapter and the beginning of the next––one driven by community ownership and governance.”Commenting on the wording of the post, self-described “master airdrop hunter” “OlimpioCrypto” suggested to their 7,164 Twitter followers that SNX might be the token to keep an eye on for potential airdrops, as Synthetix was the first protocol to start working with Optimism. “Team at Optimism started working with Synthetix before any other protocol. $SNX holders, there might be a treat for you. Keeping tokens staked might be the play,” they wrote. A similar account in “defi_airdrops” also pointed to other popular projects on Optimism such as Hop Protocol, Lyra Finance and the Polynomial Protocol.Rumours that a L2 is launching a token imminently.Is it @optimismPBC ?When in doubt go bridge into Optimism now and support the best projects – LP in @HopProtocol – LP in @lyrafinance – Stake $SNX- Trade @kwenta_io – Deposit in @PolynomialFi https://t.co/UaXpIAr58A— DeFi Airdrops (@defi_airdrops) April 13, 2022

Related: Ethereum Merge a ‘few months after’ June: Dev clears up what’s going onWhile not all of the tokens related to Optimism are pumping, over the 24 hours SNX, Lyra Finance (LYRA) and Synapse (SYN) have all seen substantial increases in value. According to data from Coingecko, SYN is up 26.2% to sit at $3.37, SNX is up 21.5% to $6.18 and LYRA has gained 18.4% to reach $0.24. Looking back at DeFi Llama, Synthetix — which is the largest platform on Optimism — has seen its TVL gain 13.4% over the past 24 hours to top roughly $203.3 million, suggesting that so investors may be rushing to stake SNX in anticipation of an announcement from Optimism. Looks like whales heard about the imminent @optimismPBC governance smth being released, and what better way to join the fun than @synthetix_io ecosystem fam! pic.twitter.com/ILLMBZFI1u— Danijel (@veryHighLander) April 19, 2022

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