Crypto

Kraken Security Labs has said that a “large number” of Bitcoin ATMs are vulnerable to hacking as the administrators never changed the default admin QR code. In a Sept. 29 blog post, Kraken posted research from its Security Labs team which found that there are “multiple hardware and software vulnerabilities” in the General Bytes BATMTwo ATM range. “Multiple attack vectors were found through the default administrative QR code, the Android operating software, the ATM management system and even the hardware case of the machine,” the post read. Kraken’s security team stated that if a hacker gets their hands on the administrative code, they can essentially “walk up to an ATM and compromise it,” while also highlighting issues with the BATMtwo’s lack of secure boot mechanisms, as well as “critical...

Twitter has unveiled an in-development tool that will enable users to display a verified NFT as their profile picture. Mada Aflak, a senior software engineer at Twitter, shared a video demonstrating functionality that allows users to add NFTs to their accounts. Users can simply edit their profile, connect a cryptocurrency wallet, and import their OpenSea collection. Then, they can choose an avatar from their collection of non-fungible token (NFT) digital art. The profile picture will also be marked with a badge to verify that the image is the genuine article, thereby allowing them to flex their hugely expensive CryptoPunk or Bored Ape profile picture and have everyone know it’s legit. Aflak stated that the run-through was just an experiment using a mock-up, so anything could change, and sh...

Layer two protocols have seen monumental growth this year and one of them has briefly surpassed the network it is a scaling solution for, in terms of active addresses. The number of daily active unique addresses on layer two aggregator Polygon has surpassed those on the high fee layer one Ethereum according to protocol co-founder Mihailo Bjelic. According to his stats, Polygon had 351,000 daily active addresses on Sept. 27 whereas Ethereum had 326,000. Another huge milestone for @0xPolygon! We eclipsed Ethereum L1 in daily active addresses for the first time! This is just the beginning. We are working round the clock to improve our tech, strengthen our ecosystem and increase adoption. Let’s bring the world to Ethereum! pic.twitter.com/K4sAF1y3LT — Mihailo Bjelic (@MihailoBjelic) Sept...

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged 12 New York-based crypto options businesses with allegedly failing to register with the regulatory body. In a Sept. 29 press release, the CFTC outlined that it is charging 14 entities in total, with the 12 crypto-focused firms all on the hook for failing to register as futures commission merchants (FCMs). All of the firms were “allegedly based in New York.” The other two companies have allegedly posted misleading information about their National Futures Association (NFA) membership and registration with the CFTC. The listed crypto options providers include relatively unknown names such as Bitfxprofit, Star FX Pro, Smarter Signals and BinanceFx Trade — the latter of which is unaffiliated to the major global exchange Bin...

The judge in the class-action lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York against stablecoin issuer Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex has granted motions to dismiss many of the claims in the case. According to court documents filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, District Judge Katherine Polk Failla has granted motions from Tether’s and Bitfinex’s parent company iFinex to dismiss key claims in the plaintiffs’ case that the two firms manipulated the crypto market. Altogether, Judge Failla granted motions to dismiss five complete claims and part of one, while denying six others. Specifically, the judge said she would not allow investors to bring claims against Tether and Bitfinex under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, nor allegation...

High transaction costs have been a thorn in the side of investors and developers for more than a decade and the issue became worse in 2021 after the emergence of decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible tokens (NFT) led to record-high levels of activity across the cryptocurrency ecosystem.  Since the completion of Ethereum’s London hard fork, cross-chain bridges and layer-2 solutions have been revised as options for mitigating the high fees on the Ethereum network. In the past two weeks, Celer, a layer-two scaling solution that utilizes off-chain transaction handling to help increase the throughput capacity of its network, has seen an uptick in user activity. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $0.0398 on Sept. 8, the price o...

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are attempting to bounce off their critical support levels as bulls try to thwart attempts by the bears to deepen the correction. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said at the Code Conference in California recently that governments cannot “destroy crypto,” due to its decentralized nature but can “slow down its advancement.” Data shows that whales have been moving record amounts of Bitcoin in the past two weeks. The total transfer volume of transactions worth $10 million and higher have surpassed levels seen when Bitcoin’s price was near $60,000. According to on-chain analytics resource Material Indicators, “smaller” whales sold and mega whales added to their holdings. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 Bobby Lee, the former CEO of BTCC exchange, said i...

Ali Sahraee, the chief executive officer of the Tehran Stock Exchange since 2018, has reportedly resigned after the discovery of cryptocurrency mining rigs in the building. According to a report from the country’s state-run media, the Islamic Republic News Agency, Tehran Stock Exchange, or TSE, market vice president Mahmoud Goudarzi will be leading the company following the departure of Sahraee. The change in leadership seems to be the result of “a number of miners” being discovered in the basement of the TSE building located in the district of Sa’adat Abad. The TSE reportedly initially denied the existence of the miners, saying the equipment was part of a research project. However, executive deputy director Beheshti-Sarsht later said the company should be held accountable for its ac...

Copernic Space and Lunar Outpost are set to launch a public sale for tokenized payload space in a lunar lander headed for the moon in Q4 2022. According to an announcement issued on Wednesday, the blockchain space outfit Copernic Space and space robotics company Lunar Outpost will sell the payload space aboard the craft in the form of nonfungible tokens or NFTs. Corporate and retail buyers will be able to buy, fractionalize and resell payload space NFTs on Lunar Outpost’s M1 MAPP rover. Ownership of the NFT will reportedly confer ownership of the payload space within the lander denominated in kilograms (kg). Speaking to Cointelegraph, Copernic Space co-founder and CEO Grant Blaisdell said that the sale will cover 3.5kg of available payload space with an initial sale price of $4.25 million ...

Talisman, a Polkadot Web3 wallet platform, has raised $2.35 million from early backers including Hypersphere Ventures, Koji Capital and Advanced Blockchain AG as well as several anonymous Flex Dapps investors. According to an announcement issued on Wednesday, with the funding round closed, Talisman is looking to launch a wallet extension by Nov. 22. Billed to be a DotSama — a portmanteau of Polkadot (DOT) and Kusama (KSM) — wallet, Talisman reportedly aims to enable cross-compatibility across the Polkadot and Kusama “paraverse.” Commenting on the decision to support the project, Jack Platts, partner at Hypersphere Ventures said, “Talisman is aiming to become the Paraverse gateway for everyday crypto users.” Talisman is reportedly building the first DotSama asset dashboard with features suc...

Cool Valley, Missouri, a small town of about 1,500 in the St. Louis County area, found itself the subject of international attention recently after its mayor, Jayson Stewart, announced that he planned to give each resident up to $1,000 in Bitcoin.  Stewart, a passionate environmentalist who spent years cleaning up the world’s oceans and ran on a platform of correcting old mistakes, believes Bitcoin education holds keys to growing the prosperity, well-being and sustainability of his town. Just as he dreams of a world without the environmental damage caused by irresponsible litterers, he imagines a future where Bitcoin cleans up many of the ills of the financial system.Hoping to soon see a Bitcoin-friendly bank in town, Stewart sees Bitcoin as an avenue that can lift the town’s fortunes...

Bitcoin is long overdue for a “FOMO rally” to new all-time highs that could touch $200,000 or more, say one of its oldest investors. In an interview with Bloomberg on Sept. 29, Bobby Lee, former CEO of exchange BTCC, cast aside any suggestion that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) was in trouble. Lee: Bitcoin has been due for next rally “for a long time” One of an increasing number of sources staying bullish on Bitcoin for Q4, Lee — who went on to found wallet manufacturer Ballet — dismissed recent price weakness. “It was only a 5% drop,” he said when asked about the recent dip to test the $40,000 support level. Despite hovering near $42,000 at the time of writing, Bitcoin can not only reclaim its existing all-time highs but go on to hit $100,000, $200,000 or even more. This, Lee suggested, ...