Bitcoin Used to Support Campaign against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Willmen Blanco
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Bitcoin Used to Support Campaign against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

The initiative is a tribute to the memory of Hal Finney, the first bitcoiner, who unfortunately died of ALS. The funds will go to the Golden West Chapter, the organization that took care of the programmer during his illness.

Donations in Bitcoin began to be accepted during a campaign against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) launched as a tribute to the memory of the late programmer Hal Finney, who was the recipient of the first transaction in the Bitcoin network. His widow Fran Finney, who has become an activist to find a cure for the illness from which her husband suffered, approved the initiative.

The funds raised will be destined to the Golden West Chapter of the ALS Association, the organization that took care of the programmer in his fight against ALS until his death in August 2014. It is worth mentioning that the association is dedicated to the fight against the disease in many ways, including the financing of research efforts all over the world. In this first stage, it is expected that it will raise a total of USD 2,500.

The ALS Association said on its website that they are participating to honor the legacy of a respected figure in the Bitcoin network, Hal Finney. They believe that he was an integral part of the history of Bitcoin, as the first person to contact its anonymous creator to help and assist in the creation of a functioning network. He was also the recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction and executed the first mining software apart from Satoshi himself.

The people that are interested in donating to this cause must access the association’s webpage and select one of the options available. It should be noted that they can choose to make their donations with credit cards, in cash or through the Cash App application. The association explained that information on the initiative is disseminated from the Twitter account @bitcoin4als and that renowned cryptocurrency ecosystem personalities are invited to participate in the campaign.

There was information that the plan was to integrate other cryptocurrencies as well, but this option was not possible. For that reason, @ bitcoin4als said that the campaign is not aimed at highlighting a particular project but at highlighting Hal Finney’s legacy.

There were reports that this donation campaign does not seek to determine which scalable solution or cryptocurrency project is the best. It seeks to honor Hal Finney’s legacy and shows his family that his contributions and everything he did, considered important.

Finney posted on his Twitter account on January 10th, 2009 the message «Running Bitcoin», which was the first reference on the social network to the possible future of the main cryptocurrency in the market. After this historical event, an increasing number of users have been posting messages regarding Satoshi’s creation.

To conclude, it is important to say that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in loss of muscle control. It is estimated that every 90 minutes a person is diagnosed with ALS in the USA, thus leading to this kind of initiative of using Bitcoin to contribute to fighting this disease.

By Willmen Blanco

Report Indicates that Lightning Network Is Susceptible to Channel Congestion Attacks

Alexander Salazar
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Report Indicates that Lightning Network Is Susceptible to Channel Congestion Attacks

With less than half a bitcoin, the attackers can congest networks like LN and Raiden until they stop. The vulnerability of both networks is found in the hashed time-locked contract (HTLC).

Payment channel networks, such as Lightning Network and Raiden, are vulnerable to transaction overload or channel congestion attacks. This is stated by two researchers from the University of Jerusalem in a report on the ability of these attacks to stop the operation of both networks.

Ayelet Mizrahi and Aviv Zohar are the two academics in charge of this research, which is entitled “Congestion attacks in payment networks.” The report states that a low-cost attack that paralyzes the Lightning Network (LN) can be conducted for several days.

The hackers would only have to make multiple small payments on the same path and keep them without confirmation. In this way, an overload of requests would occur on the channel that would not allow the transit of new payments, thus keeping the network inactive.

It should be highlighted that the attack would exploit as a vulnerability one of the most important LN and Raiden tools, known as “hashed time-locked contracts” (HTLC). This type of electronic payment ensures the proper processing of a transaction, by blocking the funds and subsequently requesting confirmation.

The Way to Do It

The number of HTLC payments that can be made on a channel is limited, being 483 for the Lightning Network and 160 for Raiden. The waiting time to confirm or cancel a transaction is also very long for both networks, which may even become two weeks on Lightning Network.

As these payments are private, it is impossible to know its origin or its destination, which allows the hackers to conduct this attack campaign with total impunity. They only need to spam their favorite network path, after adding a node.

The researchers assume that paths with a lot of movement and large funds will be the favorite of the hackers, who will open channels under those same routes and request several small payments. The idea will be to exhaust the maximum number of HTLC that can be sent on a path and not confirm any payment; thus, ensuring the full congestion of several channels.

Given that HTLC contracts do not have an immediate closure, the attacker can keep them without confirmation for weeks and even prevent their closure by upgrading the node. In this way, a malicious actor can isolate a group of channels or nodes, and even completely stop the entire network, at the cost of less than half a bitcoin.

The researchers recommended making some modifications to the operation of HTLC contracts, such as creating a second mechanism that imposes a waiting time limit for the confirmation of the neighboring payment. If a user does not comply with this established time, his or her channel can be deactivated to prevent spam on the network.

Lightning Network and Raiden are considerably young networks, considering that their first designs date from 2016. Since they are under development, certain errors and possible vulnerabilities have appeared in their codes that can be used by malicious actors.

By Alexander Salazar

Prohibition on Cryptocurrency Trading Is Eliminated by Supreme Court

Alexander Salazar
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Prohibition on Cryptocurrency Trading Is Eliminated by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court considers that the measure taken in 2018 was unbalanced and rushed. The court indicates contradictions in the position of the BRI and the government regarding cryptocurrencies.

It was reported that the Supreme Court of India eliminated the ban on cryptocurrency trading in that country, which was imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April 2018. In its verdict, the Court stated that the ban was not proportional and that the RBI itself found no adverse impact or damage by the activities of cryptocurrency exchanges.

The Court also allowed a series of allegations that challenged the 2018 RBI circular, which stipulated the ban on banks and financial institutions to provide commercial services related to virtual currencies, among which were cryptocurrencies.

The RBI order had banned the trading of all virtual currencies in India. In this respect, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) requested the repeal of that order, on behalf of cryptocurrency trading companies.

The director of the Fintech Convergence Council of IAMAI, Naveen Surya, said that the industry is excited to work closely with regulators, among which is the Reserve Bank of India, to mitigate all possible risks concerning virtual currencies and to foster the growth of these innovations.

Verdict on the prohibition on cryptocurrencies

The Court, headed by Judge R. F. Nariman, stated in the verdict that they have recognized in some parts of this order the power of the RBI to take preventive actions. However, they are still testing the proportionality of such measures to determine whether the RBI needs to show at least some semblance of any damage suffered.

According to the jury, who said that the RBI circular was not provided, there was a contradiction in the RBI’s position when it insisted that virtual currencies were not banned in India since the circular prohibited all trading around them.

The Court said that through the banning of cryptocurrency trading and exchanges, virtual currencies had been disconnected from their lifeline. To make things worse, this was done despite the RBI not finding anything wrong regarding the operations of these exchanges and virtual currencies not being prohibited.

The verdict also refers to the position of the government of India and explained how the same inter-ministerial committee reached two completely different conclusions in 2018 and 2019. In the 2018 version of the legislative proposal for cryptocurrency regulation, the inter-ministerial committee approved the sale and purchase of digital assets in recognized cryptocurrencies exchanges.

This position changed completely in 2019 when this same committee requested a complete ban on “private currencies” while also requesting the creation of a digital rupee as legal tender.

Verdict Meaning to Industry

Naveen Surya considers that the RBI circular had surprised the industry and was seen as a hasty reaction. As the industry always wanted to work jointly with regulators, several skillful and responsible players understanding the risks communicated with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the government and the RBI.

The issue is still crucial as there is a legislative proposal to prohibit virtual currencies in Parliament. It is expected that the government will make appropriate decisions that allow a balance between innovation and risk, rather than just one dimension.

By Alexander Salazar

Ethereum Developer Considers that Inclusion of ProgPoW Might Not Be Successful

Alexander Salazar
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Ethereum Developer Considers that Inclusion of ProgPoW Might Not Be Successful

For Hudson Jameson, it is obvious that the community does not agree with ProgPoW. The developer believes that the biggest rejection of ProgPoW arises from how it was approved.

Hudson Jameson, Developer at the Ethereum Foundation, is against the inclusion of the new mining algorithm ProgPoW in an upcoming Ethereum fork. A basis for Jameson’s reasoning is the broad rejection of the decision in the Ethereum community.

Hudson said that he considers the implementation of ProgPoW to be unfeasible. According to him, ProgPoW “is not worth it and is dead” due to the overwhelming evidence of community disagreement.

Jameson summarized the entire history of the proposed mining algorithm in Ethereum, which is expected to be included in a fork planned for next July. Among the details, the developer recalled that much of the community is against ProgPoW. In that sense, more than 90 participants of the Ethereum ecosystem introduced a signed letter in GitHub.

On the other hand, the developer expressed his regret on the tone reached by the discussion on this issue among members of the community. In this regard, he said that he had contacted people that had been directly harassed due to this debate. He said that it was “unacceptable” to reach such an extent, which requires having a “civil” and productive discussion.

Jameson also referred to the difference between the current situation and the analysis of the sentiments around ProgPoW made in 2019. While the majority trend at that time was towards accepting the new mining algorithm, currently the community does not express the same sentiments.

The letter signed by community members in recent days stated that it was too late to implement ProgPoW, considering that Ethereum version 2.0 will use the Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism for the network’s mining process.

Controversy Still Continues around ProgPoW

After the new algorithm was proposed, the Ethereum community has been involved in a constant controversy concerning whether or not to implement ProgPoW. Even though the debate surrounding this proposal is already two years old, there is still no clear consensus on this.

Despite the disagreements, there was an intention to conduct independent audits of the code. Despite much disagreement, the resources for an audit were finally approved.

In September 2019, the results of the audit showed a good performance to mitigate the advantages of ASIC specialized mining equipment concerning miners, which is precisely the key reason why ProgPoW was proposed. The study also left a balance of recommendations for technical improvements.

To conclude, Jameson himself also expressed his expectation about the audit. In that regard, he said that the results were expected to allow the community to make a final decision more easily than through the new algorithm. It should be noted that has not happened yet and a new discussion is expected this month.

By Alexander Salazar

The Revival of China’s Cryptocurrency Mining Industry for Bitcoin Halving

Alexander Salazar
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The Revival of China’s Cryptocurrency Mining Industry for Bitcoin Halving

The major mining equipment manufacturers are beginning to resume their usual activities. The entire mining industry is preparing for the next Bitcoin halving.

As a consequence of the outbreak of the coronavirus, the upstream and downstream processes of the cryptocurrency mining industry were postponed earlier this year. Regardless of whether they are mining equipment manufacturers, mining pools, mining farm owners or miners, everyone is preparing for the Bitcoin halving.

Chinese cryptocurrency miner manufacturers, such as Bitmain, began launching new models at the same time as miners “are actively preparing for the battle.” It is worth mentioning that all mining farms are currently running at full speed.

There only remain two and a half months before the Bitcoin halving, an event that has historically given way to a bullish market. However, the halving represents a challenge for the mining industry, since Bitcoin’s price after that event directly determines whether miners will generate profits or get caught by a disastrous lack of profitability.

Coronavirus Influence Weakens

In recent weeks, participants from the entire cryptocurrency mining industry chain, ranging from miner manufacturers to miner suppliers in China, have only been able to see the rise in Bitcoin’s price before the halving occurs.

Artem Eremin, product manager of the ASIC retailer 3Logic, revealed that Bitmain and Canaan’s businesses had been delayed for at least a week. Their arrangements for production, delivery, post-sales services, and repairs had to be postponed.

Given that the outbreak of the coronavirus is being controlled, companies in China are gradually returning to work. In that respect, participants in the Chinese mining industry recently said that the impact of the epidemic has gradually weakened.

Last February 14th, Zhang Wencheng, Sales Director of the Chinese miner producer Whatsminer, said that their production has been resumed, causing some logistics to return to normal. However, large-scale investment could be affected due to the inability to inspect farms and manufacturers.

Other leading miner producers in China, such as Bitmain, Canaan, and PandaMiner, are also returning to work. Given that logistics are normalized, miner manufacturers can produce and sell as usual.

Everyone Prepares for Halving

The director of PandaMiner said that the supply of mining machines is currently reduced. The recovery of the market has allowed mining profits to increase by about 50%, at the same time as the demand for mining equipment has grown.

Currently, the largest miner manufacturers in China are actively improving their production capacity and introducing new machines with better energy efficiency ratios. Large mining equipment manufacturers are launching new models, miners are also trying to find new mining farms, and old and new mining companies are seeking new opportunities.

Last February 27th, Bitmain, the world’s leading cryptocurrency mining equipment manufacturer, announced two new Bitcoin miner models, AntMiner S19 and S19 PRO. Even though Canaan has not expressed plans to launch new machinery shortly, the company has also made great efforts concerning marketing.

Shao Jianliang, CEO of the Canaan blockchain, stated that this company has launched many schemes, such as mining machinery mortgage, free purchase, and installment purchase to improve sales. Additionally, miners can now secure mining revenues by buying options and other products.

By Alexander Salazar

Germany Will Consider Cryptocurrencies as Financial Instruments

Maria Rodríguez
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Germany Will Consider Cryptocurrencies as Financial Instruments

The regulatory authority in Germany issued a document that showed a scheme to classify these digital assets depending on their nature.

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), the highest regulatory authority in Germany, recently announced that cryptocurrencies will be part of the country’s economy. The entity is following guidelines and agreements against money laundering established by the fifth directive of the European Union. In this sense, all these digital assets will receive the name of “financial instruments”.

Since the approval of the document, all the people who own any kind of cryptocurrency must have a license issued by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authorities offices. Hence, these digital assets can operate in the European country.

Germany is known to be one of the countries in Europe that have seen cryptocurrencies as another way of exercising their economic rights. A press report was published last year to increase the acceptance of these assets. The publication noted that by 2020 some banks in the country could offer a storage service for cryptocurrencies, including some other financial services. This decision that adopts and approves the use of cryptocurrencies represents a great movement for the crypto industry in the continent.

Although the announcement does not mean that the authorities gave a legal nature to these digital assets, it will allow the free circulation of cryptocurrencies if the people have the necessary documentation. The use of these digital assets can cover most of the most common financial services such as free storage and marketing.

Cryptocurrencies are “a digital representation of value that has not been issued or guaranteed by a central bank or public body and does not have the legal status of currency or money. At the same time, crypto can represent an agreement for, or an actual exercise of, payment or investment. It can be accepted as a medium of exchange by natural or legal persons and be transmitted, stored and traded electronically”, the BaFin document says.

But there are other assets considered as “Financial Instruments”. A classification scheme for all types of cryptocurrencies accompanied the announcement to detail what other assets are “financial instruments”.

The classification will depend on the nature of the token. Some assets are considered as “investments”, others as “securities”, and others as both “securities and investments”. In this way, these digital currencies will be included as “Financial Instruments”.

Security as the Main Factor to Attract Investors

During 2017, the number of scams to obtain digital assets increased, reaching approximately USD 10,000 in robberies, as a KPMG report highlighted.

The publication highlighted that the lack of security and the vulnerability on the operation of these assets were the preponderant factor for the growth of these crimes. Investors demand greater security for the control of cryptocurrencies. Their idea is to generate the necessary confidence to join these initiatives.

This measure taken by the BaFin puts a new level of control over operations conducted with cryptocurrencies, as well as over people who want to use these assets to liquidate funds or issue payments.

The authority can issue the necessary permissions. Those companies that want to install these services to their movements must request the license of the regulator. The companies that already use these currencies for their operations can opt for permission that will be granted to them later this year.

According to the advancement of technology in Germany, 40 banks and financial institutions have already shown their interest in offering their clients a cryptocurrency protection service. Until now, these financial institutions have already made the proper request to the BaFin to comply with the current rules and boost the adoption of these digital assets safely.

By María Rodríguez

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