Crypto News Roundup: July 17, 2023 🚀

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18 Jul 2023

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Welcome to the crypto news roundup, where we bring you the latest and most important developments from the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

Here are the top five stories you need to know today:

🏦 National Australia Bank Joins Crypto Exchange Boycott, Cites ‘Scams’

One of the major banks in Australia, National Australia Bank (NAB), has announced that it has been blocking some payments to cryptocurrency exchanges that it considers “high-risk” due to the prevalence of scams in the industry.

According to a report by The Sydney Morning Herald, NAB has intervened in more than A$270 million ($183.8 million) worth of payments that raised scam concerns between March and July. The bank said it has been using data analytics and customer feedback to identify and stop suspicious transactions.

NAB executive Chris Sheehan said that the bank is committed to protecting its customers from fraud and cybercrime, and that it has introduced several measures to prevent them from falling victim to scams involving cryptocurrencies. He said:

“Introducing payment prompts, taking action on spoofing and stopping the use of links in unexpected text messages are among key measures we’ve introduced recently.”

NAB is not the only bank in Australia that has taken a cautious stance towards crypto exchanges. Earlier this year, Westpac and ANZ also confirmed that they do not provide banking services to crypto businesses, citing regulatory uncertainty and compliance risks.
However, not all banks are hostile to the crypto industry. Some smaller banks, such as Regional Australia Bank and CUA, have expressed their openness to working with crypto businesses and customers.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has warned investors about the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies, especially through unregulated platforms or schemes that promise high returns. The regulator has also urged crypto businesses to comply with the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) rules.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-national-australia-bank-joins-crypto-exchange-boycott-cites-scams

🚀 Ethereum Scaling Solution zkSync Unveils Latest Prover Tech ‘Boojum’

Matter Labs, the core developer of Ethereum Layer 2 zkSync Era, has announced the launch of ‘Boojum’- the latest upgrade to the layer-2 network. The ‘Boojum’ upgrade introduces a new STARK-powered proof system that promises superior performance by lowering the hardware barrier to help secure zkSync. It is reportedly capable of being run on consumer-grade 8 gigabytes of GPU hardware.

zkSync is a scaling solution that uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to enable fast and cheap transactions on Ethereum without compromising security or decentralization. ZKPs are cryptographic techniques that allow one party to prove something to another party without revealing any information other than the validity of the proof.

Boojum is a new type of ZKP prover that is optimized for zkSync’s use case. According to Matter Labs, Boojum can generate proofs 10 times faster than previous provers, while consuming 100 times less energy. This means that zkSync can process more transactions per second (TPS) with lower fees and lower environmental impact.

Matter Labs said that Boojum is the result of two years of research and development, and that it is based on a novel combination of STARKs (Scalable Transparent ARguments of Knowledge) and GPUs (Graphics Processing Units). STARKs are a type of ZKP that do not require trusted setup or cryptographic assumptions, while GPUs are specialized hardware devices that can perform parallel computations efficiently.

The team also said that Boojum is compatible with existing Ethereum smart contracts, and that it will enable new features on zkSync such as privacy, recursive proofs, and cross-chain interoperability. The team plans to launch Boojum on zkSync’s testnet soon, and then on its mainnet later this year.

Source: https://decrypt.co/148760/ethereum-scaling-solution-zksync-launches-latest-prover-tech-boojum

❗️ A16z-Backed cLabs Submits Plan for Celo To Transition Into Ethereum Layer 2

cLabs, the core developer behind the Celo blockchain, has reportedly posted a proposal to transition the Celo layer 1 network into a layer 2 solution built on Ethereum. The proposal, posted on the project’s governance forum, states that the transition would include leveraging OP Stack as the architecture to become an Ethereum L2 blockchain.

This will reportedly eliminate the need to monitor tooling and libraries composability through upgrades and make it easier for “Celo developers to utilise the full gambit of Ethereum tooling/libraries.”

Celo is a blockchain platform that aims to enable fast, secure, and low-cost payments and remittances using mobile phones. Celo has its own native token, CELO, as well as several stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies, such as cUSD and cEUR. Celo is backed by prominent investors and organizations, such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, and the World Bank.

The proposal to transition Celo into an Ethereum L2 solution is motivated by several factors, such as increasing security and scalability, reducing gas costs, enhancing compatibility and interoperability, and unlocking new possibilities for developers and users. The proposal claims that the transition would not affect the end-users or the CELO token holders, and that it would be done in a gradual and transparent manner.

The proposal is scheduled for discussion on a governance call on July 21, followed by a “temperature check” the following day. If adopted, the transition would enable Celo to benefit from Ethereum’s robust tooling and libraries, enhancing compatibility and expanding possibilities for developers.

Celo has been actively improving its mobile experience and incorporating features that target developing economies, where demand for technological payment solutions is high. By embracing the Ethereum L2 solution, Celo aims to unlock further potential and strengthen its position within the competitive blockchain landscape.

Source: https://www.theblock.co/post/239838/a16z-backed-clabs-submits-plan-for-celo-to-transition-into-ethereum-layer-2

🔎 Brazilian CBDC Allows Government to Freeze Funds, Developer Finds

Pedro Magalhaes, a blockchain developer, has reportedly discovered that the Brazilian Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) has a built-in feature that allows the government to freeze funds and adjust balances. He made the discovery after reverse-engineering the code of the Application Programming Interface (API) published by the monetary authority on its Github account. The government is yet to respond to Magalhaes’ claims.

The Central Bank of Brazil (BC) has been working on a CBDC project since 2020, aiming to launch a digital version of the Brazilian real by 2024. The BC has published the source code of the CBDC pilot project on July 6, allowing for a public audit and feedback. The pilot project is intended for use in a test environment and may be subject to additional changes.

Magalhaes said that he reverse-engineered the code “with the intention of exploring possible vulnerabilities for purely educational purposes,” and discovered some functions within the contract that he thought should be brought to the public’s attention. The most concerning functions include:

A disableAccount function that disables an account authorized to transfer tokens;
An enableAccount function that enables a previously disabled account for token transfers;
The ability to increase or decrease the frozen balance of a wallet address;
The ability to pause token transfers for a specific wallet;
The ability to transfer tokens from one wallet to another and burn them.

The main concern with these functions is that they can be executed by any entity that receives authorization from the BC, which means a centralized entity will be able to control and manipulate the tokens held by private citizens.

While there is a precedent for such functions in current payment systems, Magalhaes said that the issue with the code for the digital real is that it lacks specificity about the circumstances under which the tokens can be frozen and who holds the power to execute them.

These aspects should always be exposed in the smart contracts publicly and discussed with the population, which hasn’t been done yet,” he added.

Source: https://decrypt.co/148786/brazil-cbdc-allows-central-bank-freeze-funds-adjust-balances

🌪 AnubisDAO’s Rug-Pulled 13.5K ETH Washes Away on Tornado Cash

According to an alert from blockchain investigator PeckShield, the scammers behind the $60 million rug pull of AnubisDAO have finally begun moving the assets after their initial heist back in 2021. They reportedly laundered the funds through the Tornado Cash protocol on July 15 and 16. Approximately 13,556 ETH was divided and moved in batches of 100 ETH transactions.

AnubisDAO was a dog-themed decentralized finance (DeFi) project that claimed to be a fork of OlympusDAO, a popular algorithmic stablecoin protocol. AnubisDAO raised 13,556 ETH from crypto investors in October 2021, but shortly after, the funds were transferred to a different address, leaving the investors empty-handed.

The address that received the stolen funds has been dormant for almost two years, until recently, when it started to move the funds through Tornado Cash, a decentralized protocol that allows private transactions on Ethereum. Tornado Cash uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to hide the link between the sender and the receiver of a transaction, making it difficult to trace the origin and destination of the funds.

This is not the first time that the scammers have used Tornado Cash to launder their ill-gotten gains. In June 2020, they moved 1,097 ETH ($1.3 million) to another address and washed 1,018 ETH ($1.18 million) through Tornado Cash.

The use of Tornado Cash by hackers and scammers has been increasing in recent times, as it provides a convenient way to evade detection and prosecution. For example, in March 2020, the hackers who stole over $600 million worth of crypto from Poly Network, a cross-chain protocol, used Tornado Cash to launder some of their loot.

However, Tornado Cash is not foolproof, as there are still ways to identify and track down the users of the protocol, such as using network analysis, metadata analysis, or social engineering. Moreover, Tornado Cash users have to comply with the applicable laws and regulations in their jurisdictions, as using the protocol for illegal purposes may expose them to legal risks.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/anubis-dao-rug-pull-money-washes-away-on-tornado-cash

That’s all for today’s crypto news roundup. We hope you enjoyed reading this article and learned something new. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more updates and insights from the crypto world.

Ending Question

Which of these stories do you find the most interesting or surprising? Why? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.

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