Cypher Protocol, a decentralized futures exchange operating on the Solana blockchain, was forced to suspend its smart contract following a significant exploit that resulted in an estimated $1 million in losses.
The incident was reported to Cypher’s 13,500 followers on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on August 7, where the team disclosed the security breach and took swift action to freeze the affected smart contract.
In response to the exploit, Cypher Protocol promptly initiated an investigation to identify the root cause and determine the extent of the damage.
Additionally, they reached out to the hacker involved in the attack, aiming to engage in negotiations for the potential return of the stolen funds.
According to data obtained from the Solana blockchain explorer Solscan, the wallet suspected to be associated with the exploit made off with approximately 38,530 Solana tokens (SOL) worth about $23 each, as well as $123,184 worth of USD Coin (USDC) at the exchange rate of $1.00.
In total, the attacker managed to accumulate $1,035,203 from the illicitly obtained funds.
Shortly after the breach, the alleged hacker transferred 30,000 USDC to Binance’s Solana USDC address “kiing.sol” in an apparent attempt to convert and cash out the stolen assets.
Notably, various individuals in the crypto community took action by sending non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to the attacker’s wallet, urging them to return the funds.
Some of the NFT messages requested the return of the stolen assets with a stern warning, while others expressed frustration and demanded immediate restitution.
Despite the exploit, the alleged hacker has not yet transferred any of the stolen Solana-based funds to the Ethereum network as of the time of reporting.
The incident occurred during Cypher Protocol’s mtnDAO hacker house event, which it co-hosted with another Solana protocol called Marginfi.
However, Marginfi asserted its independence from Cypher and clarified that it remained unaffected by the attack.
At this stage, Cointelegraph has sought further information from Cypher Protocol to gain more insights into the incident.
However, an immediate response from the team was not received at the time of reaching out.
The exploit serves as a reminder of the ongoing security risks in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, emphasizing the need for continuous vigilance and robust security measures to safeguard users’ funds and prevent similar incidents in the future.
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Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream and a prominent figure in the early days of cryptocurrency, has expressed strong confidence in Bitcoin’s potential to reach an all-time high of over $100,000 before its halving event in 2024.
To prove his belief in this outcome, Back has agreed to a wager with a pseudonymous Twitter user named @Vikingobbitcoin.
The bet, made on August 7, is centered on whether Bitcoin will hit the $100,000 mark by March 31, 2024, just a month before the halving scheduled for April 26. Back contends that the price will likely surge to new heights before the actual halving date.
Wagers on substantial Bitcoin price increases have captured significant attention in the past, like Balaji Srinivasan’s $1 million bet within a 90-day period in March.
Despite his previous bullish remarks about Bitcoin reaching $10 million by the sixth halving in 2032, Back is now backing his latest prediction with his own funds.
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However, the bet consists of just 1 million satoshis, the smallest unit of Bitcoin, amounting to $290 at current prices, but potentially over $1,000 if Back’s forecast comes true. Considering Back’s estimated net worth ranging from $50 to $300 million, this wager appears relatively small.
In response to Back’s post about the wager, Samson Mow, CEO of Jan3, and another prominent Bitcoin supporter, shared his agreement, expecting a new all-time high before the halving as well.
Although some snide comments emerged in response to the bet, the overall sentiment in the market seems to be increasingly bullish about Bitcoin’s price before the upcoming halving.
Charles Edwards, the founder of Capriole Investments, echoed this sentiment in a February 24 interview with Cointelegraph, stating that the halving event will elevate Bitcoin to become the “hardest asset in the world,” and he anticipates that the market is already in the early stages of a new bullish cycle.
With a growing number of analysts and market commentators expressing optimism about Bitcoin’s future price trajectory, the cryptocurrency community eagerly awaits the outcome of Back’s million satoshi wager and the potential for Bitcoin to reach new all-time highs in the coming years.
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Several crypto-related public companies have recently released their quarterly earnings reports, demonstrating significant revenue growth and profit increases.
This article highlights the earnings of some of the major players in the crypto industry.
MicroStrategy, a Bitcoin-focused institutional giant, experienced a turnaround in Q2, with the surge in Bitcoin price contributing to its profitability.
As of July 31, the company holds 152,800 BTC, making it one of the largest corporate Bitcoin holders in the U.S. In the earnings report filed on Aug. 1, MicroStrategy reported a net income of $22.2 million, a substantial swing from a net loss of $1.1 billion in Q2 of 2022, with revenue steady at $120.4 million.
Block, led by Jack Dorsey, exceeded expectations with a 34% year-on-year increase in Bitcoin revenue.
Block’s Q2 earnings report revealed $2.4 billion in Bitcoin sales and a gross profit of $44 million, marking a 7% increase over the same period in 2022. The company’s revenue grew by 25.6% from $4.4 billion to $5.53 billion year on year.
Coinbase, the first American crypto exchange to go public, posted quarterly earnings of $663 million in net revenue, surpassing early estimates.
For the first time, non-trading revenue exceeded trading revenue, with $335.4 million coming from subscriptions and services.
Despite a 10% decline in revenue compared to Q2 2022, the firm outperformed estimates due to its growing U.S. market dominance and reduced losses to under $100 million.
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CoinShares, a European digital asset manager, reported a 33% year-on-year revenue surge, though it saw a 25% decline in asset management fees.
Profits for the quarter were 5.3 million pounds ($6.76 million), in contrast to a net loss of 0.6 million pounds ($0.77 million) in Q2 2022.
Robinhood, the fintech trading platform, became profitable for the first time since going public, according to its quarterly earnings report.
It recorded a net income of $25 million, or earnings per share of $0.03, a significant turnaround from a net loss of $511 million in the previous quarter.
In summary, the recent quarterly reports reveal a thriving crypto industry, benefiting from price rises in the crypto market and a decline in bearish momentum.
While some firms experienced fluctuations in certain areas, the overall trend indicates growth and profitability within the crypto-centric public companies.
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Lending platform Alchemix recently made a significant announcement, reporting the successful return of all the funds stolen during the Curve Finance hacker attack on July 30.
The attack had resulted in a massive loss of over $61 million in cryptocurrencies, with $13.6 million drained from Alchemix’s alETH-ETH pool.
The hacker had also targeted JPEGd’s pETH-ETH pool, causing an outflow of $11.4 million, and Metronome’s sETH-ETH pool, which lost over $1.6 million.
The hacker exploited vulnerabilities in the Vyper programming language through reentrancy attacks to execute the heist.
To reclaim the stolen funds, the hacker agreed to a bug bounty offer. On August 3, Curve, Metronome, and Alchemix jointly launched an initiative, promising a 10% bounty reward to anyone who returned the seized funds.
They urged the perpetrator to give back the remaining 90%, potentially amounting to around $7 million.
Surprisingly, less than 24 hours after the offer was announced, the original attacker began returning the stolen funds.
The process started with the hacker sending back 4,820.55
Alchemix ETH (alETH) to the Alchemix Finance team. Eventually, on August 5, the transaction was fully completed.
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In an on-chain message that appeared to be directed at the Alchemix and Curve teams, the attacker stated the reason for the return.
The individual claimed to be refunding not because they feared being identified but rather because they did not wish to “ruin” the projects involved.
JPEG’d, the nonfungible token protocol affected by the attack, also received a refund from the hacker. The hacker returned 5,495 Ether to the protocol.
As part of the bounty offer, JPEG’d decided not to pursue legal action against the perpetrators, considering the event as a white-hat rescue.
With the return of the stolen funds, Alchemix, Curve Finance, and JPEG’d can now focus on rebuilding and securing their platforms.
This outcome highlights the importance of bug bounty programs and collaborative efforts among crypto projects to address security breaches and protect their users from potential risks.
While the incident caused significant damage, the swift response from the involved parties and the hacker’s willingness to return the funds offer a glimmer of hope for the DeFi community, emphasizing the need for continued vigilance and security measures in the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrencies.
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Tether developers are gearing up for the launch of cutting-edge JavaScript libraries designed to streamline the transmission of commands and signals to Bitcoin (BTC) mining hardware, such as WhatsMiner, AvalonMiner, and Antminer.
Paolo Ardoino, the chief technology officer of Bitfinex and Tether, shared the exciting news on X (formerly Twitter). He hinted that certain parts of the mining software might become available on open-source platforms in the future.
The primary goal of Tether’s BTC mining software is to optimize mining capacity management, leading to more efficient operations.
Ardoino highlighted his role as a core contributor to Moria, an orchestration instrument for mining farms. He proudly mentioned that all recent advancements are built using the innovative Holepunch technology.
Previously, Ardoino offered insights into Moria’s functionalities.
This remarkable mining instrument enables seamless communication between components within the BTC mining ecosystem.
It facilitates interactions through streamlined, secure, attack-resistant, and cost-efficient means.
To ensure secure data streaming and command reception, each miner will possess a unique public/private key.
This encryption mechanism will utilize hyper cores for data streaming and hyper swarms for command reception.
Notably, this approach simplifies firewall configuration, bolsters resilience to failures, enables easy replication across multiple sites, and enhances maintainability and modularity compared to previous attempts.
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Despite facing legal and regulatory challenges, Tether has remained actively engaged in the cryptocurrency mining sector.
The company announced its intention to allocate a portion of its monthly profits towards acquiring BTC.
Moreover, Tether has invested in energy production and sustainable BTC mining in Uruguay, partnering with a local firm.
Uruguay’s renowned robust infrastructure in the renewable energy sector makes it an ideal location for sustainable mining operations.
The country takes pride in its abundant natural resources, allowing it to derive nearly 100% of its electricity from renewable sources.
In conclusion, Tether’s forthcoming JavaScript libraries hold promise for revolutionizing the efficiency of BTC mining operations.
Their commitment to open-source initiatives and sustainable mining practices in Uruguay showcases their dedication to driving positive change in the cryptocurrency industry.
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Three U.S. Senators, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Kaine, and Chris Van Hollen, have jointly expressed concerns about North Korea’s use of cryptocurrency to fund its nuclear program and evade sanctions.
In an effort to address this issue, they sent a letter to the White House and Treasury Department, seeking information on the U.S. government’s actions against the illicit use of digital assets by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The senators highlighted that North Korea has been steadily developing its expertise in handling digital assets over the past few years, enabling them to become adept at using cryptocurrencies for nefarious purposes.
Reports indicate that North Korean hackers have been responsible for stealing over $3 billion worth of cryptocurrencies since 2018.
These stolen funds have allegedly been funneled into the country’s missile program, raising serious security concerns.
The problem lies in the hackers’ use of mixing services, a technique employed to obfuscate the origin of funds and hinder authorities’ ability to trace them.
By utilizing these mixers, the hackers attempt to avoid detection and further enable their illegal activities.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has also expressed concern about cryptocurrency being used to finance North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
As a result, the department added Tornado Cash, a digital asset service, to its list of sanctioned entities in November 2022.
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Senator Warren has been at the forefront of efforts to combat the illicit use of cryptocurrencies. She has previously drawn attention to the connection between digital asset payments and Chinese companies supplying precursors for opioid fentanyl production.
Additionally, Warren has proposed legislation to impose stricter Anti-Money Laundering requirements on cryptocurrency transactions.
In her latest endeavor, she joined a bipartisan group of senators advocating provisions against crypto mixers and privacy coins in the National Defense Authorization Act.
The Senators’ letter to the White House and Treasury Department underscores the urgency of addressing North Korea’s exploitation of cryptocurrencies.
By requesting information on the government’s actions, they aim to find effective strategies to crack down on these illegal activities and prevent further funding of North Korea’s nuclear program through digital assets.
The response from the administration will be critical in shaping future policies and initiatives to safeguard against such threats posed by the misuse of cryptocurrencies.
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According to crypto asset manager Grayscale, the next president of the United States is likely to support the implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), as both frontrunners from the major political parties have expressed their favor towards exploring CBDCs.
However, it is worth noting that neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump seems to hold a positive view of Bitcoin (BTC).
As the 2024 presidential polls currently stand, Joe Biden and Donald Trump hold significant leads in their respective parties. Both candidates have shown interest in exploring CBDCs, a sentiment that aligns with Forbes’ previous analysis earlier in 2023.
Former President Trump has publicly criticized Bitcoin, labeling it a “scam,” while President Biden’s position on the matter has been inferred from his support for imposing a 30% tax on Bitcoin mining.
Grayscale did not comment on Trump’s overall stance towards other cryptocurrencies and digital assets, although it has been noted that he is somewhat favorably inclined towards nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
President Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets further supports the notion that he is generally supportive of the crypto industry.
However, the 2023 “Economic Report of the President” issued by the White House was not as optimistic about cryptocurrencies.
Among the candidates polling in second place are Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Republican candidate Ron DeSantis.
Both of them have been vocal about their support for cryptocurrencies but remain opposed to the idea of a CBDC.
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It is worth mentioning that Ron DeSantis is not the only pro-crypto candidate within the Republican contenders. Vivek Ramaswamy, with 7% support compared to Trump’s 63%, is also perceived as pro-Bitcoin and anti-CBDC.
One of the most ardent supporters of cryptocurrencies from either party is Republican Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
He has been vocal about his love for the technology long before his presidential ambitions came into the picture, though some consider his chances of becoming president as “improbable.”
In conclusion, the 2024 presidential race in the United States seems to have a majority of candidates expressing interest in exploring CBDCs.
While both Biden and Trump have indicated support for CBDCs, they have shown disfavor towards Bitcoin.
Other candidates, like DeSantis, Kennedy, Ramaswamy, and Suarez, have varying degrees of support for cryptocurrencies, making the upcoming election a critical juncture for the future of digital assets in the country.
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In the first half (H1) of 2023, the classic buy and hold, or hodl, strategy for Bitcoin (BTC) outperformed most crypto funds by an impressive 68.8%.
According to data from 21e6 Capital AG, a Switzerland-based investment adviser, crypto funds, on average, generated returns of 15.2% during the same period, while BTC saw gains of around 84%.
Maximilian Bruckner, the head of marketing at 21e6 Capital AG, noted that crypto funds have previously been able to outperform Bitcoin in bull markets.
However, their lackluster performance in 2023 was attributed to challenging market conditions and the large cash reserves they held at the end of 2022.
After the collapse of FTX and other crypto projects in 2022, many crypto funds decided to reduce risk and build cash buffers.
Unfortunately, this move caused them to miss out on significant BTC price rallies in H1 2023. The report indicated that funds with substantial cash positions tend to underperform in a bull market, unless their assets perform significantly better than Bitcoin.
The general sentiment following the events of 2022 led to larger-than-normal cash positions for many funds, and most major altcoins also underperformed Bitcoin during this period, making it a challenging environment for them.
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At the time of writing, BTC was priced at roughly $29,000 and struggled to hold above the $30,000 level, which was only briefly surpassed a couple of times in 2023.
Despite this, the current price marked a 75% gain since January 1, as per CoinGecko data.
The report acknowledged that all crypto fund strategies achieved positive results in 2023, but they underperformed when compared to Bitcoin, especially those with significant exposure to altcoins, futures, or those relying heavily on momentum signals.
Looking ahead, the report highlighted that monitoring the leading futures providers and the funding rates in crypto futures markets, as well as the ability of quantitative funds to capture trends, would be crucial areas of focus for market observation.
The investor sentiment showed slight improvement over H1 2023, suggesting that some funds might consider allocating more cash into the crypto sector.
However, the report cautioned that full sentiment recovery had not yet taken place, as indicated by current data on inflows and outflows.
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Elon Musk, the CEO of X (formerly known as Twitter), has quashed rumors about the platform launching its own crypto tokens.
In response to a post by DogeDesigner on Saturday, Aug. 5, Musk addressed the issue of scam tokens like X (X) and TwitterDAO (TWITTER) falsely claiming connections to the social media platform.
DogeDesigner had raised concerns in the crypto community, cautioning users about being wary of articles related to scam tokens and clarifying that neither Musk nor X had ever launched a crypto token. In his response, Musk categorically asserted, “And we never will.”
This statement comes after Musk had previously hinted at the possibility of integrating cryptocurrency as a payment option on X.
This had left traders speculating about whether he would introduce a specific crypto token or stick with his favorite, Dogecoin (DOGE).
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The situation was further complicated with the appointment of Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of X. This move had raised doubts among investors about the likelihood of a Dogecoin integration.
However, recent comments from Musk have revived optimistic sentiments among Dogecoin enthusiasts.
Musk had recently unveiled an ambitious vision for transforming Twitter into an all-encompassing platform, officially rebranding it as X, often referred to as the “everything app.”
Following Musk’s unequivocal confirmation that X has no plans to launch a crypto token, the price of Dogecoin experienced a surge of over 2% within a matter of hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
The reassurance from Musk regarding the absence of crypto token plans has provided some clarity to the market, boosting confidence among Dogecoin investors.
With the uncertainty surrounding X’s integration of Dogecoin dispelled, traders and enthusiasts alike are hopeful for the future of the popular meme-based cryptocurrency on the revamped X platform.
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Shytoshi Kusama, the lead developer of Shiba Inu, has recently addressed Coinbase’s Onchain Summer campaign and suggested that it bore similarities to ideas originally proposed by the Shiba Inu community.
In response to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s update about the upcoming launch of the Base mainnet on Aug. 3, Kusama made a statement, “If it isn’t a shadowcat, it’s a copycat.”
Coinbase is gearing up to launch its Ethereum layer-2 solution, known as Base, on Aug. 9.
The goal of Base is to attract the next billion users to the blockchain ecosystem by providing tools for developing various Web3 products.
In anticipation of the Base mainnet launch, Coinbase organized a campaign named Onchain Summer, which is set to begin on the same day.
The campaign has sparked mixed reactions from the Shiba Inu community.
Coinbase’s announcement mentioned that the Onchain Summer event would coincide with the mainnet launch of Base and would encompass several weeks of celebration featuring art, music, and gaming.
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However, it’s worth noting that on July 15, the Shiba Inu team initiated the “Summer of Shibarium” campaign as a preparation phase leading up to the mainnet launch of its own layer-2 scaling solution.
Kusama hinted that Coinbase’s Onchain Summer initiative might have drawn inspiration from Shiba Inu, although the events themselves differ significantly in their respective activities.
At present, the Summer of Shibarium campaign is already underway, and the team has introduced numerous releases as part of their preparations for the Shibarium mainnet launch.
Some of the recent developments include the introduction of the Shibarium Beta Bridge and the Shibarium YouTube launch.
In conclusion, Shytoshi Kusama has expressed concerns about the similarities between Coinbase’s Onchain Summer campaign and ideas presented by the Shiba Inu community.
As both projects approach their respective mainnet launches, the crypto community will be closely watching the developments and impact of these initiatives on the blockchain ecosystem.
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