What level of cyber risk does the Telegram Passport app pose to the cryptocurrency ecosystem?

Colleagues, the Telegram Passport app promised ease of use and security for the cryptocurrency community and other end-users by storing your personal data in its cloud-based app. The company it wants to bring Blockchain-based payments to the Telegram chat app, which is popular among the crypto community and third party developers can access the Passport Integration Guide. Security researchers have identified two weaknesses inherit in this app. First, Telegram uses SHA-512 to hash passwords. And second, it is prone to spearphishing, insider threats or simply a rogue USB stick. Cryptocurrencies and exchanges may be the chief beneficiaries of this authentication model. Telegram says developers can integrate it in their apps and services at no cost. The first company to support Passport is UK-based ePayments. Bottom line: the Crypto Academy questions just how pervasively Passport will be used among the crypto ecosystem. Moreover, Telegram may need to strengthen Passport’s 256 bit security algorithm as soon as a better protocol becomes available. Send us your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)  

Can Trust Wallet Move the Market Share Needle for Crypto Exchange Leader Binance?

Colleagues, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance holds 28% market share according to CryptoCoin Charts. Trust Wallet is built to handles Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrecy based upon market value. Its appeal appears to be based on the fact that it offers users greater security because it does not store private information on its users. Binance also offers its own cryptocurrency – Binance Coin (BNB) – which ranks seventeenth worldwide in market cap as reported by CoinMarketCap. Bottom line: Will this acquisition move the needle for Binance in terms of expanded user base and exchange market share? The Cryptocurrency Academy believes the jury is still out on this matter. The key issues are 1) Will Trust Wallet be expanded to accommodate Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, XRP, EOS and other highly ranked cryptocurrencies? And second, Can Trust Wallet delivery on its promise of increased security for crypto traders? We see this as a very good move on Binance’s part, yet with all acquisitions implementation is the ultimate test. Send us your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/) 

How will Blockchain-enabled Smartphones Impact the Growth of Cryptocurrencies?

Colleagues, Sirin Labs, CryptoKitties and HTC have all announced plans to launch smartphones with Blockchain capabilities on-board. Some of these phones will have DAPPS and allow offline storage of cryptocurrencies which is a key step toward improved crypto security. This leads to two critical questions. First, will the smartphone market leaders Apple and Samsung follow suit and pre-integrate Blockchain into future versions of their smartphones? And second, what will be the number and breadth of cryptocurrencies which can be managed by these phones – this includes wallet, trading-exchange and perhaps even pre-integrated mining capabilities? We know that the HTC Exodus phone will be enabled to manage both Bitcoin and Ethereum. An excellent start. The other key player here is Google Android. If the Sirin, CryptoKitties and HTC phones gain market traction the Cryptocurrency Academy predicts that other Android device-based vendors will heavily lobby Google for Blockchain capabilities integrated on-board with Android. Collectively, this move could be a major catalyst for cryptocurrency adoption during the next 12-24 months. Send us your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)  

PowerGhost cryptojacking malware poses a new threat which jeopardizes legitimate cryptocurrency mining

Colleagues, crypto mining remains one of the weakest links in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and in turn a high priority target for cyber criminals. Although not as numerous as personal computers and laptops, corporate servers and workstations typically far more computing power which makes them such attractive targets to cryptojackers. PowerGhost, recently reported by Kaspersky Lab’s is a fileless malware which injects a one-line PowerShell script is run that downloads the miner’s body and immediately launches it without writing it to the hard drive. This malware has been detected in third world countries including Tukey, India, Brazil and Columbia. Malware like PowerGhost is especially a threat to cloud-based computing environments.  Now that the prevalence of the problem has been observed and noted, service providers may wish to extend capabilities they already have to find and flag this content. Bottom line: Cyber criminals relentlessly exploit the weakest point in any ecosystem. Given the meteoric growth of the cryptocurrency ecosystem all participants needs to be equally relentless in keeping their OS and application software up-to-date and installing patches as soon as they are released. Send us your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)  

Will a central bank cryptocurrency enable Iran to evade US economic sanctions?

Colleagues, with US economic sanctions to take effect in August 2018 Iran’s government is renewing its quest to establish its own cryptocurrency backed by the country’s fiat currency – the “Rial”.  This plan is being led by the government’s Science and Technology Department in coordination with the Central Bank of Iran. This move is not unexpected as Iran’s economy struggles and the pressure from US sanctions mounts. Two broader questions emerge. First, will other rogue nation-states such as North Korea, Syria, Sudan, and Venezuela seek to implement their own cryptocurrencies … and with what backing? We do know that Venezuela intends to back their cryptocurrency with the price of crude oil. And second, are we seeing the bifurcation of the global cryptocurrency ecosystem into legitimate first world and underground thirdworld currencies … each with their distinct exchanges and protocols? The Cryptocurrency Academy believes this assume is valid and that the next 24-36 months will in fact witness two parallel crypto ecosystems develop. Send us your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/) 

What impact will BitGo’s Predictive UTXO Management have on crypto transaction fees?

Colleagues, transaction fees have been a major stumbling block for cryptocurrency traders and investors alike during the past 2-3 years. As trading volumes increase historical data suggest that transaction fees rise accordingly. BitcoinCharts Transaction Fee Historical chart clearly shows that fees reached about $58 in late December 2017, however, fees have fallen back to around $1 as of July 2018. With the launch of BitGo’s predictive UTXO (unspent transaction output) management solution the open issue is whether lowering transaction fees – especially during peaks in trading volumes – will lead to increased transaction levels? Yes, UTXO early adopters like Civic and Bitstamp fully expect that the answer will be a resounding “yes”. The bigger challenge will come from the largest Bitcoin exchanges Binance, OKEx, Huobi, UpBit, BitFinex and BitHumb? The bottom line: In the near-term (12-24 months) the Cryptocurrency Academy predicts that crypto traders with high transaction volumes of low-medium BTC value (e.g. under 100 BTC) are the likely beneficiaries. By contrast, institutional crypto investors will lower transaction volumes of over 1000 BTC will see far less benefit. Send us your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)  

Does AMD’s Q2 Revenue Drop in GPUs Portend a Decline in Industry-wide Crypto Mining?

Colleagues, although AMD’s primary competitors are Intel and NVidia, its 3% decline in sales of GPUs for crypto miners is cause for concern. Yes, crypto mining sales account for only 6% of AMD’s total revenue. Nonetheless, the question remains: Is this revenue miss a one quarter aberration, is AMD losing market share to other crypto ASIC miners or is the crypto mining segment as a whole facing a slowdown? And what is the overall health of Bitmain, DragonMint, Titan V (NVidia) and Avalon? We do know that crypto mining in aggregate is highly correlated to price fluctuations in Bitcoin which reached an all-time high of $19,009 on December 18, 2017 and now has struggled to reach $8405 today. Other key factors in crypto ASIC mining demand include the price of Altcoins such as Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin, along with the cost of electricity in China and Central Asia. Ultimately we need to examine the supply-demand ratio for ASIC mining rigs. Bottom line: While overall demand for cryptocurrency continues to expand at what point does the supply of available crypto tokens become limited? Send us your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)