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“Not on our watch!” DigiByte response to the recent Verge (XVG) 51% attack

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Digibyte

Most crypto enthusiasts will agree that the recent 51% attack on Verge coin has raised a lot of concerns over the security of most if not all digital currencies. The hack on the Verge Blockchain resulted in a loss of over $1 million worth of XVG coins after a hacker managed to control and manipulate the Verge network.

What is a 51% attack?

Well, think of the Blockchain as a governing system that depends on the consensus of all working agencies. In such a setting, the rules and regulations governing the entire system not to mention the decision-making process will be determined by those who control a majority of the entire ecosystem. In this case a 50 plus 1 percent stake. In terms of a Blockchain network, a 51% attack occurs when a single entity manages to control more than half of the network’s nodes. This kind of control gives the entity ability to change the network’s rules and protocols. Essentially, a hacker can manipulate mining protocols and manage to mine coins at the lowest level of difficulty. The hacker can also enable a double spend on the network or even shut down the entire network.

In the case of Verge XVG, the hackers managed to trick the network and mine XVG coins at the least difficulty. The Verge Blockchain uses a rotational mining algorithm that alternates between varieties of mining algorithms. According to reports, the hackers managed to hack two of the mining algorithms in the process causing a slowdown in mining on the Verge Blockchain network for a couple of hours.

The Digibyte team responds

In response to the attack, a part of the Verge community took it positively and supported the Verge team as they continue to patch the problem. However, the Digibyte community has been concerned about the DGB Blockchain and here is what the DGB team had to say about the possible vulnerabilities on their own Blockchain.

“To those asking about the Verge attack & if the #DigiByte #Blockchain is vulnerable to the same attack. Absolutely not. We fixed this problem with #DigiShield & #MultiShield in 2014. $VXG allowed up to a 2 hr discrepancy in block times & used “Dark Gravity Well” for difficulty.”

The response came as a post on Twitter and sparked a conversation about the true state of DBG’s Blockchain. In fact, one of Digibyte Foundation ambassador (Josiah Spackman) came out with a post on Medium illustrating how Digibyte is built to withstand such an attack.

Digibyte’s Security strategy with Digishields

In the event of a 51%attack on Digibyte, the Digishiled’s dynamic difficulty retargeting would kick in on every single block and essentially stop the hacker from getting away with free coins. AS illustrated by Spackman, the hacker would actually need a 91% control over the hash power of one of the algorithms which are impractical even though it can be done.

In addition, Digibyte is already planning a fork later in the year that will make the DGB Blockchain ASIC resistance to some algorithms such as Qubit and Groestl. The team plans to put in more GPU friendly algorithms in place for better distribution and decentralization. With more decentralization comes better security on the network.

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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.

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Altcoins

XNO Token of Xeno NFT Hub listed on Bithumb Korea Exchange

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Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 25th January, 2021, // ChainWire //

Xeno Holdings Limited (xno.live ), a blockchain solutions company based in Hong Kong, has announced the listing of its ecosystem utility token XNO on the ‘Bithumb Korea’ cryptocurrency exchange on January 21st 2021.

Xeno NFT Hub (market.xno.live ), developed by Xeno Holdings, enables easy minting of digital items into NFTs while also providing a marketplace where anyone can securely trade NFTs.

The Xeno NFT Hub project team includes former members of the technology project Yosemite X based in San Francisco and professionals such as Gabby Dizon who is a games industry expert and NFT space influencer based in Southeast Asia.

NFT(Non-Fungible Token) technology has recently gained huge focus in the blockchain arena and beyond, making waves in the online gaming sector, the art world, and the digital copyrights industry in recent years. The strongest feature of NFTs is that “NFTs are unique digital assets that cannot be replaced or forged”. Unlike fungible tokens such as Bitcoin or Ether, NFTs are not interchangeable for other tokens of the same type but instead each NFT has a unique value and specific information that cannot be replaced. This fact makes NFTs the perfect solution to record and prove ownership of digital and real-world items like works of art, game items, limited-edition collectibles, and more. One of the ways to have a successful…

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Altcoins

Should Crypto Projects Devote Resources to Community Growth and Marketing?

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2020 has been an incredible year for crypto as investors have generated windfall profits and crypto projects have seen their businesses gain the spotlight they’ve been looking for.  While Bitcoin has received most of the attention after major institutional investors announced they were accumulating the increasingly scarce asset, many altcoins have also seen their fair share of glory.  When looking at all the big winners of the past year, the first project that probably comes to mind is Chainlink, having appreciated by more than 550% YTD and now valued at over $4.5 billion.  But, the actual biggest winner of the year is HEX with a YTD return of over 5,000%.

I mention both of the above projects as they have each taken slightly different paths to achieve greatness.  Chainlink has devoted resources toward building a fundamentally sound business with many strategic partnerships while HEX has spent vast sums of money on marketing and promotion.  Both approaches are valid, but one thing is certain, it is absolutely imperative for crypto projects to let the crypto community know what makes them special.  Of course, one of the reasons that makes crypto so valuable is the powerful blockchain technology that most projects are utilizing.

Cryptocurrency vs. Blockchain Technology

It’s important to make a distinction between blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.  Although they are often used interchangeably, they are different.  Blockchain technology and crypto were both created after the 2008 financial crisis, but cryptocurrency…

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Altcoins

XENO starts VIP NFT trading service and collaborates with contemporary artist Hiro Yamagata

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Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 24th December, 2020, // ChainWire //

The XENO NFT Hub (https://xno.live) will provide a crypto-powered digital items and collectables trading platform allowing users to create, buy, and sell NFTs. Additionally it will support auction based listings, governance and voting mechanisms, trade history tracking, user rating and other advanced features.

As a first step towards its fully comprehensive service, XENO NFT Hub launched a recent VIP service to select users and early adopters in December 2020 with plans for a full Public Beta to open in June 2021. 

“NFTs are extremely flexible in their usage, from digital event tickets to artwork, and while NFTs have a very wide spectrum of uses and categories XENO will initially focus its partnership efforts and its own item curation on three primary areas: gaming, sports & entertainment, and collectibles.”, said XENO NFT Hub president Anthony Di Franco.

He also added “This does not mean we will prohibit other types of NFTs from our ecosystem However, it simply means that XENO’s efforts as a company will be targeted into these verticals initially as a cohesive business approach.”

Development and Procurement Lead, Gabby Dizon explained, “Despite our initial focus, we found ourselves with a unique opportunity to host some of the works of Mr. Hiro Yamagata. We are collaborating with Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata to enshrine some of his artwork into NFTs.”

Mr. Yamagata has…

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