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A former Amazon software engineer Shakeeb Ahmed was sentenced to three years in prison for exploiting smart contracts.

The breaches in 2022 resulted in the theft of over $12 million in different cryptocurrencies. The trial was the first-eversentencingfor a cyberattack on smart contracts.

Ahmedadmittedin December 2023 to manipulating smart contracts. By inserting fraudulent pricing data into the platforms contracts, the engineer generated approximately $12 million in unearned profits, which he subsequently withdrew as cryptocurrency.

While the prosecutors chose not to disclose one of the affected platforms, evidence in the indictment suggests it wasCrema Finance. The other platform involved was Nirvana Finance, which ceased operations following the hack in July 2022.

Before the incident, Ahmed had led Amazons bug bounty program, where he identified and fixed security loopholes in its software. The prosecution, highlighting the novelty of this case involving smart contracthacking, had recommended a four-year prison term.

They acknowledged Ahmeds cooperation and his restitution of the majority of the stolen funds but emphasized the need for his imprisonment to serve as a deterrent and underscore the gravity of his offenses.

On the other hand, Ahmeds defense argued for probation instead of prison time, citing his compromised mental health during the time of the hacks and the fact that the stolen funds were largely untouched except for covering a relatives medical expenses. Ahmed, originally from Saudi Arabia, had his legal team plea for leniency based on the following factors.

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Ex-Amazon engineer sentenced to 3 years in prison for $12m crypto hack - crypto.news

In the dynamic landscape of financial technology, smart contracts emerge as a transformative force. These self-executing contracts, with terms directly coded into the agreement, have the potential to revolutionize how we initiate and enforce contracts.

Smart contracts, at their core, are programs operating on a blockchain network. They automatically execute, control, or document legally relevant events and actions according to contract terms.

In a decentralized environment, smart contracts operate autonomously, free from control by any single entity, and without the need for intermediaries.

Trust and Transparency: Since they are based on blockchain technology, smart contracts provide a transparent system where all parties can view the terms and the execution of the contract.

Security: Theimmutable nature of blockchain ensures that once a contract is created, it cannot be altered, thereby reducing the risk of fraud.

Efficiency: Smart contracts eliminate the need for intermediaries, which can significantly reduce transaction times and costs.

Accuracy: Automated contracts reduce the risk of human error, which is common in traditional contract law.

In finance, smart contracts find various applications. They automate insurance claims processing, manage bonds, execute derivatives, and streamline real estate transactions.

Bonds: Smart contracts can issue and manage bonds, automating interest payments and principal repayment.

Derivatives: Smart contracts execute complex financial instruments like options and swaps, ensuring terms are met without dispute.

Real Estate: They can streamline property sales by automating the transfer of deeds and funds.

Despite their potential, smart contracts face several challenges:

Legal Recognition: The legal status of smart contracts is still under debate in many jurisdictions.

Technical Standards: Standardization is needed in how smart contracts are written and executed.:

Interoperability: Smart contracts must be able to interact with different blockchain networks and traditional systems. Despite their potential, smart contracts face challenges. Legal recognition, technical standards, and interoperability are key issues to address. However, ongoing developments in blockchain technology and legal clarity promise a bright future for smart contracts.

In conclusion, smart contracts represent a significant innovation in finance, promising more secure, efficient, and equitable financial agreements. As the fintech industry evolves, smart contracts are set to become integral to the financial transactions of the future.

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How Are Smart Contracts Transforming Financial Transactions? - IT News Africa

Blockchains empower transparency and innovation, but securing smart contracts within this ecosystem remains crucial. Verifying code for vulnerabilities is essential to ensure user trust, compliance, and the overall health of the blockchain ecosystem. Recognizing this critical need, Blockscout and SolidityScan by CredShield have announced a groundbreaking collaboration to elevate smart contract security.

Blockscout serves as a user-friendly platform for anyone to deploy, verify, and interact with smart contracts across various blockchains. This ease of use fosters the core principles of Web3 transparency and inclusivity. However, unvetted code can introduce security risks, such as vulnerabilities, exploitable code, or even malicious attempts to steal funds.

Statistics reveal a significant number of deployed contracts remain unaudited, leaving them susceptible to potential exploits. SolidityScan, a tool developed byCredShields, tackles this challenge by providing a free, AI-powered tool scanner for smart contracts. This tool analyzes code and identifies common vulnerabilities, raising awareness of potential risks for users.

Smart Contract Security Score in real-time

SolidityScanis an automated security tool for your smart contracts. It scans the code for vulnerabilities and weaknesses, using over 160+ vulnerability patterns to identify potential risks. This translates to a security score, displayed as a shield icon within Blockscout for verified contracts, where a higher score indicates a lower risk profile.

Clicking the shield dives deeper, providing a comprehensive report with the vulnerability count & criticality levels. This report also analyzes individual functions, upgradeability features, and ownership structure, and even assigns an overall threat score.

SolidityScan: A Web3 Developers Essential Tool

SolidityScan integrates seamlessly with Blockscout, empowering developers to identify and rectify potential security issues early in the development cycle. Contracts can be deployed on various testnets supported by SolidityScan, allowing developers to pinpoint and address vulnerabilities before a contract goes live on the mainnet. SolidityScan offers comprehensive support for major blockchain mainnets and testnets, including Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Arbitrum,Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon, Base, Gnosis,Neon,Rootstock,zkSync,Fuse,Shimmer,Lightlink,Shibarium,and many more.

Conclusion: A Collaborative Approach to a Secure Future

SolidityScan offers a beneficialfree scannerfor enabling continuous security for Solidity developers, but it should not be regarded as a replacement for a comprehensive manual security audit. For comprehensive end-to-end security assurance, CredShields, the parent organization behind SolidityScan, provides a wide range of services and has conducted over 150security audits.

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Enhancing Smart Contract Security With SolidityScan and Blockscout Integration - Business

The year 2024 is witnessing a surge in the exploration and implementation of blockchain in the real world. Blockchain is not an idea anymore, already many industries are altered by blockchain and it is changing the future of many industries. In this article, lets look into 15 use cases of blockchain that are making headlines and showing off the many different uses of blockchain.

In the automotive industry, blockchain is revolutionizing supply chain management.

In philanthropy, blockchain makes donations more transparent and accountable, ensuring that they are used as they were intended.

By lowering fraud, improving remote voting safety, and ensuring election integrity the political processes are enhanced by the blockchain.

Using blockchain technology, the DeFi sector challenges the established financial system by offering decentralized lending, investing, and financing options that make money more accessible to everybody.

The storage, verification, and sharing of academic credentials and accomplishments are being revolutionized by blockchain technology.

Blockchain minimizes the danger to consumer health and eliminates waste in food safety events by swiftly locating and removing the source of contamination.

Blockchain is improving healthcare systems and patient outcomes by protecting confidential information, facilitating efficient data flow, and enhancing the accuracy of medical records.

Blockchain creates immutable digital identities that give users control over their information and permission to share.

Blockchains smart contracts can also automate royalty payments. This means creators will be compensated fairly and ownership conflicts will be reduced, creating a more vibrant creative economy.

Blockchain allows for new ways of consuming content, allowing for closer, personalized connections between creators and consumers.

Blockchain enables people with renewable energy systems to sell excess power directly to end-users, bypassing traditional power networks.

In real estate, blockchain promises to streamline and protect real estate transactions with a transparent, unchangeable property record ledger (PRL).

Blockchain adds value to brick-and-mortar and e-commerce by enabling token-based loyalty schemes and transparent product traceability that verifies authenticity and ethical sourcing.

To streamline sales processes in real estate smart contracts through blockchain are enabled. Through initiating payments or transactions after acquiring the commodities, efficiency in supply chains is leveraged by smart contracts.

Blockchain is revolutionizing supply chain management by providing transparency in supply chain management is allowed by blockchain. For every transaction and every product movement single and unchangeable record is allowed by blockchain.

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Top 15 Use Cases of Blockchain in the Real World, 2024 - Analytics Insight

In the dynamic world of digital currencies, Bitcoin (BTC) stands as a pioneering force, embodying the revolutionary idea of decentralized finance.

Since its inception, Bitcoin has not only paved the way for the cryptocurrency movement but has also maintained its position as the cornerstone of this ever-evolving sector. Despite its monumental success and widespread adoption, Bitcoins journey has encountered roadblocks, particularly when it comes to scalability and interoperability. These challenges have underscored the need for innovative solutions that can propel Bitcoin into the next era of digital finance without compromising its core principles.

Ethereum emerged as a formidable player in the cryptocurrency arena, introducing the world to smart contracts and thereby unlocking a new realm of possibilities for decentralized applications. Its success in fostering Layer 2 solutions highlighted the potential for scalability and efficiency, setting a new standard in the blockchain community. However, Bitcoins unique architectural design and its commitment to security and decentralization posed significant challenges in adopting similar advancements directly.

Enter exSat, a revolutionary Docking Layer designed to bridge the gap between Bitcoins foundational protocol and the cutting-edge world of Layer 2 scaling solutions. This innovation aims to enhance Bitcoins ecosystem by addressing its scalability and interoperability challenges head-on, ensuring that Bitcoin remains at the forefront of the digital currency revolution.

The Pressing Need for Scaling Bitcoin

Bitcoins secure and innovative architecture has been its hallmark, ensuring the integrity and reliability of its network. However, this architecture inherently limits its scalability and the execution of complex smart contracts, which have become increasingly important in the blockchain space. The reliance on off-chain solutions and intermediaries to address these limitations has introduced potential risks related to centralization and security, deviating from Bitcoins original vision of a decentralized financial system.

Moreover, the complexity of managing and enforcing state transitions on the Bitcoin blockchain has often led to compromised security and functionality. The fragmentation of asset formats across various scaling solutions further exacerbates these issues, hindering seamless interoperability and leading to the risk of liquidity dispersion. These challenges underscore the critical need for a groundbreaking solution that can enhance Bitcoins scalability and functionality without undermining its core values of security and decentralization.

exSat: Bridging Bitcoin with Layer 2 Innovations

exSat emerges as a beacon of innovation, offering a comprehensive Docking Layer that encapsulates a suite of protocols and mechanisms designed to extend Bitcoins data consensus. This platform facilitates a seamless flow of assets and information across diverse networks and Layer 2 scaling solutions, enhancing the Bitcoin ecosystems interoperability, scalability, and security.

Data Consensus Extension Protocol

At the heart of exSats innovation is the Data Consensus Extension Protocol, which employs a hybrid consensus mechanism combining Proof of Work (PoW), Proof of Stake (PoS), and Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS). This multifaceted approach ensures a secure and efficient extension of Bitcoins functionalities, enabling the synchronization of block data between Bitcoin miners and the exSat network. By leveraging EOS RAM, the protocol provides quick access and low-latency storage for decentralized state data indexing of Bitcoin ordinals and other ecosystem assets. This integration offers full Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, allowing developers to craft complex smart contracts with reduced gas fees, thereby significantly enhancing the Bitcoin ecosystems scalability and utility.

Decentralized State Data Indexing

A pivotal feature of exSat is its capability for decentralized state data indexing for native assets, enabling efficient querying and bolstering interoperability within the Bitcoin ecosystem. This advancement facilitates true on-chain decentralized trust, supporting smart contracts with EVM compatibility and ensuring a more versatile and robust Bitcoin network.

Smart Contract Platform Integration

By integrating a smart contract platform, exSat addresses one of Bitcoins most significant limitations, offering a scalable solution to enhance the Bitcoin ecosystems functionality. This platform is fully compatible with EVM, allowing Solidity developers to create and deploy smart contracts with higher performance and lower gas fees. It supports transactions involving BTC Ordinals, ETH, and stablecoins, and introduces ZK Rollups based on the EVM platform, further expanding Bitcoins capabilities and applications.

The Backbone of exSat: Synchronizers and Validators

The integrity and functionality of exSat are underpinned by a network of synchronizers and validators. Synchronizers, which include BTC miners and mining pools, are crucial for bridging the gap between Bitcoin and exSat, ensuring the accurate and timely transfer of data. Validators play a vital role in verifying this data and maintaining the networks security, incentivized by $XSAT staking to participate and safeguard the ecosystem. This innovative system of synchronizers and validators establishes a secure, decentralized network that is resilient against malicious activities, further reinforcing Bitcoins foundational principles.

A New Chapter for Bitcoin

The introduction of exSat and its Data Consensus Extension Protocol represents a significant milestone in the evolution of Bitcoin, offering a solution that marries the original vision of decentralization with the advanced functionalities of Layer 2 scaling solutions. This union not only enhances Bitcoins scalability and interoperability but also opens up a plethora of opportunities for smart contract applications and beyond.

As exSat pioneers this innovative pathway, it marks the beginning of a new chapter in Bitcoins story, one that embraces the strengths of traditional blockchain technology while exploring the vast potential of modern innovations. In this new era, Bitcoin continues to lead the charge in the digital currency space, evolving to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world and reinforcing its position as a foundational pillar of the decentralized financial ecosystem.

In conclusion, exSat stands as a testament to the power of innovation and collaboration in the blockchain industry, offering a forward-thinking solution that bridges the gap between Bitcoin and Layer 2 scaling solutions. By addressing the challenges of scalability and interoperability head-on, exSat not only enhances the Bitcoin ecosystem but also sets the stage for a future where the core principles of Bitcoin and the expansive capabilities of Layer 2 solutions converge harmoniously. This pioneering effort promises to propel Bitcoin into a new realm of possibility, ensuring its relevance and utility in the years to come.

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exSat Unveiled: Pioneering the Future of Bitcoin Scalability and Interoperability with Layer 2 Solutions - FinanceFeeds