Script, the smart-contract programming language for Bitcoin, has gotten an upgrade. Developers are addressing challenges on the network through local Socratic Seminars. A Bavarian entrepreneur is promoting Bitcoin through a multisport race. And the curious case of the Asian mafia behind the PlusToken racket.
Scams
This week, we looked into the case of PlusToken, a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that reportedly spread across Asia promising mouthwatering returns to investors monthly.
The PlusToken scam was rather reminiscent of some of the most popular scams in the cryptocurrency space. But what has made it stand out is its sheer scale, which saw it swindle over 3 million investors in Asia. The PLUS token itself was worth a reported $17 billion in valuation, and investors were milked out of about $3 billion in cryptocurrency.
Authorities were able to pick up several scam operators, but the ring leader as well as a large percentage of the funds are reportedly still at large.
Technical
Miniscript: Bitcoin Programming Made Easy
For so long, developers have had to work on Bitcoin smart contracts through Script, a programming language used to encode different conditions that define how bitcoin can be spent. This concept is not without its flaws. Script has been known to be rather difficult to use. Human errors are easy to commit, and these could lead to catastrophic outcomes.
Enter: the revolutionists.
Over the past year, Andrew Poelstra, Sanket Kanjalkar and Pieter Wuille have been working on a simpler means of developing smart contracts with Bitcoin. Their new programming language, dubbed “Miniscript,” strips down the former standard to its bare essentials.
Speaking about the new language, Poelsra, the research director at Blockstream,
