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? The Dinarian on Locals brings you the latest in news, interviews, in-depth conversations, and stories from across the blockchain and global communities—within and beyond cryptocurrency ?. Experts delve into how blockchain technology is reshaping industries, enhancing business networks ?, transforming transaction workflows, and advancing distributed ledger systems ??. We also explore intriguing topics that may venture into the realm of conspiracies—and so much more!
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šŸ‘‡šŸ» THETA PATENT PUBLISHED 1/4 šŸ‘‡šŸ»

#20240005350
šŸ‘‰- Edge Computing Platform Supported by Smart Contract Enabled Blockchain Network with Off-Chain Solution Verification

Credit to @StevensJoe11

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How The Sonic Gateway Functions šŸ“š

Smells like mainnet is around the corner, so why not a refresher on how the Sonic Gateway functions

https://x.com/sonicuniversity/status/1866040722669051967?s=19

00:01:20
NATO: From Tanks To Tweets

From tonight's sub stream annotating the Rogan episode with receipts.

The World Does Need To See This Crap!

THEY are not giving up yet, The battle for worldwide FREEDOMS reign on!šŸŗšŸ‘

00:02:26
šŸ”„ Crypto-Saves-Lives šŸ”„

Still a skeptic? Watch the onchain effect of @Decaf_so, @StellarOrg,
@MoneyGram, and @circle in Colombia.

#Stellar #XLM

00:11:09
šŸ‘‰ Coinbase just launched an AI agent for Crypto Trading

Custom AI assistants that print money in your sleep? šŸ”œ

The future of Crypto x AI is about to go crazy.

šŸ‘‰ Hereā€™s what you need to know:

šŸ’  'Based Agent' enables creation of custom AI agents
šŸ’  Users set up personalized agents in < 3 minutes
šŸ’  Equipped w/ crypto wallet and on-chain functions
šŸ’  Capable of completing trades, swaps, and staking
šŸ’  Integrates with Coinbaseā€™s SDK, OpenAI, & Replit

šŸ‘‰ What this means for the future of Crypto:

1. Open Access: Democratized access to advanced trading
2. Automated Txns: Complex trades + streamlined on-chain activity
3. AI Dominance: Est ~80% of crypto šŸ‘‰txns done by AI agents by 2025

šŸšØ I personally wouldn't bet against Brian Armstrong and Jesse Pollak.

šŸ‘‰ Coinbase just launched an AI agent for Crypto Trading
šŸ‘‰Watch the ThetaCon24 AMA

ThetaCon 2024 AMA ft. Mitch, Jieyi, & Wes

šŸšØ BlackRock Moves Bitcoin into Thousands of New Wallets!

Reports indicate that BlackRock has shuffled approximately half of their client Bitcoin holdings into thousands of new wallets, with roughly 600 BTC per wallet. šŸ¤Æ

šŸ’­ Speculation is buzzing:

šŸ‘‰ Is this for liquidity management?
šŸ‘‰ Custodial reorganization?
šŸ‘‰ A strategic play for upcoming market moves?

šŸ” Official confirmation is awaited, but such significant wallet activity raises questions about their next move in the crypto space.šŸŒšŸ’ø

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šŸ’„ @SboomFi - One of the first projects on Sonic! šŸ’„

Sboom is a next-generation decentralized exchange built to harness the power of Sonic's EVM Layer-1 blockchain.

Let's start exploring the Sonic chain!

$S $FTM

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Digital Pound paper explores privacy enhancing technologies for CBDC

In the West there has been significant resistance to the concept of retail central bank digital currencies (CBDC) based on ā€˜Big Brotherā€™ concerns. In other words, privacy fears that the government can monitor personal payment transactions. Or sometimes, even concerns that they might attempt to control behaviors. Hence, the Bank of England and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Digital Currency Initiative (MIT DCI) published aĀ paperĀ exploring privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) for a possibleĀ digital pound.

Before delving into the paper, thereā€™s an overlap with another topical subject. In the United States, the FBI has suggested that people should use encrypted messaging apps instead of texts and normal calls, because allegedlyĀ China has hackedĀ the major phone networks. WhatsApp provides end-to-end encryption, and even Meta does not have access to the data.

However, in recent years law enforcement has repeatedly requested back doors to encrypted messaging solutions, including Apple and Google messaging. Even if law enforcement has a warrant, Meta, Apple and Google canā€™t help them decrypt the data. Private cybersecurity personnel resist backdoor access because it can be used by hackers and others with bad intentions.

Thereā€™s a parallel with the digital pound, which is not for anonymous payments. The aim is to prevent the government from having all the private identity data, both in legislation and by using technical means.

However, as the paper highlights, if payments are not anonymous, then there is data to hack. The data might sit with payment providers rather than the central bank, but itā€™s still there and could be mis-used.

What the paper does not mention is the existence of the data also means that a future government could change the law. Of if thereā€™s a Canada-style COVID trucker revolt, it could tell PIPs to block certain wallets (or bank accounts).

Privacy enhancing technologies

Meanwhile, the paper explores three PETs: pseudonymity, zero knowledge proofs (ZKP) and multi-party computation. One of the most interesting aspects is how pseudonymity affects wallet holding limits.

Pseudonymity avoids using a personā€™s name, phone number or social security number to attempt to obfuscate a personā€™s identity. Blockchains use pseudonymous identifiers, yet several service providers can identify wallet holders. Thatā€™s in part because wallet addresses often persist across multiple blockchain transactions, but different wallet addresses can also often be linked. Hence, pseudonymity wonā€™t guarantee privacy.

The digital pound and other CBDCs often impose holding and transaction limits. If someone has CBDC accounts with multiple payment providers which use different pseudonymous identifiers, that makes it harder to police limits.

However, the paper makes three suggestions. One is for the user to have a personal wallet that connects to multiple payment provider balances and gives an aggregate proof of the total holdings or transactions to an automated auditor. But what if the person has more than one digital wallet?

Another solution is for each payment provider to provide a daily total for each user and that data is aggregated across payment providers. This clearly raises privacy issues. The authors suggest using additional PETs.

A third path is additionally to use pseudo-random identifiers. Based on a personā€™s name or national insurance number, a pseudonymous hash would be inserted into all their transactions for a specific day, but the hash would change every day and not be linkable.

While some of these seem viable, they appear to haveĀ privacyĀ trade offs.

ZKP and MPC

Moving on to the other privacy technologies,Ā Zero Knowledge ProofsĀ (ZKPs) will provide a proof, giving an answer to a narrow question. For example, whether this person has passed KYC or do they have a sufficient balance for the transaction? It can provide a yes/no answer without revealing the personā€™s name or the actual balance.

Multi-party computationĀ (MPC) allows multiple parties to access data for use by an algorithm without releasing the underlying data. This could be used for sanctions screening.

Each of them has benefits and drawbacks. ZKP and MPC are both relatively new, although a particular type of MPC is widely used to safeguard cryptocurrency keys. ZKP is also heavily used for cryptocurrencies but can have performance challenges depending on design. Both technologies require specialist skills to implement properly. There are potential legal issues about whether payment firms can rely on them for compliance.

The paper is written in a way that makes it quite accessible to people who donā€™t want to delve into the technical details. Some suggestions for future work relate to enhancing privacy for very small transactions. Earlier this yearĀ MIT DCIĀ also partnered the Bundesbank for privacy work.

Ā 

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Banks Eye Stablecoins to Accelerate Cross-Border Innovation

Few bottlenecks across the payments landscape have been more intractable than that of cross-border payments.

But with theĀ newsĀ Thursday (Dec. 5)Ā that the U.S. licensedĀ FV BankĀ is now supporting direct USDT stablecoin deposits to simplify cross-border transactions by reducing reliance on traditional wire transfers and fees, cross-border payments optimization could be arriving ā€” for both financial institutions (FIs) and their end-users ā€” faster than anyone could have anticipated.

ā€œThis innovation positions us at the forefront of regulated financial institutions offering comprehensive stablecoin on-ramp and off-ramp services. We have also seamlessly integrated our blockchain analytics tools to pre-screen and detect transactions which may be linked to sanctions or AML activity ensuring our compliance with regulations,ā€Ā Miles Paschini, CEO of FV Bank, said in aĀ release.

Paschini also noted that by eliminating the dependency on traditional bank wires and exchange fees, FV Bankā€™s USDT direct deposit feature offers a streamlined option for high-volume and smaller-scale international transfers alike.

Traditional cross-border payments are notorious for high fees, slow processing times and opaque intermediaries. Stablecoins offer aĀ compelling alternativeĀ by allowing near-instantaneous transfers, significantly lower costsĀ and enhanced transparency through blockchain technology. However, their utility has been somewhat limited by the difficulty of moving funds between stablecoins and fiat currencies ā€” a gap that on-ramp and off-ramp services aim to fill.

For banks, this functionality highlights the emergence of a potentially stark choice: adapt to a changing payments landscape or risk disintermediation.

How Blockchain Can Revolutionize Payments

The integration of on-ramp and off-ramp services into the mainstream financial ecosystem is both a threat and an opportunity for banks. On one hand, these services encroach on a core banking function ā€” facilitating the transfer and conversion of money. If consumers and businesses find stablecoins easier and cheaper to use for international payments, they may bypass traditional banking systems altogether, reducing banksā€™ revenue from foreign exchange and remittance fees.

ā€œBlockchainĀ solutions and stablecoinsĀ ā€” I donā€™t like to use the term crypto because this is more about FinTech ā€” theyā€™ve found product-market fit in cross-border payments,ā€Ā Sheraz Shere, general manager ofĀ paymentsĀ and commerce atĀ Solana Foundation, told PYMNTS earlier this year. ā€œYou get the disintermediation, you get the speed,Ā you get the transparency, you get extremely low cost.ā€

On the other hand, banks have a unique opportunity to integrate these services into theirĀ ownĀ operations. By partnering with stablecoin issuers or developing proprietary on-ramp solutions, banks can position themselves as the trusted gateway to the digital economy. Such integrations could also help banks tap into new revenue streams, such as fees for stablecoin transactions or value-added services like digital asset custody and compliance solutions.

For example, small- t0 medium-sized businesses (SMBs) stand to potentially benefit immensely. These businesses, often priced out of traditional cross-border payment solutions, can leverage stablecoins to reduce costs and improve cash flow. Similarly, remittances ā€” a lifeline for millions of families worldwide ā€” could become more affordable and accessible.

ā€œWhen individuals log into their online banking accounts or mobile apps,Ā the processesĀ that weā€™re taken through to make a cross-border payment are not very transparent,ā€Ā Andy Elliott, vice president of strategy atĀ EvonSys, told PYMNTS.

Ā 

ā€œIt takes too long. Itā€™s relatively expensive and unnecessarily complex.ā€Ā 

The Long and Winding Regulatory Road Ahead

PYMNTS Intelligence has found that using cryptocurrencies forĀ cross-border paymentsĀ could be the winning use case that the sector has been looking for. The research revealed that blockchain-based cross-border solutions,Ā particularly stablecoins,Ā are being increasingly embraced by firms looking to find a better way to transact and expand internationally.

Yet, the transition is not without challenges. Regulatory scrutiny remains a significant hurdle. Governments and central banks are keen to maintain control over monetary policy and prevent financial crimes like money laundering. For on-ramp and off-ramp providers, navigating these complexities is crucial to ensuring trust and adoption.

In its newly released 2024Ā annual report, the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) made special mention of the fact that stablecoins do not have adequate safeguards against risks and failures.Ā 

ā€œAs the council has stated over the last several years, stablecoins continue to represent a potential risk to financial stability because they are acutely vulnerable to runs absent appropriate risk management standardsā€¦Ā The Council recommends that Congress pass legislation creating a comprehensive federalĀ prudential framework for stablecoin issuers to address run risk, payment system risks, market integrity, and investor and consumer protections, including for entities that perform services critical to the functioning of the stablecoin arrangement,ā€ the annual report stated.

In the end, the success of stablecoin on-ramps likely hinges on striking a balance between innovation and trust, between efficiency and compliance. For banks, this may be a challenge worth rising to. For the payments industry, it could prove to be a sign of the future arriving faster than anyone might have anticipated.

Ā 

Link

Read full Article
post photo preview
Banks Eye Stablecoins to Accelerate Cross-Border Innovation

Few bottlenecks across the payments landscape have been more intractable than that of cross-border payments.

But with theĀ newsĀ Thursday (Dec. 5)Ā that the U.S. licensedĀ FV BankĀ is now supporting direct USDT stablecoin deposits to simplify cross-border transactions by reducing reliance on traditional wire transfers and fees, cross-border payments optimization could be arriving ā€” for both financial institutions (FIs) and their end-users ā€” faster than anyone could have anticipated.

ā€œThis innovation positions us at the forefront of regulated financial institutions offering comprehensive stablecoin on-ramp and off-ramp services. We have also seamlessly integrated our blockchain analytics tools to pre-screen and detect transactions which may be linked to sanctions or AML activity ensuring our compliance with regulations,ā€Ā Miles Paschini, CEO of FV Bank, said in aĀ release.

Paschini also noted that by eliminating the dependency on traditional bank wires and exchange fees, FV Bankā€™s USDT direct deposit feature offers a streamlined option for high-volume and smaller-scale international transfers alike.

Traditional cross-border payments are notorious for high fees, slow processing times and opaque intermediaries. Stablecoins offer aĀ compelling alternativeĀ by allowing near-instantaneous transfers, significantly lower costsĀ and enhanced transparency through blockchain technology. However, their utility has been somewhat limited by the difficulty of moving funds between stablecoins and fiat currencies ā€” a gap that on-ramp and off-ramp services aim to fill.

For banks, this functionality highlights the emergence of a potentially stark choice: adapt to a changing payments landscape or risk disintermediation.

How Blockchain Can Revolutionize Payments

The integration of on-ramp and off-ramp services into the mainstream financial ecosystem is both a threat and an opportunity for banks. On one hand, these services encroach on a core banking function ā€” facilitating the transfer and conversion of money. If consumers and businesses find stablecoins easier and cheaper to use for international payments, they may bypass traditional banking systems altogether, reducing banksā€™ revenue from foreign exchange and remittance fees.

ā€œBlockchainĀ solutions and stablecoinsĀ ā€” I donā€™t like to use the term crypto because this is more about FinTech ā€” theyā€™ve found product-market fit in cross-border payments,ā€Ā Sheraz Shere, general manager ofĀ paymentsĀ and commerce atĀ Solana Foundation, told PYMNTS earlier this year. ā€œYou get the disintermediation, you get the speed,Ā you get the transparency, you get extremely low cost.ā€

On the other hand, banks have a unique opportunity to integrate these services into theirĀ ownĀ operations. By partnering with stablecoin issuers or developing proprietary on-ramp solutions, banks can position themselves as the trusted gateway to the digital economy. Such integrations could also help banks tap into new revenue streams, such as fees for stablecoin transactions or value-added services like digital asset custody and compliance solutions.

For example, small- t0 medium-sized businesses (SMBs) stand to potentially benefit immensely. These businesses, often priced out of traditional cross-border payment solutions, can leverage stablecoins to reduce costs and improve cash flow. Similarly, remittances ā€” a lifeline for millions of families worldwide ā€” could become more affordable and accessible.

ā€œWhen individuals log into their online banking accounts or mobile apps,Ā the processesĀ that weā€™re taken through to make a cross-border payment are not very transparent,ā€Ā Andy Elliott, vice president of strategy atĀ EvonSys, told PYMNTS.

Ā 

ā€œIt takes too long. Itā€™s relatively expensive and unnecessarily complex.ā€Ā 

The Long and Winding Regulatory Road Ahead

PYMNTS Intelligence has found that using cryptocurrencies forĀ cross-border paymentsĀ could be the winning use case that the sector has been looking for. The research revealed that blockchain-based cross-border solutions,Ā particularly stablecoins,Ā are being increasingly embraced by firms looking to find a better way to transact and expand internationally.

Yet, the transition is not without challenges. Regulatory scrutiny remains a significant hurdle. Governments and central banks are keen to maintain control over monetary policy and prevent financial crimes like money laundering. For on-ramp and off-ramp providers, navigating these complexities is crucial to ensuring trust and adoption.

In its newly released 2024Ā annual report, the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) made special mention of the fact that stablecoins do not have adequate safeguards against risks and failures.Ā 

ā€œAs the council has stated over the last several years, stablecoins continue to represent a potential risk to financial stability because they are acutely vulnerable to runs absent appropriate risk management standardsā€¦Ā The Council recommends that Congress pass legislation creating a comprehensive federalĀ prudential framework for stablecoin issuers to address run risk, payment system risks, market integrity, and investor and consumer protections, including for entities that perform services critical to the functioning of the stablecoin arrangement,ā€ the annual report stated.

In the end, the success of stablecoin on-ramps likely hinges on striking a balance between innovation and trust, between efficiency and compliance. For banks, this may be a challenge worth rising to. For the payments industry, it could prove to be a sign of the future arriving faster than anyone might have anticipated.

Ā 

Link

Read full Article
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