Autor Cointelegraph By Martin Young

Crypto spam increases 4000% in two years: LunarCrush

Crypto spam increases 4000% in two years: LunarCrush

Uverejnil používateľ | máj 27, 2022 |

Spam and bots have been the bane of anyone that uses the internet for years, but recently this digital scourge has ramped up activity in the crypto sector in a big way.Crypto intelligence provider LunarCrush has revealed spam in the cryptosphere has increased by an astonishing 3,894%. The firm has been collecting crypto-specific social data since 2019, and says not only is spam at an all-time high, it’s also “the fastest growing metric on social media.”The findings were published in a May 25 report, stating that “more spam accounts than you would think are actually people.” For this reason, it is often a challenge for software to detect and flag spam.Spam Volume collected by LunarCrush over the previous 2 yearsTwitter is the social media platform of choice for the crypto industry, and it is awash with spam and bots. There has been an estimated 1,374% increase in Twitter spam volume over the past two years, according to LunarCrush.LunarCrush CEO Joe Vezzani told Quantum Economics founder Matti Greenspan in his crypto newsletter:“For a Web2 platform like Twitter, there is a direct incentive to turn a blind eye to fake accounts because it increases the value of their platform.”Tokenized Web3 platforms (such as Aave’s Lens Protocol or Orbis) differ in that they want to have as many genuine users as possible holding the asset rather than trying to extract value from the community, he added.Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s sensational takeover of the platform was put on hold earlier this month pending further details supporting Twitter’s assertion that spam and fake accounts represent less than 5% of the platform’s traffic.Musk plans to crack down on spam bots that have plagued the platform and suggests that the company’s claim of 95% genuine users is too high.Twitter claims that >95% of daily active users are real, unique humans. Does anyone have that experience?— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 17, 2022Purging the bot accounts would drop the number of followers most genuine accounts have. One estimate from SparkToro suggested that Musk could lose half of his 95 million followers. Earlier this month, the software firm conducted in-depth analysis reporting that almost 20% of all active Twitter accounts are fake or spammers.Related: Elon Musk’s ‘top priority’ for Twitter includes cutting down on crypto scam tweetsUntil Musk gets his way and shakes the spammers out of the Twitter tree, users of the platform and other social media sites will have to be extra vigilant regarding the rising tide of crypto scams and spam which none of them appear to have the power to control.

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Quantum-based random number generator for Web3 games and wallets launched

Quantum-based random number generator for Web3 games and wallets launched

Uverejnil používateľ | máj 4, 2022 |

Researchers at Australia National University have teamed up with blockchain oracle provider AP13 to launch the first Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG).The joint effort will allow Web3 entities to access a completely unpredictable random number generation system that is highly secure and free to use.Random number generators are not new, but the QRNG system is the first of its kind to generate a random number using quantum mechanics. This provides the first genuinely random number mechanism beyond the pseudo-mathematical systems currently used that may be biased or repeated.There are several traditional applications for random numbers, such as gambling and lotteries, sports and competitions, and sampling and statistics. As more organizations look to embrace the world of Web3, a tamper-proof, true random number generator not reliant on third parties will be required.API3’s QRNG measures random quantum fluctuations in phase and amplitude of an electromagnetic field in a vacuum to guarantee unpredictable randomness and generate the numbers. Dr. Aaron Tranter from the ANU Research School of Physics explained the process to Cointelegraph:“Quantum mechanics predicts that a vacuum, generally regarded as the absence of ‘things’, actually contains particles popping in and out of existence. This is the origin of the term vacuum noise. This noise is fundamentally random and can actually be measured using a laser, optics, and some fast electronics. We measure these fluctuations and convert them into random numbers which are then served to the AWS cloud for distribution via an API gateway.”The system is currently available as an application programming interface (API) for 13 blockchains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon, Fantom, and Moonbeam. Users need not pay for the service, but there will be a minor network fee for calling the API.Web3 and Metaverse gaming could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of such a system as games continuously rely on a degree of randomness and unpredictability to keep players engaged.Blockchain-based gambling applications would also greatly benefit from a tamper-proof random number generator, resulting in greater trust in the betting platforms.Dr. Tranter added that people can use random numbers for whatever application they want, from the generation of unique NFTs and artwork to automated decision making. He explained:“For example, if you wanted to draw randomly from a pool of clients for a task then you would want to ensure that you are truly sampling randomly. This could include distribution of resources, assigning of tasks and even decentralized quorums for voting.” He added they could also be used for crypto wallet generation since the current solution of pseudo-random number generators can often result in repetition or have complex patterns that could be exploited. “A QRNG is guaranteed to be truly random by the laws of quantum mechanics, removing this loophole,” he added. Related: Quantum computing to run economic models on crypto adoptionWeb3 applications that involve public participation, such as random token distribution or drawn winners, will also benefit from a tamper-proof system.API3 QRNG is hosted by the Australia National University Quantum Optics Group on Amazon Web Services (AWS), and all data passed between servers is encrypted. Additionally, the random numbers are destroyed after use, so the firm never has access to them.

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Monero crypto of choice as ransomware ‘double extortion’ attacks increase 500%

Monero crypto of choice as ransomware ‘double extortion’ attacks increase 500%

Uverejnil používateľ | apr 20, 2022 |

A new report by blockchain analytics firm CipherTrace highlights the growing role that privacy-focused cryptocurrencies such as Monero are playing in the rising tide of ransomware.“Current Trends in Ransomware” delves into trends observed during 2021 but was only released this week. The firm revealed there was almost a 500% increase in “double extortion” ransomware attacks from 2020 to 2021. These are cyber attacks in which malicious actors steal a victim’s sensitive data in addition to encrypting it.The report echoes similar findings from analytics firm Chainalysis which reported that overall ransomware crypto payments topped $600 million for the period.The new research found that last year saw increasing demands for ransom payment in Monero (XMR), with attackers adding premiums for payments made in Bitcoin (BTC) ranging from 10 to 20%. At least 22 ransomware strains (from an incomplete list of more than 50) only accept XMR payments, and at least seven of them accept both BTC and XMR, it added.“Higher prices for BTC are most likely seen by the ransomware actors as a premium for dealing with the increased risk in using an easily traceable cryptocurrency like BTC.”The report cited a Russian-speaking ransomware gang called Everest Group which claimed to have hacked the U.S. Government in October last year. According to CipherTrace, Everest Ransomware is “currently trying to sell the data for $500,000 in XMR.”Another example was the Russian DarkSide group responsible for the U.S. Colonial Pipeline attack in May 2021. The ransom could be paid in either XMR or BTC, but the cost was higher for the latter.The REvil ransomware group also switched from demanding BTC to demanding payments in XMR only in early 2020.Related: Don’t blame crypto for ransomwareMonero is a privacy-based cryptocurrency that uses a combination of technologies such as mixers, ring signatures, and stealth addresses that obfuscate sending and receiving wallets. This is why it has become the primary asset of choice for those demanding ransoms.For that reason, Monero and other highly privacy-focused cryptocurrencies such as Dash and Zcash have been delisted by some exchanges in countries such as the U.K. and Japan.The Monero blockchain will be hard forked in July to further enhance its anonymity and privacy properties.

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a16z's Chris Dixon tops ‘Midas List’ by turning $350M into $6B in 2021

a16z's Chris Dixon tops ‘Midas List’ by turning $350M into $6B in 2021

Uverejnil používateľ | apr 13, 2022 |

Crypto venture capital firms have been investing at unprecedented rates recently and Andreessen Horowitz is one of the industry’s leaders making huge returns on their investments.Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) general partner Chris Dixon has topped the Forbes “Midas List” of the world’s best venture capital investors in 2022.Seldom does a crypto or Web3 funding round finalize without a16z being involved somehow. According to an April 12 report by the publication, Dixon turned the $350 million Crypto Fund I into realized and unrealized gains of $6 billion in 2021. That equates to an eye-watering 17.7x gain according to “sources with knowledge of the fund’s financials.”Jack Dorsey may not want to give him props. But @cdixon and a16z’s $350M first crypto fund closed 2021 up 17.7x, a source tells @Forbes. @bhorowitz predicts in 10 years, he’ll be considered “the best investor of his generation.” pic.twitter.com/XdqwDWEcZ2— Alex Konrad (@alexrkonrad) April 12, 2022By comparison, the overall cryptocurrency market itself only managed a 200% gain from $780 billion on January 1, 2021, to $2.3 trillion by the end of December of the same year.a16z got into crypto early, leading a $25 million funding round into Coinbase in 2013. By the time Coinbase went public in April 2021, the firm held a 15% stake following 14 more funding rounds. The shares were worth $10 billion on the first day of trading resulting in a 60x return for the company. However, this was several years before Dixon’s crypto fund was launched in June 2018 with $300 million raised in total at the time according to Crunchbase.There have been other notable investments by a16z including decentralized exchange Uniswap, the Avalanche blockchain, NFT creator Dapper Labs, and Ethereum staking platform Lido, all of which have surged in valuation or collateral since. Dixon, who rarely appears for interviews, told Forbes:“My job is not to predict the future. My job is to be smart enough to know who the smart people are who will.”The company is currently raising funds for the world’s largest crypto fund worth a whopping $4.5 billion. In January, the firm said it planned to raise $3.5 billion for the fund, in addition to another $1 billion for Web3 seed investments.Journalist Alex Konrad said that a16z “plans to roll back its crypto fund into the firm — making crypto core to its main funds, akin to cloud or the internet.”Related: Venture capital year in review 2021: Cointelegraph Research TerminalConcerns have been raised by some crypto industry observers that too much venture capital involvement and investment in a project may erode its decentralization. a16z’s holdings of the UNI tokens and sway in governance votes for  has been a particular issue. But either way, the crypto industry’s most prominent VC firm is still hunting for new investment opportunities in the sector.

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67% of Cardano holders underwater and most bought less than 1 year ago

67% of Cardano holders underwater and most bought less than 1 year ago

Uverejnil používateľ | apr 8, 2022 |

As Cardano (ADA) prices fall back towards the psychological one dollar level, more and more investors are finding themselves with unrealized losses by holding on to the digital asset.Cardano’s ADA token has had a bearish week. The price has fallen 11.4% since Monday resulting in more holders being in the red. More significantly, ADA is now 64.7% below its September 2 all-time high of $3.09 and is in danger of falling below a dollar over the next few days should the trend continue.According to IntoTheBlock’s “in/out of the money” indicator, more than two-thirds, or 67% of ADA holders, are underwater. A quarter of Cardano investors are in the green, and 9% of them are at a breakeven point.The indicator identifies the average cost at which the tokens were purchased and compares it to the current price, which was $1.09 at the time of writing.The analytics provider reported that 3.41 million ADA addresses are in the red compared to just 1.25 million in the green.In/Out of the Money: IntoTheBlockA related metric is the amount of time the token has been held. The vast majority, or 76% of ADA holders, have held it for between one and 12 months. Just 11% of Cardano investors have held the token for more than a year, and those are the ones that are still in profit.From a technical standpoint, ADA has turned bearish and could quite quickly revisit its 2022 and yearly low point of around $0.80, which occurred in mid-March. This would plunge even more investors into the red unless they sell at a loss.The slide in prices could be tied to the network not living up to high expectations set around the launch of smart contracts.  In terms of the numbers of decentralized applications (DApps), Cardano is still something of a wasteland with DeFi Llama reporting that there are just ten DeFi protocols running on the network with a combined total value locked of around $233 million. Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson however believes that many Cardano dApps are waiting for the Vasil hard fork in June to launch. The “Basho” phase of the Cardano upgrade roadmap will focus on scalability and smart contracts with new technology called Hydra to boost network throughput even further. Related: Cardano Foundation and the University of Zurich expand academic blockchain researchIn terms of other fundamenta Cardano is looking relatively strong. Network demand surged to record capacity earlier this year when the much-hyped SundaeSwap decentralized exchange was launched.Santiment reported that Cardano was the most developed crypto project on GitHub in 2021, and Cardano NFT bonds were unveiled this week, providing another investment vehicle on the network.However, unless there is a significant turnaround in trading sentiment, the ADA selloff may start to accelerate, putting more holders deeper underwater.

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