Author: José Oramas

José is a journalist and translator with a keen interest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

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Bitcoin BSV Crypto News Hackers

BSV Reportedly Suffers Another ‘Massive’ 51% Attack

Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) suffered another 51% attack on August 3, around 11:46 am Eastern Time Zone, as confirmed by analytics provider Coin Metrics.

The attack resulted in a catastrophic event for the network, which already had gained a bad reputation in the crypto space. An unidentified group reportedly reorganised over 100 blocks, creating three versions of the chain and mining them simultaneously.

Coin Metrics confirmed the attack after Lucas Nuzzi, an active member of the crypto community on Twitter, shared the news:

The attack continued for 12 hours, and was ongoing at press time. At first it was reported that 14 blocks were reorganised, but that number now amounts to over 100, according to Nikita Zhavoronkov. The BSV price – which was already in a downtrend – lost 7 percent in the last 24 hours, reaching lows of US$133.

Bitcoin Association Responds

The Bitcoin Association responded by recommending node operators to “mark the fraudulent chain as invalid”, which, according to the association, will return their nodes to the “chain supported by honest miners”.

However, some people were not convinced:

This attack further stains the image of BSV, created and promoted by Australian programmer Craig Wright. The protocol was originally intended to be an immutable ledger that would overcome Bitcoin’s original protocol limitations.

However, several exchanges have been delisting BSV in response to the continuous 51 percent network attacks.

Categories
Australia Binance Blockchain Crypto News

Quant Token QNT Soars 70% After Binance Listing

Quant (QNT), the utility token of Quant Network, has skyrocketed over 70 percent after being listed on Binance last week.

QNT was trading at US$98 before it was listed on the exchange, reaching US$184, according to data from CoinGecko. It recorded a 24-hour trading volume of over US$70 million and at the time of writing was priced at $168.92.

QNT Gaining Traction in the Market

Quant Network is an ambitious project created and currently led by Australian tech innovator Gilbert Verdian, a graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, now living in London.

The project offers a Multi-Ledger Token System ( MLTS ), which removes single DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) limitations by allowing assets to run on multiple DLTs at the same time. Verdian tweeted that Quant’s MLTS could allow CBDCs to be interoperable domestically, enabling cross-border transactions.

Verdian came up with the idea of using blockchain standards to ensure interoperability between DLT/blockchain implementations and non-DLT when he was the chief information security officer for eHealth NSW five years ago.

Standards enable blockchain platforms with guidance and best practices on what is required to achieve interoperability to reduce the risk of a fragmented ecosystem. It also prevents technology lock-in by providing options to move between technologies and, during implementation, clients can align to standards that make it easier to implement with confidence in continued compliance.

Seq official summary

Thanks to his innovative work, Verdian has become a recognised leader in the industry, joining the likes of Dr Jiangshan Yu, an Australian researcher from Melbourne’s Monash University who won a 2020 IBM Academic Award.

More Companies Using Multichain Blockchains

Multichain blockchains are growing in popularity daily as their inherent interoperability allows companies to securely exchange data between two sovereign blockchains.

In March, Cosmos Protocol, the company behind the ATOM token, voted to include the IBC protocol, which allows communication between blockchains without limitations or extra steps.

Categories
Crypto Hardware Wallets DeFi Hackers Scams

Trojan Hits Australia’s Android Crypto Wallets

There’s a new malware spreading across Europe and Australia – a virus targeting Android devices to harvest login credentials for online banking apps and crypto wallets in an automated way.

Vultur Wings Its Way to Australia

Vultur, a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) that was being tested in Italy and Spain, is now rapidly spreading across Australia. The virus has been installed over 5000 times via Google Play Store disguised as an app called “Protection Guard”, so the number of victims should be the same.

Source: Twitter

A RAT malware is smuggled into a device to control it remotely, relying on the function of Virtual Network Computing (VNC). Through VNC, hackers try to obtain personal information to carry out online fraud on a massive scale.

For the first time we are seeing an Android banking trojan that has screen recording and keylogging as the main strategy to harvest login credentials in an automated and scalable way.

ThreatFabric researchers

Detecting Vulture

Outside of recently downloading any apps with the name of “Protection Guard”, ThreatFabric suggested that there was a way to detect the RAT:

You can also detect Vulture because when it’s transmitting data to its command-and-control server, the active “casting” icon will show up in the Android notifications. If you’re not casting something and the icon shows up anyway, that’s reason to worry.

ThreatFabric

To reduce the risk posed by RATs such as Vulture, Android users would be advised to ensure that they have a reputable antivirus app running in the background to detect any potential threats when new apps are downloaded.

Buy a Hardware Wallet

The attackers are targeting major crypto exchanges and mobile wallets including Kraken, Coinbase, Binance, CEX, eToro and more. While Android devices are the main target, users believe the virus may soon reach iOS.

Crypto users are warning others on social media, recommending they do not store their funds on exchanges and, if possible, get a hardware wallet and save most of their funds on it.

Scams, Hacks and Glitches on the Rise

As hacks and crypto scams become more common, newcomers should be wary when choosing their wallets. Rather than leave their funds in a crypto exchange, they should store them in a hardware wallet.

Roll, for instance, was a decentralised finance protocol attacked in March by a group of hackers that drained its wallet of over US$5.7 million. To this day, developers still don’t know how the platform got hacked.

As always, you can keep up to date with the many and varied scams out there by consulting Crypto News‘ comprehensive guide.

Categories
Binance Regulation

Binance Halts Derivative Products Across Europe Amid Regulatory Hurdles

Binance has announced it will cease providing futures and derivatives products for users across Europe, starting with Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

The decision comes after regulatory pressure has increased worldwide, forcing the exchange to limit its product offerings.

Binance Wants to “Harmonise Crypto Regulations”

A month ago, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ordered Binance to halt its product offering to clients across the country, yet it seems to have been business as usual for the exchange.

However, after meeting with increasing international regulatory pressure, it appears Binance wants to take “proactive steps towards harmonising crypto regulations, which is a positive sign for the industry”, according to a tweet from the exchange.

We understand that many regulators at local levels may have their own positions on crypto, and we welcome the opportunity to engage in a constructive dialogue on local requirements.

Binance, Twitter

Users in the aforementioned countries will have 90 days to close their positions, Binance said. The date is set to be announced later.

Binance Shuts Down Stock Tokens Trading

Binance has been forced to negotiate with international regulatory bodies after they warned the exchange about its lack of authorisation to operate in their respective countries. Regulators in those countries have declined to comment on the decision.

The constant pressure also forced the exchange to shut down stock tokens trading months after the service was launched. The service allowed users to buy digital tokens linked to shares of companies, known as “stock tokens”, which could be bought for shares of publicly traded giants including Apple and Microsoft.

Categories
Australia Crypto News Regulation Trading

New ASIC Chairman Says Crypto Trading is “a Significant Area of Concern”

Joe Longo, the new chairman of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), says that certain “economic threats” like unregulated crypto trading are a concern for the corporate regulator in the wake of Covid-19.

In a July 29 ABC interview, Longo emphasised his particular concern over unregulated crypto trading and the companies that provide them, as crypto scams have been on the rise recently not only in Australia but worldwide.

We are particularly focused on scams and vulnerable consumers who are at risk during the pandemic […] It’s clearly the case that we’re seeing a number of scams emerging online with cryptocurrencies being traded on various platforms.

Joe Longo, ASIC chairman
New ASIC chairman Joe Longo. Source: youngwitness.com.au

Longo warned consumers about trading cryptocurrencies as the practice is not regulated nor covered by the Corporations Act. “I think consumers need to be really careful in trading and crypto and knowing what the risks are,” he said.

ASIC Moves to Boost Consumer Protection in Crypto Trading

While crypto trading isn’t regulated in Australia, ASIC has been taking steps to boost consumer protection around CFD (contracts for difference) crypto trading, following the Financial Conduct Authority’s order for crypto exchanges such as Binance to halt regulated services in the UK.

ASIC recently published a report laying out guidelines about the inclusion of crypto assets in ETPs (exchange traded products). As per page 46 of the report, the institution is seeking feedback from stakeholders and investors on how to make crypto assets available to retail investors through licensed Australian markets, and to protect consumers and promote market integrity.

Categories
Crypto News DeFi Hackers

Polygon YELD Token Goes to Zero as $250,000 Disappears

Another Polygon Yield Farming token has crashed after attackers found a vulnerability in the platform’s smart contract, exploiting it and minting nearly 4.9 trillion tokens.

The YELD token – which belongs to a DeFi project called PolyYeld Finance that runs on the Polygon network – crashed to zero shortly after the attack.

Pool Drained, Rewards Inflated

PolyYeld Finance smart contract is called MasterChef, designed to distribute rewards for liquidity pool tokens by dividing the pool value by the value of tokens staked. But it seems hackers found a vulnerability in the contract that allowed them to mint xYELD, a deflationary token, reducing the pool value and inflating rewards.

According to Xuxian Jiang, CEO of security firm PeckShield, a deflationary token like xYELD charges a fee on every transaction, so by repeatedly depositing and withdrawing with the contract, the attackers triggered the tax collection, reducing the xYELD balance to 1 WEI.

The attackers swapped 4 percent of minted tokens to 123 ETH – worth around US$250,000 at time of writing – using various decentralised exchanges such as QuickSwap and Uniswap.

Hack Highlights the Risks of Yield Farming

This is not the first time in recent months that a yield farming project on Polygon has failed. In response, PolyYeld developers have asked users to unstake their funds, adding that they’re considering compensating all affected users and will report their advances in coming days.

Yield Farming platforms are known for providing high returns to users but, being a decentralised space with no regulations, risks of exploitations, data breaches or scams are always present.

Investors should be wary when entering the DeFi space and consider non-financial DeFi risks, as price fluctuations are not the only ones responsible for lost money.

Prior to the Polygon attack, the most recent target has been THORChain, a DeFi protocol that has been attacked multiple times in the past few weeks.

Categories
Australia Crypto News

Australia’s First Live Crypto Price Ticker Billboard Goes Live

Aussie crypto broker BTC Markets is broadcasting live cryptocurrency prices through outdoor media company QMS as part of a new campaign designed to create awareness of how the crypto market has become mainstream, not only in Australia but worldwide. 

As part of a DOOH (Digital Out-Of-Home) campaign, BTC Markets is using a live feed from its own platform, making it the first-ever live crypto feed in Australia. The platform updates prices in real time through QMS’s own portal.

Handle Media Agency founder Misha Vaxman said that collaborating with QMS enabled it to “harness the dynamic and flexible capability of DOOH”, ensuring the campaign provides a reliable live crypto feed for Australians.

We wanted to raise [BTC Markets’] profile by reaching mass audiences while at the same time educating the public on the legitimacy and ease of crypto trading.

Misha Vaxman

“The immediacy of DOOH provides the perfect platform for BTC to showcase the live value of various cryptocurrencies,” said QMS chief operating officer Sara Lappage.

What BTC Markets has done is a great example of advertisers thinking deeper about how DOOH and its dynamic capabilities can easily be harnessed with more engaging content. [It’s] a simple and yet clever way to deliver greater audience engagement and make an impact.

Sara Lappage, QMS

Bringing Crypto Awareness to Australia

BTC Markets has previously emphasised that Australia needs to prepare to compete against global markets as new financial technologies like blockchain and crypto rapidly emerge. And by doing so, the country will need to have a regulatory framework that favours the local industry.

The local blockchain community has also called for a clearer regulatory framework. As Crypto News reported on July 28, Blockchain Australia has submitted a file of regulatory recommendations to a Senate Select Committee, prompting local authorities to implement a coordinated and graduated approach for the crypto and blockchain industry.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Crypto News Regulation

Blockchain Australia Wants ‘Safe Harbour’ for Crypto Businesses Amid Regulatory Uncertainty

In yet another petition to bring clarity to the regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the country, Blockchain Australia and industry-related partners have issued a set of regulation recommendations to the federal government.

The file of recommendations was submitted to the Senate Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre on July 23, with three primary points in response to the committee’s request for submissions on how to take the country forward as a technology and financial leader.

What Are the Recommendations?

The paper prompts the federal government to implement a “coordinated and graduated approach”, considering:

  • implementing immediate safe harbour provisions for crypto providers
  • greater regulatory guidance and engagement in the short-term
  • a long-term, fit-for-purpose legislative framework

The government and relevant regulators should provide crypto asset providers a safe harbour until such time that they introduce guidance or legislation. Any legislation should contain an appropriate transition period and not apply retrospectively.

Blockchain Australia submission to Senate Select Committee

The organisation emphasised its interest in cooperating with various Australian regulatory bodies, including ASIC, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Taxation Office.

Improving the Fintech and Blockchain Industry in Australia

Blockchain Australia has been a cheerleader for the blockchain community in the country, calling for support for all crypto users and companies affected by the country’s lack of regulatory clarity.

In February, the organisation, together with RMIT, sought more government support for the blockchain and crypto community, stating that while local authorities have taken great steps to improve the sector in Australia, it was falling short compared to other countries.

Categories
Australia Crypto News E-commerce

Aussie Startup @Pay Aims to Bridge DeFi and E-commerce

Australian startup @Pay is leveraging blockchain technology to bridge the DeFi space with e-commerce by creating innovative payment solutions for shoppers, merchants and marketplaces worldwide. 

Bringing Innovative Solutions for the E-commerce Industry

@Pay wants to tackle the BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) industry by introducing several payments solutions with a blockchain-integrated cryptocurrency alongside fiat, saving significant costs to the industry.

According to BNPL provider Splitit, the single biggest challenge for e-commerce retailers is overcoming approximately 70 percent cart abandonment by shoppers. This translates into US$4.6 trillion in lost e-commerce sales each year.

@Pay whitepaper

The BNPL market is expected to reach US$33.64 billion by 2027. It isn’t as heavily regulated in Australia as other credit or financial services, as BNPL providers are considered not to be regulated under the country’s National Credit Act. However, they are subject to ASIC’s product intervention law.

How it Works

The platform is powered by the @Pay token, which uses Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard. The token is multi-functional; it can be used to make payments, receive incentives, and to win rights to vote in the protocol’s governance system.

Through blockchain and smart contracts, the protocol is targeting people of all ages in the e-commerce world, providing an appealing experience for customers.

DeFi in Australia

The DeFi sector in Australia has been growing, but decentralised autonomous organisations are construed as partnerships or unincorporated associations. The Australian regulatory framework -which has been heavily criticised over time – remains unclear for most investors.

However, the Digital Law Association and international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills have proposed changing the national environment, suggesting Australia should create a new legal entity to recognise DAOs as legal companies.

The DeFi space offers innovative solutions that otherwise wouldn’t be achieved by traditional banks, and it has been put to the test in Australia. As Crypto News Australia reported in February, a software engineer paid off his mortgage to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and refinanced it through fixed-rate lending protocols.

Categories
Australia Blockchain

Australia’s Construction Industry Warned to “Use Blockchain” After Miami Building Collapse

Last month, a 12-storey apartment building collapsed in Miami, Florida, leaving more than 90 people dead and 11 injured. Dr Duncan Maxwell, a researcher at Australia’s Monash University, says next-generation technologies like blockchain can help avoid these types of disasters in the construction industry.

Maxwell, an expert on modern construction methods at the Melbourne-based institution, says that distributed ledger technology, virtual design and onsite drones are powerful tools that can keep track of a building’s structural state.

The central issue, according to Maxwell, is poor or non-existent records that make it hard to identify structural issues in the design and construction stage. Without reliable records, building managers have fewer tools to keep buildings safe and well maintained. These technologies can also alert managers to detect structural issues for existing buildings as well as those under construction.

Concerns Over Structural Issues in Coastal Australia

The collapse of the Champlain Towers South block in Surfside, Miami has raised concerns over the structural design of buildings and their maintenance, especially in coastal areas of Australia. Maxwell is worried that building conditions in those areas will become more challenging as extreme weather events increase in frequency as a result of climate change. 

Australia has a lot of buildings in coastal environments and many of them are of a similar age [to the Miami building] and built in the 1980s.

Dr Duncan Maxwell, Monash University

Blockchain-Enabled Construction Methods Add Transparency 

Srinath Perera, director of Western Sydney University’s Centre for Smart Modern Construction, says blockchain technology can add transparency to the construction industry by keeping track of every event. “It’s almost impossible to fool,” Perera says.

Use Cases of Blockchain in Australia

Blockchain has been used in Australia before to create eco-friendly apartment complexes. Perera says blockchain can help facilitate the construction industry’s complicated supply chains system.

This is why the WSU Centre has been working on a blockchain-enabled system where each payment is recorded through multiple computers rather than kept in a centralised location, and if a payment is missed the system won’t be able to proceed. Building clients unknowingly pick up interest on delayed payments as construction companies add around 20 percent to construction costs to finance unexpected delays.

Implementing blockchain supply chain solutions enables more transparent and accurate end-to-end tracking. This way, companies can digitise physical assets and create immutable records of transactions in a decentralised manner.

As Crypto News Australia reported last year, blockchain also has a space in the agriculture sector as more companies tap into supply chain solutions. Even the Aussie mango industry can benefit from blockchain.