Montco man tells feds he stole $40M in Bitcoin Allentown Morning Call Theodore Price of Hatfield told a local detective and a Homeland Security agent investigating a burglary at the New Jersey home of his girlfriend’s parents that he wrote software to steal between $40 million and $50 million in the online currency …
Montco man tells feds he stole $40M in Bitcoin Allentown Morning Call Theodore Price of Hatfield told a local detective and a Homeland Security agent investigating a burglary at the New Jersey home of his girlfriend's parents that he wrote software to steal between $40 million and $50 million in the online currency ...
CNBCBill Miller, Josh Brown are the latest Wall Street pros to test the bitcoin watersCNBCSome well-known names in the financial industry are buying bitcoin, and more could come. First, investing legend Bill Miller put 1 percent of his net worth into b…
Bill Miller, Josh Brown are the latest Wall Street pros to test the bitcoin waters CNBC Some well-known names in the financial industry are buying bitcoin, and more could come. First, investing legend Bill Miller put 1 percent of his net worth into bitcoin in 2014, according to a Forbes report Tuesday. The digital currency is one of the ...
Below is a detailed flow chart graphic that depicts the possible outcomes to the upcoming scaling proposals that may be implemented in the near future. We hope to help our readers get a better understanding of what’s going on with these specific Bitcoin network developments. Also Read: The Blockchain Split Scenario: Staying Informed and Backing Up Bitcoin
Below is a detailed flow chart graphic that depicts the possible outcomes to the upcoming scaling proposals that may be implemented in the near future. We hope to help our readers get a better understanding of what’s going on with these specific Bitcoin network developments.
A Visual Flow Chart Depicting the Possible Outcomes of Bitcoin Proposals That Might be Implemented
Over the next few weeks, the Bitcoin network and its participants may see some scaling proposals implemented to the protocol and the subject can be confusing. Right now there are multiple scenarios between three possible plans that include a user-activated soft fork (UASF), Segwit2x, and a user-activated hard fork (UAHF). We’ve done a run down of each proposal, community sentiment, and possible outcomes in recent articles to give our readers some information on the topics.
We want to take it a bit further and give our readers a visual glimpse at the possible outcomes of Segwit2x, UASF, UAHF, all the Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIP) involved, signaling periods, and a timeline of dates and requirements. Bitcoin.com would like to also thank our friends Hampus Sjöberg, Eric Wall, and Tomislav Dugandzic for allowing us to use the initial template for this flow chart.
At the moment with the current BIP91 support it looks like we may follow the flow chart’s far left section if the Segwit2x proposal continues to hold support.
Lots of Support Directed at the ‘New York Agreement’
At the moment there is a lot of support showing for BIP91 with intentions to activate Segregated Witness (Segwit) as part of the “New York Agreement” (NYA) roadmap. At the time of writing as you can see from the chart below BIP91 support is approximately 80.5 percent and the proposal needs to maintain 80 percent to lock in Segwit over 336 blocks. Following a successful lock in period another 336 blocks has to pass to successfully activate Segwit. After the Segwit activation, NYA participants agreed to implement a 2MB hard fork which is proposed to take place ~3 months after the Segwit activation.
BIP91 support is 80.5 percent on July 19, 2017.
User-Activated Forks and Exchange Contingency Plan Announcements
Another part of the discussion is the two user-activated forks that may be attempted on August 1. If Segwit2x fails to activate Segwit, then there is a possibility both user-activated forks will proceed with their plans on that date. UASF participants will then try to activate Segwit using full nodes aimed at blocking non-segwit blocks and hoping hash power will follow this move. Further, the UAHF is a contingency plan against this effort and plans to utilize a bitcoin implementation called Bitcoin ABC. This plan will remove segwit from the bitcoin code and use an adjustable block size instead. Moreover, the company Viabtc has pledged to support Bitcoin ABC with its own mining pool and will call the token “Bitcoin Cash” if the protocol splits off from the main chain.
Nineteen bitcoin trading platforms have issued statements as of July 19, 2017, concerning possible forks over the next few weeks.
Additionally, there have been some exchanges that have announced how they will handle a possible Bitcoin network fork. So far multiple exchanges have issued contingency plans and warnings about the possible network changes planned. This includes exchanges such as Bity, GDAX and Coinbase, China’s top three trading platforms, and thirteen Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges have made statements concerning these events. On August 1 specifically, these exchanges say they will likely disable deposits and withdrawals, and possibly halt trading as well.
In addition to the announcements from nineteen global bitcoin exchanges on July 19, the firm Coinbase announced it would not support the user-activated hard fork and its associated token. The San Francisco-based bitcoin company says it will not honor the UAHF blockchain because “it is incompatible with the current Bitcoin ruleset and will create a separate blockchain.” Coinbase users are advised to withdraw their bitcoins from Coinbase by July 31st if they desire access to UAHF coins. Nevertheless, the trading platform will monitor the UAHF situation but doesn’t plan on supporting any new blockchains anytime soon.
What do you think about the upcoming network changes? Let us know what you think about our flow chart in the comments below.
Images via Shutterstock, XBT.eu, Hampus Sjöberg, Eric Wall, Tomislav Dugandzic, JCBA, Pixabay, and Bitcoin.com.
Do you want to vote on important Bitcoin issues? Bitcoin.com has acquired Bitcoinocracy, and rebranded the project to Vote.bitcoin.com. Users simply sign a statement with a non-empty Bitcoin address and express their opinions. The project focuses on determining truth backed by monetary value and transparency.
Loci, the development firm behind InnVenn, a patent protection solution designed specifically for inventors, is engaging in an initial coin offering (ICO) campaign to extend its platform to the Ethereum blockchain network. One unique aspect of the ICO of Loci is that the company already has a working application that is utilized by an active … Continue reading Loci ICO Aims to Combat Patent Fraud With Ethereum Blockchain Network
Loci, the development firm behind InnVenn, a patent protection solution designed specifically for inventors, is engaging in an initial coin offering (ICO) campaign to extend its platform to the Ethereum blockchain network. One unique aspect of the ICO of Loci is that the company already has a working application that is utilized by an active … Continue reading Loci ICO Aims to Combat Patent Fraud With Ethereum Blockchain Network
GOLDMAN SACHS: Bitcoin is going to test $3000 and could get as high as $3700 Business Insider Bitcoin Attendants pose with a bitcoin sign during the opening of Hong Kong’s first bitcoin retail store. Reuters/Bobby Yip. Bitcoin has held strong support and has its sights set on a test of the $3,000 level, according to Goldman Sachs. In a note …
GOLDMAN SACHS: Bitcoin is going to test $3000 and could get as high as $3700 Business Insider Bitcoin Attendants pose with a bitcoin sign during the opening of Hong Kong's first bitcoin retail store. Reuters/Bobby Yip. Bitcoin has held strong support and has its sights set on a test of the $3,000 level, according to Goldman Sachs. In a note ...
newsBTCBitcoin Could Regain Upside Momentum after SegWit2x Activation After AllnewsBTCPeople who are hodling (nope, it is not a typo) Bitcoin will surely have noticed what volatility the market is experiencing and maybe it is due to the upcoming Segwit…
People who are hodling (nope, it is not a typo) Bitcoin will surely have noticed what volatility the market is experiencing and maybe it is due to the upcoming Segwit activation that will take place on August 1st. Bitcoin, in fact, experienced an important drop in prices: something about 40% from its all-time high (almost … Continue reading Bitcoin Could Regain Upside Momentum after SegWit2x Activation After All
People who are hodling (nope, it is not a typo) Bitcoin will surely have noticed what volatility the market is experiencing and maybe it is due to the upcoming Segwit activation that will take place on August 1st. Bitcoin, in fact, experienced an important drop in prices: something about 40% from its all-time high (almost … Continue reading Bitcoin Could Regain Upside Momentum after SegWit2x Activation After All
Recent NSA exploits were partially responsible for multiple major ransomware outbreaks. In most cases, these NSA exploits could only be leveraged against older versions of the Windows operating system. It now appears that a security researcher has successfully made the ETERNALSYNERGY exploit applicable to newer versions of the popular OS. If researchers can make this happen, criminals could certainly do so as well. ETERNALSYNERGY Now Affects Newer Windows Versions Too The NSA has built many different exploits to take advantage of weakened protocol found in the Windows operating system. In most cases, these exploits relate to the SMB protocol, which can be
Recent NSA exploits were partially responsible for multiple major ransomware outbreaks. In most cases, these NSA exploits could only be leveraged against older versions of the Windows operating system. It now appears that a security researcher has successfully made the ETERNALSYNERGY exploit applicable to newer versions of the popular OS. If researchers can make this happen, criminals could certainly do so as well.
ETERNALSYNERGY Now Affects Newer Windows Versions Too
The NSA has built many different exploits to take advantage of weakened protocol found in the Windows operating system. In most cases, these exploits relate to the SMB protocol, which can be exposed to external connections. Ever since the Shadow Brokers unveiled these exploits to the public, we have seen multiple global ransomware campaigns leveraging them. WannaCry is just one of those examples.
ETERNALSYNERGY is one of the NSA exploits exposed by The Shadow Brokers several months ago. At the time of this reveal, this exploit would only work on older versions of the Windows operating system. All versions up to and including Windows 8 were prone to this SMB exploit. Most security-aware computer users have switched to newer versions of the operating system, but there are plenty of vulnerable machines running older Windows versions right now.
Microsoft has always claimed that the technique used by ETERNALSYNERGY would not work with newer versions of Windows due to several security improvements found in the Windows kernel. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case any longer. Worawit Wang, a Thai security researcher, has successfully ported the exploit to newer versions of Windows. The ported version targets the exact same vulnerability using a different technique.
The new ETERNALSYNERGY exploit will not crash a Windows system. This exploit affects a long list of Windows versions, including Windows 8.1, Windows 2016, and many others. Users of Windows 10 remain safe from harm for the time being, but that could change.
About 75% of all Windows PCs in the world are now vulnerable to this new attack. These vulnerable computers are actually susceptible to three different exploits, including the original ETERNALSYNERGY and ETERNALROMANCE. Some form of solution needs to be found before more damage is done. Protecting one’s computer should be one’s top priority, and upgrading to Windows 10 seems to be the best course of action.
Wang also made his own exploit public, which could have some interesting consequences. There is also a step-by-step guide on how people can leverage this exploit against vulnerable computers. Any user not implementing the MS17-010 security update soon will remain vulnerable to these attacks. It will be interesting to see if more NSA exploits will be ported to Windows 10 in the future.
CoinTelegraphSegwit Reaches 80% of the Bitcoin Hashrate as Activation LoomsCryptoCoinsNewsIf it does, then the 80% segwit miners will fork the 20% non-segwit miners off the network, something which long has been argued by Bitcoin Core would lead to a c…
It’s the new currency for our new, digital times – but how many online – and offline – services actually accept Bitcoin? Read on to find out! Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that was invented by an unknown programmer using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, is a digital payment system which is created and controlled electronically. Bitcoins are not printed like traditional currency, but are used in a peer-to-peer system with transactions taking place directly between users, without a middleman. Using Bitcoins More and more merchants are accepting Bitcoin as they become more popular among people. There are a number of advantages of
It’s the new currency for our new, digital times – but how many online – and offline – services actually accept Bitcoin? Read on to find out!
Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that was invented by an unknown programmer using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, is a digital payment system which is created and controlled electronically. Bitcoins are not printed like traditional currency, but are used in a peer-to-peer system with transactions taking place directly between users, without a middleman.
Using Bitcoins
More and more merchants are accepting Bitcoin as they become more popular among people. There are a number of advantages of using Bitcoins which explains their increasing popularity. They can be used to purchase goods anonymously, while small businesses will not have to cope with credit card fees. As an online currency they are ideal because, not being tied to any one country, international payments are cheap with no conversions needed. People who own Bitcoins store them in a digital wallet on their computer or in the cloud. This acts like a bank account, allowing users to send or receive money. There are a growing number of businesses that accept Bitcoins as currency.
Entertainment and Electronics
Companies such as Microsoft allow users to buy content using Bitcoins on XBox and Windows Store. TigerDirect, a major online electronics retailer, allows users to make purchases with Bitcoin. Dell, the American privately owned multinational computer technology company is another big name that accepts Bitcoins. Newegg.com, an online electronic retailer is another store that is now using BitPay to accept Bitcoins as a payment method.
Online Casinos
An increasing number of online casino sitesaccept Bitcoins as a payment option. This allows customers to deposit and withdraw into their casino account using the digital currency, offering all the benefits that Bitcoin users enjoy, such as anonymity, security and low fees. While there are fewer choices available for Bitcoin users when it comes to finding a casino to make deposits via this method, it is a welcome option. Zynga, the mobile gaming company, is another big name in the gaming industry that accepts Bitcoins.
Travel Companies
Travel companies are another category of businesses that accept Bitcoins and users will have a choice of a number of different companies to use if they are looking to make payments using this currency. CheapAir.com, a travel booking site for car rentals, hotels and airline tickets accepts Bitcoins, as well as Expedia.com, an online travel booking agency. Bitcoin.Travel is another site for accommodation, bars, beauty salons, apartments and attractions around the world that accepts Bitcoin.
Food
This is not an area that you may expect would accept Bitcoins; however there are a growing number of businesses that are accepting this payment method. PizzaforCoins, Whole Foods, Bitcoincoffee.com and Helen’s Pizza in New Jersey are all examples of food stores that accept Bitcoins.
Going Forward
This is a small taste of the many businesses that accept Bitcoin, with the number and categories of businesses growing rapidly. Small businesses certainly aren’t missing out on this growing trend and with the constant advances in technology, it is becoming simpler and quicker to use Bitcoin as a form of currency than ever before.
Below is a detailed flow chart graphic that depicts the possible outcomes to the upcoming scaling proposals that may be implemented in the near future. We hope to help our readers get a better understanding of what’s going on with these specific Bitcoin network developments. Also Read: The Blockchain Split Scenario: Staying Informed and Backing Up Bitcoin 
Recent NSA exploits were partially responsible for multiple major ransomware outbreaks. In most cases, these NSA exploits could only be leveraged against older versions of the Windows operating system. It now appears that a security researcher has successfully made the ETERNALSYNERGY exploit applicable to newer versions of the popular OS. If researchers can make this happen, criminals could certainly do so as well. ETERNALSYNERGY Now Affects Newer Windows Versions Too The NSA has built many different exploits to take advantage of weakened protocol found in the Windows operating system. In most cases, these exploits relate to the SMB protocol, which can be
It’s the new currency for our new, digital times – but how many online – and offline – services actually accept Bitcoin? Read on to find out! Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that was invented by an unknown programmer using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, is a digital payment system which is created and controlled electronically. Bitcoins are not printed like traditional currency, but are used in a peer-to-peer system with transactions taking place directly between users, without a middleman. Using Bitcoins More and more merchants are accepting Bitcoin as they become more popular among people. There are a number of advantages of