The CoinGeek Pulse: Episode 11

This week saw yet another 51% attack on Ethereum Classic in what has become a worryingly common occurrence. The attack, the third incident in August, resulted in a 7,000 block reorganization, the equivalent of two days’ worth of mining.

The latest attack was first noticed by Bitfly, with the Ethereum Classic development team confirming it on Twitter.

While ETC is still making progress in evaluating proposed solutions, we are aware of the current risk to the network at these low hash rate levels.

To miners, exchanges, and other service providers we suggest keeping confirmation requirements levels well above 7K for now. https://t.co/l6nwIy5mL2

— Ergo (@Ergo_Platform) August 29, 2020

Ethereum Classic Labs is blaming hash rental platforms for the attacks, claiming they have been exempted from KYC and AML regulations which promotes crime. ETC Labs blamed NiceHash in particular, saying that the latest attack was conducted with hash rate purchased from the company.

Still on Ethereum, a new report came out this week revealing that as much as $1 billion worth of Ethereum tokens are at risk from attack because they are missing a software standard released in 2017. The research, conducted by four Chinese and Australian universities, found that the tokens could be stolen by simply manipulating the smart contract code.

In other news, BTC block reward miners from the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia have lost out on state-subsidized power to run their operations. Local officials recently raised concerns regarding the miners, claiming they were of little benefit to the region.

With the move, BTC miners will see their electricity costs shoot up by 33%. The move came as a big blow to the miners, not only in Inner Mongolia, but also in surrounding regions who fear that their local governments may follow suit.

Two of the industry’s largest players, Bitmain and Ebang, were among the affected companies.

This week also saw the announcement of the top three finalists for the Bitcoin SV 2020 Hackathon. From a shortlist of 10 semi-finalists, Kyrt, STOTASK and RepZip emerged as the top projects. They will make their final pitches at the upcoming CoinGeek Live event.

RepZip is an identity system designed for the Metanet. It allows its users to verify their identities, provides verifiable credentials and enables on-chain contracts. Kyrt enables users to integrate Bitcoin microtransactions to events, enabling them to connect any app to the Bitcoin blockchain. STOTASK rewards users with Bitcoin micropayments for data labelling services, adding human assistance to machine learning.

The three emerged at the top in a hotly contested Hackathon which saw participation from 418 participants representing 75 countries.

The eagerly awaited CoinGeek Live 2020 is now just a few weeks away. It will be the biggest one yet, with speeches from some of the world’s leading minds, including Bitcoin creator Dr. Craig Wright, Wall Street veteran Tom Lee and globally renowned economist and visionary George Gilder. The event will highlight the latest developments in blockchain technology while charting the future of Bitcoin.

CoinGeek Live will broadcast live from the Manhattan Center in New York and London’s Kennington Studio. Grab a seat at this year’s biggest Bitcoin event by signing up here.

New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.