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Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Smashes PoW, Says It Penalizes Miners with Low Hashpower

Albert Brown
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Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin Smashes PoW, Says It Penalizes Miners with Low Hashpower

 

Vitalik Buterin argues that PoW mechanism punishes miners with lower hash power.



Despite the former promising more energy-efficient solutions and better throughput, the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism and Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism have been the subjects of an age-old debate in the crypto community. 

Some PoW proponents – especially Bitcoin maximalists – have taken to baring certain perceived flaws with PoS. Buterin recently launched a counterargument against one of such assertions.

A renowned Bitcoin maximalist and former Blockchain research lead at Colu, Udi Wertheimer, took to Twitter to point out some perceived issues with PoS. According to Wertheimer, contrary to post-popular belief, PoS is not built to reward yields to stakers. Wertheimer argued that these yields awarded to stakers are, in fact, a way of penalizing non-stakers.

“PoS rewards aren’t “yield”, in fact they’re not even rewards, they’re just penalty to people who don’t stake,

you don’t get paid for staking you m.rons; you just get penalized for not staking. I can’t believe you still don’t get it lmao,” Wertheimer added.

 

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, deemed it necessary to counter Wertheimer’s odd assertion. Buterin argued that if the assertion is to be considered across all consensus mechanisms, then PoW penalizes people whose percentage of hash power is less than the percentage of the supply of the asset. 

“And PoW penalizes anyone who has a smaller percentage of hash power than their percentage of the coin supply.

(Actually, it penalizes much more than that because profit < revenue, but you get the point),” Buterin noted in the tweet.

 

Buterin’s counterargument highlights a few issues encountered with the PoW mechanism. Generally, miners don’t see as much profit when their hash power is relatively low compared to their ratio of coin supply. This is due to the increasing competition in the Bitcoin mining industry, as mining difficulty soars with more miners entering the market.

Additionally, with the rising cost of electricity, miners see less profit in the industry than before. Buterin’s line of argument is aimed at countering Wertheimer’s assertions. Wertheimer’s point was based on the fact that non-stakers get diluted as more tokens are pumped into the space to reward stakers. This adds to the inflationary trend of the asset.

Should You Add Shiba Inu To Your Crypto Portfolio?

Andrew MacGill
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Should You Add Shiba Inu To Your Crypto Portfolio?

If you’re familiar with cryptocurrency, you know that it’s a very volatile investment. Cryptocurrency’s volatility implies that its price tends to change quickly over time. On the one hand, this presents an opportunity for investors to buy crypto for a meager price and sell during peaks. However, this also means that it’s unstable.

You’ll find several strategies you may use to mitigate the risks of investing in crypto. One notable strategy is crypto portfolio diversification, wherein you invest in various cryptocurrencies to minimize the risks involved when investing. This is a common strategy used in stock investing, wherein you invest in stock indexes containing multiple stocks. By diversifying your crypto portfolio, you’ll minimize the overall losses when a few of your assets’ prices dip.

That said, one crypto that you might be interested in adding to your portfolio to increase the variety is SHIB or Shiba Inu. Dubbed by its creators as the Dogecoin killer, SHIB is a meme coin and token under the Ethereum blockchain. Its popularity can be attributed to the fact that the Shiba Inu coin follows Elon Musk for cryptocurrency trading and investment strategies.

To learn if this crypto is worth investing in, consider the following guide:

Why You Might Want To Invest In SHIB

Firstly, to decide if SHIB is worth investing in, you may want to read about the following benefits and advantages of doing so:

Its Price Is Affordable

The first reason you might want to invest in SHIB is that it’s affordable. If you’re new to crypto, you may find this favorable.

Meanwhile, experienced traders and investors may also find its relatively low price favorable because its value has more potential to grow. Thus, investors buying plenty of SHIB may gain significant profit in the future.

Price changes are also easier to track when they’re low compared with more established cryptocurrencies. Traders and investors will need this to assess their portfolios.

SHIB Is An ERC-20 Token

The next advantage of adding SHIB to your portfolio is that it’s an ERC-20 token. ERC-20 tokens are part of the Ethereum blockchain, which may allow you to use SHIB across other Ethereum applications. Besides this, it also means that you can benefit from the developments made in Ethereum, such as improved security and more advanced applications.

Shiba Inu Is Becoming Well-Established As A Cryptocurrency

Even though it isn’t considered an independent cryptocurrency, you may find that Shiba Inu developers are finding ways to improve it. For instance, SHIB developers have created Shibaswap, a decentralized exchange to build the brand of Shiba Inu. You may also use Shibaswap to stake your crypto and gain impressive interest rates.

Furthermore, SHIB is also growing more well-established as a crypto token, given its performance in the market. First, you’ll be pleased to learn that SHIB has surpassed the short-cap status and is now a mid-cap asset. This means that its market capitalization value is more than one billion now.

Why You May Want To Avoid SHIB

The next factor to consider when deciding whether to add SHIB to your crypto portfolio is the possible pitfalls and risks you may encounter. Consider the following reasons you might want to avoid investing in SHIB:

It’s Not The First Memecoin

The first disadvantage of SHIB as a token is that it’s not the first meme coin as it was meant to compete with Dogecoin in the first place. Furthermore, you may find that the market for meme coins is overly saturated, so SHIB has plenty of competitors. As a result, it’ll struggle to gain more market share. Overall, this can negatively impact the token’s value in the long run.

This Crypto Lacks An Independent Blockchain

Another pitfall of the Shiba Inu crypto is that it lacks an independent blockchain. While its status as an ERC-20 asset can be seen as an advantage, this is a double-edged sword. Because SHIB is affected by developments in the Ethereum blockchain, any issues that Ethereum comes across will negatively impact Shiba Inu’s value.

The SHIB Crypto Has Limited Uses

Lastly, another con worth noting about SHIB is that it has limited uses, especially outside the world of cryptocurrency. For instance, only a few vendors accept SHIB as payment.

Furthermore, its status as an ERC-20 token may remain long. This means that its developers will focus more on building new Ethereum applications than improving the token.

Conclusion

Portfolio diversification is no new concept amongst investors, especially those experienced with stocks. Given cryptocurrency’s tendency to be volatile, you may find that diversifying your crypto portfolio may help you mitigate the risks and losses and attain more stability. Hopefully, the guide above has helped you decide whether you should add SHIB to your crypto portfolio to have a more diverse set of assets. With the information presented above, you may consider adding SHIB or conducting further research.

Top U.S. Attorney Highlights Possible Scenarios That Could Bring A Settlement Between Ripple and SEC

Lele Jima
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Top U.S. Attorney Highlights Possible Scenarios That Could Bring A Settlement Between Ripple and SEC

 

Deaton Highlights Possible Scenarios That Could Bring A Settlement or a decision Between Ripple and SEC.



The likelihood that there could be a settlement in the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit has been largely debated. While some people believe the parties could reach a settlement before the expected next year, others have dismissed the possibility of a settlement. 

Attorney John Deaton, the founder of CryptoLaw, is among those who believe the lawsuit between Ripple and the SEC will likely end in a settlement. For Deaton, Judge Analisa Torres’ decision on SEC’s opposition to the order that it should surrender the draft of William Hinman’s 2018 speech will determine whether a settlement would happen in earnest. 

Deaton’s Analysis of Possible Settlement in the Suit

In a lengthy Twitter thread, attorney Deaton highlighted the possible scenarios that could dictate a settlement in the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit. 

Recall that after Judge Netburn dismissed the SEC’s motion that Hinman’s documents are protected by attorney-client privilege, the commission filed an objection to the ruling before Judge Torres, hoping that the court would reconsider its decision. 

After filing the objection, Judge Torres is yet to decide on the issue. Explaining what could bring about a settlement in the suit, attorney Deaton said if Judge Torres overturns the previous ruling made by magistrate Netburn, the agency would not call for a settlement. 

Interestingly, Deaton does not think Judge Torres would overturn the ruling previously made by her colleague on the matter. 

“Scenario One:

SEC receives a victorious ruling from Judge Torres, overturning Judge Netburn’s Order that the SEC must turn over the emails, comments, drafts and edits.

Result: No settlement. Summary Judgment Decision.

Odds of Scenario One happening: 5%.”

For the second scenario, attorney Deaton said if Judge Torres still rules that the SEC should surrender Hinman’s documents to Ripple, the Securities and Exchange Commission will request an interlocutory certificate to file the case in the second circuit. 

Both attorney Deaton and defense lawyer James K. Filan do not think Judge Torres will grant the SEC’s request for an interlocutory certificate. 

“Scenario Two:

Judge Torres Affirms Judge Netburn’s decision and orders the documents turned over.

Result:

The SEC seeks certification for an interlocutory appeal to the 2nd Circuit. I don’t believe Judge Torres will certify. The SEC seeks a Writ of Mandamus.”

Deaton could not tell exactly when the whole scenario would happen. However, he thinks if Judge Torres makes a ruling on Hinman’s issue as soon as possible, putting an end to the SEC’s delay tactics, there is a tendency that the SEC could settle with Ripple before the end of the year. 

Deaton: SEC Will Rather Settle Than Surrender Hinman’s Documents

The CryptoLaw founder is one person who has always believed that Hinman’s documents will never see the light of day. He stated earlier this year that the SEC would rather settle than surrender the documents to Ripple. Since Deaton made the comment, the SEC has been fighting relentlessly to prevent the document from being used in the lawsuit.  

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NFTs On XRP Ledger (XRPL) Delayed As New Bug Comes To Light

Mark Brennan
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NFTs On XRP Ledger (XRPL) Delayed As New Bug Comes To Light

Key stakeholders suspend votes on the XLS-20 proposal as a new bug is revealed.


The launch of NFTs on the XRPL has hit a snag, as xTokenize announced in a tweet earlier today that they found a bug that could max out a minters XRP reserve.

 

“NFTs Utilizing Flag 12/13 on NFTokenMint Tx’s with a Transfer Fee >0 are susceptible to spam trust lines and an increase in their reserve requirement while also allowing a currency issuer to create infinite currencies for no cost or reserve requirement,” xTokenize wrote in the Github documentation.

At first, developers believed that such an attack would be too expensive to pull off. However, after rigorous testing, evidence shows that the attack will cost nothing but transaction fees.

In response, Alloy Networks, an XRPL validator, has said it will veto the XLS-20 amendment proposal until the bug is fixed. Additionally, XRPL lead developer WietseWind said he would remove the XRPL Labs support until the issue is addressed.

The development is a blow to XRP users, who expected the XLS-20 proposal to be implemented soon as validator voting had kicked off. However, analysis from Combat Kanga shows that the delay will take a month in the best case and two and half months in the worst case. According to Combat Kanga, while the bug fix is simple, it will take a lot of time for validators to complete tests before resuming voting.

 

It bears mentioning that Ripple engineer Nik Bougalis first published XLS-20 in 2021 to activate native NFT functionality. In January this year, the network launched a development network for NFT research. Notably, in July, as reported by The Crypto Basic, Ripple developers expressed confidence in supporting the proposal after test completion. Then in August, XRPL Labs voted in favor of the proposal.

Despite the news of the latest delay, XRP faithful will be pleased to know that NFT projects remain committed to launching on the network. XWhales, a project which plans to launch 11,110 unique whale NFTs on the blockchain, in response to the news, said it remains ready to launch once the proposal is implemented.

 

 

Indian Authorities Unfreezes WazirX Bank Accounts, Resumes Normal Operations

Mark Brennan
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Indian Authorities Unfreezes WazirX Bank Accounts, Resumes Normal Operations

 

WazirX Resumes Normal Operations after India’s ED ‘Unfreezes’ its Bank Accounts.



India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has lifted the freeze on WazirX’s bank accounts, the cryptocurrency exchange said in a blog post on Monday.

According to the post, ED has unblocked Wazir X’s bank accounts due to the company’s cooperation and rigorous anti-money laundering checks. WazirX is now able to continue its regular banking operations.

“Due to the active cooperation extended by WazirX and active Anti-money laundering (AML) checks that led to the blocking of suspicious accounts, ED has unfrozen the bank accounts of WazirX. WazirX is now positioned to continue its banking operations as usual.”

WazirX’s accounts were frozen last month by the ED concerning an ongoing investigation into alleged fraud on instant loan apps. According to ED, the exchange was involved in a doubted role in aiding instant loan app companies to launder black money by converting them into crypto.

“WazirX clarified that it has no association with any of the alleged accused Fintech and Instant loan app entities which appear to be the subject of ED investigation, and is carrying out the KYC/AML checks despite having no legal obligation to do so.

In the span of six months, WazirX experienced a 176% surge in requests for information from law enforcement agencies–going from 377 to 1,023. Of these submissions, Indian law enforcement accounted for 952, while 95% of crypto-related fraud occurred independently of any involvement with Blockchain technology.

 

ED has investigations underway against several cryptocurrency companies due to accusations of money laundering into overseas wallets. One month ago, the organization performed raids on five sites associated with another crypto firm, CoinSwitch Kuber. In response, that company issued a statement saying they worked together with ED during the investigation.

Recall that a month ago, the Indian federal Enforcement Directorate froze assets worth 646.70 million Rs, almost $8.16 million of WazirX.

VeChain (VET) Launches Merchandise In Europe and the United Kingdom

Mark Brennan
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VeChain (VET) Launches Merchandise In Europe and the United Kingdom

 

VeChain (VET) Launches ToolChain-Powered T-Shirt to Celebrate Its Fourth Anniversary.



VeChain, a leading Layer-1 smart contract platform, has unveiled a fashion product commemorating its fourth anniversary.

The fashion product is dubbed the 2022 VECHAIN CLASSIC T-SHIRT and is powered by VeChain’s ToolChain. The product was officially unveiled in Europe and the United Kingdom. VeChain also supports shipping the product to other countries, including the United States, Singapore, Canada, and China.

“We recently launched ToolChain-powered merchandise in the EU/UK to celebrate VeChainThor’s 4th birthday. We’re now also shipping to US/Canada/China/Singapore Vefam! Grab a piece of blockchain history & witness the power of VeChain,” the L1 blockchain said in a statement. 

Features of the T-Shirt

The 2022 VECHAIN CLASSIC T-SHIRT is available in both black and white colors, with the inscription “HELLO VECHAIN” boldly written on the front of the shirt. 

The extra large size is designed for males, while the Medium size is made specifically for ladies. However, people can choose any of the sizes based on their preferences. 

With the 2022 VeChain Classic T-Shirt launched on ToolChain, users can easily see traceability information on the blockchain. Additionally, products are registered as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the VeChainThor blockchain. Based on this, owners of the T-Shirt can scan the QR codes on the shirt’s label from their mobile devices and complete the process toward owning the product as an NFT. 

VeChain’s Journey 

Launched in 2018, VeChain is the world’s leading enterprise-grade layer-1 smart contract platform. VeChain’s blockchain, VeChainThor, has been adopted for various use cases, especially in supply chain and logistics, to guarantee the authenticity of products. 

As reported by TheCryptoBasic, Cambodia’s largest alcoholic and beverage exporter leveraged VeChain tech to eliminate the distribution of fake products. Canadian software company TruTrace also adopted VeChain’s tech to verify the authenticity of legal cannabis.  

“We’re excited to announce a strategic Integration Partnership with TruTrace Technologies, a Canadian SaaS platform that will soon offer VeChain ToolChain to clients. Together, we’re accelerating blockchain adoption for provenance & authentication,” VeChain said in a statement. 

Following its numerous adoptions in the last four years since it went live, VeChain rolled out the fashion product to allow supporters to share in the company’s vision and history. 

Terraform Labs Backs LUNC 1.2% Tax Burn, While Terra Classic Community Launches Proposal To Re-Enable IBC Protocol

Mark Brennan
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Terraform Labs Backs LUNC 1.2% Tax Burn, While Terra Classic Community Launches Proposal To Re-Enable IBC Protocol

 

Max Callisto says now is the right time for Terra Classic to re-open its doors to interoperability.



In a tweet today, Max Callisto, one of LUNC DAO’s CEOs, announced that he had launched a proposal for the Terra Classic community to re-enable the Inter Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.

 

For the uninitiated, the IBC protocol was created by Cosmos to connect independent blockchains and allows them to exchange data and tokens. As a Cosmos chain, Terra Classic used IBC but had to disable it during the LUNA Classic (LUNC) crash following the Terra USD (USTC) de-pegging incident to prevent LUNA liquidity pools from suffering impermanent losses.

Callisto, in his proposal, notes that now is a good time to re-open the connection between the Terra Classic network and other Cosmos chains, noting that the vibrant Terra Classic community will benefit the ecosystem. The Terra Classic community member highlighted that the community could not transfer over $1 million in Osmosis LUNC and USTC liquidity pools to the Terra Classic network that the community could use in other decentralized applications.

“By enabling IBC, USTC & LUNC outside the Terra Classic chain will be able to find its way back to Terra Classic, thus, bringing back the liquidity to the chain for other uses. There are still other functional dApps on Terra Classic such as Astroport and Prism recently indicated that they might restart their SCs on Terra Classic,” Callisto writes in his proposal.

It bears mentioning that in the face of the recent LUNC rally, Terra whistleblower FatMan has warned users against investing in the token, saying the recent rise in price and market cap is unsustainable as the network has little utility. However, the possible return of the Prism protocol and re-enabling of IBC ushering in interoperability could change this narrative.

LUNC has recently seen a huge price and market cap rally, bucking the overall crypto market trend. The string of impressive price performances has been linked to the community’s buzz surrounding the 1.2% tax rate burn proposal, which has received support from several crypto exchanges.

In a tweet today, Terra Classic developer ReXx of TerraRebels disclosed that pull request 101 had been officially merged, signaling that Terraform Labs (TFL) has given its backing to the proposal. Notably, the announcement confirms that the community will implement the parameter change for on-chain transactions on September 20.

 

So far, the latest proposal by Callisto has received four comments, all supporting the idea as the Terra Classic community hopes to stage a historic comeback.

France-based Top Crypto App Adds Support for Two Shiba Inu Ecosystem Tokens, BONE and LEASH

Zabi
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France-based Top Crypto App Adds Support for Two Shiba Inu Ecosystem Tokens, BONE and LEASH

 

France-based Customizable Blockchain-based Dashboards Provider, VulkaniaApp Adds Support for Shiba Inu ecosystem tokens.


Now, Shiba Inu Community and BONE Army would be able to create a fully functional dashboard with in-depth data like price charts, live transfers, and pools liquidity for Bone ShibaSwap (BONE) and Doge Killer (LEASH) as France-based VulkaniaApp added support for BONE and LEASH on its platform.

The app listed Shiba Inu (SHIB) on October 21, 2021. VulkaniaApp now supports all three tokens of the Shiba Inu Ecosystem, commonly referred to as “SHIB Trifecta.”

VulkaniaApp was launched on April 25, 2021, by a team based in France. Vulkania is committed to building applications enabling crypto communities to create fully functional blockchain-based dashboards with in-depth data like price charts, live transfers, and liquidity pools for their favorite tokens.

Shiba Inu Ecosystem is gathering much attention these days, especially its governance token, Bone ShibaSwap.

Readers must know that BONE minting has ended, which ends Bone rewards on Shibaswap. Bone is now a fully-minted token with a maximum supply of 250 million. As of now, 230 million tokens have been minted, and the remaining 20 million BONE tokens will be minted only to reward Shibarium validators. Bone ShibaSwap was recently listed on the leading decentralized exchange (DEX), SaitaPro.

Ripple Gets A New Support In Its Quest To Prove XRP Is Not A Security

Lele Jima
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Ripple Gets A New Support In Its Quest To Prove XRP Is Not A Security

Attorney Hogan Says Chamber May Argue That While XRP Sale Is A Security, The Token Isn’t Inherently A Security. 



The lawsuit between Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considered the biggest legal battle in cryptocurrency. However, Ripple has not received as much support from crypto-related projects as many expected. The Silicon Valley tech company has pretty much been left to engage with the SEC alone in the lawsuit. 

In an interesting development, it seems that Ripple would be getting the support it so badly needs, which could help the company put an end to the ongoing lawsuit. 

As announced by attorney Jeremy Hogan, a partner at Hogan & Hogan law firm, the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the world’s leading blockchain trade organization, has chosen to wade into the lawsuit. 

“The Chamber is wading into the Ripple v. SEC case,” attorney Hogan said in a tweet yesterday. 

Chamber of Digital Commerce Involvement in the Suit 

The Chamber of Digital Commerce is seeking to be conferred with the amici status in the summary judgment of the Ripple lawsuit to enable it to provide the necessary support to the blockchain company and XRP holders.

It is noteworthy that the Chamber of Digital Commerce is known for its involvement in the Telegram vs. SEC lawsuit, where it filed an amicus brief on behalf of the messaging giant.

Recall that Telegram was also sued by the SEC for offering unregistered securities in the U.S. via the sale of its Gram (GRM) token.  

The Chamber of Digital Commerce is already referred to as Amici in a joint proposal filed by the parties to govern sealing issues concerning the upcoming summary judgment motion. With the development, the organization will join attorney Deaton, who has been trying to bring restitution for over 72,000 XRP holders. 

Hogan Gives Hints on What to Expect 

As the Chamber of Digital Commerce is seeking amici status in the Ripple lawsuit, attorney Hogan has hinted at what XRP holders should expect.  

According to Hogan, the Chamber’s argument will be similar to what the organization filed in the Telegram vs. SEC lawsuit, arguing that “although the sale of XRP might have been a security, the token is not inherently a security.”  

Hogan added that the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s argument would be similar to attorney John Deaton’s motion, where he argues that not all XRP coins are security. 

With summary judgment around the corner for the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit, many XRP holders have requested to go through the amici brief filed by the Chamber of Digital Commerce in the Telegram vs. SEC lawsuit. This prompted attorney James K. Filan to share the briefs on Twitter. 

DeFi Protocol ‘Prism’ Considers A Return To Terra Classic (LUNC)

Mark Brennan
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DeFi Protocol ‘Prism’ Considers A Return To Terra Classic (LUNC)

 

Prism protocol looks set to relaunch on Terra Classic.



In a tweet on Sunday, Prism protocol indicated that it might be interested in a return to the Terra Classic network after the community implements the 1.2% tax burn proposal on on-chain LUNA Classic (LUNC) transactions.

“Who would like to see @prism_protocol working again on Terra Classic after the burn changes?” Prism wrote in an attempt to gauge user interest.

 

It bears mentioning that Prism was one of the Terra network’s most popular decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. The derivatives protocol allowed users to manage risk in a more capital-efficient manner, offering liquid yield tokens on staked LUNA tokens. At its height, before the Terra ecosystem collapsed, Prism had $800 million in Total Value Locked (TVL), $70 million in liquidity, and $3 billion in annualized trade volume.

Notably, Prism’s tweet on Sunday was met with mixed responses. While some users expressed excitement as it is good news for the Terra Classic network, others disclosed that they preferred the protocol focusing its efforts on Terra 2.0.

It is worth noting that LUNC has seen renewed demand in recent weeks that has caused the price to surge and allowed it to find its way into the top 30 cryptocurrencies by market cap from 206. The renewed buzz comes as the LUNC community works to curb the excess LUNC supply through burn initiatives to increase the asset value. Its 1.2% tax burn proposal is the latest in this effort, and it has already received the support of several top exchanges, including Binance.

While popular Terra whistleblower FatMan believes that the current LUNC price rally is unsustainable due to a lack of utility, the return of decentralized apps (dApps) and DeFi protocols could change all of that. Notably, one of LUNC DAO CEOs, Max Callisto, has created a proposal to re-enable the Inter Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol that will allow interactions with other Cosmos chains and unlock liquidity that users can channel to dApps. It bears mentioning that IBC was disabled on Terra Classic during the Terra ecosystem collapse to protect liquidity pools from impermanent losses. 

Voting on the 1.2% tax burn started last Tuesday. LUNC Burn, an unofficial channel that monitors LUNC burn activities, says the community will implement the parameter change at a block height of 9475200, noting that it is just nine days away.

 

LUNC is trading at the $0.0004043 price point, down 11.97% in the last 24 hours but up 54.9% in the last seven days.

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