Ethereum Suffers from Chain Splits Due to Technical Issue, over 54% Network Affected

The Ethereum network has suffered a chain split as some validators were running operations on the older versions of the Ethereum network. Client Geth were cut off from the main network.

This occurrence of the incident as validators cut off refused to update their software to suppress the impact of a bug in the network. The chain split has been identified to affect about 54% of the network as the Geth client harbours as much as 75% of all Ethereum nodes, with about 73% running at the time of the fork.

According to a tweet from Ethereum Foundation security lead Martin Swende, the bug specifically impacted v1.10.1 and earlier versions of Geth clients. 

“A consensus bug hit #ethereum mainnet today, exploiting the consensus-bug that was fixed in Geth v1.10.8… Fortunately, most miners were already updated, and the correct chain is also the longest (canon),” In a follow-up tweet, Sweden said that “it was a really close shave.ug impacting over 50% of Ethereum clients leads to a fork.” 

The Ethereum network is known to always suffer chain split due to a bug in the Geth client. A similar event was observed in November 2020, and a different approach was taken to resolve the bug behind the scenes.

Back then, the developers were faulted for the split as many believe a more forthcoming update from the team would have fueled the update by most miners and prevented the break. 

This time around, the bug was first pointed out a few days ago, and the calls for an update was not promptly adhered to by miners. However, most mining pools, including Flexpool, BTC.com and Binance, were notified, and prompt actions were taken.

While thought leaders in the Ethereum ecosystem have advocated for a temporary cool off in transactions on Geth clients, the threat by virtue of the chain split will easily be resolved when most validators update their software to the corrected version. 

Transit Swap Losts $21m on Code Bug Exploit, Hacker Returns 70% of Stolen Funds

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Transit Swap, a multi-chain decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator platform, announced via Twitter social media that it has lost $21 million after a hacker exploited an internal bug on its swap contract.

Following the incident, Transit Swap issued an apology statement to the users, saying that efforts are underway to recover the stolen funds. “After a self-review by the TransitFinance team, it was confirmed that the incident was caused by a hacker attack due to a bug in the code. We are deeply sorry,” the DeFi platform stated.

The DEX aggregator said it is working with cybersecurity specialists such as SlowMist, PeckShield, Bitrace, and TokenPocket security and technical teams to track down the hacker and recover the funds.

Transit Swap said a bug in the code allowed a hacker to run away with an estimated $21 million. PeckShield, a blockchain security company, gave a further explanation that the attack might have occurred due to a compatibility issue or misplaced trust in the swap contract.

Transit Swap further disclosed that while they have been able to get the hacker’s IP, email address, and associated on-chain addresses, they have encouraged the hacker to get in touch to return the funds. “We now have a lot of valid information such as the hacker’s IP, email address, and associated on-chain addresses. We will try our best to track the hacker and try to communicate with the hacker and help everyone recover their losses.”

Latest developments showed that their efforts have become successful as the hacker returned 70% of stolen funds. Transit Swap gave an update, confirming that the hacker has returned 70% of the funds via two addresses. And said the security experts are still working to recover the remaining funds.

Meanwhile, users have asked Transit Swap to cover the remainder of the stolen funds if the hacker fails to return the rest. They reasoned that the exploit was due to the DEX’s fault and otherwise would not have occurred.

According to Chainalysis, the total revenue for crypto crime in the first half of this year stood at $1.6 billion, less than the figure recorded in the first half of 2021. The drop in crypto crime figures has coincided with a fall in crypto values. However, some forms of crypto-crime have risen in the last year, such as the value of hacked crypto assets has increased from $1.2 billion to $1.9 billion.

The rise in fraud and scams correlates to massive activity growth within cryptocurrencies worldwide. Companies such as PayPal, Meta Inc. (formerly Facebook), Mastercard, and many more have shown an increased interest in cryptocurrencies.

Twitter Disables Interactions with Substack Links

On April 7, Twitter users on both mobile and web platforms discovered that they were unable to interact with tweets containing links to Substack pages. Many users attempting to like, retweet or reply to posts containing Substack links received an error message indicating that “some actions on this tweet have been disabled by Twitter.” In some cases, users reported that while the interface seemed to register their likes or retweets, these interactions were not being counted or displayed.

At present, it is unclear whether the issue is a bug or an intended feature. However, it is worth noting that on April 6, Twitter appeared to have cut off the ability for Substack users to embed tweets in their posts. According to The Verge, a spokesperson for Substack did not clarify whether they believed the issue involved a change to the Twitter API or a bug. Nonetheless, the inability of Twitter users to interact with tweets containing Substack links seems to have begun around the same time, indicating a likely connection between the two problems.

This development comes in the wake of several recent, mysterious changes to Twitter. For example, the platform recently featured a Doge image in place of Twitter’s bird logo for several days, causing confusion among users. Additionally, the nonprofit media organization National Public Radio (NPR) received a “state media” label, which many people found questionable.

It is also worth noting that Substack announced the launch of “Notes” on April 5, which is a Twitter-like posting application that allows users to share short thoughts and updates. This application can be seen as a potential competitor to Twitter, particularly as Substack is often regarded as a place for expert-level bloggers to share their thoughts with like-minded communities. The crypto community, in particular, has taken advantage of Substack to a relatively large degree.

Given all of these developments, it remains to be seen whether Twitter’s disabling of interactions with Substack links is a temporary bug or a deliberate move to counter competition from Substack. Either way, this issue is likely to be of concern to users who rely on both platforms for networking and community building. As of this writing, there has been no official statement from Twitter or Substack regarding the matter, and it is unclear when a resolution might be forthcoming.

Twitter disables actions on tweets with Substack links

On April 7, users of Twitter were left feeling upset when they discovered that they were unable to engage with tweets that included links to sites hosted on Substack. When trying to like, retweet, or comment to postings that included Substack links, several users reported getting an error message stating that “some actions on this tweet have been disabled by Twitter.” It was noted by several users that the user interface seemed to record their likes or retweets; but, upon closer examination, it did not appear to be counting or showing the interactions.

At this time, it is not possible to tell if the problem is a defect or a feature that was intended to be there. Since April 6, it seems that Twitter has disabled the ability for users of Substack to embed tweets in their posts, which may be connected to the problem. The Substack representative who was asked about the issue did not specify whether they felt the problem was caused by a change in the Twitter API or a bug.

The issue started happening not long after Substack introduced “Notes,” an application for publishing similar to Twitter that some people feel is intended to compete with the bird app. Substack is often seen as a venue in which bloggers of an advanced level may discuss their ideas with groups of users that have similar interests. Substack has been used to a very significant degree, particularly within the crypto community.

This problem arises as a result of multiple recent, unexplained modifications made to Twitter. The site displayed a picture of Doge in lieu of Twitter’s bird emblem for a number of days, while the nonprofit media group National Public Radio (NPR) was labeled as “state media.” A great number of users are now perplexed and doubting Twitter’s motivations as a result of these developments.

Regarding Substack, it is not apparent what Twitter’s goals or objectives are at this time. It’s possible that an effort was made to suppress competition by making it impossible for Twitter users to engage with tweets that include links to Substack, but it might also just be a glitch that needs to be fixed. In any event, users will be keeping a careful watch on both platforms for any more advancements that may occur.

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