Ethereum 2.0 Hits Record TVL While Tether Freezes Accounts
The Total Value Locked in Ethereum 2.0 hit $30 billion this week. Could 2022 be the consummation of the proof-of-stake migration for ETH?
Tether has frozen three accounts on the Ethereum blockchain that hold more than $160 million in USDT. For at least a couple of years now, Tether has been the center of controversy. One journalist calls it a “trail of shady deals and shattered promises.” Another has put together a complete timeline of events surrounding the Tether controversy. But the Turks don’t care. At the end of the day, Tether’s playing coy with the market, and the market seems to love it.
Jack Dorsey has set a legal defense fund for Bitcoin developers. Why is it that this maneuver centers around a man who thinks he’s Satoshi Nakamoto? Or, at least, wants you to believe he’s Satoshi?
What do reality TV star Kim Kardashian and retired heavyweight boxer Floyd Mayweather have in common? They’re both being sued by investors for their connection to EthereumMax as an alleged pump and dump scheme.
The Problem of Data Security
There is no platform anywhere in the world that cannot be hacked. Some servers may be more secure than others, but passwords can be guessed, two-factor authentication can be hijacked, and virtually every form of data security currently in use has weaknesses. Blockchain technology takes a different approach to data security by using public and private keys, which must be matched, to keep data secure.
Data security experts suggest passwords should be long (at least eight characters) and contain at least one lower case letter, at least one upper case letter, and at least one special character. The reason for these stipulations is because such passwords are harder to guess or hack, which makes your data more secure. Cryptographic security is even better.
Cryptographic security, the security protocol adopted by blockchain technology, takes sage advice and puts it on steroids. Bitcoin public and private keys contain a string of characters 30 to 65 characters in length using 256-bit encryption. On top of that, decentralized blockchain solutions often use a base-16 numbering system as opposed to a base-10 numbering system. These complexities, usually randomized, increase the level of security for stored data. The more complicated a password or key is, the more difficult it is to hack or guess.
Blockchain technology increases complexity to ensure security.
An excerpt from my forthcoming book Cryptosocial: How Cryptocurrencies Are Changing Social Media, to be published by Business Expert Press. Be the first to know when the book launches.
First published at Cryptocracy. Not financial advice.
Image credit: Photo Bank/Getty Images via The Guardian