Drama continues to plague decentralized finance (DeFi), with Factom-based stablecoin network PegNet appearing to suffer a 51% attack that resulted in $6.7 million worth of the USD-pegged stablecoin pUSD being fraudulently created. The attack was executed by a group of four miners who collectively control 70% of PegNet’s hash rate on April 22. The miners were unsuccessful in attempts to liquidate the funds and now claim it was simply a security penetration test. PegNet core developer ‘WhoSoup’ posted a recap of the events surrounding what he believes was an attack. Anatomy of a 51% attack PegNet is a decentralized network …

Updated April 6: This article has been updated with new information regarding Factom. After failing to source additional funding, the liquidation of blockchain software company Factom may soon be determined by a vote from company shareholders. In an April 2 notice to investors, Factom’s largest investor FastForward announced the “dissolution event”: "The Company has been notified by the directors of Factom that in a board meeting on 31 March 2020 they concluded that, in the absence of further funding, they now needed to begin the process of assignment of assets for the benefit of creditors.” Citing their failure to secure …

Today stablecoin network PegNet cleared $500 million dollars in conversions, according to data from PegNetMarketCap.com. This means a half-billion dollars in value has moved over the platform’s rails since it launched in August 2019. PegNet is a decentralized non-custodial network of tokens that are pegged to different world currencies and assets, including gold, the euro, and the US dollar. PegNet maintains the auditable, non-custodial network that allows for transferring value and simplifying the conversion process from one asset to another. The platform runs on top of Factom, an unalterable record-keeping system that lives as a data layer on the Bitcoin …

In its most basic sense, a deepfake is a combination of face- and voice-cloning AI technologies that allow for the creation of life-like, computer-generated videos of a real person. In order to develop a high-quality deepfake of an individual, developers need to accumulate tens of hours of video footage associated with the person whose face/voice is to be cloned, as well as a human imitator who has learned the facial mannerisms and voice of the target. There are two humans involved in the creation of a deepfake, such that the target face/voice is that of the famous person while the …

At a time when the term “fake news” has become a household name thanks to its repeated use by President Donald Trump, deepfakes — i.e., seemingly realistic videos that are in fact manipulated — can further escalate the problem associated with distrust of media. Technologists are looking at the inherent nature of blockchain as aggregators of trust to put more public confidence back into the system. Truth is increasingly becoming a relative term. When everyone has their own version of the truth, democracy becomes meaningless. The advent of deepfakes is surely pushing society to a point where facts can be …

Hacked Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck has begun trading a wider range of assets Nov. 26, a press release confirmed, ten months after funds worth over $530 million were stolen. Monex Group, the Internet broker which purchased the hacked exchange in March for around $33.5 million, made the announcement following months of remedial measures and security improvements. The release of Ripple (XRP) and Factom (FCT) token trading means Coincheck is now operating services for all “tradable cryptocurrencies” on the platform. “Coincheck has been steadily resuming as each service’s technical safety is confirmed through the supports of external experts,” the release stated, …

While there are a few ways in which to work cryptocurrencies, from day-trading to holding, it is still widely recognised that a long-term investment is best. However, making the right call on one of the many coins out there is difficult. Below, some well known cryptocurrency investors share their tips and secrets, and give a top three pick of the coins they are holding onto for a big payday down the line. Logan Kugler, Managing Partner at General Crypto 1 - Ripple (XRP) “Ripple is going after SWIFT, and their token XRP could entirely change the way we send money …

Mike Hearn says the new XT version will include a “bigger blocksize only” branch; Factom raises US$1.1 million in crowdsale; Australian Securities regulator blocks Bitcoin IPO and more top stories for July 23. Hearn: New XT Version Will Include ‘Bigger Blocksize Only’ Branch Bitcoin core developer Mike Hearn has said that the new XT version will include a “bigger blocksize only” branch as a compromise for the blocksize debate. In a Reddit post, Mr. Hearn also mentioned that developers are working on a manifesto that will lay out the principles for future development. Hearn: “Once XT 0.11A is launched (which …

The Factom Foundation has launched its Release Candidate One (RC1) on the Bitcoin Testnet. Developers are invited to try out this early version of the highly anticipated blockchain data layer. In what is probably one of the most notable Bitcoin 2.0 projects in the space, Factom is building an open-source data layer for the Bitcoin blockchain. It can be used by anyone to permanently store all sorts of data on the decentralized computing network. Some of the most notable parties that have so far indicated they will use Factom include land registry startup Epigraph and the Honduran government, and cloud …

By now, few would argue that the technology behind Bitcoin isn’t groundbreaking. Now that blockchain technology is shifting from a fringe phenomenon to being studied by traditional finance and governments, it is gaining more and more momentum and interest from VCs, financial experts and traders. But while this tech has come a long way in such a short time, some of its proposed potential applications are pretty unconventional. Currency aside, listed below are six of some of the most interesting and perhaps revolutionary use-cases for the blockchain. Streamium’s Pay-as-you-go Streamium.io is an app that allows users to stream videos live, …

The government of Honduras will partner with Houston-based Bitcoin 2.0 startups Factom and Epigraph to build a land registry database for the Central American nation using the Bitcoin blockchain, according to Reuters on Yahoo News. The details of the project are currently still a bit fuzzy, as it is not entirely clear how, or to what degree, the Bitcoin blockchain will be used. Based on Factom's advertised model, however, it does seem likely that the construction involves a symbiosis of both decentralized databases build on top on the blockchain and centralized ones stored by either Factom, the Honduran government, or …

Blockchain-based record keeping service Factom has today announced its latest partnership with major US medical services provider HealthNautica. The deal, revealed exclusively to Cointelegraph, will see HealthNautica documents, which range from medical bills and client-physician communications to claims and disputes, imprinted on the blockchain, helping add security and guarantee authenticity of sequence of events. “We are excited to insert Factom’s technology into the healthcare industry, as one of our goals while developing this software was to offer a way to ensure the integrity of medical records, while still maintaining patient privacy,” Factom’s president Peter Kirby said in an exclusive press …