The Crypto Roundup: 13 July 2023 | CryptoCompare.com

The Crypto Roundup: 13 July 2023 | CryptoCompare.com

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The Binance-operated BNB Beacon Chain mainnet is preparing to introduce a feature that could momentarily “halt” the production of new blocks under certain conditions, through an update that’s set to go live at block height 328,088,888, which is expected by July 19.

One of the most significant elements of this upgrade is the Binance Evolution Proposal BEP-255, aiming to institute "on-chain asset reconciliation." Binance asserts this measure could help limit the effects of potential cross-chain bridge exploits, such as the notable Binance Smart Chain breach on October 7, 2022.

In a GitHub post concerning BEP-255, Binance acknowledged improvements to cross-chain security, but stressed the necessity for asset protection on the BNB Beacon Chain itself, particularly in the aftermath of bridge exploitations.

The exchange explained that under the BEP it will track user balance changes in each block and conduct reconciliations to detect anomalies. If reconciliation errors emerge, the blockchain “will panic," suspending the production of new blocks.

The “drastic action,” which will impact “downstream services such as bridges, deposits, and withdrawals on exchanges, is necessary to protect the chain and its users, Binance said. To bring the blockchain back online, a hard fork and addressing the reconciliation error will be required.

Alongside this innovation, the update is slated to bring other changes, including a bug fix to prevent “Rogue Key Attacks,” a security flaw where an attacker generates a valid aggregate signature for a transaction rather than the actual owner of the private keys.

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