• Advertise
  • Submit a Press Release
NewsBTC
Bitcoin & cryptocurrency news today, price & technical analysis
Price & Market
Cap Data from
Nomics Logo
  • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Cardano
    • Tezos
    • EOS
    • Chainlink
    • Sponsored
    • Press Releases
  • Analysis
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Cardano (ADA)
    • Chainlink (LINK)
    • Litecoin (LTC)
    • Tezos (XTZ)
    • Zcash (ZEC)
    • EOS
    • YearnFinance (YFI)
  • Education
    • What is Bitcoin?
    • Accepting Bitcoin payments
    • Using Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin Mining
    • How to Trade Bitcoin
    • How to Buy Bitcoin
    • Digital Currency Exchange
    • Proof of Existence
    • Is Bitcoin legal?
    • Bitcoin Books
  • Trading Course
  • Directory
    • Crypto Businesses
    • Bitcoin Brokers
    • Casinos
    • Sportsbooks
  • TradeeToro
  • Gamble +Try
  • Play GamesTry
  • BUY BITCOINTry
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Cardano
    • Tezos
    • EOS
    • Chainlink
    • Sponsored
    • Press Releases
  • Analysis
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Cardano (ADA)
    • Chainlink (LINK)
    • Litecoin (LTC)
    • Tezos (XTZ)
    • Zcash (ZEC)
    • EOS
    • YearnFinance (YFI)
  • Education
    • What is Bitcoin?
    • Accepting Bitcoin payments
    • Using Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin Mining
    • How to Trade Bitcoin
    • How to Buy Bitcoin
    • Digital Currency Exchange
    • Proof of Existence
    • Is Bitcoin legal?
    • Bitcoin Books
  • Trading Course
  • Directory
    • Crypto Businesses
    • Bitcoin Brokers
    • Casinos
    • Sportsbooks
  • TradeeToro
  • Gamble +Try
  • Play GamesTry
  • BUY BITCOINTry
No Result
View All Result
NewsBTC
No Result
View All Result
Price & Market
Cap Data from
Nomics Logo
Home Cryptocurrency news

Security Firm Identifies Potential Tether (USDT) Double-Spend Bug

Nick Chong by Nick Chong
3 years ago
in Cryptocurrency news, Cryptocurrency Technology
Reading Time: 3min read
Security Firm Identifies Potential Tether (USDT) Double-Spend Bug
Advertisement
Nexo Logo
Listen to Article

SlowMist, a Chinese cybersecurity firm, has recently pointed out a transaction that should have some worried, as the user managed to double the value of 694 USDT.

SlowMist: User

On Thursday, a blockchain centric cybersecurity firm, issued a Tweet which drew attention to a questionable USDT transaction.

交易所在进行USDT充值交易确认是否成功时存在逻辑缺陷,未校验区块链上交易详情中valid字段值是否为true,导致“假充值”,用户未损失任何USDT却成功向交易所充值了USDT,而且这些 USDT 可以正常进行交易。
我们已经确认真实攻击发生!相关交易所应尽快暂停USDT充值功能,并自查代码是否存在该逻辑缺陷。 pic.twitter.com/EPzZIsZFzH

— SlowMist (@SlowMist_Team) June 28, 2018

5 BTC + 300 Free Spins for new players & 15 BTC + 35.000 Free Spins every month, only at mBitcasino. Play Now!

According to the automated translation of the Tweet, originally given in Mandarin Chinese, the user was able to illegitimately add USDT value to the exchange’s server, giving a guise of added funds.

This vulnerability essentially allowed the user to be potentially credited for USDT that was not sent to the exchange.

It is unclear whether the exchange affected, which remained unnamed, has made any actions to amend the issue.

According to the information of the transaction in question, the exchange accepted a transaction that had invalid information, with the exchange marking the 694 USDT “false” transaction as valid.

When the Tweet was first released, it was unclear whether this problem was an unlucky edge-case or a problem that affected all of the 2.75 Billion Tether tokens in existence.

Bug Is Only Pertinent To Vulnerable Exchange

SlowMist later clarified, in English this time, that the issue was not with Tether as a whole, but rather with the unnamed exchange.

A Reddit user who goes by Dacoinminster gave his/her reasoning for the hack. To add to the legitimacy of the reasoning, the user claimed to be a founder of Omni, the protocol which Tether is built upon.

Firstly, the Reddit user noted that Omni-based assets cannot be double-spent without Bitcoin having to be double-spent as well. This comment eased the double-spend worries, as a double-spend attack on Bitcoin is nearly impossible.

The Omni founder wrote:

If I’m translating this correctly, it appears that what happened here is that an exchange wasn’t checking the valid flag on transactions. They accepted a transaction with valid=false (which they should not have), and then the second “double spend” transaction had valid=true, which they also accepted.

Dacoinminster went on to say that the issue was the result of “poor exchange integration,” pointing an accusing finger at the affected exchange.

OKEx, one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, quickly created a press release regarding the issue, adding to the legitimacy of the issue. OKEx wrote:

We are aware of the vulnerability with USDT deposit. And we confirm that OKEx is NOT exposed to the vulnerability. Please rest assured that your assets are safe and secure with us.

Further adding that OKEx enlisted the help of SlowMist to ensure that OKEx was not vulnerable to the “fake deposit” issue.

Bittrex also confirmed that it was not affected and the processing of all Omni-based assets, like Tether, did not experience any difficulties. The Tweet stated, “Bittrex properly handles the “valid” flag mentioned in the (Omni) integration guide.”

It has become clear that this issue is only pertinent to exchanges who failed to properly integrate Omni assets, most likely smaller exchanges with smaller technical teams. At the time of writing, the unnamed exchange was the only platform reported to be vulnerable to the bug.

Tether Remains The Topic Of Controversy

Despite holding a vital role in the industry, serving as a way investors can find stability in the often volatile crypto market, Tether has had its fair share of problems.

As Tether’s market cap quickly rose over the billion dollar valuation, users began to question the legitimacy of the reserve funds backing the popular stablecoin. Speculation raged, as Tether unexpectedly dismissed an auditor for the “excruciatingly detailed procedures” the auditor firm was enlisting.

Many thought that Tether did not hold the funds to back its growing supply of USDT. However, it was recently revealed that Tether does hold the U.S. dollars to back all USDT in existence.

Although that issue was dismissed, research has pointed out that Tether may be responsible for the manipulation of many Bitcoin price movements. The report, originating from the University of Texas, states that the issuances of Tether may have caused up to 50% of all Bitcoin price increases.

Although not directly addressed by the Tether organization, this report confirms much of the sentiment held by Tether critics.

The recent bug exposed by SlowMint has added to the Tether controversy, which has become increasingly diverse as Tether continues to grow at a rapid rate.

 

Featured Image from

Tags: altcoincryptocurrencycryptocurrency exchangeexchangestablecointetherUSDT
TweetShare
BitStarz Player Lands $2,459,124 Record Win! Could you be next big winner? Win up to $1,000,000 in One Spin at CryptoSlots
Nick Chong

Nick Chong

I am a writer who has been following Bitcoin for years now. My insights and interviews have been featured in leading publications in the industry such as LongHash and Decrypt. I own a small amount of Bitcoin.

Related Posts

bitcoin dark web monero

Why The Dark Net’s Most Active Market Ditched Bitcoin For Monero

17 hours ago
Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, BTCUSD, BTCUSDT

Bitcoin Reclaims $40,000 as Powell Rubbishes Taper Tantrum Woes

22 hours ago
Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, BTCUSD, BTCUSDT

Bitcoin Logs Revenge Recovery as Lagarde Calls for Global Regulation

2 days ago
Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, BTCUSD, BTCUSDT

Bitcoin Flickers Near $35,000 as Bond Yields Drop; A Detailed Outlook

2 days ago
bitcoin bar new york

Landmark Real Estate Listing Offers Two New York Bars For 25 Bitcoin

3 days ago
huobi, ruble

Huobi Now Supports RUB Deposits and Withdrawals, Announces Crypto Purchase Campaign

3 days ago

Premium Partners

Top Brokers

eToro

eToro

Review · Visit
Changelly

Changelly

Review · Visit
Evolve Markets

Evolve Markets

Review · Visit
ArbiSmart

ArbiSmart

Review · Visit
PrimeXBT

PrimeXBT

Review · Visit
Moneta Markets

Moneta Markets

Review · Visit

Top Casinos

BitStarz

BitStarz

Review · Visit
CryptoSlots

CryptoSlots

Review · Visit
mBit

mBit

Review · Visit
CryptoGames

CryptoGames

Review · Visit
Bonusfinder DE

Bonusfinder DE

Review · Visit
Bspin

Bspin

Review · Visit
Wolf Bet

Wolf Bet

Review · Visit

Top Sportsbooks

1xBit

1xBit

Review · Visit

Press Releases

SV-based Taraxa Revolutionizes Legacy Data Auditing With Mathematically Provable Audit Trails

January 15, 2021

Kickoff Your DeFi Journey With YOYO FINANCE – Their Token Sale Is Live

January 14, 2021

RAI Finance Pre-sale Finishes in 1 Minute

January 13, 2021

Newsletter Signup


ABOUT US

NewsBTC is a cryptocurrency news service that covers bitcoin news today, technical analysis & forecasts for bitcoin price and other altcoins. Here at NewsBTC, we are dedicated to enlightening everyone about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

We cover BTC news related to bitcoin exchanges, bitcoin mining and price forecasts for various cryptocurrencies.

COMPANY

  • Advertising
  • Comments Policy
  • Privacy Center
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Contact

Technical Analysis

  • Bitcoin (BTC)
  • Ethereum (ETH)
  • Ripple (XRP)
  • Chainlink (LINK)
  • Cardano (ADA)
  • Tezos (XTZ)

LINKS

Auto Trading Software ▸

Cryptocurrency news

  • Bitcoin
  • Ethereum
  • Ripple
  • Chainlink
  • Cardano
  • EOS
  • Tezos

© 2020 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

  • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Cardano
    • Tezos
    • EOS
    • Chainlink
    • Sponsored
    • Press Releases
  • Analysis
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Cardano (ADA)
    • Chainlink (LINK)
    • Litecoin (LTC)
    • Tezos (XTZ)
    • Zcash (ZEC)
    • EOS
    • YearnFinance (YFI)
  • Education
    • What is Bitcoin?
    • Accepting Bitcoin payments
    • Using Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin Mining
    • How to Trade Bitcoin
    • How to Buy Bitcoin
    • Digital Currency Exchange
    • Proof of Existence
    • Is Bitcoin legal?
    • Bitcoin Books
  • Trading Course
  • Directory
    • Crypto Businesses
    • Bitcoin Brokers
    • Casinos
    • Sportsbooks
  • Trade
  • Gamble +
  • Play Games
  • BUY BITCOIN

© 2020 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy Center or Cookie Policy.