Another day, another wild bitcoin story.
Bitcoin Core, one of the most popular bitcoin wallets today, is about to get an upgrade. But users are being warned that the upcoming 0.13.0 Bitcoin Core release will likely be targeted by government-sponsored hackers.
Bitcoin.org believed that since most people download the wallet software from their site, there is a big incentive for anyone who managed to sneak in malicious binary files. In a post, the site admitted it does not have the necessary technical resources to defend against an attack, which was why it’s warning the community—especially the Chinese bitcoin community—to be “extra vigilant” when downloading binaries.
“Not being careful before you download binaries could cause you to lose all your coins. This malicious software might also cause your computer to participate in attacks against the Bitcoin network. We believe Chinese services such as pools and exchanges are most at risk here due to the origin of the attackers,” Bitcoin.org said.
This announcement has received mixed reactions from the bitcoin community. No groups or particular people were named as potential state-backed hackers, and it’s still unclear if the announcement was a legitimate posting.
In an interview with The Register, Bitcoin Core contributor Eric Lombrozo said the administrator of the bitcoin.org site “posted an advisory of an apparent threat he’s been informed about—without consulting anyone else.” The site is not affiliated with the Bitcoin Core project.
Sounds crazy? Well, the story might be worth looking into, particularly in light of the recent events in China’s digital currency sector.
Early this week, reports surfaced that a Chinese court ruled that OKCoin, one of the largest bitcoin exchanges in the country, has been operating illegally. This ruling will undoubtedly put other digital currency exchanges in China on guard, especially since the Chinese government has already tried to stop bitcoin exchanges from performing direct transfers in and out of banks in 2014.
Current bitcoin price and trade volume
Meanwhile, the price of bitcoin dropped to $570.80 on Friday, with a market cap of $9.05 billion and trade volume of $24.26 million.
