Bitcoin-QT, rebranded as Bitcoin Core, has more than six fixes for the so-called transaction malleability problem The software driving Bitcoin’s network was upgraded Wednesday, with security fixes addressing a problem that defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox blamed for losing nearly half a billion dollars worth of bitcoins.The open-source software, known as Bitcoin-QT, has also been rebranded as “Bitcoin Core” to highlight that it runs the core infrastructure of the virtual currency’s transaction and verification network.Upgrading Bitcoin’s software is a delicate operation, and many of the changes have been under discussion for months. The market capitalization of all bitcoins in circulation is roughly US$8 billion, according to figures from Blockchain.info, and a mistake could be costly.But the virtual currency has weathered innumerable negative events over the past five years and is still seeing growing adoption by businesses and retailers as an alternative payment platform. The value of a bitcoin wobbled only slightly after Mt. Gox, at one time the largest bitcoin exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo District Court on Feb. 28 and in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas on March 9.In early February, Mt. Gox said it was investigating a long-known security problem called “transaction malleability,” which in some cases can allow attackers to make it falsely appear they haven’t received a bitcoin payment if an exchange isn’t properly validating transactions. Other exchanges briefly halted trading while inspecting their code, but bitcoin experts said highly customized software written by Mt. Gox likely exacerbated the problem.After filing for bankruptcy, Mt.Gox said the bug was possibly responsible for the missing bitcoins, valued at US$474 million at the time. It has not yet provided a clearer explanation for the losses.The latest version of bitcoin’s software, 0.9.0, contains more than a half dozen fixes for transaction malleability, according to the release notes for the software.Bitcoin Core also contains a new feature for payment requests. Previously, merchants couldn’t attach a note describing an invoice, and people also could not supply a refund address to a merchant.The latest version automatically supplies a refund address. The payment requests can also be cryptographically signed to ensure the bitcoins are going to the intended recipient, wrote Wladimir van der Laan of the Bitcoin Core Development Team.The improvements help make bitcoin more usable for commerce. Lann wrote that future Bitcoin Core releases will aim to fine tune the software, improving its functionality and the users’ experiences. Developers creating bitcoin-compatible software are advised to incorporate the software changes into their own “wallets,” which are software programs for holding and transferring bitcoins, and other payments applications.Send news tips and comments to jeremy_kirk@idg.com. Follow me on Twitter: @jeremy_kirk Related content news Insider risks are getting increasingly costly The cost of cybersecurity threats caused by organization insiders rose over the course of 2023, according to a new report from the Ponemon Institute and DTEX Systems. By Jon Gold Sep 20, 2023 3 mins Budget Budget Pricing news US cyber insurance claims spike amid ransomware, funds transfer fraud, BEC attacks Cyber insurance claims frequency increased by 12% in the first half of 2023 while claims severity increased by 42% with an average loss amount of more than $115,000. By Michael Hill Sep 20, 2023 3 mins Insurance Industry Risk Management news Intel Trust Authority attestation services now in general availability Formerly known as Project Amber, Intel’s attestation services support confidential computing deployments. By Michael Nadeau Sep 20, 2023 3 mins Zero Trust Security Hardware news Venafi taps generative AI to streamline machine identity management Venafi’s Athena, based on a new large language model (LLM), offers users a natural language interface and provides developers with automated code generation for important integrations. By Shweta Sharma Sep 20, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Identity Management Solutions Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe