Cryptocurrency

During the testnet phase, over 1.3m users contributed more than 6.5m data points to train user-owned AI models. On mainnet, DataDAOs will leverage the $VANA token to enable users to collectively own, monetize and govern their personal data for a stake in the booming AI economy. MONDAY, DECEMBER 16 2024 — Vana, the pioneering network for user-owned data, today announced the launch of its mainnet and native $VANA token. The launch marks a significant milestone in breaking through the data wall that’s limiting AI development while preserving privacy and giving users a stake in the value their data generates.Developed by Open Data Labs — a San Francisco-based research and technology company born out of the MIT Media Lab — the Vana network is an EVM-compatible blockchain that enables users to maintain ownership and control over their personal data while allowing that data to be used for AI model training through privacy-preserving technologies.The mainnet launch follows Vana’s successful testnet phase, which saw over 1.3 million users contributing over 6.5m data points to DataDAOs, processing approximately 1.7 million transactions daily. The testnet demonstrated that programmable data ownership is not just possible, but critical at this point in AI development, says Anna Kazlauskas, CEO of Open Data Labs and inventor of Vana: With a total supply of 120 million tokens, $VANA will serve as the foundation for the network’s economic model, enabling:The mainnet launch comes at a crucial time when AI development faces increasing data scarcity, while users seek greater control over their digital footprint. Vana’s solution enables individuals to participate in and benefit from the AI economy while maintaining sovereignty over their data. As AI hits a data wall and more platforms monetize user data without sharing any upside with users, users deserve to own a stake in the future of AI, says Art Abal, CEO of Vana Foundation: Media Contact:media@vanafoundation.org About VanaVana is the first decentralized network for user-owned data, unlocking data as a new digital asset class. The Vana network consists of an EVM-compatible blockchain, secure personal server environment, and set of native contracts designed for the trustless and secure exchange of user-owned data via DataDAOs.The network empowers users to maintain control over their data while participating in the growing AI economy by pooling their data with others and earning rewards for their contributions. Media Kit | Vana Docs | X | DiscordAbout Vana FoundationVana Foundation is a non-profit entity tasked with ensuring the sustainability and growth of the Vana ecosystem.About Open Data LabsOpen Data Labs is an independent research company focused on technology to accelerate user-owned data. Open Data Labs created the Vana protocol and provides ongoing core developer services to the Vana Foundation. ContactNick VivionVana Foundationmedia@vanafoundation.orgThis article was originally published on Chainwire More

In a celebration of innovation, Forbes Web3 proudly showcases the community members who hold the Forbes Legacy Pass in its December 2024/January 2025 issue. The Forbes Legacy Pass is more than a membership- it’s a transformative experience bringing together a cohort of global entrepreneurs, founders, and creators. It grants members exclusive access to global Forbes Web3 events, access to curated artist drops, and a global community of thinkers and doers. To learn more about the Forbes Legacy Pass and to apply for a spot, users can visit Forbes Legacy Pass.About ForbesForbes champions success by celebrating those who have made it, and those who aspire to make it. Forbes convenes and curates the most influential leaders and entrepreneurs who are driving change, transforming business and making a significant impact on the world. The Forbes brand today reaches more than 140 million people worldwide through its trusted journalism, signature LIVE and Forbes Virtual events, custom marketing programs and 43 licensed local editions in 69 countries. Forbes Media’s brand extensions include real estate, education and financial services license agreements.ContactForbes MediaPR@forbes.comThis article was originally published on Chainwire More

This partnership establishes the first AI x Web3 Lab at Stanford University’s Future of Digital Currency Initiative.Stanford University’s Future of Digital Currency Initiative (FDCI) and Eliza Labs, creators of the open-source Eliza agent framework, today announced a groundbreaking research partnership to explore how autonomous AI agents will transform digital currency systems. The collaboration, set to begin in Q1 2025, brings together Stanford’s expertise in digital currency research with Eliza Labs’ cutting-edge capabilities in autonomous agent development.Leveraging Eliza Labs’ open-source Eliza framework for autonomous agent development, the partnership will tackle fundamental questions about how AI agents can establish trust, coordinate actions, and make decisions within decentralized financial systems. This research comes at a critical moment as autonomous agents increasingly influence economic systems and financial services, with the Eliza framework providing a proven foundation for developing reliable and scalable agent-based systems.The partnership is actively seeking select industry collaborators, offering early access to emerging technologies and direct involvement in shaping research directions. For venture firms and blockchain infrastructure partners, this represents an opportunity to position themselves at the forefront of agent technology development while accessing emerging technical talent in the field.Research outcomes will include novel trust frameworks for autonomous agents, scalable multi-agent coordination protocols, and formal models for agent governance in decentralized systems. These developments aim to establish foundational standards for agent interaction in digital economies.About Eliza LabsEliza Labs is at the forefront of developing next-generation autonomous agent systems. Founded in 2024, Eliza Labs is the creator of the Eliza agent framework, an open-source platform designed to revolutionize the way autonomous AI agents are created, deployed, and managed. The Eliza framework enables powerful multi-agent simulations, empowering developers, researchers, and businesses to build advanced AI systems. Eliza Labs is committed to pushing the boundaries of AI technology to shape the future of intelligent, autonomous systems. For more information, users can visit https://elizaos.ai ContactFounderSarah CohenSJC PRpress@eliza.systemsThis article was originally published on Chainwire More

Kite AI, a provider of decentralized AI infrastructure, has partnered with GAIB, the economic backbone for the future of AI and compute, to create a decentralized AI ecosystem where high-quality datasets, models, and compute resources are widely accessible, leveraging blockchain for secure, fair data indexing and creating a decentralized and liquid market for compute assets like GPUs.The partnership aims to integrate blockchain for secure data sharing and build a financial ecosystem where stakeholders can monetize AI-related assets through DeFi tools like GPU-backed stablecoins and lending markets. Through their collaboration, both are tackling issues plaguing GPU compute and data crucial to AI development that are typically controlled by large corporations, restricting access for smaller players and hindering industry innovation.About Kite AIKite AI is the Proof of Attributable Intelligence Layer 1 that connects AI agents, models and data. Our innovative architecture establishes a universal framework with purpose-built identity and attribution mechanisms, empowering contributors—from enterprises to individuals—to collaboratively build, own, and monetize AI, fostering a transparent and interoperable ecosystemWebsite | X | Discord ｜TelegramAbout GAIBGAIB is the first economic layer for AI compute, creating a new type of yield bearing assets backed by real AI demands. It tokenizes enterprise-grade GPUs and their yields, creating a decentralized liquid market for GPU financing, addressing the growing demand for high-performance computing while giving investors direct exposure to GPU assets. The platform enables a variety of decentralized finance (DeFi) use cases to be built on top, including GPU backed stablecoins, lending and borrowing, options and futures, and various structured products.Website | X | Telegram | DiscordContactHead of Business OperationsYijing ShiYijing.Shi@zettablock.comThis article was originally published on Chainwire More

(Reuters) -Bitcoin hit a record high above $106,000 on Monday after President-elect Donald Trump suggested he plans to create a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve similar to its strategic oil reserve, stoking the enthusiasm of crypto bulls. Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best known cryptocurrency, hit a high of $106,533 and last traded up 2.6% at $103,917 at 1215 GMT. Smaller crypto ether was up 0.4% at $3,918.”We’re in blue sky territory here,” said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG. “The next figure the market will be looking for is $110,000. The pullback that a lot of people were waiting for just didn’t happen, because now we’ve got this news.”Investor sentiment also got a lift from the inclusion of MicroStrategy into the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index that will likely lead to more inflows for the software firm turned bitcoin buyer. Bitcoin and crypto have been catapulted into the spotlight as investors wager the incoming Trump administration will usher in a friendlier regulatory environment, boosting sentiment around the alternate currency. Bitcoin is up 192% for the year.”We’re gonna do something great with crypto because we don’t want China or anybody else – not just China but others are embracing it – and we want to be the head,” Trump told CNBC late last week.When asked if he plans to build a crypto reserve similar to oil reserves, Trump said: “Yeah, I think so.”Governments around the world held 2.2% of bitcoin’s total supply as of July, according to data provider CoinGecko, with the United States possessing nearly 200,000 bitcoins valued at more than $20 billion at current levels. China, UK, Bhutan and El Salvador are the other countries with a significant amount of bitcoins, data site BitcoinTreasuries showed. Other countries have also been considering cryptocurrency strategic reserves.Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month said the current U.S. administration was undermining the role of the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency in the global economy by using it for political purposes, forcing many countries to turn to alternative assets, including cryptocurrencies.”For example, bitcoin, who can prohibit it? No one,” Putin said.There are skeptics though, with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell likening bitcoin to gold earlier this month. Analysts also point out that any such move will take time to implement. “I think we still need to be cautious on a BTC strategic reserve, and at least consider that this is not likely to happen anytime soon,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.”Of course, any comment from Trump that offers an increased degree of hope that plans for a strategic reserve are evolving are an obvious tailwind, but this would come with consequences which would need to be carefully considered and well telegraphed to market players.” CRYPTO BOOSTBitcoin has surged more than 50% since the Nov. 5 election that saw Trump elected along with many other pro-crypto candidates. The total value of the cryptocurrency market has almost doubled over the year so far to hit a record over $3.8 trillion, according to CoinGecko.Trump – who once labelled crypto a scam – embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet.”Trump this month named a White House czar for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, former PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) executive David Sacks, a close friend of Trump adviser and megadonor Elon Musk.Trump also said he would nominate pro-crypto Washington attorney Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.On Friday, exchange operator Nasdaq said MicroStrategy, led by chief executive Michael Saylor, will be added to the Nasdaq-100 Index, with the change coming into effect before the market opens on Dec. 23.MicroStrategy, an aggressive investor in the world’s largest crypto asset, has seen its shares soar more than six-fold this year, taking its market value to almost $94 billion. It is now the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency. As part of the Nasdaq 100, investors would buy MicroStrategy shares to mirror the holdings of the broader index, thereby driving up the value of the stock and allowing the company to buy more crypto, through debt and equity offerings, Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at crypto asset manager Astronaut Capital, said.”The inclusion seems a bit unexpected, but that hasn’t stopped the excitement of what many believe to be the start of a looping cycle of capital that could potentially drive up the spot bitcoin price,” he said. More

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency reversed a weekend rout and pushed further above the $100,000 level, after Trump once again floated the idea of a Bitcoin reserve. Sentiment was also boosted by MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) being added to the Nasdaq 100 index- a move that could draw even more capital into the world’s biggest corporate Bitcoin holder.Bitcoin rose over 3% to a record high of $106,569.4, and traded at $104,977.1 by 00:47 ET (05:47 GMT). On-chain data showed a flurry of transactions by major crypto holders, called whales, to move Bitcoin off major exchanges. Such a move usually limits the crypto’s supply in open markets, prompting further price gains. Trump told CNBC in an interview last week that he potentially planned to build a crypto reserve similar to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.The President-elect reiterated his plans to make the U.S. a global crypto leader, claiming that other countries, including China, were embracing the technology.Trump had campaigned on promises of friendlier crypto regulations, with his picks for key cabinet and regulatory roles also harboring pro-crypto sentiments.But analysts have questioned just how far his plans for a Bitcoin reserve will go, considering that any government purchases of the crypto will likely need to be funded by increased fiscal spending.Such a scenario appears unlikely in a Republican-led Congress that plans to slash the U.S. fiscal deficit. Still, the government could also turn its confiscated crypto assets into a reserve. Data from CoinGecko says the U.S. government holds over 200,000 coins, while China has about 190,000 coins. Sentiment towards crypto markets was also boosted by Nasdaq announcing that MicroStrategy- the world’s biggest corporate holder of Bitcoin, will be added to the Nasdaq 100 index.The move is expected to spark even more capital flows into the Microstrategy stock, as exchange-traded funds readjust their holdings.The stock surged over 400% this year as traders treated Microstrategy as a Bitcoin proxy play. The company has also ramped up its Bitcoin buying in recent weeks, funded largely by debt. Broader crypto prices mostly tracked gains in Bitcoin, although overall gains were limited by anticipation of a Federal Reserve meeting this week. The central bank is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points, but could flag a slower pace of rate cuts in 2025 on concerns over sticky inflation. World no.2 crypto Ether rose 2% to $3,972.39, while XRP steadied at $2.4123.Solana and Cardano rose 1.3% each, while Polygon rose 1.5%.Among meme tokens, Dogecoin rose 1.8%.  More

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency jumped 3.9% to a record high of $105,120.9 by 18:27 ET (23:27 GMT). On-chain data showed a flurry of major trades by large Bitcoin holders over the weekend. These holders, referred to as whales, were seen moving hundreds of millions of Bitcoin off exchanges and onto private wallets. X account Whale Alert, which tracks major crypto transactions, showed at least 27,000 Bitcoins, worth a total of $2.8 billion, had been moved off major crypto exchanges such as Bybit and Binance over the weekend. Such a move points to limited supply of Bitcoin on public exchanges, entailing a higher price for the crypto. Bitcoin was also buoyed by optimism over MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR)- the world’s biggest corporate holder of the crypto- being added to the Nasdaq 100 index. MicroStrategy- which is largely regarded as a proxy trade for Bitcoin- surged over 400% so far in 2024, with its valuation spike making it eligible for addition to the index. The stock will be added to the index effective December 23, and could see further gains as exchange-traded funds move to add exposure to the stock. More