Understanding Stablecoin Technology and Related Security Considerations
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a technical paper on the ways in which stablecoins are architected and implemented. This includes a descriptive definition, commonly found properties, and distinguishing characteristics, as well as an exploration of stablecoin taxonomies, descriptions of the most common types, and examples from a list of top stablecoins by market capitalization. This document also explores related security, safety, and trust issues with an analysis conducted from a computer science and information technology security perspective as opposed to the financial analysis and economics focus of much of the stablecoin literature. [Read more at NIST]
Hackers Feast on Crypto Weak Link and Even Binance Isn’t Spared
“There’s a gaping hole in the crypto industry’s security architecture, and even the most deep-pocked players haven’t figured out how to plug it. The weakness in question is what’s known in industry parlance as cross-chain bridges — software that allows crypto tokens to move between different blockchains. On October 6, 2022, a hacker made off with about $100 million via a bridge used by Binance… Chainalysis estimates that $2 billion worth of tokens have been looted from 13 separate attacks, the majority of which was stolen this year.” [Read more at Bloomberg]
Global VC Pullback Is Dramatic In Q3 2022
“Venture and growth investors in private companies scaled back their investment pace significantly as the slump in the public markets stretched into the third quarter. Venture funding for the third quarter of 2022 totaled $81 billion, down by $90 billion (53%) year over year and by $40 billion (33%) quarter over quarter, according to a Crunchbase News analysis. While funding for the most recent quarter will increase a little in the coming months as stealth fundings are announced, this is a huge drop in funding compared to prior quarters.” [Read more at Crunchbase]
Kiffmeister’s Global Central Bank Digital Currency Monthly Monitor
Just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So for any of you out there who work for a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution who would like to receive it by email on the first business day of every month, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at chronicles@kiffmeister.com.