What are the odds of “rogue developers” who introduce vulnerabilities? What happens if the digital signature algorithm is compromised? Is trust in hardware wallet developers and the firmware update process a problem?

Note: I was mostly talking about Bitcoin and other popular open blockchains which have a large development communities and a robust review process before any new code is put in production. The risk of vulnerabilities introduced by developers is different for each project, and having open-source code does not prevent it if no one is reading or testing it.

These questions were part of the monthly live Patreon Q&A session for April (rescheduled to May 5th). If you want early-access to talks and a chance to participate in the monthly live Q&As with Andreas, become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/aantonop

RELATED:
Software distribution security – https://youtu.be/_V0vqy046YM
Geopolitics and state-sponsored attacks – https://youtu.be/htxPRTJLK-k
How to get people to care about security – https://youtu.be/Ji1lS9NMz1E
What is the roadmap? – https://youtu.be/5Eoj_sKyC90
Why developers are leaving banks – https://youtu.be/GqOZ4IAQ-xQ
Honest nodes and consensus – https://youtu.be/KAhY2ymI-tg
Why running a node is important – https://youtu.be/oX0Yrv-6jVs
Lessons from the hard fork – https://youtu.be/hnAWAVNnGCw
Cryptographic primitives – https://youtu.be/RIckQ6RBt5E
Nonces, mining, and quantum computing – https://youtu.be/d4xXJh677J0
Public keys vs. addresses – https://youtu.be/8es3qQWkEiU
Re-using addresses – https://youtu.be/4A3urPFkx8g
Using paper wallets – https://youtu.be/cKehFazo8Pw
Wallet design and mass adoption – https://youtu.be/WbZX6BDZJHc
Secure, tiered storage system – https://youtu.be/uYIVuZgN95M
The Courage to Innovate Without Permission – https://youtu.be/ywq6NBETUJ8
What is Consensus: Rules Without Rulers – https://youtu.be/2tqo7PX5Pyc
Decentralized Truth – https://youtu.be/XCVaabu3J04

Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and respected figures in bitcoin.

Follow on Twitter: @aantonop https://twitter.com/aantonop
Website: https://antonopoulos.com/

He is the author of two books: “Mastering Bitcoin,” published by O’Reilly Media and considered the best technical guide to bitcoin; “The Internet of Money,” a book about why bitcoin matters.

THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Internet-Money-collection-Andreas-Antonopoulos/dp/1537000454/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

[NEW] THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v2: https://www.amazon.com/Internet-Money-Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/dp/194791006X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

MASTERING BITCOIN: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Bitcoin-Unlocking-Digital-Cryptocurrencies/dp/1449374042

[NEW] MASTERING BITCOIN, 2nd Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Bitcoin-Programming-Open-Blockchain/dp/1491954388

Translations of MASTERING BITCOIN: https://bitcoinbook.info/translations-of-mastering-bitcoin/

Subscribe to the channel to learn more about Bitcoin & open blockchains!

Music: “Unbounded” by Orfan (https://www.facebook.com/Orfan/)
Outro Graphics: Phneep (http://www.phneep.com/)
Outro Art: Rock Barcellos (http://www.rockincomics.com.br/)

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22 COMMENTS

  3. I would like to know what is your belief in policy for bailouts? For example, a large entity loses the savings of millions of participants for whatever reason theft, coding error etc. If you are 100% against it like I am, how do you reconcile your support of Etherium that effectively can bailout such an entity? If you are not sure about what I mean let me give you my personal example… I support Etherium even though I disagree with its monetary policy because the idea is very good but not implemented correctly and what we learn from this can be transferred elsewhere.

  11. No one breaks down the dangers for would be cryptographic geniuses better than you.

    See Andreas, If you had been around back in 2010 when Satoshi left I could have stayed. Only Satoshi knew how to make sense of things back then.

    Now.. if I can just find those dice I bought back in the days of #Satoshi #Nakamoto, I'll be golden. #Bitcoin..???

  12. Thank you for taking time to address the matter of "rogue" or "malicious" devs. Few months ago DeepOnion dev team discovered and repaired malicious code injected by a dev who got kicked out (prior to him being kicked out). You can never be sure who to trust in crypto world.

  14. Regarding Hardware Wallets? If you store your crypto currencies on e.g. a Ledger Nano S and do not update the firmware, is this ok? Like if you just want to 'hodl' for the future. (for your children) … Anyone?

  18. I would like to see where Andreas criticized Ethereum for making the massive blunder of having turing complete code with a massively complex scripting language execute forever in their blockchain.

  21. Andrea, please correct me if I'm wrong. The bitcoin code is on Github. Someone or some people own that account. Isn't that some sort of centralization for the bitcoin code? I recall the drama when one of the owners of this account supposedly lost the password and then moved to bitcoin cash. So what is done to prevent this form of centralization and prevent something similar from happening again?

  22. Thanks. Your knowledge and calmness always help keep my mind focused, through difficult periods for crypto. While other you tubers show their true colours with regard to price action only, it's important to remember it was the tech that released the Gene from the bottle, and it's the Gene that grants us the wishes. Thanks again.

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