Top Crypto Stories for October 7, 2017

Ethereum Developers Optimistic Ahead of Byzantium Blockchain Fork

In a Google Hangout session yesterday, Ethereum developers expressed renewed support for the upcoming Byzantium hard fork in the Ethereum blockchain. This update includes both performance and security improvements to the network, and a number of clients have already implemented support for the changes, including Geth (Go Ethereum), the most popular client. There are still some hurdles to jump, but the overall outlook remains positive.

Cryptoruble? Russia Eyes Creation of New National Cryptocurrency

The Russian government is looking into creating a centralized digital currency, much to the delight of the country's central bankers. Officials believe that a new digital currency – which it can control centrally – would help facilitate non-cash transactions and electronic payments. Existing decentralized cryptocurrencies are not viable, the Russians claim, because of its potential use for criminal activities. Because if there's one thing we know for certain, no government-controlled currency could ever be used nefariously…

How Blockchain Technology Could Change Online Reviews

From TripAdvisor to Rotten Tomatoes to Goodreads – not to mention product reviews on retail sites like Amazon – the online review space is growing faster than ever. However, with this growth comes an increase in fake reviews that try to manipulate consumers into purchasing possibly inferior goods. A new Ethereum-based startup, Revain, is hoping to change that offering a platform that allows verifiable reviews that cannot be changed or deleted later. After a $9 million ICO last month, the company started trading its RVN tokens on the Mercatox exchange late last week.

Password Strategies: The Good, The Bad, and The World’s Worst

Need a good password strategy for your growing number of cryptocurrency wallets? This post from Alyson at the Blockchain Blog offers some tips on what to do – and what not to do. Also, a list of the worst passwords from the last year; hopefully yours isn't on it!

Hijacking Computers to Mine Cryptocurrency Is All the Rage

There's profit in mining digital currencies, especially when you're not paying for the hardware (or the power its using) to men them. This article details some recent attempts to use the processors of unsuspecting visitors to various websites as a distributed mining network. Hack-miners seem to favor newer coins, because they offer more potential upside.

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