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Ethereum Foundation Targets Trust Role in AI Ecosystem

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Nexo Partners with Bakkt for US Crypto Exchange and Yield Programs

TLDR

  • The Ethereum Foundation plans to position Ethereum as a trust layer for AI systems.
  • The organization will focus on coordination and verification instead of building AI models.
  • Davide Crapis said Ethereum can serve as a public verification layer for autonomous agents.
  • The foundation supports ERC-8004 to standardize agent identity and trust.
  • The strategy promotes privacy, local AI processing, and stronger cryptographic security.

The Ethereum Foundation has outlined a strategy to position Ethereum as a trust layer for AI systems. The organization said it will not compete in building large AI models. Instead, it plans to anchor identity, payments, and verification for autonomous agents.

Ethereum Foundation Outlines Coordination Role for AI Agents

The Ethereum Foundation said it will focus on coordination rather than raw AI computation. Davide Crapis, the AI lead at the EF, presented the plan at NEARCON 2026. He said Ethereum can serve as a “public, governance-less verification layer for AI.”

He explained that AI systems now handle trades, applications, and software tasks. However, centralized control could weaken decentralization and privacy. “If AI doesn’t have the properties we care about, and then we use AI for everything, basically no one has those properties anymore,” Crapis said.

He stated that Ethereum can help agents identify themselves and build trust. The network can also route payments and anchor cryptographic proofs. Heavy computing will remain off-chain on traditional servers.

The EF has supported standards such as ERC-8004 for agent identity and trust. Crapis said developers outside Ethereum have shown interest in these standards. He compared the system to a decentralized review network combined with payment rails.

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He said Ethereum can maintain transparent histories for agents. Those records can help assess reputation and past actions. As a result, agents can transact without relying on centralized platforms.

Ethereum Extends Core Principles to AI Security and Privacy

The Ethereum Foundation also aims to bring privacy and censorship resistance into AI systems. Crapis referred to this effort as “Props AI” inside the organization. The program promotes privacy, openness, and security in AI design.

He warned that centralized AI services can build detailed user profiles over time. Queries and usage patterns can reveal personal data. Therefore, the EF supports more local AI processing on user devices.

“We want to create a world where users retain as much data and power as possible,” Crapis said. He added, “We just don’t give it to operators.” The approach seeks to limit unnecessary data transfer to large platforms.

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Security forms another part of the initiative. Crapis predicted that AI systems will automate cyberattacks and impersonation. “We will probably see hacks orchestrated by AI,” he said.

He argued that traditional authentication models may fail under AI-driven impersonation. In response, he emphasized the importance of cryptographic keys. Control of a private key provides mathematical proof of ownership.

“In a world where AI is in the wild, we want Ethereum to be the place with the big lock,” Crapis said. He added, “If I have the keys, I still have power.” The EF described the AI program as one of several ongoing priorities.

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Ansem Says Ethereum Is in a Worse Spot Than 2023 as Thesis Weakens

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Ethereum Price Prediction

Crypto analyst Ansem argues that Ethereum (ETH) is in a “worse spot” in 2026 than it was in 2023, pointing to a thesis he says has been eroding for years.

His bearish take drew rebuttals from some members of the community. Meanwhile, on-chain activity and technical indicators elsewhere on the network flash bullish signals.

Ansem Lists Cracks in the ETH Thesis

Ansem argues that Solana (SOL) has dominated retail activity this cycle. Hyperliquid has taken the lead in perpetual futures trading, while rollups have failed to gain traction.

He also noted that Vitalik Buterin “publicly abandoned” the general-use rollup thesis. The ongoing Aave (AAVE) situation around the KelpDAO rsETH exploit, Ansem said, is a mark on  Ethereum’s core value proposition of “safety + security of defi & insto interest.

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“ETH thesis has been weakening consistently for years,” the analyst wrote. ETH in 2026 is in a worse spot than it was in 2023, amplified by AI doing extremely well & tech stocks being much more favorable investments with real revenues / emerging narratives / increasing momentum, ETH is a $300B asset with a ton of overhang from Tom Lee topblasting + complacent ETH holders sitting idle in defi protocols.”

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Technically, the analyst noted that ETH remains in a sustained downtrend after failing to break multi-year resistance. He projected that the second-largest cryptocurrency could slip to 2025 lows near $1,300 and to the bear-market lows from 2022.

“Tight invalidation 2377 assuming problems worsen if you want to play it loose assuming other risk assets continues doing well & drags it up probably somewhere around 2700/2800 invalidation fundamentals wise would want to see breakout activity from some new vertical,” the post read.

Ethereum Price Prediction
Ethereum Price Prediction. Source: X/Ansem

Community Members Push Back

The take triggered notable pushback. Ryan Berckmans accused Ansem of not understanding fundamentals. Leo Lanza went further, sharply dismissing the analyst’s bearish case on X.

Another user pointed to a 56% drop in the SOL/ETH pair this cycle.

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“Soleth is down 56% after being up 12x+ *this cycle* because one guy decided to buy 5% of the eth supply after it had underperformed all cycle. idk why you guys act like i dont also bearpost solana i havent posted anything bullish about sol in over a year,” Ansem replied.

Not everyone shares the bearish view on Ethereum. BeInCrypto recently highlighted that network activity remains strong, while technical indicators like the Rainbow Chart and MACD are also flashing bullish signals.

With macro and geopolitical uncertainty still in play, the question is whether ETH slides further this year or stages a renewed rally.

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The post Ansem Says Ethereum Is in a Worse Spot Than 2023 as Thesis Weakens appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Aave’s TVL Falls $8B After $293M Kelp DAO Hack

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Aave’s TVL Falls $8B After $293M Kelp DAO Hack

Total value locked on decentralized lending protocol Aave dropped by nearly $8 billion over the weekend after hackers behind the $293 million Kelp DAO exploit borrowed funds on Aave, leaving roughly $195 million in “bad debt” on the protocol and triggering withdrawals.

Data from DeFiLlama shows that Aave’s TVL fell from about $26.4 billion to $18.6 billion by Sunday, losing the top spot as the largest DeFi protocol. 

Aave v3’s lending pools for USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC) are now at 100% utilization, meaning that more than $5.1 billion worth of stablecoins cannot be withdrawn until new liquidity arrives or borrows are repaid. 

$2,540 is available to be withdrawn from the $2.87 billion USDT pool on Aave v3 at the time of writing. Source: Aave

Aave’s TVL fall shows how rapidly risk from a single security incident can spread throughout the broader, interconnected DeFi lending market, potentially leading to a severe liquidity crisis.

The incident began on Saturday when hackers stole 116,500 Kelp DAO Restaked ETH (rsETH) tokens worth about $293 million from Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered bridge and used them as collateral on Aave v3 to borrow wrapped Ether (wETH).

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Crypto analytics platform Lookonchain said the move created about $195 million in “bad debt” on Aave, which contributed to the Aave (AAVE) token tanking nearly 20% from $112 on Saturday at 6:00 pm UTC to $89.5 about 25 hours later. 

Lookonchain noted that some of the largest crypto whales to withdraw funds from Aave were the MEXC crypto exchange and Abraxas Capital at $431 million and $392 million, respectively.

Source: Grvt

Several crypto networks and protocols tied to rsETH or the LayerZero bridge have paused use of the bridge until the problem is resolved, including DeFi platform Curve Finance, stablecoin issuer Ethena and BitGo’s Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC).

Aave has frozen several rsETH, wETH markets

Shortly after the Kelp DAO exploit, Aave said it froze the rsETH markets on both Aave v3 and v4 to prevent any suspicious borrowing and later stated that rsETH on Ethereum mainnet remains fully backed by underlying assets.

WETH reserves also remain frozen on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Mantle and Linea, Aave said.

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This incident marks the first significant stress test of Aave’s “Umbrella” security model, which was introduced in June 2025 to provide automated protection against protocol bad debt while enabling users to earn rewards.

Related: Aave DAO backs V4 mainnet plan in near-unanimous vote

Earlier this month, the Bank of Canada found that Aave avoided bad debt in its v3 market by using overcollateralization, automated liquidations and other strategies that shifted risk to borrowers.

In comments to Cointelegraph, Aave defended its liquidation-based model, framing it as a core safety mechanism that protects lenders while limiting downside for borrowers.

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It comes as Aave parted ways with its longest-standing DeFi risk service provider, Chaos Labs, on April 6, following disagreements over the direction of Aave v4 and budget constraints.

Magazine: Are DeFi devs liable for the illegal activity of others on their platforms?