The Protocol: Nvidia To Manufacture AI Supercomputers in U.S., New Opportunities for Crypto Miners

2 days ago

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's play wrap-up of the astir important stories successful cryptocurrency tech development. We’re Margaux Nijkerk and Sam Kessler, reporters connected CoinDesk’s Tech team.

In this issue:

Can Ethereum Be Truly Private? Developers Push for Encrypted Mempool, Default Privacy

Nvidia Moves AI Supercomputer Production to U.S., Opening New Avenues for Crypto Miners

MIT-Incubated Optimum Raises $11M Seed Round to Build Web3's Missing Memory Layer

Noble’s New ‘AppLayer’ Lets Developers Build Stablecoin Tools connected Celestia

This nonfiction is featured successful the latest contented of The Protocol, our play newsletter exploring the tech down crypto, 1 artifact astatine a time. Sign up here to get it successful your inbox each Wednesday.

Network News

PRIVACY HEATS UP AMONG ETHEREUM DEVS: When the U.S. authorities sanctioned the Ethereum-based crypto mixing work Tornado Cash successful 2022, it ignited a statement wrong the crypto assemblage that continues 3 years later. Advocates argued that complying with the sanctions amounted to censorship — undermining a cardinal cypherpunk principle. President Donald Trump supported the cypherpunks and lifted the sanctions connected Tornado Cash successful March of this year, but for immoderate Ethereum developers, the concern highlighted a flaw wrong the web that inactive exists today: Why should users beryllium connected third-party apps to transact privately connected the network? Perhaps emboldened by the caller Tornado Cash developments, Ethereum developers and researchers person erstwhile again begun discussing ideas for making the Ethereum web backstage astatine its core. "Privacy indispensable not beryllium an optional diagnostic that users indispensable consciously alteration — it indispensable beryllium the default authorities of the network," said PCaversaccio, whose station outlined his imaginativeness for a privacy-oriented Ethereum roadmap. "Ethereum's architecture indispensable beryllium designed to guarantee that users are backstage by default, not by exception." In effect to PCaversaccio's post, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin near a comment connected the network's main developer forum with his own overmuch shorter privacy-oriented Ethereum roadmap. Buterin suggested focusing connected privateness for on-chain payments, anonymizing on-chain enactment wrong applications, making connection connected the web anonymous, and privatizing on-chain reads. To execute each of this, Buterin listed assorted steps similar integrating definite third-party privateness features into the halfway network. — Margaux Nijkerk and Sam Kessler Read more.

NVIDIA AI SUPERCOMPUTER PRODUCTION PLANS COULD BENEFIT CRYPTO MINERS: Nvidia plans to manufacture its adjacent procreation of AI chips and supercomputers wholly successful the U.S. for the archetypal time, the institution said successful a statement. The determination reflects rising request for AI infrastructure and a broader propulsion to localize precocious tech manufacturing — 1 that could besides payment crypto miners repurposing their facilities for AI and high-performance computing (HPC). Many of these operators already person entree to the large-scale powerfulness and cooling systems needed for information halfway operations, making them imaginable players successful the increasing AI economy. Crypto miners, erstwhile singularly focused connected hashing power, are progressively looking for ways to acceptable into the AI and HPC proviso chain. Their existing entree to power-dense infrastructure and logistical acquisition successful moving industrial-scale operations gives them a foothold arsenic request for AI computation surges. Recent tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump, however, is causing anxiousness among miners arsenic the argumentation changes are expected to rise costs connected ASIC miners, electrical components, networking hardware and more.— Helene Braun Read more.

MEMORY LAYER OPTIMUM RAISES $11M IN SEED: Optimum, a decentralized, performance-enhancing representation furniture for immoderate blockchain, raised an $11 cardinal effect round, inviting its creators from institutions similar Harvard and MIT to leap from the satellite of academia into the commercialized crypto arena. The effect circular was led by 1kx with information from Robot Ventures, Finality Capital, Spartan, CMT Digital, SNZ, Triton Capital, Big Brain, CMS, Longhash, NGC, Animoca, GSR, Caladan, Reforge and others. Optimum is gathering what it calls the missing representation furniture of blockchains, making the mode information is stored, accessed and propagated, faster, cheaper and genuinely decentralized, according to a property release. At the halfway of Optimum’s innovation is simply a method of decentralized coding for distributed systems, known arsenic Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC), developed by Muriel Médard, an MIT professor. — Ian Allison Read more.

NOBLE’S NEW ‘APPLAYER’ LETS DEVELOPERS BUILD STABLECOIN APPS ON TOP OF CELESTIA: Noble, a blockchain for issuing real-world assets (RWA) and stablecoins, announced Wednesday that it volition grow its level by introducing “AppLayer,” an Ethereum-compatible rollup that allows developers to make their ain RWA applications and infrastructure. Noble’s AppLayer aims to fto developers physique caller fiscal tools optimized for real-world assets similar stablecoins — integer assets whose worth is pegged to different asset, similar the U.S. dollar. AppLayer volition leverage Celestia, a information availability blockchain that aims to bring down retention costs for data-intensive blockchain networks. Celestia, similar Noble, is plugged into the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem and is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), meaning it tin work astute contracts from different Ethereum-based chains. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.

In Other News

Mantra's OM token fell from implicit $6 to nether $0.45 successful a substance of hours connected Tuesday with nary evident catalyst. CEO John Mullin said successful an X station connected Wednesday that helium would pain his team's tokens to triumph backmost the spot of the Mantra community. Mullin said the terms driblet resulted from exchanges closing OM positions, but members of the crypto assemblage formed blasted connected the Mantra team. OKX laminitis Start Xu referred to the incidental arsenic "a large scandal." — Jamie Crawley Read more.

Aiming to possibly replicate Strategy's bitcoin (BTC) playbook, but with solana (SOL), fintech commercialized existent property level Janover (JNVR) has built a SOL stack worthy astir $21 cardinal and seen its stock terms emergence astir 20-fold successful little than a month. The institution purchased earlier this week different 80,567 SOL tokens valued astatine astir $10.5 million, bringing its full holdings to 163,651. — Krisztian Sandor Read more.

DWF Labs is investing $25 cardinal successful World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the decentralized concern protocol backed by U.S. President Donald Trump and his family. The crypto marketplace shaper is besides entering the U.S. marketplace with a caller bureau successful New York City arsenic portion of its broader enlargement plans, according to a press release. — Francisco Rodrigues Read more.

Regulatory and Policy

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is not yet acceptable to marque a determination connected 2 captious features that issuers of the spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are hoping to adhd to their products. The regulator delayed a determination connected whether it volition let in-kind redemptions for WisdomTree’s Bitcoin Fund (BTCW) and VanEck's Bitcoin Fund (BITB) and Ethereum Fund (ETHW). It besides moved its deadline for a determination successful regards to a connection by Grayscale to let staking its Ethereum Trust (ETHE) and Mini Ethereum Trust (ETH), which the plus manager’s exchange, NYSE Arca had requested successful February. — Helene Braun Read more.

Seychelles-based cryptocurrency speech OKX is expanding to the U.S. and establishing a caller determination office successful San Jose, California. The speech volition rolling retired entree to its level and its autochthonal OKX Wallet to U.S.-based crypto traders.— Cheyenne Ligon Read more.

Search elephantine Google volition lone let cryptocurrency exchanges and bundle wallets to advertise successful the European Union if they clasp a licence nether the EU’s Markets successful Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, starting April 23, the institution announced. Google said advertisers indispensable present get a certification from the institution and show they are registered arsenic a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) nether MiCA. The institution besides requires advertisers to comply with immoderate further country-specific ineligible obligations.—Francisco Rodrigues Read more.