IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Solana brings crypto to everyone

The Solana Foundation announced new features that make it really easy for users to transact onchain everywhere.

'Actions' were previously known as Solana Pay transactions. Now, with the upgrade, their use cases are expanding to include minting, voting, swapping, and more.

On the flip side, Blinks—short for blockchain links—convert these Actions into shareable links enriched with metadata, enabling user interaction.

In essence, these features transform any website or app into a crypto transaction portal, akin to Farcaster's Frames. Both Actions and Blinks can be shared in various formats such as links, push notifications, QR codes, and more.

Already live on Jupiter, more entities from Solana's ecosystem are set to test the feature soon, including Tensor, Sanctum, Cubik, Helium, Phantom, and others.

The rising cost of training AI models over time

Due to increasing computational demands and the necessity for more powerful hardware, efforts are underway to find solutions that address these escalating costs.

The crypto suspense drama

As summer heats up, web3 technology is gaining momentum. Kraken and Certik are at the center of a story about a bug. Let's take a closer look.

Kraken’s side of the story

The team at Kraken received an alert from a security researcher through their Bug Bounty program, reporting a bug. This bug allowed users to inflate balances and withdraw funds without completing deposits.

The Chief Security Officer, Nick Percoco, announced the incident without revealing the researcher's name, criticizing it as extortion rather than ethical hacking.

Certik’s side of the story

Then CertiK enters the scene, revealing their identity as the security researchers behind the confidential investigation. The blockchain security firm stated they had thoroughly examined a vulnerability in Kraken before notifying the platform.

The outcome? They withdrew approximately $3 million from Kraken, but no actual user funds were endangered.

The plot twist

The situation escalated when CertiK accused Kraken of pressuring its employees to return an incorrect amount within an unreasonable timeframe, without providing repayment details.

Kraken countered, alleging CertiK was holding $3 million hostage and demanding a bug bounty. CertiK refused to return the funds and requested a discussion with Kraken's Business Development team.

Many criticize CertiK for their handling of the bug bounty program, suggesting they could have managed the situation more ethically.

The epilogue

Kraken's CSO, Nick Percoco, confirmed that the funds were returned to Kraken, while CertiK claims they did not request a bounty and their actions were intended to highlight the extent of the vulnerability.

The moral of the story? Verify before trust.

Is this a happy ending? It's uncertain; only time will tell. However, there might be a cliffhanger leading into season 2.

SUBSTRATES
What else is going on?

• Anthropic releases Claude 3.5 Sonnet, its newest and most intelligent model, offering unparalleled speed, performance, and cost-effectiveness, setting new industry standards and outperforming GPT-4 in some benchmarks.

• VanEck files to launch the first spot Solana ETF in the US after 3iQ Corp. the digital asset management filed for the first Solana ETF in North America. If approved, it’ll trade on the TSX under ‘QSOL’.

• OpenAI acquires Rockset, a database analytics company, to enhance its real-time data processing and analysis for faster and more accurate AI model responses.

• Pudgy Penguins and OverpassIP have established a parent company, Igloo, to create the largest on-chain community, driving the consumer crypto revolution with crypto products and experiences.

• After leaving OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever is launching Safe Superintelligence Inc., a company that aims to develop artificial superintelligence.

• Stripe and Coinbase have partnered to integrate USDC on Base, offering faster global transfers, quicker US fiat-to-crypto conversions, and instant crypto purchases via Coinbase Wallet.

• Target will roll out a new GenAI-powered chatbot, Store Companion, to all its stores by August to assist team members with tasks and questions about procedures and policies.

• Bitwise released an ad for spot ETH ETFs, comparing traditional finance to Ethereum's working hours.

• Forbes sent a legal letter to Perplexity's CEO regarding alleged copyright infringement, asking for content removal, while Perplexity's CEO claims it was related to a new product feature.

• WorldCoin has partnered with Alchemy to develop World Chain's infrastructure, scaling it to support billions of users and enhancing developer access to real users.

• Figma announced significant updates to the platform, along with new AI tools for creating app designs, prototyping apps, and generating text and images.

FROM THE REPOSITORY
5 tools to add to your maker’s arsenal

• Guidde creates your video documentation in seconds with AI

• ChainClarity explains crypto whitepapers with AI

• Firebender finds your early adopters in super fast

• Pado sends you real-time notifications for your wallets and wallets of celebrities, whales, friends, whales and others

• Prepair to test yourself against developers with an advanced AI mock interview.

*Shipping amazing products or services in AI or web3? Reach out and get featured for free to your community of over 1k readers.

SCOOPS OF THE WEEK

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