Consensys’ Infura announced that it would launch the Decentralized Infrastructure network (DIN), as an Actively Validated Service on EigenLayer. This will increase scalability, cost efficiency and Web3 infrastructure. Lubin recently spoke out about the possibility of a shift in SEC policy under a Trump Administration. The Financial Stability Board called for tighter AI regulation, even though crypto regulations may ease under Trump.
Joseph Lubin introduces the ‘Network State.
Joseph Lubin, Consensys co-founder as well as Ethereum’s co-founder, has revealed an innovative initiative entitled “Network State.” The initiative’s primary goal is to enable people to declare personal sovereignty within the AI-driven, decentralized Web3 global economy. It was officially launched on November 14th and hosted by the Consensys layer-2 zkEVM Rollup, Linea. Lubin wants blockchain technology to promote self-sovereignty, and create stronger communities.
Lubin has described this initiative as a “paradigm shift” due to the potential it holds to revolutionize the crypto-space. He specifically highlighted the regulatory challenges, especially those posed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which he blamed for stifling innovations, at Ethereum Devcon Bangkok. He thinks that regulatory uncertainty has hampered the growth and development of the Web3 eco-system.
Users can attest their sovereignty by visiting the Network State Platform at http://sovs.xyz. Lubin called this a partnership at an early stage with the community, exploring the concept of self sovereignty. Lubin envisions a world where many aspects of everyday life will be handled by open networks, decentralized protocols, including finances, identity, communication, arts, and entertainment.
Project builds on Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum’s network state theory. This involves online communities becoming physical communities that have aspirations for political autonomy. Consensys further decentralized Linea by creating a Swiss non-profit association that would oversee the platform’s governance and growth.
The Consensys Infura Din is now available as an AVS for EigenLayer
Consensys has made other moves in the crypto-space since Network State. Infura announced that it had made impressive progress with its Decentralized infrastructure Network (DIN). It also revealed plans for launching DIN as an actively validated service (AVS), on Ethereum’s EigenLayer platform. Tom Hay, Infura DIN’s head of product, made the announcement at Devcon 2020 in Bangkok, on November 14.
DIN is a Web3 API decentralized marketplace that works like a “blockchain app store” and gives developers an easy way to access Ethereum and leading blockchains. Currently, the network spans several chains including Blast Mantle Starknet ZKsync BNB Smart Chain Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll Scroll It is anticipated that the transition to EigenLayer will reduce costs and improve accessibility, as well as encourage collaboration between infrastructure providers and simplify Web3 service launches.
Sreeram Kanan, founder of EigenLayer shared the benefits of this integration. He stated that the building of DIN as EigenLayer AVS allows permissionless infrastructure provisioning while scaling the market, improving reliability, and cutting costs. EigenLayer is an Ethereum restaking platform, allowing staked Ethers to receive additional rewards. It also provides custom validation mechanisms for operations off-chain. The setup allows for slashing and staking protections to be implemented without the need to prematurely launch tokens.
EigenLayer data ( DeFiLlama)
EigenLayer is expected to grow significantly by 2024. DeFiLlama data shows that the total value locked has increased by 90% since the beginning of this year, to $12.9billion. TVL peaked in June at $20 billion, but recent increases are due to the rising price of ETH.
Consensys’ CEO sees SEC clashes easing under Trump
Consensys’ CEO Joe Lubin recently made headlines by sharing his views on the future of crypto regulation under Donald Trump. Lubin believes that the crypto industry may see some relief from its legal fights with SEC following Donald Trump’s election as 47th President of the United States. Lubin said that at DevCon 2020, the crypto industry may save millions as a number of cases could be settled or dismissed under Donald Trump’s administration.
Joe Lubin, Devcon HTML0’s Joe Lubin
The crypto community was elated by Trump’s win on November 5. This is mainly because of the promises he made during his campaign to revamp the SEC and fire its chair, Gary Gensler, who has been a crypto critic. The belief that Trump’s cabinet will be filled with crypto-friendly figures is growing, and this could lead to a shift in regulatory policy. Lubin said that Trump’s team has already begun to move aggressively.
It could mark a major turning point for ongoing legal battles between the SEC, Binance, Coinbase and Ripple. Consensys has also been involved in this legal battle, having filed a suit against the SEC back in April. In the lawsuit, the SEC was accused of attempting to classify Ethereum and seize control of the future of cryptocurrency. Lubin believes that although a Texas federal court dismissed the case in September, the legal action initiated a wider conversation on SEC overreach.
The SEC also accused Consensys in a separate lawsuit of acting as a broker who was not registered and selling unregistered security through MetaMask Swaps. The case is ongoing. Lubin mentioned that the SEC argued about Ethereum 2.0. The SEC argues that Ethereum 2.0 is a version of Ether which could be considered a securities.
Several other well-known people from the crypto industry are optimistic as to what the future holds for this sector. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has even asked the SEC’s next chair to apologize for any damage caused by their actions.
FSB Calls for Stronger AI Oversight
The crypto-regulations may be eased under Trump but the regulations around artificial intelligence (AI) are not. Financial Stability Board, an international organisation that supervises global financial systems and analyzes the impact of AI on financial services has released a new report analyzing these implications. It also outlines strategies for mitigating associated risks.
This report, published Nov. 14, explored how AI was changing financial systems around the world and what it offered in terms of both challenges and opportunities.
The FSB cited some AI advantages, such as improved operational efficiency and personalized financial products. It also mentioned enhanced regulatory compliance. It also cautioned against the potential risks that AI might amplify. These include increased systemic risk arising from dependencies on third parties, provider concentrations, cyber-risks, market correlations and data quality issues.
The report also shed light on how AI could be misused by bad actors. This is especially true of generative AI. GenAI, according to the FSB could lead to an increase in financial fraud as well as disinformation on markets. AI systems operating outside of legal, ethical, or regulatory frameworks that are misaligned may pose a threat to the financial stability.
Gen Digital’s September report, which highlighted the sophistication of deep-fake AI scams in particular the crypto industry, echoes the concerns raised in this report.
The FSB has recommended a number of strategies to address these threats. This includes bridging the data and information gap in AI monitoring, and encouraging greater collaboration between regulators.
