BNB Chain community votes to reduce network fees
The BNB Chain community is considering a proposal to reduce transaction fees on the Binance Smart Chain Consensus (BSC) protocol as L2 solutions become more popular, offering users lower fees compared to the BNB Chain Tier 1 blockchain. Currently, the network fee is set at a relatively high flat rate of 5 Gwei, and this may reduce the competitiveness of the blockchain and L2 protocols based on it.
A fee-lowering approach can improve network resilience by attracting new projects and users to the ecosystem, which increases the amount of fees collected and optimizes the use of block space, which will allow validators to receive more rewards. In the last six months, blockchain performance has stabilized with usage hovering in the 15-20% range, and as the rate rises even with lower rates, total network fees will increase, he suggests based on several models.
Hackers stole over $400,000 through a fake browser
Hackers use the CryptoClipper trojan, disguising it as the Tor browser, and distribute it on third-party sites on the Internet. When a Trojan enters a victim's computer, it registers itself in startup under the guise of a popular application, such as uTorrent. CryptoClipper is able to detect crypto-currency addresses in the clipboard and automatically replace them with addresses belonging to attackers. This malicious software is capable of performing substitutions in the Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Monero networks. According to experts, more than 15,000 users in 52 countries have already been affected. It assumes that by 2023 the damage from the Trojan may exceed $400,000.
The US government sold 9,800 BTC
Following a recent legal battle, the US government announced that it sold 9,800 BTC worth $215.7 million on March 14, generating a net proceeds of $216 million. It was part of the amount in BTC that was seized in November 2021 from James Zhong, who was accused of illegally obtaining over 50,000 bitcoins in 2012. The government intends to sell about 41,500 more BTC related to this case. According to the lawsuit, the remaining BTC will be sold in four more batches during the current year. The initial seizure of approximately 50,676 BTC from Zhong's house was valued at over $3.36 billion, making it the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the history of the US Department of Justice.
CFTC sues Binance
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued crypto exchange Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao on Monday, accusing them of "deliberately evading" U.S. law and violating registration requirements for crypto-derivative products. According to the lawsuit, Binance provided unregistered crypto derivative products in the US and also advised customers to use a VPN to bypass compliance controls. As part of its derivatives trading operations in the US, Binance offered trades in cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, LTC, USDT, and BUSD, which are referred to as commodities in the lawsuit.
Interestingly, the CFTC once again calls BTC, ETH and LTC a commodity. These accusations caused a stir in the markets, and the price of BTC fell by 3%, but then quickly recovered. The CFTC is asking the court to stop Binance from continuing to break the law.
CEO of Epic Games: programmers choose blockchain technologies
Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have attracted a "whole generation" of programmers, which has had a negative impact on the development of the gaming industry, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said in an interview with IGN. The company faced a shortage of highly skilled programmers capable of creating revolutionary technology for video games. According to Sax Persson, who is in charge of the Fortnite ecosystem, commercial game engines and game architecture are outdated, and the programming model needs to be changed to “go beyond”. During the interview, Tim Sweeney discussed the metaverse, noting that the Fortnite ecosystem fits this concept. In April 2022, Epic Games received $2 billion in funding for the development of metaverse projects, half of which came from Sony.
Sam Bankman-Fried investigation continues, faces more than 100 years
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which went bankrupt last year, is challenging new US allegations of violating campaign finance laws and paying bribes to Chinese authorities. He has previously pleaded not guilty to allegations of fraud and conspiracy related to hedge fund Alameda Research and FTX client funds. The trial will begin on October 2, and the maximum possible sentence for all charges is 155 years. The FTX exchange went bankrupt after clients began withdrawing their funds due to concerns about the mixing of funds between FTX and Alameda.
Anonymous Bitcoin Developer Reports LinkingLion Community
According to a report by an anonymous Bitcoin developer, there is a community in the cryptocurrency market called "LinkingLion", which since 2018 has been collecting IP addresses of participants in the crypto industry and linking them to the corresponding cryptocurrency wallets. There is a community known as "LinkingLion" that has been collecting the IP addresses of users of the crypto industry since 2018. These unknown individuals link these addresses to BTC wallets, violating user privacy. But that's not all - LinkingLion records the times of transactions to determine the first node that received a transaction and uses that information to discover the IP address associated with a particular bitcoin address.
Irish farmer develops 'methane method' for mining
Irish farmer Tom Campbell has found a way to use clean energy to mine bitcoin. Campbell produces renewable energy using an anaerobic digestion method, decomposing manure to the point where methane is released, which is then used to generate electricity.
Although the main goal of the farmer is to feed his farm, he uses the excess energy to mine bitcoins. Campbell claims that his "methane method" produces up to 700 kW of clean energy, which is equivalent to the needs of 12,000 households. If 41% of farmers in Ireland apply Campbell's technology to generate green electricity, they could provide electricity to all residential infrastructure in the country, according to the Irish government.
