An Artwork was Sold through Lightning Network

Maria Rodríguez
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An Artwork was Sold through Lightning Network

The use of this platform to make auctions is increasing. The objective is to encourage micropayments, avoid spam attacks, intermediaries and also help artists to sell their pieces of art. This micro auction will inspire others to think big about Bitcoin’s future

Last Wednesday, December 19th, the artist @Criptograffiti auctioned his work entitled: “Black Swan” through the electronic micropayments platform Lightning Network (LN).

The piece of art became the cheapest in history. Its price is only 1 Milisatoshi, or the equivalent to 0.000000037 dollars. This operation, like the auction itself, was conducted by means of Lightning Network, which allows these payments to be made instantly and without any intermediaries or trustworthy persons who could retain the money to carry out the transaction.

Unlike traditional auctions, in which the highest bidder always wins, in this case, the winner turned out to be the user who offered the lowest amount of satoshis. This happens because the main objective is to encourage the use of micropayments and promote them as a way to avoid Spam and Distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDSO) by means of emails. Criptograffiti believes that this would help artists to create ideas to sell their creations through these small amounts of money.

The artist also talked about it through his official Twitter account: “Congratulations to @BTC_Spot who won with his @CasaHODL node! Spot has been in space (of cryptoactives) since 2013 and runs a Bitcoin Meetup in Fresno”. In addition, he named his artwork as the “least expensive work of art in history”.

The particular piece of art is a montage on a canvas of approximately 1.4 x 1.75 inches (35.56 x 44.45 millimeters) which characterizes a black swan, made with cuts of American dollar bills and strokes with a pen, or special black pencils for detecting false bills. This work aims, according to the artist, to raise awareness about the use of the Lightning platform; and it works as a “mockery” for the Great Media of Communications (GMC) that, in his opinion, is trying to mitigate the use of cryptocurrencies in the global economic market.

Criptograffiti said he is very excited about the sale of his artwork and that “with luck, this micro auction will inspire others to think big about the future of Bitcoin”, he concluded.

The artist has dedicated all his projects around the use of cryptocurrencies and to generate viable solutions for those who make life with art. He says he dreams of a future where artists are paid for their art instantly. “Artists paid for by sight… writers for the poem… musicians for listening”, he said.

Lightning Network is revolutionizing the way to make daily purchases, using transaction with cryptocurrencies as a flag and make almost insignificant payments immediately, through payment channels that serve as secure transaction paths between the issuer and the receiver.

The platform also seeks to avoid the use of waiting times for confirmations, commissions for miners or intermediaries. This makes Lightning Network the perfect platform for current artists to be remunerated for their big art on a small scale, thanks to the existence of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

By María Rodríguez

Italy Publishes a List of 30 Experts to Build a National Blockchain Strategy

Andres Chavez
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Italy Publishes a List of 30 Experts to Build a National Blockchain Strategy

Developed, forward-thinking countries are eager to include the blockchain technology into their everyday operations, transactions, and processes because of its obvious and proven benefits. Each day, more governmental authorities try to experiment with the approach and look for the help of veterans in the matter.

Such is the case of Italy. The government of the European nation announced this week a list of 30 names to help them integrate the technology at the state level. The list is comprised of prominent, high-level experts in blockchain technology, its modus operandi, and its applications.

An Approach on Distributed Register and Blockchain Technologies

It was reported by a specialized site in cryptocurrency news that the list of 30 people would work ad honorem (without pay,) and their duties include serving as advisors to Italian authorities in order to come up with a way to build “a national strategy on distributed register and blockchain technologies.”

The election of the 30 people is the result of a long process of consultation and internal discussions, four months to be precise. Italy’s Ministry of Economic Development (MSE) is in charge of leading the project.

 “Emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain are intended to radically change our lives, the society in which we live and the economic and productive fabric of the country,” were the words of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development, Luigi Di Maio back in September, showing a marked preference for adopting the blockchain technology at the governmental level.

The official also stated that “emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, are bound to fundamentally change our lives, the society we live in and the economic fabric of our country.”

The people taking part in the project come from different backgrounds, but all have considerable expertise in blockchain-related affairs. All of them are Italian. Some of them are Assobit co-founder Gian Luca Comandini, Italtel leader of marketing portfolio Angiolini Giorgio, and Blockchain & Society Policy Research Lab Board of Directors member Marcella Atzori, among other influential personalities.

Preventing Illicit Activities in the Country

Italian government leaders have expressed their desire of extending their monitoring of crypto-related affairs in the nation, including associated concepts and technologies such as the blockchain, the one that powers Bitcoin and some of the top altcoins in the industry.

The authorities in the country have also firmly opposed the use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology for illicit purposes, as they continually issue warnings against criminals, hackers, and other potentially illegal agents.

Italy, along with Spain, Portugal, France, Malta, and Cyprus, signed a “joint declaration” in which it acquires the compromise of promoting the adoption of the blockchain technology in the European region with the macro plan of “transforming” their respective economies. Another point discussed in the meeting that took place just a few weeks ago was the collaboration in the technology development, as the EU aims to become one of the planet’s leaders in that aspect.

By Andres Chavez

Electrum Bitcoin Wallet Users Suffer Phishing Attack; Hackers Collect more than 200 BTC

Andres Chavez
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Electrum Bitcoin Wallet Users Suffer Phishing Attack; Hackers Collect more than 200 BTC

Hackers and cybercriminals always seem to be at least one step ahead of the game. They have the skills, talent, and resources to think outside the box and come up with new ideas to trick systems and users to achieve their objectives: taking over accounts and networks to show their power and to gain financial assets.

The cryptocurrency industry has earned more users with each passing day, but the continued hacking scandals and phishing attacks still loom large as wallet holders are scared of investing big only to see some skilled cybercriminal end up with all the money.

The most recent attack, one that involves phishing, is currently taking place since December 21st, 2018. Hackers have targeted the Electrum Bitcoin wallet, and they have managed to collect around 200 BTC, which would be something in the neighborhood of $750,000. Although some of the victims didn’t even see it coming, the attack can be avoided.

Malicious Servers Caused the Damage

The Electrum wallet does not ask the customer to download the full blockchain. Its modus operandi involves the implementation of servers that remotely provide users with the blockchain, gaining access to it through the wallet. Several wallets use that approach, as well, and Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Dash versions have been forked in the past.

The hackers added malicious servers in the Electrum network: when wallet holders attempted to perform a BTC transaction over one of those servers, the interface showed a message telling the person to download an update because of an “error.”

At that moment, the person is redirected to the cybercriminal’s GitHub page, and if the user downloads the update, its system would allow the installation of malware, which subsequently urged users to provide their 2FA (two-factor authentication) codes, letting the hackers use them and take all the BTC via fund transfer to their bitcoin address.

“There is an ongoing phishing attack against Electrum users. Our official website is https://electrum.org  Do not download Electrum from any other source”; this was the message that the company wrote on its Twitter account, @ElectrumWallet.

As of now, Electrum has modified its software and released an update. According to the Electrum Github repository, “we did not publicly disclose this until now, as around the time of the 3.3.2 release, the attacker stopped; however they now started the attack again.”

Red Flags

The fact that the interface asks the user for 2FA at the moment of downloading the malware should be a clear sign that something is not right, because two-factor authentication is normally requested only to perform any transaction within the Bitcoin wallet.

The Electrum phishing attack is not the first one that the crypto industry has endured, and sadly, it does not seem like it will be the last. As a McAfee report showed a few days ago, the recurrence of malware attacks in crypto users is dramatically rising: in 2018, incidents regarding crypto malware have increased more than 4,000 percent.

By Andres Chavez

British Retail Investors and Businesses are Still Struggling to Recover from Bitcoin Crash

Andres Chavez
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British Retail Investors and Businesses are Still Struggling to Recover from Bitcoin Crash

Right around Bitcoin Cash’s hard fork in November 15th (even hours before it took place) the crypto markets experienced a collapse of epic proportions that the industry is still slowly recovering from. Bitcoin (BTC) price fell from nearly $6,500 at the start of November to less than $3,300 in a matter of weeks. Right now, it has shown a better face and is hovering around $3,900, at the time of this writing.

Not only are cryptocurrencies still struggling to regain their value after such a hard hit, but business and investors are still suffering the consequences of it. Hundreds of commercial establishments were severely affected by the 80 percent drop of the digital coin from its record high at the end of 2017 and to start 2018.

According to a report from a British famous news network, alongside investment portfolios, the collapse claimed mortgages, loans, marriages, and college or university funds for investors’ sons and daughters.

The Wrong End of the Curve

We are already acquainted with the damage that the market crash had on American and Asian investors, but the report explains the extent of it on British retail investors, those who started investing heavily in Bitcoin at the end of 2017, right at the higher part of the curve (when it reached $20,000 in late December – early January,) only to be left with disappointing losses.

The report explains that the typical British Bitcoin buyer at the end of last year wasn’t driven by realistic or planned investment strategies, but instead, its main motivator was “not missing out” on the phenomenon.

As a result of wanting to get rich overnight without much effort, lots of UK retail investors registered new companies purportedly involved in blockchain technology. Data from the UK Companies House tells us that 340 of those firms were dissolved or liquidated this year, while the 2017 number was just 139. All in all, 58 percent of blockchain related businesses registered in the United Kingdom during Bitcoin’s higher “peak” didn’t survive.

Hugh Halford-Thompson, a renowned blockchain entrepreneur, provided his view on the matter: “There was a lot of people getting in, and I think for the first time I felt there were a large number of people who really didn’t understand what they were getting into as well. So every Uber driver I had either had invested or was thinking about it. I had people asking me genuinely which coin to put their children’s university funds into. That’s not good. I didn’t follow up with them, but I hope they didn’t. For the first time a lot of normal people who didn’t understand investments made or lost money in fairly big ways. It’s a lot worse when it’s the general public.”

Worrying Behavior

After peaking at nearly $20,000, it was worth nearly half of that by the month of March. For a couple of months between September and November, it hovered around $6,000 and $6,500, but by early December and after the mid-November collapse, it was threatening to break the $3,000 barrier.

By Andres Chavez

Institutional Investments Would Support the Crypto World in 2019

Maria Rodríguez
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Institutional Investments Would Support the Crypto World in 2019

The adoption of this decentralized payment system is on the rise and the opposite is not expected to happen next year

PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the renowned professional consulting services firm, ensures that 2019 will be a year to achieve major advances in the cryptocurrencies’ world. Beyond the fluctuation of prices, different companies are taking advantage of the technology that uses this asset and now many cryptocurrency ATMs are installed in different countries.

The adoption of this decentralized payment system is increasing and something different is not expected to happen. Analysts believe that during the next 12 months we will observe capital injections from different companies.

Henri Arslanian, the company’s Fintech Executive for China and Hong Kong, predicts that regulatory clarity will also be achieved. “I think there are many exciting things that the crypto ecosystem is waiting for 2019. One of them is really the entrance of institutional players. In 2018, we saw that many of the big banks entered this space and in 2019; I hope that many more will also enter”, he said.

The expert from one of the four largest accounting and professional services firms in the world also talked about which paths would take major investments to deliver funds to the sector. Regarding this topic, he assured there are different alternatives, such as the creation of companies dedicated exclusively to this point.

Arslanian placed Fidelity as an example of what could happen in the near future: this company will offer cryptoactive management and custody services for institutions through its subsidiary Fidelity Digital Assets. The same could happen to other companies.

New Ideas

Among other paths likely to be traveled in cryptocurrencies’ way during 2019, there are new partnerships between corporations and startups that “make life” in the ecosystem.

Arslanian, graduated from the Columbia University and the London Business School, added: “Others will try to make alliances with cryptocurrency companies and others will want to invest in cryptocurrency companies like Goldman Sachs did with BitGo and Circle”. According to the expert, alliances between companies related to traditional institutions will lead to an appropriate level of institutional expertise.

The PwC executive said greater regulatory clarity will boost institutional investments. He also observes a potential growth in stock tokens and tokens anchored to national currencies.

The professional also stated that he expects “more large banks” to enter the space, some launching their own solutions, and others associating or investing in crypto companies. The entrance of those institutions to the cryptographic space will bring the institutional support the industry needs.

PwC is an international network of companies that offer consulting and auditing services. The corporation, which is located in London, was founded in 1849 and is one of the big four accounting firms in the world. Its Hong Kong office has accepted Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for its advisory services since the end of 2017.

The predictions can be fulfilled. There have been some announcements from the main institutions, which seem to support Arslanian’s calculations. For example, Nasdaq, the second largest stock exchange in the world, has confirmed its plans to launch Bitcoin futures in the first half of 2019.

In addition, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), operator of 23 exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), announced it plans to launch its Bakkt digital asset platform on January 24th, 2019. In the next 12 months, surely blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies will continue giving pleasant surprises.

By MaríaRodríguez

Blockchain Technology Has “Enormous” Potential to Help in Disaster Relief

Andres Chavez
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Blockchain Technology Has “Enormous” Potential to Help in Disaster Relief

As long as people realize the potential of the blockchain technology to serve as a tool to help the humanity, its global adoption will be smoother and faster. And judging by the most recent statements of the Department of Defense of the United States of America, its potential in helping improve the efficiency of disaster relief processes is “enormous.”

The Defense Logistics Agency, most specifically, its Troop Support division, had a December meeting in the city of Philadelphia, in which the members discussed the hypothetical impact of the blockchain technology on the “successful” efforts in assisting Puerto Rico during the 2017 Hurricane Maria. The Troop Support’s Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) office hosted the gathering that took place a few weeks ago.

A Similar Impact that the Internet Had on Communications

“The potential is absolutely enormous,” according to CPI Management Analyst Elijah Londo, quoted in a DLA report of the meeting. “Talk about blockchain, and you’ll hear experts comparing it to transforming trust or transactions in the same way the internet changed communication.”

Whilst it is true that the relief efforts were a success over that terrible time in Puerto Rico last year, the system can be improved. Right now, the DLA uses centrally managed systems to track logistics processes. That development further complicates data synchronizing by the involved agents, making it hard to make sure that the information they are gathering is up-to-date.

Enter the blockchain technology; If it is correctly deployed, the DLA would be able to track the data and optimize supply chain transaction processes and the viability of shipments whilst they are “in transit,” according to the release.

Marko Graham, who currently acts as the Deputy Director of the DLA’s Construction and Equipment unit, identified those situations as the ones in which he can “see where blockchain would have been a big help. Flowing material specifications and tracking data from the manufacturer buying the raw materials to … getting the transportation and getting it on the barges.”

Alliances and Partnerships

The Troop Support’s Continuous Process Improvement is; thus, looking to improve the input of its services along with the U.S. Transportation Command and Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies in the planet. Coincidentally, Maersk is deeply involved in blockchain projects itself, as it partnered with tech giant IBM to develop a supply chain ecosystem whilst implementing the model.

“We’re researching the technology. We’re getting as smart as we can about what it is, what industry is saying about it, what the future might look like, how it applies to supply chains and how other industries are using it. We’re doing our due diligence,” said Londo about the subject.

The US Department of Defense is not the only governmental agency seeking the help of blockchain technology to improve inputs or productivity. The Department of Homeland Security is looking to use the approach to avoid the use of fake documentation, and is willing to offer grants of $800,000 to startups that can help them achieve their goal.

By Andres Chavez

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