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Embracing digitalization: the accelerating force behind decarbonization and energy transition
A New MIT Report On Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence
thedinarian
April 21, 2023
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As the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds, the energy sector is poised to capitalize on AI, blockchain, and IoT technologies, creating opportunities for a sustainable and decentralized future.

The energy market stands at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, driven by the convergence of AI, blockchain technology, edge computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). This paradigm shift echoes the transformation of the energy sector toward a more decentralized and distributed system, which will be further catalyzed by the emerging Web3 infrastructure.

Blockchain technology and Web3 offer a myriad of opportunities to advance the urgent energy transition. These include tokenizing carbon credits, enabling peer-to-peer energy trading, and increasing the verifiability and trust of data within the sector. In addition, digital tokens can create markets for low-carbon products and services such as sustainable aviation fuels and carbon credits.

Decarbonization of energy systems necessitates the further electrification of economies and decentralization of energy systems. To facilitate this, blockchain technology can support increased transactions while ensuring data transparency, trust, and verifiability. Simultaneously, smart contracts can enable automated transactions without human intervention, streamlining processes such as energy certificates and proofs of emission reductions.

However, blockchain technology is not without its criticisms, including concerns about energy consumption, data integrity, and privacy. Nonetheless, advancements in this field continue to be made to address these issues. In this context, governments and regulators play a critical role in fostering innovation, generating trust in new digital systems, and overcoming challenges.

Beyond blockchain technology and Web3, it is the overall digital transformation of industry that can support decarbonization objectives. Yet this transformation needs to speed up to achieve systemic changes.

This is the overall conclusion of a recent report by Shell and MIT Technology Review Insights, titled “Digital Technology: The Backbone of Net-zero Emissions future”. The report emphasizes the essential role of digital technologies, such as cloud and edge computing, AI, machine learning (ML), IoT sensors, and blockchain, in facilitating the transition to net-zero emissions. It also looks at the readiness of industry sector to pull this decarbonisation lever.

“Connectivity enabled by digital technologies carries the enormous power of cutting global carbon emissions. 5G, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, digital twins, blockchain, satellite technologies, and so many others can help to reduce them by 15% by 2030.” Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner, COP26 keynote.

Despite the potential of digital technologies to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across various industries by 2030, as indicated by studies from the World Economic Forum, Accenture, PwC, and Capgemini, organizations have been slow to adopt these technologies. This has hindered progress in accelerating decarbonization and emissions reduction goals. Industry leaders often prioritize digital innovation through partnerships and the energy transition is a secondary objective of their digital transformation.

The cautious approach to technology adoption stems from the immaturity of existing solutions, the need for further study or customization, and challenges such as intermittent renewable energy supplies and lack of trust in carbon trading schemes. As a result, there is a pressing need for more aggressive adoption of digital technologies to accelerate decarbonization across industries.

For this report, MIT Technology Review Insights conducted a global survey of 350 C-level leaders in eight major sectors, revealing that digitalization is considered essential for optimizing efficiency, reducing energy and waste, and monitoring greenhouse gas sinks, among other benefits. However, the survey also found that companies are not adopting digital technologies with the required urgency to achieve decarbonization targets, with executives rating their importance only moderately high.

The energy sector has been more enthusiastic about the role of digital technology in achieving environmental targets and is investing accordingly. In contrast, industries such as metals and mining, industrial manufacturing, transportation, and petrochemical manufacturing have been less willing to experiment with digital technologies and tend to use them in a limited way.

To successfully navigate the energy transition, companies must prioritize digital technology adoption and work together to overcome challenges, build digital capabilities, and establish trusted partnerships. As digital technologies continue to evolve, it is vital for governments and individual organizations to take decisive action and address skepticism or lack of trust in existing solutions proactively.

“The future of energy is decarbonized, decentralized and digital,” says Dan Jeavons, Vice President of Computational Science and Digital Innovation at Shell. “We believe open innovation is crucial to accelerate digital innovation for decarbonization. But not every sector is yet convinced. We must work together to shift that mindset.

Summary:

A new MIT Technology Review Insights report, produced in partnership with Shell, explores the role of digital technologies in the net-zero transition and emphasizes the need for a shift in organizational culture to address the challenges. The report is based on a global survey of 350 C-suite executives and interviews with experts from Accenture, Microsoft, Shell, and the World Economic Forum. 

You can download the report at www.shell.com/digitalisation-and-decarbonisation-mit-report

Key findings include:

  • Digitalization is crucial for the energy transition, with executives expecting it to aid in optimizing efficiency, reducing waste, designing carbon sequestration technologies, making sustainability data accessible, monitoring GHG sinks, and optimizing low-carbon energy systems.
  • The main decarbonization lever for most industries is a circular economy, which minimizes waste and promotes resource and energy recapture.
  • Industries rely on partnering with technology experts to innovate with digital solutions, with vendor partnerships being the most cited approach (31%).
  • Attitudes towards tech adoption and innovation vary across sectors and regions, with cybersecurity being the largest external obstacle (58%).
  • A digital culture is needed to understand and address decarbonization challenges, which requires effective systems, personnel, and data availability.

The report highlights the importance of creating a digital culture that fosters innovation and cooperation to achieve organizational sustainability goals.

Watch experts from the energy industry in this AI for Good Webinar to get some unique insights on how frameworks, trainings, processes and technology help overcome ethical challenges related to the use of AI in the energy industry with Amy Challen from Shell, Christina Montgomery from IBM and Robert Eugene Austin, III from EPRI, moderated by Gabriela Ramos from UNESCO 

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thedinarian@thedinarian
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Still the best infographic about total #XRP circulation, updated. (SBI Holdings fiscal year end report)

~36b left in escrow..

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thedinarian@thedinarian
59 minutes ago

The @WhiteHouse cited Pyth in its latest report on digital financial technology, linking to the network’s research on building perpetual futures.

A small mention, but a meaningful signal that onchain finance is gaining visibility in the broader policy conversation.

As discussions around modernization and regulation continue, one thing is clear: transparent, real-time market data is no longer just a back-office detail. It’s foundational to the next chapter of global finance.

The price of everything, everywhere 🇺🇸

https://whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Digital-Assets-Report-EO14178.pdf

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thedinarian@thedinarian
July 28, 2025
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PYTH: We'll Always Have Coldplay

Welcome back to The Epicenter, where crypto chaos meets corporate cringe.

But surprisingly, crypto has not been the most chaotic corner of the internet as of late.

That honor goes to the startup Astronomer, whose CEO’s cheating scandal broke the web in a glorious meme-fueled media frenzy. The company’s damage control? Hiring Gwyneth Paltrow as a “temporary spokesperson.” Do we think they’re grasping at straws or setting a new standard for PR?

Meanwhile, the markets didn’t blink. BTC is still flexing near its all-time highs. Michael Saylor’s bringing a bitcoin-adjacent money-market product to Wall Street. A pharma company just earmarked $700M to stack BNB, and analysts are calling time of death on the four-year crypto cycle. It’s a steady boom now, kittens.

A few things that are also worth noting: Winklevoss vs. JPMorgan, Visa’s take on stablecoins, and Robinhood’s Euro drama that defies the chillness of eurosummer.

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From meme-fueled PR stunts to Bitcoin-backed money-market funds, this week reminded us that markets move fast—and headlines move faster. With Wall Street automating itself, fintechs beefing with banks, and even your smartphone becoming a miner, anything is possible. Stay curious, stay cynical, and as always—stay sharp and stay liquid. We’ll see you back here in two weeks.

— The Epicenter, powered by Pyth Network

 

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thedinarian@thedinarian
July 27, 2025
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4 Fintech Companies 💸& Things To Know About 🤔

The fintech revolution is reshaping the way we manage, invest, and move money, breaking down traditional barriers and empowering individuals worldwide. As financial technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, a select group of innovative companies are leading the charge by offering groundbreaking solutions that redefine banking, payments, and digital assets. Whether you’re a savvy investor, an industry professional, or simply curious about the future of finance, discovering these trailblazing fintech companies is essential to understanding today’s dynamic financial landscape.

 

  1.  Alina Invest - The AI Wealth Manager for GenZ Women

Alina is aimed at women under 25 who identify as beginner investors. They're an SEC-registered investment advisor that charges $120/year for membership. The service "buys and sells for you" and gives up notification updates of recent transactions like a wealth manager would.

👉 Getting people to invest early is crucial to building long-term wealth. One thing that holds them back is a lack of confidence and experience. Being targetted "for beginners" and people who live on TikTok should appeal. I love the sense of "we're buying and selling for you." Funds always do that, but making it an engagement mechanic is very smart. The risk here is that building a wealth business will take decades for the AUM to compound. But the next generations, Wealthfront or Betterment, will look something like Alina.

2. Blue layer - The Carbon project funding platform

Bluelayer allows Carbon project developers to take from feasibility studies to issuing credits, tracking inventory, and managing orders. Developers of reforestation, conservation, direct air capture, and other projects can also directly report to industry registries. 

👉 Carbon investing and tax credits are heavily incentivized but need transparent data. By focusing on the developers, Bluelayer can ensure the data, reporting, and credits lifecycle is all managed at the source. This is smart.

3. Akirolabs - Modern Procurement for enterprise

Akiro is a "strategic" procurement platform aiming to help enterprise customers identify risks, value drivers, and strategic levers before issuing an RFP. It aims to bring in multiple stakeholders for complex purchasing decisions at multinationals. 

👉 Procurement is a great wedge for multinational corporate transformation. Buying anything in an enterprise that uses large-scale ERPs is a nightmare of committees and spreadsheets. Turning an oil tanker-sized organization around is difficult, but the right suppliers can have a meaningful impact in the short term. That only works if you can buy from them. Getting people on the same page with a single platform is a great start.

4. NeoTax - Automated Tax R&D Credits

NeoTax allows companies to connect their engineering tools to calculate available tax advantages automatically. Once calculated, the tax fillings are clearly labeled with supporting evidence for the IRS.

👉 AWS and GCP log files and data are a goldmine. Last week, I covered Bilanc, which uses log files to figure out per-account unit economics. Now, we calculate R&D tax credits. The unlock here is LLM's ability to understand unstructured data. The hard part is understanding the moat, but time will tell.

In an era where technology and finance are increasingly intertwined, these four fintech companies stand out as catalysts for positive change. By driving progress in digital payments, asset management, lending, and decentralized finance, they are not only making financial services more accessible and efficient—they are also paving the way for a more inclusive and empowered global economy. Staying informed about their innovations can help you seize new opportunities and take part in the future of finance.

 

👀Things to know 👀

 

PayPal issued low guidance and warned of a “transition year.” The stock is down 8% in extended trading despite PayPal reporting a 9% growth in revenue and 23% EBITDA. Gross profit is down 4% YoY. PayPal's total revenues were $29Bn for the year

Adyen reported 22% revenue growth and an EBITDA margin of 46% for the full year. Adyen's total revenues were $1.75bn for the full year. The margin was down from 55% the previous year, impacted by hiring ahead of growth.

🤔 PayPal’s Braintree (unbranded) is losing market share in the US, while Adyen is winning it. eCommerce is growing ~9 to 10% YoY, and PayPal’s transaction revenue grew by 6.7%. The higher interest rate environment meant interest on balances dragged up the total revenue figure. Their core business is losing market share. Adyen is outgrowing the market by ~12%.

🤔 The PayPal button (branded) is losing to SHOP Pay and Apple Pay. The branded experience from Apple and Shopify is delightful for users; it’s fast and helps with small details like delivery tracking. That experience translates to higher conversion (and more revenue) for merchants.

🤔 The lack of a single global platform hurts PayPal, but it helps Adyen. In the earnings call, the new CEO admitted their mix of platforms like Venmo, PayPal, and Braintree are holding them back. They aim to combine and simplify, but that’s easier said than done.

🤔 Making a single platform from PayPal, Venmo, and Braintree won’t be easy. There’s a graveyard of payment company CEOs who tried to make “one platform” from things they acquired years ago. It’s crucial if they’re going to grow that they get their innovation edge back. Adyen has one platform in every market.

🤔 PayPal’s UK and European acquiring business is a bright spot. The UK and EU delivered 20% of overall revenue, growing 11% YoY. Square and Toast don’t have market share here, while iZettle, which PayPal acquired in 2018, is a strong market player. Overall though, it’s yet another tech stack and business that’s not part of a single global platform.

The two banks provided accounts to UK front companies secretly owned by an Iranian petrochemicals company. PCC has used these entities to receive funds from Iranian entities in China, concealed with trustee agreements and nominee directors. 

🤔 This is the headline every bank CEO fears. Oof. Shares of both banks have been down since the news broke, but this will no doubt involve crisis calls, committees, appearing in front of the regulator, and, finally, some sort of fine.

🤔 The "risk-based approach" has been arbitraged. A UK company with relatively low annual revenue would look "low risk" at onboarding. One business the FT covered looked like a small company at a residential address to compliance staff. They'd likely apply branch-level controls instead of the enterprise-grade controls you'd see for a large corporation. 

🤔 Hiring more staff won't fix this problem; it's a mindset and technology challenge. In theory, all of the skill and technology that exists to manage risks with large corporate customers (in the transaction banking divisions) are available to the other parts of a bank. In practice, they're not. Most banks lack a single data set and the ability for compliance officers in one team to see data from another part of the org. Getting the basics right with data and tooling is incredibly hard and will involve a multi-year effort. 

🤔 These things are rarely the failure of an individual or department; the issue is systemic. While two banks are named in this headline, the issue is everywhere. Banks need more data and better data to train better AI and machine learning. That all needs to happen in real-time as a compliment to the human staff. Throwing bodies at this won't solve the visibility issue teams have.

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thedinarian@thedinarian
July 27, 2025
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What is XAH and Xahau?

If you're new to XRP, you may have noticed some of us discussing another network named 'Xahau'.

It's Like XRP ... But Different

The Xahau network was created in 2023, and its starting point was the open-source code for the XRP Ledger. A small team of researchers and entrepreneurs decided to add smart contracts to the network code.


The XRP Ledger has no smart contract capabilities, by default.

To integrate smart contracts, the team decided to use an architecture that includes 'WASM' or 'web assembly' code. Each account can have up to 10 'hooks' installed that are triggered for transactions that match specific criteria. They can run before or after a transaction is processed. This enables a variety of use cases that do not involve the need to change the network's core code.

Hooks

A 'hook' is what is known as a smart contract that can be triggered in relation to a specific account and its transactions.

The term arises from the programming world, where it generally means "code that runs based on triggering conditions." In Xahau's case, it indicates code that is run before, or after, a transaction is processed.
 
Each hook must be installed on a specific account by the party that controls the account - i.e., the secret key holder.
 
What Can XAH Do That XRP Cannot?
 
The primary benefit from the use of hooks, is that the core network code does not need to be changed every time a new use case is identified. This means that additional use cases can be addressed immediately, with no requirement for intervening steps, such as:
  • Community review
  • Community approval
  • Amendment voting
All of those steps are eliminated with the use of hooks; new use cases can be addressed as fast as the code can be developed.
 
To read more about how hooks enables Xahau to handle more use cases than even the XRPL, you can read this article:
 
Key Differences From XRP
 
Other unique differences from the XRP Ledger include:
  • Much smaller supply ~612 million coins vs. 100 billion coins
  • XAH hodlers are rewarded at 4% of their account balance. There are no rewards for XRP.
  • Governance participants are incentivized
  • Payment channels available for user-created tokens (IOUs)
  • URI tokens instead of NFT tokens
Who's Who of Xahau?
 
The list of those that are either founders, or closely associated with the founding organizations, is extensive. Here are the names of three organizations mentioned in the whitepaper, or their current moniker:
  • Xaman (a.k.a. XRPL Labs)
  • Gatehub
  • InFTF (Inclusive Financial Technology Foundation)
There exists a long list of impressive developers, architects, and technologists among the Xahau inner circle. But the three names that people associate most prominently with the leadership of the Xahau network are Wietse Wind, Richard Holland, and Denis Angell. The links to their 'X' accounts are:
 
Friend Or Foe?
 
This topic is one of the most contentious.
 
While Ripple, the company with the largest stake of XRP, showed interest in hooks early on, they ultimately decided to advocate for a different approach; the use of an EVM-based solution (Ethereum Virtual Machine) to handle smart contracts on the XRP Ledger. This decision was met with consternation by the Xaman team that had worked with them for several years to advocate for the use of hooks.
 
You can read more about the 'business politics' part of this topic here:
 
So how do Xahau fans view the relationship between XRP and XAH?
 
The Xahau team - and many of its community members - advocate for the use of a 'dual-chain' solution to implement smart contracts. This can be accomplished by the use of 'listener' software, along with native Xahau hooks.
 
A proof of concept, developed by Denis Angell, has demonstrated that bi-lateral communication can work with a simple approach.
 
From an economic standpoint, every chain that has its own digital asset is a competitor; but the simple way to think about Xahau, is that a 'bunch of XRP geeks' decided to implement smart contracts on their own version of the XRP Ledger.
 
The team emphasized transparency along the way, and initially received support from the primary XRP stakeholder, Ripple. They published Xahau as open-source code that could, in theory, be back-engineered and integrated with the XRP Ledger. You can clearly observe the team's idealistic mindset in early marketing mistakes, where they named their digital asset 'XRP Plus' in an effort to emphasize the way that they viewed their creation. While this resulted in confusion - and even suspicion - in its early days, the team quickly pivoted, and named their digital asset 'XAH', which became its ticker symbol.
 
Synergy effects between the two camps speak to a genuine camaraderie, with many Xahau developers being open and willing to help with changes to the core XRP Ledger protocol. You can find many examples of this open dialogue on the 'X' platform.
 
How To Purchase XAH
 
If you wish to speculate by buying XAH directly, it is available in a variety of convenient locations, depending on where you are located. If you're in a country that is supported by Bitrue, you can directly purchase or trade XAH by using that exchange.
 
On January 20th, 2025, Bitmart announced that it supports trading of XAH for customers in their list of supported countries; And in late March, another major exchange announced that they would be supporting XAH trading pairs: Coinex.
 
If you're located in the United States, you can purchase XAH directly from a vendor known as 'C14'. The xApp for C14 is located in the Xaman wallet.
 
XRP Ledger geeks can also purchase XAH IOUs on the XRPL Dex and then convert them to 'real' XAH using a Gatehub bridge. This is available in countries that Gatehub supports.
 
Which XAH Accounts Should I Follow?
 
On the 'X' platform, there exists two major community groups for XAH fans:
In addition to the Xahau notables I've already mentioned in this article, my advice is to take a look at who is posting in the above two communities. There are many impressive leaders and entrepreneurs included. You should be able to find multiple 'X' accounts that reflect your interests.
 
Xahau Development Roadmap
 
Xahau leaders have published a roadmap for 2025 that lists their various goals for the ecosystem:
 
To read a detailed explanation for each item, refer to this: Xahau Roadmap Super Thread
 
One of the most incredible waypoints listed is 'JavaScript Hooks Implementation.' 🤯
JavaScript!
 
With the 'JavaScript Hooks Implementation', Xahau is making history; it will enable anybody that knows JavaScript to easily create and install a smart contract. While networks like Ethereum are impressive early movers, they require developers to learn a new language and syntax.
 
Xahau will soon open 'crypto smart contracts' to a group of developers that number in the tens of millions.
 
Project L-10K
 
Project L-10K is one of the most important items in the pipeline. L-10K refers to the effort to boost the throughput of Xahau consensus to over 10,000 transactions per ledger! This will benefit hosted projects such as Evernode, and future issued assets. Heading up the effort is Richard Holland, who provided a progress update to the community in late May of 2025:
 
To learn more about this ambitious effort, you can watch his full presentation here:
The Future Of Defi And Payments
 
Once you've seen the extensive list of use cases that XAH easily handles, it's truly inspiring. Xahau is everything that you love about XRP, plus a long list of more things to love. ❤️
 
Be an early adopter of XAH and the Xahau network! Join the community groups listed and follow the accounts that seem to reflect your own interest - speculator, developer, or crypto fan. You have a place in our community, no matter what your background or interests are. Welcome to the future of crypto Defi and Payments. 
 
Sources:
 
 
NOTE: Payment channels for IOUs is currently in amendment status for the XRP Ledger, authored by Denis Angel here:
 
 

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