Day: June 4, 2019

BlackSquid Malware Infects Servers to Install Monero Cryptojacking Software

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Cybersecurity firm Trend Micro announced that it found a malware dubbed BlackSquid that infects web servers employing eight different security exploits and installs mining software. The findings were announced in a blog post published on June 3. Per the report, the malware targets web servers, network drives and removable drives using eight different exploit and brute force attacks. More precisely, the software in question employs “EternalBlue; DoublePulsar; the exploits for CVE-2014-6287, CVE-2017-12615, and CVE-2017-8464; and three ThinkPHP exploits for multiple versions.” While the sample acquired by Trend Micro installs the…

Dutch Crypto Exchange Blockport Shuts Down, Vows to Return

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Blockport, a cryptocurrency exchange based in the Netherlands, has been been forced to close due to lack of operating capital, but vowed to return. According to a filing reported by The Next Web, the official operating entity, Blockport BV, was declared bankrupt in a court in Amsterdam on May 21. The platform ceased services at the end of May, as announced in a blog post (although the website is still online as of writing). In the post, co-founder and chief product officer Sebastiaan Lichter said that following the exchange’s failed security…

Top South Korean Utility to Co-Develop Blockchain System for Renewable Energy Certificates

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South Korea’s largest power provider has signed a contract with two domestic power suppliers to establish a blockchain-powered system for transacting Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). The news was reported by local energy news site Energy Daily on June 4. KEPCO — an acronym for the Korea Electric Power Corporation — is a $15.9 billion market cap corporation in which the South Korean government and state-controlled bank hold a majority stake; it has a “virtual monopoly” over power generation and distribution in the country, according to Asia-focused publication Nikkei. A business…

LocalBitcoins Confirms Removal of Local Cash Trades

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Global peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange LocalBitcoins has officially confirmed the removal of trading in local fiat currencies, the firm announced in a tweet on June 4. As previously reported, the Finland-based exchange silently removed cash trading on June 1, which immediately caused some outrage in crypto community. In the official statement, LocalBitcoins noted that its liabilities are determined by the Act on Detecting and Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which requires the exchange to follow certain sanctions. LocalBitcoins wrote: “In order to adapt to the current regulatory environment, we…

Walmart and MediLedger partnership will allow the tracking of prescription drugs in the blockchain

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Retail giant Walmart joined MediLedger, a blockchain-based pharmaceutical consortium to track prescription drugs, CoinDesk reported. The move comes as Chronicled, Inc.’s MediLedger project prepares to launch a pilot program with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in early June. In February, the FDA announced that in its soon launching pilot project, participants representing the drug supply chain can pilot the use of innovative and emerging approaches, including blockchain, to trace and verify prescription drugs in the U.S. With the project, the agency aims to ensure that suspect and illegitimate products…

Blockchain Tech Cannot Be Uninvented or Stopped

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Andreas Antonopoulos is a well-known bitcoin (BTC) educator and crypto commentator, as well as a security and decentralized systems expert. His 2014 book, Mastering Bitcoin, gave an in-depth technical analysis of the top cryptocurrency and a solid foundation of the crypto revolution’s beginnings. In a recent interview, Cointelegraph spoke with Antonopoulos on what he believes is the future of blockchain’s social impact, what’s going on with the current crypto market volatility, and what is still missing in the crypto space. This interview has been edited and condensed. Crypto market volatility:…

Think Tank Tells Swiss National Bank to Launch Swiss Franc Token, Embrace DLT

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Switzerland’s national bank should work with large industry players to develop a Swiss franc token, according to a report by the Avenir Suisse think tank on June 4. Avenir Suisse is an independent privately funded think tank, with a yearly budget of reportedly 5 million Swiss francs ($5 million). Despite the opportunities that distributed ledger technology (DLT) is creating in the country’s finance industry — especially in trade finance, asset management and capital markets — researchers argue that the debate surrounding digitization is focused too much on the risks. Avenir Suisse’s report claims that…

Supreme Arbitration Court Judge Urges for Inclusion of Crypto in Civil Law

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A judge at Russia’s Supreme Arbitration Court has argued that the term digital assets should be included in the Russian Civil Law, local state-backed media agency Federal Press reports on June 4. Lyudmila Novoselova, chairman at the Court for Intellectual Rights of Russian Federation and a judge at the Supreme Arbitration Court, has introduced the institution’s plans for the development of legislation for digital rights. The official delivered her testimony at the first retreat of the presidential council in Ekaterinburg devoted to civil law. Novoselova expressed confidence that the Russian…

Long-Term Support Level May Struggle to Revive Bitcoin Price Rally

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View Bitcoin is again attempting a recovery from the 30-day moving average, currently at $7,710. The key average has consistently reversed price pullbacks in the last four months. This time, BTC is more likely to end up creating a bearish lower high (shallow bounce) or may find acceptance below the average in the next day or two, as both the daily and weekly technical indicators are calling a deeper price pullback. A UTC close below the 30-day MA would open the doors to $7,000. If the ongoing recovery from the…

Blockchain Would Have Improved Regulator Response to 2008 Financial Crash

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United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo says that blockchain technology would have allowed for a “far faster, better-informed, and more calibrated regulatory intervention” in response to the 2008 financial crisis. Giancarlo made his remarks during a speech —  entitled “The New Futurism: 21st Century Financial Markets, Technology and Regulation” —  which was delivered at the Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa (CONSOB) in Rome, Italy on June 3. Giancarlo devoted the first part of his speech to reflections on blockchain and the 2008…