Layer N has announced a partnership with Modulus Labs to launch AI Functions, an artificial intelligence tool that allows developers to integrate AI reasoning and AI use cases in their applications. (CoinDesk)

The latest in blockchain tech upgrades, funding announcements and deals. For the period of March 28-April 3. source: https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/03/27/protocol-village/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=headlines

According to Foresight News, Wormhole has announced its ZK roadmap, which includes the launch of a light client that allows users and applications to quickly and efficiently verify the state of blockchain networks, such as account balances and smart contract data, at a lower cost. The team will also introduce cryptographic expertise, with the Wormhole Foundation currently providing contributor funding to four new engineering teams specializing in zero-knowledge cryptography. More details will be announced in the coming weeks. In addition, Wormhole contributors will collaborate with strategic hardware providers to accelerate the implementation of the light client and expand the number of ZK channels and ZK verification messages, purchasing hardware accelerators for Wormhole contributors. Over the next few months, ZK light clients will be deployed for various blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Sui, Aptos, Near, and Cosmos, and integrated with Wormhole.

According to official news, Wormhole announced the ZK roadmap, the main contents of which are as follows: Introducing cryptography expertise: The Wormhole Foundation has awarded contributor grants to four new engineering teams specializing in zero-knowledge cryptography and will make these announcements in the coming weeks; Unlock hardware resources: Wormhole contributors will work with strategic hardware providers to accelerate the implementation of light clients and procure hardware accelerators for Wormhole contributors as the number of ZK-enabled channels and ZK verification messages continues to expand; Upcoming light clients: Light clients allow users and applications to quickly and efficiently verify the state of the blockchain network (e.g. current account balances, smart contract data, etc.). Running light clients (as smart contracts) directly on-chain is still not feasible on many blockchains due to high verification costs, but concise, verifiable computations are possible. This allows expensive light client verification to be performed off-chain, and the correctness of light client executions to be verified on-chain at much lower cost. Over the next few months, ZK light clients for blockchains including Ethereum, Sui, Aptos, Near, and Cosmos will be deployed and integrated with Wormhole, enabling trustless two-way data transfer.

영지식 증명 기반 레이어2 네트워크 ZK페어(ZKFair)가 공식 채널을 통해 락업예치금(TVL)이 4100만 달러를 돌파했다고 밝혔다. 24시간 만에 300% 증가한 수치다. 가스 수수료(Gas fee) 에어드랍1,2라운드는 종료됐으며, 에어드랍 참여자 수는 5만 명 이상이다. 현재 가스 수수료 에어드랍 3라운드를 진행 중이며, 4라운드는 26일 자정(한국시간) 오픈된다.

ZK 레이어2 네트워크 ZK페어(ZKF)가 메인넷을 출시했다고 X를 통해 밝혔다. ZKF 토큰 공급량은 100억개이며 이는 전량 에어드랍을 통해 커뮤니티에 배포된다. 이중 25억개는 커뮤니티 사용자에게, 75억개는 가스비 에어드랍 형식으로 분배된다. ZK페어는 폴리곤 CDK, 셀레스티아 DA, 루모즈 ZK-RaaS 등으로 가동되는 커뮤니티 주도 레이어2 네트워크다.

영지식 증명 기반 레이어2 네트워크 ZK페어(ZKFair)가 공식 채널을 통해 오는 12월 20일 11시(현지시간) 메인넷을 출시한다고 발표했다. ZK페어는 지난 7일 테스트넷을 출시한 바 있으며, 현재까지 약 70,000 명의 사용자가 테스트넷에 참여한 것으로 전해졌다. ZK페어는 폴리곤 CDK, 셀레스티아 DA, 루모즈 ZK-RaaS 등으로 가동되는 커뮤니티 주도 레이어2 네트워크로, 메인넷 출시 후 자체 토큰 ZKF는 가스 수수료 수익 반환, 커뮤니티 에어드랍 등을 통해 100% 커뮤니티 기여자에게 할당된다.

According to CoinDesk, Modulus Labs, the company behind a new specialized zero-knowledge prover for AI models, announced that it has raised $6 million in a seed round. The round was led by Variant and 1kx, with participation from Inflection, Bankless, Stanford, and others. Angel investors include names in the blockchain ecosystem such as the Ethereum Foundation, Worldcoin, Polygon, Celestia, and Solana.Modulus makes use of ZKML, an acronym for zero-knowledge machine learning, and combines ZK proofs for AI models. The purpose of this technology is to use zero-knowledge proofs to prove that an AI model was executed correctly. The funding will be used to help build the Modulus product, according to co-founder Daniel Shorr.Shorr stated that their target audience is smart contract developers or on-chain services who want to add AI to their offerings. However, until now, adding AI into a smart contract meant sacrificing some of the security provided by blockchain technology.