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More →Arthur Hayes Plans to Build Derivatives Around AI Compute
Arthur Hayes published a new essay on October 27 outlining futures and perpetual swaps tied to Flop Network’s proposed compute market, where AI agents would pay for computing power using FLOP. The plan aims to establish a reference price for compute that traders could use to build financial contracts around the resources AI systems consume. In a post on X, Hayes called his essay “The Trifecta” and <a href="https://x.com/CryptoHayes/status/2114857087004201325?s=20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">described</a> it as a blueprint for entrepreneurs seeking to build derivatives for the AI agent economy. His central idea is that a liquid spot market for computing power could <a href="https://cryptohayes.substack.com/p/the-trifecta" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">provide</a> the pricing benchmark needed for futures and perpetual swaps. The proposed Flop Reference Compute Rate (FRCR) would be calculated hourly using a volume-weighted FLOP price per GigaFLOP of computing capacity. Quarterly futures would settle on the last Friday of March, June, September, and December, with contracts using US dollars for margin and profits. Hayes explained that the dollar-based structure would require a quanto derivative, a contract whose payout uses a different currency from its underlying asset. Because the compute market would be priced in FLOP while traders could prefer dollar-denominated returns, pricing the contract would require an adjustment for the relationship between the FRCR and the FLOP-to-dollar exchange rate. The proposed perpetual swap would use an eight-hour time-weighted average of the difference between its trading price and the FRCR to calculate funding payments. As with crypto perpetuals, traders on the expensive side of the contract would pay those on the cheaper side, depending on the premium. Market makers could recreate futures exposure by buying or supplying Flop Compute Units (FCUs), which represent reserved inference capacity for a specified AI model and delivery time. Hayes’s design also requires suppliers to post FLOP bonds, which they risk losing if they fail to deliver the promised computing work. The derivatives proposal depends on Flop Network first establishing a functioning spot market. Hayes argues that existing indexes tracking chip rental prices and individual AI token prices provide incomplete information because both are derivatives of the underlying cost of computation. Under his design, network blocks would record inference tasks, the computing work completed, and the fees paid to miners. Those receipts would help calculate the exchange rate between FLOP and computing capacity, giving buyers and suppliers a common reference. Hayes <a href="https://cryptopotato.com/arthur-hayes-called-ai-a-bubble-now-hes-launching-an-ai-project/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">introduced</a> Flop Labs in August 2026, describing its proposed native token FLOP as “food for your AI agent.” In an August 27 explanation, the project <a href="ht
Zcash Co-founder Sean Bowe Proposes Ending ZCG Funding Stream, Citing $125M Treasury
Zcash (ZEC) co-founder Sean Bowe proposed on Monday to end the 8% block reward share paid to Zcash Community Grants (ZCG), saying the program already holds over $125 million. Bowe filed the change as a draft Zcash Improvement Proposal (ZIP) that would send that reward share to the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM) until the stream’s scheduled end. That mechanism withholds the coins from issuance and starts paying them back out as block rewards in February 2031. Under the draft, ZCG would keep its existing treasury and could still approve grants from it. “The program was never designed to handle this amount of funding,” Bowe wrote on X. It’s time to turn off the ZCG funding stream. ZCG has over $125M in funding, and will receive millions more before the spigot is turned off. The program was never designed to handle this amount of funding. — Sean Bowe (@ebfull) <a href="https://x.com/ebfull/status/2114911107718742451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">October 27, 2026</a> Bowe’s figure comes from a dashboard linked on ZCG’s website. It listed 91,453 ZEC and $8.8 million in cash at an October 21 block. Approved grants still unpaid came to $2.4 million. Bowe valued the coins at $1,300 each to reach $125.3 million. The same dashboard counts another 110,049 ZEC due to ZCG before the stream ends on November 24, 2028. According to the draft ZIP, at the dashboard’s price of $1,241.61, those coins are worth $136.6 million, more than the program holds now; and, according to a Financial Privacy Foundation report, ZCG spent $1.53 million in the first quarter of 2026 <span>against that intake</span>. The stream adds 144 ZEC a day, which Bowe put at $68.3 million a year at the same coin price. Bowe’s draft landed alongside other proposals on the Zcash forum. For instance, Maxime Desalle’s proposal would also send ZCG’s remaining treasury to the NSM. Desalle cited a February coinholder vote in which 98.6% opposed Zcash Shielded Assets. ZCG approved another $455,000 for Shielded Assets work in June, he said. Turnout was 7.25% of circulating ZEC, per the Zcash Foundation. In June, ZCG approved $455,000 for a QEDIT test network covering Shielded Assets and other deferred features, its minutes show. Josh Swihart, founder and CEO of Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL), said: “It’d be a mistake to kill only one part of the dev fund.” He added the 12% Coinholder-Controlled Fund, which accrues about 216 ZEC a day, should end too. Swihart’s company is the one former Electric Coin Company staff <a href="https://cryptopotato.com/zcash-governance-crisis-forces-full-exit-of-electric-coin-company-staff/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">formed</a> after a governance dispute. Responding to Swihart’s plan, Bowe wrote that he would also personally back a separate proposal to strip ZCG’s existing treasury. Ian Miers, one of Zcash’s founding scientists, objected to the NSM as the destination, stating that the reserve ultimately pays miners and could
Bitcoin breaks back above $81,000
CoinWorld data: According to WatcherGuru, the price of Bitcoin has climbed back above $81,000.
BTC breaks through the $81,000 mark
CoinWorld data: BTC is currently at $81,076.40, up 0.10% in 5 minutes. Please be aware of market volatility.
Brian Armstrong: All asset classes are moving on-chain, with tokenized stocks and stablecoins growing rapidly.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says all asset classes are migrating onchain. Tokenized equities and stablecoins (which are really just tokenized fiat) are growing rapidly, with much more to come. He stressed that Coinbase will continue to update the financial system.
The Trump administration may allow more Russian diesel into the market.
According to CoinWorld news, CNBC reported that the Trump administration may allow more Russian diesel into the market, the Energy Secretary said in an interview with CNBC.
Since Trump took office, the U.S. private sector has added more than 1 million jobs, while the number of federal government employees has decreased by 328,000, falling to the 20th
According to CoinWorld news, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent: Since Trump took office, the U.S. private sector has added more than 1 million jobs, while the number of federal government employees has decreased by 328,000, falling to the lowest level since the 1960s.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley vie for dominance in massive AI deals.
CoinWorld news: Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are currently competing fiercely for dominance in massive AI deals, with both sides striving to secure the "lead left" title in underwriting roles. Recent deals include SpaceX's $86 billion IPO, Alphabet's $85 billion stock sale, Meta's $98 billion stock sale, Broadcom's $63 billion AI chip financing deal, and Anthropic's potential $100 billion IPO.
The founder predicts that most U.S. stocks will achieve 24/7 trading within 3 to 6 months.
CoinWorld news, according to Cointelegraph, a certain founder expects most U.S. stocks to achieve 24/7 trading within the next 3 to 6 months, calling it a major step that reflects the trend of cryptocurrency.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: AI agents drive surge in token usage and GPU demand
According to CoinWorld news, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that AI agents are driving significant growth in token usage and GPU demand.