The for-profit developer behind Zcash (ZEC), Electric Coin Co. (ECC), has released on Jan. 15 a set of resources to facilitate the implementation of shielded transactions on mobile. This builds on early tests in 2019 conducted after the Sapling upgrade. The developer released a complete set of Software Development Kits (SDK) versions for both Android and iOS. While the former was an update of the 2019 version, now supporting the Zcash mainnet, the latter was created anew to provide equivalent functionality for Apple devices. In addition, the company released a compatible backend service specifically designed for mobile clients to efficiently …

A contributor of major Ethereum browser extension Metamask has reported that the MetaMask team is “totally overwhelmed” and not being prioritized by its parent company ConsenSys. In a Dec. 25 Reddit post, Reddit user lazaridiscom3 alleges that the MetaMask team is not getting the support it needs from ConsenSys, and, consequently, the whole team of 24 employees is overwhelmed. Redditor says the Ethereum’s “critical value-moving piece” isn’t decentralized The post, titled “Help MetaMask out of its Activity-Trap,” goes on to say that the MetaMask team has a number of unsolved issues and its inner workflow structure is neither transparent nor …

The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) has joined blockchain software firm R3’s trade finance network, the Marco Polo Network. The American banking and financial services firm — which has over $1.9 trillion in assets under management — will conduct an evaluation program using the technology, Marco Polo announced Nov. 25. By joining Marco Polo, BNY Mellon intends to expand its technical expertise and explore how blockchain technology could be applied to its trade finance activities. The move is purportedly in line with BNY Mellon’s efforts to eliminate paper-based processes and digitize its business. Marco Polo is a consortium …

Missouri-based software maker CryptoTrader.Tax has launched a new product facilitating cryptocurrency tax reporting. As the 2019 tax year comes to an end, the software is designed to help firms, certified public accountants and professionals counsel their clients about reporting their taxes from crypto in accordance with the tax guidelines set out by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS). CryptoTrader.Tax announced the news in a press release on Nov. 25. The new tool allows to auto-generate client’s tax reports The newly released crypto tax professional suite by CryptoTrader.Tax provides step-by-step process description for importing crypto transactions by clients, as specified …

Crypto companies often find out the hard way that hackers know their security systems better than they do. As hacks in the crypto world can and often do result in hundreds of millions of dollars worth of tokens being stolen, the fate of a company’s future can often ride on its security measures. In an effort to batten down the hatches, companies offer bug bounties. These bounties are essentially competitions in which hackers are encouraged to try to compromise software. The hackers then submit a vulnerability report to the respective companies so that they are able to patch the bugs …

A mobile crypto wallet has announced that users can now effortlessly access thousands of decentralized applications (DApps) directly through its platform. Lumi Wallet says its motivation is to create a one-stop-shop for crypto enthusiasts — a whole ecosystem focused on convenience and simplicity. At the heart of this strategy has been an ambition to streamline the process of downloading DApps. According to Lumi Wallet, it was driven to act after seeing how frustrating the experience can be for smartphone and tablet owners. Not only do individual pieces of software take up a lot of precious memory, but it can be …

Tor Project’s new Bitcoin (BTC)-based crowdfunding campaign has reached the softcap of $10,000 in 25 hours after the launch. The new crowdfunding program, known as BitcoinForTor, was launched on July 15 in collaboration with open-source payment processor BTCPay Server. By July 16, the project has raised the minimum amount expected to be secured, BTCPay announced. Having reached the softcap, Tor Project has not halted the fundraising campaign. It is inviting cryptocurrency users to continue donating with Bitcoin within the next 13 days, claiming that protecting privacy online “requires financial support beyond 10k.” At press time, the amount raised within BitcoinForTor …

Canadian exchange Coinsquare has acquired software allowing traditional ATMs to sell cryptocurrency such as bitcoin (BTC), according to a press release on July 3. Coinsquare announced a controlling investment in Just Cash, a United States-based fintech startup that has developed a software that allows users to purchase crypto directly through traditional ATM machines without the need of additional hardware or mobile application. Following the investment of undisclosed amount, the Just Cash team will join Coinsquare in and operate under Coinsquare brand. Coinsquare CEO Cole Diamond says that the new initiative reflects the company’s mission of bringing mainstream adoption to the …

The IOTA Foundation has launched the Trinity wallet, as the organization announced in a press release on July 2. The announcement advertises the Trinity wallet as an improve to both ease-of-use and security for users conducting transactions in IOTA, with the purported goal of appealing to both new and advanced users. Reportedly, the wallet’s beta version has seen 160,000 downloads and transactions worth over $1.8 billion of IOTA. Cybersecurity firms SixGen andAccessec audited the application in advance of release. As a software wallet, Trinity is designed for compatibility with Ledger’s hardware wallets, as Ledger has worked alongside the IOTA Foundation …

Earlier this week, Big Four firm PwC announced the release of a cryptocurrency auditing software solution. According to the multinational professional services network, its Halo auditing suite has now been updated to accommodate “entities engaging in cryptocurrency transactions.” The new tool reportedly allows PwC to establish crypto asset ownership and gather information about transactions and balances from blockchains. While it is currently unclear whether Halo will now be picked up by cryptocurrency-related businesses, PwC’s move seems to mark another landmark step for the industry. Specifics of auditing in the crypto space Auditing in the crypto space is still a developing …

An app that claims to give users the chance to earn $45 a day in free bitcoin (BTC) is a scam, according to a tweet by an “independent malware hunter” posted on May 20. The software, known as Bitcoin Collector, is advertised on a website that supposedly enables users to share a unique URL with their friends with payouts of 3 ether (ETH) (worth about $800 at press time) for every 1,000 people who click on it. But according to a security researcher who goes by the nickname Frost on Twitter, the app is a front for attempts to steal …

American software security firm Symantec found a spike in a new crypto mining malware that mainly targets enterprises, TechCrunch reports on April 25. The new cryptojacking malware, dubbed Beapy, uses the leaked United States National Security Agency (NSA) hacking tools to spread throughout corporate networks to generate big sums of money from a large amount of computers, the report notes. First spotted in January 2019, Beapy reportedly surged to over 12,000 unique infection across 732 organizations since March, with more than 80% of infections located in China. As found by researchers, Beapy malware is reportedly spread through malicious emails. Once …