The cryptocurrency community is abuzz about what could prove to be a landmark event in the burgeoning digital currency world: a major upgrade dubbed "the Merge" of the ethereum blockchain. Crypto enthusiasts say the Merge will greatly reduce the environmental impact ofcryptocurrency miningand more broadly enhance its utility as a way to conduct financial transactions. among other uses.

But what exactly is the Merge, and how it could change the future of crypto?

Ethereum, which was launched by Canadian computer programmer Vitalik Buterinin 2015, is a blockchain (or a digital ledger) used when cryptocurrency investors buy ether. It's one of the world's most used blockchains, second only to the bitcoin network. There are more than 71 million crypto wallets on the ethereum blockchain today, according to the Ethereum Foundation, a group of developers who now oversee the blockchain.

Think of the Merge as the next generation, or 2.0 version, ofethereum. After nearly two years thinking about and testing a new way of conducting transactions, ethereum developers say it's finally ready for prime time. Put simply, the Merge aims to reduce the number of people and computers it takes to add another data block to the ethereum network.

The change is called the Merge because, as of now, there are several ways to create a new data block. Developers plan to combine those existing methods into a single process they say is both more secure and eco-friendly.

The exact timing for the Merge is unclear, but developers said they're giving themselves a September 19 deadline to apply the finishing touches. In August, they said they would start rolling out the Merge on September 6 and finish everything between September 10 and September 20, Coindesk reported.

The Merge is happening now because ethereum is mature enough to handle financial payments, store non-fungible tokens, trade crypto and host smart contracts, said blockchain expert Merav Ozair. But streamlining the process to add data to the blockchain could make those and other transactions much faster, according to developers.

Ethereum can carry out 15 transactions per second in its current form, said Ozair, founder of startup company Blockchain Intelligence. But if the Merge is successful, the blockchain could eventually handle up to 100,000 transactions per second "way above and beyond what Visa and Mastercard can do," she said.

In a blockchain network, transactions aren't verified by a bank, credit card company or other third party. Rather, it relies on a network of computerscompeting to solve complex problems in exchange for tokens. It takes thousands of computers to verify transactions on the ethereum blockchain, a process known as "proof of work."

All of those powerful server computers chugging away together require vast amounts of power. The ethereum blockchain uses about 112 terawatt-hours of electricity a year roughly the same amount of energy used to power the Netherlands. That level of energy consumption releases about 53 metric tons of harmful carbon emissions into the environment annually, the same amount Singapore produces in a year.

The Merge replaces the proof-of-work system with an alternative approach called "proof of stake." In that system, cryptocurrency owners known as "validators" verify transactions and record them on a new block. Because proof of stake involves fewer people using their computers to verify transactions, fewer terawatt-hours are burned.

Using proof-of-stake, the Merge is projected to reduce ethereum blockchain's energy consumption by 99.9%, developers said.

Quite possibly. Since December 2020, ethereum developers have been running essentially two different versions of the blockchain at the same time. The Beacon version was used so they could test the proof-of-stake system, while the Mainnet version carried on with business as usual using proof of work. But having both versions running gave hackers twice as many entry points to potentially attack ethereum.

After the Merge, the Mainnet version will disappear and financial transactions will only live on Beacon. Deleting one version of the chain, combined with having a small pool of validators, will reduce the odds of a hacker harming the blockchain, developers said.

It's important to note that these changes have not yet proven to make accounts safer because they haven't been tested on a wide enough scale. Ethereum developers have posted a warning on the foundation's website, explaining the way hackers may try to scam users for the digital currency.

Moving to a proof-of-stake system will likely create haves and have-nots among the validators and everyone else who uses ethereum, said Bryan Daugherty, the global public policy director for BSV Blockchain Association.

That's because, to become a validator on ethereum, someone must invest at least 32 ether roughly $52,000 and agree to keep those tokens stashed away in a separate account. Under those rules, anyone who doesn't have that much cryptocurrency can't serve to validate ethereum transactions, Daugherty said.

"The way I look at this is the plan now is to eliminate mining overall and award these coins to those with the biggest positions," he said.

Agreeing to stash away ether in exchange could come back to haunt the validators, too, especially if the price of ether falls dramatically and someone wants to sell, Daugherty said.

"You're forcing people to lock up your coins," he said. "That seems major red-flaggy to me."

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Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports.

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Why "the Merge" could change the future of cryptocurrency - CBS News

The Cryptocurrency market is up by $1.13 trillion today and witnessed a 1.1 per cent change in the last 24 hours. The total crypto market volume is $79.36 billion in the previous 24 hours.

The bitcoin price is Rs 1,764,051, while Ethereum is Rs 139,242. So, here we have listed the prices of renowned cryptocurrencies based on their market capitalization, cost and growth.

So, here are the prices of the top cryptocurrencies you should consider before making your next trade.

Also, read | Bitcoin is seen poised to escape from tightest trading range in two years

Prices of the top cryptocurrencies based on market capitalization

Ethereum (ETH)

Tether (USDT)

Rs 79.51

USD coin (USDC)

Rs 79.60

BNB (BNB)

Rs 23,537.29

How is cryptocurrency price calculated?

The price of the Cryptocurrency is calculated using the global volume-weight average price formula based on which the pairing is available on the different exchanges of a particular crypto asset.

Why do crypto prices differ from exchange-to-exchange?

You can observe that cryptocurrencies on different exchanges have different prices. Though there can be several reasons, we can mention some of the most common economic conditions that affect costs, such as liquidity, the ratio of derivatives by leverage and trading pairs.

What is a 24h volume?

The 24h trading volume accounts for the amount of a cryptocurrency bought and sold across all exchanges within the last 24 hours. For instance, if the 24h volume of Ethereum is Rs 1.1 trillion, it implies that Rs 1.1 trillion worth of Ether has been sold and bought in the last 24 hours.

(Written by Zuhair Zaidi)

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Cryptocurrency and bitcoin price on 12 Sept: BTC grows over 2%s - Business Standard

As part of our series looking at the potential impact of recent cases on the future decisions of the Cayman Islands and the BVI Courts relating to crypto assets, we consider the recent English decision of Tulip Trading Limited v Bitcoin Association for BSV and others [2022] EWHC 141 (Ch), and specifically whether cryptocurrency is likely to be accepted by the Courts as a form of security.

The claimant in Tulip Trading requested that the form of security it be required to provide be cryptocurrency in circumstances where providing cash would be onerous for the claimant. The claimant proposed that it transfer this cryptocurrency to its legal counsel including an additional 10% buffer to account for the potential change in the price of the cryptocurrency between the time it was transferred and when it may be required to settle the defendant's legal costs. The cryptocurrency offered by the claimant was Bitcoin Satoshi Vision or Bitcoin Core. Notwithstanding the 10% buffer offered by the claimant, the Court did not consider this would constitute a form of security equal to a payment into court in the light of:

In line with the local case law on alternative forms of security for costs (such as guarantees or charges over real estate), we anticipate that the Courts in the Cayman Islands and the BVI will always be concerned to ensure that where the plaintiff requests that something other than a payment of cash into Court is accepted as security, such alternative form of security can properly be regarded as the equivalent of a payment into Court. Therefore, it seems likely that the BVI and Cayman Islands Courts will follow this decision and refuse to order that cryptocurrency be awarded as an alternative form of security for costs, particularly given both the volatility of this asset class when compared to cash and potential issues with enforcement.

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Is cryptocurrency likely to be accepted by the Cayman Islands and BVI Courts as a form of security? - JD Supra

Over $14 billion in cryptocurrency was lost to cybercrimes in 2021, followed by billions more this year. These staggering losses underscore the need to understand and stay ahead of security threats and legal risks facing the crypto industry.

As blockchain technologies reduce friction for decentralizing financial infrastructure and other novel use cases, they also present an attractive target for threat actors that exploit the evolving industrys nascent security controls.

Private Key Theft. Many crypto holders store their own keys in hot (software) wallets or cold (physical hardware) wallets. Whoever holds the private keys controls the crypto asset. The security of the keys is only as good as the security of the person or entity holding them.

Blockchain immutability makes on-chain transactions irreversible, in contrast to transactions in the traditional financial system, which rely on financial institution intermediaries that can freeze funds and reverse transactions.

Even where a third-party exchange keeps custody of keys on users behalf, hackers have penetrated systems to haul away funds. This March, for instance, hackers compromised private keys associated with the Axie Infinity crypto game and stole more than $600 million in crypto. The US Treasury Department linked the attack to North Koreas state-sponsored Lazarus Group and listed the wallet address used to steal funds in its Specially Designated Nationals List.

Software Exploitation. Traditional banks are no strangers to software exploits. Now, hackers are turning to crypto. Many crypto hacks in the last year took advantage of vulnerabilities in the code used to process smart contracts or underlying crypto software.

In the Poly Network attack, for example, a hacker exploited a smart contract vulnerability that allowed them to change administrative permissions for executing blockchain transactions, allowing theft of hundreds of millions of crypto assets.

Scams and Fraud. Scammers have defrauded tens of thousands of consumers to the tune of more than $1 billion in crypto since 2021, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Such scams offer fake investment opportunities, prey on those seeking romance, or involve impersonation of legitimate businesses. Rug pulls are another scam where a creator will sell tokens, collect funds, promise a future launch, but then abscond with the funds.

Regulatory Scrutiny. Regulatory actions following software vulnerabilities have been brought with some frequency outside of the crypto industry.

Equifax, for example, settled with the FTC, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and 50 state attorneys general for more than $500 million for failure to resolve software vulnerability issues.

Regulators are now setting their sights on the crypto industrys cybersecurity controls. President Joe Bidens March 2022 crypto executive order directsthe government to prioritiz[e] ... security [and] combat[] illicit exploitation of digital assets.

The FTC is monitoring crypto scams, foreshadowing potentially forthcoming enforcement actions. New Yorks Department of Financial Services recently emphasized that cybersecurity controls expected of traditional financial institutions apply to crypto businesses under DFS jurisdiction.

In August, the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the Tornado Cash mixer, allegedly used to launder $7 billion from crypto hacks, after sanctioning Blender.io earlier this year. These OFAC actions create compliance challenges for entities that may have interacted with the sanctioned blockchain addresses or platforms.

Law Enforcement Prioritization. DOJs efforts in crypto this year already resulted in its largest-ever financial seizure$3.6 billion in crypto linked to a 2016 hack of the Bitfinex virtual currency exchange.

On June 30, the DOJ also announced charges against six defendants allegedly involved in an NFT rug-pull scam, and a fraudulent initial coin offering. The FBI, on the same day, added the Cryptoqueen to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list based on an alleged $4 billion fraud scheme involving OneCoin.

In light of the regulatory and law enforcement focus, organizations would be prudent to develop policies and procedures for incident investigation, remediation, and response.

Scoping out risks and documenting a response plan can prepare an organization to act quickly and efficiently when an incident occurs. The $600 million Axie Infinity hack illustrates the benefits of optimizing detection and response, as the six days that passed before the attack was uncovered resulted in additional losses.

Due to challenges tracing transactions, law enforcement cooperation can pay dividends as well. Following victim cooperation, DOJ and the FBI have recovered funds transacted through blockchains in the ransomware context.

Private sector cooperation can help, too. Several vendor-built and community-driven tools exist for reporting hacks and malicious crypto attacks, and private sector efforts have led to successful law enforcement action against criminal hackers.

Civil Litigation Claims. Security incidents expose crypto platforms to litigation risk as well. Litigants have alleged that crypto exchanges were negligent in not preventing unauthorized account transactions or in identifying criminal proceeds that malicious actors were allegedly moving through an exchange.

Even traditional companies face litigation risk following cryptocurrency hacks.

Two major cellular providers, for instance, faced cases alleging that their purported negligence resulted in SIM-swap attacks that stole millions in crypto.

Hackers are reaping billions of dollars in profits by attacking crypto organizations.

Regulators have long focused on enforcement against companies with inadequate cybersecurity protections, and are poised to bring such actions in the cryptocurrency context.

Given the wide-ranging threats, crypto organizations should focus on establishing a foundation of strong cybersecurity processes and innovations.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

Write for Us: Author Guidelines

Alex Iftimie is partner and co-chair of Morrison Foersters Global Risk + Crisis Management practice group. He is a former Department of Justice national security official. He is based in San Francisco.

Michael Burshteyn is an attorney at Morrison Foerster in San Francisco. He is outside counsel to crypto companies, litigates crypto and data security disputes, and previously founded a cyber-security startup.

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Staying Ahead of Cryptocurrency Hacks and Legal Risks - Bloomberg Law

The stock market has been on a downhill slide this year, and crypto prices have also taken a tumble.

While that can be discouraging for investors, there is a silver lining: It's one of the most affordable times to buy. Most cryptocurrencies are priced at a steep discount compared to their peaks late last year, and if you've been on the fence about investing, now may be a smart time to dive in.

Choosing the right investment is critical, however. While everyone's investing preferences will be different, there's one cryptocurrency I'm loading up on in September: Ethereum (ETH -0.61%).

Ethereum has long been one of the strongest players in the crypto space, but its upcoming update, "The Merge," has many investors feeling even more optimistic.

The Merge will move Ethereum from a proof-of-work (PoW) mining protocol to proof of stake (PoS). This is an enormous undertaking, and it will reduce Ethereum's energy usage by roughly 99%.

Not only will this update help Ethereum better compete with smaller networks like Cardano and Solana (which already use a PoS protocol), but it will also set the stage for future updates to improve Ethereum's speed and transaction costs.

The Merge is already underway, with developers kicking off the first step of the update, Bellatrix, on Sept. 6. It's unclear exactly how long it will take to complete, but it's expected to finish sometime between Sept. 13-16. Once The Merge is fully rolled out, it will be the start of a new chapter for Ethereum.

Ethereum has plenty of advantages. It's the most popular network for decentralized applications (dApps) such as non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects. It's also the second- most popular cryptocurrency, with a market cap of more than $200 billion.

The Merge is a step in the right direction, but Ethereum will still face challenges. For one, this update won't solve Ethereum's most pressing issues -- namely its sluggish transaction times and high gas fees.

There is another update in the works to solve these problems, but it's not expected to happen until 2023 or 2024. While that upgrade could take Ethereum to new heights, one to two years is a long time for competitors to catch up and gain market share.

With many users and developers already frustrated by Ethereum's drawbacks, it's uncertain how much longer investors will be able to tolerate the network's slow speeds and high costs before moving to a competitor.

Whether the rewards outweigh the risks will depend largely on your personal investing preferences. Like all cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is a risky investment, and there are no guarantees that it will succeed over the long term.

Before you buy, consider how much risk you're able to tolerate, as well as how long you're willing to hold your investment. Ethereum is a long-term investment, and it will take years for it to reach its full potential. If you're willing to stick it out through the inevitable periods of volatility, it could pay off big time.

There's not necessarily a right or wrong answer as to where you should invest. Ethereum isn't perfect, but it remains one of the strongest cryptocurrencies in the field. If you believe in its long-term potential, it could be a fantastic buy right now.

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Here's My Top Cryptocurrency to Buy in September - The Motley Fool

Louisiana Tech Universitys College of Education (COE) and College of Business (COB) will join forces to present Cryptocurrency: The Meth of Money as part of the COEs new lecture series, Living with Technology. The lecture will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 3 p.m. in University Hall on Techs campus. Sponsored by Jeanette and Justin Hinckley, the event is free and open to the public.

The lecture will feature a panel of finance and economics faculty including Dr. William McCumber, associate dean of graduate programs and research, Dr. Patrick Scott, associate professor of economics, and Dr. Nono Gueye, assistant professor of economics. Discussion will center on cryptocurrency, its volatility, and how the underlying technology of blockchains is useful in other applications.

The topics of digital finance and digital currency are prominent examples of how our ever-increasing interactions with technology impact our daily lives in a multitude of ways, said Dr. Don Schillinger, dean of the College of Education. As active leaders and participants in society, it is essential that all of us are aware of and become knowledgeable about these innovative, purposeful, and sometimes disruptive technology related phenomena.

The COE will partner with Louisiana Techs other academic colleges to host additional Living with Technology lectures over the course of the year. Each will focus on an aspect of technologys impact on everyday life.

We are honored to partner with the College of Education for the first in their new lecture series, particularly because of its focus on technology, said Dr. Chris Martin, dean of the College of Business. Technology has transformed the way we work, live, and teach, and in the College of Business, it is integrated into every aspect of our curriculum. I know both students and the community will enjoy learning from Drs. McCumber, Scott, and Gueye.

For more information about the lecture series, contact Director of Development Rosilynn Gillum at 318.257.2296 or rgillum@latechalumni.org.

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First 'Living with Technology' Lecture to Focus on Cryptocurrency - News at Louisiana Tech