Ledger Live Reveals Added Support for More Than 1,250 Ethereum-Based ERC-20 Tokens

Andres Chavez
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Ledger Live Reveals Added Support for More Than 1,250 Ethereum-Based ERC-20 Tokens

Ethereum (ETH) ERC-20 tokens are arguably the most popular, numerous, and widespread tokens in the cryptocurrency space. However, enjoying them would not be possible without a proper ecosystem or infrastructure: in other words, they would not exist if it were not for cryptocurrency management software.

Regarding that, the France-based hardware wallets manufacturer Ledger announced this week that Ledger Live, the firm’s crypto management software, will now offer support for Ethereum ERC-20 tokens.

The Update Has Already Been Released

Ledger stated that the version 1.14.0 of the Ledger Live software will now support more than 1,250 Ethereum-based ERC-20 tokens, with an update already released and made available for desktop and mobile versions of the mentioned software.

“Our latest version of the application, Ledger Live v.1.14.0, will support 22 coins and an extensive list of ERC-20 tokens. It will also give users the ability to manage a wide array of different crypto assets in real-time, while letting them send and receive coins from their mobile and desktop devices all through a single app without ever compromising control of private keys,” the company stated.

The added support for so many crypto assets is sure to help Ledger Live cement its place among the market leaders when it comes to crypto management software.

The Ledger Live application lets users from all the firm’s hardware wallets, such as Ledger X or Ledger Nano S, to administrate their crypto assets and devices. The brand is very widespread and used in several locations around the planet.

Storing Crypto Assets Securely

Ledger explained that “it’s our mission to ensure that everyone who owns crypto can store their assets securely through the most advanced security technology on the market. We’ve heard what our community has asked for. We’ve been taking time to develop the mobile app, improving the interface and usability while feeding the appetite for more coins on the platform.”

Ledger made another promise that is sure to sound like music to clients’ ears: the firm is planning to add support for more digital assets in the future; although it is not yet clear if there are going to be more announcements for the remainder of the year.

“While the ERC-20 token integration has brought a plethora of new cryptocurrencies to Ledger Live, we still aim to add even more crypto assets to the platform,” the enterprise wrote in the mentioned blog post.

Pointing Fingers At a Rival

A specialized crypto news site recently reported that Ledger revealed several critical vulnerabilities in Trezor devices earlier in 2019. Trezor is one of Ledger’s competitors in the field, and is based in Prague (Czech Republic.)

However, the Czech firm replied to Ledger’s report by saying that neither one of those alleged vulnerabilities is considered critical and implied that customers and users should not have anything to worry about.

By Andres Chavez

Craig Wright blames Hurricane Dorian for not allowing him to prepare allegations

Willmen Blanco
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Craig Wright blames Hurricane Dorian for not allowing him to prepare allegations

Wright asked the court to extend the period to appeal a verdict in the case against Ira Kleiman. He said that he was not able to properly prepare his allegations to challenge the judge’s decision.

The Australian programmer that claims to be the real Satoshi Nakamoto, Craig Wright, reported that he will appeal a verdict of the courts in which he is asked to give half of his bitcoins to Dave Kleiman’s relatives.

The judge in charge of the case, Bruce E. Reinhart, ruled that Wright should hand over 50% of his holdings to Ira Kleiman, late Dave Kleiman’s brother. The property that he is asked to deliver consists of bitcoins mined before 2014 and half of the intellectual property related to what was developed for those dates.

Reinhart stated in the ruling that Wright acted in bad faith, committed perjury and presented false evidence to support his allegations.

Appealing the Sentence

As expected, Wright and his legal team filed a motion to appeal the verdict returned by Judge Reinhart, since the ruling implies that the Australian programmer must give Kleiman’s relatives the equivalent of about 500,000 BTC (estimated at almost US $5,000 million) to for “improperly taking possession of” his late partner’s assets, apart from the costs related to his intellectual property.

However, in a new document filed with the court, Wright asks the authorities to extend the period due to file his appeal. He justified that he needed more time to prepare his arguments because of Hurricane Dorian, whose effects were felt on Florida’s coasts.

The document presented by Wright specifies that he does not recognize the verdict that Judge Reinhart presented on the case. He explained that the amount of time that could possibly apply to extend the valid period and appeal the legal validity of the sentence would be 14 days, in accordance with the provisions of section 72 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

A Vague Excuse

Justifying the resolution, Wright’s lawyer said that the defendant required more time as he was preparing to face the hurricane that affected Florida’s coasts, which compromised his availability to properly prepare his appeal.

The measure was labeled by many people within the ecosystem as a very vague excuse, since the verdict issued by Judge Reinhart is based on strong evidence. Far from proving Wright’s innocence, it only puts on the table a lot of irregularities perpetuated by the Australian programmer to take possession of properties that do not belong to him.

Although the trial does not provide details that help clarify whether Wright is listed as the true creator of Bitcoin, the fact of having to hand over half of the BTCs to Kleiman demonstrates his true ability to move these funds. At one point in the case, Wright said that part of the code necessary to take possession of these assets was lost at the time of Dave’s death, since he did not reveal where the respective information would be housed to unlock the respective bitcoins.

For the time being, Wright would have until September 13th to file the respective appeal, in case of not being granted the additional 14 days that he requested.

By Willmen Blanco

Bahamian Blockchain Company Calls For Crypto-Donations for Hurricane Dorian Victims

Maria Rodríguez
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Bahamian Blockchain Company Calls For Crypto-Donations for Hurricane Dorian Victims

The purpose is to help those who now are homeless and also people with flooded houses. Tokens would increase the donations

This week, the destructive hurricane Dorian passed through the Bahamas. The category 5 storm affected thousands of people in the island. For this reason, companies and foundations seek to raise money to help victims.

At least 30 people died in the Grand Bahama as a result of the cyclone that devastated part of the Caribbean archipelago, according to the latest government data.

More than 60 % of the Grand Bahama Island was submerged on September 3rd and dozens of people lost their homes. They went to shelters to save their lives, but those who lost everything need as much help as possible now.

According to Bahamas National Security Minister Marvin Dames, “this was a crisis of epic proportions. Maybe the worst that we have experienced certainly in our lifetime”.

Because of this, a local blockchain company asked the cryptocurrency and blockchain communities to give a crypto-donation to help the victims of Hurricane Dorian, this is, one of the strongest in recent years.

The firm made the call through a statement that it published on its website and that it shared with local media to call for more help.

The ways to help

PO8 is the name of the company that witnessed the devastation caused by the heavy storm.

With the help of this and other institutions, the most affected islands of the Bahamas will be rebuilt and restored.

“PO8 has pledged 1 billion PO8 tokens to hurricane relief efforts. For every dollar worth of crypto donation, PO8 will match it 100%”, the company said on its website.

According to CoinGecko, a PO8 token equals 1 Bitcoin (BTC). Crypto donations can be done with Bitcoin or Ethereum (ETH) to facilitate users the way they can help. Cash donations can also be made on the GoFundMe page of PO8.

Cryptocurrencies and Donations

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are increasingly being applied in charitable activities. After the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, earlier this year, the French Secretary of State for the Digital Sector, Cédric O, said he was willing to cooperate with cryptocurrency platforms to receive donations and rebuild the temple.

Also, in August, the independent public organization Fidelity Charitable said it has received USD 100 million in donations in cryptocurrencies since it began accepting these assets in 2015.

Although the hurricane felt into category 1, it had acquired a larger size on its way to the United States, according to data from the National Hurricane Center of the United States (NHC).

The news coming from the Abaco Islands, where some 17,000 people reside, pointed to an “unprecedented” devastation”, as Bahamas Prime Minister, Hubert Minnis said.

Aerial photos of the Great Abaco Island show scenes of catastrophic damage, hundreds of homeless people, floods and debris everywhere.

The passage through the United States began in the north of Cape Canaveral (Florida) and will conclude in North Carolina, passing through Georgia and South Carolina, where a cyclonic storm surge is declared.

By María Rodríguez

European Central Bank considers Libra dangerous to financial stability

Willmen Blanco
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European Central Bank considers Libra dangerous to financial stability

The member of the Executive Committee of the European Central Bank (ECB) Yves Mersch said that Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra could jeopardize financial stability.

During the Legal Conference of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), which was held in Frankfurt am Main, Mersch noted that, unlike common crypto and fiat currencies, the social network has some differences that give rise to concerns.

Mersch considers that the ecosystem of Libra is not only complex, but it is also cartel-like. He said that the Libra Coins are published by the Libra Association, a group of global players in the field of payments, technologies, electronic commerce and telecommunications. He explained that the Libra Association will control Libra Blockchain and will collect the digital money equivalent of seignorage income on Libra. He added that Libra-based payment services will be controlled by a Facebook-controlled subsidiary called Calibra.

In other words, the Facebook cryptocurrency will be completely centralized. Additionally, a private company will keep control over it. This kind of centralization is what causes concerns to Mersch.

Regarding money, he explained that centralization is regarded as a virtue only in the appropriate institutional environment, which is that of a sovereign institution and a central issuing authority. He observed that entrepreneurship conglomerates are responsible only for their shareholders and members.

A currency in the hands of a private company, which leads to the criticism of Facebook’s Libra, was thus questionable. After all, the company does not have a central or similar bank that it can catch in times of crisis.

Regulatory difficulties with Facebook’s Libra

Another problem that Mersch addresses is the legal classification of the Facebook cryptocurrency. He thinks that Libra could be classified as electronic money, as a financial instrument or as a virtual currency. On its part, this leads to questions from the competent authority, which causes more difficulties.

This raises the additional issue of the responsible State, which is to regulate Libra or the Zuckerberg Group. In this regard, it is particularly important to develop the guidelines for the future. As a last resort, states and regulators would have to work together across borders.

Mersch explains that, as Libra will be used across borders, it is a matter of international concern. He also said that its global nature would require global regulations.

Concerns of the ECB

Basically, the ECB is very attentive to payment innovation. On its part, Facebook’s Libra provides the opportunity to decrease the ECB’s control over the euro. In fact, being a currency that competes with the euro, it could jeopardize the demand for the euro and, thus, the power of the ECB.

Mersch concluded by saying that he hopes that people will not lose their trust in the money of the central bank or the euro.

He warns people in Europe against compromising the security of the solutions and payment channels established in favor of deception. Instead, he advises leaving behind the “treacherous promises” of the Facebook siren call.

To conclude this note, investors are advised to conduct their own research into the development of new cryptocurrencies to learn more about them. In this way, they will have a much clearer vision of what is available in the market.

By Willmen Blanco

Mexican Politicians Are Wrong about “Experts” in Cryptocurrencies

Willmen Blanco
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Mexican Politicians Are Wrong about “Experts” in Cryptocurrencies

Renato Rodríguez, CEO of Airbit Club, took part in the Mexican Senate to talk about cryptocurrencies. For its part, Colombia recognized Craig Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto.

Mexican politicians show evidence of being wrong about exponents of cryptocurrencies or their associated technology. The public officials, together with the organizers of the talks, seem not be working to determine who should talk about the industry behind cryptoeconomics.

On July 26th, the Senate of the Republic was the stage for the talk “A technological vision of the future of democracy.” One of the invited panelists was Renato Rodríguez, CEO of Airbit Club, who was introduced to the audience as the leader of this organization and a consultant in cryptoeconomics.

It is common knowledge that, both Rodriguez and the company that he directs, have been reported to be involved in alleged scams, based on multilevel schemes, that blur the true meaning of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general .

For three years, users and different institutions have issued warnings about Rodriguez and Airbit Club. Even the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced, in March 2017, that Renato Rodríguez operated a business called Vizinova in which he allegedly used money from investors for personal expenses including luxury cars and houses. The leader of Airbit Club, together with one of his partners, agreed to pay US $1.4 million in returns plus US $160,000 in fines.

More recently, the National Commission of the Stock Market of Spain (CNMV) issued, in January of this year, a warning against Airbit Club, stating that it was not in its records, thus not being authorized to provide investment services.

A simple way to determine the reputation of Airbit Club on the Internet is to search for the name of the company on Google. The search engine will not only yield corporate information about the company, but it will also index dozens of articles and videos in which the operations of this organization are questioned.

Allowing Renato Rodríguez to talk about cryptoeconomics in the Mexican Senate demonstrates the ignorance about what he has really contributed to the cryptocurrency ecosystem, beyond question and doubt about his way of acting protected by this disruptive technology.

Craig Wright in Bogota

Prior to the events in Mexico, politicians of the Council of Bogota, Colombia, had recognized the Australian businessman Craig Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto, creator of Bitcoin. In recent years, he has claimed to be the person behind the pseudonym of the person or people who devised the first cryptocurrency in the market.

Despite this claim and the recognition in Bogota, the community of bitcoiners has contradicted Wright, who is known within the ecosystem as “faketoshi.” In fact, some people recommended that council representatives receive advice before issuing documents of this type.

The events in Mexico and Colombia show that there is still ignorance worldwide about the main actors that drive the development of cryptocurrency technology and its adoption. They also suggest that there are those who, taking advantage of the interest aroused by Bitcoin, try to deceive people who want to learn how to use it.

Both politicians and new enthusiasts should conduct their own research to learn about the dynamics of companies and their representatives so that spaces are not open for those who, instead of fertilizing the land of cryptocurrencies, make it less fertile.

By Willmen Blanco

Hardware Cryptocurrency Wallet Trezor Enables New Security System to Recover Private Keys

Willmen Blanco
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Hardware Cryptocurrency Wallet Trezor Enables New Security System to Recover Private Keys

The private key can be divided into several files. The new security system is based on the algorithm of Adi Shamir, famous Israeli cryptographer.

In the history of Bitcoin, there have been cases of wallets with unrecoverable private keys, an evil for which the cure could be found in the latest update of Trezor. In the week of August 31st, the SatoshiLabs team launched a security standard that minimizes the risks of losing access to a wallet without any escrow service.

The new security option is enabled for all Trezor Model T wallets, as read in a press release by SatoshiLabs team. The mechanism is called Shamir Backup or SLIP-0039 and it aims to offer a safer way to self-escrow private keys.

The security standard is based on an algorithm by Adi Shamir, an Israeli cryptographer who published his Secret Sharing Scheme in an article entitled “How to share a secret” 1979. According to Shamir’s theory, the way to share a secret securely is to divide information into several parts. In this way, the group of people who own these fragments can reconstruct the secret without revealing any information.

Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies, has the peculiarity of being self-escrowed money. To make a transfer on this network, users do not need the help of a third party or a bank. In this way, they will have absolute power over their money, thus avoiding censorship and increasing their level of privacy.

However, the great benefits obtained entail great responsibilities. By eliminating third parties, users need to store and protect their private keys at their own risk, since these are the direct access to their crypto assets. The loss of the wallet recovery seed is one of the most common risks in the ecosystem. For instance, two years ago a man lost about $ 30,000 in bitcoins because he had forgotten the private key of his wallet.

How It Works

Since private keys are a secret, the security standard works applying the same principle of Adi Shamir’s algorithm. The mechanism allows users to divide the private key of a cryptocurrency address into several files.

In that way, when creating a wallet in Model T hardware, users will not have a single recovery seed but a group of shared files. Each resource has a sequence of more than 20 words. The customer can set the number of shared files that are needed to recover the wallet.

The developers of Trezor explain that up to 16 compatible files can be generated.  In spite of this, it recommends that users set a threshold of between 2 and 3, or between 3 and 5, files to recover the wallet. They can share the fragmented information with their family or other people of trust. Besides, the keys can be stored in computers, safes or hiding places at home.

The security standard Shamir Backup is open source, as noted by the SatoshiLabs team. In this way, ecosystem developers can review it and other companies can adopt it for their wallets.

By Willmen Blanco

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