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Ethereum Calls On Hackers to Attack Ethereum 2.0 in Exchange for Bug Bounty

With Ethereum’s plans to launch its 2.0 protocol network, the open-source platform has also decided to tweak its blockchain project to perfection by calling all hackers and challenging them to break into two Ethereum 2.0 attack networks.

Ethereum Creates the “Hacking Challenge”

What an attack network basically entails is a virtual attempt to break into an organization’s network, without the necessary authentication access passwords and locks required. Usually, the objective of an attack network is simply to steal data or perform other malicious activities.

In the case of Ethereum’s public “attack network” launch, it is mainly to test the vulnerabilities and potential security loopholes of Ethereum 2.0, which consists of an upgrade from the Ethereum blockchain. The cryptocurrency platform hopes that with this “attack network” set in place, Ethereum 2.0 will be perfected — shortcomings of the blockchain may be brought to light with the challenge, that simple testing just won’t be able to reveal.

How to Overcome the Attack Networks

The goal of the attack challenge launched by Ethereum is to prevent finality for 16 consecutive epochs on a network. This means that in order to successfully accomplish the digital mission, hackers would need to be able to intercept “finality” from happening for at least 102 minutes (1 h 42 min). “Finality” simply refers to a type of faster on-chain communication, where a block transaction, once finalized, will not be reversible and will therefore not have to wait for multiple acknowledgments before proceeding forward.

The objective of these attack networks is for others to find potential vulnerabilities and security loopholes that simple testing might not reveal.

In exchange for hackers’ efforts, Ethereum will award a $5000 bounty for each individual hacker or hack group who successfully completes their request.

Ethereum Co-Founder Speaks of 2.0 Project

Vitalik Buterin, one of Ethereum’s most recognized co-founders, is particularly proud when speaking of his Ethereum 2.0, and he emphasizes the fact that the data capacity of the developing blockchain will be immense. However, as his blockchain ecosystem is still developing, the upgrade will not translate to higher scalable transactions, meaning that the blockchain will not necessarily process more transactions.

Another key feature of Ethereum 2.0 is the fact that it will run on a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm instead of the current Proof-of-Work Ethereum mainnet. This will enable users in the Ethereum network to lock up their accumulated digital coins and get paid for helping secure the blockchain.

Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin Concerned About Security Risks That Come With High ETH Transaction Fees

By now, it is no secret that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and his team are busy perfecting Ethereum 2.0 and preparing it for its official launch.

Ethereum 2.0

One of the key elements of the blockchain ecosystem is that it runs on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, as opposed to the conventional Proof-of-Work (PoW). This enables Ethereum blockchain users to reach distributed consensus when mining a block, and for bullish crypto investors to determine the next block.

Digital asset owners can also lock up their accumulated digital coins and get paid for helping the blockchain.

Will An Upgrade Make Ethereum Faster, Bigger, Stronger?

However, Buterin came forward and while he proudly announced that the data capacity of the developing blockchain will be huge, the Ethereum creator admitted that the higher transaction fee on the blockchain-network may cause unintentionally trigger security risks. Buterin, who can boast that he has co-founded the second largest blockchain network in the world, behind Bitcoin, came forward in a tweet and mentioned a research paper provided by highly reputed Ivy League university, Princeton U. Buterin wrote:

“Transaction fee revenue is now nearing half as high as block reward revenue. This actually risks making Ethereum *less* secure because of https://cs.princeton.edu/~arvindn/publications/mining_CCS.pdf. Fee market reform (ie. EIP 1559) fixes this; another reason why that EIP is important.”

In other words, though it may not be a security issue at this point in time, the higher fees that Ethereum 2.0 will run may potentially cause a security problem long term and be threatening for the blockchain network. The analysis conducted by Princeton university addressed this issue and voiced that selfish mining may pose a real threat, especially in cases where transaction fees surpass the block rewards.

The research paper goes on to name several malicious mining behaviors, that are deviant and may negatively impact Ethereum blockchain.

Introducing EIP 1559

The fee market reform that Buterin referred to in his tweet is none other than the “Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559”, which was first introduced in April 2019. The whitepaper proposes upgrades that would make transaction fees on Ethereum more predictable. This would enable the blockchain network to be more flexible, by dynamically alternating the block size based on the number of transactions that are queued and waiting for validation.

Furthermore, to prevent congestion from happening in the ecosystem, the whitepaper proposed charging users during times of high demand. Buterin publicly voiced his approval and support of EIP 1559 fee market reform.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race: Ethereum Surpasses Bitcoin

The market capitalization of Ethereum currently stands at approximately $26 billion dollars. The astonishing thing about this is that the given value does not even include all of the crypto assets founded atop the Ethereum blockchain ecosystems, such as the stablecoins – Tether and USDC – and altcoins.

Also, data from digital-asset data firm Messari showed that Ethereum had now surpassed Bitcoin as the network that settles the most value per day. Ethereum blockchain daily settlement value is estimated to be about $2.5 billion, which makes it the first time since early 2019 that the blockchain has outranked its rival Bitcoin.

Ethereum to Launch Another Testnet for ETH 2.0 After Spadina Fails to Achieve Finality

Ethereum developers announced that they will be launching another testnet next week, dubbed Zinken, following the low participation rate on Spadina.

Spadina, launched on September 29, was reported to have had less validator participation levels than desired. It was initially launched by Ethereum developers in parallel with Medalla testnet, as a short-term “dress rehearsal” in preparation for Ethereum 2.0 mainnet’s rollout.

However, the testnet suffered from low participation levels, recording only about 30% participation rate, as opposed to an expected 80%. Consequently, finality was not achieved on Spadina. As deposits and genesis were considered “a risky and difficult part of the process,” developers behind Ethereum hoped that this could be practiced before Ethereum 2.0 mainnet was released.

The goal of the testnets launched by the Ethereum developers is to practice block mining before ETH 2.0 came into play. For Zinken to be successful, lead coordinator for Ethereum 2.0 Danny Ryan had said that testnet validators needed to take the launch rehearsal seriously. He said:

“As this is a dress rehearsal, we ask you to take genesis seriously. Only make deposits for vals (validators) you intend to run, and if at all possible, be attentive in the 24 hours leading to genesis – upgrading your node if necessary.”

The Zinken testnet, as opposed to Spadina, will run for a week and a half, according to Ryan.

With Ethereum 2.0 mainnet, co-founder Vitalik Buterin is striving to achieve a pure Proof-of-Stake blockchain, as opposed to the current Proof-of-Work protocol. Through ETH 2.0, the aspiration is that higher “decentralization, resilience, security, simplicity and longevity” will be achieved, according to co-founder of Ethereum Joseph Lubin.

Bitcoin Mining Revenue Reaches a 2020 Yearly High of $21 Million per Day

Market sentiment for Bitcoin has been extremely positive lately, with the digital asset recording a surge nearing its all-time high.

Adding on to the bull run is another win. Blockchain data analytics Glassnode has reported that Bitcoin (BTC) mining revenue has hit a new 2020 record, with $21 million per day earned. The milestone includes block rewards and transaction fees and was achieved on November 18, with Bitcoin’s recent bull run to $18,500. Per Glassnode:

“#Bitcoin miner revenue is back at pre-halving levels.”

Source: Glassnode via Twitter

Bitcoin mining is essential for issuing new Bitcoins, confirming block transactions, and maintaining the blockchain network.

With Bitcoin mining revenue returning to its pre-halving earnings of $20 million, the blockchain is reported to be healthy and thriving, suggesting that Bitcoin market sentiment is bullish and market conditions for cryptocurrencies are currently positive all-around.

Bitcoin mining rewards have increased significantly in sum since its slump induced by Bitcoin’s halving in May. Earlier this year, BTC mining rewards were slashed for a third time since the cryptocurrency’s inception, going from 12.5 to 6.25 BTC per new block. Rewards tanked following the halving of the digital asset, with revenue sinking to $7 million per day. The decrease in mining revenue was attributed not only to Bitcoin halving, where coins earned by miners for validating transactions were slashed by half, but also to the crypto market crashing back then in tandem with the coronavirus pandemic.

Bitcoin mining revenue has since recovered. According to market experts, the high rewards are influenced by Bitcoin’s price climbing higher, and by a high hash rate. Currently, hash rate is growing and reported to be 10% from its highest recorded level.

Will Bitcoin investments be normalized in the future?

The “digital gold” cryptocurrency has been backed by many institutional investors this year, and many suggest that this is only the beginning of bigger investments pouring into Bitcoin. Glassnode findings also indicated that following Bitcoin’s price run past $18K, a near 25,000 new Bitcoin addresses were created in the span of an hour.

Though this does not necessarily translate to new investors converting to the Bitcoin bandwagon, as a crypto trader can hold more than one digital wallet, the findings by Glassnode suggest that there is a growing interest in Bitcoin.

Currently, the digital asset has pulled back slightly from its $18K surge, trading at $17,709.73 on CoinMarketCap.

Square Becomes Block a Week after Dorsey's Exit as Twitter CEO

Initially, a credit card-reader business, Square Inc renames itself as Block Inc as it plans to broaden its services towards blockchain, music, and cash transfers.

The name change of the payments giant co-founded by cryptocurrency fanatic Jack Dorsey – who quit as the CEO of Twitter earlier this week – will be effective from Dec 10, and the name of the seller product Square will remain the same. Also, the new corporate identity won’t lead to any organisational changes.

The company said in an announcement that the new name “acknowledges the company’s growth” and “creates room for further growth.”

The company’s stock ticker – SQ – will also stay the same.

“We built the Square brand for our Seller business, which is where it belongs,” Dorsey, co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. “Block is a new name, but our purpose of economic empowerment remains the same. No matter how we grow or change, we will continue to build tools to help increase access to the economy.”

Founded in 2009, Square was introduced into the market focusing on in-person payments and its namesake card reader, which let people accept credit card payments on a smartphone.

Since then, the San Francisco-based firm has added a peer-to-peer digital banking app, and small business lending received a bank charter and began offering crypto and stock trading.

Block, in a statement, said that the name Block “has many associated meanings for the company — building blocks, neighbourhood blocks and their local businesses, communities coming together at block parties full of music, a blockchain, a section of code, and obstacles to overcome.”

While the company has purchased buy-now-pay-later provider Afterpay and Jay-Z’s music streaming service Tidal, it is also actively working on prioritising bitcoin with a crypto-focused business called TBD.

Square Crypto, a project aimed at advancing Bitcoin, will now be called Spiral.

In October, Dorsey tweeted that Square is considering building a Bitcoin-mining system based on custom silicon that could be used by people and companies worldwide.

In November, Square published a white paper describing plans for a decentralised cryptocurrency exchange for trading Bitcoin, fiat money or real-world goods.

Prior to Square, the same strategy was used by social media giant Meta Platforms Inc last month, when it changed its name from Facebook Inc to widen the focus from its flagship product.

Block Allows Cash App Users to Gift Bitcoin for the Holidays

This holiday season, Cash App users will be able to gift both crypto and stock to other users of the app.

“With Cash App, you can now send as little as $1 in stock or bitcoin. It’s as easy as sending cash, and you don’t need to own stock or bitcoin to gift it.” Cash App said via its official Twitter account.

The app, owned by Digital payments company Block – formerly called Square, joins other services like Stockpile, PayPal and Coinbase in allowing users to gift stocks and cryptocurrencies to third parties, respectively, but Cash App notes this is the first time such features have been offered in a peer-to-peer payments app.

Block also noted that Cash App users can now choose to split bills and repay friends by sending them stocks or bitcoin, not just cash.

On Nov 5, 2021, Blockchain.News reported that Cash App generated $1.82 billion in Bitcoin revenue and $42 million in Bitcoin gross profit in the third quarter of 2021, both increased 11% and 29% year-on-year.

The feature may potentially encourage more users to start investing and become owners of stocks or bitcoin via Cash App.

Blockchain.News reported on Dec 2, 2021, that Square Inc, initially a credit card-reader business, renamed itself as Block Inc as it plans to broaden its services towards blockchain, music, and cash transfers.

The name change of the payments giant co-founded by cryptocurrency fanatic Jack Dorsey – who quit as the CEO of Twitter – was effective from Dec 10.

H&R Block Sues Block for Trademark Infringement

Block Inc, previously called Square Inc, was sued by tax preparation company H&R Block Inc for trademark infringement.

H&R Block said in a press release that the fintech company “would improperly capitalize on the goodwill and consumer trust cultivated by Block since 1955”.

H&R Block is seeking a court order barring Block from using the name or green square logo.

According to H&R Block, the similarity in names would be overly confusing for consumers, especially given the two companies’ overlapping offerings.

H&R Block also stated that the company formerly known as Square, competes with it directly in financial services, including through its recent acquisition of Credit Karma Tax for tax preparation.

“Today’s filing is an important effort to prevent consumer confusion and ensure a competitor cannot leverage the reputation and trust we have built over more than six decades,” said H&R Block President and CEO Jeff Jones said in a statement.

While Block’s chief executive, Twitter Inc co-founder Jack Dorsey, said that the intention behind the name change earlier this month was a strategy to expand beyond its payment service into new areas, including blockchain.

H&R Block filed their complaint in Kansas City, Missouri, federal court.

H&R also pointed out in their complaint that it has referred to itself simply as “Block” in some advertisements since 2015. Hence, potentially leading to confusion for consumers due to the similarity in name.

Blockchain.News reported on Dec 15 that this holiday season, Block owned Cash App users will be able to gift both crypto and stock to other users of the app.

The app joins other services like Stockpile, PayPal and Coinbase in allowing users to gift stocks and cryptocurrencies to third parties, respectively, but Cash App notes this is the first time such features have been offered in a peer-to-peer payments app.

Dorsey's Block Sees Shares Close at More Than 8%, Marking 52-Week Low

Block shares closed down more than 8%, marking a 52-week low on Wednesday.

The digital payment firm, formally known as Square, saw a fall in stocks as part of a recent sell-off in growth names and risky assets amid concerns of Fed rate hikes.

Since changing its corporate name on December 1, 2021, to align with its increasing focus on blockchain, the company was down about 26%.

On the day Square publicly announced its name change to Block, bitcoin was trading at around $57,000, whereas a month later, the cryptocurrency is now trading at 19% below that level as of Wednesday afternoon.

A month after changing its name, Block’s stock has fallen from around $194 per share to about $144.

The CEO of Block, Jack Dorsey, is an avid proponent of cryptocurrency, often tweets bitcoin. The CEO planned to change the name from Square to Block.

Dorsey stepped down as CEO of Twitter to prioritise his efforts in Block.

“Our focus is on helping bitcoin to become the native currency for the internet,” Dorsey said during the company’s earnings call in November 2021.

According to a December 17, 2021, report by Blockchain.News, Block was sued by tax preparation company H&R Block Inc for trademark infringement.

H&R Block said in a press release that the fintech company “would improperly capitalise on the goodwill and consumer trust cultivated by Block since 1955”.

Dorsey's Payments Firm Block Starts to Begin Mining Bitcoin

Block Inc, formerly known as Square, will begin mining Bitcoin with its mining system based on custom silicon and open source for individuals and businesses worldwide.

Block’s co-founder Jack Dorsey first suggested the idea on October 15, 2021, and said mining needs to be more distributed and more efficient.

Thomas Templeton, Block’s general manager of hardware, explained Block’s future plans for this in a series of Twitter posts and hopes to improve the reliability and user experience of mining, making the process of creating bitcoin “from buying, to set up, to maintenance, to mining” more efficient.

The project is incubating in Block’s hardware team, which will work together with a core engineering team of system ASIC, and software designers led by Afshin Rezayee.

Templeton said the company is addressing major barriers to entry such as availability of miners, expensive and hard to find mining rigs, and unpredictable deliveries. The reliability of the miners are due to heat dissipation and dust and the machine can be unused every day which consumes a lot of time to restart and some mining rigs generate harmful harmonics in the grid and can generate a lot of noise at home.

Templeton tweeted that:

“All miners want lower power consumption and higher or this project, we started with evaluating various IP blocks (since we’re open to making a new ASIC), open-source miner firmware, and other system software offerings.”

Last year, Block Inc released its third-quarter financial report, showing that the mobile payment application Cash App under Square achieved $1.82 billion in Bitcoin revenue.

In another news from two days ago, Block Inc made a formal argument at a Missouri federal court stating that its new name won’t confuse potential customers with tax-preparation giant H&R Block who has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the financial-services company.

Public Will Not Confuse Name With H&R Block, Says Block

Block Inc, formerly known as Square, has made a formal argument at a Missouri federal court stating that its new name won’t confuse potential customers with tax-preparation giant H&R Block who has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the financial-services company.

San Francisco-based Block has also asked the court to throw out the lawsuit which was made in December 2021.

According to H&R Block, accusations were made on Block for stealing its name to “co-opt the reputation and goodwill that H&R Block has earned through decades of hard work.”

H&R Block’s complaint stated that consumers were likely to be confused due to the similarity in names of both the companies, Block’s Cash App logo – a rounded green square, which H&R Block argued was confusingly similar to its own green-square logo.

“While H&R Block may not like that it has to compete with a truly free income tax preparation service offered by an established business like Cash App, its appropriate recourse is to take on Cash App in the marketplace, not to fabricate trademark claims that are implausible on their face,” Block responded in its motion to dismiss the case.

On a Friday court filing, Block said that it doesn’t offer any customer-facing products under the Block name. To further support their claim on the name, Block argued that a reasonable consumer couldn’t confuse its competing tax-preparation product, Cash App Taxes, with H&R Block’s services.

Jack Dorsey – Block’s chief executive, Twitter co-founder and an avid proponent of cryptocurrency – announced the name change last month to align with its increasing focus on blockchain.

“Our focus is on helping bitcoin to become the native currency for the internet,” Dorsey said during the company’s earnings call in November 2021.

Block has strongly stated that the company doesn’t use the name on a competing product and it is merely a “house of brands” that includes services providers like Square, Cash App, and music-streaming service Tidal.

It also said its logo won’t cause confusion with H&R Block’s because of their visual differences.

According to a report by Blockchain.News, Block shares closed down more than 8%, marking a 52-week low on January 05, 2022, which was a fall in stocks as part of a recent sell-off in growth names and risky assets amid concerns of Fed rate hikes.

Since changing its corporate name on December 1, 2021, to align with its increasing focus on blockchain, the company was down about 26%, the report added.