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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
Zcash co-founder calls to stop funding ‘over $125M’ grants program
Sean Bowe says ZCG has enough money to keep funding projects and wants its share of new ZEC redirected to a reserve for the network. Zcash co-founder Sean Bowe proposed ending the automatic funding stream to Zcash Community Grants (ZCG), saying its treasury was large enough to continue funding projects without further automatic payments. “ZCG has over $125M in funding, and will receive millions more before the spigot is turned off,” Bowe <a href="https://x.com/ebfull/status/2114911107718742451" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">>said</a> Tuesday on X. “The program was never designed to handle this amount of funding.” Bowe shared a draft GitHub <a href="https://github.com/zcash/zips/blob/end-zcg-stream/zips/draft-bowe-end-zcg-stream.md" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">>proposal</a> that would redirect ZCG’s 8% share of the Zcash (ZEC) block subsidy to the network’s sustainability reserve, while leaving its existing funds untouched. The allocation would flow to the Network Sustainability Mechanism until the current funding period ends in 2028. The mechanism is designed to hold ZEC out of circulation and gradually reissue it through future block rewards. In September, Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly, proposed ending the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/dragonflys-qureshi-end-zcash-dev-fund-2028" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Zcash developer fund</a> when its current funding period expires, saying that it risks being “politicized” as it approaches $100 million in value. ZCG’s dashboard <a href="https://zcashcommunitygrants.org/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">>listed</a> 91,453 ZEC and $8.8 million in cash as of Wednesday, with $2.4 million in outstanding grant commitments. The ZEC holdings alone were worth about $111 million at press time. The network’s separate development lockbox <a href="https://zecstats.org/shielded" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">>held</a> 72,351 ZEC, worth roughly $89 million, according to ZecStats. <em><strong>Related: </strong></em><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/prediction-markets-17b-robinhood-exceed-crypto-revenue-2028-bernstein" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><em><strong>HOOD’s prediction markets to add $1.7B to revenue, exceed crypto by 2028: Bernstein</strong></em></a>
SK Hynix's third-quarter profit significantly beat expectations, driven by AI memory demand.
According to CoinWorld news, SK Hynix released its third-quarter financial report, with profits significantly exceeding market expectations, mainly driven by demand for AI memory.
SK Hynix: PC and smartphone shipments are expected to decline, but AI infrastructure demand will drive overall memory market growth.
According to CoinWorld news, SK Hynix stated that shipments of PCs and smartphones are expected to decline due to cost pressures from rising memory prices and supply shortages. However, as demand for AI infrastructure grows, it is expected to outweigh this downward trend and drive continued growth in the overall memory market, with demand exceeding earlier expectations because AI is taking on longer and more complex tasks.
LME copper rises 1%, driven by a recovery in the AI sector and strong Chinese demand.
According to foreign media reports, copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 1% on Tuesday, driven by a recovery in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks and strong demand from China. However, the strengthening of the US dollar limited the gains in copper prices to some extent. ING strategist Ava Mantle said that the rebound in AI-related stocks provided support for copper prices. The market expects that the expansion of AI infrastructure will drive growth in copper demand, while at the same time copper supply remains tight, especially in the Chinese market. Last week, LME copper inventories increased somewhat, but because inventories are highly concentrated in North America, there are still concerns about supply shortages in other regions. Meanwhile, copper inventories on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell by more than 25%.
An unknown whale transferred 134,068,978 USDC, worth approximately $134,095,188.
CoinWorld data: According to Whale Alert monitoring, an unknown whale has just transferred 134,068,978 USDC, worth approximately $134,095,188 at real-time prices.
Polymarket stops Michigan users from opening new sports prediction positions
Coin World News: Polymarket has announced that it will stop allowing users in Michigan to open new sports prediction positions. The state had previously restricted Kalshi, Robinhood, and Coinbase. Kalshi stopped offering sports event contracts due to a preliminary injunction from a state court, with violations punishable by a fine of up to $500,000 per day. Robinhood and Coinbase, under agreements, stopped opening new positions and closed existing ones on October 9 and 10, respectively. Michigan Attorney General Nessel said she intends to make all sports betting comply with state law.
Anthropic partners with six organizations to accelerate drug development
CoinWorld news, Cointelegraph reports, Anthropic is collaborating with six institutions to use Claude to accelerate drug development and has launched a drug discovery project targeting rare childhood muscular dystrophy.
Intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen toward Taif
Cointime news: The Saudi-led coalition stated that it has intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthi forces toward Taif.