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What are proof-of-reserves audits, and how do they work?
Using methods like Merkle trees and zero-knowledge proofs, PoR provides transparency and security for users.
Key takeaways
Proof-of-reserves (PoR) audits have become a vital tool in the cryptocurrency industry to promote transparency and security, especially in the wake of high-profile exchange collapses like FTX.
While similar in concept to traditional banking capital adequacy requirements, PoR audits come with certain limitations, especially in their inability to verify liabilities and their reliance on periodic reports.
This article explores PoR audits, their role in crypto and their evolution into more robust models for ensuring exchange solvency. Read More
Coinbase becomes Ethereum's largest node operator with 11% stake
A Coinbase report revealed that the crypto exchange is the largest node operator on the Ethereum network, controlling 11.42% of the total staked Ether.
In a performance report, Coinbase said it had 3.84 million Ether, worth about $6.8 billion, staked to its validators. The exchange said that, as of March 3, it has 11.42% of the total staked ETH.
Anthony Sassano, host of The Daily Gwei, said that Coinbase's stake makes the exchange the “single largest node operator” in the network.
Sassano added that while the staking platform Lido is bigger as a collective, each node operator has a much smaller percentage share.
Coinbase also shared that it exceeded its target for validator uptime, which indicates the percentage of time when validators are operational. It also had a similar figure for its participation rate, a metric that indicates how well validators perform their consensus duties.
Coinbase also reported that its validators had an average uptime of 99.75%. Coinbase said they outperformed their target of 99% uptime without compromising security standards. Read More
Beware of ‘cracked’ TradingView — it’s a crypto-stealing trojan
Cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes has warned of a new form of crypto-stealing malware hidden inside a “cracked” version of TradingView Premium, software that provides charting tools for financial markets.
The scammers are lurking on crypto subreddits, posting links to Windows and Mac installers for “TradingView Premium Cracked,” which is laced with malware aimed at stealing personal data and draining crypto wallets, Jerome Segura, a senior security researcher at Malwarebytes, said in a March 18 blog post.
“We have heard of victims whose crypto wallets had been emptied and were subsequently impersonated by the criminals who sent phishing links to their contacts,” he added.
Segura told Cointelegraph that typically “trojanized applications” still deliver the actual program they pretend to be; however, this time, it wasn’t functional.
”In this case, we didn’t get TradingView but instead the program crashed. This is consistent with what we’ve seen on the Reddit posts with users complaining about issues installing the cracked software,” he said.
As part of the snare, the fraudsters claim the programs are free and have been cracked directly from their official version, unlocking premium features. It actually contains two malware programs, Lumma Stealer and Atomic Stealer. Read More
Authorities Target Crypto Scammers Posing as Binance in Australia
Australian authorities have launched a crackdown on crypto scammers impersonating Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, following a series of fraudulent attacks targeting local users.
The Australian Federal Police, National Anti-Scam Centre, and Binance Australia are warning victims about the sophisticated scam, which exploits fake messages to steal crypto.
The AFP revealed that over 130 potential victims had been alerted as part of a proactive effort to combat the scam in a joint statement released Wednesday.
The fraudsters previously used SMS and encrypted messaging platforms to pose as Binance representatives, claiming that victims' accounts had been breached.
The messages, which appeared to be from legitimate existing threads with Binance, included fake verification codes and a contact phone number that led victims to an imposter hotline.
Once they called the number, victims were advised to transfer their cryptocurrency to a "trust wallet," controlled by the scammers. Read More
Crypto regulation must go through Congress for lasting change — Wiley Nickel
Executive orders can be repealed by future US presidential administrations just as quickly and easily as they were established.
Crypto regulations must be enacted through an act of Congress to become permanent and meaningful pieces of legislation, according to former Congressman Wiley Nickel.
In an exclusive video interview with Cointelegraph's Turner Wright, Nickel urged bipartisan collaboration to push through comprehensive crypto regulations. The former Congressman added:
"I think it's really important for anybody who cares about this issue to step back and realize that if you want lasting change in Washington, you must move legislation through Congress. Otherwise, if you're talking about executive orders, it will just go back and forth.”
“You don’t want to have the mess that we saw just months ago with Gary Gensler’s SEC — you need to get legislation through Congress,” Nickel reiterated.
President Trump’s Jan. 23 executive order establishing the Working Group on Digital Assets, which also prohibited the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and the order establishing a Bitcoin strategic reserve alongside a separate crypto stockpile, were both examples of executive actions that can be reversed at a later date. Read More
The Markethive R² Principle Explained. Reach and Returns: Subscriptions vs Qualifications
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Markethive is a hybrid platform comprising social media, inbound marketing, and digital broadcasting within a cryptocurrency ecosystem, with many strings to its bow. Markethive operates on a fundamental principle that can be summarized as "Reach and Returns," represented as R².
This dual focus highlights the platform's commitment to providing both extensive marketing and broadcasting capabilities and effective tools and systems for cultivating a strong customer base. This principle is at the core of Markethive's operations, emphasizing the platform's focus on both reaching a broad audience and delivering significant returns on your investment, time, and qualifications.
"Reach" refers to Markethive's capacity to disseminate your message, products, or services to a broad audience. This is achieved through features and strategies designed to maximize visibility and engagement. For instance, our social media integration allows you to reach potential customers across various platforms, and our targeted advertising tools ensure your message is seen by the right audience. All these are made possible through the Markethive a-la-carte subscriptions.
"Returns," on the other hand, signifies the platform's emphasis on generating tangible results from your efforts. By providing tools to attract, nurture, and convert leads into customers and clients, Markethive aims to deliver a substantial return on your investment of time, skills, and resources through the Markethive KEY qualification.
This dual approach ensures that your marketing efforts are far-reaching and impactful, ultimately leading to significant growth and success for your business. Whether you're looking to expand your brand awareness, generate leads, or drive sales, Markethive's R² principle provides a comprehensive framework for achieving your marketing goals and return on investment within the Markethive Ecosystem. Read More
Kraken to acquire NinjaTrader for $1.5B to offer US crypto futures
Crypto exchange Kraken is preparing for a $1.5 billion acquisition of trading platform NinjaTrader, a move that would expand Kraken’s customer base and enable it to offer crypto futures and derivatives in the United States.
Kraken officially announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire NinjaTrader on March 20, confirming a previous report by The Wall Street Journal.
Kraken’s expanded offerings would be made possible through NinjaTrader’s registration as a Futures Commission Merchant registered with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The move would help Kraken’s strategy to work across several asset classes — including plans for equities trading and payments — while enabling NinjaTrader to expand into the UK, continental Europe and Australian markets. Read More
OKX Suspends Decentralized Exchange Operations After Consulting With Regulators To Combat Financial Crime
The crypto exchange OKX has decided to “temporarily suspend” its decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator after consulting with regulators.
Traders use data from DEX aggregators to find the best-priced trades across various decentralized exchanges.
OKX’s aggregator has recently come under scrutiny. Last month, hackers stole a staggering $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum (ETH) and Lido Staked Ether (stETH) from the crypto exchange Bybit. Pseudonymous on-chain investigator ZachXBT linked the exploit to the Lazarus Group, an infamous North Korean cybercriminal outfit.
Earlier this month, Ben Zhao, Bybit’s chief executive, said $100 million worth of the stolen ETH was moved through OKX’s web3 proxy.
“Out of them, 16,680 ETH we can trace [and] 23,553 ETH or $65 million (~5%) is untraceable, which requires info from OKX web3 wallet.”
Last week, Bloomberg, citing “people with knowledge of the matter,” reported that European Union (EU) crypto regulators were looking into OKX. Read More
Sweeping Government Regulations Likely Needed To Prevent More Crypto Hacks and Exploits: ZachXBT
Top on-chain analyst ZachXBT says that crypto will most likely fall into the hands of strict government regulations if it can’t figure out how to prevent hacks.
In a new post in his Telegram channel, the blockchain detective says his most recent work with the Bybit hack has given him some clarity on the crypto space.
“Spending long hours helping freeze funds for the Bybit hack has been eye opening.
This industry is unbelievably cooked when it comes to exploits/hacks and sadly idk if the industry is going to fix this itself unless the government forcibly passes regulations that hurt our entire industry.
Several ‘decentralized’ protocols have recently had nearly 100% of their monthly volume/fees derived from DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] and refuse to take any accountability.”
ZachXBT says the problem doesn’t just lie with decentralized exchanges, noting that centralized exchanges’ know-your-customer (KYC) policies have proven to be essentially useless in preventing massive hacks and exploits. Read More
EOS Rebrands as Vaulta, Introduces New Token for Bitcoin-Centric Financial Ecosystem
Vaulta, the rebranded entity, aims to roll out its token by May 2025, replacing EOS through a direct swap while positioning itself as a conduit between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). The project’s ambitions extend to Bitcoin integration, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and transactions executed in fractions of a second. Its roadmap includes collaboration with exSat, a Bitcoin-centric layer currently securing $557 million in locked assets.
Despite its aspirations, Web3 banking remains an emerging field fraught with regulatory hurdles. Vaulta’s effort to fuse compliance-driven TradFi with decentralized frameworks presents a formidable challenge, given the industry’s history of regulatory tensions. However, the company highlights that its advisory board features individuals from organizations such as Systemic Trust, ATB Financial, and Tetra Trust.
Vaulta also projects a variable annual percentage yield (APY), estimating a 17% annual return for stakers. Strategic alliances with firms like Ceffu and Spirit Blockchain will facilitate yield strategies, fractionalized asset ownership, and blockchain-based insurance solutions. EOS token holders will be able to swap their holdings for Vaulta’s new native asset through a dedicated portal starting in May 2025, with centralized exchanges overseeing conversions for users. Read More
Bitcoin Liquidity Drying Up as Market Adjusts to Sharp Correction
Glassnode reports a 54% drop in exchange inflows and declining futures interest amid macro uncertainty as Bitcoin liquidity fizzles.
Bitcoin’s market liquidity is tightening as the crypto continues to consolidate following a steep correction from its February peak above $102,000.
On-chain data from Glassnode shows that capital inflows have slowed significantly, with liquidity conditions deteriorating across both spot and futures markets.
Exchange inflows—a key measure of market activity—have dropped more than 54% from their cycle peak, reflecting lower investor participation, Glassnode wrote in a report on Tuesday.
At the same time, open interest in Bitcoin futures has declined by 35%, falling from $57 billion at the market’s all-time high to $37 billion, signaling a reduction in leverage and speculative activity.
The asset is down 23% from its January 20 all-time high near $109,000 and a further 15% over the last 30 days to $82,800, CoinGecko data shows.
A major factor contributing to the liquidity crunch appears to be an unwinding of the cash-and-carry trade—a strategy in which traders arbitrage Bitcoin’s price premium in CME futures relative to spot prices. Read More
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
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