- Litecoin Core v0.21.4 has been released with critical security updates to strengthen network stability.
- Canary Capital's Litecoin ETF filing with the SEC could bring more institutional access to Litecoin.
The Litecoin development team announced the release of Litecoin Core version 0.21.4, which introduces key security updates as well as functional improvements. This release fixes several issues that can lead to network instability, increasing the security of the Litecoin network.
Among the vulnerabilities fixed is CVE-2024-35202, which allows remote attackers to perform a DoS attack. This could happen by placing uncommitted transactions in the blocktxn message, leading to assertion errors and exiting the node. The fix addresses this issue by verifying that all transactions in the message match the Merkle root of the block, which improves transaction validity.
Smoother block propagation reduces lag
The update also addresses an issue where a peer could delay block delivery by sending modified blocks. These blocks could clear the download state of other peers and, therefore, hinder the propagation procedure in the network. This improvement, backported from Bitcoin Core (dbfc748), reduces block propagation latency to improve network throughput.
This version 0.21.4 also fixes a vulnerability in the miniupnp dependency where a local attacker can cause an infinite loop and lead to out-of-memory (oom) errors. This issue fixed in this release minimizes network disruptions due to memory exhaustion.
Additionally, Litecoin Core v0.21.4 has been updated so that the options (peerblockfilters and blockfilterindex) are disabled by default when pruning is enabled. This change and other testing-related improvements improve compatibility and reliability, especially for pruned nodes.
This release of Litecoin Core v0.21.4 was made in collaboration with several authors and contributors, including Bitcoin Core developers David Burkett, Hector Chu, and Loshan. Additionally, users have the option to download the new version of Litecoin, and are encouraged to report any bugs via the issue tracker on the Litecoin GitHub page.
Will SEC approve Litecoin ETF application?
This security-focused release comes as Litecoin's prospects for institutional adoption increase. Canary Capital recently filed the first application for a Litecoin-based ETF to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide institutional investors with access to Litecoin.
The S-1 filing made public on October 15 is a crucial first step, but the company must also submit a Form 19b-4 to obtain approval from the exchange. The proposed ETF will hold Litecoin and calculate its net asset value daily. The approval of a spot LTC ETF would pave the way for the approval of other cryptocurrency ETFs, with XRP being another candidate once the lawsuit between Ripple and the SEC is resolved.
While these changes are occurring, long-term investors are still showing interest in Litecoin. As previously indicated by Crypto News Flash, Litecoin recently surpassed Ethereum in longest average holding period, showing that the coin continues to attract the attention of HODLers. Currently, LTC is trading at 73,16 $, increasing by 3,47% over the last day and 4.28% over the last week. It is worth noting that the coin is down 42% from its all-time high of $412 recorded three years ago.
