CRYPTOCURRENCY
New Bitcoin Lightning Network Vulnerability Exposed: The Replacement Cycling Attack
A new vulnerability termed as "replacement cycling attack" on the Lightning Network has been unveiled by a developer known as mononaut. The attack manipulates the transaction mechanism of the network, potentially causing financial loss to users. This revelation has led to the resignation of security researcher Antoine Riard from the Lightning Network development team. Despite the challenges, the network's locked-in value stands at $159.5 million, indicating its growing popularity since 2018.
Vitalik Buterin Explores Ethereum Protocol Enhancement Strategies
Ethereum's co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, reflects on Ethereum's protocol enhancement strategies in a recent blog post, weighing the merits of a minimalistic approach versus enshrining more features into the core protocol to address various user needs and system efficiencies. The discussion encompasses account abstraction challenges, the shift towards enshrinement, and the exploration of specific enshrinement targets like ZK-EVMs, proposer-builder separation, private mempools, liquid staking, and precompiles.
What Happens When the Bitcoin Blockchain Produces an Empty Block
Accept the oddities: Bitcoin's blockchain has more empty blocks than intended.