Blockchain and Crypto News

Don’t miss real-time updates

Decentral Block Post

Access real-time blockchain and cryptocurrency news updates from around the globe.

Argo Blockchain keeps cashing out BTC to pay the debt to Galaxy Digital

After selling 887 Bitcoin in July, Argo cut its outstanding balance under the BTC-backed loan to just $6.72 million.

Experts find private keys on Slope servers, still puzzled over access

Blockchain auditing firms are still trying to figure out how hackers gained access to about 8,000 private keys used to drain Solana-based wallets. 

Investigations are ongoing after attackers managed to steal some $5 million worth of SOL and SPL tokens on Aug. 3. Ecosystem participants and security firms are assisting in uncovering the intricacies of the event.

Solana has worked closely with Phantom and Slope.Finance, the two SOL wallet providers that had user accounts affected by the exploits. It has since emerged that some of the private keys that were compromised were directly tied to Slope.

Blockchain audit and security firms Otter Security and SlowMist assisted in ongoing investigations and unpacked their findings in direct correspondence with Cointelegraph.

Otter Security founder Robert Chen shared insights from first-hand access to affected resources in collaboration with Solana and Slope. Chen confirmed that a subset of affected wallets had private keys which were present on Slope's Sentry logging servers in plaintext:

Experts find private keys on Slope servers, still puzzled over access

Blockchain analysis firms involved in Solana exploit investigation unpack the latest developments as teams try to figure out how private keys were stolen.

The Bank of Thailand to pilot Retail CBDC by the end of 2022

The Retail CBDC will be tested in a limited retail environment with 10,000 participants and three major banks.

Nomad announces $190 million bounty for lost funds from recent hack

Nomad announced that it’s offering up to a 10% bounty to return funds stolen from the recent hack on the Nomad bridge on Aug. 2.

Alexander Vinnik reportedly en route to the US after extradition

Having served two years in prison in France, accused BTC-e mastermind Alexander Vinnik has now been extradited to the U.S. to face multiple charges in California.

Alexander Vinnik reportedly en route to the US after extradition

Having served two years in prison in France, accused BTC-e mastermind Alexander Vinnik has now been extradited to the U.S. to face multiple charges in California.

Bitcoin price reaches $23.4K on 4.6% gains amid 'very mixed' outlook

Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded overnight into Aug. 5 as a fresh trendline reclaim opened the door to further gains.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Daily BTC pricechart sets up "tentative" long signal

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD bouncing off a local bottom at $22,400 to add around 4.6%.

The pair had reversed direction right at key bid support on major exchange Binance, this helping avoid a more substantial loss of the 200-week moving average (MA) at around $22,800.

While that key zone remained uncertain for bulls, a reclaim of the 21-period MA on the daily chart gave on-chain analytics resource Material Indicators cause for optimism.

BTC/USD might not spark a long signal at the daily candle close, it told Twitter followers overnight.

image

Bitcoin price reaches $23.4K on 4.6% gains amid 'very mixed' outlook

A push towards the top of the intraday trading range places Bitcoin in line for a bull flag on daily timeframes.

Bitcoin price reaches $23.4K on 4.6% gains amid 'very mixed' outlook

A push towards the top of the intraday trading range places Bitcoin in line for a bull flag on daily timeframes.

Bitcoin price reaches $23.4K on 4.6% gains amid ‘very mixed’ outlook

Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded overnight into Aug. 5 as a fresh trendline reclaim opened the door to further gains.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

Daily BTC price chart sets up “tentative” long signal

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD bouncing off a local bottom at $22,400 to add around 4.6%.

The pair had reversed direction right at key bid support on major exchange Binance, this helping avoid a more substantial loss of the 200-week moving average (MA) at around $22,800.

While that key zone remained uncertain for bulls, a reclaim of the 21-period MA on the daily chart gave on-chain analytics resource Material Indicators cause for optimism.

BTC/USD might not spark a long signal at the daily candle close, it told Twitter followers overnight.

image

Congress will likely decide the fate of crypto jurisdiction: Lummis staffer

U.S. Congress will need to step in to decide who gets crypto regulation bragging rights if the SEC and CFTC cannot resolve the issue internally.

Vitalik: Centralized USDC could decide the future of contentious ETH hard forks

Speaking at the BUIDL Asia event in Korea, Vitalik Buterin said that centralized stablecoins like USDC & USDT will become significant deciders in future hard forks.

Crypto bear market will provide ‘excellent’ M&A opportunities: White Rock CEO

“The sector has been here before and well capitalized and efficient miners will do just fine,” said White Rock CEO Andy Long.

Uniswap Foundation proposal gets mixed reaction over $74M price tag

The Uniswap Labs community has already begun mulling over a new proposal that would form a Uniswap Foundation based in the United States (U.S.), but first, it's going to cost $74 million.

The proposal has garnered mixed feedback from the community so far, with many praising the foundation’s plans to support and expand the Uniswap ecosystem, while others have balked at its hefty price tag.

The Aug. 5 proposal was put forth by Uniswap Labs’ former Chief of Staff Devin Walsh and Uniswap Grant Program lead Kenneth Ng, noting the foundation's main aim is to “support the Protocol’s decentralized growth, reinvigorate governance, and serve as a Protocol advocate” according to Walsh.

If it passes a vote, the Uniswap Foundation (UF) would be incorporated in Delaware and headed by Walsh as executive director, while Ng will become head of operations. 

To make her vision a reality, Walsh has asked for $74 million in UNI tokens over three years, $60 million of which would be used for its own Uniswap Grant Program (UGP), while another $14 million will be used as “operating budget” to build out a team of 12.

Solana-hacked crypto could be claimed as a tax loss: Experts

For unlucky crypto investors looking to turn lemons into lemonade — it turns out that digital assets lost during an exploit or hack can potentially be claimed as a tax loss, provided you live in the right country, experts told Cointelegraph. 

Following the news that more than 8,000 Solana wallets had been compromised and that an estimated $8 million dollars in crypto had been stolen due to a security breach in Web3 wallet provider Slope’s network, this may be some much-needed consolation.

In correspondence with Cointelegraph, Shane Brunette, the CEO of Australia-based CryptoTaxCalculator confirmed that crypto lost via a hack or an exploit couldd be declared as a loss for tax purposes in certain jurisdictions. 

“This means the original amount you paid for the asset(s) can be used to offset other capital gains.”

When asked whether there are similar provisions in other tax jurisdictions other than Australia, the country in which the tax software provider is based, Brunette, replied:

Solana-hacked crypto could be claimed as a tax loss: Experts

Australian, Canadian & U.K. crypto investors may potentially claim hacked crypto as a tax loss, but U.S. investors will miss out, according to tax experts.

Thai SEC approves four crypto firms despite Zipmex woes

Thailand’s regulators are still approving crypto companies despite one of its largest ones suspending withdrawals.

Jack Dorsey-led Block posts $1.5B in Q2 profits, BTC revenue down

Block Inc. posted $1.47B worth of profit in Q2 but BTC trading services profit only accounted for $41 million of that figure, with the firm citing price volatility and a lack of consumer demand.

Crypto firms failed to deliver 'promised benefits' from lawmaker-backed incentives, says nonprofit

“At a minimum, the public should have a say in these crypto handouts," said the Tech Transparency Project.

Image