Bitmain was caught up inwards a tilt surrounding its recent while on its opened upwards rootage codebase. The Bitcoin community harshly criticized Bitmain for developing malware which has the potential to nigh downward seventy per centum of Bitcoin miners.
The Antbleed backdoor is a type of firmware that enables Bitmain to surveil on the client sales as well as delivery records of Antminer users. According to Antbleed.com, the remote service of the firmware tin flame furnish “false,” which ultimately can halt its miners from mining.
Approximately seventy per centum of the world’s mining community rely on Bitmain’s Antminer to confirm Bitcoin transactions. Hence, Bitmain has the ability as well as capacity to nigh downward 70 per centum of Bitcoin miners inwards an instant.
As the community outraged over the regain of the Antbleed malware, Bitmain released its official argument on Apr 27. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 department of the argument read:
“This characteristic was designed as well as coded past times the same squad that is responsible for the firmware of Antminers. As the firmware has ever been open-source, the characteristic was never intended to endure malicious.”
The intent is non important
The intent of the Bitmain evolution squad is of less importance. Frankly, it does non affair if the Bitmain evolution squad introduced the Antbleed firmware update amongst goodness intentions because it creates the possibility of the bulk of the Bitcoin mining community, which serves an of import purpose inwards maintaining Bitcoin security, of shutting downward inwards an instant.
However, it is unclear whether Bitmain tin flame justify the intent of the activation of Antbleed on whatever solid set down or footing if it was designed specifically to surveil on its customers. Simply put, Bitmain developed a specific type of firmware to command its miners as well as customers, amongst the intent of centralizing the industry. Thus, to explicate that the initial intent of the Bitmain squad was to convey positive touching to Bitcoin is quite illogical as well as irrational.
Andreas Antonopoulos, safety as well as Bitcoin expert, explained:
“I honestly incertitude Antbleed was inwards whatever fashion malicious. It shows the intention to centrally command customers, is reckless as well as poorly implemented.”
Antonopoulos farther noted that the determination of Bitmain to implement firmware designed to centralize its customers as well as the mining manufacture was reckless as well as incompetent. He said, “reckless implementation combined amongst the intent to centrally command customers is a really unsafe thing inwards a decentralized system.”
More experts including Slush, the Pb architect of hardware wallet Trezor as well as CEO of Satoshi Labs, the bring upwards fellowship of Trezor, stated that Antbleed is dangerous, regardless of the intent of the Bitmain evolution team.
“ASICBoost as well as Antbleed are existent as well as exercise a threat to Bitcoin. I'm non certain if they're simply incompetent or malicious but they're dangerous,” said Slush.
More importantly, to Bitmain’s official answer to the allegations, wherein the fellowship claimed to choose never completed the Antbleed feature, Slush explained that the characteristic is inwards fact really complete.
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