Will Dark DAO attacks undermine Blockchain delegated “proof of stake” voting and threaten Cryptocurrencies?

Colleagues, decentralized autonomous organization (aka “Dark DAO”) is a clear and present danger to the integrity of Blockchain voting. In an effort to formalize software decision-making process using smart contracts, Blockchain initiatives such as Decred, Tron, Polkadot, Tezos and EOS have used this technique to manage the governance of their code. Dark DAO strategies seek to manipulate the voting process. Low voter turnout gives Dark DAO cyber criminals the upper hand by allowing them to control the decision-making process. Bottom line: Dark DAO places power in the hands of the few which then seek to dominate voter participation. Thus, not only does Dark DAO effect Blockchains, but potentially undermines the cryptocurrencies on which they are based. Mitigation strategies appear questionable at best. More to come on this crucial subject. Share a comment visit us today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/) 

Has Cryptojacking become the method of choice among cyber criminals?

Colleagues, some 32% of cyber-attacks as of mid-2018 are attributable to crypto mining malware as compared to only 7% of attacks coming from more traditional ransomware. These figures come from SkyBox Security’s 2018 Mid-Year Vulnerability Threat Report. Some analysts believe this shift is due to 1) The dramatic increase in global crypto mining activity, and 2) A trend for victims of ransomware attacks to simply refuse to pay the price – financial or other – demanded by the attacks. Some 21% of cryptojacking attacks are due to the cyber criminals targeting Cisco routers, including the VPNFilter, ASA and Smart Install. How can the top tier mining companies such as Bitmain, Hut 8, Bitfury Mines, Genesis Mining Enigma, Bcause LLC and GigaWatt mitigate this pervasive threat? Start by closely implementing any and all patches - and related tactics - from the Cisco Security Advisories (or other router vendors such as Juniper and Huawei). Share a comment visit us today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/) 

Blackrock to explore Blockchain and Cryptocurrency sphere – No surprise here

Colleagues, the Cryptocurrency Academy predicted last month that we would see several large commercial banks and asset management firms will actively participate in the global Blockchain and Cryptocurrency arenas during the next 24-36 months. Since then have seen Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan – not to mention MasterCard - state their intentions to do just that. Without question adoption of Blockchain-based distributed ledger technology increase transaction speed while reducing OPEX is a de facto no-brainer for financial institutions. This will take time and R&D investment and more than a few such entities have filed Blockchain patent applications. We have also seen the steady rise in third party cryptocurrency Custodial Services. For many the next step is the establishment of crypto trading and investing services. Blackrock CEO Larry Fink is on record as saying that none of Blackrock’s institutional clients have “sought crypto exposure”. That is, for now. We expect that to change in the near future. Share a comment visit us today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/) 

Can Robinhood Effectively Compete Against the Top-Rate Crypto Trading Apps?

Colleagues, Coinbase, Bitworth, CryptoTrax, Zapo, Delta (aka “CoinDash”), Enjin, BTC.com and Investing.com-Cryptocurrency are among the most popular mobile apps available on both iOS and Android. These apps are commonly used by “millennial” crypto traders rather than institutional crypto investors. These apps are commonly viewed as “most popular” based upon 1) The number of cryptocurrencies they are equipped to trade, and 2) The market cap of the crypto assets they can trade (see CoinMarket Cap). Enter Robinhood. With much marketing fanfare the Robinhood app was designed with millennials in mind and began offering Bitcoin and Ethereum (the crypto assets with the largest market caps) earlier this year. Last week Robinhood announced that it would now trade Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. Bottom line two-fold question: 1) Can Robinhood – despite the number of crypto assets it can trade compete against the more established apps, and 2) Just how many mobile trading apps does the global crypto sphere really need? The Cryptocurrency Academy predicts a pending shakeout and consolidation of crypto trading apps over the coming 24-36 months. Share a comment visit us today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)  

The Battle to capture Institutions for Crypto Custody Services Heats Up

Colleagues, firms such as BitGo, Ledger, Coinbase and Madison Trust are all vying for institutional clients for their Cryptocurrency Custody services. Custodian services catering to large institutions is a growing and vital element of the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. Such competition is one more indicator that crypto assets are crossing the chasm from individual traders to corporate and heavy weight institutions. For example, Madison Trust offers both Directed and Self-Directed IRA instruments for RIAs. Registered Investment Advisors are required to annually register with the SEC and disclose any conflicts of interest they have regarding the transactions they execute for their clients. A key data point is the Charles Schwab RIA Benchmarking Study which show steady grow in custodian services. While this study is rather conventional, what is really needed is a comparable benchmarking study of crypto assets under custodial management. The Cryptocurrency Academy fully expects crypto assets to comprise an increasingly higher percent of all assets under RIA management. Share a comment visit us today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/) 

Are we approaching an Era of Regulatory Approval of Crypto Investments in the Global Equity Markets?

Colleagues, South Korea and the UK are recognized as nations which are rapidly adopting cryptocurrencies along with a push toward strengthened regulatory environments. During mid-late July of a number of South Korean political parties are expected to propose legislation focused on regulating cryptocurrencies, ICOs and Blockchain-based investing. Concurrently, the UK is moving toward public companies with equities which can tokenized and issued within a fully compliant custody, settlement and clearing systems. Two small firms - 20|30 and Nivaura – are providing distributed ledger and corporate equity issuance. So how do these trends bode for the rest of the first-world cryptocurrency arena? The Crytocurrency Academy assumes that government regulators in the US, China, Russia and beyond are closely monitoring these developments. Moreover, if and when these programs transition from pilot to mass adoption other nations will closely follow. Share a comment visit us today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/) 

Do Blockchain Firewalls Represent the Next Generation of Internet Security?

Colleagues, amid the fanfare of R3’s recent launch of the first Blockchain-based firewall the fundamental question is whether Corda Enterprise does in fact represent a new era of improved network and Internet security? Corda states it is able to limit communication between Blockchain nodes operating in different environments, and with different informational needs from their network. in any Blockchain architecture each node uses point-to-point messaging to communicate with other peer nodes. It would be naïve to deploy the Blockchain node in the DMZ with a public IP address. By targeting specific nodes, an attacker can influence how consensuses are reached and possibly even halt the Blockchain operation. To provide additional security to the Blockchain nodes. One technique is to filter network traffic, thus implementing a firewall for Blockchain applications. Cisco projects they can provide access control functionality which can effectively mitigate flooding attacks from multiple sources at simultaneously. Share a comment visit us today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)