1. Gemini Dollar Code Review Reveals the Stablecoin’s Accounts Can Be Frozen
Gemini USDG is a new centralized stablecoin (similar to tether) implemented as an ERC20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, that was created by the cryptocurrency exchange owners the Gemini Trust. The current implementation gives Gemini the ability to freeze any account or make all tokens non transferrable. The custodian is able to completely change the implementation of the token every 48 hours. Since the rise of tether, and the slew of other stablecoins released over the past few months, many other cryptocurrency firms are in the midst of creating their own stablecoin.
2. The $1 Billion Tezos Blockchain Is Officially Launching Monday
The Tezos Foundation will officially launch the protocol on Monday, at which point the platform, whose token supply is today valued at more than $1 billion, will no longer be in beta, meaning it will be fully operational and run by its community. While the blockchain was being used as intended throughout that time – with the number of network participants and staked tokens on the rise – technically the blockchain could have been paused for maintenance at any time. When it first launched, only the Tezos Foundation validated transactions on the network, but on July 20 the foundation opened up to third-party validates.
3. Ethereum’s Constantinople Hard Fork to Activate on Testnet in October
Ethereum’s upcoming hard fork, Constantinople, will activate in a testing environment next month, core developers agreed on Friday. Constantinople features changes designed to increase the platform’s efficiency, alter its economic policy and delay the so-called “difficulty bomb,” a piece of code meant to encourage the network to alter its core consensus algorithm. Developers said the upgrade will activate around October 9 on a cross-client testnet, named Ropsten, which mimics the conditions of the ethereum network itself. However, due to the unpredictability of block confirmation times in the testing environment, an exact block number – the way most upgrades are timed within the blockchain space – for the testnet activation has yet to be finalized.