Author: CoinDesk

NEAR’s co-founder Illia Polosukhin shares the need to shift from corporate-owned AI to models that benefit individuals and communities. 

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This installment of "The Protocol," hosts Brad Keoun, the founding editor of The Protocol Newsletter, and tech journalists Sam Kessler and Margaux Nijkerk interview Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol. Polosukhin discusses the intersection of AI and blockchain technology, explaining how NEAR Protocol began as an AI project and evolved into a blockchain platform to address issues related to compensating collaborators.

Takeaways

• NEAR Protocol started as an AI project and transitioned into a blockchain platform to address the challenge of paying collaborators.
• User-owned AI is crucial to ensure that AI models and systems benefit individuals and communities, rather than just corporations.
• Data availability is a fundamental component of blockchain technology, ensuring that all transactions are accessible and can be used to reconstruct the state of the blockchain.
• Chain abstraction allows users to interact with multiple blockchain networks without needing to understand the underlying technology or worry about transaction fees.
• NEAR Protocol is focused on solving real problems and finding use cases that drive the adoption of blockchain and AI technology.

Chapters | 

00:00 Introduction and Background of Ilya Polosukhin

05:20 The Disruptive Potential of AI

08:35 User-Owned AI

22:17 Chain Abstraction

26:15 Solving Real Problems with NEAR Protocol

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EPISODE LINKS |  

NEAR 

Enter the Black Dragon: NEAR Co-Founder Joins the NEAR Foundation as CEO 

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The Protocol has been produced and edited by senior producer Michele Musso and our executive producer is Jared Schwartz. Our theme song is “Take Me Back” by Strength To Last.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Jennifer Sanasie breaks down the latest news in the crypto industry from the U.S. job report to Mt. Gox's repayments to customers.

To get the show every day, follow the podcast here.

"CoinDesk Daily" host Jennifer Sanasie breaks down the biggest headlines in the crypto industry today, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the addition of 206,000 jobs in the month of June. Plus, Mt. Gox said that it started making repayments to customers after a near 10-year wait. And, U.S. crypto-adjacent stocks drop as bitcoin crashed to the lowest level since February.

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This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “First Mover” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and Melissa Montañez and edited by Victor Chen.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are prediction markets the key to finding the truth in an era of media narratives and social media algorithms?

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Prediction markets are gaining mainstream traction, particularly with the upcoming US elections. In this episode, Nick Tomaino, founder of 1confirmation, which is an investor in Polymarket, explores how platforms like Polymarket identified the possibility that President Biden might drop out of the campaign before the mainstream media did. He talks about the journey of Polymarket, the challenges it faced, and how it overcame them to provide a credible platform for betting on political outcomes. 

Finally, Nick explains why prediction markets are currently illegal in the U.S., the implications of the Supreme Court striking down Chevron's deference, and what the future holds for prediction markets in the U.S.

Show highlights:

• Why prediction markets like Polymarket finally gained mainstream traction, and how 1confirmation became an early investor
• What challenges Polymarket faced in its journey to mainstream recognition, and how it managed to overcome them
• How prediction markets contribute to bringing more truth to the world, particularly in the context of media narratives and social media algorithms
• What challenges have arisen from conflicts in resolving prediction markets on Polymarket
• How bets are created and how the wording and resolution of prediction markets is managed on Polymarket
• How trading volumes affect the credibility of prediction markets on Polymarket
• The regulatory environment of prediction markets in the US and whether the elimination of Chevron deference by the Supreme Court will have a positive impact on these markets
• 
  

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, pop op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

• iTrustCapital
• Polkadot
• PlayFi Labs

Guest

• Nick Tomaino, Founder & General Partner at 1confirmation

Links |

Recent news on Polymarket:

• Unchained: Polymarket Hits Record Highs in Monthly Users and Trading Volume Due to Presidential Election
• Crypto.news: Polymarket reverses Oracle decision on Barron Trump's involvement in DJT meme coin
• Decrypt: Ethereum ETFs Approved by the SEC? Yes—But Don't Bet On It - Decrypt
• Dune dashboard: Prediction Markets

Commentary:

• Vitalik’s tweet: “Prediction markets and Community Notes are becoming the two flagship social epistemic technologies of the 2020s. Both truth-seeking and democratic, built around open public participation rather than pre-selected elites. I want to see many more things like this.”
• Nick Tomaino’s tweet: “2024 will go down in history as the year prediction markets went mainstream.”

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Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC.  Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lots going on in public markets this week as Cleanspark announced the planned purchase of Bitcoin miner Griid, while a few private miners made public ambitions known.

Will, Charlie and Matt jump back behind the mic to chomp on this week’s Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining news–and what a week it was! We cover Cleanspark’s plans to purchase Bitcoin miner Griid, Northern Data and Genesis Digital Assets (GDA)eyeing public markets for the first time and we wrap up with a short local story on ASIC theft. 

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

05:18 Cleanspark Acquisition

14:07 Northern Data IPO

20:05 GDA IPO

26:28 Bad Boys: ASIC thief

28:08 Ordinals number go down :(

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Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday and a news show on Friday! 

👉 Check out Bitcoin Season 2 and The Gwart Show.

👉 Watch our newest documentary, The Big Empty!

Follow our host on Twitter, @wsfoxley.

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Thank you to our sponsor, CleanSpark, America’s Bitcoin miner! And thank you to Foreman Mining, Master Your Mining!

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"The Mining Pod" is produced by Sunnyside Honey LLC with Senior Producer, Damien Somerset.  Distributed by CoinDesk with Senior Producer Michele Musso and Executive Producer Jared Schwartz.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Jennifer Sanasie breaks down the news in the crypto industry from Kraken seeking nuclear energy for data centers to Biden's increasing odds of dropping out on Polymarket.

To get the show every day, follow the podcast here.

"CoinDesk Daily" host Jennifer Sanasie breaks down the biggest headlines in the crypto industry today, as crypto exchange Kraken considers using nuclear energy as a power source for its data centers. Plus, Nigeria's money laundering trial against Binance and two executives was adjourned until July 5. And, the odds that President Biden drops out of the race for the White House hit an all-time high of 60% on Polymarket.

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This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “First Mover” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and Melissa Montañez and edited by Victor Chen.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The latest price moves and insights with Jennifer Sanasie and Bitwise Asset Management Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon.

To get the show every day, follow the podcast here.

Bitwise Asset Management Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon joins CoinDesk with insights on the position of bitcoin, ether, and Coinbase shares in a portfolio. Plus, the latest market trends as U.S. Presidential election heats up, and an outlook on the spot SOL ETF applications in the U.S.

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This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “Markets Daily” is executive produced by Jared Schwartz and produced and edited by Victor Chen, alongside Senior Booking Producer Melissa Montañez. All original music by Doc Blust and Colin Mealey.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jose Macedo of Delphi Digital and Ari Paul of BlockTower Capital talk about why a crypto asset can have wildly different prices in the public and private markets, and how they try to figure out what it’s really worth.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

The problem of low float, high fully diluted valuation (FDV) coins is one that is frequently discussed in crypto. But there’s another wrinkle: investors need to understand the unrealized gains of these coins to really understand the price. 

In this episode, Jose Macedo of Delphi Digital and Ari Paul of BlockTower Capital explain the various metrics that reveal what a coin is really worth, why a wave of token unlocks that will be hitting the crypto markets in the next few years are not bullish, and whether there is a better way to design token unlocks for teams and insiders. 

Plus, they cover whether venture capitalists are extractive to crypto, whether these games with circulating supply and FDV have caused investors to turn to memecoins, and why they believe the ICO era was better for retail investors. 

Show highlights:

• Why upcoming token unlocks are creating market jitters
• How the ratio of unrealized gains to market cap influences token price movements 
• How some token projects manipulate their reported circulating supply
• Whether and how everyday investors can uncover the truth about token projects
• What secondary market trading says about the potential impact of upcoming token unlocks
• Why Jose believes that the current token launch strategy, despite its flaws, is still favored by insiders and unlikely to change soon
• Why some projects favor decisions that are more likely to result in short-term gains over long-term success
• Why Jose believes that simple time-based token unlocks often work better than complex metrics, and how projects can balance funding with realistic success metrics
• Why Ari believes the SEC's investigations into VCs for acting as securities dealers might be justified, and how these practices resemble pump-and-dump schemes
• With numerous token unlocks looming, why the outlook is bearish for many projects, and what challenges they face in mitigating potential sell-offs
• Why many crypto investors might end up holding the bag in the current cycle, despite plans to sell early and avoid losses
• What the future role of VCs is in crypto, and how the influx of token unlocks and the rise of memecoins could shape the bull cycle

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Polkadot

Guests:

• Jose Macedo, founder at Delphi Labs
• Ari Paul, CIO of BlockTower Capital
• Previous appearances on Unchained:
• 
  
• Ari Paul on Why Bitcoin Is a Good Value Buy
• 
  
• Ari Paul of BlockTower Capital on the Crypto Downturn and Why It Could Change Direction

Links :

High FDV and unlocks:

• Unchained:
• How ‘Fully Diluted Valuation’ Can Be a Very Dangerous Metric for Crypto Markets to Rely On
• Who’s to Blame for the Underperformance of Low Float, High FDV Tokens?
• 80% of Tokens on Binance Are Down Since Listing Date: SwissBorg Researcher
• Cobie newsletter: New launches (part 1) - private capture, phantom pricing
• Rocknblock: Token vesting explainer
• CoinDesk: 'Liquid Vesting' Is Oxymoronic Blockchain Feature That Lets Early Investors Sell Without Waiting
• Jose’s thread that inspired the episode
• Ari’s post responding to Jose’s thread
• Token.unlocks.app: Token vesting tracker

Solutions:

• Hack VC: Potential Solutions to Crypto's Unlock Problem
• Colony Lab: Early-Stage Program & Liquid Vesting
• Imran Khan’s tweet on Blast https://x.com/lmrankhan/status/1806040646433522149 

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Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC.  Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

By some metrics, Antpool has over 50% of Bitcoin’s hashrate through proxy pools. Is this a threat to Bitcoin?

Industry expert Ian Descôteaux from Pow.Re discusses evidence of pool consolidation, risks to Bitcoin, and potential solutions for decentralization. This podcast explores the growing centralization of Bitcoin mining pools, focusing on proxy pools and their potential impact on the network.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

02:48 Checksum's bio

03:34 Canada & South America hash rate

06:42 Mining pool centralization

09:14 Proxy pools

11:57 Proxy pool diagram

13:57 F2Pool use proxy?

15:14 F2Pool block template

16:09 Cobo yield & risk

19:31 Merkle tree evidence

25:28 UTXO accelerator

29:59 Selfish mining & 51%

33:35 Covenants

36:26 Antpool incentives

38:38 Block withholding attacks

40:17 How to fix?

43:32 Are new pools likely?

45:52 Final thoughts

Published twice weekly, "The Mining Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday and a news show on Friday! 

👉 Check out Bitcoin Season 2 and The Gwart Show.

👉 Watch our newest documentary, The Big Empty!

Follow our host on Twitter, @wsfoxley.

-

Thank you to our sponsor, CleanSpark, America’s Bitcoin miner! And thank you to Foreman Mining, Master Your Mining!

"The Mining Pod" is produced by Sunnyside Honey LLC with Senior Producer, Damien Somerset.  Distributed by CoinDesk with Senior Producer Michele Musso and Executive Producer Jared Schwartz. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Jennifer Sanasie breaks down the news in the crypto industry from Circle's stablecoin license in the EU to Polymarket's record volume in June.

To get the show every day, follow the podcast here.

"CoinDesk Daily" host Jennifer Sanasie breaks down the biggest headlines in the crypto industry today, as Circle became the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with the EU's MiCA regulatory framework. Plus, Polymarket recorded over $100 million of volume in June on U.S. election enthusiasm. And, Silvergate Bank's $63 million settlement with regulators.

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This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “First Mover” is produced by Jennifer Sanasie and Melissa Montañez and edited by Victor Chen.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The latest price moves and insights with Jennifer Sanasie and Circle Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy Dante Disparte.

To get the show every day, follow the podcast here.

Circle Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy Dante Disparte breaks down the stablecoin issuer's journey to secure an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license under the MiCA regulatory framework. Plus, insights on developments in crypto regulation around the world.

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This episode was hosted by Jennifer Sanasie. “Markets Daily” is executive produced by Jared Schwartz and produced and edited by Victor Chen, alongside Senior Booking Producer Melissa Montañez. All original music by Doc Blust and Colin Mealey.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.