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Here’s how to quickly spot a deepfake crypto scam — cybersecurity execs
The fast-paced nature of the crypto markets means investors are under massive pressure to quickly verify whether a video message is authentic or not.
Crypto investors have been urged to keep their eyes peeled for “deepfake” crypto scams to come, with the digital-doppelganger technology continuing to advance, making it harder for viewers to separate fact from fiction.
David Schwed, the chief operating officer of blockchain security firm Halborn, told Cointelegraph that the crypto industry is more “susceptible” to deepfakes than ever because “time is of the essence in making decisions,” which results in less time to verify the veracity of a video.
Deepfakes use deep learning artificial intelligence (AI) to create highly realistic digital content by manipulating and altering original media, such as swapping faces in videos, photos, and audio, according to OpenZeppelin technical writer Vlad Estoup.
Estoup noted that crypto scammers often use deepfake technology to create fake videos of well-known personalities to execute scams. Read More
3 blockchain use cases that extend beyond crypto
Blockchains are decentralized, transparent and increase the capacity of a whole network while giving users full control of their data.
Blockchain use cases have expanded far beyond cryptocurrency in recent years, with multiple industries embracing the technology in a wide range of fields, including healthcare, logistics and financial services.
There are many factors behind the hype. Blockchains are decentralized, transparent and increase the capacity of a whole network, opening a window for solutions that require significant computational power. More importantly, they give users the capacity to control their assets, including their data, without relying on third parties.
As blockchain evolves, companies across the world are working to find the best ways to implement the technology for a range of applications. To gain further insight, Cointelegraph reached out to projects disrupting industries and bringing blockchain closer to people’s daily lives. Read More
Decentralized social media a game changer for creator monetization — Web3 exec
Decentralized social media platforms could provide the potential for users to own their content and data, and make decisions about monetization.
The idea of decentralized social media platforms continues to gain significant traction, with users becoming increasingly concerned with the centralized nature of traditional platforms and the potential for censorship. Even former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has publicly pushed for a decentralized Twitter alternative.
Cointelegraph interviewed Rick Porter, CEO of decentralized social media startup DSCVR, about the potential of platforms to change the way users interact and share information online. Porter said that decentralized social media platforms provide “the potential for users to own their content, their data, and make decisions about its monetization.”
Porter also believes that decentralized social media platforms can be profitable for the platforms and users alike. According to him, they can monetize and generate revenue through “tokens and digital assets flowing through them natively.” He explained:
“Fees on these transactions provide a massive opportunity to flip the traditional ad-driven social media monetization on its head, while also giving users an ad-free experience.” Read More
MetaMask Staking launches, plugging into Lido and Rocket Pool liquid staking
ConsenSys plugs into liquid staking providers Lido and Rocket Pool with the launch of MetaMask Staking.
MetaMask users are set to have access to Ethereum liquid staking providers Lido and Rocket Pool courtesy of a new integration unveiled by ConsenSys.
MetaMask Staking will unlock the ability for users to stake Ether through the Lido and Rocket Pool protocols, touting the service to improve the security and decentralization of the Ethereum blockchain.
Users will be able to compare reward rates, network control and popularity of different liquid staking providers, providing additional information to inform staking solution choices. The service begins with a public beta through the MetaMask portfolio decentralized application.
Users will be able to stake through Lido and Rocket Pool and view Lido (stETH) and Rocket Pool (rETH) staking token balances. These tokens can also be swapped back to ETH through MetaMask Swaps. Read More
Because of Solana’s POH method, it can horizontally scale the rest of the blockchain, the same way that operating systems and databases scale their software. Each Solana team member has over a decade of experience working in operating systems GPU acceleration. Compilers, networks, etc., giving them extensive and deep experience optimizing software.
Solana is based on scaling software with hardware, with the vision of building the world's largest decentralized, single-chart blockchain. The only way to do that is by scaling all the core technologies with hardware.
Scaling the Blockchain in this way delivers a cheap cryptographic base for financial transfers and, more importantly, outside of finance. It is a way for Solana to build a better web experience for social media communities regarding micropayments.
Also, advertising-based revenues can be relinquished for social networks, leading communities to generate value by self-expression, creating their own content, and growing the network and the connections within the community, creating a better world for all. Read More
Web3 can help artists and companies manage music metadata: B2B music exec
Web3 features such as NFTs and blockchain-based systemization offer clarity and new accessibility to managing music metadata.
The music industry has not shied away from its keenness to adopt Web3 solutions. From nonfungible tokens (NFTs) helping artists connect with their communities, to various blockchain use cases, including event ticketing.
Another relevant implementation of the technology to be considered by industry insiders is how Web3 tools can help artists and companies manage music metadata.
Cointelegraph spoke with Con Raso, the managing director of business-to-business music streaming technology provider Tuned Global, to better understand this use case.
In the current Web2 music industry, numerous organizations are dedicated to managing music metadata and its licensing. With Web3 developments like NFTs, which can identify each individual usage via blockchain, data management questions come into play.
Raso elaborated that metadata is currently delivered by a major label through the industry standard Digital Data Exchange (DDEX). This can create XML files of more than 200MB, which contain information on contributors, artists, commercial and territorial rights and more. Read More
Solana Foundation warns about security incident with Mailchimp
According to an email sent to users, an unauthorized actor accessed and exported certain user data from the Solana Foundation’s Mailchimp instance.
Solana Foundation, the non-profit organization of the Solana Network, disclosed on Jan. 14 a security incident involving its email service provider Mailchimp.
According to an email sent to users and seen by Cointelegraph, the Foundation was informed by Mailchimp on Jan. 12 that “an unauthorized actor accessed and exported certain user data from the Solana Foundation’s Mailchimp instance.”
Among the information accessed and exported in the incident were user's names and Telegram usernames. The Solana Foundation stated:
“Based on the information we have received from Mailchimp, the affected information may have included, inter alia, email addresses, names, and Telegram usernames, in each case only to the extent users provided any such information. Mailchimp advised that the incident did not affect passwords or credit card information.”
The number of users affected by the incident is unclear. There was no official announcement from Solana or Mailchimp regarding the incident at the time of publication. Solana did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. Read More
Hardfork: Polygon PoS Chain upgrade to increase performance
The debut of Polygon PoS came with the solution for Ethereum’s scaling problem. Developers and users benefited from almost everything they love about Ethereum with low gas fees. Now, the Polygon has evolved as a leading destination for dApps with numerous decentralized apps, 207 and above unique addresses, and 2.3 billion-plus processed transactions.
Over time, Polygon PoS has worked on upgrading technical features like parallelization and Polygon zkEVM for scalability. However, there are still many things that can improve the performance and predictability of Polygon PoS. As per the discussion and feedback from the community, a v0.3.1 hardfork will be proposed to minimize gas spikes and address chain reorganization to reduce time. Let us take a close look at the proposals made for Hardfork changes and how they will affect developers, validators, and users.
1st Upgrade: To reduce Gas Spikes. Read More
Solflare Wallet Brings 'Priority' Gas Fees to Solana
Solflare says the update will give its users an edge in transaction processing during busy periods.
Solflare, a wallet on the Solana network, announced on Monday that its users can now pay higher gas fees to muscle through network congestion.
“[Solflare] is the first to implement this in a user-friendly way," Solrise Finance co-founder Vidor Gencel tweeted. “In-wallet transactions will automatically be prioritized with the current market price for fees, ensuring that your transactions are included faster than those in other wallets.”
"Solflare will automatically detect whether the [Solana] network is under load and slightly increase fees to prioritize your transaction over others," the company tweeted separately. "When it matters the most, your transactions will go through and be fast."
Since its launch in 2019, Solana has become a popular blockchain for NFTs and decentralized applications due to its speed and low costs. Still, those benefits have caused the popular network to fall victim to network congestion when it attempts to handle a rush of transactions. 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.
