Crypto community reacts to Windows-CrowdStrike outage, blockchains intact.
Members of the crypto community took to social media on July 19 to express a sense of triumph as blockchain networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum continued to operate amid one of the largest information technology outages in history.
Despite the closure of many law courts, healthcare providers, airlines and other essential social services, users were still free to transact on crypto and blockchain networks.
Jeff Garzik, a former Bitcoin Core and Linux kernel developer, drew a contrast between widespread disruptions in centralized services while blockchains continue to function smoothly. “Global IT Outage: Linux, Bitcoin and Ethereum Untouched,” he said in a post on social media X.
Jameson Loup, founder of Bitcoin multi-signature wallet service Casa, also spoke on the news. “The current large-scale infrastructure outages around the world are a prime example of Bitcoin's node software not automatically updating,” Lopp said, adding that “auto-updates introduce systematic risk.”
Pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lammis also pointed out that blockchains are in the works. “Do you know what currency was not affected by the widespread cyber outage?” “Bitcoin,” she asked rhetorically. Lummis ended her post with “Vires in Numeris,” a Latin phrase that means “strength in numbers,” apparently referring to the thousands of validator nodes that verify Bitcoin transactions.
Some members of the community emphasized the role of the Windows operating system in the disruption, noting that one of the strengths of blockchains is that they typically run on multiple operating systems.
Dr. Kale, the developer of Bitcoin Wallet Cashu, reminded users that Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto was initially against developing a Linux client. “While it was a challenge to make a Linux port […]auto-running can give us 300% more nodes and Linux can give us 3% more,” quoted Satoshi. Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd responded to Cale's post, “Satoshi was wrong about that. The biggest market was nerds running Linux.
A Bitcoin researcher, the creator of analytics platform Bitcoin Lab, also responded to the post, saying that Linux “still plays a big role in keeping the #Bitcoin network strong and robust” and that “Bitcoin only works on Windows/Mac.” A single point of failure.”
Although the Bitcoin software was originally released for Windows in January 2009, a Linux version was launched the same year.
Related: Linux on Bitcoin? The open source framework features programs that work with BTC
According to Forbes, the outage was caused by a faulty automatic update sent to all devices running CrowdStrike for Windows. CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity program that attempts to detect and prevent exploits against IT systems. Mac and Linux versions of CrowdStrike are not affected by the update.
On July 19, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said the company is trying to resolve the issue and get businesses back online.
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