The bitcoin hashing power marketplace, Nicehash, has launched custom software for ASIC miners optimized for its mining platform. The firmware is designed to help miners drive greater efficiency from ASIC devices and increase revenue. Nicehash CEO said the collaboration with Marathon will strengthen its market position and enable miners globally to attain unparalleled efficiency and […]
Bitcoin News
Marathon Introduces Custom Firmware and Control Board for Enhanced Bitcoin Mining Operations
This week, the publicly traded mining company Marathon Digital Holdings unveiled new firmware and a control board designed to enhance the efficiency of bitcoin mining rigs. Marathon revealed it has been developing this technology for about a year. Marathon Releases Custom Firmware and MARA UCB 2100 Control Board On March 25, 2024, Marathon (Nasdaq: MARA) […]
Bitcoin News
Will This Vulnerability Finally Compel Bitmain to Open Source Its Firmware
n nn nn As if Bitmains year hasnt been rough enough, having posted big losses and laying off entire departments, its flagship product now has a firmware vulnerability.A few weeks ago, Bitcoin Core contributor James Hilliard discovered an exploit in Bitmains S15 firmware. The pseudonymous Twitter user 00whiterabbit, also known simply as john, subsequently wrote exploit code based on Hilliards findings. A video proving that the exploit code worked was shared on Hill
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Bitmain S15 Firmware “Very Buggy”, Will This Claim Affect BTC Prices?
- Bitcoin prices bullish, road to ,800
- A Twitter user picks out a Bitmain S15 vulnerability
- Transactional volumes low, expansion above 35 k ideal
Although Bitmain is a central player in the ASIC mining sphere, their latest firmware S15 has a weakness, a Twitter user has revealed. Luckily, BTC prices are steady, and with a combination of favorable candlestick arrangements and fundamentals, Bitcoin may end up trending above ,800.
Bitcoin Price Analysis
Fundamentals
A Twitter user claims to have identified a possible vulnerability in Bitmain’s S15 firmware. However, he has his terms saying he will only point out the weakness once Bitmain submit and complies with GNL License.
@BITMAINtech tried and failed to lock down the S15 firmware, I identified the vulnerability and @00whiterabbit wrote/tested the attack code. Once @BITMAINtech complies with the GPL licenses for the firmware I will disclose the vulnerability to them so that they can fix it. pic.twitter.com/zwsAaPQjRL
— James Hilliard (@james_hilliard) February 12, 2019
The GNL License is a copyleft license that gives the end user the freedom to “share and change all versions of a program–to make sure it remains free software for all its users” according to the definition of the GNU Organization.
In a Reddit Post, James says Bitmain firmware is “very buggy.” He goes on to say it is essential for people to fix the bugs the Beijing based mining giant introduces in their latest S15 firmware. In high-performance mode, AntMiner S15 has a 28 TH/s hash rate with an energy consumption of 1596 W.
Candlestick Arrangements
Bitmain is the leading player in ASIC mining. Obviously, this undisclosed weakness is likely to trigger other problems and even affect sales. All the same, BTC prices are steady and likely to reverse losses of the last few days.
Notice that our previous BTC/USD trade plans are valid and as long as prices trend above ,400-500 zone—our immediate support zone, traders stand to profit once prices race above ,800. That is to say, the level as per our previous iteration is the first minor resistance level. Once prices breach this level, risk off traders can initiate long positions with modest targets at ,500.
From candlestick arrangement, this projection is highly likely to be validated. Firstly, aside from prices reversing from the 78.6 percent Fibonacci retracement level, there is a double bar bull reversal pattern complete with a wide range, high volume bar of Feb 8. Everything else constant, this is very bullish. After a prolonged accumulation from early January, a fitting breakout above this congestion is on the cards.
Technical Indicators
From an effort versus result perspective, bulls are in control. The view is even stable thanks to the failure of sellers to extend their reach, reversing gains of Feb 8. A standout, therefore, is the high volumes of Feb 8. Then, volumes were at 32k exceeding those of Jan 28 and Jan 20. But, they were less than those of Jan 10—35k.
As aforementioned, we need to see prices break above this congestion and print above ,800. Accompanying this breakout should be high volumes exceeding today’s averages of 10k and most importantly 32k.
The post Bitmain S15 Firmware “Very Buggy”, Will This Claim Affect BTC Prices? appeared first on NewsBTC.
Research Team Demonstrates Hard Wallets Vulnerabilities, Trezor Promises Firmware Update
n During a conference, a research group explained in depth how they were able to extract the private keys from the Trezor Onen
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Chinese Mining Giant Bitmains New Firmware Update Reignites AsicBoost Controversy
n Major Bitcoin mining manufacturer Bitmains Overt AsicBoost update sparks fresh controversyn
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Bitmain Enables Overt AsicBoost Activation in Latest Firmware Update
Chinese cryptocurrency mining giant, Bitmain, has officially released a firmware update that allows Bitcoin miners to activate the Overt AsicBoost upgrade that significantly increases their operational efficiency and decreases their cost-basis.
The upgrade comes after the development group behind Slush Pool verified that Bitmain’s popular Antminer S9 hardware is capable of supporting the upgrade, even though it was purposely disabled by the manufacturer.
Overt Versus Covert AsicBoost
There are two types of AsicBoost that can be used by miners in order to increase their operational efficiency: overt and covert. Covert AsicBoost is extremely controversial, as many of its critics claim that it encourages miners to produce small or empty blocks, making it damaging to Bitcoin’s protocol.
Covert AsicBoost also has multiple anonymity features that shields the identities of miners, making it ideal for individual miners or organizations that are looking to shield their identities due to legal purposes.
Overt AsicBoost, however, is more efficient than traditional mining methods, but does not incentivize miners to produce small, or empty, blocks, making it an apparent win-win for miners.
Bitmain AsicBoost Activation Comes Amidst Increasing Competition
In Bitmain’s most recent blog post, the company explained that until now they have been hesitant to activate AsicBoost largely due to the legal uncertainty surrounding the feature, explaining that:
“Initially, we decided against activating this mathematical function in mining hardware produced by us, largely because of the legal uncertainty surrounding the use of AsicBoost. As an organization, we didn’t want to violate patent laws or act in any way that was untoward. Instead, we continued to focus our efforts on R&D and building the industry’s most efficient mining chips.”
Despite this, they also note that their decision to allow miners to use the feature comes amidst growing competition from other mining pools, who have recently began advertising the capability.
“In March 2018, we noticed new manufacturers of hardware advertising the use of ‘AsicBoost’ and soon after that we noticed blocks being mined on the blockchain using AsicBoost. To give users of our mining pools the option to mine using AsicBoost we added support for it on both BTC.COM and Antpool,” Bitmain explained.
Bitmain also explains that they don’t believe any one party has the right to patent AsicBoost, as all miners should be entitled to “make their own choice on whether to use AsicBoost technology.”
They also importantly maintain that their decision to activate AsicBoost capabilities will in no way harm the Bitcoin protocol and will maintain network transparency:
“Now we are pleased to give Antminer users whose miners have the capability to support this function a choice to avail this advantage without any negative impact on the Bitcoin protocol. This variant of the ‘overt AsicBoost’ simply uses version bits different from those that other manufacturers have been using. It is equally transparent because it can be seen in the blockheader of boosted blocks.”
Bitmain’s decision to activate AsicBoost comes as the company is planning their Initial Public Offering, which could be bolstered by the increased efficiency for their mining protocols that the AsicBoost upgrade provides.
Featured image from Shutterstock
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Bitmain Releases Overt AsicBoost Firmware for Antminer S9
n nn nn Bitmain has finally released its firmware for the popular Antminer S9 to enable what is called overt AsicBoost.In a recent blog post, Bitmain explains their rationale for the firmware release, citing that they originally decided against activating this mathematical function in mining hardware due to the uncertainty surrounding the use of AsicBoost. Bitmain previously released support for AsicBoost back in March 2018 by adding support for it on their mining
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Braiins OS An Open Source Alternative to Bitcoin Mining Firmware UPDATED
n nn nn Braiinswants to redefine open-source mining software.The company behind Slush Pool recently rolled out the initial release of its ASIC miner firmware Braiins OS. The operating system is advertised as the very first fully open-source, Linux-based system for cryptocurrency embedded devices, an alternative to the factory-default firmware that comes with most popular mining hardware.Upon visiting the projects website, visitors are greeted with a clear message,
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