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UPGRADE DELAYED: Ethereum's system-wide Constantinople upgrade was postponed Tuesday after blockchain audit firm ChainSecurity discovered that one of the planned changes – Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1283 – would have allowed "reentrancy" attacks, meaning malicious actors would be able to withdraw funds from the same wallet forever.
Because the upgrade was expected to activate late Jan. 16, core developers and network participants made the decision to delay the hard fork for the moment. A new activation block will be decided upon during another call planned for Friday. A decision on how to patch the vulnerability that could be exposed through EIP 1283 is also yet to come.
To prevent nodes and miners from executing the fork, ethereum clients Parity and Geth have released new software versions, recommending that users upgrade immediately. The Ethereum Foundation has likewise published a blog post with a list of recommendations for users to ensure the fork does not activate inadvertently. Full Stories
WALLET RISK: Mimblewimble implementation Beam announced a "critical" wallet vulnerability last week, urging users to download a new version. Developers behind the project detailed the issue exclusively with CoinDesk, explaining user funds could have been put at risk by letting attackers create "modified transactions."
Beam CTO Alex Romanov told CoinDesk that attackers could listen in on the platform's Secure Bulletin Board System (SBBS), which enables offline encrypted messaging between Beam wallets. Attackers could then "cause these wallets to send money to an attacker."
The issue was specific to the Beam wallet, and is not related to the privacy-focused mimblewimble technology the network is built upon, Romanov added. And as far as he knows, the vulnerability was not exploited prior to Beam's issuing of a patch. Full Story
SPEED BOOST: BitGo and OTC specialist Genesis Global Trading have teamed up on a service designed to make Wall Street feel more comfortable dipping a toe in the crypto market.
Announced today, the tie-up means institutional investors storing digital assets with BitGo can use Genesis’ platform to execute trades at the speed they are accustomed to in the traditional financial markets.
For example, if a client holds 100 bitcoin in their BitGo cold storage wallet, they can get a quote via Genesis and sell those bitcoins immediately. The moment the client agrees on the trade, BitGo locks up the 100 bitcoin and holds them to give to Genesis, which initiates a U.S. dollar bank wire to BitGo.
Once the wire goes through, the bitcoin transfer is settled on BitGo’s books, without anyone having to take the coins out of storage – which can take 24 hours or more – and without the transaction having to be recorded on the public ledger.
Michael Moro, CEO, Genesis Trading, explained: “Because we have a BitGo Trust wallet ourselves, the coins are actually never leaving the BitGo system, just going from client to BitGo to Genesis without ever being exposed to hot wallets and public blockchains.” Full Story
BLOCKCHAIN BLOGS: WordPress is launching a new publishing platform backed by Google and ethereum development studio ConsenSys among others, and notably, blockchain tools will be built in.
Announced Monday, the new product – Newspack – is described as an “inexpensive” platform offering technology and support for small- and medium-sized news organizations. Google led Newspack’s funding, with a $1.2 million investment, while ConsenSys contributed $350,000.
A ConsenSys representative told CoinDesk that newsrooms accessing Newspack will be offered the option to use blockchain-based features made available through ConsenSys-backed Civil Media.
Specifically, Civil’s Publisher product, which allows newsrooms to permanently archive content on a decentralized network, will be installed as a plugin on the WordPress platform for any newsroom to use.
“The plugin will also act as a portal that will walk newsrooms through how to join the Civil Registry, the hub of community-vetted and -approved newsrooms,” the representative said, adding that it will also offer access to a “discovery portal” for consumers seeking news. Full Story |
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 CoinDesk’s Crypto-Economics Explorer aggregates data points across the industry to measure the size and opportunity of crypto markets. In addition to price and market cap, CoinDesk’s explorer provides users with a comprehensive way to view the crypto-economic forces that shape an asset’s market maturity, growth, and potential. Exchange interest is also valuable to understand the trading dynamics. We observed exchange volume for each cryptocurrency, for Wednesday, Jan.16 from a sample of 16 top exchanges. We then split that volume between fiat to crypto trading pairs and crypto to crypto ones. This gives a sense of the flow of cryptocurrencies moving in multiple directions. The top five coins by fiat-crypto exchange volume are: - ZEC
- DASH
- XMR
- BTC
- BTG
The top five coins by crypto-crypto exchange volume are: - BTC
- ETH
- EOS
- TRX
- XRP
Please note that because we extracted data from a sample of 16 exchanges, this volume does not represent the total trading volume within every exchange. The volumes should be used as a proxy of the full market. Check out the CoinDesk Crypto-Economic Explorer to learn more.
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 The Oxford Fintech Programme gives you the tools you need to build the future of transactions and commerce. In this online fintech programme, you'll explore emerging technologies that will disrupt marketplaces and financial services, and examine the state of the industry and plan disruptive intra- or entre-preneurial interventions. Find out more. |
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| LOSING STREAK? Last Thursday's 9 percent price drop put the bears back in a commanding position. As a result, the five-day long trading range of $3,500-$3,700 is likely to end up paving the way for a slide toward December lows near $3,100. If so, bitcoin could chalk the fifth straight year of January losses. Full Story |
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BEST OF THE BEST BLOOMBERG: While crypto prices took a big knock over 2018, the year wasn’t such a disaster for startups building out blockchain infrastructure, according to Bloomberg. On the contrary, in fact, according to Konstantin Rich, CEO of node-builder Blockdaemon. "This is the most productive phase we’ve ever been in," he said. With the pressure on for blockchain firms to actually deliver they are seeking assistance from firms like Blockdaemon. Equity investors, too, are seeing it as a good time for business. Los Angeles-based Maco.la took the decision to invest in startups rather than ICOs and it's paying off as the "crypto winter" brings valuations down. The firm told Bloomberg, "We felt like the best way to make money is to buy the infrastructure companies – the picks and shovels – that are helping build the foundation," she said. THE REST SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: Blockchain tech could benefit Chinese bike-sharing firms that have been struggling with low profits and bicycle theft, according to the South China Morning Post. The market is oversaturated and the issues with running such firms have driven many to fail. Shifting the industry to run on a peer-to-peer basis may be the solution, the article suggests. For example, a blockchain platform could be deployed to take over mediating disputes, and the tech could be used to directly connect bike lenders with those wanting to rent a ride. Such a system would free up sharers from renting office space and could still offer features like verification, testimonials and deposit taking. All it needs is a change in attitude, the piece argues. REUTERS: Blockchain startup The Bitfury Group is launching an entertainment branch looking to build an open-source platform for sharing music, Reuters reports. Named SurroundTM, the platform will utilize a blockchain base to store or share data related to each song, including copyright information. SurroundTM will let music creators monetize their intellectual property, and the ledger used should allow for more transparent and trusted data management practices. Bitfury Surround CEO Stefan Schulz told Reuters that the platform is currently under development, though some components are already complete. "There is a very strong momentum for an open entertainment-related blockchain where market participants themselves would be participating in the market venue, not only from a transactional value point of view," he said. |
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