Welcome to QX Snapshots - a weekly recap of the key news on emerging technologies. In this newsletter, you will get a "digest" of the latest info on Enterprise Blockchain, AI, Quantum Technology. Hope it brings you value :)
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Every Friday we share key snapshot news on AI, Quantum Technologies, Metaverse, and Enterprise Blockchain/DLT.
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[Blockchain] Komainu and Hidden Road Support BlackRock's BUIDL as Collateral, Fireblocks Enables USYC for Deribit Trading, DTCC Launches Digital Asset Sandbox, and Siam Commercial Bank Introduces Stablecoin Cross-Border Payments. Komainu and Hidden Road have announced support for BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity fund (BUIDL) as collateral in triparty agreements. This allows Komainu clients to trade via Hidden Road using BUIDL as collateral while keeping assets secure with Komainu. The arrangement enhances capital efficiency and reduces counterparty risk for institutional clients. This development expands Komainu's token support and Hidden Road's prime brokerage services, demonstrating the growing ecosystem for tokenized real-world assets and their use as collateral in digital asset markets. Meanwhile, Fireblocks now allows customers to use Hashnote's regulated tokenized money market fund, US Yield Coin (USYC), as collateral on Deribit through Fireblocks Off Exchange. This is the first time a major crypto derivatives exchange supports a regulated tokenized money market fund as collateral. USYC can be used as cross-collateral for various derivative instruments on Deribit. Traders can buy, sell, and hold USYC on Deribit or off-exchange via Fireblocks. USYC, an on-chain representation of Hashnote's Short Duration Yield Fund, offers short-term risk-free rate returns. Also, DTCC has announced DTCC Digital Launchpad, an industry sandbox aimed at fostering collaboration for digital asset adoption. This open ecosystem will bring together various financial market participants to work on pilots with production potential. The initiative addresses the fragmented digital landscape and aims to create standardized, secure, and efficient digital market infrastructure. DTCC also revealed results of a proof-of-concept with Japan Securities Clearing Corporation, exploring tokenization for optimizing collateral management. The project demonstrated how digital assets and smart contracts could improve efficiency in margin calls and related processes. DTCC invites industry participation to leverage the Launchpad for large-scale initiatives in shared environments.. And, Thailand's oldest bank, Siam Commercial Bank, is introducing stablecoin cross-border payment and remittance services in partnership with Lightnet. This offers 24/7 transactions with reduced costs, promoting financial inclusion.
[AI] Archetype AI Unveils 'Newton' Physics Model, Prime Intellect Launches Decentralized AI Training with INTELLECT-1, and Google Introduces NotebookLM Business for Enhanced Organizational Use. Archetype AI has developed "Newton," a foundational AI model that learns complex physics principles from raw sensor data without pre-programmed knowledge. Trained on over 500 million data points, Newton can generalize across diverse physical phenomena, from pendulum motion to power grid dynamics. The model outperforms specialized AI systems in various real-world scenarios, potentially revolutionizing industrial applications and scientific research. This approach could reduce the need for custom AI models in specific use cases, making deployment more efficient and cost-effective. Meanwhile, Prime Intellect announces INTELLECT-1, the first decentralized training of a 10-billion-parameter AI model. This initiative scales up their previous OpenDiLoCo work by 10x, aiming to democratize AI development and create open-source AGI. The project utilizes a new decentralized training framework called Prime, which offers fault-tolerant training, dynamic resource management, and optimized communication across global GPU networks. Key innovations include ElasticDeviceMesh for fault tolerance, asynchronous distributed checkpointing, live checkpoint recovery, and a custom Int8 All-Reduce Kernel. INTELLECT-1, based on the Llama-3 architecture, will be trained on Hugging Face's Fineweb-Edu dataset, with partners like Hugging Face and SemiAnalysis contributing compute resources. Also, Google has introduced NotebookLM Business, an enhanced version of its product for organizations, a pilot program offering early access to new features, training, and support is now available. NotebookLM, a Gemini 1.5-powered tool for understanding complex information, is removing its "Experimental" label and introducing new features. Users can now customize Audio Overviews by guiding AI hosts' focus and expertise level, and listen to overviews while working within the app. The free version remains available, with pricing and general availability for the Business version to be announced later. NotebookLM prioritizes data privacy and security, never using personal data for training. Over 80,000 organizations are already using the tool.
[Quantum Technology] Chinese Researchers Use Quantum Annealing to Crack RSA Encryption, Taiwan Develops World's Smallest Quantum Computer, and UAE Advances Quantum Communication with Space-Based QKD Technology. Chinese researchers, led by Wang Chao from Shanghai University, have demonstrated a method using D-Wave's quantum annealing systems to crack classic encryption, including RSA. They successfully factored a 22-bit RSA integer and attacked algorithms crucial to the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). This development suggests quantum computers may pose a more immediate threat to widely used cryptographic systems than previously thought. The study, published in the Chinese Journal of Computers, highlights how quantum annealing can optimize problem-solving for cryptographic attacks. This breakthrough raises serious concerns about global cybersecurity and emphasizes the urgent need for quantum-safe cryptographic solutions as quantum computing advances. Meanwhile, Taiwanese researchers at National Tsing Hua University have developed the world's smallest quantum computer using a single photon. This breakthrough addresses energy efficiency and temperature stability challenges in quantum computing. The device operates at room temperature, avoiding the need for supercooling. It encodes information into 32 time bins of a single photon, offering potential advantages in stability and error reduction. This development positions Taiwan as a key player in quantum technology, supported by government initiatives and international collaborations. The photonic quantum computer represents a significant step towards practical, commercially viable quantum systems, potentially overcoming limitations of traditional quantum computing models. Also, the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and UAE Space Agency are partnering to develop a comprehensive quantum communication infrastructure using UAE-built Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology. The project involves both fiber-based and space-based quantum networks, with the Abu Dhabi Quantum Optical Ground Station (ADQOGS) playing a crucial role. QKD uses light particles to transfer encryption keys, making communication virtually unhackable. This collaboration aims to enhance national security, advance space communication technology, and cement the UAE's position as a global hub for advanced space technology and quantum communications research.
[General technology] Microsoft Cloud Logging Outage Affects Security Products, Fake Google Meet Campaign Delivers Infostealers, and Cicada3301 RaaS Targets U.S. and U.K. Organizations. Microsoft experienced a logging outage for some cloud products, due to a bug in an internal monitoring agent. Affected products include Entra, Sentinel, Defender for Cloud, and Purview. This outage resulted in missing security logs, potentially hampering customers' ability to detect threats and analyze data. Microsoft has notified affected customers and mitigated the issue. The incident follows criticism from federal investigators last year when Microsoft withheld security logs from certain U.S. government departments, which could have helped identify intrusions sooner. Meanwhile, threat actors are using fake Google Meet web pages in a malware campaign called ClickFix to deliver infostealers targeting Windows and macOS systems. The campaign tricks users into executing malicious PowerShell code by displaying fake error messages. On Windows, it deploys StealC and Rhadamanthys stealers, while on macOS, it drops the Atomic stealer. The attack evades detection by having users manually run the code. Two traffers groups, Slavic Nation Empire and Scamquerteo, are behind the Google Meet impersonation. This campaign is part of a broader trend of emerging open-source infostealers, which are lowering entry barriers for cybercriminals and posing increased risks to businesses and individuals. Also, researchers from Group-IB have gained access to the affiliate panel of Cicada3301, a new ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation. Cicada3301, which emerged in June 2024, has similarities to the defunct BlackCat ransomware and has compromised at least 30 organizations, mainly in the U.S. and U.K. The Rust-based, cross-platform ransomware offers affiliates a 20% commission and targets various operating systems. The affiliate panel includes features for managing attacks, communicating with victims, and creating ransomware builds. Cicada3301's sophisticated operations, including data exfiltration and virtual machine halting capabilities, position it as a significant threat in the ransomware landscape.
SIX Digital Exchange provides digital asset custody for RULEMATCH - RULEMATCH
Why Ether Stands Out Among Digital Assets - Ark Invest
UAE to introduce legal framework for DAOs - The Ras Al Khaimah Digital Assets Oasis
Euroclear invests in Singapore-based digital market infrastructure Marketnode - Marketnode
Builder Energy Dashboard - a16z
HESTA, ANZ pilot use of stablecoins for pension payments - Financial Review
Paxos Brings Yield-Bearing Stablecoin to Injective Network - Injective
Quantum Missions pilot: Quantum Computing and Quantum Networks Competition Briefing (Event) - Innovate UK
Looking Inward: Language Models Can Learn About Themselves by Introspection - Felix Binder et al.
🚀𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝: 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐦 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫
👉 Download and read the full report here: https://www.qualitax.io/esr-benchmarks
📈 The Ethereum staking market has grown significantly, with 28% of all Ethereum currently staked. As of October 1, 2024, this translates to ~34.5 million ETH staked, valued at approximately USD$90.25 billion.
#️⃣ Ethereum staking can be approached in two primary ways: native staking and liquid staking. While both native and liquid staking approaches provide opportunities to earn staking rewards, the fluctuating nature of these rewards has created a need for a standardized benchmark to measure staking yields across the ecosystem. This is where benchmark rates come into play.
📰 'Ethereum Staking Rate Benchmarks' is a primer on the emerging space of standardized measures for Ethereum staking rewards and related financial instruments such as Ethereum staking rate dated futures and Ethereum staking rate swaps. It covers some of the key Ethereum staking benchmarks available in the market, including the CF ETH Staking Reward Rate (ESRR), the MarketVector™ Figment Ethereum Staking Reward Reference Rate (STKR), the Compass Staking Yield Reference Index Ethereum (STYETH), CoinDesk Indices Composite Ether Staking Rate (CESR) and Lido Ethereum APR but also the upcoming Decentralized Offered Rates (DOR) framework from Treehouse.
