Cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask has announced a partnership with data protection company Blockaid and the introduction of built-in notifications to protect users, reports The Block. The new feature inside the wallet is needed to prevent malicious ...

Cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask announced the introduction of phishing protection

MetaMask has teamed up with security firm Blockaid to introduce a new feature aimed at bolstering user security.

MetaMask and Blockaid Collaborate to Launch Phishing Attack Alert Feature for Enhanced User Protection

Ramp, a fintech firm crafting payment pathways that bridge the crypto realm with the global financial framework, has unveiled a strategic alliance with Linea, a developer-ready zkEVM rollup poised to scale Ethereum dapps.

Ramp and Linea Forge Alliance to Accelerate Web3 Integration Across Global Financial Ecosystem

Solana boosts user experience with fee-free transfers, a new Solflare widget, and seamless MetaMask usage for managing digital assets.

MetaMask wallet users get a boost with Solana’s new integration

Blockaid, a blockchain security startup with close association to Metamask has received the sum of $33 million in funding.

Blockaid Raises $33M in Funding to Strengthen Blockchain Security

Blockchain security startup Blockaid has raised $33 million from lead investors like Ribbit Capital to protect users from malicious transactions on any blockchain.

MetaMask security partner Blockaid secures $33M funding

Consensys founder Joseph Lubin has been named in a new lawsuit filed in New York by over two dozen former Consensys employees. Over two dozen former employees of Ethereum infrastructure firm Consensys have filed a fresh lawsuit against the firm’s founder ...

Employee equity deal: Former Consensys employees sue founder, claiming “he broke his word.”

Convene • Washington D.C.Where the industry establishes the digital economy’s legal, regulatory and compliance best practices for the future.Register Now A Swiss legal battle between former employees of ConsenSys AG and its founder,

Former ConsenSys AG Employees Take Equity Court Case Against Founder Joseph Lubin to U.S.

A spokesperson from ConsenSys referred to the claims as “frivolous.” The former employees claim that Lubin, who is also a co-founder of Ethereum, enticed them to join ConsenSys in late 2014 by promising it would become the “future of cryptocurrency” and the “crypto Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL ).”

Former ConsenSys employees sue founder Joseph Lubin – Here’s why

A Consensys owned crypto wallet known for its futuristic fox logo and mainstream crypto adoption.

Metamask by Consensys 

Why Israeli Startups are a Powerhouse for Multinational Companies: A Look at Tel Aviv's Startup Culture Israel has long been recognized as a global leader in technological innovation, particularly in the areas of software, cybersecurity, and medical technology. This is due in part to a strong emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, as well as the country's robust system of research and development (R&D) initiatives. The Israeli government has also been in supporting the growth of its tech sector, through investments in R&D, tax incentives for startups, and the establishment of accelerators and incubators that support early-stage companies. instrumental The Israeli startup ecosystem is for its vibrant culture of entrepreneurship and risk-taking. This is reflected in the large number of startups that are founded in Israel each year, as well as the high percentage of those that go on to achieve significant success. The country's startup scene is supported by a thriving venture capital industry, with many international firms setting up offices in Tel Aviv to take advantage of the entrepreneurial talent and innovative ideas that are generated there. known Tel Aviv, in particular, is often considered the startup capital of Israel. This culture of risk-taking, combined with a deep pool of technological talent and a supportive ecosystem of investors and mentors, has helped to make Tel Aviv a hub of innovation and creativity, attracting international companies and entrepreneurs alike. Leading Web3 Companies Unite for First Annual ETHTLV The first annual ETHTLV, a week-long series of events focused on the web3 industry, will be held in Tel Aviv from February 1 to 9. This inaugural event has been organized by some of Israel's most successful web3 businesses and aims to invigorate the country's thriving startup community, establish its foothold in the global web3 scene, and discuss the steps needed to onboard the next billion users. : Vested Interest Disclosure The author is an independent contributor publishing via our . Be it through direct compensation, media partnerships, or networking, the author has a vested interest in the company/ies mentioned in this story. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR brand-as-author program ETHTLV will feature a variety of keynotes, workshops, and panel discussions, as well as more than a dozen community-led side events. Participants will have the opportunity to learn from serial entrepreneurs who have established successful businesses in the web3 space, including The week will culminate in hands-on workshops, including a developer workshop hosted by MetaMask, ConsenSys' leading self-custodial Web3 wallet. With a vibrant and innovative tech environment, Tel Aviv is the perfect setting for ETHTLV, where participants can meet some of the world's most creative developers and progressive technologists to build the next generation of Web3 dapps and solutions. ConsenSys , , , and . Fireblocks StarkWare Collider MarketAcross Don’t forget to like and share the story! Image credits: . Shai Pal

Building the Future of Tech: ETHTLV Brings Together Top Web3 Talents in Tel Aviv

Introduction Archive nodes are particular nodes on the Ethereum Network that store historical blockchain data. Because they offer this historical information, they are helpful when you need to audit past transaction history or gather data. Services like and use archive nodes, but anyone can run one themselves. Etherscan Dune Analytics In this article, we will review the different types of Ethereum nodes, dive deeper into Archive Nodes, and introduce the new archive node capabilities of Infura. We’ll then walk through a real-world project to show how to connect the Infura API, and web3.js to a pre-built react frontend. Once complete, the user will be able to query an Archive Node for some statistics for a given Ethereum wallet address. Table of Contents What are Ethereum Nodes? Types of Ethereum Nodes Archive Nodes Archive Node Providers The Project Conclusion What Are Ethereum Nodes? In simple terms, a node is just a connection point in a network. However, in the case of Ethereum, different types of nodes hold various responsibilities to the network. The Ethereum blockchain operates on what is called the (EVM), which is a type of decentralized computer. Nodes, in this case, provide the processing power for this computer. They serve requested data, create and validate blocks, store transaction data or smart contract code, and much more. Anyone with the required hardware can download an and spin up their own node to participate in the network. This also prevents any single entity from controlling the entire network and contributes to Ethereum’s decentralization. Ethereum Virtual Machine global Ethereum client There are four main types of Ethereum nodes, each contributing to the network differently. Together they relay information to other nodes, verify transactions and the EVM state, and provide the infrastructure needed to keep the Ethereum Network operating efficiently. They communicate with one another to ensure they all agree on the state of the network. Therefore, having more nodes makes the network stronger and more resilient to . attacks Types of Ethereum Nodes Full Node Full Nodes verify transactions and EVM state, validate blocks, launch and execute smart contract code, and can serve network data when requested. They also store the state of the Ethereum Blockchain up to the most recent 128 blocks but can build an archive of historical states on demand. Mining Node (Commonly referred to as a “Miner”) A Miner is a Full Node running a . In its present state, Ethereum provides consensus through the algorithm. To summarize, this means a mining node competes in a computation race with other mining nodes to create the next block. Once created, the new block is broadcast to the network to be verified by other nodes and appended to the end of the blockchain. mining client proof-of-work Light Node A Light Node is a “light” version of a Full Node, which only contains block header data such as the previous block’s hash and a timestamp rather than the block data in its entirety. They make on-demand requests to Full Nodes and only validate certain pieces of state as required by their users. Example uses are to check balances, verify if a transaction was confirmed, check event logs, and do other light-duty tasks. Light Nodes can be easily run by lower-capacity devices such as a mobile phone or RaspberryPi. Archive Node An Archive Node is a type of Full Node that is running in “archive mode”. They contain all the same data as a Full Node but also all the historical state data of the entire blockchain since . We’ll focus on archive nodes for the remainder of this article. Genesis Block More on Archive Nodes Although Full Nodes can rebuild historical blockchain state data, this process is . Depending on the use case, this data may need to be served up quickly. This is where Archive Nodes come in. Because Archive Nodes contain historical data from the very first block, they can easily trace any arbitrary transaction at any time. slow and inefficient Why Access an Archive Node? If there is information you need to get from the Ethereum Blockchain before the most recent 128 blocks, the most efficient way to get this is through an Archive Node. Some of this information may include account balances, smart contract code, transaction counts, or the value at a particular storage position. They also enable the testing of smart contract code without creating a transaction on the blockchain. Specs to Run an Archive Node Running your own node means having more control of the information you share with the blockchain. You can create more secure and private dApps (decentralized apps), and your addresses and balances won’t leak to random nodes on the network. Running an Archive Node also means quick access to historical blockchain data without signing up for any third-party services. These are the specifications you would need to be able to : run your own Ethereum Archive Node A CPU with at least four cores 16 GB or more of RAM An SSD drive with at least 6 TB of space At least 25 MBit/s bandwidth As you can see, the requirements to spin up an Archive Node make it reasonably accessible. Not exactly cheap, but still within reach to an individual. It does require some technical know-how and constant upkeep though. If you don’t have the time, drive, or equipment to run your own, a Node Provider is a great alternative. Archive Node Providers Node Providers make it simple for anyone to access and interact with the Ethereum Blockchain through their easy-to-use APIs. All you need to do is create a new project and then easily call methods with the URL they provide. JSON RPC Infura Infura is arguably the most popular Node Provider in the space. It was created by ConsenSys, the team behind MetaMask and the Truffle blockchain development framework. They’ve been around for a while, and their services are great for beginners and organizations looking to scale. Now has free Archive Node Access Great free pricing tier Offers access to Layer 2 scaling solutions Many other add-ons to fit your needs Excellent documentation Use Cases Depending on the type of project you are building, there are several different technologies you could connect to a Node Provider. Truffle / Hardhat If you are writing smart contracts that interact with historical data, then a development suite such as Truffle or Hardhat would fit your needs. They both have an assortment of built-in tools that make the entire development lifecycle for your dApp much easier. Connecting to an Archive Node, in this case, is as easy as setting your provided API URL endpoint as a variable to be used in your frontend code. Ganache If you need quick access to an Archive Node for local development or testing, Truffle offers a personal blockchain that accomplishes this nicely. This blockchain is called . As of , spinning up a local instance of the Ethereum blockchain with Archive access is as simple as one command: Ganache Ganache version 7.0 ganache --fork You could then interact with it similarly as above, using the URL: , or whatever you set the port to. http://localhost:8545 Direct Integration If you don’t require a suite of blockchain tools, then you can use your Node Provider URL directly in your frontend code and connect to it with a JavaScript library such as ethers.js or web3.js. This is the option we will explore in the project below. The Project As mentioned at the start of this article, we will be making a simple “Year in Review” type app to display some wallet statistics from 2021. We will clone a pre-built frontend, so all we have to worry about is querying an archive node and then displaying the data nicely. What we will learn: How to get an Infura API URL with archive access How to gather archive data using an Infura API URL and web3.js The JavaScript required to collect the data from the blockchain How to put the data together to display it nicely in the app What is needed to complete the project: An Infura account Git Node / npm A code editor Additional resources Infura docs Web3.js docs The Infura API URL The first step in our project is to set up our Infura account and acquire our API Endpoint URL. Head to and either create a new account or log in. https://infura.io/ Create a new project to get the API Endpoint URL we will need later in our project. Since archive access is now free for all users, we don’t need to complete any other steps with our Infura account. With that out of the way, let’s start working on the frontend! The Frontend We will be building on top of a pre-made React frontend for the rest of this project. If you’ve never used React before, that’s okay. We will be walking through the rest of the steps together. To install the project properly, we will use and (npm). To see if they are already installed, we can check the version numbers in the command line: git node package manager npm --version git --version If they still need to be installed on your machine, you can get them at the following links: : Node / npm https://nodejs.org/en/ : Git https://git-scm.com/downloads Once installed, we are ready to start working on the rest of the project: In the command line, navigate to the folder you would like to work out of and clone the repository for our project: git clone https://github.com/paul-mcaviney/archive-node-project-frontend.git Change directories into the new project folder and install the required dependencies: cd archive-node-project-frontend npm i After the dependencies finish installing, let’s run the project to make sure it’s working correctly so far: npm start If everything is installed correctly, we will now have a frontend running on that looks like this: http://localhost:3000 There’s a text field we will use to enter a wallet address. Clicking the Submit button takes us to our results page. We can also return to the input page from here by pressing the button. Enter New Address Before we start coding, we need to install one more dependency. We will be using to access an Archive Node with our Infura URL. To install web3.js, type the following command in the directory for our project: web3.js npm install web3 We will do all of our coding in the file under the folder. The first bit of code we need to write is to import web3 to our project and connect it to our Infura URL. Under the import statements, and before the function, add the following code: App.js src App const Web3 = require('web3'); 
const infuraURL = 'YOUR_INFURA_URL_HERE'; 
const web3 = new Web3(new Web3.providers.HttpProvider(infuraURL)); : Do not upload this project to a public repository without first hiding your actual Infura URL. You can use environment variables for this. Note We’ll be using the React hook to update our UI. You’ll notice it’s already imported at the top of our file. Next, let’s add some React state variables to make it easier to display the data we gather from our Archive Node. Under the state variable, add the following: useState results const [address, setAddress] = useState(''); 
const [currentBalance, setCurrentBalance] = useState(0); 
const [startOfYearBalance, setStartOfYearBalance] = useState(0); 
const [endOfYearBalance, setEndOfYearBalance] = useState(0); 
const [balanceDifference, setBalanceDifference] = useState(0); 
const [transactionCount, setTransactionCount] = useState(0); Now we need to update the function to assign the user input to our address state variable instead of logging the comment: handleInput const handleInput = event => { 	
 setAddress(event.target.value); 
}; : You’ll notice we didn’t put any checks here to make sure what the user inputs is actually an Ethereum wallet address. This is for the sake of keeping this tutorial simple. You will want to handle this differently if deploying publicly. Note The last bit of JavaScript is an asynchronous function that will gather the data from the Archive Node, convert it to more readable values, and set our state variables. Under the comment that says , type the following code: Your JavaScript code will go here // Access and process data from Ethereum blockchain
const accessEthereum = async () => {

 // 2021 Start and End Block variables 
 const START_2021_BLOCK = 11565019;
 const END_2021_BLOCK = 13916165;
 
 // Get current balance of address 
 const balance = await web3.eth.getBalance(address);

 // Convert balance from wei to ETH and set state variable
 setCurrentBalance(await web3.utils.fromWei(balance.toString(), 'ether'));
 
 // Get wallet balance at the start of 2021 (Block #11565019)
 const startBalance = await web3.eth.getBalance(address, START_2021_BLOCK);

 // Get wallet balance at the end of 2021 (Block #13916165)
 const endBalance = await web3.eth.getBalance(address, END_2021_BLOCK);
 
 // Convert startBalance to ETH and set state variable
 const startBalanceAsETH = await web3.utils.fromWei(startBalance.toString(), 'ether');
 setStartOfYearBalance(startBalanceAsETH);

 // Convert endBalance to ETH and set state variable
 const endBalanceAsETH = await web3.utils.fromWei(endBalance.toString(), 'ether');
 setEndOfYearBalance(endBalanceAsETH);

 // Set balanceDifference from start to end of 2021
 setBalanceDifference(endBalanceAsETH - startBalanceAsETH);

 // Get transaction count at start of 2021 (Block #11565019)
 let startTransactions = await web3.eth.getTransactionCount(address, START_2021_BLOCK);

 // Get transaction count at end of 2021 (Block #13916165)
 let endTransactions = await web3.eth.getTransactionCount(address, END_2021_BLOCK);

 // Set total transaction count in 2021
 setTransactionCount(endTransactions - startTransactions);

 // Received results, condition met to show them on screen
 setResults(true); 

}; Moving on to the HTML, the first thing we need to do is replace the button function with the new one we just wrote. Change the function call for the button under the comment: Change this button function <button onClick={accessEthereum} className='form-button' type='submit' name='submit' id='submit'> The final bit of code we need is the HTML that will display the data we gathered from our Archive Node. In the statement, scroll down to the comment that says and add the following: return Your HTML code will go here <h3>{address}</h3>

Current Balance
{currentBalance} ETH

Start of 2021 Balance
{startOfYearBalance} ETH

End of 2021 Balance
{endOfYearBalance} ETH

Difference from Start of 2021
{balanceDifference} ETH

Number of transactions in 2021
{transactionCount}
 To see the complete project code, check out this . Github repository Now let’s test out our app and see if it works! First, start the app: npm start Enter an Ethereum wallet address to the text field and hit . If you don’t have a wallet address that was active in 2021, you can use Submit Vitalik’s. Awesome! Our results are displayed correctly, and we can see all the activity of the wallet address in 2021! Conclusion By following this tutorial, you accessed the data on an Archive Node using your Infura API Endpoint URL, then displayed it nicely in a simple app. ETH Year in Review An Archive Node is required to access data from the Ethereum Blockchain prior to the most recent 128 blocks. They store all historical state data from the very first block and serve it up much more quickly and efficiently than a Full Node. Now that Infura offers free Archive Node access to all users, gathering historical blockchain data has never been easier! Also Published Here

Using Infura to Access Ethereum Archive Nodes 

SEC v. Consensys Software Inc. Court Filing, retrieved on June 28, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series. You can jump to any part in this filing here. This part is 9 of 26. II. THROUGH THE METAMASK SWAPS PLATFORM, CONSENSYS PROVIDES BROKERAGE SERVICES TO U.S. INVESTORS. 44. Consensys has never registered with the Commission as a broker with respect to its brokerage activities on MetaMask Swaps (or on MetaMask Staking, see infra § VI), and no exemption or exception from registration applies. Nonetheless, from at least October 2020 to the present, Consensys has acted as a broker of crypto asset securities that it makes available through its MetaMask Swaps platform. 45. MetaMask Swaps is a Consensys-developed and Consensys-maintained software tool that brokers trades in crypto assets on behalf of investors who use MetaMask. As described below, Consensys solicits potential investors in crypto asset securities, holds itself out as a place to buy and sell crypto asset securities, provides pricing and other information relevant to the purchase and sale of crypto asset securities, advises investors by highlighting trades with the “best” value, accepts investor orders, routes investor orders—including by handling customers assets and carrying out trading parameters and instructions on the customer’s behalf, thereby facilitating execution—and receives transaction-based compensation. 46. While Consensys has branded the transaction a “swap,” it is simply a trade, or exchange, of one crypto asset for another—a crypto asset that the investor wants to sell (“Crypto Asset A”); and a crypto asset that the investor wants to buy (“Crypto Asset B”). 47. Specifically, if an investor holds Crypto Asset A in their MetaMask Wallet and wishes to trade it for Crypto Asset B, MetaMask Swaps will (1) find and display to the investor the “best” exchange rate; (2) route the investor’s order and transfer Crypto Asset A through Consensys’s smart contracts; (3) interface with a third-party liquidity provider that executes the investor’s order, thereby selling Crypto Asset A and acquiring Crypto Asset B on behalf of the investor; (4) divert a fee into a Consensys-controlled smart contract address; and (5) transfer Crypto Asset B into the investor’s MetaMask Wallet. Continue Reading Here. About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings.
This court case retrieved on June 28, 2024, storage.courtlistener.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. SEC v. Consensys Software Inc. Court Filing, retrieved on June 28, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series. You can jump to any part in this filing here. This part is 9 of 26. SEC v. Consensys Software Inc. Court Filing, retrieved on June 28, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series . You can jump to any part in this filing here . This part is 9 of 26. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here II. THROUGH THE METAMASK SWAPS PLATFORM, CONSENSYS PROVIDES BROKERAGE SERVICES TO U.S. INVESTORS. 44. Consensys has never registered with the Commission as a broker with respect to its brokerage activities on MetaMask Swaps (or on MetaMask Staking, see infra § VI), and no exemption or exception from registration applies. Nonetheless, from at least October 2020 to the present, Consensys has acted as a broker of crypto asset securities that it makes available through its MetaMask Swaps platform. 45. MetaMask Swaps is a Consensys-developed and Consensys-maintained software tool that brokers trades in crypto assets on behalf of investors who use MetaMask. As described below, Consensys solicits potential investors in crypto asset securities, holds itself out as a place to buy and sell crypto asset securities, provides pricing and other information relevant to the purchase and sale of crypto asset securities, advises investors by highlighting trades with the “best” value, accepts investor orders, routes investor orders—including by handling customers assets and carrying out trading parameters and instructions on the customer’s behalf, thereby facilitating execution—and receives transaction-based compensation. 46. While Consensys has branded the transaction a “swap,” it is simply a trade, or exchange, of one crypto asset for another—a crypto asset that the investor wants to sell (“Crypto Asset A”); and a crypto asset that the investor wants to buy (“Crypto Asset B”). 47. Specifically, if an investor holds Crypto Asset A in their MetaMask Wallet and wishes to trade it for Crypto Asset B, MetaMask Swaps will (1) find and display to the investor the “best” exchange rate; (2) route the investor’s order and transfer Crypto Asset A through Consensys’s smart contracts; (3) interface with a third-party liquidity provider that executes the investor’s order, thereby selling Crypto Asset A and acquiring Crypto Asset B on behalf of the investor; (4) divert a fee into a Consensys-controlled smart contract address; and (5) transfer Crypto Asset B into the investor’s MetaMask Wallet. Continue Reading Here. Continue Reading Here . Here About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on June 28, 2024, storage.courtlistener.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on June 28, 2024, storage.courtlistener.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. storage.courtlistener.com

Inside MetaMask Swaps: SEC Details Unregistered Brokerage Activities by Consensys

SEC v. Consensys Software Inc. Court Filing, retrieved on June 28, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series. You can jump to any part in this filing here. This part is 8 of 26. C. Consensys and MetaMask 36. Under its “MetaMask” brand, Consensys provides investors with a variety of services related to crypto assets. 37. MetaMask Wallet, which Consensys has offered since July 2016, is the foundational application for its MetaMask suite of products. 38. MetaMask Wallet is a Consensys-developed and Consensys-maintained software program, downloaded to an investor’s device (in the form of a mobile app or a browser extension), that stores the public and private keys to a user’s crypto assets. 39. The blockchain address (i.e., a derivation of the public key) stored in the investor’s MetaMask Wallet is, in essence, the investor’s MetaMask “account.” 40. Indeed, for each blockchain that a new investor selects to interact with, MetaMask Wallet generates a public and private key pair and derives a blockchain address from the public key. MetaMask Wallet refers to these blockchain addresses as the investor’s “Accounts.” By default, MetaMask Wallet creates an Account labeled “Account 1” for each blockchain selected by the investor. 41. If an investor already owns a crypto asset—and stores the keys to that asset outside MetaMask Wallet—the investor can import the public and private keys associated with that asset to a MetaMask Wallet using its “import” account function. 42. An investor’s MetaMask Wallet blockchain address is also the address where crypto assets purchased and sold through other MetaMask services—such as MetaMask Swaps and MetaMask Staking—are received and sent. 43. An investor can view a list of crypto assets held in the investor’s MetaMask accounts, the investor’s total holdings in each asset, and the aggregate value of the investor’s assets, through a feature Consensys calls MetaMask Portfolio Dashboard. According to an article by Consensys on July 17, 2023, MetaMask Portfolio Dashboard acts as a “home base” for tracking, buying, selling, and staking crypto assets. Continue Reading Here. About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings.
This court case retrieved on June 28, 2024, storage.courtlistener.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. SEC v. Consensys Software Inc. Court Filing, retrieved on June 28, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series. You can jump to any part in this filing here. This part is 8 of 26. SEC v. Consensys Software Inc. Court Filing, retrieved on June 28, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series . You can jump to any part in this filing here . This part is 8 of 26. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here C. Consensys and MetaMask 36. Under its “MetaMask” brand, Consensys provides investors with a variety of services related to crypto assets. 37. MetaMask Wallet, which Consensys has offered since July 2016, is the foundational application for its MetaMask suite of products. 38. MetaMask Wallet is a Consensys-developed and Consensys-maintained software program, downloaded to an investor’s device (in the form of a mobile app or a browser extension), that stores the public and private keys to a user’s crypto assets. 39. The blockchain address (i.e., a derivation of the public key) stored in the investor’s MetaMask Wallet is, in essence, the investor’s MetaMask “account.” 40. Indeed, for each blockchain that a new investor selects to interact with, MetaMask Wallet generates a public and private key pair and derives a blockchain address from the public key. MetaMask Wallet refers to these blockchain addresses as the investor’s “Accounts.” By default, MetaMask Wallet creates an Account labeled “Account 1” for each blockchain selected by the investor. 41. If an investor already owns a crypto asset—and stores the keys to that asset outside MetaMask Wallet—the investor can import the public and private keys associated with that asset to a MetaMask Wallet using its “import” account function. 42. An investor’s MetaMask Wallet blockchain address is also the address where crypto assets purchased and sold through other MetaMask services—such as MetaMask Swaps and MetaMask Staking—are received and sent. 43. An investor can view a list of crypto assets held in the investor’s MetaMask accounts, the investor’s total holdings in each asset, and the aggregate value of the investor’s assets, through a feature Consensys calls MetaMask Portfolio Dashboard. According to an article by Consensys on July 17, 2023, MetaMask Portfolio Dashboard acts as a “home base” for tracking, buying, selling, and staking crypto assets. Continue Reading Here. Continue Reading Here . Here About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on June 28, 2024, storage.courtlistener.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on June 28, 2024, storage.courtlistener.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. storage.courtlistener.com

How MetaMask Wallet Powers Consensys's Crypto Asset Services

SEC v. Consensys Software Inc. Court Filing, retrieved on June 28, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series. You can jump to any part in this filing here. This part is 20 of 26. C. Consensys—through MetaMask Staking—Offers and Sells the Lido and Rocket Pool Investment Contracts. i. Through MetaMask Staking, Consensys Promotes, Offers, and Sells the Lido and Rocket Pool Investment Contracts To Its Users. 286. On January 13, 2023, Consensys publicly announced the release of a program called MetaMask Staking. 287. Consensys created MetaMask Staking to offer and sell the Lido and Rocket Pool staking program investment contracts to investors. 288. The January 13 announcement stated: “MetaMask Staking allows you to engage in liquid staking with two prominent providers, Lido and Rocket Pool, where by you can deposit your ETH and receive a token representing the value of your stake in return.” 289. It called MetaMask Staking “an easy and convenient way to stake ETH.” 290. On January 13, 2023, Consensys posted on the MetaMask Twitter account: “We are extremely happy to announce that you can now stake ETH with Lido or Rocket Pool through the [MetaMask] Portfolio Dapp.” This post included an image advertising “5.22% rewards” with Lido and “4.59% rewards” with Rocket Pool—highlighting the former as the “Highest rewards.” 291. On May 16, 2023, Consensys posted on the MetaMask Twitter account: “[U]sers can now stake and withdraw ETH directly from our liquid staking providers, Rocket Pool and Lido.” And “Get started here,” pointing to a link to the MetaMask portfolio website. 292. In promotional materials, Consensys claimed that MetaMask Staking would make it easier for individual holders of ETH to participate in staking. 293. Specifically, in its January 13, 2023, announcement on its website, Consensys stated: “[S]taking can be a convoluted and complicated process for end-users. MetaMask Staking will offer an easy-to-understand and trusted entry point for users interested in staking. Through this new feature, users can compare the rewards rate, network control, and popularity of different liquid staking providers and choose the one they want to stake with.” ii. Consensys’s MetaMask Staking User Interface. 294. To use MetaMask Staking, investors must have ETH in their MetaMask Wallet. 295. First, from the browser extension or mobile app, the investor clicks on “Stake,” or “Staking.” They are then taken to the MetaMask Portfolio site, where they can then choose “ETH.” 296. At this point, Consensys’s graphical interface presents the investor with two options: Lido and Rocket Pool. 298. If either Lido or Rocket Pool is at or near capacity, Consensys’s MetaMask Staking software disables the ability to stake with that program. 299. In any event, an investor can choose either the Lido or Rocket Pool staking program by clicking “Stake.” 300. On the following screen, an investor can input the number of ETH that they would like to invest in one of the staking program investment contracts and click “review.” 301. At that point, Consensys’s MetaMask Staking software shows the investor a screen with the number of the staking pool tokens they will receive in return, their “estimated rewards,” and the “estimated gas fee.” 302. If the investor wishes to proceed with their request to invest in the staking program investment contract, the investor clicks “confirm.” 303. If MetaMask Staking successfully completes the transaction, the investor will see a screen that says, “Transaction Complete.” iii. Consensys Offers and Sells the Lido and Rocket Pool Investment Contracts To Investors. 304. Accordingly, Consensys offers and sells the Lido and Rocket Pool investment contracts to investors through the MetaMask Staking platform. 305. Consensys makes this process appear simple and easy to non-technical investors, while performing the technical series of actions necessary to transfer the investor’s ETH to Lido or Rocket Pool and transfer stETH or rETH to the investor in return. 306. When the investor clicks “confirm,” this signals the MetaMask Staking software to take the steps necessary to exchange the investor’s ETH for rETH or stETH. Specifically, Consensys has programed MetaMask Staking software to take the steps described below. 307. First, Consensys’s MetaMask Staking software reads the private key associated with the ETH in the investor’s MetaMask Wallet. 308. Second, using this key, the software creates a blockchain transaction and transfers the investor’s ETH from the investor’s MetaMask Wallet into a smart contract called the MetaMask Staking Aggregator Router Smart Contract (the “MM Staking Router Smart Contract”). 309. The MM Staking Router Smart Contract has its own Ethereum blockchain address. 310. The investor has no control over the MM Staking Router Smart Contract. 311. The MM Staking Router Smart Contract address temporarily holds the investor’s ETH. 312. Although Consensys has programmed its MetaMask Staking software so that Consensys can take a fee for each transaction, Consensys currently sets the fee variable at zero (i.e., it does not take a fee at this time). 313. Consensys could, however, change the software at any time to assess a fee, in which case the amount of the fee would be diverted from the MM Staking Router Smart Contract into a blockchain address designated by Consensys. 314. Third, Consensys’s software transfers the investor’s ETH from the MM Staking Router Smart Contract to the Lido or Rocket Pool Proxy smart contract (deployed by Lido and Rocket Pool, respectively). 315. These Proxy smart contracts mint stETH or rETH, respectively, upon receiving a deposit of ETH, and, if the MM Staking Router Smart Contract sends ETH to the Proxy smart contracts, the Proxy smart contracts will transfer newly minted stETH or rETH, respectively, to the MM Staking Router Smart Contract. 316. Fourth, the MM Staking Router Smart Contract transfers the stETH or rETH, as the case may be, to the investor’s MetaMask Wallet. 317. As of March 11, 2024, investors had invested 100,252 ETH in the Lido staking program through MetaMask Staking and 8,375 ETH in the Rocket Pool staking program through MetaMask Staking. 318. As of March 11, 2024, Consensys, through MetaMask Staking, offered and sold the Lido staking program to 32,449 unique blockchain addresses and offered and sold the Rocket Pool staking programs to 2,215 unique blockchain addresses. 319. For its part, Lido embraced MetaMask Staking as a platform through which its staking program would be offered and sold. 320. On January 17, 2023, Lido announced on its blog that “Ethereum staking with Lido is now live on MetaMask! Stake your ETH on MetaMask to earn yield and secure the Ethereum network from the comfort of your wallet.” 321. Moreover, a former Lido employee testified that “in terms of a distribution channel [Consensys’s MetaMask was] a very highly valued target.” 322. Accordingly, by the conduct described above, Consensys offered and sold, and continues to offer and sell, investment contracts for Lido and Rocket Pool, participating directly in the distribution of securities from the issuers—Lido and Rocket Pool—to the investor. Continue Reading Here. About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings.
This court case retrieved on June 28, 2024, storage.courtlistener.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. SEC v. Consensys Software Inc. Court Filing, retrieved on June 28, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series. You can jump to any part in this filing here. This part is 20 of 26. SEC v. Consensys Software Inc. Court Filing, retrieved on June 28, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series . You can jump to any part in this filing here . This part is 20 of 26. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here C. Consensys—through MetaMask Staking—Offers and Sells the Lido and Rocket Pool Investment Contracts. i. Through MetaMask Staking, Consensys Promotes, Offers, and Sells the Lido and Rocket Pool Investment Contracts To Its Users. i. Through MetaMask Staking, Consensys Promotes, Offers, and Sells the Lido and Rocket Pool Investment Contracts To Its Users. 286. On January 13, 2023, Consensys publicly announced the release of a program called MetaMask Staking. 287. Consensys created MetaMask Staking to offer and sell the Lido and Rocket Pool staking program investment contracts to investors. 288. The January 13 announcement stated: “MetaMask Staking allows you to engage in liquid staking with two prominent providers, Lido and Rocket Pool, where by you can deposit your ETH and receive a token representing the value of your stake in return.” 289. It called MetaMask Staking “an easy and convenient way to stake ETH.” 290. On January 13, 2023, Consensys posted on the MetaMask Twitter account: “We are extremely happy to announce that you can now stake ETH with Lido or Rocket Pool through the [MetaMask] Portfolio Dapp.” This post included an image advertising “5.22% rewards” with Lido and “4.59% rewards” with Rocket Pool—highlighting the former as the “Highest rewards.” 291. On May 16, 2023, Consensys posted on the MetaMask Twitter account: “[U]sers can now stake and withdraw ETH directly from our liquid staking providers, Rocket Pool and Lido.” And “Get started here,” pointing to a link to the MetaMask portfolio website. 292. In promotional materials, Consensys claimed that MetaMask Staking would make it easier for individual holders of ETH to participate in staking. 293. Specifically, in its January 13, 2023, announcement on its website, Consensys stated: “[S]taking can be a convoluted and complicated process for end-users. MetaMask Staking will offer an easy-to-understand and trusted entry point for users interested in staking. Through this new feature, users can compare the rewards rate, network control, and popularity of different liquid staking providers and choose the one they want to stake with.” ii. Consensys’s MetaMask Staking User Interface. ii. Consensys’s MetaMask Staking User Interface. 294. To use MetaMask Staking, investors must have ETH in their MetaMask Wallet. 295. First, from the browser extension or mobile app, the investor clicks on “Stake,” or “Staking.” They are then taken to the MetaMask Portfolio site, where they can then choose “ETH.” 296. At this point, Consensys’s graphical interface presents the investor with two options: Lido and Rocket Pool. 298. If either Lido or Rocket Pool is at or near capacity, Consensys’s MetaMask Staking software disables the ability to stake with that program. 299. In any event, an investor can choose either the Lido or Rocket Pool staking program by clicking “Stake.” 300. On the following screen, an investor can input the number of ETH that they would like to invest in one of the staking program investment contracts and click “review.” 301. At that point, Consensys’s MetaMask Staking software shows the investor a screen with the number of the staking pool tokens they will receive in return, their “estimated rewards,” and the “estimated gas fee.” 302. If the investor wishes to proceed with their request to invest in the staking program investment contract, the investor clicks “confirm.” 303. If MetaMask Staking successfully completes the transaction, the investor will see a screen that says, “Transaction Complete.” iii. Consensys Offers and Sells the Lido and Rocket Pool Investment Contracts To Investors. iii. Consensys Offers and Sells the Lido and Rocket Pool Investment Contracts To Investors. 304. Accordingly, Consensys offers and sells the Lido and Rocket Pool investment contracts to investors through the MetaMask Staking platform. 305. Consensys makes this process appear simple and easy to non-technical investors, while performing the technical series of actions necessary to transfer the investor’s ETH to Lido or Rocket Pool and transfer stETH or rETH to the investor in return. 306. When the investor clicks “confirm,” this signals the MetaMask Staking software to take the steps necessary to exchange the investor’s ETH for rETH or stETH. Specifically, Consensys has programed MetaMask Staking software to take the steps described below. 307. First, Consensys’s MetaMask Staking software reads the private key associated with the ETH in the investor’s MetaMask Wallet. 308. Second, using this key, the software creates a blockchain transaction and transfers the investor’s ETH from the investor’s MetaMask Wallet into a smart contract called the MetaMask Staking Aggregator Router Smart Contract (the “MM Staking Router Smart Contract”). 309. The MM Staking Router Smart Contract has its own Ethereum blockchain address. 310. The investor has no control over the MM Staking Router Smart Contract. 311. The MM Staking Router Smart Contract address temporarily holds the investor’s ETH. 312. Although Consensys has programmed its MetaMask Staking software so that Consensys can take a fee for each transaction, Consensys currently sets the fee variable at zero (i.e., it does not take a fee at this time). 313. Consensys could, however, change the software at any time to assess a fee, in which case the amount of the fee would be diverted from the MM Staking Router Smart Contract into a blockchain address designated by Consensys. 314. Third, Consensys’s software transfers the investor’s ETH from the MM Staking Router Smart Contract to the Lido or Rocket Pool Proxy smart contract (deployed by Lido and Rocket Pool, respectively). 315. These Proxy smart contracts mint stETH or rETH, respectively, upon receiving a deposit of ETH, and, if the MM Staking Router Smart Contract sends ETH to the Proxy smart contracts, the Proxy smart contracts will transfer newly minted stETH or rETH, respectively, to the MM Staking Router Smart Contract. 316. Fourth, the MM Staking Router Smart Contract transfers the stETH or rETH, as the case may be, to the investor’s MetaMask Wallet. 317. As of March 11, 2024, investors had invested 100,252 ETH in the Lido staking program through MetaMask Staking and 8,375 ETH in the Rocket Pool staking program through MetaMask Staking. 318. As of March 11, 2024, Consensys, through MetaMask Staking, offered and sold the Lido staking program to 32,449 unique blockchain addresses and offered and sold the Rocket Pool staking programs to 2,215 unique blockchain addresses. 319. For its part, Lido embraced MetaMask Staking as a platform through which its staking program would be offered and sold. 320. On January 17, 2023, Lido announced on its blog that “Ethereum staking with Lido is now live on MetaMask! Stake your ETH on MetaMask to earn yield and secure the Ethereum network from the comfort of your wallet.” 321. Moreover, a former Lido employee testified that “in terms of a distribution channel [Consensys’s MetaMask was] a very highly valued target.” 322. Accordingly, by the conduct described above, Consensys offered and sold, and continues to offer and sell, investment contracts for Lido and Rocket Pool, participating directly in the distribution of securities from the issuers—Lido and Rocket Pool—to the investor. Continue Reading Here. Continue Reading Here . Here About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on June 28, 2024, storage.courtlistener.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on June 28, 2024, storage.courtlistener.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. storage.courtlistener.com

MetaMask Staking Faces SEC Scrutiny Over Lido and Rocket Pool Offerings

মেটামাস্ক স্টেকিং লিডো এবং রকেট পুল অফারগুলির উপর এসইসি স্ক্রুটিনির মুখোমুখি হয়

MetaMask Staking steht wegen Lido- und Rocket Pool-Angeboten unter Beobachtung der SEC

MetaMask Stake se enfrenta al escrutinio de la SEC por las ofertas de Lido y Rocket Pool

MetaMask Staking fait l'objet d'un examen minutieux par la SEC sur les offres de Lido et de Rocket Pool

मेटामास्क स्टेकिंग को लीडो और रॉकेट पूल ऑफरिंग पर SEC जांच का सामना करना पड़ रहा है

MetaMask ステーキング、Lido および Rocket Pool の提供に関して SEC の監視に直面

MetaMask 스테이킹, Lido 및 로켓 풀 제공에 대한 SEC 조사에 직면

MetaMask Staking enfrenta escrutínio da SEC sobre ofertas de Lido e Rocket Pool

Стейкинг MetaMask подвергается проверке SEC в отношении предложений Lido и Rocket Pool

MetaMask Staking, Lido ve Roket Havuzu Teklifleri Üzerinden SEC İncelemesiyle Karşı Karşıya

MetaMask Stake phải đối mặt với sự giám sát của SEC đối với các dịch vụ Lido và Rocket Pool

MetaMask Staking 因 Lido 和 Rocket Pool 发行面临美国证券交易委员会的审查

ONE of the most prominent firms in crypto recently sent shockwaves through the industry by announcing it is suing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On April 25th, in a bitterly worded lawsuit filed in a Texas federal court, crypto giant Consensys accused the SEC of “regulatory overreach” in its bid to bring to heel the $380 billion cryptocurrency Ether (commonly referred to as ETH). The complaint is based on the grounds that “ETH bears none of the attributes of a security.” Consensys are wrong, and this lawsuit is doomed to fail. The reasons why stretch back nearly ten years to when Ethereum was first founded. But in order to understand them, we first need some context on what, exactly, Consensys does. Consensys is a major backer of the Ethereum blockchain; a “Layer 1” blockchain ledger, like Bitcoin, but on top of which other protocols and applications can be built. Ethereum users transact on the network using ETH, which acts as a form of payment made by users of the network to the individuals around the world who run it (known as “miners” - more on them shortly). Consensys has contributed significantly to Ethereum’s back-end infrastructure, as well as funding a lot of smaller projects within the ecosystem. However it’s best known as the developer of MetaMask; by far the most popular wallet used in the crypto industry, with around 30 million monthly active users as of February this year. The level of the firm’s contribution to the Ethereum ecosystem, and the huge adoption its products have seen, have enabled Consensys to become a colossus in the crypto world; in November 2021, it raised $200 million at a $3.2 billion valuation. In March 2022, it raised a further $450 million; this time, with a valuation of $7 billion. The success of Consensys is intrinsically tied to the success of the Ethereum network which it backs, however, the latter has been mired in controversy and plagued by regulatory scrutiny since its inception, on account of its token ETH. Specifically, the manner in which ETH was first launched onto the market. ETH was launched nearly ten years ago, in July 2014, through a process known as an Initial Coin Offering (ICO); essentially, the crypto industry’s version of an IPO, in which tokens are first sold to the public. In their heyday, ICOs were tremendously popular, with participation in them reaching a zenith in 2016-17; a period now referred to in the industry as the “ICO era.” Such was the exuberance around these sales that one token, EOS, raised almost $4.1 billion through a year-long ICO; more than the three biggest equity raises that year – Uber, Epic Games, and Juul – combined. With so much money flooding into ICOs, they soon caught the attention, and the ire, of regulators. The SEC produced an Investigative Report in July 2017, declaring that “offers and sales of digital assets by ‘virtual’ organizations are subject to the requirements of the federal securities laws.” Cryptocurrencies, the agency decided, were securities and were to be regulated as such. After issuing this decree, the regulators set about ardently pursuing and prosecuting ICOs that did not adhere to securities law. Which, unsurprisingly, was pretty much all of them. This brought about an abrupt end to the ICO mania, with token sales drying up virtually overnight. However, while the SEC was hell-bent on throwing the book at new ICOs, all the tokens that launched before the July 2017 report were effectively given a free pass. None of these token issuers were prosecuted because their sales had been conducted before the decree went out that ICOs fall within the boundaries of securities laws. This meant a lucky escape for ETH; had it launched after the report, then its developers would have been prosecuted. No registrations for the sale were filed with the regulator, meaning the ICO did not comply with the SEC’s securities laws. Yet, despite not actively pursuing ETH for securities violations, the agency resolved to keep both the network, which was skyrocketing in popularity, and the coin, which was skyrocketing in price, firmly on their radar. For the next five or so years, while some debate persisted around whether the SEC should in fact be going after ETH, the regulators’ main focus was to clamp down on the . many scams and frauds being conducted throughout the space All this was to change in 2022, however, when Ethereum made a major change to the way the network was run. The details around this change are quite technical, but essentially, Ethereum introduced a system called “proof-of-stake,” in which the network would operate by the aforementioned miners locking up (or “staking”) their ETH in exchange for the ability to receive payments from the network’s users. While this may sound like an innocuous technical update, comprehensible and interesting to only a handful of basement-dwelling obsessives, the switch to proof-of-stake changed everything for Ethereum. The network was now firmly within the SEC’s crosshairs. And the regulator, long since exasperated by the sheer number of scams unfolding in the cryptosphere, had the perfect excuse to go after the network that it saw as integral to the facilitation of so much fraudulent activity. Because to the SEC, staking constitutes an investment contract and falls firmly within the realm of securities law. Investment contracts are classified as such if they pass the “Howey Test”. Developed by the US Supreme Court in a landmark case in 1946, the Howey Test asserts that an investment contract is “a contract, transaction, or scheme whereby a person invests their money in a common enterprise and is led to expect profits solely from the efforts of the promoter or a third party.” Staking arrangements involve individual investors contributing crypto to staking pools with the expectation of receiving a reward while relying on the efforts and work of the team managing and operating the staking platform. A court using the Howey Test, therefore, would find staking does indeed constitute an investment contract, and therefore, falls under securities law. Since Ethereum’s move to proof-of-stake, the SEC has been vigorously and ruthlessly clamping down on the network and the companies within its ecosystem, unleashing a deluge of regulatory action against many of the major players in the space. In its lawsuit filing, Consensys even refer to the head of the agency, Gary Gensler, as “the crusading SEC Chair.” And, indeed, buried within that same lawsuit a diligent reader will discover, on reaching the 68th paragraph, that Consensys itself was recently served a Wells Notice by the SEC; a letter that informs firms about impending legal action, following the results of an investigation which the agency has conducted. It turns out, then, that prior to filing its lawsuit Consensys was staring down the barrel of imminent prosecution. The SEC’s grounds for this were that, amongst other things, the MetaMask wallet which Consensys built offers staking services within its product. With all of this considered, a very different picture begins to emerge around Consensys’ decision to sue the SEC, and its lawsuit starts to look very much like a preemptive blow. Knowing that prosecution was imminent, the firm decided to go on the offensive and sue the SEC before the SEC sued them. The problem is, however, that Consensys stands almost no chance of winning. Despite what Consensys may argue, ETH bears all the hallmarks of a security. Not only because of the staking mechanism which is central to the way the network operates, but also because the token was issued through an ICO; a process which the SEC has declared falls under securities laws. ETH simply got lucky and was given a pass because its ICO happened to have taken place prior to the declaration. It was good timing which prevented prosecution, and nothing else. And while the SEC can’t go after the token for the way in which it was launched onto the market, the incorporation of staking as a central feature of the network has given them all the ammo they need to initiate legal proceedings and take down ETH from a different angle. And, over and above the sheer weight of evidence against its case, Consensys also has the SEC’s track record of prosecuting crypto companies to contend with. The SEC website lists 238 lawsuits the agency has filed against crypto firms, and to date, it has never really lost a case that involves unregistered securities. Ripple, another cryptocurrency firm whose token , made a lot of noise around a purported court victory in July last year. However, this is misleading; XRP was deemed not to be a security when offered to the public in secondary sales on exchanges, but the court found it is indeed a security when sold to hedge funds and other institutions. At a push, it was a partial victory for Ripple, and certainly not a loss for the SEC. XRP the SEC claimed was a security With all of this in view, therefore, the decision by Consensys to sue the SEC over its alleged witch-hunt of the Ethereum ecosystem can best be regarded as something of a Hail Mary play; the firm knew it was going to get prosecuted, and likely very soon, so it decided to roll the dice and take on the SEC in court over a separate issue, perhaps in an attempt to shift attention away from itself and onto the legal uncertainties surrounding Ethereum and its token. In doing so, it’s also fast-tracking the resolution of one of the biggest open questions in crypto, which has long been looming over the industry: whether or not ETH is officially, and legally, a security. Up against such astronomically unlikely odds of victory, it seems the best Consensys can hope to achieve is to drag the court case on for as long as possible. The firm has vast financial resources and can afford to hire legions of the best lawyers in the business. In doing so, it’ll be able to keep the party going for a little longer. But sooner or later the court will, inevitably, come to a decision. And when that happens, it’ll be lights out for both ETH and Consensys.

Here's Why Consensys' Lawsuit Against the SEC Is Doomed

এসইসির বিরুদ্ধে কনসেনসিসের মামলা কেন ধ্বংস হয়ে গেছে তা এখানে

Darum ist die Klage von Consensys gegen die SEC zum Scheitern verurteilt

He aquí por qué la demanda de Consensys contra la SEC está condenada al fracaso

Voici pourquoi le procès de Consensys contre la SEC est voué à l'échec

यहाँ बताया गया है कि क्यों एसईसी के खिलाफ कंसेन्सिस का मुकदमा असफल हो गया है

Consensys の SEC に対する訴訟が失敗に終わる理由はここにある

SEC에 대한 Consensys의 소송이 실패한 이유는 다음과 같습니다.

Veja por que o processo da Consensys contra a SEC está condenado

Вот почему иск Consensys против SEC обречен

İşte Consensys'in SEC'e Karşı Açtığı Dava Neden Sonuçsuz?

Đây là lý do tại sao vụ kiện của Consensys chống lại SEC lại thất bại

这就是为什么 Consensys 对 SEC 的诉讼注定失败

There are many new L2s emerging in the Web3 ecosystem with the goal of improving Ethereum’s scalability. These L2s use a variety of solutions to create layers on top of Ethereum that are faster, cheaper, and yet still benefit from the base Ethereum blockchain layer to secure transactions. Among this new set of layer two solutions, zk-rollups (or zero-knowledge rollups) have risen to the top. , launched by ConsenSys, specifically is one of the most anticipated zk-rollup projects. Linea In this article, we’ll explore what makes Linea so exciting. Then, we’ll walk through a tutorial on how to build a dapp on the Linea testnet. Finally, we’ll create our own cryptocurrency on Linea using , , and : all mature ecosystem tools that are used by blockchain developers to build dapps. Solidity MetaMask Truffle Let’s get started. Linea: a Direct Line From Ethereum’s Past to Its Present Zk-rollups are a layer 2 solution that greatly reduces the amount of data that needs to be stored and processed on a blockchain. Zk-rollups work by conducting computations off-chain (where it’s cheaper and faster) and creating to validate these transactions, which are then recorded on-chain on the main Ethereum network. zero-knowledge proofs Some of the current projects using zk-proofs include Starknet (zk-starks), Loopring (zk-snarks), Immutable X, and zkSync. But, among the zk-rollups, the is arguably the most exciting development in the world of blockchain. zkEVM combines zk-rollups with EVMs (Ethereum Virtual Machines). zkEVM zkEVMs boast incredibly high throughput and super low transaction costs thanks to their rollup scaling solution. At the same time, they are which makes it possible for Ethereum developers to use zk-rollups with the knowledge and tools they already have. EVM-compatible Although zkEVMs are a nascent technology, a few companies like ConsenSys have managed to make breakthroughs in the space. ConsenSys recently launched , a public testnet for its heavily anticipated zkEVM chain. Linea Linea is a developer-first zk-rollup, focused on not only delivering the promise of zkEVM, but doing it in a way that supports a seamless developer environment with to existing tools. native integrations Create Your Own Cryptocurrency on the Linea Zk-Rollup Let’s jump in and see how it all works by deploying a token contract on Linea. Along the way, we’ll see how cheap it is to deploy our contract and how we can take advantage of Linea’s EVM-equivalency with the knowledge and tools Ethereum developers are already familiar with. Step 1: Install MetaMask The first thing we’re going to do is set up a MetaMask wallet and add the Linea test network to it. MetaMask is the world’s most popular, secure, and easy-to-use self-custodial wallet. You can download the MetaMask extension for your browser . here After you install the extension, MetaMask will set up the wallet for you. In the process, you will be given a secret phrase. Keep that safe, and under no circumstances should you make it public. Once you’ve set up MetaMask, click on the Network tab in the top-right corner of your screen. You will see an option to show/hide test networks. MetaMask comes automatically configured with the Linea network. Once you turn the test networks on, you should be able to see the Linea Goerli test network in the dropdown. Step 2: Get Some goerliETH In order to deploy our smart contract and interact with it, we will require some free test ETH. The first step of this process is to acquire some goerliETH on the main Goerli test network. You can obtain this for free from the list of faucets available . here Once you fund your wallet, switch back to the Goerli test network on MetaMask. You should now see a non-zero balance. Step 3: Bridge goerliETH to Linea Now that we have funds on Goerli, let’s bridge them over to Linea using the Hop protocol. Visit the Hop exchange and connect your MetaMask wallet (using the Connect Wallet button on the upper right). here Once your wallet is connected, select the From network as Goerli and the To network as Linea. For this tutorial, around 0.2 ETH should be sufficient. Once you click Send, the bridging should take a few minutes. Once it is done, switch to the Linea network on MetaMask. You should see a non-zero balance. Step 4: Install NPM and Node Like all Ethereum dapps, we will build our project using node and npm. In case you don't have these installed on your local machine, you can do so . here To ensure everything is working correctly, run the following command: $ node -v If all goes well, you should see a version number for node. Step 5: Sign up for an Infura Account In order to deploy our contract to the Linea network, we will require an Infura account. Infura gives us access to RPC endpoints that allow for fast, reliable, and easy access to the blockchain of our choice. Sign up for a free account . Once you’ve created your account, navigate to the and select Create New Key. here dashboard For the network, choose Web3 API and name it Linea. Once you click on Create, Infura will generate an API key for you, and give you RPC endpoints to Ethereum, Linea, other L2s, and non-EVM L1s (and their corresponding testnets) automatically. For this tutorial, we are only interested in the Linea RPC endpoint. This URL is of the form <> Step 6: Create a Node Project and Install the Necessary Packages Let's set up an empty project repository by running the following commands: $ mkdir sunshine-coin && cd sunshine-coin $ npm init -y We will be using Truffle, a world-class development environment and testing framework for EVM smart contracts, to build and deploy our cryptocurrency smart contract. Install Truffle by running: $ npm install —save-dev truffle We can now create a barebones Truffle project by running the following command: $ npx truffle init To check if everything works properly, run: $ npx truffle test We now have Truffle successfully configured. Now, let’s install the OpenZeppelin contracts package. This package will give us access to the ERC-20 base implementation (the standard for fungible tokens) as well as a few helpful additional functionalities. $ npm install @openzeppelin/contracts To allow Truffle to use our MetaMask wallet, sign transactions, and pay for gas on our behalf, we will need another package called hdwalletprovider. Install it by using the following command: $ npm install –save-dev @truffle/hdwallet-provider Finally, in order to keep our sensitive wallet information safe, we will use the dotenv package. $ npm install dotenv Step 7: Create the “Sunshine” Coin Contract Open the project repository in your favorite code editor (e.g., VS Code). In the contracts folder, create a new file called SunshineCoin.sol. We’re going to write an ERC-20 contract that inherits default features offered by and mints 10,000 coins to the deployer (or owner) of the contract. We’ll call it “sunshine coin” just for fun! OpenZeppelin We’re also going to implement functionality that allows a wallet to mint 100 coins for free on a one-time basis. Add the following code to  SunshineCoin.sol. // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT pragma solidity ^0.8.9; import "@openzeppelin/contracts/token/ERC20/ERC20.sol"; import "@openzeppelin/contracts/access/Ownable.sol"; contract SunshineCoin is Ownable, ERC20 { // Mapping to check if a wallet has claimed its free coins mapping(address => bool) public hasClaimed; constructor() ERC20("Sunshine COin", "SC") { _mint(msg.sender, 1000000 * 10 ** ERC20.decimals()); } // Let owner mint tokens freely function mintTokens(uint _amount) public onlyOwner { _mint(msg.sender, _amount * 10 ** ERC20.decimals()); } // Let a wallet claim 100 tokens for free function claimTokens() public { require(hasClaimed[msg.sender] == false); _mint(msg.sender, 100 * 10 ** ERC20.decimals()); hasClaimed[msg.sender] = true; } } Make sure the contract is compiling correctly by running: npx truffle compile Step 8: Update Truffle Config and Create a .env File Create a new file in the project’s root directory called .env, and add the following contents: MNEMONIC = "<Your-MetaMask-Secret-Recovery-Phrase>" Next, let’s add information about our wallet, the Infura RPC endpoint, and the Linea network to our Truffle config file. Replace the contents of truffle.config.js with the following: require('dotenv').config(); const HDWalletProvider = require('@truffle/hdwallet-provider'); const { MNEMONIC } = process.env; module.exports = { networks: { development: { host: "127.0.0.1", port: 8545, network_id: "*" }, linea: { provider: () => new HDWalletProvider(MNEMONIC, `https://rpc.goerli.linea.build/`), network_id: '59140', } } }; Step 9: Deploy the Contract Let us now write a script to deploy our contract to the Linea zkEVM blockchain. In the migrations folder, create a new file called  1_deploy_contract.js, and add the following code: // Get instance of the Sunshine Coin contract const lineaContract = artifacts.require("SunshineCoin"); module.exports = function (deployer) { // Deploy the contract deployer.deploy(lineaContract); }; We’re all set! Deploy the contract by running the following command: truffle migrate --network linea If all goes well, you should see an output (containing the contract address) that looks something like this: Compiling your contracts... =========================== > Everything is up to date, there is nothing to compile. Starting migrations... ====================== > Network name:    'linea' > Network id:      59140 > Block gas limit: 30000000 (0x1c9c380) 1_deploy_contract.js ==================== Deploying 'SunshineCoin' ---------------------- > transaction hash:    0x865db376d1c8de21f4a882b9c0678e419708481eda4234a8f98c4f4975ee6373 > Blocks: 2            Seconds: 18 > contract address:    0x64ccE52898F5d61380D2Ec8C02F2EF16F28436de > block number:        414030 > block timestamp:     1680726601 > account:             0xc361Fc33b99F88612257ac8cC2d852A5CEe0E217 > balance:             0.185605297028804606 > gas used:            1704607 (0x1a029f) > gas price:           2.500000007 gwei > value sent:          0 ETH > total cost:          0.004261517511932249 ETH > Saving artifacts ------------------------------------- > Total cost:     0.004261517511932249 ETH Summary ======= > Total deployments:   1 > Final cost:          0.004261517511932249 ETH Notice how incredibly cheap the deployment was! Transaction fees are minimal. Also, notice that the steps we followed were almost identical to what we would’ve done if we were deploying on the Ethereum mainnet. Step 9: Add Your Token to MetaMask As a last step, let’s add our token to MetaMask so we are able to send, receive, and view the balance. Open MetaMask, and in the assets section at the bottom, click on import Tokens. Here you will be asked to add the contract address and symbol of your token. Once you do that, you should be able to see the correct balance of your token in the Assets tab. Keeping Building With Linea Congratulations! You’ve successfully deployed a smart contract to the Linea testnet. Because Linea is EVM-equivalent, we were able to leverage the best-in-class tools already available for blockchain development. We didn’t need to learn a whole new stack to take advantage of a zk-rollup solution or to develop for Linea. More importantly, Linea gave us over the main chain. much-improved speed and low gas fees It’s Ethereum scaling and cryptography at its best—and it’s a massive step towards making blockchains and dapps more accessible and usable by the masses. To learn more about Linea and to start building apps, refer to the documentation . There are lots of use cases you can explore, including NFTs, DeFi, decentralized exchanges, and more. Have fun! here Also published here Photo by Lanju Fotografie on Unsplash

Building on Linea: A Step-By-Step Guide

The past few months have been extremely exciting for web3 developers in the Ethereum ecosystem. While there have been several interesting developments around scalability and better user experience, arguably the biggest offering to come out this year has been Consensys’ zkEVM chain , which released to mainnet on July 11, 2023 and in the first few days has . Linea shows a lot of promise in solving the most pressing problems plaguing public blockchains: speed, scale, and cost. Linea already processed over half a million transactions Let’s try it out. We’ll build our very own crowdfunding dapp and deploy it to using Infura, Truffle, and MetaMask. Linea Linea: an EVM-compliant L2 Linea is an L2 scaling solution known as a (or zk-rollup, for short). These rollups enable developers to offload data and computations from the main chain while guaranteeing the security of the latter. It does so by employing a cryptographic method called zero-knowledge proofs which allows Linea to prove and verify transactions, but the Ethereum blockchain still provides the security. zero-knowledge rollup Effectively, this leads to the creation of a supplemental chain (an L2) where transactions are blazing fast and extremely cheap. Linea can handle more transactions per second than Ethereum while guaranteeing a faster time to finality and at a fraction of the costs. Linea is also Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compliant (a zkEVM). In other words, all the tools, programming languages, and design patterns will work and behave in exactly the same way as they do on Ethereum. It’s all about high scalability and low cost all while being developer friendly. Building on Linea is best done through Infura, which is also built by Consensys. Because these two products are well integrated, you can begin building and deploying your dapps in a matter of minutes. The Linea testnet, which has been active for about three months, has seen over 5 million unique addresses created and over 40 million transactions. And now with the mainnet launch, projects and developer adoption should only accelerate. So let’s start building that dapp. Create a crowdfunding dapp on Linea Step 1: Sign up for an Infura account First we need an Infura account. We need this for two purposes: to get free lineaETH from Infura’s faucet, and to get access to an RPC endpoint through which we can deploy our smart contract and conduct transactions. If you haven’t done so already, . Next, navigate to the and create a new key from the top right. sign up for an Infura account dashboard For network, choose You can name your key/project anything you want. Web3 API. After creating your key, you’ll be redirected to your new project’s dashboard where you will be able to see a section called Endpoints. Here, you’ll find both the testnet and mainnet endpoints of Linea. Take note of both. In this project, we will be deploying to the testnet but we will also go through the instructions you need to follow in order to deploy a real dapp to the mainnet. Step 2: Install a web3 wallet like MetaMask To pay gas fees and sign transactions, we need a self-custodial crypto wallet. For this tutorial, we will use MetaMask, a free and proven wallet. At the time of writing, MetaMask is the most popular wallet in the world. . Download MetaMask as a browser extension here If this is your first time using MetaMask, you’ll be prompted to complete a series of steps that end with generating a wallet recovery phrase. . Not only will you need it later, but losing it means you will also lose access to your wallet. Store this carefully After setting up your wallet, navigate to the top left and click on the Network dropdown. Here, toggle You should see the network. Switch to this; we will be operating on this chain for the rest of the tutorial. Show Test Networks. Linea Goerli Step 3: Acquire lineaETH through the Infura faucet To pay for gas, we need lineaETH. Fortunately, since we’re working on a testnet, we can obtain free test ETH from . You might be required to sign in with your Infura account to obtain funds. Infura’s Linea faucet Once this is done, you should see a small balance of lineaETH in MetaMask. Step 4: Install node and npm using Truffle In order to create and configure a Truffle project (which is where we will write and deploy our smart contracts), we need node and npm on our local machine. . Get them here Once this is done, you can check that they’ve been installed correctly by checking their version numbers on the Terminal. $ node -v
$ npm -v Step 5: Create a Truffle project With node and npm installed, we’re ready to create our Truffle project. Open a terminal and run these commands: $ mkdir crowdfund && cd crowdfund
$ npm init -y
$ npm install –global truffle
$ truffle init
$ truffle test Next, we’ll install the dotenv and the HD Wallet Provider packages. The former will help keep our credentials secret and safe, whereas the latter will allow us to integrate MetaMask with our Truffle project. $ npm install @truffle/hdwallet-provider dotenv Step 6: Write the Crowdfunding smart contract Now let’s write our smart contract! We’ll keep it very simple to start, but you can add more advanced functionality to this contract as needed. The smart contract will set a value as the goal amount, and the public will be invited to pool funds for the project. The funding will be open for a set period of time. Once this period expires, if the amount pooled is greater than or equal to the goal, the owner of the contract will be able to withdraw the funds from the contract. Otherwise, funds will be released back to the origin wallets. Open the Truffle project created in the previous step in your code editor. Next, create a file called in the folder called , and add the following: Crowdfunding.sol contracts // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity ^0.8.4;

contract Crowdfunding {
 address public owner;
 uint public goal;
 string public description;
 uint public deadline;

 uint public totalFunds;
 bool public withdrawn;
 mapping(address => uint) public contributions;
 address[] public investors;

 constructor(uint _goal, string memory _description, uint _deadlineBlockCount) {
 // Define goal, project description, and deadline
 goal = _goal;
 description = _description;
 deadline = block.number + _deadlineBlockCount;

 // Set owner to deployer of the contract
 owner = msg.sender;
 withdrawn = false;
 }

 function contribute() public payable {
 require(block.number <= deadline, "Funding period has ended.");

 // Add amount to total funds
 totalFunds += msg.value;

 // Add wallet to investor list and amount to contributions dictionary
 contributions[msg.sender] += msg.value;
 investors.push(msg.sender);
 }

 function withdraw() public {
 require(block.number > deadline, "Cannot withdraw before the deadline.");
 require(!withdrawn, "Funds have been withdrawn.");

 withdrawn = true; // prevent re-entrancy attacks

 if(totalFunds >= goal) {
 // If goal was reached, transfer the funds to the owner
 payable(owner).transfer(totalFunds);
 } else {
 // If goal was not reached, refund investors
 for(uint i = 0; i < investors.length; i++) {
 address investor = investors[i];
 payable(investor).transfer(contributions[investor]);
 }
 }
 }

 function isGoalReached() public view returns (bool) {
 return totalFunds >= goal;
 }
} Make sure everything is working by compiling the contract using: $ truffle compile If all goes well, the output should look something like this: Compiling your contracts...
===========================
> Compiling ./contracts/CrowdFunding.sol
> Artifacts written to /Users/rounakbanik/paulie/crowdfund/build/contracts
> Compiled successfully using:
 - solc: 0.8.20+commit.a1b79de6.Emscripten.clang Step 7: Connect your project to Infura and MetaMask Let’s now configure our Truffle project to work with Infura and MetaMask. As a first step, create the file in the root directory and add the following code: .env MNEMONIC=”< Metamask Wallet Recovery Phrase >” Next, let’s configure Truffle to work with Infura. Add the following code to : truffle.config.js require('dotenv').config();
const HDWalletProvider = require('@truffle/hdwallet-provider');
const { MNEMONIC } = process.env;

module.exports = {
 networks: {
 development: {
 host: "127.0.0.1",
 port: 8545,
 network_id: "*"
 },
 linea_goerli: {
 provider: () => new HDWalletProvider(MNEMONIC, `<INFURA LINEA TESTNET RPC>`),
 network_id: '59140',
 },
 linea_mainnet: {
 provider: () => new HDWalletProvider(MNEMONIC, `< INFURA LINEA MAINNET RPC>`),
 network_id: '59144',
 },
 }
}; Step 8: Deploy the smart contract to Linea via Infura RPC As a final step, let’s create a deployment script in the folder. Name it . Add the following: migrations 1_deploy_contract.js const Crowdfunding = artifacts.require("Crowdfunding");

module.exports = function(deployer) {
 // Arguments are: contract
 deployer.deploy(
 Crowdfunding,
 // _goal
 web3.utils.toWei("10", "ether"),
 // _description
 "Test Project",
 // _deadlineBlockCount
 10000
 );
}; Now deploy the contract: $ truffle migrate --network linea_goerli You’ll see something like: Compiling your contracts...
===========================
> Everything is up to date, there is nothing to compile.


Starting migrations...
======================
> Network name: 'linea_goerli'
> Network id: 59140
> Block gas limit: 30000000 (0x1c9c380)


1_deploy_contract.js
====================

 Deploying 'Crowdfunding'
 ----------------------
 > transaction hash: 0x3e2889c9b6f8b05d99c482a617893cf34eae4fea...
 > Blocks: 2 Seconds: 18
 > contract address: 0x64ccE52898F5d61380D2Ec8C02F2EF16F28436de
 > block number: 414030
 > block timestamp: 1680726601
 > account: 0xc361Fc33b99F88612257ac8cC2d852A5CEe0E217
 > balance: 0.185605297028804606
 > gas used: 1704607 (0x1a029f)
 > gas price: 2.500000007 gwei
 > value sent: 0 ETH
 > total cost: 0.004261517511932249 ETH

 > Saving artifacts
 -------------------------------------
 > Total cost: 0.004261517511932249 ETH

Summary
=======
> Total deployments: 1
> Final cost: 0.004261517511932249 ETH Congratulations! The smart contract is now live on Linea. Notice that we’ve done all this using tools and development environments built for the Ethereum network. Also, notice how we’ve made deployment possible at an extremely cheap transaction cost. That’s the combined beauty of Linea — EMV-compliant, fast, and cheap. Now that your crowdfunding contract is live and working on Linea testnet, it’s time to take it to mainnet! There your supporters will be able to invest in your project by paying a negligible amount of gas and still get the contract enforcement guaranteed by Ethereum. To deploy to mainnet, simply switch the RPC endpoint when you deploy the contract: $ truffle migrate --network linea_mainnet Conclusion Hopefully you’ve learned what Linea is all about, how it makes Ethereum better, and how you can deploy your own smart contract on the network. To learn more, and start building! check out the Linea site

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