Smart Contracts news
Uniswap DAO debate shows devs still struggle to secure cross-chain bridges
Over $2.5 billion was stolen in cross-chain crypto bridge hacks from 2021 to 2022, according to a report by Token Terminal. But, despite several attempts by developers to improve bridge security, a debate from December 2022 to January 2023 on the Uniswap DAO forums has laid bare security weaknesses that continue to exist in blockchain bridges. In the past, bridges like Ronin and Horizon used multisig wallets to ensure that only bridge validators could authorize withdrawals. For example, Ronin required five out of nine signatures to withdraw, whereas Horizon required two out of five. But attackers figured out how to …
Blockchain / Feb. 26, 2023
Forsage founders indicted over $340M DeFi ‘Ponzi scheme’
The founders behind the alleged $340 million “global Ponzi” scheme Forsage have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Oregon. The four Russian founders — Vladimir Okhotnikov, Olena Oblamska, Mikhail Sergeev, and Sergey Maslakov — have been formally accused of having key roles in the scheme which raised approximately $340 million from victim-investors, according to a Feb. 22 Department of Justice (DOJ) statement. “Today’s indictment is the result of a rigorous investigation that spent months piecing together the systematic theft of hundreds of millions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Natalie Wight for the District of Oregon, …
Regulation / Feb. 23, 2023
How to create NFTs on the Cardano blockchain
Cardano is a proof-of-stake (PoS) platform launched in September 2017 by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson. In September 2021, Cardano added support for smart contracts, which paved the way for developing decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) applications. NFTs landed on Cardano’s blockchain in 2022, with Cardano’s native cryptocurrency ADA (ADA) utilized to buy and sell them. The deployment of smart contracts on Cardano allowed the creation of NFT marketplaces, including CNFT.IO and Jpg.store. These marketplaces facilitate NFT projects on Cardano in a cost-effective and scalable way, attracting many enthusiasts seeking a user-friendly platform for creators and traders with low-cost …
Blockchain / Feb. 22, 2023
NFTs will act as high-end property during boom cycles: Real Vision CEO
Real Vision CEO and co-founder Raoul Pal believes nonfungible tokens (NFTs) will act similar to “high-end property” in the traditional economy, outperforming Ether (ETH) during crypto market boom cycles. In an hour-long YouTube video published on Feb. 20, the former JPMorgan executive offered a run-down of what he felt most bullish about when it came to NFTs, including key use cases for the asset class, its underlying tech, and its potential performance relative to Ether. Boom! Here you go... My deep dive thesis and understanding on NFT's, what they mean, where they are going and why they are important and …
Nft / Feb. 21, 2023
China's only public blockchain Conflux sees CFX price skyrocket 1300% in 2023
Conflux Network (CFX) is up nearly 500% in the past week with CFX emerging as one of the best-performing crypto assets in 2023 as China appears to be warming to cryptocurrency trading. What is Conflux Network? Interestingly, Conflux Network, also known as Shanghai Tree-Graph Blockchain Research Institute, is the only regulatory-compliant, public and permissionless blockchain in China. Conflux is a layer-1 blockchain operating on a hybrid proof-of-work and proof-of-stake mechanism. CFX's price has rallied nearly 1,335% year-to-date (YTD) to reach $0.3254 as of Feb. 24, its highest level in fourteen months. In comparison, the combined market capitalization of crypto assets …
Markets / Feb. 20, 2023
'Unworkable' bill to ban blockchain immutability is introduced in Illinois
A recently introduced Illinois Senate Bill has been ridiculed by the crypto community over its "unworkable" plans to force blockchain miners and validators to do "impossible things" — such as reversing transactions if ordered to do so by a state court. The Senate Bill was quietly introduced into the Illinois legislature on Feb. 9 by Illinois Senator Robert Peters but appears to have been only recently noticed by Florida-based lawyer Drew Hinkes who discussed the bill in a Twitter post on Feb. 19. The bill titled the “Digital Property Protection and Law Enforcement Act,” would authorize the courts — upon …
Blockchain / Feb. 20, 2023
Platypus attack exploited incorrect ordering of code, auditor claims
The $8m Platypus flash loan attack was made possible because of code that was in the wrong order, according to a post mortem report from Platypus auditor Omniscia. The auditing company claims the problematic code didn’t exist in the version they saw. In light of the recent @Platypusdefi incident the https://t.co/30PzcoIJnt team has prepared a technical post-mortem analysis describing how the exploit unravelled in great details. Be sure to follow @Omniscia_sec to receive more security updates!https://t.co/cf784QtKPK pic.twitter.com/egHyoYaBhn — Omniscia (@Omniscia_sec) February 17, 2023 According to the report, the Platypus MasterPlatypusV4 contract “contained a fatal misconception in its emergencyWithdraw mechanism” which …
Defi / Feb. 17, 2023
Empowering global blockchain adoption and the internet for the modern age
Blockchain technology has been around for over a decade and has transformed many industries, from finance to supply-chain management to digital identity. It has the potential to revolutionize the way we live, work and transact in the near future. However, adoption is still far from the global scale that Web3 enthusiasts envision. According to QuickNode’s co-founder and co-CEO Dmitry Shklovsky, blockchain has the power to reshape the way people live — starting with their online presence. A decentralized internet is the next evolutionary stage of the digital world, and blockchain has the power to bring this to reality. Q: How …
Decentralization / Feb. 17, 2023
Fed governor Waller says crypto ecosystem has distinct parts with varying potential
The parts that make up the cryptocurrency ecosystem are not all equal, United States Federal Reserve Board governor Christopher Waller told a conference audience on Feb. 10. He had clear preferences among the three elements of the ecosystem that he identified. Waller was hosted by the Global Interdependence Center at its “Digital Money, Decentralized Finance, and the Puzzle of Crypto” conference. He considered crypto assets, blockchain technology and trading technology, such as smart contracts and tokenization, separately. Waller focused on the broader applications of crypto technology. Research on applications of distributed ledger technology to “a wide range of data management …
Regulation / Feb. 10, 2023
German DekaBank plans to launch tokenization platform by 2024
105-year-old German bank DekaBank is planning to launch a blockchain-based tokenization platform as part of its collaboration with the digital asset firm Metaco. DekaBank targets the release of its blockchain platform sometime in 2024, while the infrastructure is expected to be ready in 2023, DekaBank’s digital asset custody executive Andreas Sack told Cointelegraph. “The tokenization platform infrastructure will be ready in the foreseeable future, and that will launch the first minimum viable product in our crypto custody solution,” Sack stated. He added that the first test transactions of the tokenization platform are likely to take place this year. DekaBank’s upcoming …
Blockchain / Feb. 9, 2023
Visa's crypto strategy targets stablecoin settlements
Payment company Visa is seeking to build a "muscle memory" to settlements, aiming to allow customers to convert digital assets to fiat currencies on its platform, according to the company's head of crypto division Cuy Sheffield at the StarkWare Sessions 2023. "We've been testing how to actually accept settlement payments from issuers in USDC starting on Ethereum and paying out in USDC (USDC) on Ethereum. So, these are large value settlement payments.", noted Sheffield in a fireside chat at the event. Cointelegraph's team is on the ground in Tel-Aviv covering the two-day Ethereum community conference. According to the executive, global …
Adoption / Feb. 5, 2023
Australia introduces classification for crypto assets
Following the global regulatory race, Australia opened the public consultation on its own taxonomy of crypto assets. The national regulators propose to distinguish four major types of products related to the crypto industry. On Feb. 3, the Australian Treasury released a consultation paper on “Token Mapping,” announcing it as a foundational step in the Government’s multi‑stage reform agenda to regulate the market. It seeks to inform “a fact‑based, consumer conscious and innovation-friendly” approach to policy development. The paper, based on the “functional” and technology-neutral method, proposes a number of basic definitions for all the things crypto. At the first level, …
Regulation / Feb. 3, 2023