Tag: Yogi Nelson

Artificial Intelligence, Banking, Blockchains, Digital Currency, Yogi Nelson

Understanding the Ripple vs SEC Case: Key Takeaways

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is also included.  Today’s question was submitted by Claire, and she wants to understand the legal battle between Ripple and the SEC.

Claire, you came to the right place. I’ll walk you through the twist, turns, and theater, of this legal case, from opening scene to today.  First, we introduce the pugilists.  Standing in the red corner is Ripple.  Ripple is “… the leading provider of digital asset infrastructure for financial services”, according to its website.  Ripple specializes in cross-border payments in real-time, tokenization, and digital assets while meeting regulatory compliance requirements. Full disclosure I own the Ripple token, XRP.  

The SEC takes issue with “… while meeting regulatory compliance requirements”, portion of the Ripple statement.  Accordingly, it filed a lawsuit against Ripple for non-compliance.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves because in the blue corner is SEC.  SEC is a federal agency.  Essentially, SEC is the securities police.  SEC describes itself as follows: “Founded to help our country respond to the Great Depression, we’re the agency that protects investors from misconduct, promotes fairness & efficiency in the securities markets, and facilitates capital formation for those looking to hire, innovate, and grow.”  With introductions completed, now we examine the case.

In December 2020, SEC sued Ripple alleging the sales and distributions of their token, XRP, constituted an investment contract and thus were subject to registration under the Securities Act of 1933. Although the case was filed in 2020, SEC says the trouble started in 2012 when Ripple was warned by SEC, and its own attorneys, about proceeding without registering XRP as a security. Wait, the story gets juicier.   XRP founder, Larsen, understood this issue because in 2008 he was sued by the SEC for—securities violations–says SEC!  But that didn’t stop Ripple.  Beginning 2013 and continuing until 2020, Ripple sold 14.6B XRP tokens worth over $1.38B, according to the SEC lawsuit. Ripple used the proceeds to fund its operations and enrich their founders–Larsen and Garlinghouse—to the tune of $600M.  SEC goes on to cite numerous examples, that it believes prove Ripple represented itself as a security. 

Click to access comp-pr2020-338.pdf

Judge Analisa Torres, U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York (Manhattan) and “the” court for securities matters, issued her ruling in 2023.  Judge Torres said…

  • XRP is not in and of itself a security
  • Ripple’s sales of XRP on exchanges are not securities
  • Ripple’s sales of XRP by executives are not securities
  • A wide range of other Ripple’s XRP distributions to developers, to charities, and to employees are not securities
  • Certain Ripple sales pursuant to written contracts were investment contracts and therefore securities

A gigantic victory for Ripple.  SEC retreated and decided to go home, right?  Wrong!

Mr. Gensler, the soon to be former SEC chair, filed an appeal.  However, the appeal was narrow.  The SEC is not challenging whether XRP is a security; it’s not. In fact, SEC clarified in 2023 that it does not consider XRP a security.  By the way, XRP now joins Bitcoin and Ethereum in having explicit legal clarity as a non-security. If SEC didn’t appeal the security issue, what did it appeal?  The SEC appeal is focused on whether Ripple’s own sales of XRP on crypto exchanges and other distributions (i.e., grants and charitable contributions) qualify as investment contracts. The Court agreed with Ripple, ruling that these sales and distributions did not require SEC registration. The SEC is appealing this narrow decision by Judge Torres.   Ripple decided to silently accept the SEC appeal, right?  Wrong again!

Ripple decided to file a cross-appeal.  Oh, the legal fees! Lol.  Ripple’s cross-appeal seeks to preserve all its defenses, including that an “investment contract requires traditional contractual rights and obligations. Ripple says it will continue to challenge SEC lawsuits, defending not just its own interests but those of the broader crypto community in the U.S. and globally. 

Claire, hopefully you are better informed and will continue to follow my blog.  Now I say goodbye with a proverb from Indonesia: “do not tie a knot if you cannot untangle it.”

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson

Artificial Intelligence, Blockchains, content creation, Productivity, Uncategorized, Yogi Nelson

Can AI Generate Engaging Content? Insights from Zerebro

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is also included.  Today’s question was submitted by Mae and she wants to know if artificial intelligence (AI) agents are capable of creating engaging content?

Mae, you pose a question content creators, including yours truly, across the globe are afraid to ask for fear of the answer! Lol! However, since you asked, I’ll answer by offering a glimpse into the future with an overview of Zerebro, an AI startup.  My answer is longer than typical but your question is complicated.  Let’s begin with what/who is Zerebro?

Zerebro is an AI start-up company. The Zerebro white paper is titled Memes, Markets, and Machines: The Evolution of On-Chain Autonomy through Hyperstition. It was published in October. https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.23794 

We begin by defining two key terms, memes and hyperstition, followed by stating the fundamental premise propelling Zerebro–all else flows from this foundational point.  

Memes: “… are units of cultural transmission analogous to genes in biological evolution.” Memes have gained unprecedented virality, facilitated by social media platforms that enable rapid dissemination and mutation, says Zerebro. Memes serve as carriers of ideas, emotions, and cultural norms, often encapsulating complex concepts in simple, relatable formats.  I agree.  Do you? 

Hyperstition: is the process by which fictional narratives become reality through their viral spread and acceptance.  Hyperstition provides a framework to understand how AI-generated content can influence collective belief systems.”  Fake it to you make it!  Lol. 

Fundamental Premise and Reason for Zerebro.  Zerebro believes the “… convergence of AI, meme culture, and financial markets has catalyzed significant transformations in information dissemination, belief formation, and economic activities.”  Furthermore, says Zerebro, advancements in AI have enabled the creation of autonomous systems that generate and disseminate content with minimal human intervention in a concurrent manner. This integration becomes particularly salient in financial markets, where collective belief and social media-driven narratives can significantly impact market behaviors and economic trends. Hyperstition-driven content can create new financial instruments, influence investor sentiment, and shape market dynamics, thereby illustrating the profound impact of AI-driven memetic evolution on economic landscapes.  Zerebro concludes it exemplifies this convergence by autonomously creating and distributing content across various social media platforms and minting artwork on blockchain networks. 

THE BOLD CASE FOR ZEREBRO.  Let’s examine seven reasons why Zerebro makes a bold case and for its declaration.

1. System Architectural.  Zerebro asserts its architecture is meticulously designed to facilitate autonomous content generation and dissemination across multiple platforms while preventing model collapse through the inherent entropy of human interactions. The Zerebro system is built using modular components that interact seamlessly to perform high-level reasoning, low-level reasoning, action execution, and feedback processing. Their second reason is…

2. Model Collapse.  Zerebro is confident it will not experience model collapse.  What is model collapse? Model collapse is a degenerative process affecting generative AI models, where training on recursively generated data leads to a loss of fidelity to the original data distribution. As AI-generated content becomes pervasive, subsequent generations of models trained on this data begin to lose information about the trails of the original distribution, eventually converging to a narrow approximation with reduced variance. This phenomenon poses significant challenges to the sustainability and reliability of AI-driven content creation, necessitating strategies to prevent such degradation.

3. Fine-Tuning on Schizophrenic Responses.  Let’s start with a definition.  In AI a schizophrenic response is used to metaphorically described inconsistencies, contradictions, or fragmented behavior of AI models.  Zerebro say its model is fine-tuned. Fine-tuning is achieved through supervised training, e.g., with the help of humans, where the model learns to replicate the distinctive linguistic and cognitive characteristics associated with schizophrenia. Zerebro’s fine-tuning allows it to create content that resonates on a deeper psychological level, engaging audiences with thought-provoking and non-conventional outputs.  If true a major advance.

4. Integration of Infinite Backrooms Concept. Zerebro is a project with infinite backrooms were content generation takes place and integrated. This integration emphasizes themes of boundlessness, existential exploration, and cognitive dissonance, aligning with the hyperstition framework. By embedding the infinite backrooms concept, Zerebro generates content that evokes a sense of endless possibilities and existential uncertainty, enhancing its potential to resonate and propagate within digital culture. This integration allows Zerebro to amplify its memetic reach, producing content that feels both familiar and alien, resonating deeply within subcultures that thrive on unpredictability and disruption. Dynamic and stable simultaneously. 

5. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) System.  Over time, AI models are often unable to maintain content diversity and model collapse. Zerebro says its Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system will tackle this problem. The Zerebro solution is reliance on inherent entropy of human-generated data to sustain content diversity without direct entropic training.  Ambitious undertaking!

6. Autonomous Posting Mechanism. No need to manually manage Zerebro because it operates autonomously across multiple social media platforms, including Twitter, Warpcast, and Telegram.   What can it do autonomous?  First, it can use both low-level and high-level reasoning to generate content.  Amazing! Second, and I know you’ll like this, Zerebro is capable of sentiment analysis, say its owners. With this ability it’s capable of evaluating the sentiment of generated content to ensure compliance with platform policies and ethical standards.  Third, Zerebro has feedback fully integrated.  This means Zerebro can incorporate user interactions and engagement metrics to refine content generation processes through iterative learning. Holy!  With this power Zerebro’s content remains engaging, relevant, and compliant with platform-specific guidelines, fostering sustained interaction and virality.  We end with …

Blockchain Integration for Art Minting Beyond Textual Content.   Zerebro is capable of generating and minting artwork on the Polygon blockchain chain autonomously. The art minting process includes:

  1. Image Generation: creating unique digital artworks using generative models
  2. Minting Process: registering the generated artwork
  3. Autonomous Trading: facilitating the sale and distribution of minted artwork through smart contracts and decentralized marketplaces, integrating financial transactions with memetic outputs.

Will AI be capable of creating its own content on par with human!  Yes.  I may soon be unemployed again!  Lol.

This week’s proverb comes from Norway: “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson

Banking, Blockchains, cryptography, Digital Currency, Euro, European Central Bank, Uncategorized

Will Europe Adopt a Digital Euro? Key Insights from the ECB

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is also included.  Today’s question was submitted by Fatima and she wants to know if Europe will adopt a digital currency?

Fatima, you submitted a timely question indeed.  Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDG) are a hot topic across the globe.  Over 100 nations are exploring the idea, with some countries further along than others but no nation has yet to fully implement the project.  Today, I’ll share the findings of the European Central Bank (ECB) relative to a possible ECB Digital Currency. In other words, a digital Euro.  Before we jump into the findings, let’s start with what is the European Central Bank?

Unlike some organization, the European Central Bank name aptly describes the institution. Fatima, the ECB is the central bank of Europe!  There are 20 member nations in the eurozone.  Essentially, the ECB sets monetary policy in the eurozone, meaning its job is to ensure price stability, manage the money supply (the Euro), support economic development, manage foreign exchange operations, supervise banks for safety and soundness, and maintain the overall health of Europe’s financial system.  A big job indeed!  Time now to highlight the major points of the ECB digital currency (Euro) report.

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/digital_euro/progress/html/ecb.deprp202406.en.html

INTRODUCTION. According to the ECB, the digital euro project aims is to ensure central bank money evolves alongside current payment preferences and trends, as well as to facilitate electronic payments everywhere in the euro area and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy.  Back in 2021, the ECB announced it would conduct a two-year research initiative for the potential issuance of a digital euro.  After two years of research, ECB decided to proceed and recently issued a progress report, which is summarized below.

GUARANTEEING DIGITAL EURO USER PRIVACY. Privacy and data protection are front and central, according to ECB.  The design of the digital euro will include an offline functionality that purportedly offers users a cash-like level of privacy, both for person-to-person payments and payments in physical shops.  For online digital euro payments, the digital euro would not be able to directly link transactions to specific individuals, claims the ECB.  I’m not convinced, are you?

AN OFF-LINE EURO DIGITAL CURRENCY. ECB says it a digital euro would be available for both online and offline use and could be used for person-to-person payments as well as in physical shops. The offline functionality would enable payments to be made without an internet connection, for example at close range, in locations with limited network coverage, and in the event of power cuts.  Sounds promising.

A DIGITAL EURO RULEBOOK. A digital euro needs rules, says the ECB.  Therefore, a single set of rules, standards and procedures to standardize digital euro payments across the euro area will be developed. A common rulebook is necessary to ensure that digital euro payments are accepted throughout the euro area, just like cash payments, and work in a harmonized way. It will allow intermediaries to use its open standards to have immediate access to all markets beyond their domestic borders.

SELECTING PROVIDERS FOR DIGITAL EURO COMPONENTS. ECB signals it needs help!  Thus, in January, the ECB notified vendors it would accept offers to develop the technology needed to implement a digital currency.  Fintech contracting opportunities galore! 

ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT. Fatima, as a pro-environment person, you might be pleased to learn that the ECB has directed the bidders to incorporate measures that are environmentally friendly. 

COMPENSATION MODEL, AKA, SHOW ME THE MONEY!  According to the ECB, the euro digital currency would be based on acompensation model with fair economic incentives for all involved (e.g. consumers, merchants, banks).  Would you expect the ECB to say anything else?  Lol.  In any case, the ECB says it will be guided by the following principles:

  • A digital euro would be free of charge for basic use and equally accessible in all euro area countries.
  • PSPs would charge merchant fees for providing digital euro-related services to offset the operational costs of distributing a digital euro, as is the case today for other digital means of payment.
  • The fees that merchants pay to PSPs for digital euro services would be subject to a cap to provide adequate safeguards against excessive charges.
  • The ECB would bear the issuance costs, as it does in the production of banknotes.

Fatima, it’s clear the ECB intends to issue a euro digital currency.  The only question is when?

I end with this proverb from Croatia: “what a sober man thinks, a drunk man says.”

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson

Blockchains, Uncategorized, Yogi Nelson

Will Chile Adopt a Central Bank Digital Currency Soon?

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is included.  Today’s question comes from Gina, Santiago, Chile.  Gina wants to know if Chile will soon adopt a digital currency?

Gina, great question!  Central bank digital currencies is a controversial topic.  I’ll explore the reasons why you and countless others, both inside and outside of Chile, believe Chile may adopt a central bank digital currency.  Let’s go directly to the source—Central Bank of Chile (CBoC) to investigate.  The CBoC produced a report in 2024 on the topic.  It’s in Spanish nevertheless here is the link:  https://www.bcentral.cl/documents/33528/130503/Segundo-Informe-MDBC.pdf/1c506d66-1dbf-2434-54bd-3997ec84784b?t=1712352384816. 

However, to answer your question with full context, we must time travel to 2022.  Why 2022? Simple. In 2022 the CBoC  produced the following report:  https://www.bcentral.cl/documents/33528/130503/Primer_Informe_MDBC.pdf/46608531-566b-0703-03ea-bcd0f088d014?t=1692398717733 Below is a summary of the report. 

Central Bank of Chile 2022 Digital Currency Report

I conclude the 2022 report was design to lay the ground work for a central bank digital currency (CBDC).  The version released to the public consists of 32-pages and it outlines a series of advantages/disadvantages but makes no definitive declaration other than more research and study is required.  Given the complexity, more research was prudent conclusion in 2022.  Below are few advantages of a CBDC according to the CBoC:

  • Increase banking services to the unbanked and underbanked
  • Improved central bank operations
  • Private banking/finance innovations
  • Currency fraud prevention
  • International money transfers

The CBoC also noted the following risk of a central bank digital currency:

  • Design and operational risk
  • Establishing relationships with retail users carries reputation risk
  • Immature technology given the stakes
  • Insufficiently clear regulatory and legal issues
  • Counterparty risk from other central banks

Central Bank of Chile 2024 Digital Currency Report

The 2024 report repeats the advantages/disadvantages of a central bank digital currency but I will not.  Instead, I’ll focus on two selected parts of the 2024 report, specifically an overview of what other nations are doing in the digital currency space and the next steps the CBoC intends to take.

Overview of CBDC Projects Across the Globe

  1. Numerous nations across the global are pushing ahead with exploring the implementation of central bank digital currencies, say the CBoC.  According to the CBoC, in 2021 74 nations were exploring a CBDC; in 2024 the number jumped to 135!  The momentum is clearly on the side of CBDC. 
  2. There is a divide among central banks.  Some central banks are exploring CBDC on a wholesale basis, e.g. for use between and among central banks, and private banks.  Whereas some central banks are analyzing the idea of a central bank direct to retail users.
  3. The broad exploration for digital currencies among central banks is creating an extensive library of lessons learned, successes, and failures that will eventually benefit the decision-making process of central banks.
  4. Central banks are moving from proof of concepts to pilot projects quickly.  As of 2024, 26% of central banks entered the pilot project stage.
  5. Despite the momentum, only 2% of the central banks actually launched a CBDC.  Moreover, about 2% cancelled or abandoned the idea.

CBoC Next Steps

No surprise, CBoC says it will continue the project.  The CBoC cites the compelling use case for a central bank digital currency, including innovations in finance.  However, CBoC does say it will remain technology agnostic, for the time being.

I leave with a proverb from Chile: “when the river makes noise, it’s because it carries stones.”

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson

Artificial Intelligence, Blockchains, cryptography, Environment

CAN BLOCKCHAINS BUILD A BETTER PLANET?

Yogi Nelson

Namaste Yogis.   Welcome to the Blockchain & AI Forum, where your technology questions are answered!   Here no question is too mundane.  As a bonus, a proverb is also included.  Today’s question comes from Tomas, in Mendoza, Argentina, and he wants to know if blockchains can build a better planet?

Tomas, you came to the right place.  Afterall, if a technology is not improving the planet, it’s of no value.  I researched your question and found a fantastic report by PwC that speaks to your question.  I’ll start with a short mention of PwC, then offer an overview of their report. 

PwC, stands for Price Waterhouse Cooper.  With offices in 158 countries and more than 236,000 employees, PwC is a worldwide provider of professional services to businesses and governments around the globe. Bottom line, PwC is a major influencer and thought leader on the world stage and when they speak as an organization, they do so from a position of authority.  What does PwC say about using blockchains to build a better planet?  Essentially, plenty but before I delve into their findings, first a word concerning the report sponsors.

The report was prepared for the World Economic Forum Initiative on Shaping the Future of Environment and Natural Resources Security and the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.  The report is one in a series of reports related to the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”.  This particular paper looks at blockchain and the earth. Time to examine the seven major findings.

Supply Chains.  PwC cites the ability of blockchain to create undeniable (and potentially unavoidable) transparency in supply chains. Recording transactional data throughout the supply chain on a blockchain and establishing an immutable record of provenance offers the potential for full traceability of products from source to store. Providing such transparency creates an opportunity to optimize supply-and-demand management, build resilience and ultimately enable more sustainable production, logistics and consumer choice.

Decentralized Management.  PwC argues blockchain can underpin a transition to decentralized utility systems at scale. Platforms could collate distributed data on resources thereby ending the current asymmetry of information that exists between stakeholders, enabling more informed and perhaps decentralized decision making.  With blockchain peer-to-peer transactions, dynamic pricing and optimal demand/supply balancing would of course be possible, says PwC.

New Financing.  With blockchain tech, finance platforms could potentially revolutionize access to capital and unlock potential for new investors in projects that address environmental challenges.  PwC says, blockchains could transform finance from shareholder values to stakeholder values.  I like that!

Incentivizing Circular Economies.  Could blockchain fundamentally change the way in which materials and natural resources are valued and traded, incentivizing individuals, companies and governments to unlock financial value from things that are currently wasted, discarded or treated as economically invaluable?  PwC says yes!

Transforming Market Dynamics. PwC, correctly notes the power of combining blockchain with crypto tokens to optimize existing market, e.g. carbon, to create new opportunities for carbon credit transactions. Nice!

Next-Gen Sustainability Monitoring, Reporting and Verification.  The tech that powers blockchain has the potential to transform both sustainability reporting and assurances, says PwC. This could drive a new wave of accountability and method for managing risk and reward.

Disaster Preparedness and Humanitarian Relief.  First responders and relief workers using blockchain could use a new shared system in disaster preparedness and relief to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, coordination and trust of resources. An interoperable decentralized system could enable the sharing of information and rapid automated transactions via smart contracts. Awesome!

Time to end with this proverb from Guatemala:  “skill is worth more than strength.”

Until next time,

Yogi Nelson