Ethereum 2.0 'Several Years Away', to Be Implemented in 7 'Distinct Phases'



SFOX, a “prime dealer of cryptoassets” for professional traders and institutional investors, has published a blog post in which it acknowledged that some potential use cases, or applications, for Ethereum (ETH) have been introduced - including Augur’s (REP) prediction markets and the popular collectibles game, known as CryptoKitties.

However, the SFOX team pointed out that most of the decentralized applications (dApps) launched on the Ethereum blockchain have “failed to attract sustained usage.” The cryptoasset dealer also revealed that data from State of the Dapps shows that the top-ranked Ethereum dApp only had around 3,000 users during a 24-hour time period (on May 24, 2019).

According to SFOX’s research team, the Ethereum network, in its present state, would not be able to accommodate dApps that have a large number of users - as it can only process around 15 transactions per second (TPS). Moreover, the team at SFOX claimsthat several “core projects” for Ethereum have “stalled”, while noting that ether’s market capitalization has fallen from “around 51% of Bitcoin’s market cap in January 2018 to around 17% today.”

What Does “Decentralized Smart Contract Platform” Really Mean?

SFOX’s blog states that many of Ethereum’s problems can be attributed to “shortcomings around speed and scalability.” In order to resolve these issues, the set of upgrades associated with Ethereum 2.0 will include a new proof-of-stake (PoS) algorithm and other codebase modifications such as sharding.

Clarifying what the term “decentralized smart contract platform” means, the SFOX team explained: 

When people say that Ethereum is a “decentralized smart-contract platform,” they mean that the code of a smart contract is stored on every full node on the network and code has to execute across all full nodes.

SFOX’s blog added that Ethereum’s current proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm takes “anywhere from three to eighteen minutes, depending on network congestion,” to process smart contracts. Due to slow processing times, “deploying code on Ethereum is orders of magnitude more expensive [and inefficient] than using a centralized service like Amazon Web Services (AWS) — and much, much slower.”

Reducing Operational Costs by Eiminating Costly PoW Mining

To address scalability issues and other performance bottlenecks which have prevented Ethereum from being used in enterprise environments, the SFOX team noted that transitioning from PoW to PoS consensus “will eliminate the need for expensive mining” (required by PoW).

Additionally, codebase modifications which will integrate sharding are expected to further enhance the the “speed and throughput of ETH transactions,” SFOX’s blog stated.

Notably, upgrading to Ethereum 2.0 will require “building out a new, separate platform from the [existing Ethereum mainnet]”, SFOX’s team explained. The cryptoasset dealer clarified that Ethereum 2.0 activation will “eventually replace” the current Ethereum network implementation.

Ethereum 2.0 Roadmap: Seven Distinct Phases 

As detailed in the Ethereum wiki, Ethereum 2.0 development and activation will take “several years.” This, as the “seven distinct phases” for the system-wide Ethereum 2.0 update are “still in the research stage”, SFOX’s blog confirmed.

Before Ethereum Core developers can implement the major upgrade, the following phases must be completed (according to SFOX’s team):

• Phase 0 — Beacon Chain: The Beacon Chain is a PoS-based chain that has been designed to “run parallel” to Ethereum’s PoW chain. At first, the Beacon Chain “will be engineered for simplicity and will support neither smart contracts nor accounts.”
• Phase 1 — Basic Sharding: Sharding updates are “intended to help transactions scale by dividing the network across multiple shards, allowing the network to process many transactions concurrently.”
• Phase 2 — eWASM: The eWASM is “essentially a rebuilt Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)” which provides support for both PoS and sharding updates. Additionally, it will allow for “smart contracts, accounts, and more [functionality]” when Ethereum 2.0 goes live.

Buterin: "Ethereum 2.0 Will Actually Be the World Computer"

As detailed in eWasm’s spec doc:

To truly distinguish Ethereum as the World Computer we need to have a very performant VM. The current architecture of the VM is one of the greatest blockers to raw performance. WebAssembly aims to execute at near native speed by taking advantage of common hardware capabilities available on a wide range of platforms. This will open the door to a wide array of uses that require performance/throughput.

According to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin:

Ethereum 1.0 is a couple of people’s scrappy attempt to build the world computer; Ethereum 2.0 will actually be the world computer.

https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2019/05/ethereum-2-0-several-years-away-to-be-implemented-in-7-distinct-phases/

BBC: Facebook Planning to Launch ‘GlobalCoin’ in Q1 2020



Social networking giant Facebook is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency (internally dubbed "GlobalCoin") and crypto-powered global payments network (internally called "Project Libra") worldwide by Q1 2020, according to a report published earlier today by BBC News, the world's largest broadcast news organization.

Project Libra's Origin Story

8 May 2018: In a post on Facebook, David Marcus, the former head of Messenger, who was at that time also a board member (since December 2017) of crypto exchange Coinbase, revealed that he was leaving that role to set up a new group focused on exploring applications of blockchain technology across the whole of Facebook.13 December 2018: Cheddar reported that Facebook’s blockchain group is planning to "potentially disrupt the entire payments industry":

"At a private dinner Facebook hosted during a recent crypto conference, one attendee told Cheddar that Facebook employees pitched the idea of creating a decentralized digital currency for the social network’s 2 billion users."

• 21 December 2018: Bloomberg reported that Facebook was creating its own cryptocurrency (a stablecoin) for money transfers within its highly popular messaging app WhatsApp.

• 28 February 2019: The New York Times confirmed Bloomberg's earlier story, and said that, according to its sources, this project was "far enough along that the social networking giant has held conversations with cryptocurrency exchanges about selling the Facebook coin to consumers."

• 8 April 2019: Nathaniel Popper, one of the two journalists who wrote the report in the New York Times, provided this update (on Twitter) about Facebook's cryptocurrency project:

https://twitter.com/nathanielpopper/status/1115331482384388098

https://twitter.com/nathanielpopper/status/1115331483441328128

• 2 May 2019: The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook was "recruiting dozens of financial firms and online merchants to help launch a cryptocurrency-based payments system," and that the core part of this initiative (code-named "Project Libra") is "a digital coin that its users could send to each other and use to make purchases both on Facebook and across the internet." Furthermore, this report said that, according to people familiar, Facebook was talking to "financial institutions including Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc. and payment processor First Data Corp." about investing in this project.

• 17 May 2019: A report by Reuters said that FinTech company Libra Network was registered in the Republic and Canton of Geneva on May 2. Looking at the entry for Libra Networks, which was published on May 7 in the Swiss Official Gazettte of Commerce (SOGC), tells us:

Libra Networks LLC (registration number: CHE193533388) has its registered office in Geneva.

According to the English translation, the stated purpose of this company is "provision of services in the fields of finance and technology, as well as the development and production of related software and infrastructure, particularly in connection with investment activities, the payment operation, the financing, identity management, data analysis, big data, blockchain and other technologies."

The share capital is CHF 20,000 (100 shares, each with a nominal value of CHF 200); all of the shares are owned by Facebook Global Holdings II, LLC.

Facebook's Stablecoin: GlobalCoin

Here is what we have learnt from the BBC News report:

• Facebook "is planning to set up a digital payments system in about a dozen countries by the first quarter of 2020."
• The plan is to start testing the new cryptocurrency (some kind of stablecoin), GlobalCoin, by the end of 2019.
• Facebook has been getting "advice on operational and regulatory issues" from the UK's central bank governor Mark Carney (whom Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly met in April) and from U.S. Treasury officials.
• Facebook is also in talks with global remittance firms such as Western Union "as it looks for cheaper and faster ways for people without a bank account to send and receive money."

https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2019/05/bbc-facebook-planning-to-launch-globalcoin-in-q1-2020/

Ethereum: After Forming a Golden Cross, ETH May Be Ready to Surge Towards $300

The aggregated crypto markets have been firmly locked in an upwards trend over the past several weeks, mainly due to Bitcoin’s series of surges that brought it from recent lows of roughly $4,000 to highs of $8,400. This surge has allowed other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH), to also put some distance between their current prices and their recent lows.

Although the market conditions have improved significantly as a result of this upwards momentum, in order for Ethereum and other cryptos to climb higher, it is critical that BTC continues climbing higher and breaks into the $8,000 region.

Ethereum (ETH) Must Break Above Resistance at $260 to Surge Towards $300

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading up 1.5% at its current price of $255, up slightly from its daily lows of $250 which were set earlier today. Over the past several days, ETH has been able to hold above $250 on several occasions, which may signal that this is a level of support for the crypto.

While looking at Ethereum’s chart over the past month, it has been able to surge from lows of $155 to highs of $275, before dropping slightly and stabilizing at its current price levels.

Whether or not ETH continues surging higher in the near-future likely depends most on whether Bitcoin is able to break above the lower-$8,000 region, which has proven to be a level of resistance for the cryptocurrency.

Mayne, a popular cryptocurrency analyst on Twitter, spoke about both Bitcoin and Ethereum in a recent tweet, noting that BTC needs to hold above $7,884, and ETH needs to break through $260 in order for the two cryptos to further extend their upwards momentum.

“$BTC – Need to hold $7884 and red OB for upside target $9k+. Break below red OB I expect $7300 and maybe lower to $6400. $ETH – USD pair needs to break and close thru $260 to get to $300. BTC pair had a nice reaction of range low if we can hold EQ and flip grey OB looks good,” he explained.

https://twitter.com/Tradermayne/status/1131048761868730369/photo/1

ETH’s Golden Cross May Lead it to Surge Higher

Recently, multiple traders and analysts on Twitter noted that Ethereum had formed the coveted golden cross pattern, which typically results in an extension of an asset’s momentum.

TheCryptoCactus, a cryptocurrency trader, recently told his nearly 6k followers that he believes the recent golden cross pattern could help ETH surge towards $300.

“$ETH just confirmed golden crossover, could be trading above $300 real soon,” he explained.

https://twitter.com/TheCryptoCactus/status/1130943664430157833

Although there is some controversy surrounding the utility of golden cross formations as a predictor of future price action, the technical formation is certainly emblematic of the extremely positive price action ETH has incurred in recent times.

As Bitcoin continues battling to gain control of the lower-$8,000 region, it is highly probable that Ethereum will continue consolidating around its current price levels.

https://www.newsbtc.com/2019/05/23/ethereum-after-forming-a-golden-cross-eth-may-be-ready-to-surge-towards-300/

Ethereum to Spend an Eye Popping $30 Million as Price Hits Its Stride



By CCN: The Ethereum Foundation announced it is committing $30 million over 12 months as it continues to build Ethereum 2.0. The nonprofit is spreading the funds “on key projects across the ecosystem” with a focus on Ethereum 2.0 (Plasma), supporting Ethereum 1.0, and developers.

The foundation holds 0.6% of all ETH in addition to cash on hand. The Ethereum price took the baton from bitcoin and surged to an eight-month high last week. ETH is up nearly 60% in May alone.


The Ethereum price is up nearly 60% this month so far. | Source: CoinMarketCap

Ethereum 2.0 is no facelift

Ethereum 2.0 is a transformative undertaking involving a great number of partnerships with developers, startups, and academic institutions.

Furthermore, the planned upgrades take an ecosystem-wide view of Ethereum, which is the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency based on market cap as well as the go-to platform for decentralized smart contracts.



Developers, developers, developers

The foundation will apply $19 million of the earmarked funds toward “building the Ethereum of tomorrow” over the next year. Moreover, there will be more smart contract languages for programmers. And R&D into zero-knowledge proofs could make Ethereum 2.0 more private and secure.

Additionally, the foundation will fund research for Ethereum “Phase 3 and Beyond.” Ethereum 2.0 started out as a research project too. It moved into the active engineering stage during last year’s crypto winter.

Several ETH 1.0 projects will have the benefit of $8 million in funding from the foundation. This includes a command line tool for developers, a programming language to write smart contracts on Ethereum and other blockchains, and the Ethers.js code library for Ethereum developers.

The remaining $3 million will go to “developers, developers, developers.”

https://twitter.com/ethereum/status/1130927270972022784

Ethereum Foundation's "substraction philosophy"

Ethereum’s leaders are striving to “decrease prestige” and “matter less” even as the project spends millions of dollars on partnerships for research and engineering. Ethereum 2.0 will be radically decentralized:

“In plain language, following a philosophy of subtraction means resisting the natural tendency of organizations to grow and accumulate value within themselves, and ensure instead that this value is created outside the Foundation in the broader Ethereum ecosystem.”

Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin won a Thiel Fellowship to advance Ethereum in 2014. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s Subtraction Philosophy seems like the exact opposite of the business philosophy advocated by Peter Thiel in his book, “Zero to One.”

But it’s really not because Ethereum (like Bitcoin which inspired it) is so unique and special. The less the Ethereum Foundation matters, the more Ethereum matters.

The more opportunities the foundation distributes, the more opportunities Ethereum captures. Decentralization is the fundamental quality that makes Ethereum so valuable.

https://www.ccn.com/ethereum-spend-30-million-price-stride

Liquidators Take Charge of Cryptopia: Here Are Cryptopia’s Big Mistakes



Phil Carroll is a Blockchain researcher and enthusiast who has been following the market for over 5 years now. He has been working as a freelance chain analyzer and as a technological content writer for whitepapers etc. In his spare time, he likes to write about topics that involve Bitcoin, Blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

Although cryptocurrencies themselves are incredibly secure, the exchanges that facilitate their movement have been far more problematic.

2018 set a record for the most crypto exchange hacks in history, and the efforts of bad actors are becoming more expansive and more expensive with time. Now, another crypto exchange has been brought down by a hack.

The Slow Descent of Cryptopia

The New Zealand-based Cryptopia endured a hack on January 14 that cost the company $16 million worth of digital assets including Ether and ERC-20 tokens. In the immediate aftermath of the breach, Cryptopia took its site offline posting a message indicating that the website was under maintenance.

At the same time, Cryptopia contacted police authorities who worked to identify the perpetrators and to attempt recovery of the stolen assets. A few days later, the company acknowledged the data breach and admitted that they incurred “significant losses.”

Eventually, Cryptopia came back online, providing trading limited trading opportunities while continuing to experience banking issues. This reduced functionality prevented many users from cashing out their tokens.

For a while it seemed as if it is going to recover from the hack. However, after making efforts to reduce costs and develop a profitable business model, Cryptopia decided that it was in the best interest of all stakeholders to liquidate the exchange. In a statement, Grant Thornton, Cryptopia’s assigned liquidator, conveyed their intention “to find the solution that is in the best interests of customers and stakeholders.”

Take Note of the Mistakes

In some ways, Cryptopia made many correct moves in attempting to repair their exchange after such a significant breach. However, the mistakes made prior to it were ones that can’t be overlooked.

Mistake #1 – Exchange Security

Obviously, whenever a crypto exchange is hacked, there is well-deserved scrutiny of its cybersecurity practices.

In this case, it’s speculated that the exchange stored users’ private keys, the most prominent line of defense again an intrusion, on a single server that was vulnerable to a hack. In this scenario, hackers could easily access and record users’ private keys and then delete the information, making it inaccessible to users and to the exchange.

It’s estimated that hackers gained access to 76,000 different wallets, and, according to analysis, “none of which were smart contracts“. Without access to their accounts, Cryptopia was powerless to stop hackers from draining funds from the exchange.

“What surprises me the most is the negligence in relation to the security of the entire chain of work with the exchange's wallets.” noted Serge Vasylchuk, CEO of CODEX Exchange. “It was possible to prevent a hack for Cryptopia if they would take three must-have measures seriously. First, to ensure maximum isolation from external influences and from accidental internal interference. Second, to backup private keys on a regular basis, on a well-protected physical copy”.

CODEX has been effusive in their security efforts. After deploying multi-stage security audit to ensure the integrity of their users’ accounts and funds, it received a 10/10 security rating from Hacken security team, CoinMarketCap's data accountability and transparency partner. It may be expensive, but it’s necessary for protecting digital assets, something that is critical in crypto markets.

To put it simply, the Cryptopia hack was predicated on lax security standards, and it could have been avoided or greatly diminished if the company embraced industry best practices for guarding user and company accounts.

Mistake #2 – Poor Community Transparency

Of course, technological oversights, while frustrating, are bound to happen from time to time. However, crypto exchanges have full control over their response. They decide their level of transparency and community investment, and their decisions in this regard can have cascading consequences.

Most notably, the company began by issuing a false statement to users. The website was not undergoing “unscheduled maintenance,” a misleading statement that is becoming a code for more problematic events.

While Cryptopia rightly contacted authorities to report criminal activity, the company’s updates were few and far between, leaving their users and the greater internet to speculate about the event and the state of their holdings.

Finally, when the exchange eventually relaunched, it was mostly unusable, appearing in a “read-only” format that prevented users from actually accessing the platform’s functionality.

Communication is always a choice, and exchanges that choose not to fully inform their userbase are doing them and the greater crypto community a disservice. “Of course, after such negligence it is difficult to tell users about the funds lost,” added Vasylchuk. “but the lack of timely communication only worsens the situation when there are people waiting for explanation.” 

Conclusion

Crypto exchanges are a crucial part of the digital currency ecosystem. Investors and traders need to be able to trust them and their ability to protect digital assets.

Cryptopia’s liquidation adds it to the list of exchanges that have misbehaved and have been punished for their actions.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be this way. Exchanges can learn from these mistakes. They can prioritize and enforce robust security standards while emphasizing transparency and communication throughout the process.

It’s the only way forward, and it’s one that exchanges need to learn now before they are the next ones making the news.

https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2019/05/liquidators-take-charge-of-cryptopia-here-are-cryptopias-big-mistakes/

You can now send and receive Bitcoin on WhatsApp

Whats App users can now send and receive Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC) via the popular messaging platform thanks to the Lite.Im bot. The announcement is the latest attempt to simplify the cryptocurrency transaction process, bringing virtual currencies closer to the everyday person.

Sending Bitcoin on WhatsApp

In a tweet published by Zulu Republic on Sunday (May 19, 2019), the digital platform announced that its cryptocurrency messaging platform Lite.Im had introduced a simple way to send and receive bitcoin via WhatsApp.

https://twitter.com/ztxrepublic/status/1130169641626689537

All users have to do is add the Lite.Im WhatsApp bot and follow the on-screen prompts. There are numerous options for users apart from sending and receiving BTC and LTC.

The service also allows people to earn cryptocurrency via a referral program. There are also options that allow users to set their default coin, as well as select their preferred language and password.



Presently, the two default languages are English and Spanish. The service also supports sending and receiving Ether (ETH) and ZTX – the native token on the Zulu Republic platform.

Making BTC transactions easier

SMS-based cryptocurrency transactions introduce some simplicity into the cryptocurrency transaction paradigm, especially for less tech-savvy individuals. Lite.Im already has similar services for Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and SMS.

According to the company, “social messaging” is an important component of wider cryptocurrency adoption. WhatsApp alone has more than 1.5 billion users in virtually every corner of the globe.

With mobile money transactions becoming easier in places across Southeast Asia and Africa, there is the possibility of more unbanked and underbanked people getting greater access to payment channels.

In 2019 alone, there has been a slew of announcements from different establishments about plans to adopt Bitcoin. From trading desks to acceptance as a medium of exchange, the top-ranked cryptocurrency continues to dominate the news.

Many commentators in the industry say BTC is becoming a more mature asset class and looks well on its way to fulfilling the expectations of many early believers.

Competition for 'Fafebook coin'

With Facebook having its own cryptocurrency plans, Lite.Im could potentially be seen as competition. There is no official word about the exact nature of the social messaging giant’s virtual currency ambition but rumors persist that it will be a “Bitcoin-like” cryptocurrency token.

Though it’s like FBCoin will be anything but. Luckily, you can already send bitcoin on Whats App.

https://bitcoinist.com/you-can-now-send-and-receive-bitcoin-on-whats-app/

Crypto market surge $18 billion as Bitcoin heads back to $8k

The majority of BTC traders and investors were secretly hoping that Bitcoin price would correct all the way back down to $6k or lower. This would provide ample opportunity to accumulate for a bigger bull run later this year. Their hopes have been dashed this Sunday morning as Bitcoin surged again during Asian trading.

Bitcoin price sunday surge of 9%

For the best part of the past day, Bitcoin price $7804.20 +1.22% has remained range-bound between $7,250 and $7,400. It broke out of this channel a couple of hours ago during the Asian session and surged 9 percent to hit $7,920 according to Coinmarketcap.com. Daily volume had trailed off by half over the past few days but had already started to ramp up this morning.

Just yesterday it appeared that Bitcoin was taking a breather, possibly poised to drop back to major support zones. A number of prominent analysts were eyeing $6,400 or lower for a possible retracement. At the time of writing, this looks unlikely as the bulls have taken control of the markets again.

CNBC got it completely wrong as usual by posting a head and shoulders chart implying that a big drop was imminent. The counter trading indicator did not go unnoticed by those on crypto twitter. Twitter crypto market analyst, Josh Rager, wrote:

.CNBC calling head & shoulders… And I really wanted to buy the dip down to low to mid $6ks. Was a clear counter indicator as Bitcoin is starting to pump.

The next move for BTC is likely to be above $8,000 again with huge resistance at $8,200 where it reached during the week. Rager added that a close above this price on the daily/weekly would be very bullish with the next targets being upwards of $9,000. He specified $9,600 adding;

There will be resistance along the way and could take more than a few days even if the daily/weekly closes above $8216. Weekly volume looks amazing.

https://twitter.com/Josh_Rager/status/1129964545513013249/photo/1

$18 billion added to crypto cap

Bitcoin’s Sunday surge has resulted in over $18 billion being added to crypto market capitalization as it pumps from an intraday low of $228 billion to $246 billion.

Total market cap has remained over $200 billion for the past seven days. It is the first time since early November that this has happened.

As a result, the altcoins are all in the green at the moment with big gains of over 7 percent for Bitcoin Cash, Binance Coin, and Dash. Ethereum, EOS, Litecoin, Stellar, Monero, and IOTA are all making over 4 percent at the time of writing.

https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-price-back-8000-crypto-markets-18-billion/