Following up on its promise from August , Opera is finally rolling out a desktop version of its specialized browser with a built-in cryptocurrency wallet – but only to a select group of beta testers.

Among other things, the browser lets you handle your funds on the Ethereum blockchain and natively browse decentralized apps (dApps) on its network. The company is calling the crypto-equipped browser Opera Labs to distinguish it from its flagship offering.

While regular users will have to wait for the official release, those with early access can now pair their desktop wallet with the one on the Opera mobile browser for Android. This means that anytime you want to sign a transaction or a message on Ethereum, your phone device will prompt you to confirm with your fingerprint.

Opera says that the associated wallet private keys are stored on the “hardware of your mobile phone and are never transmitted.” This is a fairly secure way of storing cryptocurrency, but there are better ways to keep your funds safe than a smartphone .

As we noted in our previous coverage , Labs currently supports Ethereum-based currencies and applications. A spokesperson for Opera told Hard Fork the company is certainly interested in expanding its crypto-features to other blockchain networks, but stopped short of revealing any further details.

Opera told Hard Fork approved testers can expect to receive invitations to the Labs desktop version anytime now. And for the rest: you will have to wait a little longer.

If you’re interested in everything blockchain, chances are you’ll love Hard Fork Decentralized. Our blockchain and cryptocurrency event is coming up soon – join us to hear from experts about the industry’s future. Check it out!

Bitcoin beats iTunes vouchers as preferred payment for Australian scammers

In what could be one of the strangest milestones in cryptocurrency history, Bitcoin is now the preferred payment method of Australian tax scammers, surpassing iTunes vouchers for the first time.

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has fielded reports of over 28,000 attempted scams since July. It estimated Australians have paid close to $1 million to the scammers in the past three months alone, reports local outlet ABC .

Tax scammers are notorious in Australia, known for preying upon migrants by demanding payments for fake government debts. They typically threaten victims with imprisonment and even deportation if they don’t give up their cash.

Traditionally, the scammers have demanded payment in the form of iTunes vouchers, but Australian authorities warn these groups are becoming more sophisticated.

Now, it’s more likely the tax scammers will demand funds be delivered through dodgy Bitcoin ATMs than any other means.

“While most taxpayers received a tax refund this year, around one million taxpayers will need to make a payment to the ATO,” reads a statement . “With the […] due date just around the corner, the ATO wants Australians to be on high alert for tax scams, especially the increasing trend of scammers demanding payment through Bitcoin ATMs.”

Last month, the scammers made headlines after convincing four Australian immigrants to part with more than $50,000 AUD ($35K USD), by convincing them to deposit money into a Bitcoin ATM at a nearby shopping mall, or else be arrested for nonexistent debts.

The ATO further warned scammers are harvesting the personal and financial information of Australians through related telephone phishing scams .

Authorities have recorded nearly 6,000 instances of taxpayers handing their sensitive data to ATO imposters since July.

Cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX doxes users in mass email blunder

Cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX has inadvertently doxed its users after someone at the company forgot to use blind copy (bcc) on a mass email , revealing, and potentially compromising, users ‘ email addresses .

“We are aware that some of our users have received a general user update email earlier today, which contained the email addresses of other users,” a statement issued by the company reads.

“Our team have acted immediately to contain the issue and we are taking steps to understand the extent of the impact. Rest assured that we are doing everything we can to identify the root cause of the fault and we will be in touch with any users affected by the issue,” it continues, “ The privacy of our users is a top priority and we are very sorry for the concern this has caused to our users.”

As you can probably imagine, the incident didn’t go unnoticed, with many cryptocurrency enthusiasts discussing the news on Twitter.

Although it was BitMEX that made the mistake, the blunder could have wide-ranging implications for all industry services, as users are now potentially vulnerable to hackers who could easily exploit the information to swindle their cryptocurrency holdings.

It’s advisable that users change their email addresses, not only on BitMEX, but everywhere else.

How this happened is beyond me, because email clients should protect against this kind of blunder, but changing your email address wouldn’t go amiss.