BEST OF THE BEST WIRED: The 51 percent attack on ethereum classic has placed a focus on a well-known flaw of blockchain tech: namely, that a single party can successfully divert funds if they
control 51 percent of the network’s hash power, says a piece in WIRED.
The article provides a brief overview of the multi-day attack, which has seen at least 12 instances of double-spend attacks, with around $1.1 million stolen in total, according to Coinbase. And while ethereum classic developers could reverse the transactions with a software upgrade, doing so “would go against the project’s raison d’etre.”
Ethereum classic, after all, started back in 2016 after the DAO attack. While the ethereum mainnet forked off to restore funds stolen by the DAO hackers, the ethereum classic community opted to continue on with the original chain – lost funds and all.
The DAO attack was different from the current 51 percent attack however, and the most recent attack arguably has had a more serious impact on the blockchain.
THE REST SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW: The Monetary Authority of Singapore has updated its guidance for crypto startups looking to launch initial coin offerings (ICOs) with
a tighter focus on consumer protection, reports the Singapore Business Review.
In particular, these expanded guidelines more strictly enforce existing anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) policies, ensuring that any companies looking to issue tokens will follow know-your-customer requirements. Moreover, crypto tokens will have to follow specific requirements.
While these restrictions may seem onerous, the Singapore Business Review argues that they indicate the nation's support for blockchain technology, as "Implementing balanced, sensible guidelines is part of a steady evolution of the country's regulations towards cryptocurrencies."
CNBC: Ripple is steadily building itself a niche in the
world of interbank payments, says CNBC. The company recently announced it had signed up 200 customers and saw a 350 percent increase in the number of customers sending live payments over the last year.
The company's ability to send cross-border payments quickly and efficiently is seen as a plus, but banks using the existing Society of Worldwide InterBank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) system are not likely to give up their dominance in the field quickly.
That has not prevented XRP from being treated as a speculative asset however. The cryptocurrency saw its price balloon in the 2017 bull market before dropping heavily the next year.
Speaking to this price movement, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told CNBC that "People got really excited about the potential of a new platform and the hype got ahead of the reality. That unequivocally has happened in this space. There's religious fervor around all of them — some people seem to think these are the crusades and this is a holy war [that] is being fought."
