Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Ars Technica) When hackers corral infected computers into a botnet, they take special care to ensure they don’t lose control of the server that sends commands and updates to the compromised devices. The precautions are designed to thwart security defenders who routinely dismantle botnets by taking over the command-and-control server […]
Enlarge Bitcoin’s price soared past $56,000 on Friday, pushing the combined value of all bitcoins past the $1 trillion mark—at least in theory. That’s more than the market capitalization of Facebook, though Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft are worth more. Bitcoin’s value has almost doubled from $29,000 since the start of the year. I say […]
In all the excitement of the latest cryptocurrency bull run—Tesla buying Bitcoin, Ethereum hitting all-time highs, Snoop Doge—it’s easy to overlook what makes the technology underpinning all this newfound loot so exciting. Mostly people just want to talk about the big price movements. And space shuttle cartoons. (Not that I’m against price talk.Wheee!) But real […]
If you have even a passing familiarity with Silicon Valley or cryptocurrency, you’ve likely heard of Andreessen Horowitz, one of tech’s highest-profile venture capital firms. The firm, which tech insiders call a16z, is famous in part because of its investments—Facebook, Coinbase and other familiar names—but also because of its mastery at charming (and manipulating) the […]
If you have even a passing familiarity with Silicon Valley or cryptocurrency, you’ve likely heard of Andreessen Horowitz, one of tech’s highest-profile venture capital firms. The firm, which tech insiders call a16z, is famous in part because of its investments—Facebook, Coinbase and other familiar names—but also because of its mastery at charming (and manipulating) the […]
This is the web version of The Ledger, Fortune’s weekly newsletter covering financial technology and cryptocurrency. Sign up here to get it free in your inbox. Two hours after officially cancelling his $5.3 billion deal with Visa, Zach Perret doesn’t sound like a guy who just walked away from a lifechanging transaction (and accompanying amount […]
(credit: fdecomite) The world’s cryptocurrency is now worth more than $1 trillion, with bitcoin accounting for a large majority of the value. The price of the oldest virtual currency has risen to almost $40,000, pushing the value of all bitcoins in circulation up to more than $700 billion. Ether, the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, […]
Vaccinating the global population against COVID-19 is one of the most immense distribution and logistical challenges humanity has ever faced. Some are hoping that artificial intelligence and blockchain technology can help with the task. “This is about trying to solve the biggest data puzzle of our lifetime,” Jason Kelley, who heads blockchain services for IBM. […]
Good morning, and welcome back! That’s assuming, of course, that you’re among those lucky enough to have had an actual winter break, a moment of rest as we left behind the most trying year in living memory. That wasn’t the case for many of our readers, however, thanks to an 11th-hour regulatory push by the […]
It’s been a breakout year for Bitcoin. In 2020 a wave of interest from mainstream investors and institutions helped push the price of the virtual currency from $7,200 in January to above $29,000 on December 31 (and then on past $32,700 by early January). But the innovative digital asset, maintained by a decentralized swarm of […]