Vitalik Buterin speaks out on privacy, DeFi and Ethereum 2.0

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin discussed developments across the wider Ethereum ecosystem in a Q&A today at the Ethereal conference.

Talking with Ejaaz Ahamadeen, lead token architect at Digital Assets, a part of the Brooklyn incubator ConsenSys (which also funds Decrypt),  Buterin discussed the big gains made by privacy tools in recent weeks, the potential of decentralized finance (DeFi) and the roadmap of Ethereum 2.0.

Focusing on phase zero, Ethereum 2.0's first stage of development, he said everything was "finalized except for things that come up during the security audits. The clients are now talking to each other. The next step is to make sure they can maintain a public network at scale."

The process he was referring to, dubbed Eth2Beaucoup, involves seven Ethereum 2.0 clients (versions of the upcoming blockchain platform upgrade) linking up and running in sync with each other. It's regarded as a significant milestone in this phase of Ethereum's development.

US sanctions N. Korea for crypto hacks

The Trump administration announced sanctions against three North Korean hacking groups, dubbed “Lazarus Group,” “Bluenoroff,” and ”Andarie,” which they allege are controlled by the North Korean government and responsible for a litany of malicious cyber attacks in recent years.

According to the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, one of the groups, Bluenoroff, has successfully tapped cryptocurrency exchanges for more than $500 million in crypto over the last two years. 

Citing industry and press reporting, the government’s statement said the “state-sponsored hacking groups likely stole around $571 million in cryptocurrency alone, from five exchanges in Asia between January 2017 and September 2018.”

North Korea is no stranger to sanctions. Since 1950, the US has sanctioned various trade-related activities and travel to the country.

So the question is, why now?

On Tuesday, President Trump fired Secretary of State John Bolton and said that it was due in part to Bolton’s hardline stance against North Korea. So, optics, maybe? Just a wild guess.

Here are the biggest stories in the cryptoverse:

• Galatasaray becomes the latest football club to launch a fan token.    
• HTC's blockchain phone supports Bitcoin Cash.
• PayPal: a lot of work needs to happen before Libra becomes real. 
• Libra denies having a hand in current trading of Libra stablecoin. 

Large BTC holders haven’t been selling or moving their coins lately, says a report. That’s a good thing.

What you need to know

Bitcoin whales are holding on to their coins, crypto hedge fund manager Murad Mahmudov told the audience this weekend at Baltic Honeybadger, a Bitcoin conference.

Azerbaijan-based Mahmudov, a former analyst at Goldman Sachs and one of the most respected crypto researchers in the industry, referred to analytics by crypto hedge fund, Adaptive Capital, where he is head of investment.

Why it's important

“We have noticed that large bitcoin holders aren’t selling or aren’t moving their coins in the last couple of months,” said Mahmudov. ‘“Yes, price may go higher or lower, in the short term, but we remain very bullish in the medium term as well,” he added.

The research was just one of more than 50 “positive catalysts” for bitcoin’s advancement that Mahmudov claimed to have identified, and which he shared with the audience. 

Jameson Lopp: Protecting bitcoin with a gun barrel 

Keeping one’s bitcoin physically secure was a topic of debate at Latvia’s Baltic Honeybadger, a major Bitcoin conference taking place last weekend.

And, seemingly, no one is better armed against potential thieves, kidnappers and others determined to steal his bitcoin than Jameson Lopp, cypherpunk and CTO at key-security company, Casa. 

The long-term hodler, who said he owns over 40 firearms, took part in a panel about bitcoin physical security, and is now planning to help others beef up theirs.

Read more here.