gm, readers.

At Automata we work on protecting privacy and fairness. And in this newsletter, we find more reasons to talk about it. Explore headlines and catch up on the biggest crypto news in Web3 privacy.

This week:

• Ora Protocol introduces opp/ai, an Optimistic Privacy-Preserving AI on the blockchain

• Shiba Inu introduces a privacy-focused network utilizing Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) to enhance privacy for SHIB token holders

• South Korea's privacy authority launches an investigation into Worldcoin following accusations of violating privacy laws

• Anti-CBDC bill demands Congress approval over privacy concerns

• Lending platform Seneca was exploited via the “performOperations” function, draining $6.4 million

Op-Ed:

• Demand for blockchain transparency compromises Web3 users' financial privacy

Zooming into ZK:

• zkLink launches zkLink Nova, the first aggregated Layer-3 zkEVM rollup network, powered by zkSync's ZK Stack and zkLink Nexus

• Astar launches Astar zxEVM, the first ZK Layer-2 to be integrated into Polygon’s AggLayer

• StarkWare announces launch of Stwo, an open-sourced ZK prover

• Taiko, an Ethereum-equivalent ZK rollup solution, secures $15M in funding

• ZkHub launches as the first multi-rollup orderbook DEX on Ethereum

• Rarimo unveils Freedom Tool, a ZK-based voting platform for secure, anonymous participation

• Polygon zkEVM anticipates reduced data costs for Ethereum rollups with EIP-4844 post-Dencun upgrade

Conversations you missed:

• Aleph Zero co-founder explores regulatory impact on Web3 privacy

We dive into the details, so you don’t have to:

The significant computational demands of AI on blockchain present notable challenges in privacy and efficiency. The Optimistic Privacy-Preserving AI (Opp/AI) framework, introduced by Ora Protocol, aims to balance privacy protection and computational efficiency. Through the integration of Zero-Knowledge Machine Learning (zkML) for privacy and Optimistic Machine Learning (opML) for efficiency, this framework develops a customized hybrid model for blockchain AI services.

Astar Network, a Japanese blockchain firm, launched Astar zkEVM, integrating it into Polygon’s AggLayer, making it the first Layer-2 chain to do so. Astar zkEVM enables cross-chain transactions between Astar and Polygon blockchains through AggLayer, facilitating multichain smart contracts via aggregate ZK-proofs. This integration ensures uniform cryptographic security and atomic composability across aggregated chains, preserving transaction immutability throughout.

Shiba Inu teams up with Zama, an open-source cryptography company, to build a privacy-focused network atop Shibarium blockchain. The introduction of this privacy layer, powered by the ecosystem token TREAT, aims to bolster on-chain privacy for SHIB users. Leveraging Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), developers can securely access data without decryption, ensuring the protection of personal and transactional information.

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This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice or interpreted as investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and you should always do your own research before making any informed decisions when investing or trading.