Bitcoin in Brief Monday: Zencash Targeted in 51% Attack, Ticketfly Hijacked for Ransom

In today’s Bitcoin in Brief – Zencash has lost $550,000 in two double-spend transactions following a 51% attack on the network. Developers have taken measures to increase the difficulty of future attacks. The event-ticketing platform Ticketfly is also trying to recover from a hijack. 26 million accounts have been reportedly compromised by a hacker who … Read more

Japanese Exchange Coincheck Eyes America for Expansion

Coincheck, the Japanese crypto trading platform that found new owners after it was hacked earlier this year, is now planning to offer services on the US market. The exchange expects to be licensed in Japan next month, according to the chief executive of Monex, the online brokerage which bought the troubled company last month.     … Read more

Myetherwallet Servers Are Hijacked in DNS Attack

Myetherwallet (MEW), the web’s most popular client-side ethereum wallet, has been compromised by a DNS attack. Numerous users are reporting missing funds and Mycrypto, a sister site which spun off from MEW earlier this year, has confirmed as much. The incident highlights the dangers of relying on a centralized interface, even when the funds are … Read more

Two Crypto Exchanges Suspended by Japan’s Financial Regulator

The Financial Services Authority of Japan has imposed penalties on three cryptocurrency exchanges following inspections of trading platforms in the country. Two of them have been ordered to suspend operations. Officials are not satisfied with the measures implemented to prevent money laundering and systemic risks.    Also read: CEO of Korean Exchange Coinnest among Four … Read more

Japan Gathers 500 Agents to Fight Cybercrime and Crypto Theft

Japan has decided to set up a new agency to better address cybercrime. The Tokyo-based center gathers 500 analysts and investigators who will also combat cryptocurrency theft. Over 3 million attempts to steal digital information have been registered last year. Hackers have stolen funds worth over 17 billion Japanese yen.   Also read: Hackers Target … Read more

Slush Pool Mines the First ASIC Boost Block Sparking More Debate

On March 24, the mining operation Slush Pool announced it had mined a block using the controversial ASIC Boost protocol and did so using a Halong Miner. The news follows the pool revealing it was compatible with ASIC Boost which sparked up a heated debate just recently. Also read: What is Asicboost? — An Interview With … Read more

NEM Foundation Stops Tracking Coins Stolen from Coincheck

The NEM Foundation has announced it will no longer track cryptos stolen from the Japanese exchange Coincheck. The Singapore-based organization said it had provided law-enforcement agencies with information from its investigations. It did not explain its decision to end the tracking efforts. According to some estimates, half of the NEM coins that disappeared in the … Read more

Coincheck Drops Anonymous Monero, Dash, Zcash

Coincheck, the Japanese exchange that lost ~$550 million worth of NEM to hackers, will stop dealing with Monero, Dash and Zcash. The trading platform has recognized the risk posed by these cryptocurrencies which provide high levels of anonymity. Half of the NEM coins stolen in the hack may have been converted already on the darknet, … Read more

Hackers Target 400,000 Computers with Mining Malware

More than 400,000 personal computers have been attacked in a large-scale attempt to distribute cryptocurrency mining malware. The hackers used sophisticated trojans to infect PCs mostly in Russia, but also in Turkey, Ukraine, and other countries. The coordinated assault lasted more than 12 hours. Also read: New Monero Mining Malware Sends Proceeds to Kim Il … Read more

From ‘Attack’ to ‘Optimization’ — Slush Pool Reveals ASIC Boost Compatibility

Back in the spring of 2017, the discussion of a technology called ‘ASIC Boost’ was a very hot debate amongst bitcoin proponents. Bitcoin core (BTC) supporters were extremely upset with the firm Bitmain Technologies and its owner Jihan Wu for allegedly using ASIC Boost covertly, even though the company denied it. Now according to reports … Read more