Lupa Password Wallet Anda? Apa Yang Anda Lakukan?

Lupa Password Wallet. Keamanan bitcoin memang cukup menjanjikan untuk penggunanya. Namun bagaimanapun, seseorang tetap bisa saja melakukan kesalahan, seperti lupa password wallet sendiri. Pada berbagai jenis atau varian wallet dalam dunia kripto telah ada begitu banyak versi, baik yang bersifat hot storage maupun cold storage.

Berbagai karakter wallet apapun bentuknya, pada dasarnya berfungsi sebagai media untuk menangani dan mengelola key pair antara public dan private key saja. Kedua key pair tersebut dipergunakan bersama-sama sebagai akses mutlak pada wallet tersebut.

Untuk pengguna yang tidak begitu mengetahui hingga perihal teknis tentang bitcoin maupun kripto secara umum, kadang-kadang juga tidak terlepas dari kesalahan yang diperbuatnya sendiri. Termasuk juga, urusan soal lupa password walletnya sendiri tersebut. Password wallet ini, sebagian besar menjadi sebuah fitur tambahan di sebagian besar versi wallet kripto yang ada sekarang.

Kenyataannya, memang telah banyak juga pengguna bitcoin yang telah kehilangan hak aksesnya di wallet mereka. Padahal, jika kita menengok perjalanan harga bitcoin dari beberapa tahun sebelumnya hingga saat ini telah menjulang tinggi. Tentu saja nilainya juga akan menjadi meningkat lebih tinggi jika aset itu telah tersimpan beberapa tahun sebelumnya.

Lantas bagaimana jika memang lupa password wallet dan kesulitan lagi untuk mengaksesnya? Sebenarnya, jika password wallet ini hilang, atau bahkan lupa private key maupun seed yang berelasi dengan wallet itu, maka sama saja hak akses mutlak atas wallet itu juga hilang. Terlebih, jika tingkat kerumitan password wallet itu terdiri dari 15 karakter lebih.

Hampir tidak ada cara yang bisa dilakukan untuk bisa mengembalikan password tersebut kecuali pemiliknya sendiri yang mungkin di kemudian hari mengingat betul password yang digunakan. Namun ada secercah harapan, mengingat sejak tahun 2013 lalu, ada sebuah layanan bernama Walletrecoveryservices yang mungkin dapat membantu persoalan itu.

Meski demikian, tentu saja ada beberapa kondisi bakal menjadi dasar, namun berdasarkan apa yang dijelaskan di situs itu, pihaknya menyebut bahwa layanan mereka bisa menangani untuk banyak varian wallet yang ada saat ini.

Jika layanan itu terbukti dapat membantu kasus lupa password wallet, mengapa tidak sekalian saja mengambil atau mencuri sejumlah aset kripto tersebut? Pertanyaan ini tentu saja adalah pertanyaan logis yang cukup mempunyai dasar yang kuat.

Jangan terlalu cepat memberikan konklusi dulu, mari kita tengok bagaimana kemungkinan itu bisa dilakukan tanpa harus mengungkapkan private key yang berelasi dengan wallet tersebut. Untuk bisa membantu, yang dibutuhkan hanyalah beberapa bagian saja dari file wallet yang digunakan, namun tidak berelasi dengan file private key itu disimpan.

Kalau kita melihat pada bitcoin misalnya, pada bitcoin core, file wallet bitcoin tetap akan tersimpan di dalam perangkat yang digunakan. Sedangkan, setiap seseorang menggunakan bitcoin pertamakali, sebenarnya secara otomatis akan membuat hingga 100 address baru yang langsung tersimpan ke dalam “key pool” (tempat key pair disimpan). Dalam hal ini, hanya sebagian saja informasi dari address yang umumnya tidak pernah terpakai itu. Karena sebagian besar pengguna, kebanyakan hanya menggunakan satu atau beberapa address saja, kecuali jika pengguna itu adalah pengguna aktif dan mengetahui betul bahwa memang sebaiknya 1 address bitcoin, digunakan untuk sekali transaksi saja. Address bitcoin ini, bisa digenerate sendiri sebanyak yang kita mau.

Potongan informasi tersebut, selanjutnya dikombinasikan dengan metode brute force decryption. Cara itu adalah satu-satunya cara yang memungkinkan dapat dilakukan. Namun tentu saja hal itu akan membutuhkan resource yang cukup untuk bisa menanganinya. Namun jika password tersebut terdiri dari 15 random karakter lebih, maka itu menjadi cukup sulit untuk untuk dilakukan, terlebih untuk wallet bitcoin@BPI

Japanese Finance Minister Wants To Change Crypto Tax Rule, But People Doubt

Japanese Crypto Tax Rules. Japan's Finance Minister thinks that the public doubts if he will make changes in the taxation of cryptocurrency transactions, Cointelegraph Japan reported.

During the current meeting of the Upper House Budget Committee, Senator Fujimaki asked the Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso whether crypto transactions should be taxed through a "separate tax settlement," rather than their current classification as "other income." Aso said that his prospects were " "By the public and expressed concern over the public reaction due to" tax justice. "

The current tax rate for maximum crypto transactions is 55 percent, and Aso plans to change to 20 percent similar to stock or forex trading.

Aso noted that the position of cryptocurrency in the international financial sector is uncertain. He also talked about the importance of developing blockchain technology, but added that he supported the controversial technology, given it underlies the cryptocurrency.

The Japan Financial Services Agency (FSA) issued a business improvement notice for the crypto exchange market as part of its ongoing regulatory oversight following a $ 530 million theft in the Japanese crypto exchange market, Coincheck in January.

On Monday (25/6) yesterday, two vice presidents of the Japanese foreign exchange crypto exchange market resigned after the two exchanges each received notice of increased FSA business last week@BPI

Facebook Relaxes Ban, Accepts Some Crypto Ads

Facebook is Easing Its Ban.The social media giant has launched a "cryptocurrency products and services onboarding request" form that will allow some companies to get their ads on the platform, according to a blog post published Tuesday.

Facebook, however, won't allow advertisements for initial coin offerings or binary options. The prohibition on these remains in effect months after Facebook first took action against crypto-ads in a move that was followed by similar actions byTwitter, Google and other major sites.

The request sheet shows that the social media company wants specifics on the kinds of services companies wishing to advertise offer. For example, Facebook asks whether companies have the relevant licenses in order to operate, or if they are a publicly-listed company. Facebook has also published a legal addendum outlining its policy toward cryptocurrency ads.

Notably, the social media company suggested that its policy could see additional tweaks in the future.

Rob Leathern, product management director for Facebook, wrote in the blog post:

"Given these restrictions, not everyone who wants to advertise will be able to do so. But we'll listen to feedback, look at how well this policy works and continue to study this technology so that, if necessary, we can revise it over time."

The move has won early plaudits from the cryptocurrency PR space.

Trey Ditto, the founder of Ditto PR, a crypto public relations firm, described Facebook's shift as "the first step in allowing credible blockchain projects, crypto companies and ICOs to get in front of new potential customers and investors."

"This will be a big boost for Facebook advertising revenue as the majority of projects out there are interested – and have the money – to run paid ads," Ditto added.@BPI

Bank Sentral Bahama Memperkenalkan Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency Bank Sentral Bahama. Pemerintah Bahama telah memutuskan untuk membentuk cryptocurrency nasional untuk membantu yang tidak memiliki rekening bank dan memudahkan proses melakukan bisnis di banyak pulau yang membentuk negara.

negara kepulauan yang dikenal dengan matahari dan pantainya, atau, dalam pandangan Uni Eropa, status suaka pajaknya, akan memperkenalkan mata uang kripto sendiri melalui bank sentralnya.

“Produksi layanan pembayaran digital modern sepenuhnya adalah jalan ke depan untuk era pemerintahan ini. Mata uang Bahama digital sangat penting bagi banyak pulau keluarga karena mereka telah melihat banyak bank komersial berhemat dan keluar dari komunitas mereka, meninggalkan mereka tanpa layanan perbankan. Sebagai sebuah negara kepulauan, di mana transportasi dapat menjadi ketidaknyamanan bagi banyak orang, terutama orang tua, dan mahal, kita harus menawarkan jasa keuangan secara digital dan aman, ”kata wakil perdana menteri K Peter Turnquest.

Saat ini, bisnis dari seluruh dunia bermarkas di Bahama, sebagian besar untuk kebijakannya memastikan privasi pemegang saham dan melonggarkan persyaratan pajak apa pun atas pendapatan yang diperoleh dari luar negeri. Bisnis yang ingin mengambil keuntungan dari insentif pajak dapat memantapkan dirinya sebagai perusahaan bisnis internasional (IBC) di pulau itu, yang membebaskannya dari semua pajak selama 20 tahun ke depan. Setelah periode itu, perusahaan bertanggung jawab atas pajak hanya atas penghasilan yang dihasilkannya di salah satu pulau itu, serta pajak stempel dan estate.

Dengan memperkenalkan cryptocurrency, perusahaan yang didirikan di Bahama, seperti perusahaan akuntansi Big Four, dapat melakukan bisnis dengan lebih mudah dan dengan cara yang jauh lebih pribadi daripada yang mereka lakukan saat ini. Banyak dari klien mereka juga menghadapi ketidakmampuan untuk melakukan transaksi secara pribadi dengan menggunakan sistem perbankan, sehingga sulit untuk menghindari beberapa pajak yang dikenakan oleh negara-negara asing.

Namun, pemerintah Bahama tidak berhenti di sana. Turnquest ingin memperluas ini lebih jauh dan menawarkan infrastruktur blockchain untuk penerbitan sertifikat kepada orang-orang yang menyelesaikan studi mereka di National Training Agency@BPI

What are security tokens and how will they transform ICOs?

Security Tokens Transform ICOs. 2017 was arguably the year of the initial coin offering, with over $4.6 billion raised through startup financing. 2018 looks like it will become the year of regulations for the cryptocurrency industry. In fact, the tremendous growth in ICOs is one of the reasons why financial regulators across the globe have decided to hone in on the crypto asset market.

For the most part, startups launching token sales claim that they are issuing a utility token, which would preclude them from the realm of securities law in most jurisdictions. However, many of these tokens have the characteristics of securities, which is why financial regulators are taking a closer look.

To continue using this method of funding, a new form of token sale has emerged that marries the benefits of initial coin offerings and the sale of regulated financial securities in an initial offering.  

What is a security token?

Issuing a security token is a new form of financing that enables companies to raise funds from investors through issuing a fully-regulated “digital share” of its equity, assets or part of its revenue. Security token offerings combine aspects of ICOs with IPOs to provide the seemingly perfect balance between gaining access to capital at a low-cost while remaining compliant with securities laws.

Furthermore, security tokens can go beyond the current cryptocurrency-based crowdfunding model to also incorporate other types of financial securities such as debt offerings, for example. Tokenized securities projects such as Overstock’s T-Zero exchange are banking on security tokens becoming the next big thing and they may be correct.

Through issuing digital tokens that provide similar rights to shares, companies have the potential to access more investors and at a lower cost than if they were to list shares on a stock exchange, making them more appealing to younger investors.

However, before that can happen, the digital token trading ecosystem must mature to the level where exchanges are secure and liquid enough to be able to handle trading volumes approaching those found on international stock exchanges.

SAFT: The predecessor to security token ICOs

Before securities tokens started to appear in the ICO market, we saw the utilization of so-called Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) by startups that wanted to ensure that they remain fully compliant with U.S. securities law.

SAFT agreements enable accredited investors to purchase contracts during a token offering for which they will be rewarded with the newly-issued tokens that the startup is launching, once the company has developed a fully-functional utility token that is being actively used in the project’s platform.

SAFT agreements are based on the idea behindSAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)contracts, which were spearheaded by San Francisco-based tech accelerator Y Combinator as an alternative to convertible notes. SAFE contracts allow angel investors to put cash into a startup and then receive their shares once a specific trigger event has happened such as a new funding round or the sale of the company.

The first high-profile SAFT contracts that were sold to investors was during the ICO of the decentralized cloud storage platform Filecoin in mid-2017, which raised over $257 million. Messaging giant Telegram also made use of SAFT agreements when it raised $850 million during its token pre-sale in Q1/2018.

How security tokens will transform utility ICOs

Financial regulators are keeping a very close eye on initial coin offerings due to a large number of scams that have flooded this market. Moreover, many regulators consider ICOs that sell a utility token should still fall under securities law as most are effectively securities.

For many issuers the risk that their ‘utility token’ will be considered by regulators as a regulated security will become too great to bare. Accordingly, many will choose to issue utility tokens in a compliant way (as if they were securities).

Additionally, the introduction of truly compliant security token exchanges like TZero will enable a new breed of token issuer to come to the market that offers economic incentives similar to dividends in shares, or other revenue streams that are undoubtedly categorized as securities.  

Issuing a security token will, eventually, become more straightforward than launching a utility ICO from a regulatory and legal standpoint, with the caveat that the overheads will probably be higher as it involves regulatory compliance and more legal fees. A “normal” token sale can be conducted with very little upfront capital, especially if the startup has an exciting product that the cryptocurrency community is willing to invest in. A security token ICO, on the other hand, will require more capital regardless of the quality of the company’s product.

It is thus unlikely that utility token ICOs will be replaced entirely by security tokens as smaller startup projects will choose to either run the risk of operating in a regulatory grey area or will merely engage in regulatory arbitrage and base their operations and crowdsale in countries that have ICO-friendly regulations.

The future of security tokens

Having said that, security tokens have the potential to become the go-to form of funding for more established startups and for companies that want to tokenize their securities offering instead of listing shares on a stock exchange.

Security ICOs will thus likely become a real competitor to traditional IPOs as the costs for an ICO remain cheaper and as more investors realize the advantages of digital tokens over “real shares”.@BPI

IOTA and SinoPac Now Announce Their Cooperation

IOTA and SinoPac Cooperation. IOTA have now established a partnership with SinoPac, a major financial holding company in Asia, which will see both parties explore fintech innovation.

What is SinoPac?

SinoPac Financial Holdings Company Ltd., is a bank company created in 1992 by Samuel Yin and Paul L. who offer financial services with a solid business network and a highly innovative product portfolio.

What is IOTA?

IOTA is a non-profit foundation based in Germany and launched in June 2016, its main objective is to improve the adoption of the protocol with a view to making it a standard.

Currently this association is formed by: David Sonstebo (founder of IOTA), Dominik Schiener, Serguei Popov (Mthcl), Sergey Ivancheglo (Come-from-Beyond), Gianluigi Popov.

Cooperation of IOTA and SinoPac

In a blog post released on Friday, IOTA announced that both parties signed a MoU to innovate using Tangle technology. Holger Kother, Head of Partnership at IOTA Foundation IOTA noted that an effective MoU will soon position both parties as innovation leaders in the sector.

Taiwan-based SinoPac as a major financial player in the Asia Pacific region is one of the companies that has explored ways to improve its service offerings. It uses Tangle technology developed by IOTA to develop its products, iCertificate and hope to explore further as well as other distributed ledger technology (DLTs).

iCertificate can be used both in the private and public sectors to ensure data security, this is achieved through IATA and special hash encryption. Tina Chiang, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Digital & Technology Officer for SinoPac described the importance of iCertificate. He says:

"ICertificate is a notary service that is always required in digital certification applications, not only in education or public utilities but in the trade and supply chain industries."

Wilfried Pimenta de Miranda, Head of Business Development at IOTA said that IOTA is delighted to see SinoPac bring their notary certification platform to the next level. He continues:

"This not only demonstrates the potential of IOTA to use Tangles in a wide range of enterprise products and services, but also demonstrates the increasing practical and real world usage of distributed technology in the financial sector."

IOTA has many strategic partnerships including agreements with Volkswagen, and more recently, Nordic Semiconductors are continuing to innovate in the field of Internet of Things (IoT)@BPI

Lessons Learnt and Questions Raised from the EOS Mainnet Launch

EOS Mainnet Launch. The highly anticipated EOS project has made headlines in blockchain media in the last few weeks. The coverage, however, has not always been favorable with EOS being plagued by a number of challenges, both before and after the launch of its mainnet

EOS is a blockchain-based operating system that has been developed by software company Block.One. The company is composed of notable names within the cryptocurrency space including Dan Larimer, the creator of Bitshares and Steemit, who also invented the Delegated Proof-Of-Stake consensus algorithm.

Due to its accomplished team and its promise of a highly scalable blockchain platform through which developers can build decentralized applications, its year-long token sale managed to amass over four billion dollars. This is the largest amount ever raised via an ICO and signaled a significant amount of interest and faith in the project.

Where does the money go?

The large amount of funds raised for the EOS project raises concerns over the validity of ICOs as a fundraising method. ICOs are the most common method of raising capital within the cryptocurrency space but they have come under criticism recently due to several shortcomings.

Reports estimate that about ten percent of funds raised in ICOs are lost through theft or hacking. Additionally, there is the fact that many projects hold an ICO without a product.— EOS was one of these. Moreover, Block.One was fairly vague with its plans for the money rais

Last Week Tonight - no laughing matter for EOS co-founder Brock Pierce

These concerns reached a fever pitch, eventually gaining mainstream recognition with popular TV host John Oliver referencing the project in amonologue on Last Week Tonight about the dangers of investing in crypto projects that are yet to create a minimum viable product (MVP). The EOS team issued a tongue-in-cheek response to Oliver, which was worded to agree with the safety-promoting essence of the TV hosts’ sentiment.

However, they did ensure to explain why they are a safe bet for investors. The reasons included a change in Block.One leadership (co-founder Brock Pierce left after the John Oliver segment ) as well as the utmost focus on security.

Security flaws

Only two days before its scheduled mainnet launch, a Chinese infosec company reported it had found a number of vulnerabilities in the EOS software. In a report released on May 29, Chinese cybersecurity company Qihoo 360 explained how bugs could be exploited to serious consequences for the EOS ecosystem. These included the creation of new tokens, theft of existing tokens as well as a total system takeover. Additionally, 360 stated it had revealed these bugs to the EOS team, which had then allegedly committed to postponing the release of the mainnet until the issues were resolved.

Following media coverage of the report, the EOS team clarified their position stating: “Media has incorrectly reported a potential delay in the release of EOSIO V1 due to software vulnerabilities. Our team has already fixed most and is hard at work with the remaining ones. EOSIO V1 is on schedule; please stay tuned to our EOSIO channels for official information.”

This announcement did little to allay fears with an additional blow coming when EOS announced its bug bounty program on May 31. The timing of the announcement worried a section of the cryptocurrency space and was seen as a last-ditch effort by some.

Additionally, Larimer had tweeted a $10,000 reward for any bugs found in the code. Seeing as vulnerabilities in the software of a project like EOS is likely to result in losses greater than this amount, this raised questions as to how motivated developers will be to participate in a program like this. While many will still participate in such programs, these are valid concerns for the incentivization mechanism for bug hunters in an open-source economy.

Lastly, the fact that hackers were able to gain access to a Block.ONE email client and use it to distribute a fake email that resulted in the theft of users’ money through misdirected funds further highlights the importance of security in the cryptocurrency space.

Governance in a decentralized community

One of the most discussed aspects of the EOS launch was its governance structure. The project was designed in such a way that all decisions were to be governed by its constitution. Concerns have ranged from the wording and ambiguity of the document as well as a lack of adherence to the protocols contained therein.

For instance, one clause states that no member can control more than 10 percent of the token supply. Due to the fact that Block.One holds about ten percent of the EOS token, this is seen as an attempt to assert undue control over the project. Additionally, there are concerns about how much power block producers have over the blockchain. As evidenced in leaked minutes, the block producers have an immense amount of influence, going as far as to create new tokens. There was a public outcry over this state of affairs.

While decentralization is an important aspect of the free economy that Block.One claims to support, as well as the cryptocurrency space in general, the governance structure that the project is aiming to have raises questions about how governance works in a decentralized economy. Larimer explains that while the structure is likely to have growing pains, in the beginning, the end goal is “over time the community will formalize arbitration processes, constitutional amendments, division of power, and limitations of liability. In the meantime, the community is using the tools it has today to enforce its contracts and combat the blatant fraud & theft so prevalent in the cryptocurrency industry.”

Why is a mainnet transition so hard?

EOS is not the only project that has faced challenges in the buildup to and after its mainnet launch. This can be attributed to the to the fact that blockchain technology is still in its infant stage. As Qihoo 360 stated, due to the age of the industry, many vulnerabilities are likely to be revealed in this current epoch. While this may be a concerning development, it is better in the long run.

Moreover, the potential that the cryptocurrency space and the technologies surrounding it carries lend themselves to a significant amount of over-enthusiasm and speculation, which can be witnessed by EOS’ current valuation. This creates a scenario where it is easy to over promise and under deliver. While the technology is revolutionary, it is important to note that there are many moving parts that can affect how a project performs and that growing pains will be an inevitable part of every new blockchain venture.