Analysis News TheBitTimes.com

More and more Ethereum blockchain operators have complied with sanctions from the OFAC, raising censorship concerns among decentralization proponents and network participants. Toni Wahrstätter, an Ethereum researcher, noted that five of the six largest block builders on Ethereum’s blockchain actively censor certain transactions in line with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) directives.  Most of these censor ed transactions originate from decentralized mixer Tornado Cash, according to Wahrstätter, a protocol blacklisted by the Treasury Department due to its use by bad actors, including the North Korean hacker organization Lazarus. New dashboard online – https://t.co/1Pnbe14NLG May it shed light onto the extent of censorship and guide us towards implementing practical solutions for enshrining a strong form of censorship resistance. More info pic.twitter.com/zyau9L3W1h — Toni Wahrstätter (@nero_eth) September 26, 2023 Wahrstätter’s resea...

Despite being stuck in a bear market in 2022, innovation did not stop in the crypto space. Developers kept doing their job with due diligence and major upgrades like the Vasil hardfork and the Merge were introduced. At the same time, hackers did not refrain from taking undue advantage of the discrepancies and loopholes. A host of compromises happened in 2022 and billions were drained out of the ecosystem. In fact, the month of October was dubbed to ‘Hacktober‘ by people from space to reflect the same. North Korea’s Lazarus Group has been responsible for some of the most damaging hacks that took place within the crypto ecosystem. Their name has been associated with attacks, including the ones on Ronin Bridge and Harmony Bridge. Harmony Bridge Hack Funds Displaced A recent analysis by on-chain sleuth ZachXBT revealed that the group moved funds worth $63.5 million—comprising of 41,000 ETH tokens—from the Harmony Bridge hack. The transfers were alle...