In a notable collaboration, Aptos Labs, the developer of the Aptos (APT) Layer-1 (L1) blockchain, announced a partnership with tech giants Microsoft, Brevan Howard, and South Korean telecommunications company SK Telecom for a new decentralized finance (DeFi) platform. Aptos Labs Unveils Aptos Ascend The announcement, made on Thursday, revealed that Aptos Labs is launching Aptos Ascend, which will leverage the technologies of cloud computing platform Microsoft Azure, Azure OpenAI service, and SK Telecom while benefiting from the expertise of Brevan Howard and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to provide digital currency and asset management services to its user base.  This partnership effort aims to set new benchmarks for secure and scalable financial solutions built on the Aptos blockchain, specifically through the launch of Aptos Ascend. Related Reading: Historical Data Sparks Excitement: VeChain Price Poised For A Bullish Breakout? Aptos Ascend introduces advanced Digital Asset Controls designed to provide precision and adaptability in asset management. Key features include customizable tokens tailored to specific financial requirements, access control limited to approved transactions and participants, and increased confidentiality through Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) that ensure compliant transaction details remain secure. Furthermore, Aptos Ascend’s Network Controls empower financial institutions to upgrade their infrastructure and address future financial challenges. This is achieved through customizable solutions that allow adaptation of network settings to meet regulatory requirements, implementation of multi-signature protocols for improved security, and maintenance of transparency through comprehensive audit trails. Convergence Of AI And Blockchain Mo Shaikh, Co-founder and CEO of Aptos Labs, believes the project will “unlock the on-chain potential that financial institutions have been eagerly awaiting.”  Shaikh emphasized that this collaboration signifies the beginning of a ‘financial revolution” and expressed excitement about the future pioneers who will leverage the capabilities of the Aptos Ascend suite. In August 2023, Aptos Labs had already announced their utilization of Microsoft’s infrastructure to deploy new offerings that combine artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology. Among these offerings was Aptos Assistant, a chatbot that provides increased user experiences. Shaikh highlighted the convergence of AI and blockchain as “transformative forces” that shape the internet and society and emphasized the shared vision of Aptos Labs and Microsoft to make this technology accessible to a wider audience. APT Breaks Month-Long Downtrend Following the collaboration and the introduction of the new platform, APT has experienced a significant breakthrough in its month-long downtrend, which amounted to a decline of over 40%. The unlock event of a substantial portion of APT tokens primarily drove this decline. Before the unlock event on April 12, APT had already witnessed a price drop of nearly 16%. In this event, $141 million worth of tokens were distributed, with $100 million allocated to investors, $38 million among community members, and $16 million earmarked for the ecosystem development foundation. The released APT tokens account for 6% of the current circulating supply. Related Reading: Bitcoin To $455,000: Expert Echoes Previous Halving Pattern Currently, APT is trading at $9.54, recording a surge of 6% concurrent with the collaboration unveiling.  Moreover, according to data from CoinGecko, the token’s trading volume has experienced a remarkable increase, reaching $238 million, reflecting a 46% surge compared to the trading volume on Wednesday. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com