Better Business Bureau, or BBB — the charity giant behind Give.org — launched a privacy-focused donation platform built on the Ardor (ARDR) blockchain. According to a July 4 announcement, BBB’s charity monitoring organization Wise Giving Alliance launched blockchain-powered donation platform, GiveSafely.io. The platform uses distributed ledger technology to facilitate donations to BBB-accredited charities while ensuring donor data is only shared when permitted: “The platform also aims to restore trust in the online donation model, address concerns people have about misuse of their personal data and potential hacks. All personal information is stored on the Ardor blockchain and is only accessible …

Kraken Security Labs, the cybersecurity division of US-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has identified new potential attacks against popular hardware wallet Ledger. These attacks can affect Ledger Nano X wallets if they execute prior to the user receiving the wallet, if a wallet was intercepted during shipment or obtained from a malicious reseller, Kraken noted. This leaves the attackers theoretically capable of controlling computers connected to Ledger wallets and running malware on them. Thankfully it stayed theoretical — the issue was repaired. Had the matter gone unaddressed, then we’d start hearing about “Bad Ledger attacks” and “Blind Ledger attacks.” The first …

Blockchain firm QuarkChain has announced a partnership with the ecological department of Northeastern Chinese province Shanxi. QuarkChain and the Shanxi province will jointly develop an environmental governance platform on blockchain (EGPB). This platform will be used by the local administration for construction resource management and trading. QuarkChain stated that, while limited construction materials are mostly located in a specific area, they are widely distributed to many places, creating the need for a management system that can better supervise the development and use of those resources. EGPB will be used for tracking resources along their supply chain. The network’s node operators …

Double-spending is an issue that has existed ever since Bitcoin’s (BTC) inception, and according to a recent report from ZenGo, it still persists across cryptocurrency wallets such as BRD, Ledger Live and Edge. Although these companies have updated their product offerings since ZenGo pointed out this discrepancy, it is speculated that millions of crypto users could have been exposed to this particular exploit, dubbed BigSpender. Ledger, one of the impacted crypto wallet firms, even claimed that this vulnerability is only a user experience flaw. What is double-spending? Double-spending is a flaw that arises across digital cash platforms wherein a single …

The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, or GFSC, issued a new distributed ledger technology license to the Belarus-based cryptocurrency platform, Currency.com, on July 6. According to the announcement, the platform will be allowed to use DLT to store or transmit value belonging to others in connection with the provision of dealer and custody services thanks to the license granted by the GFSC. Speaking with Cointelegraph, Jonathan Squires, CEO of Currency.com, gave some insight into the company’s intentions for the license: “For our European clients, we’re aware that they have a preference for a recognizable legal framework for the venue through which …

Leading crypto hardware wallet producer Ledger has denied that its product’s transaction management software featured a double-spend vulnerability. According to Ledger’s CTO Charles Guillemet, the vulnerability recently revealed by software wallet ZenGo is — in fact — nothing more than a user experience flaw. He illustrated the nature of its hardware wallet companion software Ledger Live to Cointelegraph: “It’s important to understand that rather than an attack, the actual flaw may be seen more as a clever piece of trickery. Trickery is not a vulnerability. However, we do want to prevent anyone from falling victim to these kinds of clever …

Afghanistan’s healthcare ministry and several local pharmaceutical companies will use Fantom’s blockchain to combat counterfeit drugs. According to Fantom on July 6, its Opera blockchain will be used to track 80,000 units of four different pharmaceutical products in Afghanistan. After this initial pilot, the system will be scaled up to cover more products later this year. 50,000 units of hand sanitizer, 10,000 joint creams, 10,000 Kofol tablets and 10,000 Dioacare foot creams will be tracked during the pilot. The system is meant to address Afghanistan’s problem with counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Fantom stated that local law enforcement seized 100 tons of counterfeit, …

On July 2, crypto security firm ZenGo identified a double-spend exploit targeting several popular Bitcoin (BTC) wallets, dubbed ‘BigSpender’ Of nine cryptocurrency wallets tested by ZenGo, BRD, Ledger Live, and Edge were found to have been vulnerable to the attack. The three companies updated their products after ZenGo notified them of the threat, however the firm warned that “millions” of crypto users may have been exposed to the exploit prior to its identification. Despite the wallets’ move to protect against BigSpender, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) proponent Hayden Otto claims the vulnerability is inherent to Bitcoin “by design” and can still be …

This week’s headlines from Japan included research company Xangle releasing a report on Japanese crypto regulation, Binance supporting Japan's language but not its residents, SBI Holdings turning gift certificates digital with blockchain, and Nomura Holdings opening a crypto custody service with Ledger and Coinshares. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. Research outfit details Japanese crypto regulation A new report surfaced last week from research outfit Xangle regarding Japanese digital asset regulation. Citing multiple examples of already-approved assets listed on exchanges, the report "analyzes the conditions necessary for listing a new virtual …

French fintech firm ID Distribution announced a joint venture with local real estate firm Groupe JRI, amining to tokenize various properties in Paris. According to a June 17 announcement, ID Distribution and Groupe JRI plan to jointly issue security tokens and a Frankfurt listed bond to acquire buildings in downtown Paris. The total amount of funds to be spent, 70 million euros (about $78.5 million) will be allocated to acquire five buildings which will be then leased. The use of security tokens is meant to strengthen the capital more so than could be achieved with traditional debt instruments. Furthermore, ID …

Blockchain cybersecurity firm Unbound Tech launched a new login solution meant to enable businesses to go passwordless. According to an announcement on June 17, Unbound Tech’s new identity solution removes the dependence on traditional authentication methods with a decentralized key management system. The system can also be used to access blockchain wallets. The system is meant to replace hardware tokens, software-powered one-time-passwords and standard passwords. According to the firm, the new solution can secure high-risk operations and authenticate transactions without security, usability or cost trade-offs. Unbound Tech CEO and co-founder Yehuda Lindell told Cointelegraph that there is need for such …

Global investment bank Nomura, digital asset manager CoinShares, and hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger, have finally launched their institutional-grade custody platform Komainu to the wider market. They’re billing Komainu as the first hybrid institutional-grade custody platform that can seamlessly integrate with legacy financial technology. CoinShares first examined existing custody products before deciding to develop their own solution in order to meet their security & business requirements back in 2018. The platform, under the leadership of CoinShares CEO, Jean-Marie Mognetti, is aimed at institutional players and will be regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission. Mognetti explained the platform had been running …