#research

After the announcement that MakerDAO intends to roll out a new version of its platform on Solana, Anatoly Yakovenko suggested this shouldn't be viewed as a challenge to Ethereum. In his perspective, MakerDAO's move accentuates the merits of open-source solutions rather than the superiority of one blockchain over another, especially given Ethereum's pivotal role in research for numerous developers. "Ethereum is awesome. Solana wasn’t built in a vacuum, and tons and tons of things that make Solana special were built based on Ethereum’s r&d," commented the Solana co-founder. Meanwhile, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has sold all his MKR tokens for 353 ETH.

Currently, Mantle DAO is evaluating a proposal that would prohibit the conversion of BIT tokens held by FTX Group into the new MNT token. Previously, Alameda Research, a branch of the FTX Group, swapped 3.4 million FTT tokens for a staggering 100 million BIT tokens, which equated to around $43 million. Yet FTX's descent into bankruptcy prompted DAO members to introduce this proposal. MNT is a token that was launched as Mantle's L2 mainnet went live. The blockchain was established by the Bybit exchange, which initiated the merge of BIT (BitDAO) and MNT tokens. Controversies aside, there's robust support for this proposal within the Mantle enclave, spotlighting the overarching investor community's interests.

Quantum Blockchain Technologies (QBT), a research company, has unveiled an innovative bitcoin mining method that utilizes artificial intelligence. According to the company's statement, this new approach to hash verification, as opposed to random selection, boosts the chances of finding a winning hash by approximately 260%.

Kaiko Research’s data highlights reduced engagement in prominent tokens: “AXS, the governance token of the Axie Infinity ecosystem is down more than 90% since early 2022 and SAND, MANA and GALA tokens have seen a a similar drop in value.” Analysts point out that monetary incentives were a primary motivator for users, but these platforms faced challenges in maintaining their user base due to diminishing in-game rewards.

Tech leaders Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and AI startup Anthropic are forming a new industry watchdog group, the Frontier Model Forum, to supervise the "safe and responsible" development of frontier AI models. The alliance aims to push research on AI safety, pinpoint responsible development practices, collaborate with governments and civil leaders, and back the development of applications. This move follows a commitment made by these AI companies to the White House for the safe and transparent development of AI.

Rishi Sunak is directing public funds toward acquiring high-performance artificial intelligence chips to ensure the country remains competitive in the global race for computing capabilities. The government has initiated talks with major IT firms such as Nvidia, AMD, and Intel to secure resources for a national “AI Research Resource.” This effort aligns with prime minister’s vision to establish Britain as a leading force in the field of artificial intelligence. Though the project has been allocated £100 million, there are concerns that this funding might fall short of the government’s AI aspirations. Government officials are advocating for additional funding in the coming months to match the scale of this initiative. Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) are vital components in constructing AI systems like ChatGPT, with the latest version trained on as many as 25,000 Nvidia chips.

The Federal Reserve enforced the closure of Farmington State Bank, a lender that has ties with both FTX and Alameda Research. But what led to this? The bank's silent move towards a digital-centric strategy without keeping the Federal Reserve in the loop. To thicken the plot, Farmington had previously, in March 2022, secured a substantial $11.5 million funding from Alameda Research.

The U.S. Department of Justice is escalating its legal fight against the founder of FTX, employing intimate writings from his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who once managed investment company Alameda Research. From October 2nd, the court will see evidence pulled from Caroline's personal documents. A notable inclusion is a list termed "Things Sam is Freaking Out About," pointing towards alleged financial misconduct at FTX. The case's evidence will also feature undisclosed recordings and messages from FTX insiders.

A Twitter debate has erupted, speculating that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) might be involved with the BALD memcoin rugpull. Blockchain analysts delved into the developer’s on-chain history and discovered a connection between the wallet address deploying the BALD token and ETH funding from wallets linked to FTX and Alameda Research. An anonymous DeFi commentator suggested that this link might indicate SBF’s attempt to recover some losses. Data editors found that the same wallet address had made numerous transfers (400) to blacklisted USDT addresses and appeared to have strong connections with Alameda Research.