Mid-December news digest.

1. Google Adapts Ad Rules for Crypto: Google has updated its crypto ad policy, enabling advertisers to offer US ads for "Cryptocurrency Coin Trusts" starting January 29 next year. These trusts are financial products allowing investors to trade shares in trusts holding large pools of digital currency. However, they are not ETFs and are available only to investment companies, accredited investors, or high-net-worth individuals. The policy change coincides with the much-awaited ruling on spot bitcoin ETFs​​​​​​.

2. Ethereum's Proto-Danksharding Update: JPMorgan analysts have expressed expectations that Ethereum will outperform Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in 2024, thanks to the anticipated EIP-4844 upgrade, also known as Proto-Danksharding. Scheduled for the first half of 2024, this upgrade will introduce data blobs to provide additional temporary data space, improving network throughput and reducing transaction fees significantly for Layer 2 networks on Ethereum, like Arbitrum and Optimism​​. What do you think?

3. Security Vulnerability in Ledger's ConnectKit: Ledger's Connect Kit, a JavaScript library that allows decentralized applications to connect to Ledger hardware wallets, was compromised due to a phishing attack. An unauthorized party uploaded a malicious file, leading to the theft of over $650,000 in crypto tokens. The attack was addressed within 40 minutes of its discovery, but the incident raises questions about Ledger's security measures and the distribution method of Connect Kit​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.

   TLDR : If you dont use dapps to connect to your Ledger you are safe.

Rumors :

• Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund Is Reportedly ready to buy 500$ billion of Bitcoin.

• Another interesting take connect to that is the calculation that right now a total of 6 trillion USD is buying up ALL the available Bitcoin on exchanges.... and then what? For comparison, Michael Saylor just bought around 600 $ billion last month and does that pretty often, not to mention other big players.

Little Conspiracy Section

• Satoshi and Halving Timing: There's an interesting point raised by Kevin Svenson regarding the timing of Bitcoin's halving events coinciding with election periods. In the future that could make for president-elects to be inclined to keep track of Bitcoin and integrate it in their campaign much more.

• DANGER for Bitcoin : Bob Burnett (@boomer_btc) proposed an intriguing analogy to describe a potential vulnerability in Bitcoin's network, likening the mining ecosystem to the wildlife of the African plain.

  • Burnett highlights a hypothetical situation where, if a significant majority (say 90% or more) of Bitcoin's hashrate is controlled by these large miners and mining pools, the network could become vulnerable. He imagines a coordinated attack by nation-states, targeting these large mining operations by cutting off power and seizing equipment. This would drastically reduce the Bitcoin network's hashing power, leading to an extended period (possibly years) where block processing becomes exceedingly slow, severely limiting transaction capacity and slowing down the introduction of new bitcoins.

  • Such an attack would not destroy Bitcoin but could severely undermine public confidence in its stability and reliability. Burnett argues that while the likelihood of such coordinated governmental action seems low, it cannot be dismissed over a long timescale.

  • To mitigate this risk, Burnett suggests diversifying the Bitcoin mining ecosystem by supporting smaller and mid-sized mining operations (the 'horses' and 'rabbits'). Ensuring that these smaller players collectively control a significant portion of the hashrate (more than 15-30%) would safeguard the network against the outlined attack scenario. This requires concerted efforts from the Bitcoin community to facilitate access to alternative energy sources and financial resources for these smaller miners, maintaining a healthy balance within the mining ecosystem.

Expect us again soon with the main key news events.