Bitcoin is down 11% after a report indicated a serious cryptocurrency imbalance called “double spending” | Currency News | Financial and business news
Lucas Jackson / Reuters
- Bitcoin fell 11% on Thursday after a report from BitMEX Research indicated a serious flaw called “double-spending” in the Bitcoin blockchain.
- Double spending is a very scary scenario where the user is able to spend their bitcoins more than once.
- The double spending event has not been confirmed, and BitMEX has delivered mixed messages.
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Bitcoin It fell as much as 11% on Thursday, hitting its lowest level in nearly three weeks, as the popular cryptocurrency suffered a double whammy that shook confidence in its user base.
First, Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the Treasury Secretary, suggested during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday that Legislators are “limiting” Bitcoin use Because of its use in illegal activities.
Second, an unconfirmed report by BitMEX Research on Wednesday indicated a serious flaw called “double-spending” in the Bitcoin blockchain.
A double spend is when someone is able to spend the same bitcoin twice. It’s a terrifying, terrifying scenario for the digital asset, and the blockchain was thought to have solved the problem when Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper in 2009.
Early attempts to launch a digital cash system were eventually halted due to weaknesses that could have helped increase spending and undermine confidence in the system.
BitMEX Research tweeted It “looks as if a small double spend of around 0.00062063 BTC ($ 21) has been detected.”
BitMEX said later that it appears to be double spending It was actually an RBF treatment, Which is when an unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction is replaced by a new transfer that pays a higher fee. But BitMEX’s Fork Monitor said That “RBF fee pitfalls not disclosed.”
BitMEX said in Another tweet: “A transaction in losing chain 0.00062063 BTC is sent to the address 1D6aebVY5DbS1v7rNTnX2xeYcfWM3os1va, and a transaction in the winning chain has sent the same input only 0.00014499 BTC to this address.”
If the double-spending does indeed happen, it could be a fatal blow to the popular cryptocurrency, suggesting that the flaw that Nakamoto set out to solve remains a weakness that could crush confidence in the original.
Meanwhile, institutional investors continue to have exposure to Bitcoin. Deposit with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday He said BlackRock has enabled two of its mutual funds to invest in cryptocurrency.
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