Day: October 19, 2018

Ethereum is Back on the Cryptoverse Spotlight, Drawing Attention of Both Developers and “Haters”

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After being under the radar for a few weeks, Ethereum has regained the interest of the community. People say that any publicity is good publicity, and these words fit perfectly into the reality of this popular blockchain that grows day by day not only technologically but also socially. Within the technological area, one of the aspects that triggered a massive flow of interactions was the discussion regarding the much awaited Constantinople hard fork. The non-activation of the fork generated widespread speculation not only among developers but the community in general.…

Gibraltar Gov’t Launches Advisory Group to Develop Blockchain-Related Educational Courses

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The Government of Gibraltar in collaboration with the University of Gibraltar have created an advisory group focused on the development of blockchain-related educational courses, national news outlet the Gibraltar Chronicle reported Oct. 19. The New Technologies in Education (NTiE) group is reportedly a joint initiative between the government, the University of Gibraltar, and a number of the leading technology firms based in the country. Following the expansion of new technologies in Gibraltar, the NTiE will address the demand for related skills both in the private sector and at the governmental…

Travelport and IBM announce deeper collaboration on blockchain and ‘Watson’ AI

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Travelport has announced an expansion of a partnership with technology giant IBM which will help it drive innovations to disrupt the travel industry. The GDS and travel technology developer will use IBM Blockchain to streamline the validation, distribution and settlement of hotel content between Travelport, travel agencies and hotels. In addition, Travelport will work with the IBM Watson Data Platform to personalize customer experiences with new tools and traveler recommendations. Travelport said it work with IBM Blockchain will “streamline the hotel ecosystem providing choice through content, seamless booking and fulfillment…

Russian Draft Bill Lacks Core Crypto Terms After Recent Edits

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Russian deputies have removed the definition of crypto mining from a draft bill on digital currency regulation ahead of its next reading in the State Duma, major local news agency Interfax reports Oct. 19. Consequently, the new law will not clarify tax issues for miners. The chairman of the Duma Committee on Financial Markets Anatoly Aksakov briefly explained the reason behind the deputies’ decision to eliminate a core crypto term from the bill: “Earlier we had some thoughts on Bitcoins, on their integration into our economic system. But as we…

If Your Bitcoin is Stolen, There’s Only a 20% Chance You’ll Get it Back

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If you’re ever so unfortunate as to become the victim of a bitcoin theft, there’s very little chance that you will ever see your cryptocurrency assets again. For this reason, security experts have suggested that only a fraction of these cases ever get reported, as victims believe they are not likely to retrieve stolen cryptocurrency. Reuters reports that the unique nature of cryptocurrencies has created a double-edged sword where investors do not expect criminals to be caught after successful crypto heists, and cybercriminals are turning to crypto in larger numbers, driven…

If Your Bitcoin is Stolen, There’s Only a 20% Chance You’ll Get it Back

boss

If you’re ever so unfortunate as to become the victim of a bitcoin theft, there’s very little chance that you will ever see your cryptocurrency assets again. For this reason, security experts have suggested that only a fraction of these cases ever get reported, as victims believe they are not likely to retrieve stolen cryptocurrency. Reuters reports that the unique nature of cryptocurrencies has created a double-edged sword where investors do not expect criminals to be caught after successful crypto heists, and cybercriminals are turning to crypto in larger numbers, driven…

Financial Action Task Force Adopts Changes to Standards Covering Virtual Currencies

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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has adopted changes to its standards regarding digital currencies and firms involved into cryptocurrency-related activities, according to an announcement published Oct. 19. Paris-based FATF, also known as Groupe d’action financière (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organization established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures to fight money laundering. The FATF has since developed a series of Recommendations recognized as the international standard for combating money laundering (ML) and the financing of…

North Korean Hackers Have Stolen $571 Million in Cryptocurrency: Report

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Even though blockchain technology has all sorts of security applications, one thing is for sure: cryptocurrency exchanges are vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks, and hackers have exploited these flaws for massive gains. However, no hacker crew has been quite as successful as the infamous North Korean group of hackers, dubbed “Lazarus,” which is responsible for the theft of over half a billion dollars in cryptocurrency since 2017. Group-IB Report The information arrives courtesy of a new report by Group-IB, widely considered one of the leading cybersecurity companies in the world. The…

Nicolas Maduro Urges Venezuelan Residents to Invest in Petro Coin

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Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s president, called on workers in his country to save money in gold and his cryptocurrency ‘The Petro’ during a salary shake-up Thursday. According to the local news source Noticiero Digital, in the next few weeks workers will be receiving their bonuses in the Petro coin, instead of fiat. Nicolas Maduro and The Petro Maduro said: “In the coming weeks the payment schedule of the bonuses will be fulfilled with the new salary tables set in the petro, which is from the economic recovery program that started 58…

Ethereum Constantinople Blockchain Upgrade Delayed Until 2019

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Constantinople Test Hard Fork Goes Awry Just last week, as reported by Ethereum World News, developers moved to hard fork Ethereum’s Ropsten testnet to test the Constantinople blockchain upgrade, which was slated to go live on the Ethereum mainchain by the end of October/November 2018. Unfortunately, when the Ropsten hard fork occurred on Saturday (October 13th) morning, 24 hours ahead of schedule, it immediately became apparent that something wasn’t clicking, so to speak. For one, the hard fork stalled at block 4,299,999 for two hours, indicating that Constantinople on Ropsten wasn’t…