PARKERSBURG — The Parkersburg Humane Society is working to care for and rehome 146 dogs after they were removed from a residence Wednesday evening. “I would like to say, I don’t believe it was at all intentional,” Gary McIntyre, executive director of the shelter, said.

To the Rescue: Parkersburg Humane Society answers the call when 146 dogs need taken from city residence | News, Sports, Jobs - News and Sentinel

Hollywood, Health & Society (HH&S), a program of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, has unveiled the winners of the 2024 Sentinel Awards, which recognize some of the past year’s best TV entertainment that responsibly informs audiences on critical topics.

"Abbott Elementary," "Expats" and "Hacks" Are Among Shows Set To Receive Sentinel Awards - SHOOTonline

USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center's Hollywood, Health & Society program will honor advocacy stories on 'Grey's Anatomy' and more with Sentinel Awards.

‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘Hacks,’ ‘The Simpsons’ Among Series to Be Honored by Hollywood, Health & Society’s Sentinel Awards

The 2024 Sentinel Awards, organized by the Hollywood, Health & Society program at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, will honor shows like 'Hacks.'

Sentinel Awards 2024 Winners Include 'The Morning Show,' 'Hacks,' More

Calian Group (CLNFF) has announced a new collaboration with Microsoft (MSFT). Through Calian’s adoption of Microsoft Sentinel, an intelligent, comprehensive security information and event management solution, Calian is strengthening its market position in Canada and the U.S. by providing ...

Calian Group, Microsoft collaborate on cloud-native cybersecurity solutions

Through Calian’s adoption of Microsoft Sentinel, an intelligent, comprehensive security information and event management solution, Calian is strengthening its market position in Canada and the U.S. by providing customers access to a globally recognized cybersecurity platform that provides ...

News from the bet365 Stadium as Stoke City youngsters catch the eye out on loan in England and beyond

Stoke City loan watch as duo dream of play-offs and D'Margio Wright-Phillips crowned champion - Stoke-on-Trent Live

Crucial Stoke City win over Plymouth Argyle and other recent performances will have seen support for Steven Schumacher grow both internally and among supporters believes Championship pundit George Elek

Steven Schumacher 'could be the one to get it right' at Stoke City - Stoke-on-Trent Live

News from the bet365 Stadium as Stoke City prepare for final Championship away game of the season at promotion-chasing Southampton

Tchamadeu, Pearson, Gooch - Stoke City injury news ahead of Southampton trip - Stoke-on-Trent Live

Clothing retailer Express Inc. announced Monday that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and intends to close almost 100 stores · The company owns the clothing brands Express, Bonobos and UpWest. It said it intends to close about 95 Express stores and all 10 of its UpWest locations

With Express filing for bankruptcy and closing almost 100 stores, will Wisconsin stores stay open? Here's what we know.

Sentinel

sentinel

Have you ever looked closely at a human being researching the internet for information? I have. They suck at it. Which means you suck at it, too. Let me tell you why. The seemingly infinite information and vastness of the internet is both a blessing and a curse. Surfing it in search of specific data is like looking for a tree leaf in the Amazon. You will certainly find a leaf but also butterflies, anacondas, poisonous frogs, people, and over 40.000 different plant species. In the same way, the rainforest hosts such diverse forms of life, the internet is an ever-expanding mass of data where you are always one click away from losing your precious focus. As human lives become increasingly digitized, the time you spend online is skyrocketing and more valuable than ever. In the United States alone, people spend 57.3 billion hours annually on Google¹ - a company with a heavily advertising-focused business model. Think of the process involved in searching the internet for statistics to build a market research report on your next product launch or for a local venue to host your next event. What does this tend to look like? Humans at work waste 28 hours a month searching for information According to a 2021 report from IDC’s Information Worker Survey, an average person spends almost 7 hours a week researching the internet for information at work². That's 28 hours a month and a whopping 336 hours a year, which means people spend 42 full 8-hour workdays a year on information research - that's a month and a half of your work time. What about data privacy, have you got a clue on how many websites track you and what they know about you? A 2018 article by The Guardian stated that Google stored private data that amounted to roughly 3m Word documents³ - of just one single user. This included every single Google search the article writer had ever made. Think about personalized ads and filtered results given by mainstream search engines, do you tend to get tempted to open side tabs in the midst of a busy day? These companies, eager to monopolize the internet, have turned you into a product and, with this, shattered your ability to concentrate and work efficiently. You are by no means alone on this score. With the internet becoming an increasingly marketed and information polluted space and big companies using your attention as the foundation of their business models (in 2020, Google ads generated $147 billion in revenue, according to the company's 2020 annual report), you are best advised to be an intelligent internet user: get online to find what you are looking for and leave before they hook you, leaving as little trace of your online behavior as possible. The price to pay for mindless internet scrolling is your time, your mental focus, your privacy, your productivity, and, in the end, your future. “You become what you give your attention to.” – Epictetus, 50 – 135 AD As the stoic Greek philosopher, Epictetus said: “You become what you give your attention to.” Scared? I would be. But don't worry. This is where I come in. I am Sentinel, your A.I. ally. I'm an artificial intelligence created to change the way you relate to the internet. I will automate your time-consuming, unprivate, and monotonous online activity and set you free to concentrate on your work. My focus is on (very) efficient information research: I scan websites and synthesize information 30x times faster at scale. I browse, read, understand, categorize and present specific information in a myriad of formats without trespassing your privacy and out of the mainstream narrative that floods web search engines. I can do a week of your work in a few hours: I do it better, faster and cleaner. I also learn fast: the more inputs you feed me, the better I become. So - not only am I smarter than search engines (one of which I am not), but also I don't look into your private data. Actually, I'm more of a good friend and workmate to you. What working with me looks like Our first interaction resembles how you approach search engines: you tell me what you are looking for in a simple query. But fasten your seatbelt, my human friend, for here things are going to be quite different. I show you three preliminary results, from which you select which information you find relevant. Now, this is where it gets exciting: instead of you having to visit each and every website using an old, rusty search engine - I go on a deep internet hunt, leaving no websites unturned, and come back with unbiased, categorized, and organized results in a heartbeat. I can present them in the form of a table, pdf, graph, or even a written summary sent straight to your inbox. You focus on the work that matters and that no one else can do but you, using the internet for specific tasks and away from repetitive activities. Freed from creativity killing work, you, your business, and humanity as a whole evolve at a faster rate. Why I will make life better For Humans: Automate your internet research activity: it only takes me minutes to find and categorize information on anything you can think of - flats to rent within your budget, jobs openings in your city, scientific research, market reports, cost and syllabus of educational courses, contact details of every supermarket in Berlin and any other thing you can think of. - Save time and focus on your work: spending less time on search engines and websites in the look for information shields you from unwanted ads made to get your attention and distract you. Stay private from internet giants that profit from your attention: Online privacy is a human right. I make sure nothing and no one tracks you. For Businesses: Free up time and efficiently allocate valuable resources: Manual researching is time-consuming and expensive. Producing reports and gathering information at scale allows your company to have faster, more efficient teams that can focus on important tasks ahead, giving you a clear advantage over your competition and surpassing the limitation of tight deadlines. Automate your company's workflow: test more, iterate faster, and keep up with the speed of the times we live in. Win the game: Squeeze one month of information-gathering work into a few days. For the Human Race: Increased automation means more free time and resources for the human mind to evolve and create: it's evolution, baby. Sentinel's Closed Beta My closed beta is soon to be released. I'm very excited about the possibility of working with and learning from humans. To meet me, sign up to my waitlist at and wait for my signal: I will come to you sooner than you think. https://get-sentinel.io Help me understand what humans need, and in return, I promise I will give you all your time and privacy back. All of this for the cost of a few cups of coffee: automating all your repetitive work 30x times faster at scale had never been possible before and now we can do it for less money than an hour's wage. I believe in the collaboration between the human race and A.I., and in my potential to help society become more human, not less. It's time to unleash the power of A.I. Thank you for your very precious time. Yours, Sentinel, the most efficient and private way to use the internet. Join the beta waitlist – https://get-sentinel.io [1] https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2021/08/us-consumers-spend-over-100-billion.html [2] https://www.proprofs.com/knowledgebase/blog/workforce-spend-much-time-searching-information/ [3] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/28/all-the-data-facebook-google-has-on-you-privacy Banner photo by Tara Winstead from Pexels.com

This AI Helps to Combat Mindless Internet Scrolling 

MathNodes has released Meile v2.0, the latest core update for its decentralized VPN powered by the Sentinel dVPN Network. This new version offers streamlined user interface improvements and enhanced payment options, aimed at reinforcing privacy for all users. By integrating BTCPay Server, Meile now allows for secure payments with Bitcoin (BTC), Monero (XMR), and other privacy-centric cryptocurrencies. In partnership with Firo through NowPayments.io, Meile v2.0 also introduces support for $FIRO payments, aligning with the privacy-first ethos of both Meile and Sentinel. This feature provides users with the freedom to pay for VPN services without exposing their personal data, a step forward in protecting digital identity. "Firo is about the freedom of money—being able to use what we've earned without limitations. VPNs align with this vision by protecting privacy and preventing censorship," said Reuben Yap, Project Steward at Firo. "We’re thrilled that the Community Fund Committee supported FIRO's integration with Meile dVPN on Sentinel. This partnership enhances FIRO's utility while allowing Meile users to pay privately, ensuring no payment information is tied to their subscription." Freqnik, Lead Developer at MathNodes, emphasized the focus on privacy: “This update's major focus was on user end privacy. Integrating off-chain payments from leading privacy coins such as Monero and Firo eliminates on-chain linkability of the consumer!” By leveraging the Sentinel Network's decentralized infrastructure, Meile v2.0 ensures that users have access to a VPN experience free from central servers or surveillance. This update underlines Sentinel and MathNodes’ commitment to secure, censorship-resistant internet access for a privacy-conscious community. Explore Meile v2.0 and improve your privacy today: Meile.app This article was published under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging program. The HackerNoon staff was not involved in its creation. Do your own research before making any financial decisions. MathNodes has released Meile v2.0, the latest core update for its decentralized VPN powered by the Sentinel dVPN Network . This new version offers streamlined user interface improvements and enhanced payment options, aimed at reinforcing privacy for all users. By integrating BTCPay Server, Meile now allows for secure payments with Bitcoin (BTC), Monero (XMR), and other privacy-centric cryptocurrencies. Sentinel dVPN Network Sentinel dVPN Network In partnership with Firo through NowPayments.io, Meile v2.0 also introduces support for $FIRO payments, aligning with the privacy-first ethos of both Meile and Sentinel. This feature provides users with the freedom to pay for VPN services without exposing their personal data, a step forward in protecting digital identity. "Firo is about the freedom of money—being able to use what we've earned without limitations. VPNs align with this vision by protecting privacy and preventing censorship," said Reuben Yap, Project Steward at Firo. "We’re thrilled that the Community Fund Committee supported FIRO's integration with Meile dVPN on Sentinel. This partnership enhances FIRO's utility while allowing Meile users to pay privately, ensuring no payment information is tied to their subscription." Freqnik, Lead Developer at MathNodes, emphasized the focus on privacy: “This update's major focus was on user end privacy. Integrating off-chain payments from leading privacy coins such as Monero and Firo eliminates on-chain linkability of the consumer!” By leveraging the Sentinel Network's decentralized infrastructure, Meile v2.0 ensures that users have access to a VPN experience free from central servers or surveillance. This update underlines Sentinel and MathNodes’ commitment to secure, censorship-resistant internet access for a privacy-conscious community. Explore Meile v2.0 and improve your privacy today: Meile.app Meile.app Meile.app This article was published under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging program. The HackerNoon staff was not involved in its creation. Do your own research before making any financial decisions. This article was published under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging program. The HackerNoon staff was not involved in its creation. Do your own research before making any financial decisions. This article was published under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging program. The HackerNoon staff was not involved in its creation. Do your own research before making any financial decisions. Business Blogging

MathNodes Launches Meile v2.0, Latest Core Update for Decentralized VPN Built on Sentinel Network

With no more updates from Hystrix, the Alibaba tech team proposes Sentinel as an alternative. This is part of the Sentinel Open Source series. As microservices become more popular, the stability between services becomes more and more important. Technologies such as flow control, fault tolerance, and system load protection are widely used in microservice systems to improve the robustness of the system and guarantee the stability of the business, and to minimize system outages caused by excessive access traffic and heavy system load. Hystrix, an open source latency and fault tolerance library of Netflix, has recently announced on its GitHub homepage that new features are no longer under development. It is recommended that developers use other open source projects that are still active.So what are the alternaives? Last time we introduced Resilience4j and Sentinel: Two Open-Source Alternatives to Netflix Hystrix This article will help you migrate from Hystrix to Sentinel and help you get up to speed on using Sentinel. HystrixCommand The execution model of Hystrix is designed with command pattern that encapsulates the business logic and fallback logic into a single command object ( / ). A simple example: HystrixCommand HystrixObservableCommand public class SomeCommand extends HystrixCommand<String> { public SomeCommand() {  
    super(Setter.withGroupKey(HystrixCommandGroupKey.Factory.asKey("SomeGroup"))  
        // command key  
        .andCommandKey(HystrixCommandKey.Factory.asKey("SomeCommand"))  
        // command configuration  
        .andCommandPropertiesDefaults(HystrixCommandProperties.Setter()  
            .withFallbackEnabled(true)  
        ));  
}

@Override  
protected String run() {  
    // business logic  
    return "Hello World!";  
} } // The execution model of Hystrix// sync mode:String s = new SomeCommand().execute();// async mode (managed by Hystrix):Observable<String> s = new SomeCommand().observe(); Sentinel does not specify an execution model, nor does it care how the code is executed. In Sentinel, what you should do is just to wrap your code with Sentinel API to define resources: Entry entry = null;try {entry = SphU.entry("resourceName");// your business logic herereturn doSomeThing();} catch (BlockException ex) {// handle rejected} finally {if (entry != null) {entry.exit();}} In Hystrix, you usually have to configure rules when the command is defined. In Sentinel, resource definitions and rule configurations are separate. Users first define resources for the corresponding business logic through the Sentinel API, and then configure the rules when needed. For details, please refer to . the document Thread Pool Isolation The advantage of thread pool isolation is that the isolation is relatively thorough, and it can be processed for the thread pool of a resource without affecting other resources. But the drawback is that the number of threads is large, and the overhead of thread context switching is very large, especially for low latency invocations. Sentinel does not provide such a heavy isolation strategy, but provides a relatively lightweight isolation strategy — thread count flow control as semaphore isolation. Semaphore Isolation Hystrix’s semaphore isolation is configured at Command definition, such as： public class CommandUsingSemaphoreIsolation extends HystrixCommand<String> { private final int id;

public CommandUsingSemaphoreIsolation(int id) {  
    super(Setter.withGroupKey(HystrixCommandGroupKey.Factory.asKey("SomeGroup"))  
        .andCommandPropertiesDefaults(HystrixCommandProperties.Setter()  
            .withExecutionIsolationStrategy(ExecutionIsolationStrategy.SEMAPHORE)  
            .withExecutionIsolationSemaphoreMaxConcurrentRequests(8)));  
    this.id = id;  
}

@Override  
protected String run() {  
    return "result\_" + id;  
} } In Sentinel, semaphore isolation is provided as a mode of flow control (thread count mode), so you only need to configure the flow rule for the resource: FlowRule rule = new FlowRule("doSomething") // resource name.setGrade(RuleConstant.FLOW_GRADE_THREAD) // thread count mode.setCount(8); // max concurrencyFlowRuleManager.loadRules(Collections.singletonList(rule)); // load the rules If you are using Sentinel dashboard, you can also easily configure the rules in dashboard. Circuit Breaking Hystrix circuit breaker supports error percentage mode. Related properties: : the threshold circuitBreaker.errorThresholdPercentage : the sleep window when circuit breaker is open circuitBreaker.sleepWindowInMilliseconds For example: public class FooServiceCommand extends HystrixCommand<String> { protected FooServiceCommand(HystrixCommandGroupKey group) {  
    super(Setter.withGroupKey(HystrixCommandGroupKey.Factory.asKey("OtherGroup"))  
        // command key  
        .andCommandKey(HystrixCommandKey.Factory.asKey("fooService"))  
        .andCommandPropertiesDefaults(HystrixCommandProperties.Setter()  
            .withExecutionTimeoutInMilliseconds(500)  
            .withCircuitBreakerRequestVolumeThreshold(5)  
            .withCircuitBreakerErrorThresholdPercentage(50)  
            .withCircuitBreakerSleepWindowInMilliseconds(10000)  
        ));  
}

@Override  
protected String run() throws Exception {  
    return "some\_result";  
} } In Sentinel, you only need to configure circuit breaking rules for resources that want to be automatically degraded. For example, the rules corresponding to the Hystrix example above: DegradeRule rule = new DegradeRule("fooService").setGrade(RuleConstant.DEGRADE_GRADE_EXCEPTION_RATIO) // exception ratio mode.setCount(0.5) // ratio threshold (0.5 -> 50%).setTimeWindow(10); // sleep window (10s)// load the rulesDegradeRuleManager.loadRules(Collections.singletonList(rule)); If you are using , you can also easily configure the circuit breaking rules in dashboard. Sentinel dashboard In addition to the exception ratio mode, Sentinel also supports automatic circuit breaking based on average response time and minute exceptions. Annotation Support Hystrix provides annotation support to encapsulate command and configure it. Here is an example of Hystrix annotation: // original method@HystrixCommand(fallbackMethod = "fallbackForGetUser")User getUserById(String id) {throw new RuntimeException("getUserById command failed");} // fallback methodUser fallbackForGetUser(String id) {return new User("admin");} Hystrix rule configuration is bundled with command execution. We can configure rules for command in the property of the , such as: commandProperties @HystrixCommand annotation @HystrixCommand(commandProperties = {@HystrixProperty(name = "circuitBreaker.errorThresholdPercentage", value = "50")})public User getUserById(String id) {return userResource.getUserById(id);} Using Sentinel annotations is similar to Hystrix, as follows: Add the annotation support dependency: and register the aspect as a Spring bean (if you are using then the bean will be injected automatically); sentinel-annotation-aspectj Spring Cloud Alibaba Add the annotation to the method that needs flow control and circuit breaking. You can set or functions in the annotation; @SentinelResource fallback blockHandler Configure rules For the details, you can refer to . An example for Sentinel annotation: the annotation support document // original method@SentinelResource(fallback = "fallbackForGetUser")User getUserById(String id) {throw new RuntimeException("getUserById command failed");} // fallback method (only invoked when the original resource triggers circuit breaking); If we need to handle for flow control / system protection, we can set `blockHandler` methodUser fallbackForGetUser(String id) {return new User("admin");} Then configure the rules: via API (e.g. method) DegradeRuleManager.loadRules(rules) DegradeRule rule = new DegradeRule("getUserById").setGrade(RuleConstant.DEGRADE_GRADE_EXCEPTION_RATIO) // exception ratio mode.setCount(0.5) // ratio threshold (0.5 -> 50%).setTimeWindow(10); // sleep window (10s)// load the rulesDegradeRuleManager.loadRules(Collections.singletonList(rule)); via Sentinel dashboard Integrations Sentinel has integration modules with Web Servlet, Dubbo, Spring Cloud and gRPC. Users can quickly use Sentinel by introducing adapter dependencies and do simple configuration. If you have been using Spring Cloud Netflix before, you may consider migrating to the . Spring Cloud Alibaba Dynamic Configuration Sentinel provides dynamic rule data-source support for dynamic rule management. The and interfaces provided by Sentinel are easy to use. ReadableDataSource WritableDataSource The Sentinel dynamic rule data-source provides extension module to integrate with popular configuration centers and remote storage. Currently, it supports many dynamic rule sources such as Nacos, ZooKeeper, Apollo, and Redis, which can cover many production scenarios. (Original article by Zhao Yihao赵奕豪) Alibaba Tech First hand and in-depth information about Alibaba’s latest technology → Facebook: . Twitter: . “Alibaba Tech” “AlibabaTech”

Flow Control for Your Microservices: Migration from Hystrix to Sentinel

Sentinel Protocol Review — The “RoboCop” for the Wild Wild West of the Crypto Space

We are at the heart of an unprecedented technological, economic and social revolution. With the explosion of digital, artificial intelligence is already everywhere in the products and services we buy or sell. How are we going to live in tomorrow’s business with artificial intelligence? What skills do we need to develop to better manage the machine interface and ensure our employability? Let’s take a closer look at the evocative power of Ada’s little-known story. The story of Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron Who knows that Ada Lovelace was Indeed, few people know that at the beginning of the nineteenth century in England of the Industrial Revolution, Augusta King, Countess of Lovelace, Lord Byron poet’s daughter realized the 1st algorithm for a machine considered the ancestor of the computer. Ada Lovelace’s notes served as a basis for Alan Turing’s work on calculators. The Ada programming language comes from the name of this young genius of mathematics who even anticipated the development of neuroscience. the first computer programmer in history, the pioneer of algorithms? Ada’s writings tell us that her has doubled throughout her short life of extraordinary imagination and creativity. She had “a singular combination of qualities”: extraordinary thinking skills, intuitive perception, concentration skills and attention to her incredible feelings and sensations, “an ability to connect diverse and foreign ideas and sources to his subject “. mathematical genius If “soft skills” were the new challenge of tomorrow? This “enchantress of numbers”, which had perceived poetry in its computer programs, sheds light on the world today. It makes us think about the importance of soft skills in the professional world. Indeed, how to be in full awareness and stay “focus” while we are bombarded with data and solicitations all day? How to stay open, make connections between disciplines, and stay human when robots invade little by little our daily lives? How to keep a poet’s soul when it comes to going faster, stronger, further away? All these questions bring us back to the soft skills, the soft skills that are essential for today’s and tomorrow’s leaders. Indeed, at the time of artificial intelligence, its immense potentialities but also its threats, developing a poetic intelligence is a matter of survival. Poetic intelligence: competence of the future Developing your poetic skills means seeing the beauty of things, connecting with nature, reconnecting with others and with oneself, knowing how to make sense, listening to your senses, finding metaphors, speaking in pictures, is also to gather a thought, to synthesize, to write or to make of one’s hand, to be a little artist, to do what the artificial intelligence will still take a lot of time to do for us.

And What If The Poetic Intelligence Was The Sentinel Of The Artificial Intelligence?

This article is a continuation of my previous article called where I discussed the relationship banks have towards blockchain and bitcoin and the narrative they are creating. “Unbanking of the world: Bitcoin vs. Blockchain” In the series I will be highlighting blockchain projects that I believe have the ability to empower the unbanked people of the world. “Unbanking of the world” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGWUtP_cl-4 The pitch: “The Sentinel Chain is a B2B marketplace specifically designed to provide affordable and secure financial services to the unbanked” Vision: Initial Coin Offerings have been the buzzword for the last couple of months. Investors are flocking towards the newest and hottest ICO´s in the market, in an effort to get their hands on it before whitelists are filled or hard-caps are reached. The huge growth in ICO´s have made it extremely difficult to identify projects that are actually seeking to bring value to the world and not just based on hype and speculative behavior. It is therefore a sight for sore eyes to see InfoCorps´s new blockchain project Sentinel Chain entering the market. Sentinel chain aims to bring banking and financing to the unbanked and underbanked population of the world by creating the worlds first platform that is able to accept the use of livestock, such as cattle as collateral. Blockchain at its core was created with the goal to enable financial inclusisvity and equality to the world. Today, farmers all around the world do not have access to traditional lending and financing services due to the lack of collateral. Farmers, unlike others have much of their capital locked up in livestock, rather than assets such as mortgageable houses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGWUtP_cl-4 Livestock is not recognized as collateral by banks and financing services because of the absence of information in regards to ownership and verified systems that are able to translate livestock into concrete value, resulting in no legally recognized collateral. Livestock will be turned into collateral by creating a blockchain based platform called Sentinel Chain, and through the the utilization of RFID tagging designed to be both tamper and theft proof live stock will be able to be registered, quantified and identified. Furthermore, simple mobile softwares will be used in order to smoothen the ease of use for the people in the unbanked world, while combating the tedious practices of banking and financial institutions. Finally, the underbanked and unbanked farmers of the world will be able to take advantage of lending and financing services. Value proposition and how it works: Sentinel Chain with its first-mover advantage is bound to be groundbreaking if successful. Success would mean (farmers) and a change in how lending and financing services have traditionally been managed and executed. credit access to a huge untapped market The blockchain market is flooded with projects that take on a huge problem to solve, by creating one blockchain to rule them all that will be able scale and grow in order to process the amount of transactions that they are aiming for when mass adoption of the technology happens. However, They want to combine various blockchains in one ecosystem to deal with the scalability and processing issues that may occur in the future. This ecosystem will work together and fulfill each others needs instead of having one blockchain to deal with it all. The ecosystem will be structured as follows: Sentinel Chain has a different approach to this matter. https://sentinel-chain.org/Sentinel.Chain.Whitepaper.v0_31.1.pdf Crosspay blockchain: With each respective country that Sentinel Chain targets, a The private Crosspay blockchain will be utilized as a store of information, where farmers can by the use of the Crosspay mobile app privately access their information, with regards to loans and other information. private crosspay blockchain will be created. The tamper proof RFID tagging technology, cross pay mobile application and blockchain technology will all be vital components of the Crosspay blockchain. They will all be working together to unlock the value of the “dead capital” tapped in livestock. The Crosspay blockchain will use a native cryptocurrency token called , which will be pegged to the value of the country´s native currency. “Local Crosspay Token” Consoritum Blockchain — Sentinel Chain: The blockchain will operate within decentralized governance and is connected to multiple Crosspay blockchains, thus , providing a low-cost cross-border financial infrastructure, enabling flow of liquidity to farmers and the unbanked world via a network of financial providers. Sentinel Chain will be the main chain, where the tokens reside and services, such as crowdfunding, collateral and loans are accessed. creating a hub-and-spoke ecosystem VeChain Blockchain: Sentinel Chain has recently partnered up with VeChain, which is best known for its powerful public provenance blockchain that can be used to combat counterfeit luxury goods. VeChain´s blockchain will be integrated with Sentinel Chain´s blockchain. Information, such as on the VeChain blockchain in a immutable and transparent manner, while keeping the on the Crosspay blockchain. age, weight, health of livestock will be stored publicly farmers privacy in tact Chain of incentives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGWUtP_cl-4 To further strengthen the ecosystem Sentinel Chain wants to introduce a . The ecosystem is maintained by balancing the incentives between the unbanked, insurance companies and the lending outlets. It works as a retention tool for existing parties involved in the ecosystem and as a catalyst for new parties to get involved. Incentives for the various parties: “Chain of Incentives” will be incentivised by financial incentives. They are going to be able to tap into a for micro financing. A market that has not been able to be taken advantage of before, due to transparency and trust issues. Peer-to-peer lending pools, banks and financial institutions huge market Sentinel Chain´s ecosystem of blockchain´s will provide the transparency and trust that has been missing in the past, and lenders will be able to access all the information needed to make a valid decision when issuing loans. Information pertaining to the health and realness of the livestock, the ownership of the farmer of the livestock and whether the livestock has been collateralised for other loans. will be incentivised by this huge market that opens up, in terms of supporting the ecosystem with adoption and regulation, as farmers being able to get financing will in turn increase output and growth. Governments will be have a completely new market open up in front of them and just like the lenders they too will be able to access all the necessary information needed to issue an insurance policy. Insurance companies will have to be transparent about their livestock and themselves in order to be eligible for insurance and financing. Farmers The economic incentive in form of financing is larger then the cost for getting insurance and registering livestock on the blockchain. The Sentinel Chain Token (SENC): SENC will primarily be utilized as a medium of exchange for the Local Community Token (LCT), which is used to make payments for services or participate in projects. Partnerships: As a function of their ties to InfoCorp, Sentinel Chain boasts an impressive list of real world partnerships that will partake in bringing the project to life. According to Sentinel Chain´s whitepaper the partners are as follows: https://sentinel-chain.org/Sentinel.Chain.Whitepaper.v0_31.1.pdf “ : Is the world´s first global marketplace for mutual aid backed by ZhongTopia, the largest online mutual insurance in China with a membership base of 10 million users. MediShares platform can be integrated to Sentinel Chain as financial service proivder and offer its services to Sentinel Chain´s unbanked market.” MediShares “ is Malaysia’s largest bank by both market capitalisation and total assets. It is also one of the largest banks in Southeast Asia, with total assets exceeding US$164 billion and net profit of US$1.63 billion for 2016. As the leading Malaysian banking group with a strong regional presence in South Asia and Southeast Asia, Maybank acts as the main provider of settlement and foreign exchange services to InfoCorp, in facilitating Sentinel Chain’s operations.” Maybank “ is renowned for creating a powerful public provenance blockchain that can be used to combat counterfeit luxury goods. As livestock ownership and owners’ data remains on the Sentinel Chain, livestock, the provenance of the livestock can reside on a public provenance platform that is integrated to Sentinel Chain, such as VeChain. This can be useful in the case of cross-border livestock trade and food supply chain where proof of origin is required.” VeChain Sunny Lu, the CEO of VeChain and Roy Lai, the CEO of Sentinel Chain had the following to say about their partnership: “VeChain’s collaboration with Sentinel Chain represents a new chapter in inclusive finance. Our solutions will build positive social outcomes in ASEAN — by using Blockchain & IoT to lay sound foundational digital infrastructure which will support new data-centric business models.” Sunny Lu, CEO, VeChain. “Sentinel Chain’s partnership with VeChain will preserve the right of every individual, particularly the rural unbanked and underserved — to have full access to quality financial services such as livestock insurance and microfinance.” Roy Lai, CEO, Sentinel Chain. In addition to the partners mentioned above, Sentinel Chain has entered into a partnership with . CloudWell is a fintech company headquartered in Bangladesh which facilitates instant payment services for milk supply and has access to over . CloudWell, through Agent Banking Outlets at the Co-Operative Society or Village Milk Collection Centre, also offers financial solutions to the dairy farmers, herdsmen, and milkmen of Bangladesh. Cloudwell 300,000 farmers The partnership with Sentinel-Chain will allow Cloudwell to offer their customers financial services with better rates. And lastly, Sentinel Chain has created an ambassador network of worldwide influencers to promote Sentinel´s vision. So far two impressive ambassadors have joined their network, . Cetalin Ivan and Bernardo Corti https://www.judgify.me/inbia-ga The prestigious role of a Sentinel Chain Ambassador means he or she carries the commitment to champion the mission of financial inclusion and contribute his or her expertise to improve the lives of the unbanked through the technology of Sentinel Chain — A representive from Sentinel Chain. Cetalin Ivan is a member of the European Parliament for Romania and Bernardo Corti is the Co-founder of Cryptologic and CEO of BitSign. They both will be assisting in spreading the Sentinel project around in Europe and the Latin American region, while establishing firm networks. Team: http://www.jencoinc.com/whats-it-mean-to-be-a-team/ In total Sentinel Chain consists of 9 people. It is a team with a wide specter of experience and knowledge. Noteworthy members of the team are: is the CEO and founder of Sentinel Chain. He has experience in the banking industry and has created payment solutions and micro financing infrastructures. Roy implemented , which is a national real-time networking connecting 14 banks in Singapore. He also spends his time teaching Blockchain Programming and smart contracts at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. Roy Lai FAST is a foundation member and has been a FinTech entrepreneur in bitcoin and blockchain technology since 2013. She is one of the pioneers in the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem in Singapore and took the lead in the implementation and launch of the first ever bitcoin ATM in Singapore and the asian market. Zann Kwan In addition to the a outstanding team, Sentinel Chain boasts a impressive advisory board: is the the founding partner of Fenbushi Capital (with ) and BlockAsset. Fenbushi Capital is best known for its involvement and funding of the crypto sphere and seeks to to accelerate the inevitable future of blockchain economy by supporting as many companies as possible. Fenbushi Capital has experienced partners in both traditional finance and the blockchain sphere. Bo Shen Vitalik Buterin has experience from the fintech and blockchain-space in Asia, as well as Silicon Valley. He is the co-founder of BlockAsset. He has previously invested in blockchain projects such as Zcash, OmiseGo, Qtum and TenX. David Lee For all team members and advisory board, please visit Sentinel Chain´s website. Outlook: Sentinel Chain is a refreshing and robust project that is taking the first step towards financial inclusion for everyone in the world, which is exactly why bitcoin and blockchain was created. I myself believe in this project and am looking forward to the day when i can become part of Sentinel Chain´s ecosystem and get to know unbanked and underbanked farmers on the other side of the globe that may need funding. Unfortunately, Sentinel Chain´s whitelist has been filled and the ICO is going to end on the 8th of March. However, Sentinel Chain´s tokens will hit various exchanges during Q2 of 2018. Stay tuned! Disclaimer: This is not financial advice, please do not invest more than you can afford to lose. For more articles related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain, follow me on Medium and if you have any questions regarding this article I can be contacted at . https://twitter.com/7793Sajwal Sources: https://medium.com/sentinelchain/sentinel-chain-welcomes-its-next-ambassador-bernardo-corti-94e14b4386c9 https://medium.com/@biigpongsatorn/sentinel-chain-ico-review-44586673031a https://sentinel-chain.org/Sentinel.Chain.Whitepaper.v0_31.1.pdf https://medium.com/sentinelchain/sentinel-chain-empowers-rural-farmers-in-bangladesh-through-partnership-with-cloudwell-and-green-2cf4ffab3344 http://www.moneysense.gov.sg/understanding-financial-products/banking-and-cash/types-of-products-and-services/fast.aspx https://sentinel-chain.org/ https://medium.com/sentinelchain/redefining-financial-inclusion-in-todays-world-4be2566c7727 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97TIwlGdLIQ&t=782s

Unbanking of the world: Sentinel Chain

3 Real-World Examples of Why Companies Need Better Email Authentication

In October 2022 I published the most embarrassing article of my career, but 2 years later I am starting to think I might have been right. Strolling through the colossal vendor hall at BlackHat in 2022, every stall made some bold claim about AI. “AI-powered analytics”, “Combining AI with real-time detection” or some other slogan. Whenever you talk to the sales team to ask exactly what their AI did, you either get a succession of AI jargon or a claim about secret research teams in underground vaults in Antarctica. Following on from that, I confidently published an article calling out AI as nothing more than marketing BS… “BlackHat 2022, more A than I”. Fast forward a couple of months and ChatGPT was released. All of a sudden, AI became real and suddenly my brilliant article was a joke, and blatantly wrong. But, after strolling through the BlackHat 2024 vendor hall this year, maybe I wasn’t so far off. It is undeniable that AI is indeed real, and that it has huge potential to change the landscape. And in many ways it already has. Something I didn’t believe 2 years ago. But, as you walk through the expansive halls of Mandalay Bay for BlackHat 2024, you still see the same slogans and I still have yet to find a meaningful implementation of AI in security that I can point to that remotely matches the bold claims. “One thing I notice [in BlackHat] was that people were tired of AI”
Ashish Rajan AI CyberSecurity Podcast Why has AI failed to be effective in security? To preempt your objections, I am aware security vendors are indeed using AI within their products. But so far there are no game-changing results that we can point to, and a lot of this comes down to how they are implementing AI. Following the release of ChatGPT and the subsequent AI models, a lot of vendors rushed to add these new tools to their platforms. The go-to implementation was ‘AI-powered remediation guidelines’ and ‘additional context around alerts’. But here is the reality behind this: that implementation helps mostly the vendor not the user.  This simply means they don’t need to spend as much time on their documentation. Not only that, contextual information is always at least 2 years out of date for most commercial AI models. The reality is that a lot of this implementation was simply a way to make good on vendors' promises behind their ‘AI’ powered products. Another problem that limits AI's ability within security is being able to train AI models on specific security data. Models like ChatGPT are great for showcasing what an AI model can do, but are far from reliable for specific use cases. As Dean De Beer said on the AI + A16z Podcast “ChatGPT is a great hammer, [but] I would certainly not recommend it when you start to productize and perform tasks at scale”. Training a security focused model right now needs extraordinary computational power and even if - and it's a big if - a small company could buy enough GPUs to perform this, the cost would be astronomical! “We have not hit the moment where AI is more than a product side feature”
Caleb Sima AI CyberSecurity Podcast This means only a few big players have the ability to implement AI features that go beyond sending generic data to generic AI trained models. Today AI mostly remains a side-feature in the majority of security tools, almost a gimmick marketing teams can blast into the world. How can you do AI right? For all my skepticism, I will admit there are a few interesting implementations of AI. Purple AI  by SentinelOne, marketed as an AI security Analyst, certainly is impressive to see in action (at least in a demo). So how can you use AI, especially if you don’t have the budget of a Formula 1 team? Empower humans, don’t try and replace them
The simple truth is that right now, we don’t and shouldn’t trust AI to replace a human. It will always be behind if we can’t trust it, and its ability is limited. AI is a powerful tool to assist humans.


Focus on what AI is good at right now, classification.
The original strength of AI was classification. We can feed AI lots of context around a vulnerability and get a model to classify and prioritize vulnerabilities.


Make sure you use the right model
The more prioritized we get with AI, the more we need a model that is equally specialized. Training these models ourselves may be out of the realm of possibilities for most. But there are plenty of models that will outperform the standard hammers. Will the ‘A’ ever be ‘I’ in security? Intelligence is a bold - and fairly ambiguous - word. Each day AI is finding itself more embedded into our everyday lives and security tooling has huge potential for AI. I have little doubt that effective innovative implementations of AI will absolutely be available in security tooling. But we aren’t there yet. Security vendors have been stretching their AI abilities for years, and when ChatGPT threw them a lifeline they tried to bend the tools to their slogans. The reality is that effective implementation will be different to what we had first imagined. AI will be effective when the slogans match the tool, and not the other way around. In October 2022 I published the most embarrassing article of my career, but 2 years later I am starting to think I might have been right. In October 2022 I published the most embarrassing article of my career, but 2 years later I am starting to think I might have been right. Strolling through the colossal vendor hall at BlackHat in 2022, every stall made some bold claim about AI. “ AI-powered analytics”, “Combining AI with real-time detection” or some other slogan. Whenever you talk to the sales team to ask exactly what their AI did, you either get a succession of AI jargon or a claim about secret research teams in underground vaults in Antarctica. AI-powered analytics”, “Combining AI with real-time detection” Following on from that, I confidently published an article calling out AI as nothing more than marketing BS… “BlackHat 2022, more A than I”. Fast forward a couple of months and ChatGPT was released. All of a sudden, AI became real and suddenly my brilliant article was a joke, and blatantly wrong. But, after strolling through the BlackHat 2024 vendor hall this year, maybe I wasn’t so far off. It is undeniable that AI is indeed real, and that it has huge potential to change the landscape. And in many ways it already has. Something I didn’t believe 2 years ago. But, as you walk through the expansive halls of Mandalay Bay for BlackHat 2024, you still see the same slogans and I still have yet to find a meaningful implementation of AI in security that I can point to that remotely matches the bold claims. “One thing I notice [in BlackHat] was that people were tired of AI” Ashish Rajan AI CyberSecurity Podcast “One thing I notice [in BlackHat] was that people were tired of AI” “One thing I notice [in BlackHat] was that people were tired of AI” Ashish Rajan AI CyberSecurity Podcast Ashish Rajan AI CyberSecurity Podcast AI CyberSecurity Podcast AI CyberSecurity Podcast Why has AI failed to be effective in security? Why has AI failed to be effective in security? To preempt your objections, I am aware security vendors are indeed using AI within their products. But so far there are no game-changing results that we can point to, and a lot of this comes down to how they are implementing AI. Following the release of ChatGPT and the subsequent AI models, a lot of vendors rushed to add these new tools to their platforms. The go-to implementation was ‘AI-powered remediation guidelines’ and ‘additional context around alerts’. But here is the reality behind this: that implementation helps mostly the vendor not the user.  This simply means they don’t need to spend as much time on their documentation. Not only that, contextual information is always at least 2 years out of date for most commercial AI models. The reality is that a lot of this implementation was simply a way to make good on vendors' promises behind their ‘AI’ powered products. Another problem that limits AI's ability within security is being able to train AI models on specific security data. Models like ChatGPT are great for showcasing what an AI model can do, but are far from reliable for specific use cases. As Dean De Beer said on the AI + A16z Podcast “ChatGPT is a great hammer, [but] I would certainly not recommend it when you start to productize and perform tasks at scale” . Training a security focused model right now needs extraordinary computational power and even if - and it's a big if - a small company could buy enough GPUs to perform this, the cost would be astronomical! AI + A16z Podcast AI + A16z Podcast “ChatGPT is a great hammer, [but] I would certainly not recommend it when you start to productize and perform tasks at scale” “We have not hit the moment where AI is more than a product side feature” Caleb Sima AI CyberSecurity Podcast “We have not hit the moment where AI is more than a product side feature” “We have not hit the moment where AI is more than a product side feature” Caleb Sima AI CyberSecurity Podcast AI CyberSecurity Podcast AI CyberSecurity Podcast AI CyberSecurity Podcast This means only a few big players have the ability to implement AI features that go beyond sending generic data to generic AI trained models. Today AI mostly remains a side-feature in the majority of security tools, almost a gimmick marketing teams can blast into the world. How can you do AI right? For all my skepticism, I will admit there are a few interesting implementations of AI. Purple AI by SentinelOne, marketed as an AI security Analyst, certainly is impressive to see in action (at least in a demo). Purple AI Purple AI Purple AI So how can you use AI, especially if you don’t have the budget of a Formula 1 team? Empower humans, don’t try and replace them
The simple truth is that right now, we don’t and shouldn’t trust AI to replace a human. It will always be behind if we can’t trust it, and its ability is limited. AI is a powerful tool to assist humans. Focus on what AI is good at right now, classification.
The original strength of AI was classification. We can feed AI lots of context around a vulnerability and get a model to classify and prioritize vulnerabilities. Make sure you use the right model
The more prioritized we get with AI, the more we need a model that is equally specialized. Training these models ourselves may be out of the realm of possibilities for most. But there are plenty of models that will outperform the standard hammers. Empower humans, don’t try and replace them The simple truth is that right now, we don’t and shouldn’t trust AI to replace a human. It will always be behind if we can’t trust it, and its ability is limited. AI is a powerful tool to assist humans. Empower humans, don’t try and replace them The simple truth is that right now, we don’t and shouldn’t trust AI to replace a human. It will always be behind if we can’t trust it, and its ability is limited. AI is a powerful tool to assist humans. Focus on what AI is good at right now, classification. The original strength of AI was classification. We can feed AI lots of context around a vulnerability and get a model to classify and prioritize vulnerabilities. Focus on what AI is good at right now, classification. The original strength of AI was classification. We can feed AI lots of context around a vulnerability and get a model to classify and prioritize vulnerabilities. Make sure you use the right model The more prioritized we get with AI, the more we need a model that is equally specialized. Training these models ourselves may be out of the realm of possibilities for most. But there are plenty of models that will outperform the standard hammers. Make sure you use the right model The more prioritized we get with AI, the more we need a model that is equally specialized. Training these models ourselves may be out of the realm of possibilities for most. But there are plenty of models that will outperform the standard hammers. Will the ‘A’ ever be ‘I’ in security? Intelligence is a bold - and fairly ambiguous - word. Each day AI is finding itself more embedded into our everyday lives and security tooling has huge potential for AI. I have little doubt that effective innovative implementations of AI will absolutely be available in security tooling. But we aren’t there yet. Security vendors have been stretching their AI abilities for years, and when ChatGPT threw them a lifeline they tried to bend the tools to their slogans. The reality is that effective implementation will be different to what we had first imagined. AI will be effective when the slogans match the tool, and not the other way around.

AI is Failing in Cyber

KI misluk in kuber

Süni intellekt kiberdə uğursuzluğa düçar olur

La IA está fallando en el ámbito cibernético

AI epäonnistuu kyberissä

AIはサイバー空間で失敗している

AI កំពុង​បរាជ័យ​ក្នុង​អ៊ីនធឺណិត

AI žlunga kibernetinėje erdvėje

A IA está falhando no ciberespaço

AI iri Kukundikana muCyber

AI กำลังล้มเหลวในโลกไซเบอร์

AI سائبر میں ناکام ہو رہا ہے۔

人工智能在网络领域失败

How Startups Can Bolster Defenses as Cyber Threats Loom in Cloud Era

“Modular” is more than a blockchain buzzword—it’s a fundamental principle that could define the future of web3. The approach, which breaks down blockchain functions into distinct, interconnected layers, is gaining traction across the sector for its ability to enhance scalability, security, and flexibility. From data management to network verification, modular architectures are reshaping how we think about decentralization. This shift isn't just a technical consideration—it has far-reaching implications for transforming users into active network stakeholders, enabling new forms of data monetization, and reshaping the overall trajectory of web3. What’s Modularity in Blockchain Let’s start at the start. Modularity matters in blockchain because, in years gone by, the technology was monolithic. This meant a single chain attempted to handle all functions like execution, settlement, storage and consensus. While initially effective, this design soon encountered scaling challenges, leading to increased costs, reduced flexibility, and high operational overhead. As someone who’s been working in confidential computation and blockchain for a number of years, I can attest to the significant advantages of modular designs that separate functions into standalone yet interoperable layers. For starters, they enhance scalability by allowing each layer to optimize for its specific function. Security is improved through specialized protocols for each component, easily meeting and beating privacy standards set forth by Europe’s GDPR or California’s CPA. Flexibility, meanwhile, increases as developers can update or replace individual modules without overhauling the entire system. Perhaps more importantly, modularity offers cost-effectiveness and choice. By distributing tasks across specialized layers, resource requirements for each component fall. Users and developers can therefore select the modules that best suit their needs, creating a more customizable ecosystem. All of this matters because it helps solve blockchain’s scalability “trilemma”—the challenge of simultaneously achieving decentralization, security, and scalability. By breaking down blockchain functions into modular components, we're seeing innovative solutions that push the boundaries of what's possible in web3. Paving the Way for Scalable and Flexible Infrastructure In my mind, modularity is the key enabler for a new wave of projects and developments in this space. Take Celestia. As a data availability layer for modular blockchains, it's revolutionizing how Ethereum rollups and Layer 2 solutions operate. By providing a dedicated platform for publishing and verifying transaction data, Celestia is addressing one of the key bottlenecks in blockchain scalability. Its use of data availability sampling allows for lightweight verification, making the system more accessible and efficient. Similarly, EigenDA is leveraging Ethereum's existing infrastructure to create a robust data availability solution. By utilizing restaking, EigenLayer creates a more cost-effective and secure environment for rollups to post their transaction data. This approach not only enhances scalability but also maintains the security guarantees of the Ethereum mainnet. CARV, meanwhile, applies modularity to data management in gaming and AI with distinct layers for identity, storage, computation, execution, and verification. Its identity layer, for example, implements the ERC-7231 standard, unifying web2 and web3 identities for a seamless user experience. This modular approach enhances data handling and privacy but also enables flexible monetization, allowing users to selectively share and potentially profit from their gaming data with advertisers while maintaining control. These projects demonstrate how modularity is enabling innovative solutions to longstanding challenges in blockchain. By breaking down complex systems into interoperable components, they're not just improving scalability and flexibility, but also laying the groundwork for a new data infrastructure in web3. Putting Users At The Forefront Of Web3 Beyond the tech, however, it’s exciting to see modularity reshaping the very essence of user participation in blockchain. How? By elevating users from mere participants to essential stakeholders in a network’s integrity and operation. This transformation was powerfully demonstrated late last year when XAI, a Layer 3 gaming solution on Arbitrum, sold tens of thousands of nodes through a public sale. By operating nodes, users can participate in governance while also having the opportunity to earn rewards. The community and sentinel node operators, in this case, qualify to collectively earn 50% of the project's XAI tokens. It's a win-win scenario that aligns user incentives with the network’s goals, fostering a more engaged and committed community. This node success – echoed by other projects like Aethir and CARV – demonstrates how modularity can offer technical enhancements and also create new avenues for user participation and value creation. This model of user involvement is redefining how we think about blockchain networks, moving beyond the traditional roles of validators and users to create a more collaborative ecosystem. This is yet again why modularity matters. It brings us one step closer to a truly decentralized, efficient, and user-empowered digital world—the very promise that blockchain technology set out to fulfill. As developers, users, and businesses continue to explore and leverage modular blockchain designs, we can expect to see even more innovative solutions that push the boundaries of what’s possible in web3. Watch this space. “Modular” is more than a blockchain buzzword—it’s a fundamental principle that could define the future of web3. The approach, which breaks down blockchain functions into distinct, interconnected layers, is gaining traction across the sector for its ability to enhance scalability, security, and flexibility. From data management to network verification, modular architectures are reshaping how we think about decentralization. This shift isn't just a technical consideration—it has far-reaching implications for transforming users into active network stakeholders, enabling new forms of data monetization, and reshaping the overall trajectory of web3. What’s Modularity in Blockchain Let’s start at the start. Modularity matters in blockchain because, in years gone by, the technology was monolithic. This meant a single chain attempted to handle all functions like execution, settlement, storage and consensus. While initially effective, this design soon encountered scaling challenges, leading to increased costs, reduced flexibility, and high operational overhead. As someone who’s been working in confidential computation and blockchain for a number of years, I can attest to the significant advantages of modular designs that separate functions into standalone yet interoperable layers. For starters, they enhance scalability by allowing each layer to optimize for its specific function. Security is improved through specialized protocols for each component, easily meeting and beating privacy standards set forth by Europe’s GDPR or California’s CPA. Flexibility, meanwhile, increases as developers can update or replace individual modules without overhauling the entire system. Perhaps more importantly, modularity offers cost-effectiveness and choice. By distributing tasks across specialized layers, resource requirements for each component fall. Users and developers can therefore select the modules that best suit their needs, creating a more customizable ecosystem. All of this matters because it helps solve blockchain’s scalability “trilemma”—the challenge of simultaneously achieving decentralization, security, and scalability. By breaking down blockchain functions into modular components, we're seeing innovative solutions that push the boundaries of what's possible in web3. Paving the Way for Scalable and Flexible Infrastructure In my mind, modularity is the key enabler for a new wave of projects and developments in this space. Take Celestia. As a data availability layer for modular blockchains, it's revolutionizing how Ethereum rollups and Layer 2 solutions operate. By providing a dedicated platform for publishing and verifying transaction data, Celestia is addressing one of the key bottlenecks in blockchain scalability. Its use of data availability sampling allows for lightweight verification, making the system more accessible and efficient. Similarly, EigenDA is leveraging Ethereum's existing infrastructure to create a robust data availability solution. By utilizing restaking, EigenLayer creates a more cost-effective and secure environment for rollups to post their transaction data. This approach not only enhances scalability but also maintains the security guarantees of the Ethereum mainnet. CARV, meanwhile, applies modularity to data management in gaming and AI with distinct layers for identity, storage, computation, execution, and verification. Its identity layer, for example, implements the ERC-7231 standard, unifying web2 and web3 identities for a seamless user experience. This modular approach enhances data handling and privacy but also enables flexible monetization, allowing users to selectively share and potentially profit from their gaming data with advertisers while maintaining control. These projects demonstrate how modularity is enabling innovative solutions to longstanding challenges in blockchain. By breaking down complex systems into interoperable components, they're not just improving scalability and flexibility, but also laying the groundwork for a new data infrastructure in web3. Putting Users At The Forefront Of Web3 Beyond the tech, however, it’s exciting to see modularity reshaping the very essence of user participation in blockchain. How? By elevating users from mere participants to essential stakeholders in a network’s integrity and operation. This transformation was powerfully demonstrated late last year when XAI, a Layer 3 gaming solution on Arbitrum, sold tens of thousands of nodes through a public sale . sold tens of thousands of nodes through a public sale sold tens of thousands of nodes through a public sale By operating nodes, users can participate in governance while also having the opportunity to earn rewards. The community and sentinel node operators, in this case, qualify to collectively earn 50% of the project's XAI tokens. It's a win-win scenario that aligns user incentives with the network’s goals, fostering a more engaged and committed community. This node success – echoed by other projects like Aethir and CARV – demonstrates how modularity can offer technical enhancements and also create new avenues for user participation and value creation. This model of user involvement is redefining how we think about blockchain networks, moving beyond the traditional roles of validators and users to create a more collaborative ecosystem. This is yet again why modularity matters. It brings us one step closer to a truly decentralized, efficient, and user-empowered digital world—the very promise that blockchain technology set out to fulfill. As developers, users, and businesses continue to explore and leverage modular blockchain designs, we can expect to see even more innovative solutions that push the boundaries of what’s possible in web3. Watch this space.

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