Mediaboss Marketing

Ethereums Pectra upgrade, slated for late 2024 or early 2025, is bringing with it a host of more functionality for crypto wallets and upgrades to their user experience (UX).

Ethereum Improvement Proposal(EIP) 3074was approved for inclusion in the next update, which allows normal crypto wallets to work like smart contracts.

One of EIP-3074s functions gives standard externally owned accounts (EOAs), normal wallets such as a MetaMask wallet, smart contract capabilities.

This allows functions such as transaction bundling, so users only have to sign once, and sponsored transactions where a wallet can delegate funds for use by another, similar to account abstraction that was introduced in ERC-4337.

Anonymous DefiLlama developer 0xngmi claimed in an April 11 X post that the EIPs downside is now itll be possible to fully drain an address (all tokens, all NFTs, all DeFi positions...) with only one bad signature.

Gaslite co-founder Harrison Leggio wrote on X that while there are security concerns with the update, people will always find a way to lose their money.

People literally GIVE THEIR PRIVATE KEYS TO TRADING BOTS, he added.

Software engineer Laurence Day wrotethat the EIPs most obviously useful application was its sponsored transactions, as it allowed users to store assets in a wallet that doesnt hold Ether, and they could sponsor the gas from a contract controlling the wallet.

Other slated functions of EIP-3074 include a social recovery feature that negates the need for the typical 12-to-24-word seed phrase.

Anonymous Web3 adviser Cygaarexplained on X that the EIP turns wallets into smart contracts by adding two new operating instructions AUTH and AUTHCALL.

Related: History of Crypto: Crypto winter and Ethereum landmarks

AUTH verifies signatures and actions. AUTHCALL then calls the target contract(s) with the originator address as the caller rather than the message sender, Cygaar wrote.

The planned Pectra update comes after Ethereum developers pushed through the Dencun update last month, which lowered layer-2 transaction fees.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also shared in early April the next steps for the Purge, which would remove old and excess network history in order to simplify it.

Magazine: Heres how Ethereums ZK-rollups can become interoperable

Go here to see the original:

Ethereum's Pectra upgrade to make normal wallets 'smart' and improve UX - Cointelegraph

A former Amazon software engineer Shakeeb Ahmed was sentenced to three years in prison for exploiting smart contracts.

The breaches in 2022 resulted in the theft of over $12 million in different cryptocurrencies. The trial was the first-eversentencingfor a cyberattack on smart contracts.

Ahmedadmittedin December 2023 to manipulating smart contracts. By inserting fraudulent pricing data into the platforms contracts, the engineer generated approximately $12 million in unearned profits, which he subsequently withdrew as cryptocurrency.

While the prosecutors chose not to disclose one of the affected platforms, evidence in the indictment suggests it wasCrema Finance. The other platform involved was Nirvana Finance, which ceased operations following the hack in July 2022.

Before the incident, Ahmed had led Amazons bug bounty program, where he identified and fixed security loopholes in its software. The prosecution, highlighting the novelty of this case involving smart contracthacking, had recommended a four-year prison term.

They acknowledged Ahmeds cooperation and his restitution of the majority of the stolen funds but emphasized the need for his imprisonment to serve as a deterrent and underscore the gravity of his offenses.

On the other hand, Ahmeds defense argued for probation instead of prison time, citing his compromised mental health during the time of the hacks and the fact that the stolen funds were largely untouched except for covering a relatives medical expenses. Ahmed, originally from Saudi Arabia, had his legal team plea for leniency based on the following factors.

The rest is here:

Ex-Amazon engineer sentenced to 3 years in prison for $12m crypto hack - crypto.news

In the dynamic landscape of financial technology, smart contracts emerge as a transformative force. These self-executing contracts, with terms directly coded into the agreement, have the potential to revolutionize how we initiate and enforce contracts.

Smart contracts, at their core, are programs operating on a blockchain network. They automatically execute, control, or document legally relevant events and actions according to contract terms.

In a decentralized environment, smart contracts operate autonomously, free from control by any single entity, and without the need for intermediaries.

Trust and Transparency: Since they are based on blockchain technology, smart contracts provide a transparent system where all parties can view the terms and the execution of the contract.

Security: Theimmutable nature of blockchain ensures that once a contract is created, it cannot be altered, thereby reducing the risk of fraud.

Efficiency: Smart contracts eliminate the need for intermediaries, which can significantly reduce transaction times and costs.

Accuracy: Automated contracts reduce the risk of human error, which is common in traditional contract law.

In finance, smart contracts find various applications. They automate insurance claims processing, manage bonds, execute derivatives, and streamline real estate transactions.

Bonds: Smart contracts can issue and manage bonds, automating interest payments and principal repayment.

Derivatives: Smart contracts execute complex financial instruments like options and swaps, ensuring terms are met without dispute.

Real Estate: They can streamline property sales by automating the transfer of deeds and funds.

Despite their potential, smart contracts face several challenges:

Legal Recognition: The legal status of smart contracts is still under debate in many jurisdictions.

Technical Standards: Standardization is needed in how smart contracts are written and executed.:

Interoperability: Smart contracts must be able to interact with different blockchain networks and traditional systems. Despite their potential, smart contracts face challenges. Legal recognition, technical standards, and interoperability are key issues to address. However, ongoing developments in blockchain technology and legal clarity promise a bright future for smart contracts.

In conclusion, smart contracts represent a significant innovation in finance, promising more secure, efficient, and equitable financial agreements. As the fintech industry evolves, smart contracts are set to become integral to the financial transactions of the future.

See the article here:

How Are Smart Contracts Transforming Financial Transactions? - IT News Africa

Blockchains empower transparency and innovation, but securing smart contracts within this ecosystem remains crucial. Verifying code for vulnerabilities is essential to ensure user trust, compliance, and the overall health of the blockchain ecosystem. Recognizing this critical need, Blockscout and SolidityScan by CredShield have announced a groundbreaking collaboration to elevate smart contract security.

Blockscout serves as a user-friendly platform for anyone to deploy, verify, and interact with smart contracts across various blockchains. This ease of use fosters the core principles of Web3 transparency and inclusivity. However, unvetted code can introduce security risks, such as vulnerabilities, exploitable code, or even malicious attempts to steal funds.

Statistics reveal a significant number of deployed contracts remain unaudited, leaving them susceptible to potential exploits. SolidityScan, a tool developed byCredShields, tackles this challenge by providing a free, AI-powered tool scanner for smart contracts. This tool analyzes code and identifies common vulnerabilities, raising awareness of potential risks for users.

Smart Contract Security Score in real-time

SolidityScanis an automated security tool for your smart contracts. It scans the code for vulnerabilities and weaknesses, using over 160+ vulnerability patterns to identify potential risks. This translates to a security score, displayed as a shield icon within Blockscout for verified contracts, where a higher score indicates a lower risk profile.

Clicking the shield dives deeper, providing a comprehensive report with the vulnerability count & criticality levels. This report also analyzes individual functions, upgradeability features, and ownership structure, and even assigns an overall threat score.

SolidityScan: A Web3 Developers Essential Tool

SolidityScan integrates seamlessly with Blockscout, empowering developers to identify and rectify potential security issues early in the development cycle. Contracts can be deployed on various testnets supported by SolidityScan, allowing developers to pinpoint and address vulnerabilities before a contract goes live on the mainnet. SolidityScan offers comprehensive support for major blockchain mainnets and testnets, including Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Arbitrum,Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon, Base, Gnosis,Neon,Rootstock,zkSync,Fuse,Shimmer,Lightlink,Shibarium,and many more.

Conclusion: A Collaborative Approach to a Secure Future

SolidityScan offers a beneficialfree scannerfor enabling continuous security for Solidity developers, but it should not be regarded as a replacement for a comprehensive manual security audit. For comprehensive end-to-end security assurance, CredShields, the parent organization behind SolidityScan, provides a wide range of services and has conducted over 150security audits.

Read more:

Enhancing Smart Contract Security With SolidityScan and Blockscout Integration - Business

The year 2024 is witnessing a surge in the exploration and implementation of blockchain in the real world. Blockchain is not an idea anymore, already many industries are altered by blockchain and it is changing the future of many industries. In this article, lets look into 15 use cases of blockchain that are making headlines and showing off the many different uses of blockchain.

In the automotive industry, blockchain is revolutionizing supply chain management.

In philanthropy, blockchain makes donations more transparent and accountable, ensuring that they are used as they were intended.

By lowering fraud, improving remote voting safety, and ensuring election integrity the political processes are enhanced by the blockchain.

Using blockchain technology, the DeFi sector challenges the established financial system by offering decentralized lending, investing, and financing options that make money more accessible to everybody.

The storage, verification, and sharing of academic credentials and accomplishments are being revolutionized by blockchain technology.

Blockchain minimizes the danger to consumer health and eliminates waste in food safety events by swiftly locating and removing the source of contamination.

Blockchain is improving healthcare systems and patient outcomes by protecting confidential information, facilitating efficient data flow, and enhancing the accuracy of medical records.

Blockchain creates immutable digital identities that give users control over their information and permission to share.

Blockchains smart contracts can also automate royalty payments. This means creators will be compensated fairly and ownership conflicts will be reduced, creating a more vibrant creative economy.

Blockchain allows for new ways of consuming content, allowing for closer, personalized connections between creators and consumers.

Blockchain enables people with renewable energy systems to sell excess power directly to end-users, bypassing traditional power networks.

In real estate, blockchain promises to streamline and protect real estate transactions with a transparent, unchangeable property record ledger (PRL).

Blockchain adds value to brick-and-mortar and e-commerce by enabling token-based loyalty schemes and transparent product traceability that verifies authenticity and ethical sourcing.

To streamline sales processes in real estate smart contracts through blockchain are enabled. Through initiating payments or transactions after acquiring the commodities, efficiency in supply chains is leveraged by smart contracts.

Blockchain is revolutionizing supply chain management by providing transparency in supply chain management is allowed by blockchain. For every transaction and every product movement single and unchangeable record is allowed by blockchain.

See the rest here:

Top 15 Use Cases of Blockchain in the Real World, 2024 - Analytics Insight