Currently the service can only review ERC-20-based smart contracts, which are written in the Solidity programming language. EY has not said whether it plans to expand support to other blockchain protocols in the future.
Accountancy giant Ernst & Young (EY) has made its token and smart contract review service available for public testing.
Launched earlier on Wednesday, the public beta version allows users to paste code for analysis, during which it identifies security risks by testing the functionality and efficiency of a smart contract, as well as evaluating the quality of the coding.
A Reddit post from a user called «pbrody,» most likely EY’s global blockchain lead, Paul Brody, said the company planned to launch its testing service into production shortly.
EY initially unveiled the service – originally known as the EY Smart Contract Analyzer – in April, and has spent the eight months since testing the service in private beta.
By reviewing their tokens’ code, investors will be able to monitor changes in the software and ensure tokens and smart contracts meet accepted industry standards, EY says. Tokens can also be stress-tested in a range of transaction scenarios, using data collected from the ethereum blockchain.
“Our clients are increasingly entrusting key enterprise business processes and valuable investments to software code”, Brody said in the April announcement. “We don’t run enterprise computing systems without anti-virus tools and it only makes sense to run blockchain-based investment systems with smart contract and token testing tools.”
EY’s review service will form part of the company’s broader Blockchain Analyzer, an analytics tool that compiles and reports transaction data, making financial reporting and auditing on the blockchain possible.
The second iteration of the Blockchain Analyzer, also unveiled in April, increased the number of supported protocols, including private blockchains, as well as enabling analysis of privacy enhancing, zero-knowledge proof-based transactions. An EY project for running private transactions on the ethereum blockchain, known as ‘Nightfall’, has also been integrated into Analyzer.
Back in October, EY said it had developed a blockchain tool for governments to track and analyze their own transactions, something the company said would improve transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
Eyeing African Market, Binance Adds Nigerian Fiat-to-Crypto Gateway
Binance has added a fiat-to-crypto gateway for Nigeria’s Niara (NGN), the company said.
Facilitated by payments network Flutterwave, the addition starts a new phase of Binance adding sub-Saharan fiat pairs, the company said in a statement. In “the near future” the high-volume global exchange will also introduce gateways for South Africa’s Rand (ZAR) and Kenya’s Shilling (KES), Binance said.
At launch, Binance limited the Nigerian trading pairs to BUSD/NGN, BNB/NGN and BTC/NGN. Investors can deposit between 150 NGN (about $.40) and 430,000 NGN (about $1,200) for a 1.4% fee, Binance said in a blog post.
Binance said last month that it planned to add fiat-to-crypto OTC trading.
Binance did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for further comment.
Factom Faces Liquidation After Investors Refuse Request for More Funding
One of the first companies to host a token sale, Factom, has notified creditors it has entered receivership after an appeal for additional funding fell on deaf ears.
«FastForward has been notified by the directors of Factom that in a board meeting on 31 March 2020 they concluded that, in the absence of further funding, they now needed to begin the process of assignment of assets for the benefit of creditors,» reads the statement.
Although Factom’s Twitter page had fallen silent in the middle of January, alarm bells started ringing in March after the company told investors it would enter liquidation by the end of the month unless it received additional funding.
FastForward, which had the largest stake in Factom, said it was prepared to renegotiate its $6 million simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) to try and attract outside investment. Although it was willing to participate in another investment round, FastForward told Factom directors that it was not prepared to lead. Previously announced talks with investors were also unsuccessful.
Following a board meeting on March 31, Factom finally told investors it would begin the process of liquidation. As its biggest investor, FastForward is now receiver and will take the lion’s share of the company’s assets and intellectual property. A timetable for when Factom will eventually be wound up has not been disclosed.
Just last year, data security firm TFA Labs received a grant from the U.S. Energy Department to use Factom’s open-sourced blockchain to secure the country’s power grid.
FastForward, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has invested in a diverse range of tech startups, entered into a $6 million SAFE with Factom in 2018. In its near-six-year history, Factom raised more than $18 million from investors.
In an announcement, FastForward director Ed McDermott admitted the company was not altogether certain how Factom ended in such dire financial straits.
«We are extremely disappointed with this news from Factom,» he said in a statement. «As we go through the Receivership process and understand more of the events that led to this position our position as investors in Factom is expressly reserved.»
CoinDesk approached both Factom and FastForward for additional comment, but did not hear back by press time.
