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Runes are arriving, more web3 newcomers and AI chatbots everywhere

can’t stop them now 💨

April 19, 2024 • Read time: 9 minutes

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gm gm,

Welcome back to another wild week in the crypto world, where everything's dipped in red, and the AI keeps pushing boundaries.

Excitement is brewing for what's next in web3 and AI.

As always, we’re using this space to provide you with the latest product updates and relevant industry news in the shortest form possible.

Let’s go!

WEB3
What’s fresh off the press?

Named World Chain

and set to debut this summer, it aims to be open-source, permissionless, and governed independently by the community. Secured by Ethereum, World ID holders will have priority access to blockspace over bots and will receive gas allowances for everyday transactions.

One of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Kraken, has introduced the Kraken Wallet. This open-source self-custody wallet supports a wide range of coins, tokens, NFTs, and DeFi assets across eight blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has given conditional approvals to at least three local companies, including China Asset Management, Bosera Asset Management, and Harvest Fund Management. Approving both spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs puts the region at the forefront of crypto ETFs, likely attracting more investment to its digital asset market.

CEO Paolo Ardoino announced that the company is nearing the release of a white-label, multichain tokenization platform. This platform will enable the tokenization of stocks, bonds, funds, or reward points, and will be accessible to everyone. Describing it as a masterpiece, it is poised to grant small and medium-sized enterprises access to the tokenization space.

The TX1 project, working with Polygon, wants to make smart TVs more connected by bringing blockchain experiences to them. They're teaming up with World of Women, Ledger, Wilder World, and Illuvium to let users handle digital assets using just their remote.

The parent company, ByteDance, is exploring web3 possibilities through a partnership with Mysten Labs, the developers behind the Sui L-1 blockchain. Some of the things they're looking into include storing data, recommending content, creating content, and adding augmented reality to Web3 gaming platforms and socialFi projects.

OKX, one of the world's biggest crypto communities with over 50 million users, has announced the launch of X Layer. This new network, built on the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK) as a Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Ethereum Layer, aims to solve problems like slow trading and high fees.

INSIGHTS
Here come the Runes!

As the crypto world watches the Bitcoin halving, Casey Rodarmor, creator of Ordinals, and the community eagerly await the launch of the Runes protocol.

Scheduled to launch at block 840,000, which coincides with the Bitcoin halving, the aim is for the Runes protocol to be more efficient and have lower transaction fees.

Let's explore what this means.

What exactly is Runes?

Runes is the newest type of token on Bitcoin, designed to work like ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum. It's a protocol that makes it easier for people to create and use these tokens.

Who created the Runes Protocol?

Casey Rodarmor, a Bitcoin developer, introduced it in September 2023 as an upgraded token standard for issuing fungible assets on Bitcoin.

If his name rings a bell, he's the same creator behind the Ordinals protocol. Developers have been using it to establish different token standards for native asset issuance on Bitcoin, effectively turning them into NFTs for Bitcoin.

Why did he create it?

The creator describes Runes as a straightforward protocol with a minimal on-chain footprint and responsible UTXO management.

UTXO stands for Unspent Transaction Outputs, which are individual units of Bitcoin value tied to specific addresses on the blockchain. They represent funds that have not yet been spent and can be used as inputs in new transactions.

The BRC-20 token standard differs from Runes in that it's not UTXO-based and can congest the network. Runes aims to replace the less efficient Ordinals-based BRC-20 token standard.

Compared to existing fungible token protocols like Taproot Assets and RGB, Runes aims to be an upgrade because the former relies on off-chain data.

Is Bitcoin summer on the horizon?

If the Bitcoin ordinals boosted the ecosystem to a $2.5 billion market in just 1.5 years, other advancements like the Runes protocol could also have a positive impact.

The option to issue different types of fungible tokens, such as stablecoins, governance tokens, and security tokens, could attract new users. This could increase the usage of fast and low-cost transactions, thereby boosting incentives for miners to maintain network security.

"On the flip side, the protocol will attract developers to build upon it, opening doors to new use cases on the most stable and secure public blockchain.

Could the Runes protocol be what pushes crypto into the mainstream?

Fingers crossed 🤞

AI
What’s going on with AI these days?

Powered by Llama 3, the AI chatbot is accessible on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger, providing real-time results from both Bing and Google. It enhances the search experience without requiring users to leave the platform. In addition to the apps, the AI chatbot can also be accessed through its dedicated website, meta.ai.

Named Maestro and currently available in beta for a subset of U.S. customers, this tool assists listeners in creating personalized playlists. It uses new or suggested prompts such as emojis, emotions, activities, and sounds.

Adobe announced that it’s updating Premiere Pro software to include third-party AI video generator models like Sora, RunwayML, and Pika. They aim to make workflows more flexible and user-friendly, expanding their ecosystem with Generative AI to give users extra capabilities.

G42, a top AI technology company in the UAE, gets a major investment from Microsoft. They plan to bring advanced AI tech and training to the UAE and worldwide. They'll also set up a $1 billion fund to help developers, focusing on top-notch AI safety and security standards.

The free tool, called Logi AI Prompt Builder, transforms these two devices into shortcuts to AI fluency. The company also launched a limited edition mouse with customizable buttons to trigger the Logi AI Prompt Builder.

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

  • YCMentor for building things the YC way

  • Koinly for crypto tax reports in 20 minutes

  • Unriddle for better and faster reading

  • Waffle for testing smart contracts

  • SanerAI for organizing your knowledge with AI

*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

And that’s it for the week - not so short but sweet.

Keep on building!

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