TheDinarian
News • Business • Investing & Finance
đź’Ą Grass: The First Ever Layer 2 Data Rollup
June 22, 2024
post photo preview

You cant say I didn't warn you! I have been sending you the link for $GRASS for months now. This is the equivelant to a Theta Staking Node, minus the staking.. for now! You can still get in on this before it goes mainstream and the $GRASS token officially launches mainnet on Solana... ~The Dinarian

What Problem Does Grass Solve?

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been releasing content to explain Grass’s role in the AI stack.  As you now know, the protocol performs a number of functions that help builders access web data to train their models with.  This is the crucial first stage of the AI pipeline and the launching point for all development.  

In Grass’s case, residential devices around the world host a network of nodes that scrape and process raw data from the web.  It cleans and converts that data into structured datasets for use in AI training.  And most importantly, it sources web data in a way that involves - and rewards - the participation of nearly a million people around the world.  It single handedly created the category of AI data provisioning, and it’s the reason some of the largest AI companies in the world have chosen to work with us.  It is the Data Layer of AI.

At the same time, we’ve also spent the past few weeks reflecting on the current state of artificial intelligence.  We’ve asked ourselves about the most pressing issues it faces, and as a prominent piece of AI infrastructure ourselves, what we can do to solve them.  

Our conclusion is that the biggest problem in AI right now is a lack of data transparency.  One glance at the news will tell you why.  Ask yourself, why would an AI model equate Elon Musk with Hitler?  Or erase an entire ethnic group from world history?  Was it trained with bad data?  Or worse, with good data selectively chosen to give bad answers?

The answer is, we don’t know.  And we don’t know because there’s no way to know.  We don’t know what data these models were trained on, because no mechanism exists for proving it.  There’s no way for users to verify data provenance, because there’s no way for builders to verify it themselves.

This is the problem that Grass plans to solve, and we’re now building a layer 2 data rollup to solve it.  How, you may ask?

Allow us to explain. 

How A Layer Two Will Establish Data Provenance 

The world needs a method for proving the origin of AI training data, and that’s what Grass is now building.  Soon, every time data is scraped by Grass nodes, metadata will be recorded to verify the website it was scraped from.  This metadata will then be permanently embedded in every dataset, enabling builders to know its source with total certainty.  They can then share this lineage with their users, who can rest easier knowing that the AI models they interact with were not deliberately trained to give misleading answers.  

This will be a big lift and involve a major expansion of our protocol as we prepare for scraping operations to reach tens of millions of web requests per minute.  Each of these will need to be validated, which will take more throughput than any L1 can provide.  That’s why we’re announcing our plan to build a layer 2 solution to handle this significant upgrade to our capabilities.  The L2 will be a sovereign rollup, featuring a ZK processor so that metadata can be batched for validation and used to provide a persistent lineage for every dataset we produce.  This is what it will take for the base layer of all AI development to advance to the next stage.  

The benefits of this are numerous: it will combat data poisoning, empower open source AI, and create a path towards user visibility into the models we interact with every day. 

Below, we'll describe the system’s basic design.

The Architecture of Grass

The easiest way to understand these upgrades is by consulting a diagram of the Grass Data Rollup.  On the left, between Client and Web Server, you see Grass’s network as it’s traditionally been defined.  Clients make web requests, which are sent through a validator and ultimately routed through Grass nodes.  Whichever website the client has requested, its server will respond to the web request, allowing its data to be scraped and sent back up the line. Then it will be cleaned, processed, and prepared for use in training the next generation of AI models.  

Back in the L2 diagram, you’ll see two major additions on the right that will accompany the launch of Grass’s sovereign layer two: The Grass Data Ledger and the ZK processor.  

Each of these has its own function, so we’ll explain them one at a time. 

  • The Grass Data Ledger 

The Grass Data Ledger is where all data is ultimately stored.  It is a permanent ledger of every dataset scraped on Grass, now embedded with metadata to document its lineage from the moment of origin.  Proofs of each dataset’s metadata will be stored on Solana’s settlement layer, and the settlement data itself will also be available through the ledger.  It’s important to note the significance of Grass having a place to store the data it scrapes, though we’ll get to this shortly.  

  • The ZK Processor

As we described above, the purpose of the ZK processor is to assist in recording the provenance of datasets scraped on Grass’s network.  Picture the process.

When a node on the network - in other words, a user with the Grass extension - sends a web request to a given website, it returns an encrypted response including all of the data requested by the node.  For all intents and purposes, this is when our dataset is born, and this is the moment of origin that needs to be documented.  

And this is exactly the moment that is captured when our metadata is recorded.  It contains a number of fields - session keys, the URL of the website scraped, the IP address of the target website, a timestamp of the transaction, and of course the data itself.  This is all the information necessary to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that a given dataset originated from the website it claims to be from, and therefore that a given AI model is properly - and faithfully - trained.  

The ZK processor enters the equation because this data needs to be settled on-chain, yet we don’t want all of it visible to Solana validators.  Moreover, the sheer volume of web requests that will someday be performed on Grass will inevitably overwhelm the throughput capacity of any L1 - even one as capable as Solana.  Grass will soon scale to the point where tens of millions of web requests are performed every minute, and the metadata from every single one of them will need to be settled on-chain.  It’s not conceivably possible to commit these transactions to the L1 without a ZK processor making proofs and batching them first. Hence, the L2 - the only possible way to achieve what we’re setting out to do.    

Now, why is this such a big deal?

Layer Two Benefits 

  • The Data Ledger 

The Data Ledger is significant because it escalates Grass’s expansion into an additional - and fundamentally different - business model.  While the protocol will continue to vet buyers who send their own web requests and scrape their own data on the network, a growing portion of its activity will involve the data already stored on the ledger.  With this capability, Grass can now scrape data strategically curated for use in LLM training and host it on an ever-widening data repository.   

This repository is the data layer of a modular AI stack, from which builders can pick and choose constituent parts to train infinitely differentiated models.  It is a microcosm of the internet itself, supplying training data that is already structured and ready to be ingested by AI.  

  • The ZK Processor 

We’ve already gone into a bit of detail about why the ZK processor matters.  By enabling us to create proofs of the metadata that documents the origin of Grass datasets, it creates a mechanism for builders  and users to verify that AI models were actually trained correctly.  This is a huge deal in itself. 

There is, however, one piece we didn’t mention earlier.  

In addition to documenting the websites from which datasets originated, the metadata also indicates which node on the network it was routed through.  Significantly, this means that whenever a node scrapes the web, they can get credit for their work without revealing any identifying information about themselves.  

Now, why is this important?

It’s important because once you can prove which nodes have done which work, you can start rewarding them proportionately.  Some nodes are more valuable than others.  Some scrape more data than their peers.  And these are exactly the nodes we need to incentivize to continue the breakneck expansion of the network that we’ve seen over the past few months. We believe this mechanism will significantly boost rewards in the most in-demand locations around the world, ultimately encouraging the people of those locales to sign up and exponentially increase the network’s capacity.  

It should go without saying that the larger the network gets, the more capacity we have to scrape and the larger our repository of stored web data will be.  A flywheel will inevitably be produced where more data means we’ll have more to offer AI labs who need training data - thus providing the incentive for the Grass network to keep growing.  

Conclusion

To summarize, most of the high profile issues with AI today stem from a lack of visibility into how models are trained, and we believe this can be addressed by empowering open source AI with a system for verifying data provenance.  Our solution is to build the first ever layer 2 data rollup, which will make it possible to introduce a mechanism for recording metadata documenting the origin of all datasets.  

ZK proofs of this data will be stored on the L1 settlement layer, and the metadata itself will ultimately be tied to its underlying dataset, as these datasets are stored themselves on our own data ledger.  Grass provides the data layer for a modular AI stack, and these developments will lay the groundwork for greater transparency and rewards for node providers that are proportionate to the amount of work they perform.  

This update should help to communicate some of the projects we have on the horizon and clarify the thinking that drives our decision making.  We’re happy to play a part in making AI more transparent, and excited to see the many use cases that will arise for our product going forward.  These upgrades will open up a wide range of opportunities for developers, so if you or your team are interested in building on Grass, please reach out on Discord.  Thanks for your support and do stay tuned.  

community logo
Join the TheDinarian Community
To read more articles like this, sign up and join my community today
0
What else you may like…
Videos
Podcasts
Posts
Articles
Brad Garlinghouse In Washington 🚀

It’s time for a fair and open level playing field.

Under Gary Gensler it was quite the opposite.

  • Brad Garlinghouse
    July 9, 2025
00:01:56
More Of The Same...l

🚨 JUST IN: Patriot Tom Fitton, who has been fighting DOJ and FBI to release documents for years, has practically thrown in the towel.

👉 "The justice department and the FBI are irredeemably compromised and corrupted.
The leadership needs to understand that and act accordingly." ~Tom Fitton

00:01:30
Christine Lagarde just gave Ripple & Circle A Shoutout!
00:00:44
👉 Coinbase just launched an AI agent for Crypto Trading

Custom AI assistants that print money in your sleep? 🔜

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

👉 Here’s what you need to know:

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

👉 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 👉txns done by AI agents by 2025

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

👉 Coinbase just launched an AI agent for Crypto Trading

same for: https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/686e68f5d405956445e039ff/

🚨 Ripple Picks BNY Mellon to Back RLUSD Stablecoin Amid Major Surge 🚨

Ripple has selected BNY Mellon, one of the world’s largest and most trusted financial institutions, to serve as the primary custodian for its RLUSD stablecoin. This decision comes as RLUSD experiences a surge in demand, highlighting growing institutional interest in Ripple’s stablecoin offering.

🔹 Institutional Partnership

🔹 BNY Mellon will safeguard the reserves backing RLUSD, ensuring transparency, security, and regulatory compliance for the stablecoin.

🔹 This partnership is designed to build trust with both institutional and retail users by leveraging BNY Mellon’s expertise in asset custody.

🔹 RLUSD’s Rapid Growth

🔹 RLUSD has seen a significant increase in adoption, reflecting confidence in Ripple’s approach to stablecoins and its commitment to compliance and transparency.

🔹 The collaboration with BNY ...

From Wall Street to Web3: Building Tomorrow’s Digital Asset Markets

COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS will meet in OPEN SESSION, HYBRID FORMAT to conduct a hearing entitled, “From Wall Street to Web3: Building Tomorrow’s Digital Asset Markets.” The witnesses will be: The Honorable Summer Mersinger, CEO, Blockchain Association; Mr. Jonathan Levin, CEO, Chainalysis; Mr. Dan Robinson, General Partner, Paradigm; Mr. Brad Garlinghouse, CEO, Ripple; The Honorable Timothy Massad, Research Fellow and Director of Digital Assets Policy Project of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, former CFTC Chairman; and Mr. Richard Painter, S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law, University of Minnesota Law School, former Associate Counsel to the President and chief White House ethics lawyer.

https://www.banking.senate.gov/hearings/from-wall-street-to-web3-building-tomorrows-digital-asset-markets

‼️XRP ETF INFOGRAPHIC REVEALS AMERICAN EXPRESS UTILIZES XRP‼️

“A well-known company that uses XRP is American Express, which leverages RippleNet to enable realtime cross-border payments for corporate clients.

Through its partnership with Ripple, American Express uses XRP indirectlyvia Ripple's infrastructure to facilitate faster and more transparent transactions between the U.S. and international markets, helping businesses move money efficiently and reduce settlement times from days to seconds.”✅

OP: Smqkedqg

post photo preview
post photo preview
Musk Turns On Starlink to Save Iranians from Regime’s Internet Crackdown

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a visionary behind SpaceX, has flipped the switch on Starlink, delivering internet to Iranians amid a brutal regime crackdown.

This move comes on the heels of Israeli strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, as the Islamic Republic cuts off online access.

The former Department of Government Efficiency chief activated Starlink satellite internet service for Iranians on Saturday following the Islamic Republic's decision to impose nationwide internet restrictions.

As the Jerusalem Post reports, that the Islamic Republic’s Communications Ministry announced the move, stating, "In view of the special conditions of the country, temporary restrictions have been imposed on the country’s internet."

This action followed a series of Israeli attacks on Iranian targets.

Starlink, a SpaceX-developed satellite constellation, provides high-speed internet to regions with limited connectivity, such as remote areas or conflict zones.

Elizabeth MacDonald, a Fox News contributor, highlighted its impact, noting, "Elon Musk turning on Starlink for Iran in 2022 was a game changer. Starlink connects directly to SpaceX satellites, bypassing Iran’s ground infrastructure. That means even during government-imposed shutdowns or censorship, users can still get online, and reportedly more than 100,000 inside Iran are doing that."

During the 2022 "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests, Starlink enabled Iranians to communicate and share footage globally despite network blackouts," she added.

MacDonald also mentioned ongoing tests of "direct-to-cell" capabilities, which could allow smartphone connections without a dish, potentially expanding access and supporting free expression and protest coordination.

Musk confirmed the activation, noting on Saturday, "The beams are on."

This follows the regime’s internet shutdowns, which were triggered by Israeli military actions.

Adding to the tension, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Iranian people on Friday, urging resistance against the regime.

"Israel's fight is not against the Iranian people. Our fight is against the murderous Islamic regime that oppresses and impoverishes you,” he said.

Meanwhile, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last monarch, called on military and security forces to abandon the regime, accusing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a Persian-language social media post of forcing Iranians into an unwanted war.

Starlink has been a beacon in other crises. Beyond Iran, Musk has leveraged Starlink to assist people during natural disasters and conflicts.

In the wake of hurricanes and earthquakes, Starlink has provided critical internet access to affected communities, enabling emergency communications and coordination.

Similarly, during the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Musk activated Starlink to support Ukrainian forces and civilians, ensuring they could maintain contact and access vital information under dire circumstances.

The genius entrepreneur, is throwing a lifeline to the oppressed in Iran, and the libs can’t stand it.

Conservative talk show host Mark Levin praised Musk’s action, reposting a message stating that Starlink would "reconnect the Iranian people with the internet and put the final nail in the coffin of the Iranian regime."

"God bless you, Elon. The Starlink beams are on in Iran!" Levin wrote.

Musk, who recently stepped down from leading the DOGE in the Trump administration, has apologized to President Trump for past criticisms, including his stance on the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Source

🙏 Donations Accepted 🙏

If you find value in my content, consider showing your support via:

💳 PayPal: 
1) Simply scan the QR code below 📲
2) or visit https://www.paypal.me/thedinarian

đź”— Crypto – Support via Coinbase Wallet to: [email protected]

Or Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thedinarian

Your generosity keeps this mission alive, for all! Namasté 🙏 Crypto Michael ⚡  The Dinarian

Read full Article
post photo preview
GENIUS Act lets State banks conduct some business nationwide. Regulators object

The Senate passed the GENIUS Act for stablecoins last week, but significant work remains before it becomes law. The House has a different bill, the STABLE Act, with notable differences that must be reconciled. State banking regulators have raised strong objections to a provision in the GENIUS Act that would allow state banks to operate nationwide without authorization from host states or a federal regulator.

The controversial clause permits a state bank with a regulated stablecoin subsidiary to provide money transmitter and custodial services in any other state. While host states can impose consumer protection laws, they cannot require the usual authorization and oversight typically needed for out-of-state banking operations.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors welcomed some changes in the GENIUS Act but remains adamantly opposed to this particular provision. In a statement, CSBS said:

“Critical changes must be made during House consideration of the legislation to prevent unintended consequences and further mitigate financial stability risks. CSBS remains concerned with the dramatic and unsupported expansion of the authority of uninsured banks to conduct money transmission or custody activities nationwide without the approval or oversight of host state supervisors (Sec. 16(d)).”

The National Conference of State Legislatures expressed similar concerns in early June, stating:

“We urge you to oppose Section 16(d) and support state authority to regulate financial services in a manner that reflects local conditions, priorities and risk tolerances. Preserving the dual banking system and respecting state autonomy is essential to the safety, soundness and diversity of our nation’s financial sector.”

Evolution of nationwide authorization

Section 16 addresses several issues beyond stablecoins, including preventing a recurrence of the SEC’s SAB 121, which forced crypto assets held in custody onto balance sheets. However, the nationwide authorization subsection was added after the legislation cleared the Senate Banking Committee, with two significant modifications since then.

Originally, the provision applied only to special bank charters like Wyoming’s Special Purpose Depository Institutions or Connecticut’s Innovation Banks. Examples include crypto-focused Custodia Bank and crypto exchange Kraken in Wyoming, plus traditional finance player Fnality US in Connecticut. Recently the scope was expanded to cover most state chartered banks with stablecoin subsidiaries, possibly due to concerns about competitive advantages.

Simultaneously, the clause was substantially tightened. The initial version allowed state chartered banks to provide money transmission and custody services nationwide for any type of asset, which would include cryptocurrencies. Now these activities can only be conducted by the stablecoin subsidiary, and while Section 16(d) doesn’t explicitly limit services to stablecoins, the GENIUS Act currently restricts issuers to stablecoin related activities.

However, the House STABLE Act takes a more permissive approach, allowing regulators to decide which non-stablecoin activities are permitted. If the House version prevails in reconciliation, it could result in a significant expansion of allowed nationwide banking activities beyond stablecoins.

Is it that bad?

As originally drafted, the clause seemed overly permissive.

The amended clause makes sense for stablecoin issuers. They want to have a single regulator and be able to provide the stablecoin services throughout the United States. But it also leans into the perception outside of crypto that this is just another form of regulatory arbitrage.

The controversy over Section 16(d) reflects concerns about creating a regulatory gap that allows banks to operate interstate without the oversight typically required from either federal or state authorities. As the two Congressional chambers work toward reconciliation, lawmakers must decide whether stablecoin legislation should include provisions that effectively reduce traditional banking oversight requirements.

Source

🙏 Donations Accepted 🙏

If you find value in my content, consider showing your support via:

💳 PayPal: 
1) Simply scan the QR code below 📲
2) or visit https://www.paypal.me/thedinarian

đź”— Crypto – Support via Coinbase Wallet to: [email protected]

Or Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thedinarian

Your generosity keeps this mission alive, for all! Namasté 🙏 Crypto Michael ⚡  The Dinarian

Read full Article
post photo preview
Dubai regulator VARA classifies RWA issuance as licensed activity
Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) leads global regulatory framework - makes RWA issuance licensed activity in Dubai.

Real-world assets (RWAs) issuance is now licensed activity in Dubai.

~ Actual law.
~ Not a legal gray zone.
~ Not a whitepaper fantasy.

RWA issuance and listing on secondary markets is defined under binding crypto regulation.

It’s execution by Dubai.

Irina Heaver explained:

“RWA issuance is no longer theoretical. It’s now a regulatory reality.”

VARA defined:

- RWAs are classified as Asset-Referenced Virtual Assets (ARVAs)

- Secondary market trading is permitted under VARA license

- Issuers need capital, audits, and legal disclosures

- Regulated broker-dealers and exchanges can now onboard and trade them

This closes the gap that killed STOs in 2018.

No more tokenization without venues.
No more assets without liquidity.

UAE is doing what Switzerland, Singapore, and Europe still haven’t:

Creating enforceable frameworks for RWA tokenization that actually work.

Matthew White, CEO of VARA, said it perfectly:

“Tokenization will redefine global finance in 2025.”

He’s not exaggerating.

$500B+ market predicted next year.

And the UAE just gave it legal rails.

~Real estate.
~Private credit.
~Shariah-compliant products.

Everything is in play.

This is how you turn hype into infrastructure.

What Dubai is doing now is 3 years ahead of everyone else.

Founders, investors, ecosystem builders:

You want to build real-world assets onchain.

Don’t waste another year waiting for clarity.

Come to Dubai.

It’s already here.

 

Source

🙏 Donations Accepted 🙏

If you find value in my content, consider showing your support via:

💳 PayPal: 
1) Simply scan the QR code below 📲
2) or visit https://www.paypal.me/thedinarian

đź”— Crypto – Support via Coinbase Wallet to: [email protected]

Or Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thedinarian

Your generosity keeps this mission alive, for all! Namasté 🙏 Crypto Michael ⚡  The Dinarian

 

Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals