Weekend Recap: Solana’s Loyalty Platform, Buterin Backs TiTok AI, XLink Partners Fireblocks and Ancilia
Tags: cryptocurrency, news
Published: 2024-06-19 14:22:09

Elon Musk’s social network X is not doing “enough” to prevent the spread of cryptocurrency fraud on the platform. Such an opinion was shared by Binance co-founder Yi He, who recently [asked](https://x.com/heyibinance/status/1801732167917256859) how the billionaire owner is going to deal with this problem. However, this was not the hottest news of the week.

**Buterin Supports TiTok AI**

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has endorsed TiTok AI for its potential application in the blockchain. We are not talking about the social network TiTok but about Token for Image Tokenizer, a new method of image compression that makes them more practical for storing on the blockchain.

On his Warpcast account, Buterin [called](https://warpcast.com/vitalik.eth/0x1389d35c) the image compression method a new way of “encoding a profile photo.” He also noted: _“320 bits is a hash. Small enough to go on chain for every user.”_

The co-founder became interested in the method after reading a [post](https://x.com/Ethan_smith_20/status/1801493585155526675) in X published by Ethan, a researcher at Leonardo AI, an artificial intelligence-based image creation platform. The author described how the technology could help those interested in reinterpreting the high-frequency details of images to successfully encode complex visual objects into 32 tokens. For his part, Buterin expressed an opinion on how much easier it would make it for developers and creators to create profile images and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

TiTok AI, developed in collaboration between ByteDance and the University of Munich, is characterized as an innovative one-dimensional tokenization framework that is significantly different from the dominant two-dimensional methods in use. The [White Paper ](https://arxiv.org/pdf/2406.07550)of the project describes the challenges faced by previous image tokenization methods such as VQGAN.

TiTok, using artificial intelligence, plans to overcome this problem with technologies that efficiently convert images into one-dimensional hidden sequences to provide a “compact hidden representation” and eliminate redundant regions.

**AI is Now on TikTok**

The social network TikTok may soon be filled with ads with “digital avatars” created by artificial intelligence. On June 17, the platform [announced](https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/blog/tiktok-symphony-ai-creative-suite#:~:text=Symphony%20Digital%20Avatars:%20a%20new%20way%20to%20scale%20your%20storytelling) the expansion of its Symphony advertising package with “stock avatars” and “artificial dubbing” functions. 

According to TikTok, all avatars are created from videos of real paid actors licensed for commercial use. In addition, users will be able to use “voice and accent” to read the script voiced on the avatar using artificial intelligence. 

The attached video demonstrates how the tool converts text into voiceover and can dub actors with voices in several languages, trying to imitate mouth movements in each language. The script itself can also be generated using artificial intelligence. The feature supports ten languages and dialects, including English, Spanish, Japanese, and Korean. The tool detects the language used and duplicates it in the user’s target language.

Today, artificial intelligence technology is becoming increasingly widespread. Influential companies are integrating AI into their operations to increase efficiency, optimize processes, and develop innovative products and services. One example is Microsoft, which has a multimillion-dollar [partnership](https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/01/23/microsoftandopenaiextendpartnership/) with OpenAI, the company behind the development of the famous ChatGPT chatbot. Their partnership aims to develop and promote cutting-edge research in this area and democratize AI as a new tool for companies and organizations in various industries.

One of the largest crypto exchanges in Europe, WhiteBIT, also uses artificial intelligence in its operations. In particular, to analyze big data, market trends, user behavior, transaction processing, etc. The financial company JPMorgan Chase also announced the use of artificial intelligence in its work. In particular, they use a neural network to obtain information about potential investments and speed up decision-making. Moreover, the head of the bank’s asset and wealth management department, Mary Erdos, recently [spoke](https://qz.com/jpmorgan-chase-ai-banking-training-mary-erdoes-1851488056#:~:text=According%20to%20Erdoes%2C%20JPMorgan%20bankers,work%20each%20day%2C%20she%20said.) about the implementation of engineering training for new employees to work with artificial intelligence. 

**XLink Onboards Fireblocks, Ancilia to Prevent Hacks**

Following a recent security breach that stole $10 million in user funds, XLink, a Bitcoin bridge by Alex Lab, has [partnered](https://x.com/XLinkbtc/status/1802739896903159832) with Fireblocks and Ancilia. According to the company, the collaboration with Fireblocks will allow it to implement multi-party computing (MPC) technology to manage XLink’s wallet and smart contracts. 

Chiente Hsu, CEO and co-founder of Alex told [Cointelegraph](https://cointelegraph.com/news/xlink-fireblocks-ancilia-partner-10-m-hack): _“[The] partnership with Fireblocks will implement two of three multiparty computation wallets to hold all these user assets, with one key held by the validator network of Bitcoin Oracle (that validates the XLink bridging events), another key held by Fireblocks and the last key held by Coincover who provides the disaster recovery service.”_

At the same time, the partnership with Ancilia will help ensure continuous monitoring and real-time threat detection, offering instant alerts and proactive measures to prevent hacks.

Hsu explained that the “source of the hack” was the leak of a private key with “administrator access” to a smart contract that stores users’ assets. He also added that the cooperation will maximize the security of users’ assets, which they have been planning for some time, but the recent incident has accelerated this process.

**Funding for Crypto Startups Exceeded $100 Billion**

The total amount of funding for crypto startups has crossed the $100 billion mark. [According](https://defillama.com/raises) to DefiLlama, since the end of May 2014, crypto projects have raised $101.36 billion in 5287 investment rounds. 

A noticeable peak occurred in October 2021, when funding amounted to more than $7 billion. No other month has come close to this figure, although February 2022 – $3.67 billion – was the second highest in history.

The 2023 study shows that almost half of all funding comes from US investors, followed by the UK and Singapore. At the end of 2023 and in the first half of 2024, several high-profile funding rounds took place, further strengthening investor confidence. Specifically, Together.AI, Wormhole, Totter, and Eigenlayer received significant investments of more than $100 million each.

**Solana Labs Debuts Blockchain Loyalty Platform**

Solana Labs has [announced](https://x.com/solanalabs/status/1800875778848202975) the launch of Bond, a platform designed to increase customer engagement through direct customer interactions, digital collectibles, and more. In its publication, the company notes that Bond will provide brands, including non-cryptocurrency brands, with a platform “to create personalized, transparent, and engaging digital experiences that deepen customer connections and foster long-term loyalty.”

In addition, the technology will be able to eliminate the “critical limitations” of modern loyalty programs, namely the loss of connection with the end user if the product is ever resold or given away. The company promises that brands will not be required to have experience with blockchain, as the service will be available through a single application programming interface.

The platform uses the Solana blockchain to create collectible “digital twins” and limited edition products complemented by their real-life models to “encourage repeat purchases and increase overall customer value.”

By using digital product identification, customers can verify the authenticity of a product, and brands can track their items even if they are subsequently resold or given away.