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Musk’s X payments service officially entered beta testing this week, and the Tesla CEO confirmed a cautious rollout approach for the long-awaited payment feature. The announcement marks a significant step in X’s transformation into an “everything app” that combines social media with financial services, and also signals potential cryptocurrency integration down the road. Also Read: Elon Musk’s X and Visa Unite: Introducing the X Money Account X Beta Brings Dogecoin, Crypto Tools, And Secure Payments Source: Washington Times Limited Beta Rollout Prioritizes User Security Musk confirmed the limited beta launch when he responded to speculation about X Money’s availability, and his response highlighted the careful approach the company is taking. Right now, the focus appears to be on establishing secure foundations before expanding access to broader user groups. Elon Musk stated: “This will be a very limited access beta at first. When people’s saving ...

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SatLayer, a Bitcoin (BTC) utility and security platform, has launched the “Phase I” of its mainnet, as well as Cube, a Babylon Genesis (BABY) liquid staking solution, according to the latest reports shared with Finbold on Friday, April 11. Launching with over $250 million in BTC deposited, SatLayer will lay a stronger foundation for Bitcoin decentralized finance (DeFi) and help transform BTC into a programmable asset with more utility in the ecosystem.  By doing so, SatLayer also unlocks trillions of dollars worth of idle Bitcoin to give nation-states, institutions, and individual traders more yield-earning opportunities. Bitcoin liquidity and security As a decentralized restaking app on Babylon, SatLayer helps bring BTC liquidity and security characteristic of Layer 1 and (L1) Layer 2 (L2) chains to decentralized applications (dApps) and infrastructure as well.  Starting with Babylon Genesis and preparing to support other leading L1/L2 ecosystems in t...

The Best Wallet ($BEST) presale hit $10.5 million in funding on Monday, extending a streak of surging investment. The latest influx of capital follows the Bybit hack, which saw $1.4 billion in funds stolen from the exchange. This underscores the growing demand for self-custody wallets as a safer way to protect digital assets. Best Wallet not only offers this security but also Features that have made it a top choice among investors in less than a year. Currently, Best Wallet’s funding stage prices each token at $0.0241 for the next 11 hours before the next round increases the price. With the presale running for over three months, Best Wallet may be nearing its funding goal. Missing out now – while $BEST is at one of its lowest prices – could be like passing on a presale for a better version of MetaMask. Bybit Hack To Hasten Shift To Non-Custodial Solutions Like Best Wallet Dubai-based Bybit suffered a hack on Februar...

A phishing website posing as the Ethereum search tool Etherscan has been spotted on search engines DuckDuckGo and Bing as one of the first Etherscan search results. Scam Sniffer flagged the Etherscan phishing site today and warned users on X (formerly Twitter) that, “Your assets could be at risk from a simple mistake. Stay safe and alert!”  The phishing site utilizes the same logo as Etherscan and describes the basics of the tool. DuckDuckGo and Bing also list the phishing site as the second search result just below the legitimate Etherscan site. The phishing site can be spotted by the extra dash in its web address which rewrites “etherscan” as “et-herscan.” DuckDuckGo and Bing still list the Etherscan phishing site at the time of writing. Read more: Ethervista ‘unconsciously hacked’ hundreds of times by bot Scam Sniffer highlighted the problem of phishing websites and noted that someone lost almost $521,000 to a fake permit signature crypto scam. ...

FileCoin-based data storage app GhostDrive focuses on user experience and encryption features. What would drive the next billion users to the blockchain ecosystem? Green price charts for related coins, or perhaps more acceptance from governments around the world? Both can help draw the masses’ attention to blockchain-based technologies. However, the real-world uses would generate enough interest for the average user to try out the technology — an app or a service that provides utility for the end-user. Data storage is a crucial area plagued by centralized monopolies that take away user control and data ownership. According to a Fortune Business Insights report, the market was valued at $217 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to over $777 billion by 2030. Large corporations have been able to dominate data storage effortlessly due to the lack of competition, causing a stagnation in data storage improvements for end users. The average user’s growing need to store and manage data,...

Cybersecurity firm CertiK reported that as of August, over $997 million was lost to flash loan attacks, exit scams and exploits in 2023. Malicious actors targeting the crypto space have taken more than $45 million in digital assets from their victims in the month of August alone and a total of $997 million year-to-date (YTD), according to a report shared by the blockchain security firm CertiK. In the report, CertiK highlighted that exit scams took around $26 million, flash loan attacks took $6.4 million and exploits took $13.5 million from their victims in August 2023. The cybersecurity firm confirmed that the total losses amounted to over $45 million. Major incidents that happened in August. Source: CertiK CertiK pointed out that some of the major incidents that contributed to the amount lost include the Zunami Protocol attack, which led to $2.2 million in losses; the Exactly Protocol exploit, which took $7.3 million; and the PEPE (PEPE) withdrawal incident, which led to $13.2 milli...

The bug would have allowed malicious validators to compromise the network and applications that rely on it, including Celer’s cBridge. Web3 investor and developer Jump Crypto has identified a vulner ability in Celer’s State Guardian Network (SGN) that would allow malicious validators to compromise the network and applications dependent on it, including Celer’s cBridge. According to Jump Crypto’s postmortem report, validators were allowed to vote more than once on the same update due to a bug in the SGN EndBlocker code. By allowing validators to vote multiple times, malicious actors could multiply their voting power to approve harmful updates. The report explained: “The [EndBlocker] code is missing a check that prevents a validator from voting on the same update twice. A malicious validator could exploit this by voting multiple times on the same update, effectively multiplying their voting power and potentially tipping the vote in favor of an invalid or malicious update." Celer...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a vocal supporter of Bitcoin. The 2024 presidential candidate has time and again made promises outlining the policies that he will enact if he is elected to power. Talking at a recent event, he assured Americans that they will not be liable to pay tax es on Bitcoin to U.S. dollar conversions. Specifically, he said, “The Kennedy Administration will exempt the conversion of Bitcoin to the US Dollar from capital gains tax es.” JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he will exempt #Bitcoin to US dollar conversions from capital gains tax es. — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) July 19, 2023 Also Read: U.S. SEC, CFTC Can Work Together on Crypto Rules: Caroline Pham Kennedy’s regulatory stance The securities v. not a securities debate got settled to a fair extent after the recent verdict in the Ripple case. The retail use of the asset was off the hook, as XRP was deemed to not be...

What are the risks associated with Web3, and how is one specialized Web3 protection tool helping users navigate this new digital landscape with confidence? The Web3 space has completely revolutionized online interactions, but it is still not completely risk-free. While underlying technologies such as blockchain bring more resilience, Web3 has inherited many security risks from Web2. Moreover, it also faces new forms of attack. Main types of Web3 risks With Web3 progressing at a fast pace, it is imperative to identify the risks associated with this new iteration of the internet. Four main categories of risks emerge from the transition to Web3: Data security. The broader network topology in Web3 introduces new data security risks. While blockchain transactions are encrypted, and data decentralization reduces single points of attack, it exposes data to various risks, including data authenticity and manipulation. Additionally, less centralized oversight raises concerns about endpoint a...

Zero knowledge proofs, DIDs, and more could help DeFi protocols maintain regulatory compliance without exposing their users. Decentralized finance (DeFi) has been a rapidly growing sector of the cryptocurrency industry, but it has also faced significant regulatory challenges. With regulators struggling to keep up with the pace of innovation, the lack of clarity around regulation s tends to create uncertainty for DeFi projects. Cointelegraph spoke to Alastair Johnson about regulatory challenges facing the DeFi industry. Johnson is the CEO of an identity “super-wallet” called Nuggets that seeks to deliver verified self-sovereign decentralized identities to users. He said that one of the main regulatory challenges is DeFi platform anonymity, which makes it difficult to comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulation s.  Although privacy is a cornerstone of DeFi, regulatory compliance is essential to protect users and ensure that DeFi platforms are operat...

The zk-SNARKs upgrade promises to significantly improve the security and transparency of the verification process. On Feb 10, Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced a major upgrade to its Proof of Reserves Verification system to include zk-SNARKs — a cutting-edge technology that Binance says will allow it to verify its reserves in a more secure and transparent manner. 3. Product and Service. Plus transparency. The #Binance Proof of Reserve system has now integrated with zk-SNARK, a zero-knowledge verification method. It will also be made open source. We hope this would help the entire industry benefit. https://t.co/ijVVeF8iFT — CZ Binance (@cz_binance) February 10, 2023 After the FTX incident in 2022, Proof of Reserves Verification became a crucial aspect of the cryptocurrency industry, as it helps confirm that exchanges hold the assets they claim to have. Binance was among the first exchanges to adopt the system, initially using traditional cryptography. However, its recent upg...

Fujitsu’s Web3 Acceleration Platform promised to provide blockchain-based service APIs, high-computing technologies, simulations, and AI, for developers building Web3 applications and services. The Japanese-based multinational tech company Fujitsu announced the launch of a new platform on Feb 8, designed to support Web3 developers worldwide.  According to a report by the Fintech Times, Fujitsu’s Web3 Acceleration Platform seeks to provide a development environment, blockchain-based service APIs, high-computing technologies, simulations, AI, combinatorial optimization, for start-ups, partner companies , and universities building Web3 applications and services.   The company said its platform aims to support the creation of a diverse ecosystem of Web3 applications across a range of use cases, such as digital content rights management, business transactions, contracts, and processes. It will also offer free access to select participants in its global partner program, the Fujitsu Accel...

Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage The sale of LBRY Credits (LBC) tokens in the secondary market does not count as the sale of a security , the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has publicly acknowledged. The agreement was reached on January 30 during an appeal hearing in the LBRY v. SEC case. LBRY Hearing: The Stakes for ALL Crypto https://t.co/YPbrBkw0Od — CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) January 30, 2023 Attorney John Deaton resolved a significant point of contention at the appeal hearing, which many viewed as a victory for the whole crypto currency industry against the SEC’s overreaching regulation via enforcement. On November 7, 2022, the SEC was given summary judgment in its favor. The verdict, which covered a six-year period, classified each sale of the LBC token as an investment contract without going into specifics about the transactions. The SEC hoped to make progress in its mission to legitimize the se...