Happy Thanksgiving IC3 Friends😊! | |
As we gather to celebrate this time of gratitude, we want to express our appreciation for your continual support to IC3. This November, we are thrilled to bring to your attention some new research, especially our notable breakthroughs in DAOs. Moreover, our latest "Founders in Web3" interview series features Emin Gün Sirer from Ava Labs, our winter retreat are in full swing, and we're still open to welcoming sponsors. We also encourage you to take advantage of some upcoming paper submission opportunities. More details on these exciting developments await in the rest of this newsletter.🦃🥂 | |
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DAO Decentralization: Voting-Bloc Entropy, Bribery, and Dark DAOs by James Austgen (Cornell, IC3), Andrés Fábrega (Cornell, IC3), Sarah Allen (Flashbots, IC3), Kushal Babel (Cornell, IC3), Mahimna Kelkar (Cornell, IC3), Ari Juels (Cornell, IC3):
- The authors address the limitations of existing decentralization metrics in DAOs by introducing Voting-Bloc Entropy (VBE), to formalize a broad notion of decentralized decision-making on DAO proposals. Their analysis using VBE reveals insights into the effects of vote delegation, proposal bundling, and bribery on DAO governance. They also highlight the emerging threat of Dark DAOs to DAO integrity, demonstrating this with a practical Dark-DAO prototype using TEEs in the Oasis Sapphire blockchain for attacks on Ethereum DAOs.
Multi-Factor Key Derivation Function (MFKDF) for Fast, Flexible, Secure, & Practical Key Management by Vivek Nair (UC Berkely, IC3) and Dawn Song (UC Berkeley, IC3):
- The authors present the first general construct of Multi-Factor Key Derivation Function (MFKDF), enhancing password-based key derivation functions (PBKDFs) by integrating additional authentication factors like TOTP, HOTP, and hardware tokens. This innovation significantly improves security with minimal extra computational load. They also develop a threshold MFKDF for client-side key recovery and propose a method for enforcing detailed key derivation policies. This advancement not only improves the security of existing PBKDF systems but also enables new applications where traditional PBKDFs were unsuitable.
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Latest in Founders in Web3 Series 🔥
Take a Sneak Peak at Gün and IC3's story!👀
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In IC3's latest Founders in Web3 interview, Emin Gün Sirer, CEO of Ava Labs and former IC3 Co-Director, highlights IC3’s founding vision as a global blockchain research hub where "Just Good Researchers Doing Good Research" thrive. He also notes that much of Ava Labs' work is rooted in the practical and influential research developed at IC3.🎉 Stay tuned for the full interview on our Youtube channel! | |
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FC'24 will be hosted at Curacao Marriott Beach Resort, Willemstad, Curaçao from March 4-8, 2024. IC3 faculty member Prof. Elaine Shi (CMU) is co-chairing this wonderful opportunity. The DeFi Workshop Organizing Committee also includes IC3 Research Program Manager Sarah Allen and IC3 Student Ariah Klages-Mundt (Cornell, Gyroscope).
🌟Submit Your Work to CfC St. Moritz Academic Research Track (CfC-SMART) by November 24, 2023:
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CfC-SMART will be co-located with the 6th Crypto Finance Conference and will take place on January 12, 2024, at the Suvretta House in St. Moritz, Switzerland. IC3 faculty member Prof. William Cong (Cornell) will present the keynote speech.
🎓Exciting Opportunity to Work with IC3 Faculty:
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IC3 Associate Director Prof. Andrew Miller (UIUC) is hiring up to one Ph.D student next year for Decentralized Systems Lab at UIUC to explore one of two focus areas: 1) decentralized governance and bridging to political science 2) privacy smart contract programming models using ideal functionalities. Contact info can be found at Prof. Andrew Miller's website: soc1024.ece.illinois.edu
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🏆Crypto Wash Trading by IC3 faculty Prof. William Lin Cong (Cornell), and his fellow researchers including Xi Li (University of Reading), Ke Tang (Tsinghua University), Yang Yang (University of Bristol) won the Best Paper at Management Science'23.
💡In the new episode of Block & Order, "Carla Reyes Calls In, IRS Crypto Tax Proposal Response, SEC & DOJ Charge SafeMoon with Fraud", IC3 faculty member Prof. Carla Reyes (SMU) shares her perspective on corporate governance and decentralized frameworks, various strategies from different states, and the future for DAOs.
| 🌟 IC3 faculty member Prof. Dawn Song (UC Berkeley) delivered the keynote speech for the 5th UBRI Connect hosted by RippleImpact. | ⭐️IC3 faculty member Prof. Elaine Shi (CMU) also presented her research Unveiling the Future: From Theory to Transformation with Oblivious RAM at the 5th UBRI Connect. |  | |
🎙️IC3 Co-Director Prof. Ari Juels (Cornell Tech), will deliver the keynote talk Rethinking the 'D' in DAO: Voting-Bloc Entropy, Bribery, and Dark DAOs for ACM CCS Workshop on Decentralized Finance and Security
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Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are an appealing new way to govern communities through code. There's wide acknowledgment that the 'D,' i.e., 'Decentralization' in DAOs, requires active participation by diverse stakeholders. But how can we accurately measure such participation? In this talk, I'll introduce a metric called Voting-Bloc Entropy (VBE). A rethinking of standard metrics like token holdings, VBE offers a nuanced understanding of community dynamics within DAOs. It also yields new insights about how to preserve and increase decentralization. One such insight is a looming challenge: systemic bribery. To underscore the practical nature of this threat and the importance of countermeasures, I'll describe our implementation of a Dark DAO—a private market for vote-selling.
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Announcing IC3 2024 Winter Retreat in Switzerland! | |
We are thrilled to announce that the IC3 2024 Winter Retreat will once again take place in the picturesque surroundings of Les Diablerets, Switzerland! After the tremendous success of our previous retreats, we are excited to continue this tradition in the Swiss Alps. See the IC3 2023 Winter Retreat here. | |
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What to Expect:
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Engaging Discussions: Dive into insightful discussions on the latest advancements and trends in blockchain.
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Social Opportunities: Connect with fellow researchers, industry experts, and IC3 partners, fostering collaborations and friendships through networking and group activities.
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Breathtaking Scenery: Immerse yourself in the stunning natural beauty of Les Diablerets.
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Eligibility and Sponsorship Opportunity:
Please note that the winter retreat is an IC3 members event, limited to current IC3 partners, academic members, and fellows. Special exceptions will be made for industry professionals from companies sponsoring the winter retreat. Please reach out to IC3 Community Manager, Bria Han (jh2584@cornell.edu) to request sponsorship details and the application form. The sponsorship application is ONLY for non-IC3 members/partners, existing IC3 partners are invited to send up to 5 attendees to participate regardless of retreat-specific sponsorship.
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Please send any new research or presentations to jh2584@cornell.edu to be included in the next research update. Thanks for reading and have a great thanksgiving weekend!
Best wishes,
Bria Han
IC3 Community Manager
LinkedIn | Twitter | initc3.org
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The Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts (IC3)
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