Two new patents from Microsoft reveal that the tech giant is looking to bolster its blockchain solutions with the use of trusted execution environments (TEEs), according to two filings published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) August 9.

Both applications outline how the use of TEEs could further improve security within a consortium blockchain network, which requires that specific nodes are endorsed to act as validator nodes (VNs) on the blockchain.

As Microsoft’s first patent filing indicates, TEEs can help to improve the security of such networks in the following way:

    “In one example of the technology, a first node is endorsed. During endorsement of a first node, a pre-determined type of blockchain or other security protocol code to be authorized and a pre-determined membership list may be stored in a trusted execution environment (TEE) of the first node.”

According to the patent, not only a specified protocol or membership list, but potentially a series of further agreed-upon aspects could be stored within a TEE. The patent then outlines how using a system of TEE attestations would be able to securely verify all new participants of the system who are found to possess matching information to that which is stored within the first node’s TEE.

Microsoft’s second patent filing from August 9 outlines how a TEE may also facilitate the verification of blockchain transactions within a consortium network. The same TEE attestation system would generate a sufficiently trustless environment in which other VNS on the network would “not need to do re-computation for verification,” allowing a given pre-authorized entity to “directly” broadcast the “updated official state” of a given processed transaction:

    “In some examples, the entire network accepts the transactions, including chaincode transactions, and blockchain states are directly updated. In some examples, there is no need for a copy of the transaction in order to confirm a block.”

Just last week, Cointelegraph reported on news that Microsoft’s Ethereum-based cloud computing platform Azure had replaced its existing proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism with a new proof-of-authority (PoA) algorithm. Microsoft has proposed that the new algorithm will improve the efficiency of building decentralized applications (DApps) for private or consortium blockchain networks.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/microsofts-two-new-patents-fuse-blockchain-tech-with-trusted-computing-techniques

Spanish left-wing political coalition Unidos Podemos has called on the state to explore and implement the benefits of blockchain technology, local news agency Europa Press reported August 12.

Podemos, formed from left wing parties Podemos, United Left, Equo and others has suggested that the Spanish government establish a subcommittee responsible for studying the potential of blockchain technology as well cryptocurrency regulation. Alberto Montero, the deputy of the political alliance, has reportedly registered the request in the lower house, along with a project plan.

The blockchain-focused body would bring together public administrations, state authorities and public officials, as well as industry experts.

According to a Montero, the initiative aims to explore the "enormous potential" of blockchaint tech in terms of reducing costs of government operations and boosting the level of security for social and economic transactions.

In addition, the alliance has suggested addressing regulatory approaches for cryptocurrency use in Spain. According to the report, digital currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC) are currently “located in a gray area of ​​regulation."

The coalition also proposes to base policy on the outcomes of the European Union (EU) Blockchain Observatory and Forum, launched by the European Commission in February 2018.

Unidos Podemos is not the only political organization that has recently suggested blockchain adoption in the country’s government. Earlier this summer, 133 deputies from the Spanish ruling party, Partido Popular (People’s Party), proposed a bill to use blockchain in the public administration of the country.

Recently, two major spanish public institutions, the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE) and the Madrid School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSIT-UPM) partnered to apply blockchain for digital copyright management.

In terms of crypto regulation, the Spanish Congress has reportedly indicated unanimous support for a draft regulatory framework to regulate blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies on May 30, 2018. The draft initiative, proposed by People’s Party, suggests that the state cooperates with National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) and the Bank of Spain to coordinate a common regulatory stance on crypto in the broader European context.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/spanish-left-wing-political-coalition-proposes-subcommittee-to-study-blockchain-crypto

The U.S. District Court, Northern District of California has ruled to deny a motion to remand against Ripple, its subsidiary XRP II, and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, according to an official document issued August 10.

The original lawsuit was first initiated by XRP investor Ryan Coffey in a San Francisco court on May 3, 2018, claiming that he lost $551.89 while trading XRP tokens. The class action was filed by law firm Taylor-Copeland, alleging that Ripple sold XRP tokens in violation of both the U.S. the Securities Act and the California Corporations Code. The plaintiff also claimed that XRP is not genuinely decentralized.

According to court documents, the plaintiff failed to show whether the presence of a Securities Act issue was sufficient to bar the defendant from removing an action under the Class Action Fairness Act. In the ruling the court found that, “The parties candidly admit that their research failed to turn up any case directly addressing this question and the court’s own research fared no better.”

The plaintiff was seeking a “rescission of all XRP purchases, damages, and a constructive trust over the proceeds of defendants’ alleged sales of XRP.”

At the time the lawsuit was first filed, David Silver, a partner at Silver Miller Law Firm, commented to Cointelegraph that “lawsuits like this are simply private litigants testing the legitimacy of these companies,” claiming that it will bring more judicial clarity.

A Ripple spokeswoman said that at the moment the lawsuit was filed, the SEC had not yet decided whether XRP is a security. She claimed, “We continue to believe XRP should not be classified as a security.”

In early June, Ripple appointed former chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Mary Jo White as a representative in the class action filed by Coffey.

Recently, Ripple released the second quarter 2018 report for its digital asset, arguing that the XRP token price was in line with the overall trend in crypto markets, which “[underscores] XRP’s independence from Ripple."

https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-federal-court-denies-motion-to-remand-against-ripple

Software giant Microsoft has debuted a new Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) product that allows businesses across industry verticals to deploy a flexible instance of Ethereum tailored specifically for enterprise environments.

Announced on Tuesday, Ethereum Proof-of-Authority on Azure allows enterprises to build applications on an Ethereum blockchain that is not secured by a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm and consequently does not require mining — features that are better suited for networks in which participants do not trust one another.

PoW “works great in anonymous, open networks where cryptocurrency promotes security on the network,” said Azure Global software engineer Cody Born. “However, in private/consortium networks the underlying ether has no value.”

Born explained that, since all participants on an enterprise blockchain network are known and reputable, governance can be separated from network operation.

To this end, the Proof-of-Authority product features a built-in decentralized application (DApp or dApp) called the “Governance DApp” that provides consortium members with the authority to govern the network or delegate their voting power to others. Network participants can also delegate other nodes to vote on their behalf in the event that their primary nodes go offline, ensuring that all members maintain continual consensus participation.

Network administrators, in turn, can use on-chain voting to vote on and alter network authorities in a transparent and auditable manner.

Along with Azure’s original, PoW-based Ethereum product, blockchains using this new consensus model can be deployed in as little as five minutes, providing enterprises with a “single-click” DLT solution.

To further increase the product’s usability, Microsoft integrated support for smart contracts built using Parity’s WebAssembly (Wasm) toolkit, enabling developers to write smart contracts in familiar programming languages such as C, C++, and Rust in lieu of learning Solidity, Ethereum’s primary programming language.

https://www.ccn.com/microsofts-new-ethereum-blockchain-product-gets-rid-of-mining/

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Here is a guide on how to try to get rid of those pending transactions:

    How to cancel or replace a pending transaction

 - You cannot cancel transactions that have already been confirmed on etherscan. This is only possible for transactions sent with a low gas price (e.g 1-5 gwei) that can get stuck when the ethereum network has thousands of pending transactions.
       
 - If we succeed in replacing the pending transaction, you do not end up paying the gas for the now invalid old transaction.

    Nonce

    Every ethereum transaction has a number called the nonce (found at the bottom of the transaction details on etherscan). This number is the amount of transactions made by your address, and each transaction should have a nonce higher than the previous.



    Stopping a transaction

    If you manage to send out a transaction with the same nonce but with a higher gas price, there is a chance that the new transaction will replace the old one.

    You get 2 choices

        Retry: try to send the same thing again with a higher gas price.

        Cancel: send a random transaction to replace the pending one.

    Retry

    Now raise the gas price.

    Raising the gas by little won't make sense, as that transaction will probably end up pending as well.
    Normally 20-30 gwei should be fine to confirm the transaction in a few minutes, in extreme cases you might have to go up to 60.

        Remember that a higher gas price does make the transaction costs a little more expensive.

    Cancelling transaction

    You want to get rid of the pending transaction, but do not care about the contents of that transaction anymore. This is basically the same trick as the retry, we raise the gas price, but here we just want to send out any transaction quickly.
    The easiest and cheapest transaction to make is to send a transaction of 0 ETH to a wallet.


    Within like 30 seconds you should see a new transaction hash on etherscan instead of the old one.