The development team has extended a 12 BTC reward to the hacker for finding the security flaws, contingent upon returning the missing BTC. We are waiting to hear back.
We have offered these BTC out of our pockets, but, beyond that, we hope the community can pull together to make things right. As a reminder, the donation address for the security bouty is: <14Tf35AovvRVURzd623q5i9kry2EW8WzyL>.
What we do next depends on what the hacker does.
Regarding the discussion on a XCP "tax" or "re-burn", we can state this: The strength of Counterparty's community helps differentiate us from other projects, and it is precisely that strength which makes it clear it is best not to introduce a new burn period.
While the protocol will become more secure and robust as time goes on and our community grows, it is also the case that if there are serious bugs in the future, more people will be affected, and, as a project, Counterparty will have more to lose. Our decisions now will determine how the community evolves, and by demonstrating our collective firmness, we are setting important precedent for the future: those who invest in XCP are investing in a currency with a stable money supply, the integrity of which will be maintained even in difficult circumstances.
Take Bitcoin as an example: there have been times in Bitcoin's history where a serious bug could have been dealt with by, for example, increasing the total number of Bitcoins. If this had happened, would Bitcoin still be seen as an example of stable money supply and good store-of-value?
The seriousness of this bug should not be underplayed, but by taking our growing pains in their stride, we are strengthening Counterparty for the future.
We have offered these BTC out of our pockets, but, beyond that, we hope the community can pull together to make things right. As a reminder, the donation address for the security bouty is: <14Tf35AovvRVURzd623q5i9kry2EW8WzyL>.
What we do next depends on what the hacker does.
Regarding the discussion on a XCP "tax" or "re-burn", we can state this: The strength of Counterparty's community helps differentiate us from other projects, and it is precisely that strength which makes it clear it is best not to introduce a new burn period.
While the protocol will become more secure and robust as time goes on and our community grows, it is also the case that if there are serious bugs in the future, more people will be affected, and, as a project, Counterparty will have more to lose. Our decisions now will determine how the community evolves, and by demonstrating our collective firmness, we are setting important precedent for the future: those who invest in XCP are investing in a currency with a stable money supply, the integrity of which will be maintained even in difficult circumstances.
Take Bitcoin as an example: there have been times in Bitcoin's history where a serious bug could have been dealt with by, for example, increasing the total number of Bitcoins. If this had happened, would Bitcoin still be seen as an example of stable money supply and good store-of-value?
The seriousness of this bug should not be underplayed, but by taking our growing pains in their stride, we are strengthening Counterparty for the future.
Waiting for the hacker's response.
