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Bitcoin’s Next Big Battle: Restoring its Reputation – Bitcoinist


Bitcoinist

Bitcoin’s Next Big Battle: Restoring its Reputation
Bitcoinist
Throughout its short existence, Bitcoin has successfully confronted several challenges, such as technical issues and internal wars. It has also withstood relentless persecution from governments and powerful financial personages. However, although


Bitcoinist

Bitcoin's Next Big Battle: Restoring its Reputation
Bitcoinist
Throughout its short existence, Bitcoin has successfully confronted several challenges, such as technical issues and internal wars. It has also withstood relentless persecution from governments and powerful financial personages. However, although ...

Spain’s Lawmakers Push for Blockchain Use in Governance

Spain’s ruling party submitted a proposal encouraging the government to adopt blockchain technology in managing public services.

Spain’s ruling party submitted a proposal encouraging the government to adopt blockchain technology in managing public services.

Ethfinex Outlines Its Upcoming Token Listing Changes

Ever since Bitfinex launched its secondary trading platform, there has been some uncertainty regarding how the platform handles things. As such, the Ethfinex team has decided to clarify the token listing process and further explain how some of the decisions are being made behind the scenes. The Ethfinex Listing Policy Explained It is commendable to […]

Ever since Bitfinex launched its secondary trading platform, there has been some uncertainty regarding how the platform handles things. As such, the Ethfinex team has decided to clarify the token listing process and further explain how some of the decisions are being made behind the scenes.

The Ethfinex Listing Policy Explained

It is commendable to see a major company such as Bitfinex focus its attention on launching a secondary platform for Ethereum-based tokens. This is especially true when considering how many Ethereum-based tokens exist today. Culling the wheat from the chaff has been a daunting challenge so far, and it seems a lot more progress needs to be made in this regard. As such, companies such as Ethfinex need to maintain very strict token listing policies.

More specifically, the company prides itself on giving community members the chance to vote on new tokens listed on this platform. That process has attracted a lot of positive attention so far. However, this doesn’t mean Ethfinex can just list any and every token that comes to market. If there is no real community demand for specific tokens, adding them serves no real purpose.

Even so, the community voting process needed some clarification. To participate, users need Ethfinex Voting Tokens, which are issued to Nectar Token holders every two weeks. It is also possible to buy and sell EVT tokens on the Ethfinex platform. The three tokens which receive the most votes will be added to Ethfinex and Bitfinex, assuming they pass all due diligence checks.

Up to this point, the number of tokens available to vote on has been kept purposefully small. Currently, a maximum of 20 tokens can be voted on during every two-week cycle, but that situation will change soon. More specifically, Ethfinex has confirmed they will allow community members to add any token to the voting leaderboard in order to make things a lot more engaging. It will be interesting to see how that decision pans out in the long run.

Additionally, Ethfinex confirmed that there is a way for specific tokens to bypass this voting process altogether. That will only occur in very specific cases, although it can apply to post-ICO tokens, experimental tokens, and partner tokens. While the latter two categories are not exactly surprising, the focus on post-ICO tokens could rub a lot of people the wrong way. Any ICO token generating a lot of interest can be added to Ethfinex without an official vote. It is a rather worrisome prospect, although it seems safe to assume Ethfinex will continue to conduct due diligence.

All of this goes to show the Ethfinex platform is bound to undergo some changes. While those developments appear positive on paper, there will always be some community backlash over the favorable treatment of post-ICO tokens. Even so, most people knew this change was a possibility from day one, considering how Ethfinex operates. Bringing more positive attention to ERC20 tokens is a welcome change, as cryptocurrency is about so much more than just Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Why Bitcoin may soon be worth nothing – New York Post


New York Post

Why Bitcoin may soon be worth nothing
New York Post
I thought we’d finally get rid of bitcoin. But the fake “currency,” which I like to call bitcon, just won’t fade away. Bitcoin’s price rallied to over $6,600 yesterday, but it had been well under $6,000 last week. Even at $6,600, bitcoin is still worth


New York Post

Why Bitcoin may soon be worth nothing
New York Post
I thought we'd finally get rid of bitcoin. But the fake “currency,” which I like to call bitcon, just won't fade away. Bitcoin's price rallied to over $6,600 yesterday, but it had been well under $6,000 last week. Even at $6,600, bitcoin is still worth ...

What Is CyberVein Cryptocurrency?

Currently hovering at #141 on CoinMarketCap, CyberVein is a decentralized database network that’s built on the DAG. Before you start to yawn at the prospect of yet another blockchain startup evolving around data, the CyberVein team has a lot of powerful new tech to offer and a very clear premise. Individuals don’t get paid for […]

Currently hovering at #141 on CoinMarketCap, CyberVein is a decentralized database network that’s built on the DAG. Before you start to yawn at the prospect of yet another blockchain startup evolving around data, the CyberVein team has a lot of powerful new tech to offer and a very clear premise. Individuals don’t get paid for their data. They should. Moreover, their data should be secure. It isn’t.

Through decentralized data storage, CyberVein will ensure that there is no single point of failure for a hacking attack, while allowing public and private blockchains to interoperate so that data can be monetized with individuals’ permission.

Why the DAG?

Many people are calling the DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) the next wave in blockchain development, or Blockchain 3.0. Since Bitcoin does not allow blocks to be created simultaneously and Ethereum faces scalability issues as more users adopt, the DAG presents significant improvements.

Allowing for side-chains, it’s much more suitable for multiple transactions, as different transactions can run on different chains at the same time. It’s also more efficient in storing vast amounts of data. Potentially unlimited, in fact.

Well-known applications like IOTA and IOT Chain are building on the DAG, allowing IoT technology to take off in a secure way.

Improving the DAG

But the DAG is still young, and unfortunately it isn’t all that secure just yet – an issue that CyberVein aims to tackle by making some important adjustments. With its own programming language and a collaboration with several Chinese universities, CyberVein has added ordered contract units to give some uniformity to DAG’s disorder. And its interacting smart contracts make cross-chain activity possible.

It has further established PoC (Proof of Contribution), which rewards people’s contributions to the network. This means that smaller contributors are no longer ignored by the PoW concept.

CyberVein aims to allow for infinite, secure data storage. Transactions between corporations and individuals (or between corporations and other corporations) can take place efficiently and easily through sharded smart contracts, which are immune to network congestion and allow for the automated and simple exchange of data.

Additional Notes

The team behind CyberVein looks to be pretty solid, with a strong technical background. Advisors come from the likes of Cybermiles and Huawei, and one of the founding partners has a background at JP Morgan.

It’s also an extremely transparent project, and anyone interested in following CyberVein can catch them on their Slack channel, Telegram, Github, or directly through their website.
There is no information about ICOs.

CyberVein is a Chinese company, and while China has been tough on ICOs and crypto, they’re actually big supporters of blockchain tech, which probably gives extra weight to this ambitious project. If the Chinese government is allowing CyberVein to develop their own chain, that’s probably a good sign.

Any downsides? The DAG can be kind of a DRAG. Since it’s still under development, the hardest part for CyberVein will be waiting for it to mature and become more secure. Until then, achieving full decentralization may be a challenge. That said, the DAG’s scalability and potential still make this an exciting project to follow.

Syscoin “Attack” and Binance SAFU Coincidence? :EOS, IOTA, Litecoin, Stellar Lumens and Tron Technical Analysis

Overly, alt coins are back in the positive territory adding $11 billion in market cap. Supporting this is the obvious gains in IOTA and at EOS regardless of the RAM issues and the power vested on block producers. Talking of powers and it seems like hackers are becoming a threat after their audacious attack on

The post Syscoin “Attack” and Binance SAFU Coincidence? :EOS, IOTA, Litecoin, Stellar Lumens and Tron Technical Analysis appeared first on NewsBTC.

Overly, alt coins are back in the positive territory adding $11 billion in market cap. Supporting this is the obvious gains in IOTA and at EOS regardless of the RAM issues and the power vested on block producers. Talking of powers and it seems like hackers are becoming a threat after their audacious attack on Syscoin blockchain prompting Binance to halt trading and announcing a SAFU for fund safety. This begs more questions than answers!

Let’s have a look at the charts:

EOS Technical Analysis

According to EOS Nation, who are one of the 21 block producers, the cost of their planned Air Drop is expensive and in the upwards of $150,000. The reason? Well, thanks to their uncontrolled RAM purchases that literally made it impossible and even realistic for normal dApp developers to use the blockchain, RAM prices are spiraling out of control.

Now they are reverting their proceeds back to the EOS Nation Engagement Fund. Just for you to get a gist of how expensive it to create an account, first understand that RAM is a speculative item. With 82 percent of total RAM reserved, the demand is up and it currently costs $4 per KB and $16 for an account to go live in EOSIO. That’s just bonkers and a deterrence for a system that we all thought would see a surge of dApps running on it. None at the moment utilize EOSIO by the way.

Despite the flurry of negativity, EOS prices are on the rise and so are accounts because of their direct correlation. Technically we remain bullish and like yesterday, there is a chance to buy EOS at current prices while conservatives can wait for convincing breaks above $9. How long we have to wait depends on the speed of price change and demand of EOS. Regardless, stops should be at $7.8 or $7, key support lines in the daily chart.

Litecoin (LTC) Technical Analysis

News is Binance is creating a Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) following recent Syscoin events that saw its blockchain attacked. Then, it was clearly demonstrated that hackers mined more than the total network supply of Syscoin prompting Binance to suspend deposits and withdrawals in its platform. As this was happening, traders at Coinome can now trade LTC/XRP and two other pairs.

We are in an uptrend and LTC is up eight percent in the past week reversing July 3 losses and aligning with the general bull pressure in the process. Because of yesterday’s events, today we might see further gains as our buy trigger at $90 is activated. All in all, plans of trading prudently means stops would be at $80, that’s just about July 2 lows.

Stellar Lumens (XLM) Technical Analysis

There is a tad bit of rejection of higher highs after July 3 but that doesn’t mean our over-all short term bullish projection is null. In fact, in line with this stand, current prices provides a perfect opportunity for buyers to load up on dips in lower time frames. After all, according to the way our initial trade plan was set, Stellar Lumens (XLM) long trades are live with stops at 15 cents or June 29 lows.

Tron (TRX) Technical Analysis

Mainnet launches and platform migration is a complex affair and with regards to Tron, there has been a delay by most exchanges. Of the more than 40 exchanges which the Tron Foundation and Justin Sun said would support the new TRX coin, only six allow deposit and withdrawal in TRX as I type this. That’s exclusive of Binance where withdrawals isn’t possible.

Now, to the charts and ideally, June 22, 26 and 28 bear candlesticks are important for our analysis. From the way price action is set, bulls have been successful thus far. Price are trending above June 22 highs but it would be better if they trend above 5 cents.

Doing so mean buyers would have recovered Tron losses of July 22 and that’s important. That’s why we have placed conservative buy triggers there despite the general mood being bullish. In the meantime though, we suggest buying at current prices with stops at 3.3 cents or June 29 lows with risk-on traders waiting for gains above 5 cents as aforementioned.

IOTA (IOT) Technical Analysis

There is a bounce at IOTA and thus far, it has reversed July 3 gains and inching higher in line with our trade plan. As before, we recommend buying on every pullback in lower time frames with targets at $2 and $2.5 as laid out before. Because of these higher highs, stops should be at July 3 lows at $1.

Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are those of the author and aren’t investment advice. Trading of any form involves risk and so do your due diligence before making a trading decision.

The post Syscoin “Attack” and Binance SAFU Coincidence? :EOS, IOTA, Litecoin, Stellar Lumens and Tron Technical Analysis appeared first on NewsBTC.

Paul Krugman Asks “Real Questions” Endorsing Bitcoin Cash: Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Technical Analysis

Most alt-coins under our review are slowing down but not Bitcoin Cash. Regardless of the politics, we still maintain a bullish forecast and for confirmations, Bitcoin Cash buyers must push above $850. From the News The team behind any of the top 10 crypto must be made of steel and have a really thick skin.

The post Paul Krugman Asks “Real Questions” Endorsing Bitcoin Cash: Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Technical Analysis appeared first on NewsBTC.

Most alt-coins under our review are slowing down but not Bitcoin Cash. Regardless of the politics, we still maintain a bullish forecast and for confirmations, Bitcoin Cash buyers must push above $850.

From the News

The team behind any of the top 10 crypto must be made of steel and have a really thick skin. We have seen how Ripple enthusiasts got chopped by the Nobel winning economist Paul Krugman and worst still by the New York Times through their controversial journalist Nathaniel Popper.

All in all and made worse by their recent efforts to drive XRP into the mainstream and prevent traders from just speculating on its price and rather use it for everydays transaction, it was inevitable they would face it rough amongst critics. But really, according to Paul Krugman: If a digital currency isn’t actually used for any transactions, is it, you know, actually a currency?

We know the team behind BCH wants to make this it a mainstream currency and a medium of exchange of choice. By this, they mean fiat and BCH would in the future have the same liquidity levels of liquidity with crypto replacing them more so if governments decide to replace paper money with digital currency.

There are solid reasons to believe that of all the top 10 cryptos that draws the world’s media, Bitcoin Cash stands out. Not because of their fan base but due to that utility factor they emphasize on. Then again, BCH solves real world problems advocating the spirit of decentralization. Though not perfect, they are working towards perfection and many companies now accepts BCH as a payment method unlike Bitcoin for example which companies are booting because of high fees.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Technical Analysis

Weekly Chart

Here we can observe BCH lock-step increment since launch. A stair case to the moon because of those nice higher highs whenever there is a correction. At current prices, Bitcoin Cash is trending at the edge and any depreciation would definitely burst open the sell sluices inevitably pushing prices to $300.

Technically, for assurance, we must see some sort of price recovery and that means this week closing as a bull. That’s perhaps might help propel prices above $850 with every break out accompanied by high trading volumes.

Daily Chart

For clarity, we hold a bullish view following June 29-30 events and the reasons re simple: Prices have been edging higher. Now, while there has been a slow down after July 2 up-thrust, my suggestion for risk-off traders is to load up at current spot prices with stops at $640. On the other hand, conservatives should wait for strong moves above $850 and June 22 highs to initiate longs on every pull back. Over all targets is at $1,800 or May 2018 highs.

Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are those of the author and aren’t investment advice. Trading of any form involves risk and so do your due diligence before making a trading decision.

The post Paul Krugman Asks “Real Questions” Endorsing Bitcoin Cash: Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Technical Analysis appeared first on NewsBTC.

Russian Payment Giant Qiwi Launches Crypto Investment Bank

Qiwi, one of Russia’s largest payment services providers, has launched a crypto investment bank. The bank will be known as HASH and will provide ICO issuers and crypto startups assistance, especially with fundraising. The executives behind HASH are mainly from Qiwi’s blockchain arm, Qiwi Blockchain Technologies (QBT) and will be looking to leverage their experience […]

Qiwi, one of Russia’s largest payment services providers, has launched a crypto investment bank. The bank will be known as HASH and will provide ICO issuers and crypto startups assistance, especially with fundraising. The executives behind HASH are mainly from Qiwi’s blockchain arm, Qiwi Blockchain Technologies (QBT) and will be looking to leverage their experience and knowledge in the blockchain and crypto industries to safely guide young startups through the murky fundraising stage. HASH will aim to attract international funds that focus on digital assets and lower the high risks associated with investing in startups in the blockchain industry.

Taking Crypto Mainstream

HASH will be the first crypto investment bank in Russia and will seek to leverage the rising popularity of cryptos in the country. Citing data from market experts with whom he has interacted, HASH’s project manager pointed out that out of the over 500 ICOs that have raised over $12 billion this year, 60-80 percent of them have involved Russian participation. This shows just how vast the Russian market is and presents a great untapped market for HASH.

Yakov Barinsky, who will serve as the head of HASH, informed local media that the company will get its commissions after the startups it assists raise funds in the market. HASH will be involved throughout the duration of each project, including deciding how the token will work, what it will be used for, and how it will be distributed. After the development, HASH will work to attract international funds interested in investing in digital assets, with Barinsky revealing that HASH is already working with ten such funds, with the largest having a turnover of $100 million.

HASH is also going to have a team that will handle market analysis which, according to Barinsky, is necessitated by the extremely volatile nature of the industry. This volatility is keeping long-term investors from entering the sector, as no one is certain how technological or regulatory developments will affect the industry.

The CEO and majority shareholder of Qiwi, Sergey Solonin, is in full support of the venture. He is interested in becoming a strategic investor in the bank, but he decided to first observe its development from the sidelines, Barinsky said. QBT is also looking into opening a crypto exchange platform, but that will be postponed to 2019 as the company seeks the necessary licensing.

The Russian financial services industry is cautiously optimistic about HASH. According to one of the sources cited by the report, the investment banking world and the crypto industry are ideally quite different, and that may cause substantial challenges down the road. The second-largest bank in Russia, VTB Group, believes that this is the first of many investment banks targeting the crypto industry. According to a press release by the bank, investment banks will continue turning their attention to the young industry, especially as regulation in the industry improves. VTB also believes that blockchain technology will play a major role in the future operations of both investment banks and the traditional banking institutions.

The crypto investment bank is just the latest in a series of moves that Qiwi has taken to cement its place as the leading mainstream investor in the blockchain industry. In March of last year, the company formed QBT, its blockchain subsidiary, which develops blockchain solutions and offers consultation services. Qiwi committed $1.6 million to the project, and with the company specializing in instant payment services, the integration of blockchain with its operations could help it stay ahead of its competitors.

India to Trial Blockchain for Fertilizer Subsidy Management

India is undertaking research into the possible use of blockchain technology in the management of fertilizer subsidies. The venture will bring together the country’s think tank, NITI Aayog, and one of the country’s largest chemical manufacturers, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GNFC). The Indian government hopes that the integration of blockchain technology will […]

India is undertaking research into the possible use of blockchain technology in the management of fertilizer subsidies. The venture will bring together the country’s think tank, NITI Aayog, and one of the country’s largest chemical manufacturers, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GNFC). The Indian government hopes that the integration of blockchain technology will make the process more transparent, immune to leakages, and more efficient. As the research progresses, NITI Aayog will also develop blockchain-based solutions that will help farmers get better yields by advising them on the best fertilizers to use for different soil types.

Blockchain in Agriculture

As reported by The Hindu Business Line, NITI Aayog and GNFC signed a Statement of Intent to partner in the research and application of a Proof of Concept using blockchain to manage the distribution of subsidized fertilizer. NITI Aayog will use the results of the PoC as a basis to recommend policies that will be implemented to make the process better and ensure that fertilizer manufacturers get the subsidies in time. Speaking about the venture, Dr. Rajiv Gupta, the managing director at GNFC, said:

With the adoption of blockchain technology, it is expected that distribution will become efficient and subsidy transfer would be automated and in real time.

According to Dr. Gupta, one of the problems that will be solved is the long time it takes for the subsidies to get to the manufacturers, which consequently affects the time it takes for the farmers to get the fertilizer. The new blockchain-based system will reduce the waiting time to three to four weeks. The delay stems from the lengthy authorization process, with multiple signatures from multiple officials being required to release the money. The documents required to successfully conduct the distribution are many, and this makes the process tedious, Gupta added. The new blockchain system will ensure that farmers benefit from the subsidized fertilizers in time while eliminating the risk of political corruption.

NITI Aayog and GNFC will not only partner on research but also interact with multiple stakeholders, disseminate their findings across various networks, and organize countrywide forums to collect input from citizens. According to a press release from the Press Information Bureau, the country manufactures 31 million tons of fertilizer. The government’s subsidies take two to three months to get to the manufacturers, with the process being marred by inefficiencies. The new process will also integrate smart contracts for the quick reconciliation of transactions with minimal human intervention, the press release noted.

NITI Aayog has been exploring the use of blockchain technology in governance to increase efficiency and transparency. In January, reports emerged that the Indian think tank was conducting research on the application of blockchain technology in education, agriculture and health. These are among the sectors the Indian government considers to be the most crucial. According to an official cited by a local publication, blockchain’s immutability and transparency were the qualities that appealed most to members of NITI Aayog.

With over 1.4 billion citizens, India represents a vast domestic market for blockchain integration. While cryptocurrencies haven’t been received warmly by the government or by the mainstream financial system in the country, blockchain initiatives have kicked off in earnest. One such venture is BankChain, an initiative by 37 banks formed in 2017 to research and develop blockchain products for the financial services industry. Its development and operations are headed by Primechain Technologies, an Indian startup that develops blockchain solutions for clients in various industries.

EU Banking Regulator Reports on Institutional Opportunities and Risks of Implementing DLT

A European regulator has released a report on DLT usage in the financial sector, stating that the technology still struggles with legal uncertainty and poses a number of risks

A European regulator has released a report on DLT usage in the financial sector, stating that the technology still struggles with legal uncertainty and poses a number of risks

FCA Chooses Blockchain Companies for Fourth Cohort of Regulatory Sandbox

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), responsible for conduct and relevant prudential regulation of financial services firms and financial markets in the U.K., has announced the details of the firms selected to …

FCA Chooses Blockchain Companies for Fourth Cohort of Regulatory Sandbox

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), responsible for conduct and relevant prudential regulation of financial services firms and financial markets in the U.K., has announced the details of the firms selected to be part of cohort 4 of its regulatory sandbox, according to an FCA post. Of the 29 firms selected, about 40 percent of them are blockchain focused.

The sandbox’s cohort 4 is a regulatory environment where firms can test innovative products, services or business models in a controlled environment with real customers. Businesses can test out their services with the aim of reducing costs of time-to-market while providing support in identifying “appropriate consumer protection safeguards” to be built into the products. This particular regulatory sandbox is a brainchild of Project Innovate, an initiative the FCA created in 2014 “to promote competition in the interest of consumers.”

Cohort 4

The FCA said it had selected 29 firms out of the 69 that applied to this most recent cohort’s regulatory sandbox. FCA Executive Director of Strategy and Competition Christopher Woolard spoke about the development which he says is “the largest sandbox cohort to date” as a “record number of applicants” met the eligibility criteria.

Of the 29 firms that have been selected for cohort 4, about a dozen of these companies use distributed ledger technology (DLT) for automating issuance of equity/debt, insurance provision and for the application of APIs; others offer services related to crypto assets.

20|30 is one of the companies accepted into cohort 4. It uses the Ethereum blockchain to help companies raise funds by issuing equity tokens. As part of the sandbox cohort, it will be able to test the issuance of equity tokens to investors using Nivaura’s integration with the London Stock Exchange Group (“LSEG”) Turquoise platform. The company seeks to demonstrate a “commercially viable model for tokenizing company equity” and to “establish equity tokens” as a means of raising capital.

“We are delighted to be included in the latest cohort of the FCA’s regulatory sandbox,” said 20|30 founder David Siegel. “This is a significant milestone for the 20|30 team. For the first time, our integration with the Turquoise platform will demonstrate a regulatory-compliant way for institutional investors to purchase equity tokens. We believe this is an important first step to building a new digital foundation for capital markets.”

Also selected by the FCA for sandbox testing, Globacap is a London-based, digital capital raising platform for SMEs and institutional investors which uses DLT to simplify and streamline the issuance process.

It seeks to bridge the gap between SMEs access to global capital while protecting the full rights of investors associated with equity and debt securities.

The company plans to run “an end-to-end capital raising on its own platform,” where it will also issue equity “as an ERC-compatible token, in its Digital Security Offering (DSO).” This trial will also “provide proof of concept” for the company’s new platform which offers SMEs a broader pool of global capital.

Co-founder of Globacap Myles Milston commented on the possibilities that abound for businesses raising capital in this way. He said, “The Innovate team at the FCA have been pivotal in this milestone, allowing us a quicker route to launch our proof of concept while having regulatory oversight.”

Other blockchain companies included in cohort 4 include BlockEx, Capexmove, Etherisc, Fineqia, Fractal, Natwest, TokenMarket, Tokencard, Universal Tokens and World Reserve Trust.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

New Malware Swaps Intended Crypto Addresses for the Hacker’s Own  

Crypto users have been targeted by malware for years now. With crypto becoming increasingly popular, cyber criminals have continued to invent new and more advanced ways to steal them. And now there is a new one that swaps an intended crypto address for one that belongs to the attacker. While it’s not the first such […]

Crypto users have been targeted by malware for years now. With crypto becoming increasingly popular, cyber criminals have continued to invent new and more advanced ways to steal them. And now there is a new one that swaps an intended crypto address for one that belongs to the attacker. While it’s not the first such malware type, it’s much more advanced than its predecessors and is harder for users to notice.

One More Way to Lose Your Crypto

The rise of digital currencies brought with it a renewed appetite by cyber criminals to steal users’ crypto assets. These criminals have turned to various methods which include attacks on crypto exchanges in which millions of dollars worth of crypto has been lost. Others have hacked users’ computers and demanded the ransom to be paid in crypto since they are fairly anonymous. And yet others have hacked users’ computers, and with many users not taking their online security seriously, they have had their credentials stolen and lost their crypto assets as a result.

Cryptocurrency clipboard hijacking is among the latest methods that criminals have turned to, and it’s working. According to a report by the Chinese internet security company Qihoo 360, a malware known as ClipboardWalletHijacker infected over 300,000 computers in June. The malware was, however, not so successful, and only managed to collect $800 worth of Bitcoin. No Ether was stolen.

The latest malware is more advanced, and according to tech site Bleeping Computer, it monitors over 2.3 million crypto addresses. Previously, such malware only monitored a maximum of 600,000 addresses. Once installed on a user’s computer, it is almost impossible to detect as it runs in the background.

Crypto addresses are usually long and combine both digits and letters, making them almost impossible to remember. Many users therefore copy the addresses and paste them whenever they send crypto. The malware is designed to detect every time a user copies a crypto address on the clipboard. It then switches the intended address with one of the addresses belonging to the hackers. With most users not bothering to countercheck the address due to its length, they end up sending the crypto to the criminals.

While it’s not possible to be completely immune to such attacks, there are some steps one can take to protect him or herself. One is to check one’s crypto address once they paste it. While this may seem like a big inconvenience as the addresses are long, it could save one from losing their hard-earned money. Another way to protect oneself is by ensuring they have installed the latest version of their favorite antivirus software and that it’s always running, especially when online.

There is no shortage of malware and scams targeting crypto owners. According to EtherScamDB, there have been 4,468 scams in total that have involved Ether users. Out of these, 720 are still active and continue to take advantage of less-informed crypto users. One scam that has continued to trick people out of their cryptos is the fake giveaways that are usually propagated through social media platforms. The scammers usually have usernames that closely resemble key industry stakeholders such as crypto exchanges, startup founders and other industry leaders. Vitalik Buterin is one of the people whose name is used most by the scammers, so much so that he added “not giving way ether” to his Twitter username. These scammers ask people to send a certain number of Ether or Bitcoin and promise to multiply it and send it back to users. They are especially popular on Twitter and usually accompany tweets by the industry leaders themselves. While they are usually easy to spot, many have fallen for them, with one such scammer having reportedly made $5,000 in a day.

UK Government Body Completes Pilot Tracking Beef Supplies on the Blockchain

The U.K.’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has recently completed a pilot in which it successfully tracked beef supplies using blockchain technology. It is believed to be the first time that the innovation underpinning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has been used to guarantee compliance within the food sector. FSA Successfully Trials Meat Tracking on the Blockchain

The post UK Government Body Completes Pilot Tracking Beef Supplies on the Blockchain appeared first on NewsBTC.

The U.K.’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has recently completed a pilot in which it successfully tracked beef supplies using blockchain technology.

It is believed to be the first time that the innovation underpinning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has been used to guarantee compliance within the food sector.

FSA Successfully Trials Meat Tracking on the Blockchain

According to a report from the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper, the FSA pilot scheme allowed the government body to view and share information with slaughterhouses. This in turn has allowed the tracking of meat supplies in a verifiable way.

It’s believed that such innovations within the food sector could play a role in helping to avoid incidents such as the infamous horse meat scandal a few years ago.

For those unaware, in 2013 there was mass outrage in Europe when it was discovered that many meat products that were believed to be containing beef turned out to be made from horse meat. It’s thought that using the blockchain will allow better tracking of meat supplies and thus reduce the likelihood of such an event occurring in the future.

According to the Telegraph, it’s the first time that the blockchain technology has been used in such a way in the food sector.

The head of information management at the FSA, Sian Thomas, told the publication:

“This is a really exciting development. We thought that blockchain technology might add real value to a part of the food industry, such as a slaughterhouse, whose work requires a lot of inspection and collation of results.”

During the pilot that concluded recently, the FSA worked with government ministers and food sector experts, as well as leading technologists and academics to develop the necessary blockchain infrastructure for such a scheme. There are plans to run a second pilot for the initiative later this month. This time it’s hoped that farmers will be able to access information about the animals they send to slaughter from their farms.

Pending a second success, private companies should be able to join the programme to allow the Food Standards Agency to track and share the results of inspections with the rest of the beef production industry.

Thomas continued, stating that those involved in the pilot had developed a network by which information relating to inspection results could be shared amongst those working at slaughterhouses:

“Our approach has been to develop data standards with industry that will make theory reality and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to show that blockchain does indeed work in this part of the food industry.”

Many experts believe that the blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionise a number of industries. The FSA trial is just one of many experiments by various private and public bodies into how the innovation can disrupt the business practice of many industries.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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