Gate.io experiences slowdown in deposits and withdrawals due to node maintenance

December 18, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Alibaba

In a statement, the crypto exchange said that users' funds are safe and transactions are still being processed.

Users of the crypto exchange Gate.io are facing slow deposits and withdrawals on transactions due to a node maintenance from a third-party cloud provider, according to an announcement on Dec. 18.

Gate.io said the transactions are still being processed, and claimed the funds of users are safe. The company stated:

"At this moment, we are monitoring the network connection status of our cloud service providers and will expedite the deposits and withdrawals as soon as the network connection is restored."

It is unclear if the delay in transactions is related to OKX's outage, which was caused by a hardware failure at a Hong Kong data center of primary infrastructure provider Alibaba Cloud. As reported by Cointelegraph, Alibaba's Cloud server went offline on Dec. 17 and failed to recover for over fifteen hours, during which users could not withdraw and deposit funds.

While OKX trading services have resumed several hours later, while Gate.io users on Twitter are still experiencing problems with transactions.

Alibaba's Cloud services were interrupted a few days after the company announced it was developing its first Blockchain Node Service. Set for launch in the first quarter of 2023, the service aims to make it easier for organizations to build blockchain applications.

According to Alibaba, the new Platform as a Service (PaaS) solution will aid developers by reducing operational and maintenance time. The company claimed the infrastructure will allow node-hosting to actively monitor nodes and automatically switch in case of an outage. "As it doesn’t require hands-on monitoring or problem mitigation, developers are free to concentrate on product development and thus speed up the pace of the product roll-out process.", Alibaba's said.

Alibaba Cloud is the digital technology backbone of Alibaba Group. Earlier this month, Avalanche blockchain partnered with Alibaba Cloud's Node-as-a-Service initiative, Cointelegraph reported.

OKX cites intermittent outage amid Alibaba Cloud equipment anomaly

December 18, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Alibaba

Alibaba Cloud Hong Kong IDC Zone C server went offline on Saturday at roughly 10 PM ET and failed to recover for over 7 hours at the time of reporting.

Crypto exchange OKX witnessed service disruptions after primary infrastructure provider Alibaba Cloud announced a hardware failure in Alibaba Cloud’s Hong Kong data center.

Alibaba Cloud Hong Kong IDC Zone C server went offline on Saturday at roughly 10 PM ET and failed to recover for over 7 hours at the time of reporting. On-chain data further confirms that OKX processed no transactions during this timeline.

Alibaba Cloud’s website shows that the Hong Kong (China) server hosts three availability zones, which have been operational since 2014. The cloud provider confirmed the outage through an official announcement, as shown below.

*Alibaba Cloud's official announcement about service disruption that affected OKX's service. Source: Alibaba Cloud*

While announcing the service disruption, OKX revealed that it is working together with Alibaba Cloud to resolve the issues. “Funds are safe. Sorry for any inconvenience caused,” the announcement added.

There is currently an intermittent connection error with our cloud provider which is affecting the user experience. Our dev team is resolving it with them. Funds are safe. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
— OKX (@okx) December 18, 2022

In the meantime, users cannot withdraw and deposit funds, while some claim that their account balances have glitched to show $0 in their funds. Many investors have confirmed that their trades got stuck midway and have shown concerns about possible losses.

OKX has not yet to responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

In early December, Avalanche blockchain entered into a partnership to power Alibaba Cloud’s Node-as-a-Service initiatives.

APAC's largest cloud service provider, Alibaba Cloud, has expanded support for #Avalanche!

This integration enables developers to easily launch their own validator nodes, with access to @alibaba_cloud's plug-and-play infrastructure and suite of products.https://t.co/MlXTOYuJgG
— Avalanche (@avalancheavax) December 2, 2022

As Cointelegraph reported, the partnership is aimed at developing new tools for launching validator nodes on Avalanche's public blockchain platform in Asia. The integration will allow Avalanche developers to use Alibaba Cloud’s plug-and-play infrastructure as a service to launch new validators.

During the announcement, it was revealed that Avalanche hosts over 1,200 validators and processes roughly 2 million daily transactions.

Avalanche to power Alibaba Cloud’s infrastructure services in Asia

December 3, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Asia

Avalanche’s partnership with Alibaba Cloud will see the development of tools that enable users to launch validator nodes on Avalanche's public blockchain platform in Asia.

Alibaba Cloud, a.k.a Aliyun, a subset of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, announced an integration with Avalanche blockchain to power the company’s Node-as-a-Service initiatives.

Avalanche’s partnership with Alibaba Cloud will see the development of tools that enable users to launch validator nodes on Avalanche's public blockchain platform in Asia. The integration will allow Avalanche developers to use Alibaba Cloud’s plug-and-play infrastructure as a service to launch new validators.

Developers expecting high resource demands during peak hours can also tap into additional resources — computing, storage, and distribution — offered by Alibaba Cloud.

APAC's largest cloud service provider, Alibaba Cloud, has expanded support for #Avalanche!

This integration enables developers to easily launch their own validator nodes, with access to @alibaba_cloud's plug-and-play infrastructure and suite of products.https://t.co/MlXTOYuJgG
— Avalanche (@avalancheavax) December 2, 2022

According to the announcement, Avalanche hosts over 1,200 validators and processes roughly 2 million daily transactions. The scale of the partnership is massive, considering that Alibaba Cloud stands as the largest Asian cloud service provider in the Asia-Pacific region.

*Steps to integrate Avalanche with Alibaba Cloud. Source: Alibaba Cloud*

As part of the integration, Alibaba Cloud ran a special promotion by offering Avalanche developers credit toward any of their services. Avalanche currently powers over 1,000 projects, including decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems such as Aave (AAVE), Curve, BENQi, Sushi, and Chainlink (LINK).

Chinese venture capitalist Bo Shen, a general partner of the Vitalik Buterin-advised venture capital fund Fenbushi Capital, claimed to have lost $42 million from his Trust Wallet.

Shen confirmed that the drained funds belonged to him and was not related to Fenbushi Capital:

“The incident has been reported to the local law enforcement. FBI and lawyers both have been involved. Civilization and justice will eventually prevail over barbarism and evil. This is the iron law of human society. It’s just a matter of time.”

Blockchain analytics firm SlowMist later verified Shen’s loss of funds while confirming no security issues from Trust Wallet’s end.

Hetzner anti-crypto policies: A wake-up call for Ethereum’s future

August 27, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Cloud Mining

The terms of services, laid down by Ethereum's second-biggest host Hetzner, prohibits customers from running nodes, mining and farming, plotting, storage of blockchain data and trading.

Just when the Ethereum ecosystem reached its final stages in preparing for the much-anticipated upgrade, The Merge, german cloud provider Hetzner, reiterated its stance against allowing mining operations for both proof-of-stake (PoS) and proof-of-work (PoW) applications.

Hetzner, a private, centralized cloud provider, stepped in on a discussion around running blockchain nodes, highlighting its terms of services that prohibit customers from using the services for crypto activities. However, the Ethereum community perceived the revelation as a threat to the ecosystem as Hetzner’s cloud services host nearly 16% of the Ethereum nodes, as shown below.

*Ethereum Mainnet Statistics. Source: ethernodes.org*

In crypto, the reliance on centralized service providers has been historically perceived as a negative trait when it comes to long-term sustenance — and for a good reason. Redditor u/Supermann- questioned the anti-crypto policies laid down by the second biggest Ethereum Mainnet host, Hetzner. Clarifying the doubts and legal implications associated with using its services for crypto activities, Hetzner stated:

“Using our products for any application related to mining, even remotely related, is not permitted. This includes Ethereum.”

The company also stated that the non-allowance extends to running nodes, mining and farming, plotting, storage of blockchain data and trading. While acknowledging the extensive use of its services for powering Ethereum, Hetzner revealed that “we have been internally discussing how we can best address this issue.” As a fair warning to the community, Hetzner added:

“If you, or any other potential customers are unsure about whether your use case will violate our ToS, please reach out to us.”

The latest revelation from german cloud provider Hetzner showcases the impact of the decision made by centralized entities on thriving crypto ecosystems.

The majority of the Ethereum ecosystem currently runs on Amazon.com, which hosts 54% of the total Ethereum nodes. Some of the mainstream cloud providers that currently host Ethereum nodes include Oracle Cloud (4.1%), Alibaba (2.8%) and Google Cloud (2.7%).

Discussions around the Ethereum upgrade have unknowingly spurred numerous misconceptions about what it means for the future of the blockchain. Cointelegraph’s report highlighted the top five misconceptions about the anticipated Ethereum upgrade.

Reduced gas fees and faster transactions are the biggest rumors spreading across the ecosystem, which have been confirmed to be untrue. However, a subsequent upgrade, named the Shanghai upgrade, will deliver faster and cheaper transactions.

Google seeks fresh talent to lead global Web3 team

May 25, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Cloud Services

The role will be tasked with raising awareness about Google Cloud’s Web3 initiatives in addition to eventually building customer demand for the related offerings.

Following the establishment of a Web3 team under Google Cloud on May 6, tech giant Alphabet’s Google is now on the lookout for a full-time candidate to lead its Global Web3 marketing strategies.

As seen on the job listing, the Google Cloud division opened up a ‘Head of Product Marketing’ role who will be tasked with raising awareness about Google Cloud’s Web3 initiatives in addition to eventually building customer demand for the related offerings.

new: Google Cloud is forming a Web3 product and engineering organization that will build services for developers. new job postings have appeared on Google's internal Grow tool, Amit Zavery is telling employees in an email today https://t.co/sLC8VlqgBf
— Jordan Novet (@jordannovet) May 6, 2022

In an email shared with employees right before the commencement of the Web3 team, Vice president at Google Cloud, Amit Zavery, reportedly shared his vision to make Google Cloud the first choice for developers in Web3:

“While the world is still early in its embrace of Web3, it is a market that is already demonstrating tremendous potential with many customers asking us to increase our support for Web3 and crypto-related technologies.”

Some of the key responsibilities for the role in question in addition to leading marketing initiatives include creating annual plans for Web3 and driving awareness across different segments of the Web3 audience.

The job location is limited to New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Sunnyvale. Google has been known to create and discard numerous in-house initiatives, however, this is Google’s first attempt at delving into the Web3.

In a conversation with Cointelegraph during the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2022, Polkadot (DOT) founder Gavin Wood spoke about the evolution of Web3. According to Wood, Web3 applications don’t have the need to evolve past their current usage:

“I don’t think Web3 needs to evolve, really, from its origins too much yet but maybe in the future, it will.”

Furthermore, Wood explained how Web3 pushed the conversation beyond Bitcoin (BTC), smart contracts and decentralized finance (DeFi) into the underlying technology that powers the world of crypto.

Amid crypto hype, Google’s cloud unit creates Web3 team

May 6, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Cloud Services

The decentralized space continues its expansion and major brands are adopting Web3 tools, including Google’s cloud unit.

Google’s cloud unit announced on Friday the formation of an internal team that will build services for blockchain developers and those running blockchain-based applications. This comes amid an explosion of interest, activity and adoption of crypto and Web3 tools from traditional sectors of the economy.

Web3 infrastructure of the future

Vice president at Google Cloud, Amit Zavery, reportedly told his team in an email on Friday of the aim to make the Google Cloud platform the first choice for developers in Web3. Google Cloud is the company’s suite of cloud computing services, on which all Google-related projects run.

As per CNBC, his email read: “While the world is still early in its embrace of Web3, it is a market that is already demonstrating tremendous potential with many customers asking us to increase our support for Web3 and Crypto related technologies.”

An internal team with an exclusive focus on Web3 development shows Google’s commitment to the innovation seen in the space. It also follows their creation of a digital assets team in January, which was a result of the massive interest in nonfungible tokens, or NFTs.

Zavery added that future moves for Google could entail a system that simplifies accessibility to blockchain data, as well as a simplified process for building and running blockchain-based nodes for transactions. Allegedly new job postings appeared on Google’s internal Grow tool.

new: Google Cloud is forming a Web3 product and engineering organization that will build services for developers. new job postings have appeared on Google's internal Grow tool, Amit Zavery is telling employees in an email today https://t.co/sLC8VlqgBf
— Jordan Novet (@jordannovet) May 6, 2022

Nonetheless, there are those who don’t believe Google’s attention to Web3 is worthwhile. The well-known American software engineer, Grady Booch, tweeted his disappointment and said it’s a waste of resources.

What a waste of your resources @google.

I’m disappointed in your choices here. https://t.co/LWoFSmAtlS
— Grady Booch (@Grady_Booch) May 6, 2022

Booch co-developed the Unified Modeling Language, which provided a universal standard visualization for designing software systems.

Big Tech and Web3

Google is not the only "Big Tech" giant to set its sights set on the future of decentralized infrastructure. Major industry players such as Meta and Amazon have also begun their entrance into the space with Metaverse involvement and NFT interest.

However, the challenge for the cabal of Big Tech lies within the very ethos of the Web3 space they’re entering. The world of crypto was built off decentralized, peer-to-peer methods, which surpassed surveillance and data harvesting from companies like Google.

For those interacting with the space with the intention of more freedom in the digital realm, the entrance of giants like Google and Meta could be a cause for concern. However, according to an interview with Zavery and CNBC, Google’s initial plans intend to help the adoption of innovative Web3 technologies.

“We’re not trying to be part of that cryptocurrency wave directly,” he said. “We’re providing technologies for companies to use and take advantage of the distributed nature of Web3 in their current businesses and enterprises.”

Currently, Google’s back-end cloud services pale in comparison with those of Amazon and Microsoft. This new team will help bolster growth in this area, in which early offers could include better node management and blockchain-based data software via third-party applications.

This could just be the beginning of Google’s footprint in the decentralized space. If Google can relinquish hyper-centralization, their bet for entrance into the world of Web3 could be significant.

Google Cloud ramps up blockchain efforts by launching digital assets team

January 28, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Cloud Services

The New Google Cloud team aims to accelerate customers' efforts in the emerging blockchain and crypto spaces, a blog post explained.

Blockchain, cryptocurrency and decentralized technology are all fascinating topics that have been heating up for almost a decade. Nowadays, everyone wants to be part of cutting-edge innovations.

A Thursday announcement by Yolande Piazza, Google Cloud's VP Financial Services, said the firm has established a Google Cloud digital assets team that will assist clients in creating, trading, storing value and launching new products on blockchain-based platforms. The blog reads;

“This new team will enable our customers to accelerate their efforts in this emerging space and help underpin the blockchain ecosystems of tomorrow.”

We're launching a new, dedicated Digital Asset Team to help underpin the #blockchain ecosystems of tomorrow. Whether you're implementing blockchain strategies or blockchain-native, you can rely on our scalable, secure and sustainable infrastructure ↓ https://t.co/YirBzA0sPe
— Google Cloud (@googlecloud) January 27, 2022

The blog points to blockchain and distributed-ledger-based solutions like Hedera, Theta Labs, and Dapper Labs as examples of firms that have already implemented Google Cloud, adding that the Digital Assets Team will conduct a variety of activities in both the near and long term.

Dedicated node hosting/remote procedure call (RPC) nodes for developers; node validation and on-chain governance with some partners; assisting users and developers in hosting their nodes on the “cleanest cloud in the industry;" are some of the activities the team will carry out.

The announcement also reveals that, as the new team expands, it will be examining ways to allow Google Cloud customers to make and receive payments using cryptocurrencies.

This is not Google's first foray into the crypto space. Google Cloud's parent firm, Google, recently has hired a PayPal veteran to assist with the development of Google Pay as it continues to look towards the future and pursue crypto.

Google teamed up with Coinbase in June, allowing customers of the exchange to pay for items and services using Google Pay. In October, Google and Bakkt joined forces to allow customers of the exchange to spend their cryptocurrency through Google Pay.

‘We want to be the AWS of crypto,’ says Coinbase exec

December 3, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Cloud Mining

Coinbase officials have suggested that they need to become the "Amazon Web Services of cryptocurrencies" as soon as possible.

With Amazon Web Services (AWS) being one of the most popular cloud service providers on the planet, it's no surprise that Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange based in the United States, is attempting to capitalize on its success by developing its own cloud infrastructure solution, Coinbase Cloud.

"We want to be the AWS of crypto," said Coinbase chief product officer Surojit Chatterjee in an exclusive interview with Forbes. "We are building this whole Coinbase Cloud suite of products that you can think of as crypto computing services to help developers build their applications faster."

Before becoming Coinbase Cloud, the service was named Bison Trails, a cloud-based staking infrastructure solution that Coinbase bought earlier this year for an undisclosed amount that was rumored to be above $80 million. According to Coinbase, Bison Trails is a non-custodial platform, which means it does not manage clients' staked assets.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) was once a secondary consideration for Amazon in Seattle, overshadowed by Amazon. Nevertheless, the Amazon subsidiary that debuted almost 20 years ago is the firm's major profit engine today. AWS earned $13.5 billion in annual operating earnings in 2020 on a revenue base of $45.3 billion, or 63 percent of its parent company's total.

Coinbase officials have suggested that they need to become the "Amazon of cryptocurrencies" as soon as possible. or Because the majority of its accolades are for not just being the first major digital currency business to go public but also for doing so by achieving the greatest direct listing in history, its income stream is overly reliant on transaction fees.

This is often the case with line items that are dominated by a single category's revenue concentration. Facebook, for example, and Google are almost entirely reliant on advertising to make money, therefore their line items generally have this degree of revenue concentration.

However, due to their significant dependence on the market and overall trading volumes, Coinbase and other exchanges may be highly vulnerable. Because trading volumes are closely linked with price swings, such dependence can be a major drawback for crypto platforms like Coinbase or any other exchange.

Coinbase is seeking to boost trading income by providing subscription services that are more resistant to market swings to mitigate this risk. For example, it provides institutional custody services, staking possibilities, a learning portal that gives users crypto as a reward, an e-commerce checkout system, and the ability to issue Visa debit cards to clients. It's also trying out a subscription plan that would give customers a monthly trading allowance for a set price.

The acquisition of Bison Trails, according to Chatterjee, was a critical step in Coinbase's transition to a more mature financial system. The platform supports crypto custodians, funds, decentralized apps, and token holders. Some of its customers are Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), New York-based fintech firm Current, and Turner Sports.

As of November 2021, Coinbase Cloud has $30 billion in crypto assets staked on its platform. Coinbase, one of the most popular cryptocurrency platforms, has more than 73 million genuine customers, 10,000 organizations, and 185,000 ecosystem partners in more than 100 countries. According to Coinbase, since its founding, it has handled transactions worth over $700 billion.

Hedera’s governing body adds ServiceNow to its ranks

November 16, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain Competition

Hedera Hashgraph intends to integrate the Now Platform to create a new level of trust and accountability in digital transformation transactions.

The Hedera Governing Council has accepted cloud-based digital workflow platform ServiceNow as its newest member. Hedera intends to integrate the Now Platform to create a new level of trust and accountability in digital transformation transactions.

Hedera and ServiceNow will develop trusted processes based on digital ledger technology, or DLT, for interactions that span multiple companies, according to the company’s press release.

ServiceNow is a cloud-based digital workflow platform that delivers outstanding customer experiences and unleashes employee productivity while also increasing business efficiency.

Hedera “provides the most secure network connectivity and transaction processing in the world,” according to a company press release. ServiceNow, on the other hand, is a core engine that drives all digital transformation efforts throughout an entire organization.

Commenting on the development, Tasker Generes, global head of strategy and transformation at ServiceNow, stated:

“Hedera is poised to become the foundation and primary broker of trust and transparency for the digital economy and ServiceNow is bringing that strategic foundation to our powerful workflow experiences.”

ServiceNow's membership on the Hedera Governing Council, according to Mance Harmon — CEO of Hedera Hashgraph — will have a significant impact on the future of distributed digital workflows and enterprise adoption of DLT. The Now Platform will empower simple, frictionless, low-code DLT adoption through the Now Platform by removing the hurdles to DLT implementation for businesses, said Harmon while speaking to Cointelegraph:

“This will be a game-changer for development teams in organizations that today have no DLT experience or expertise, and will serve to accelerate the adoption of Hedera as the DLT of choice for enterprises. Together, ServiceNow and Hedera will deliver the trusted digital workflows powered by DLT for experiences that extend beyond any one organization.”

Hedera Hashgraph, an enterprise-grade distributed ledger, has been engaged in a number of partnerships to apply blockchain technology in real-world use cases across several industries. If these initial initiatives are a success, they will open up a world of possibilities across the globe. Last month, Cointelegraph reported that the Hedera Governing Council welcomed Singapore’s DBS Bank as the first Southeast Asian bank to join the worldwide organization.

Breaking Google’s monopoly: Internxt pushes decentralized cloud as privacy concerns grow

October 21, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Cloud Services

Data monopolists like Google have abused their position, according to Internxt's Fran Villalba Segarra. Decentralized architecture offers a solution.

Privacy-focused blockchain file storage service Internxt has a lofty vision: leverage decentralized technology to break Big Tech’s monopoly over user data. Its first product, Internxt Drive, aims to compete as an alternative to Google Drive and Dropbox — without compromising personal privacy and data ownership.

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Internxt CEO Fran Villalba Segarra described the core technology behind his product and explained why privacy should be considered a fundamental human right. He also explained the perils of centralized architecture, why Big Tech constantly violates user privacy and what’s in store for internet users in the era of Web 3.

Privacy-as-a-human-right

Although privacy advocates have long been concerned about Big Tech’s exploits of user data, Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018 blew the lid wide open on the subject. (As a refresher, Cambridge Analytica is a British consulting firm that was able to obtain data on millions of Facebook users without their consent. Their information was then used for political advertising.) In July 2019, the Federal Trade Commission fined the social media giant a whopping $5 billion for privacy violations.

In retrospect, exploits like Cambridge Analytica didn’t surprise Segarra, who told Cointelegraph that protecting users’ privacy conflicts with the business model of companies like Facebook, Google and Microsoft. “That’s why these companies collect more data than what is actually needed,” he explained. “Their services aren’t an end per se, but a means to an end.”

“Zero-knowledge file storage service”

The erosion of personal privacy by Big Tech compelled Segarra and his team to create a new business model based on decentralization. The company’s first product, Internxt Drive, is described as an alternative to Google Drive and Dropbox that’s based on zero-knowledge encryption and geodistributed data centers. He explained:

“Files uploaded to Internxt Drive are fragmented, client-side encrypted, and distributed all over the globe, so that a server never holds a complete file, but instead an encrypted data shard [...] In these architectures, files are often split into evenly sized segments of data. Each segment or block has its own address but no metadata to provide context about what it is. The storage target can be configured to replicate data across storage arrays or distributed file systems.”

Unlike centralized systems, where user data is stored on physical servers owned and operated by the cloud provider, decentralized architecture provides enhanced security with respect to cloud functionality.

“If a decentralized component is compromised or encounters a runtime error, which is an unrecoverable worst-case scenario in that the component goes offline while the rest of the cloud continues to function normally,” he explained. On the other hand, with centralized cloud storage systems, core functions are interlaced within the same space. “If an error or attack manages to destabilize a centralized component, the entire cloud is at risk.”

Web 3 and the future of privacy

Web 3 — a broad concept that refers to the new paradigm of internet services where users retain more control of their personal data — has been heralded as a potential solution to society’s growing privacy concerns. The current paradigm, dubbed Web 2, is mainly driven by companies that provide services in exchange for personal data.

The advent of blockchain technology has made decentralization nearly synonymous with Web 3. The decentralized cloud storage technology being championed by Internxt aligns with the narrative that Web 3 changes the very nature of data ownership and puts more control in the hands of users as opposed to the Big Tech companies. Industry observers have rightly noted that this new paradigm could challenge existing privacy regulations, especially as decentralized applications continue to grow.

“Web 3 is certainly going to be huge,” Segarra said, adding that consumer-centric applications that allow users to protect themselves online is “going to be hugely demanded by the market.”

Internxt is coming off a successful seed round, having raised $1 million in a raise that was led by Miami-based venture fund Venture City. Segarra said adoption is growing, with the company expected to generate 1,500% year-over-year growth by the end of 2021.

Cloud Services

Web3 infrastructure of the future

Big Tech and Web3

Privacy-as-a-human-right

“Zero-knowledge file storage service”

Web 3 and the future of privacy

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