Coinbase wants inflation-pegged flatcoins on layer-2 ‘Base’ network

Inflation

US crypto exchange Coinbase wants inflation-pegged “flatcoins” to be one of four “critical” innovations it hopes to see on its newly launched layer-2 network, Base.

The company also wants developers to explore an on-chain reputation system, an on-chain limit order book (LOB) exchange, and tools to improve safety in decentralised finance (DeFi).

Coinbase announced the four areas in a ‘Request for Builders’ post, published a month after launching Base – a...

27 March 2023 | Blockchain Applications

Chainalysis: Crypto scammers adapt to match market conditions

Bear Market

Crypto scammers are finding ways to adapt to the bear market despite revenue from scams halving last year, according to research from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.

A crypto crime webinar hosted by the company explained how scammers tend to shift their tactics as market conditions change.

Such tactics have allowed some scammers to continue to thrive, even though overall revenue from crypto scams fell by 46% in 2022.

Eric Jardine, cybercrime research lead...

24 March 2023 | Blockchain Applications

Crypto exchange Bitget invests $30m in multi-chain wallet BitKeep

Bitget

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bitget has invested $30 million (£24.4m) into multi-chain wallet BitKeep to improve stability and security on its exchange.

The deal, which sees Bitget become the controlling shareholder of BitKeep, brings the wallet start-up’s valuation to $300 million (£244m).

Gracy Chen, managing director at Bitget, said: “Being one of the most trusted crypto exchanges with a $300 million user protection fund, we know how much security and...

22 March 2023 | Blockchain Applications

Security firm Halborn warns 280 blockchains of ‘zero-day’ exploits

Code

Web3 security firm Halborn has found that more than 280 blockchain networks are vulnerable to “zero-day” exploits that could put upwards of £20 billion worth of crypto at risk.

A zero-day vulnerability is one which is discovered by attackers but remains unknown to the network and its developers. Halborn said that blockchains like Dogecoin, Litecoin, and Zcash were all found to be at risk.

https://twitter.com/HalbornSecurity/status/1635262272837746688

The most...

15 March 2023 | Cryptocurrency

Tornado Cash sequel, Privacy Pools, aims to please US regulators

Tornado

An ex-developer of Tornado Cash, the sanctioned crypto mixer that makes crypto assets harder to track, is working on a new platform that hopes to solve the service’s ties to illicit activity.

Ameen Soleimani believes that Privacy Pools, the working name for his new Ethereum mixer launched on GitHub, will nudge US regulators to reconsider their stance on privacy mixers.

In a lengthy Twitter thread, Soleimani discussed what he says as the “critical flaw” with Tornado...

6 March 2023 | Blockchain Applications

Lido Finance adds staking limit after 150k ETH staked in one day

Liquid

Liquidity staking protocol Lido Finance activated safety features to limit staking after more than 150,000 Ether was staked on the platform in a single day.

The decentralised finance (DeFi) protocol is popular amongst the crypto community as a tool to stake digital assets like Ether (ETH) without having to lock them away.

When Lido users deposit Ether, the tool issues a liquid version of their tokens back to them called staked Ether (stETH), rewarding users for each day...

27 February 2023 | Blockchain Applications

Coinbase is launching its own layer-2 network, called ‘Base’

Ethereum

US crypto exchange Coinbase is launching its own Ethereum layer-2 network, called Base.

The NASDAQ-listed company says the new network will provide a low-cost and developer-friendly environment for creating decentralised apps (DApps).

Base has been designed as a bridge to onboard users into the crypto economy, providing access to other layer-1 blockchains like Solana and making it interoperable with other...

24 February 2023 | Cryptocurrency

Chain Reaction to build cryptographic chips with fresh $70m

Encryption

Chain Reaction, an Israeli startup designing semiconductors for blockchain and privacy hardware, has emerged from stealth following a $70 million (£58m) Series C funding round.

The Tel Aviv-based firm’s specialty chips and related architecture are designed to support cryptographic processes, most notably in the breakthrough field of homomorphic encryption, an approach to privacy that encrypts data as it is used.

Morgan Creek Digital led this third round, taking the...

23 February 2023 | Blockchain Applications

Bosch partners with Fetch.ai on $100m web3 foundation

web3

Global electronics company Bosch is collaborating with Fetch.ai, an AI-focused crypto protocol, to create a $100 million (£83m) web3 grant programme.

The Fetch.ai Foundation will aim to increase industry adoption of technologies relating to artificial intelligence, web3, and the Internet of Things (IoT). It plans to fund research and development into decentralised technology and practical use cases with real-world benefits.

The $100 million will be distributed in grants...

21 February 2023 | Blockchain Applications

Jump Crypto finds infinite token vulnerability on Binance BNB Chain

Web3 infrastructure firm Jump Crypto has alerted Binance to a vulnerability in the BNB Beacon Chain that would have allowed for an infinite mint of tokens.

The issue was reported privately to the BNB team on 8 February and patched within 24 hours, according to a blog post from 10 February. The post said that, if exploited, the vulnerability could have led to a “large loss of funds”.

The vulnerability would have allowed for an attacker to make a malicious transfer,...

13 February 2023 | Altcoins