28.03.2024

Carnegie Mellon University Sees $4M Pledge to Develop DeFi Research Program

Nikolai Mushegian announced the donation in a Jan. 1 post on his website. By his account, he already donated 3,200 MKR ($1.3 million) on the previous day and “informally committed” another 6,800 MKR ($2.9 million).

A former MakerDAO contributor and Carnegie Mellon alumnus has committed 10,000 MKR – valued at just under $4.3 million at press time – to his alma mater to develop a research program for decentralized applications.

In the post, the developer said that his goal for the donation is “to establish a research program for decentralized applications/protocols and game-theoretic mechanisms.” He also wrote that a fuller research agenda will be available in coming weeks.

Who is giving what for what?

In further concerns, Mushegian said he was troubled by profiteering in the industry, including what he called “the increasing rent-seeking behavior from some of the big players in this space, and also from existing banks and tech giants.” He professed faith in the university system’s resilience in the face of pressure from governments and business.

Carnegie Mellon’s influence on crypto

Carnegie Mellon’s computer science department is one of the best in the world, with U.S. News and World Report ranking it as tied for #1 in the country with Stanford, UC Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute for Technology.

In the world of distributed ledgers, Carnegie Mellon is also ahead of the game. Its Tepper School of Business features the Blockchain Initiative, a cross-disciplinary program. The program has actually created a cryptocurrency local to the university itself, the CMU Coin. Students are tasked with proposing university-based applications for this token.

Carnegie Mellon’s donations office was unable to confirm receipt of Mushegian’s initial donation to Cointelegraph as of press time.

Cardano Partners With Blockchain Venture Studio to Accelerate Adoption

The Cardano Foundation has partnered with Berlin blockchain venture studio Konfidio to accelerate Cardano adoption.

A strategic partnership

An announcement published by the Cardano Foundation on Aug. 15 reveals that the foundation has partnered with Konfidio. The partnership will aim to enable real-world business cases on the Cardano blockchain.

Per the announcement, the initial focus of the collaboration will be on use cases in banking, logistics, pharmaceutical industries and trade finance, with government and public service use cases to follow. Chairperson of the Cardano Foundation, Nathan Kaiser, pointed out that the partner’s location is also important:

“Konfidio’s homebase, Berlin, is a major global blockchain center and its worldwide relevance will help us put the spotlight on our one-of-its-kind platform.”

An information campaign

Dr. Mervyn G. Maistry, Founder and CEO of Konfidio, explained his company’s anticipated role in the project:

“Our aim is to increase the understanding of the protocol in both corporate and startup environments and accelerate value-add for both Cardano, the blockchain community and our clients.”

As Cointelegraph recently reported, Charles Hoskinson, a co-founder of the Ethereum Network and current CEO of IOHK, has announced that IOHK-created project Cardano is rolling out version 1.6 within a few days.

Canadian University: Blockchain Can Solve EV Charging Trust Problem

Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have used blockchain technology to improve trust in electric vehicle (EV) charging systems, reported academic publication portal EurekAlert on Aug. 14. This development could increase uptake and expand the overall charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

New ventures have no established trust relationships

In general, an EV charging service provider will look for property owners to partner with and install charging points. Owners of electric vehicles can then use these for a fee, which is shared between the equipment supplier and the property owner.

The supplier runs the equipment, so the property owner must trust it to compensate fairly for electricity used. Equally, the EV owner must trust that they are not being overcharged for the service.

This is exacerbated by the fact that it is a very youong industry, with no established structure of trust. An open blockchain platform will let all parties access the data to see if it has been tampered with.

The added benefit of blockchain

The researchers established three steps to incorporating blockchain into the system to reduce the reliance on trust.

First is to identify the involved parties and what (if any) trust issues there may be. Second is to design a minimal blockchain solution to mitigate these trust issues. The blockchain should closely mimic any parts of the legacy system, which need to be replaced. Dependencies can therefore continue to work with minimal modification.

Stage three is a gradual migration from a legacy/blockchain hybrid into a truly decentralized business model.

Researcher and PhD student, Christian Gorenflo, said:

“Mitigating trust issues in EV charging could result in people who have charging stations and even those who just have an outdoor outlet being much more willing to team up with an EV charging service provider resulting in much better coverage of charging stations.”

Last year, a Singapore-based startup launched a fleet of blockchain-enabled electric vehicles which mined cryptocurrency while you drive.

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