Once the aspiring validator makes their deposit, the next step is to choose their client (the software they will use to configure their Beacon Node), import their key stores, and run their validator.

According to an Ethereum blog post, this morning the Ethereum 2.0 development team announced the release of “Launchpad”, the educational testing interface for deposits, especially aimed at people interested in operating as validators for Ethereum 2.0.

Danny Ryan, Project Coordinator, said last Wednesday that “Launchpad” would be included in the Ethereum 2.0 testnet. The manager also said that as of August 4, the Ethereum community will be able to see the official launch of it.

Ethereum 2.0 releases “Launchpad” for validators

Along with Consensys and DeepWork Studio, the research team said they are launching Launchpad right now to make deposits to Medalla’s upcoming multi-client testnet. However, the team will continue to “fine-tune the interface in the run-up to the main net launch,” Ryan said.

According to the manager, the idea behind Launchpad is to make the process of becoming a validator for ETH2 as easy as possible, without compromising security and ensuring that it is as educational as possible.

In contrast to using a third-party service, by running your validator yourself, there is an implicit responsibility for managing your keys. To do this, it is necessary to understand aspects inherent to ease of use, security, and education, says the blog post, also detailing aspects related to schedules, milestones, instructions on the operation of dynamic rewards, key generation, and associated risks.

Once the aspiring validator makes their deposit, the next step is to choose their client (the software they will use to configure their Beacon Node), import their key stores, and run their validator.

5,360 aspiring validators have already applied

Only a few days after its launch, the Ethereum 2.0 testnet deposit contract started filling up with transactions. At the time of writing this note, some 5,360 deposits went for 32 Ether each. This means that 5,360 applicants are ready to go as soon as the testnet launches on August 4 and that the smart contract has about ETH 171,520 (estimated at more than $ 55.4 million at the time of publishing), which It represents 32.72% of the total ETH needed.

As Ethereum enthusiasts prepare for the final stage of the largest network upgrade to date, Ryan said that a minimum of 16,384 validators (ETH 524,288) is required before this can begin. Given that the process progressed quite quickly shortly, analysts estimate that the goal could easily be met in the coming days.

According to the blog, the deposits are running on the Goerli testnet (proof of authority or PoA), from where they will then be connected to the Ethereum 2.0 testnet once it is active.

By: Jenson Nuñez.

According to the information, malicious actors would have had access to the internal administration panel of the platform to take control of the accounts of celebrities. Dozens of users who fell for the scam ended up sending several thousand dollars worth of Bitcoin to hackers.

The measures to reinforce the security of the platform come a few months after Twitter experienced a massive hack that affected hundreds of users, an unprecedented event in a social network of its kind. Allegedly orchestrated by a 17-year-old teenager, the attack breached the accounts of influential companies and personalities, including those of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Kim Kardashian, to spread a bitcoin scam.

Twitter strengthens security ahead of US presidential elections

The truth is that the historic attack now seems to be encouraging new security protocols within the popular platform, especially as the US presidential elections approach.

“Voters, political candidates, elected officials and journalists rely on Twitter every day to share and find reliable news and information about the elections, and we take our responsibility to them seriously,” the statement read.

According to the company, from now on, certain Twitter accounts must use strong passwords and can only reset them if they provide identifying information, such as an email or a phone number. The goal is that by enabling two-factor authentication, accounts have additional security beyond a username and password. You can also avoid any unauthorized password changes.

By Thursday, all election-related and “high-profile” accounts were notified and warned about taking additional security measures to protect their credentials. Accounts include all members of the US Congress and the executive branch, governors, presidential activists, political parties, and US media and political journalists, among others.

Anti-hacking measures

The new security features are not limited to just a select group of users. According to the announcement, anyone can take the necessary steps to ensure that their privacy and information are safe on Twitter.

While the security measures seem simple at first glance, hopefully, the new features are completely functional and able to prevent future attacks. It is also relevant to note that during the Haceko of July 15, the compromised accounts added about 346 million followers on Twitter, an influence that – in case it wanted it – could have had an irreparable impact on world markets, countries, governments, and other spheres of power.

As Vitalik Buterin himself, founder of Ethereum, pointed out at the time: “This attack could have caused serious damage. I am glad that a hacker motivated by Bitcoin profits got to the attack vector before many more nefarious actors seeking to leak private data, manipulate stock prices, manipulate elections, or start wars did. “

The massive hack in July was not the only one that targeted politically influential figures. Reports reveal that hackers breached Donald Trump’s account in 2016, just before the election. The following year an incident was also reported that saw the closure of the Twitter account of the current president of the United States. In a separate attack just two weeks ago, hackers hijacked a Twitter account of Narenda Modi, the Prime Minister of India, sending messages requesting cryptocurrency donations.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The PBOC warns that its digital currency will bring great changes to the world’s finance. To break the monopoly of the US dollar, the country will internationalize its new network of payment systems.

China is rushing to implement the digital yuan to win a technological race that also involves finance. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) considers that the Asian nation should become the first to issue its digital currency as part of an effort to internationalize the yuan and reduce the global dependence on the US dollar.

“The issuance and circulation of the digital currency will bring great changes to current international finance. China has many advantages and opportunities in issuing fiat digital currencies, so it should accelerate the pace to be the first,” stated an article in China Finance, an official PBOC magazine.

According to the publication, efforts to issue sovereign digital currencies will become a kind of “new battlefield” of competition between countries, which will produce great changes in international finance.

China also needs to establish a new network of payment systems to break the monopoly of the US dollar, as a key part of the internationalization of the yuan. Since last April, the PBOC’s digital currency research institute has already filed 130 patent applications related to the digital yuan, adds the article. All this is among the functions that would form a complete supply chain to support the launch of its Digital Currency/Electronic Payment (DC/EP) system.

By establishing more and new alliances with trading partners, China will surely try to impose new technological standards with its digital yuan. However, the Asian country shows that it trying to solve all the aspects of its DC/EP system in the domestic market before jumping into the international market.

In that quest to ensure that the digital currency works without errors, the PBOC’s Digital Currency Research Institute has conducted tests in several cities. It recently announced a strategic cooperation agreement with JD Digital Technology, one of the main Chinese e-commerce websites.

The agreement aims to promote the development of mobile applications and blockchain platforms, as well as encourage the creation of wallets that support the digital yuan, according to Chinese media.

Didi Chuxing, a Chinese equivalent of Uber, previously partnered with the Central Bank of China to experiment with the digital yuan in the transportation industry. The Asian giant of shared rides records around 30 million transfers per day and has a platform with 550 million users.

On August 14^th, the Ministry of Commerce of the Asian country announced the extension of the tests on the digital yuan to 3 new regions, besides those where they are implementing the pilot plan. State commercial banks have also started to test digital wallets. For example, a few days ago, the Construction Bank of China activated a wallet for the digital yuan. However, it disabled its mobile application before a lot of users who had requested it.

By Alexander Salazar

For the renowned market analyst Willy Woo, for example, after the arrival of the pandemic stood in the way of the rise, the cryptocurrency entered a bullish phase in June of this year, after exceeding $ 11,000. Time to invest, many will think.

Bitcoin got a steady recovery from the crash it experienced at the beginning of the coronavirus quarantine when its fall reached to the level of $ 4,000. Since then, bitcoin has kept its position and is currently hovering around $ 11,000. Various analysts claim that a new bull run on Bitcoin is on the way.

For the renowned market analyst Willy Woo, for example, after the arrival of the pandemic stood in the way of the rise, the cryptocurrency entered a bullish phase in June of this year, after exceeding $ 11,000, as we reported in CryptoNews at that moment. Time to invest, many will think.

Indeed, bull markets can be an attractive opportunity to profit. However, there are also many risks for investors. In the young history of Bitcoin, we already have a precedent to review and not make possible mistakes during this stage in which the movement around cryptocurrencies is triggered.

In this note, we can see a whole series of scenarios during the bull run of 2017 that left plenty of valuable market lessons. At that time, bitcoin caressed$ 20,000, and new cryptocurrency projects were pouring out from all sides seeking to capitalize on the fame that the ecosystem was gaining. Many made money, many more lost.

Everything that goes up must go down

During the last months of 2017, Bitcoin entered a very pronounced bullish phase, which quickly pushed the price of the cryptocurrency to its all-time high to this day. In a matter of just a month, Bitcoin tripled its market value.

To some, it seemed like a great idea to buy when it was around $ 17,000, $ 18,000, or even $ 19,000, and it seemed like it wouldn’t stop going up. But just as the rise was quick, the fall was also very fast. After touching $ 20,000 in mid-December, a month later the price of BTC fell by half. Never since then, the price reached close to even $ 16,000 in value.

Therefore, a key recommendation is not to succumb to the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out or “Fear of missing something”). In the case of investments, the FOMO is considered as the sentiment that leads investors to buy for fear of losing the potential gains of an asset that is on the rise.

It is essential to have a clear investment strategy. Particularly in the case of Bitcoin, it is relevant to know if you expect long or short term gains. So far, the cryptocurrency created by Satoshi Nakamoto always proves to be efficient as a long-term safeguard of value. If we refer to the annual averages, we see that BTC has appreciated year after year. There was only one exception, in 2015, when the Bitcoin average was around 50% below the previous year.

Having a clear investment strategy will allow you to know if you are prepared to take losses in the short term, particularly in a market so volatile and difficult to predict. As examples of this, we have the peak reached in March of this year, at levels of 6 years ago; and then the drop in volatility registered in June.

By: Jenson Nuñez.

Many people consider that Bitcoin is better than gold as a store of value. Tyler Winklevoss from Gemini thinks that the difference between these two assets is huge.

The founder of the Gemini Exchange, Tyler Winklevoss, believes that Bitcoin “is better gold than gold itself.” According to his judgment, the foremost cryptocurrency on the market is the best store of value that has ever existed.

Even though gold has historically fulfilled a role as a haven of value, Bitcoin is doing it better. Besides, the precious metal cannot match the features of the cryptocurrency in terms of economy, security, and speed, among others.

This is an open and heated debate; proponents of gold argue that all “stores of value” that have existed, except for gold, have collapsed. They also consider that the same will happen to cryptocurrencies.

Why Bitcoin Is Better Than Gold

Tyler Winklevoss thinks that gold is better than gold. On his Twitter account, he expressed his opinion on this issue. He said that “Bitcoin is better to be gold than gold, not only in the incremental way, but also in an order of magnitude 10 times greater.”

The momentum of the pioneering cryptocurrency has been so strong since its creation, just over 10 years ago, that its value has constantly increased. Its price has reached all-time highs on many occasions, and everything indicates that this trend to appreciate will continue.

This feature of Bitcoin has led investors to decide to buy it as a better store of value than gold itself. For centuries, the precious metal has unquestionably fulfilled this role.

However, the novel technology of cryptocurrencies seems to make them compete with gold. The precious metal may not fit into the new infrastructures, with the arrival of a new digital age.

There Should Not Be Competition

There is great competition between gold proponents and Bitcoin enthusiasts over which of the two is a better store of value. However, many others consider that this competition should not exist.

A cryptocurrency trader, identified as NebraskaGooner, stated that both gold and Bitcoin are stores of value. He added that investors will use one or the other, depending on their choice.

Winklevoss disagrees with the latter and shows details about Bitcoin’s supposed superiority over gold. On a chart that he posted on his Twitter account, Bitcoin dominates 6 safe haven categories out of 7, compared to gold.

Gold outperforms the cryptocurrency in market capitalization, at USD 9 trillion. In this sense, capitalization of about USD 200 billion completely overshadows Bitcoin.

Concerning other categories, such as scarcity, durability, portability, divisibility, storage, and difficulty to counterfeit it, Bitcoin outperforms gold.

Bitcoin as a Store of Value

For years, Bitcoin proponents have been claiming that their digital currency is better than gold, but there have always been doubts. In 2020, due to the pandemic and the impressive recovery of Bitcoin after the first economic hit, dozens of investors started to act.

Tudor Jones and other professional Wall Street investors have started buying Bitcoin “en masse”. The price of the cryptocurrency has remained consistent above USD 10 thousand.

The option is open for investors who want to use the pioneering cryptocurrency as a refuge or store of value.

By Willmen Blanco

The evaluations, which will take place in a sandbox, will last one year. The SFC will only accept pseudonymous cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether.

A few days ago, the Financial Superintendency of Colombia (SFC) announced the characteristics of the tests on transactions related to cryptocurrencies between Bitcoin exchanges and local banks. One of the most striking aspects is that the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will govern the evaluations.

In the next quarter, the Colombian regulatory entity will call for the pilot scheme, which will take place in a sandbox (regulated test environment). It will include the following aspects: application, selection, structuring, monitoring, and feedback, according to the SFC.

The fact of conforming to FATF regulations means that they will apply the highest standards to minimize the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. In other words, these are the same measures that financial institutions with records of information and reports on suspicious transactions apply. The intention is to offer the best guarantees to users.

Given that the focus of the FATF is on auditing Bitcoin, it recently published a report listing a series of “suspicious” actions when making transactions with the first cryptocurrency on the market. Cryptocurrency users regularly perform many of the said actions.

Other prominent details regarding the tests are that they will last one year and only transactions with pseudonymous cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin or Ether, will undergo processing. The above suggests that transactions with privacy-oriented currencies such as Monero or Zcash will not be part of the tests, and may not have permission to trade in the country.

Requirements for Bitcoin Exchanges

Among the requirements for exchanges, they must only offer the purchase-sale service, a wallet for the storage of cryptocurrencies, and the option for only natural persons to participate.

The SFC will also implement a tool for the “Know Your Customer” (KYC) and “Know Your Transaction” (KYT) processes, as well as the authorization of an entity that this regulatory agency has supervised for operations with exchanges. No one knows yet the limits on the amounts for deposits and withdrawals.

Concerning the monitoring of transactions and identity certifications, the SFC mentions the services that companies Chainalysys, Elliptic, CipherTrace, IdentityMind, and Crystal provide.

During the tests, there must be reports on the progress of the process, while the SFC must send monthly reports to the Evaluation and Monitoring Committee (CES). The superintendency must also report the progress to an entity known as the “Cryptocurrency Table”.

The application cycle should tentatively close in November of this year, and the announcement of the entities that will participate will occur in December. The start of the pilot tests is scheduled for the first quarter of 2021.

In February, the creation of the regulatory sandbox that Colombia is advancing was causing uncertainty among cryptocurrency exchanges. The reason for that situation is that the SFC did not include exchanges in the tests with crypto assets.

Despite this picture, the Financial Superintendency recently announced that banks and exchanges will participate together in the pilot tests. With this, the SFC acknowledges the progress of cryptocurrency operations in the South American country.

By Alexander Salazar