Jaxx Hacked, Dubai blockchain Passports, Localbitcoin fee update

This is Ashton Addison from EventChain.io, and on this Crypto Coin Show medium blog:

· The vulnerability in the desktop version of the Jaxx BTC/ETH wallet lead to $400,000 worth of stolen funds.
· The Dubai International airport wants to use digital passports utilizing Blockchain technology.
· Localbitcoins introduces a new fee structure to their Bitcoin exchanging platform citing the rising Bitcoin transaction cost.

I’m Ashton Addison from EventChain.io and this is the crypto coin show.

Where I decrypt the facts to keep you on track in the crypto world.

Last week a vulnerability was discovered in the Jaxx cryptocurrency wallet that allowed hackers to extract your 12 word mnemonic seed and restore your wallet remotely, essentially stealing all your funds. Anyone with 20 seconds of network access to your PC could steal your seed without Jaxx even running. So far it’s known that $400,000 was stolen in Bitcoin, Ether, Ethereum Classic, and Zcash. It apparently affected the desktop version of Jaxx wallet only, so those storing funds on mobile Jaxx should be safe.

Jaxx wallet is considered a hot wallet, which means it needs an internet connection to access and run properly, which always leaves funds vulnerable to theft. The JAXX CTO, Nilang Vyas, asks cryptocurrency users to not use the Jaxx wallet if they are uncomfortable with the amount of security it provides.

Please remember, large amounts of cryptocurrency funds should always be stored securely in an offline hardware wallet like the Trezor or the Ledger. Pick a Trezor up at Trezor.io. If you don’t have access to a hardware wallet right, away a good alternative for storing Bitcoin is Mycelium wallet, Ether using MyEtherWallet.com or create paper wallets for your funds to store them offline.

Next, Dubai has taken a step towards developing its new “10x policy”, attempting to digitize its public sector ensuring that public services are 10 years ahead of the rest of the world.

Using the underlying trust framework of a Blockchain (probably a private blockchain based off of Ethereum), digital passports will be one part of Dubai’s efforts to become the world’s first Blockchain city. In 2016, they launched the Global Blockchain Council, then the Blockchain Strategy Initiative with the goal of having all Dubai government documents on a Blockchain by 2020. 38 partner Dubai government Entities will be interconnected through the government blockchain network.

Do you think that Dubai could set a new digital blockchain passport precedent if their digital passports become popular? Would you like to see your passport digitized? I would be slightly concerned with my privacy even though you could expect some level of cryptography securing your personal information. However, passport information would likely be more secure than how they currently store confidential passport information on centralized servers.

Finally, the over-the counter bitcoin exchange platform Localbitcoins has changed their fee structure, citing the rising cost of Bitcoin transactions. It used to be that customers were charged for withdrawing bitcoins, but not for depositing bitcoins. Now, there are deposit fees for incoming transactions as well.

The new fee structure is now more shared between the buyers and the sellers. They’ve also changed transactions fees to become dynamic based on how congested the Bitcoin network is at the transaction time. It’s going to have a higher fee when the network is congested to verify the transaction so it doesn’t get stuck in the Bitcoin mempool.

Localbitcoins is saying on average the Bitcoin fees will be lower than they used to be. I believe it’s more of a fair structure to spread the fees evenly between both buyers and sellers.

Have you ever used Localbitcoins or a Bitcoin ATM? What do you think of the shared fee structure? Let me know in the comments section below.

I’m Ashton Addison, CEO/Founder of the EventChain Smart Ticketing platform. See EventChain.io for our whitepaper and to join the movement.

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Look out for next weeks update, when I decrypt the facts to keep you on track in the crypto world.