You have probably already experienced amazing results with AI services like ChatGPT, Venice AI, or Grok. Although these next-generation chat bots allow you to intuitively find answers to almost anything, they're missing that personal touch.
Imagine you had a similar AI-powered assistant, but one that could help you with things like personalized health advice, recalling friends' birthdays, or remembering where you bought that fancy toaster last year - all while keeping your data totally under your control.
That could very well be the future brought to you by DePIN project Verida - a small blockchain startup that is harnessing the power of decentralized storage, confidential compute, and token incentives to create private AI agents and a new data economy.
How It Works
The Verida ecosystem is made up of a few components - decentralized storage providers, private user data, confidential compute systems, and the VDA token that glues everything together.
Anyone with underutilized hard drive space can apply to run Verida's open-source node software, stake VDA tokens, and become a Service Provider. Providers set their own rates, and earn VDA tokens for supplying storage to the network.
Although still in its test phase, you can download Verida's mobile app and open a bridge to your personal data from centralized providers like Google, Discord, X, and Telegram. Your data is then collected, encrypted (with your seed phrase), and distributed redundantly among the Providers.
Similar to DePIN project DIMO, users are in control of their data on Verida, and can sell it on data marketplaces for VDA if they choose to do so. The system enables novel things like "personalized insurance offers with decentralized claim management, and patient-owned healthcare data with data marketplaces for researchers."
How is your data kept private?
Using something called confidential compute, TEE chips in distributed GPUs keep your data encrypted during the AI training process. The technicalities of how this is accomplished can be studied in the Verida Technical Litepaper.
The Token
The VDA token resides on the Polygon blockchain, and has a total supply of 1 billion.
Users can pay for their own storage requirements on the Verida network using the VDA token. Applications can also purchase VDA on behalf of their users who cannot afford it.
With a circulating supply of ~200 million, VDA has a relatively low market cap of $3 million dollars, and could be considered a high-risk high-reward investment. Please DYOR if you are thinking about buying.
By the way, if you have any, you can currently stake your VDA tokens and earn ~20% APY on them.
Potential Pitfalls
The idea of having total control over your data and access to personalized AI assistants is indeed a powerful one, but are there any potential downsides?
For example, what happens if you were to lose your seed phrase? Not only could a hacker steal any crypto stored in your wallet, but gain access to all of your personal data too. Decentralized two-factor authentication could be a potential solution to this problem.
The fact that Storage Providers need to apply to be nodes calls into question the decentralization of the network, but I believe this is done in order to be "compliant," so that data can be guaranteed to be stored in a certain country or region.
Also, if the price of the VDA token were to increase wildly due to speculation, would the cost of storing data on the network go up as well, and might that hinder adoption? Data credits derived from VDA, with a stable USD value, could solve such a problem.
Until next time...
Please keep in mind that Verida's token has only been on the market for a few months, and most of the supply appears to be under the control of the team for now. This project is still in its infant stages and comes with a lot of risk, as well as plenty of potential competitors.
If you learned something new from this article, be sure to check out my other posts on crypto and finance here on the HIVE blockchain. You can also follow me on InLeo for more frequent updates.
Related Reading
- Why Jackal Vault Is More Confidential And Secure Than iCloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox
- aoTheComputer Token Drop Coming For Arweave Holders
Resources
Verida Whitepaper Summary [1]
Verida Token Utility Doc [2]
Verida AI Website [3]
AI Robot Image By Venice AI [4]