The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced a partnership with the Dfinity Foundation to enhance its Universal Trusted Credentials (UTC) initiative. The collaboration aims to improve financial inclusion for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) globally using blockchain technology. UN Project Explores Digital Identity Solutions for MSME Financing The partnership will focus on developing […]
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Dfinity Senior Scientist: Bitcoin’s Next Significant Wave of Innovation Will Revolve Around DAOs
After the introduction of ordinals, BRC-20 tokens, and more recently, Runes, the next significant wave of innovation on Bitcoin will revolve around Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). Aisling Connolly, the Senior Research Scientist at the Dfinity Foundation, has asserted this. He stated that the technology, which is now well-suited to support DAOs and the more mature […]
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ICP Price Drops 10% As DFINITY Foundation Unveils Updated Internet Computer Roadmap
The DEFINITY Foundation, the company behind developing the Internet Computer protocol, has recently unveiled an updated roadmap to facilitate increased artificial intelligence (AI) blockchain adoption.
As the native token of the network, ICP continues to lead among AI tokens and holds the 22nd position in the top 100 cryptocurrencies. However, recent price drops have prompted the Foundation to focus on key areas of development to revitalize the token’s price action and further advance the protocol’s capabilities.
Internet Computer Roadmap
The highlighted aspects of the roadmap outline two critical steps called “milestones” in the Internet Compute platform domain: Tokamak and Stellarator. Tokamak focuses on reducing latency by maximizing the block rate of each subnet and introducing a new synchronous ingress submission endpoint.
Stellarator, on the other hand, will reportedly increase the storage layer, enabling subnet blockchains to host over 1TB of canister smart contract storage while improving the efficiency of the consensus layer.
The DEFINITY Foundation aims to integrate AI capabilities as smart contracts on the Internet Computer protocol to address the resource-intensive nature of AI training and inference.
The Cyclotron milestone outlined in the roadmap will increase on-chain inference for larger AI models through performance improvements in the WebAssembly runtime and inference engine. The Gyrotron milestone, on the other hand, explores the integration of AI-specialized subnets with GPU support, enabling compute—and memory-intensive computations on-chain.
ICP’s Interoperability With Bitcoin, Ethereum, And Solana
ICP’s Chain Fusion technology will allow direct interoperability with major blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other Ethereum Virtual Machines (EVMs). Nonetheless, the roadmap introduces several milestones to expand interoperability.
Tritium milestone enables ICP to interact with Ethereum and EVM smart contracts, facilitating cross-chain communication. Deuterium milestone extends Chain Fusion support to emerging Bitcoin protocols.
Interestingly, the Helium milestone aims to increase Chain Fusion for the Solana network, enabling decentralized applications (dApps) leveraging the capabilities of both networks.
Next, the Solenoid milestone decentralizes the operation of the ICP boundary nodes, “empowering” the network’s participants. The Levitron milestone provides visibility into the Internet Computer’s edge infrastructure, allowing developers to gain insights into dApp usage patterns and generate user statistics.
Lastly, ICP will incorporate two governance systems: the NNS (Internet Computer’s DAO) and the SNS framework governing individual dApps. Tokenomics incentivizes voting participation and aligns DAO decisions with long-term interests. These governance mechanisms will allegedly ensure decentralized decision-making and community involvement.
As of the current press time, the price of ICP has experienced a significant increase of 120% year-to-date. However, it is currently trading at .05, 98% lower than its previous all-time high (ATH) of 0 achieved in September 2023.
Once implemented, the impact of the roadmap on the cryptocurrency’s price and its potential to regain bullish momentum and drive adoption for various use cases remain to be seen.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
Dfinity Foundation Launches Onchain Accelerator Platform
The Swiss-based not-for-profit organization the Dfinity Foundation has launched “a decentralized, onchain global acceleration platform.” The new accelerator will initially be funded by a million grant from Dfinity and the ICP Asia Alliance. Fostering the Development of the Asian Web3 and AI Ecosystem The Dfinity Foundation, a not-for-profit organization and key contributor to the […]
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Dfinity Foundation and Singularitynet Partner to Transform Decentralized AI with Blockchain Integration
The Dfinity Foundation and Singularitynet have announced an initiative to merge the Internet Computer blockchain with Singularitynet’s marketplace. This collaboration aims to transform the accessibility and transparency of decentralized large language models. By integrating these advanced technologies, the initiative is aiming to redefine the landscape of decentralized artificial intelligence.
Dfinity and Singularitynet Merge for AI Advancement
The Dfinity Foundation, a nonprofit research and development organization, in conjunction with Singularitynet, a decentralized AI marketplace, is embarking on a mission to enhance decentralized artificial intelligence infrastructure. In a statement provided to Bitcoin.com News, the teams say the collaboration focuses on integrating the Internet Computer blockchain with the Singularitynet framework, thereby addressing current challenges in AI tools and services.
The advent of AI and large language models (LLMs) has shown immense potential in transforming various industries. However, Dfinity and Singularitynet believe the centralized nature of existing AI tools raises issues regarding the transparency of training data and trust in output results. The duo’s initiative aims to counter these challenges by offering AI and Web3 developers access to a unique blockchain capable of running genuine decentralized artificial intelligence.
Under this initiative, decentralized AI models on the Internet Computer Protocol will operate entirely within smart contracts, ensuring open-source, tamper-proof training parameters and inputs. The Singularitynet Marketplace, connecting AI service providers with blockchain application developers, will guarantee the transparency and verification of all large language models published.
“The Internet Computer, has been at the forefront of hosting artificial intelligence on the blockchain,” Dominic Williams, the founder and chief scientist of the Dfinity Foundation stated. “Since the launch of the million [decentralized AI] grant in July, we have seen an uptick in projects leveraging AI on ICP. This initiative with Singularitynet will further realize our vision for [decentralized AI] and we’re excited to work alongside Dr. Ben Goertzel and his team to refine the [decentralized AI] framework,” Williams added.
The collaborators think this synergy will empower developers to deploy sophisticated AI models using blockchain technology, executing algorithms at unprecedented speeds. Additionally, both organizations will merge their grant programs, creating an expansive platform for community developer engagement. The integration aims to not only foster development within the decentralized AI space but also provide resources for developers to innovate and advance projects.
Each of these initiatives features its own native digital currency, with the internet computer’s (ICP) value declining by 4.5% this week compared to the U.S. dollar. In contrast, Singularitynet’s AGIX token has seen a significant boost, soaring 19.4% in the last seven days. Concurrently, ICP has experienced over a 40% increase this month, while the 30-day data reveals that AGIX has accumulated a 70% gain against the greenback.
What do you think about the Dfinity Foundation and Singularitynet collaborating? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Dfinity Foundation Launches Chain-Key Bitcoin, a Native Internet Computer BTC Derivative Token
On April 3, 2023, the Dfinity Foundation, a development team behind the Internet Computer (ICP) network, announced the launch of a native ICP token called “chain-key bitcoin” or “ckBTC.” The bitcoin derivative is backed 1:1 with the leading cryptocurrency asset. On Monday, Dfinity detailed that the technology “builds on the protocol-level integration with the Bitcoin network.”
Breaking Away from Custodians and Bridges: The Benefits of Chain-Key Bitcoin’s Smart Contract-Based System
On Twitter, the Dfinity Foundation announced the full release of chain-key bitcoin, also known as ckBTC. “Proposals 115468, 115470 & 115473 have been adopted with flying colors,” the team explained. “Many thanks to all the [ICP] people who voted manually to make this happen.” According to a blog post, ckBTC is backed 1:1 with bitcoin (BTC), and the system operates with “centralized custodians, no bridges, and no traditional cloud providers.”
The ICP-based bitcoin derivative is considered a “significant breakthrough in blockchain interoperability,” and the technology is integrated with Bitcoin at the protocol level, according to the Dfinity blog post. The ckBTC system uses vaults called canisters, which work with a smart contract instead of relying on a custodian or bridge. Essentially, to obtain ckBTC, a person needs to deposit BTC in exchange for the ICP token, and withdrawals work the same way when ckBTC is redeemed for real bitcoin.
“Any canister can submit Bitcoin transactions to the Bitcoin network through ICP nodes, thanks to the direct protocol-level integration,” Dfinity explains. The company insists that the technology has significant potential and can add to new use cases.
“[Native cross-chain technology] has the potential to enable new cross-chain capabilities and unleash a plethora of 100% on-chain services, such as multi-token transactions or multi-token wallet systems, which would greatly streamline the crypto user experience,” notes Dfinity’s blog post.
The announcement further details that several ICP-based decentralized applications (dapps), including Openchat, Iclighthouse, Plethora Game, and Distrikt App, already support ckBTC. While many blockchains have bitcoin derivative tokens, most rely on bridges or custodians. For example, the largest bitcoin derivative WBTC leverages the custodian Bitgo for minting and redemption purposes.
What potential do you see in the native cross-chain technology behind ckBTC, and how do you think it will impact the future of blockchain interoperability? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.
Dfinity Foundation Launches $215 Million Grant To Boost Developer Ecosystem
Dfinity Foundation is boosting its developer ecosystem with a 5 million grant. This is to help further the development of decentralized applications (DApps) on the Internet Computer blockchain. Over 115 teams have benefitted from this grant and more are expected to do so as time goes by.
NewsBTC sat down with Lomesh Dutta, Vice President of Growth at Dfinity Foundation, to talk about the Internet Computer Developer Ecosystem Program, how it’s distributed, and the impact it has had on the blockchain since inception.
NewsBTC: Why was the Developer Ecosystem Program set up?
Lomesh Dutta: The CHF 200m (5m) Internet Computer Developer Ecosystem Program is a resource that helps developers finance the building of decentralized apps (dapps), tooling, and infrastructure on the Internet Computer.
The Internet Computer is the world’s first blockchain that runs at web speed and can scale without bound. These capabilities empower developers to design new applications and tooling without being hindered by proprietary infrastructure or the limitations of conventional blockchains. The ecosystem program is designed for entrepreneurs, developer teams, and community members, supporting the growth of a new ecosystem of dapps and services on the open, decentralized web.
NewsBTC: So far, only m out of the 5m grant program has been handed out. Are there plans to ramp up this figure?
Lomesh Dutta: The developer grants program is a subset of the overall ecosystem program. For instance, to supercharge gaming on the Internet Computer we just announced Achievement Unblocked — a million grant pool for gaming developers in partnership with United eSports to demonstrate how blockchain gaming will progressively enter the mainstream.
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The grant program is designed to offer non-dilutive financing in the form of developer grants to teams building on the Internet Computer. I think the best way to look at the grant program right now is not the amount funded but rather by the number and the quality of teams that have been bootstrapped by the program. All grants are awarded in tiers of ,000, ,000, and 0,000. These initial grants help teams build early prototypes and raise larger grants, VCs, and very soon community grants. So far, over 115 teams have received funding from the grants program.
What is super exciting is that very soon (if the community accepts the proposal), ICP holders can easily make their staked ICP available for “autonomous contribution” to decentralization auctions. This is essentially a community-powered fund that could easily be in billions of dollars and would be available to the ecosystem projects that are building on the Internet Computer. In return, those contributing their staked ICP will receive governance tokens for the associated ecosystem project — allowing them to shape the direction of the project.
Beyond financial support, our team also offers technical support to our developer partners and grantees and often offers ad-hoc help with co-marketing, design, and UX.
Moreover, the Internet Computer provides functionality and utility that many other blockchains cannot, including unbounded smart contract capacity to innovate beyond what is currently conceivable in dapp development. This means there are both technical and marketing support and revenue-generating opportunities on the Internet computer that go far beyond the initial grant.
NewsBTC: Dev activity has been ramping up on Internet Computer. What effect, if any, has this had on the blockchain?
Lomesh Dutta: The developer activity is absolutely mind-blowing. Nearly 13,000 IC smart contracts (we call them canisters) have been deployed since genesis, representing a roughly 20% week-over-week growth in developer adoption. Canisters are the next evolution of smart contracts, and unlike their predecessors, they run at web speed and can store data in memory. This gives them the unique advantage that any form of internet application we know about can be built completely on-chain
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We’re talking about services easily as large and complex as Facebook, Youtube, etc., all running on-chain. I think the world will be in complete awe with what they are about to witness once some of these projects start adding decentralized governance and token incentive mechanisms to supercharge their growth.
NewsBTC: What would you say has been the biggest pull of Internet Computer blockchain for developers?
Lomesh Dutta: Internet Computer is the only blockchain where developers can build web-scale dapps and games completely on-chain. These dapps run at web speed and do not require end-users to have a wallet or spend tokens to interact with smart contracts. If your ambition, as an entrepreneur, is to build the next Facebook, then you wouldn’t want to settle for any of that friction. Developers are building mass-market applications that run at web scale. Once these projects start implementing decentralized governance and tokenization, we expect several unicorns will emerge out of the Internet Computer ecosystem in very short order.
NewsBTC: One of the most popular dapps on IC is OpenChat. Given that it is competing against established messaging giants like WhatsApp and Signal, how confident are you in the project?
Lomesh Dutta: The main benefit of Openchat over Signal or Whatsapp is that Openchat runs completely on-chain, is totally decentralized, uncensorable, and is community governed. For example, WhatsApp infamously announced that their privacy policy now required users to accept that their account details, location, IP addresses, and more will be shared with Facebook. They had little choice but to accept the new policy or eventually lose all access to their account.
ICP trading at | Source: ICPUSD on TradingView.com
This could never happen on OpenChat. By its very design, neither the developers nor anyone else could modify, censor, or scrape any user data. This makes us increasingly confident in the blockchain’s future, as more users become disillusioned by the combination of data harvesting and censorship currently happening in many social media platforms.
NewsBTC: To wrap up, give us a brief run-down of how Internet Computer is doing. Any exciting projects in the pipeline?
Lomesh Dutta: For one, we’re very excited to talk about the upcoming integration with both the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks. With Bitcoin, the Internet Computer isn’t utilizing insecure and cumbersome bridging and wrapping services which effectively entrust users’ funds to a third-party smart contract. Instead, the Internet Computer will leverage its Chain Key Cryptography to integrate with Bitcoin directly. This will give each IC Smart Contract its own Bitcoin public key, enabling them to hold, send and receive their own Bitcoin natively.
As a result, the Internet Computer smart contracts will gain access to bitcoin liquidity, and bitcoin will realize powerful new smart contract functionality — opening up the much-discussed possibilities of DeFi capabilities on bitcoin. This power, combined with IC’s native abilities and ultimately bridging to the Ethereum blockchain, will serve as a powerful means to bring together the whole of web 3.0 and the backbone of the coming Metaverse.
Lastly, to make sure that this ecosystem stays decentralized and in the hands of the people, Dfinity is instilling an ecosystem-wide tokenized governance system for apps on the IC blockchain, dubbed the Service Nervous System (SNS). The SNS upgrade will allow users to vote on the direction of any given platform — from the granular, such as user interface upgrades to the more substantial, including control over app features and user incentivization models.
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This also means entrepreneurs and developers can bypass the need for VC funding, as the governance system will earmark an allocation of governance tokens for a given service. For example, this could break down to something like 25% to developers, 25% to the community, and 50% for a treasury reserve. Truly, whatever model is needed can be created and deployed.
We believe this places the Internet Computer at the center of the revolution that is unfolding. Not only does it solve all of the scaling issues present in legacy chains, but it also does so in a way that inclusively brings them along for the ride. This should unlock the true possibilities of web 3.0.
Featured image from CryptoSlate
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DFINITY Foundation Partners United Esports To Launch Internet Computer Gaming Program
After recently implementing Bitcoin link smart contracts, the Internet Computer (ICP) ecosystem continues to expand. Via press release, its developer the DFINITY Foundation announced a partnership with United Esports to launch a blockchain-based gaming program called Achievement Unblocked.
Related Reading | Smart Contracts Running on Bitcoin? Internet Computer Founder Explains How It’s Possible
The program will consist of a competition series that will follow a team of developers looking to innovate in the sector. With a background in traditional software development turned to blockchain, these developers will attempt to create a product using GameFi and the Play-to-Earn model to onboard new users into the platform.
The series will pick 100 game developers, candidates can register on the following link, to enter the Internet Computer gaming program. The participants will receive ,000 when the series kicks off.
This pool will progressively increase as Achievement Unblocked moves forward. The final 30 developers will get ,000, the final 10 will receive 0,000 and the final 3 will be awarded ,000,000.
In addition, Internet Computer and the DFINITY Foundation will provide these developers with mentorship, technical support, and seminars through the duration of the program. According to the press release, this will allow developers to reach a “position to take advantage of other unique opportunities for future investments”.
Dominic Williams, the Founder and Chief Scientist of the DFINITY Foundation and one of the key figures behind Internet Computer has worked in the gaming industry himself. Talking about the Gaming Program announcement, Williams said:
This partnership with United Esports brings those two parts of my life together. I am very excited to see what the developers on the Achievement Unblocked program build on the Internet Computer. Blockchain and gaming are going through a very exciting time at the moment. United Esports’ expertise in gaming matched with the Internet Computer’s performance means that we will see some of the best games ever built on blockchain
Internet Computer To Support Blockchain-Based Game Developers
Internet Computer already hosts some popular games, such as HexGLL, Rise of the Magni, Wellcome Into the Metaverse, Saga Tarot, and Reversi, according to the press release. Operated entirely using this network, the aforementioned games have already gone live or remain in development.
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The Achievement Unblocked gaming program is another milestone for Internet Computer as it continues to innovate in the crypto space. Finally, Felix LaHaye Founder of United Esports said the following of the collaboration with Internet Computer and the DFINITY Foundation:
Our partnership with the DFINITY Foundation is truly groundbreaking, making me excited to share what Achievement Unblocked has to offer with the world. This project is quite unique, in that for the first time we are opening the development-doors, in almost real time, to show the world what it really takes to turn a dream into reality. By its nature the gaming space constantly evolves, and developing on the Internet Computer is an obvious next step to that evolution.
Dfinity Raises $102 Million in Investment Round to Disrupt Cloud Space
Dfinity, a distributed ledger technology start-up dubbed the “world computer,” has announced it has raised 2 million in an investment round led by venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Decentralized Cloud Startup Dfinity Raises 2 Million to Develop Cloud 3.0
Based in Zug, Switzerland, aka ‘Crypto Valley‘, Dfinity’s value proposition includes the development of a decentralized “internet computer that will become the cloud 3.0.” This is promised to cut the costs of running cloud-based business applications by 90 percent. The ambitious nonprofit foundation intends to reinvent computing with a cheaper, decentralized alternative, capable of challenging leading platforms such as Amazon Web Services and Salesforce.
The 2 million raised this week – also with money from crypto hedge fund Polychain Capital, SV Angel, Village Global, Aspect Ventures, Multicoin Capital, Scalar Capital, Amino Capital, KR1, as well as community members – will be used to expand human resources and fund other initiatives, founder Dominic Williams told CNBC.
Horowitz’s partner Chris Dixon acknowledges the early stage context of the project, which has the potential to disrupt the cloud space and to solve the problem of scalability. This is the greatest challenge for distributed ledger technology companies.
“We are excited to back Dfinity’s Internet Computer and their vision to host the world’s next generation of software and services on a public network. The Internet Computer is on track to become a critical piece of the future technology stack. This is groundbreaking and a real testament to Dominic and the incredible team at Dfinity.”
Software Computation is 720 Faster Than Bitcoin, Dfinity Claims
According to the company, its network is already able to finalize software computations in under five seconds, a revolutionary speed when compared to the 3,600 seconds and 600 seconds that Bitcoin and Ethereum take to process information, respectively. As founder Williams uses the funds raised to hire talent, the ambitious cloud 3.0 may come closer to reality and threaten Amazon’s cloud services business.
In addition to Williams, the team developing the decentralized computing cloud includes head of engineering Timo Hanke, who created AsicBoost to increase the efficiency of Bitcoin mining, senior researcher Mahnush Movahedi, and ex-Google Ben Lynn and Andreas Rossberg.
Dfinity aims to first get traction at an academic and startup level with its soon-to-be launched private version for testing before opening the network to the public in 2019. Ethereum, with a market capitalization of billion (nearly 13% of the total cryptocurrency market), may also see its place challenged by newcomer Dfinity.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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