Day: February 27, 2023

Oasis.app and Jump Crypto Retrieve $225 Million in Crypto

by Blockchain News

Jump Crypto, a Web3 infrastructure provider, and Oasis.app, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, have carried out a “counter exploit” on the Wormhole protocol hacker. As a result, the pair has reclaimed $225 million worth of digital assets and moved them to a secure wallet.

The Wormhole hack took place in February 2022 and resulted in the theft of around $321 million worth of wrapped Ethereum (wETH) by exploiting a weakness in the token bridge of the protocol.

Since then, the hacker has transferred the stolen assets using a number of Ethereum-based decentralized services (DApps), such as Oasis, which has recently opened up vaults for wrapped stETH (wstETH) and Rocket Pool ETH (RETH).

The Oasis.app team confirmed the existence of a counter exploit in a blog post that was published on February 24. The post explained that the team had “received an order from the High Court of England and Wales” to retrieve certain assets that were associated with the “address associated with the Wormhole Exploit.”

According to the team, the recovery was started using “the Oasis Multisig and a court-authorized third party,” which was named as Jump Crypto in an earlier report from Blockworks Research. The report also indicated that the retrieval was successful.

According to the transaction histories of both vaults, Oasis transferred 120,695 wsETH and 3,213 rETH on February 21 and stored them in wallets that are controlled by Jump Crypto. The hacker was also found to have around $78 million worth of debt in the MakerDAO stablecoin known as Dai (DAI), which was returned.

“We are also able to certify that the assets were transferred without delay onto a wallet that is managed by the permitted third party, as the court ruling requested.” It is stated in the blog post that “we do not maintain any control or access to these assets.”

The company underlined that it was “only conceivable owing to a previously undiscovered weakness in the architecture of the admin multisig access,” in reference to the negative ramifications of Oasis being able to collect crypto assets from its user vaults.

According to the publication, a vulnerability of this kind had been brought to light earlier this month by hackers wearing white hats.

We would like to emphasize that this access was implemented with the express purpose of safeguarding user assets in the case of a possible attack, and that it would have enabled us to respond rapidly in order to fix any vulnerabilities that were brought to our attention. It is important to emphasize that the assets of the users have never been in danger of being accessed by an unauthorized third party, neither in the past nor in the present.

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Machi Big Brother’s recent NFT sell-off

by Blockchain News

According to statistics provided by Nansen, nonfungible token (NFT) whale Jeffrey Hwang, also referred to informally as Machi Big Brother, sold 1,010 tokens in the span of 48 hours for a total of 11,680 ether (ETH), which is equal to $18.6 million.

Andrew Thurman, who works for Nansen and is a simian psychometric enhancement specialist, emphasized the trading activity that took place over the previous two days in a Twitter thread he posted on February 25. He observed that it is “possibly the greatest NFT dump ever.”

In addition to many other non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the big selling event included the sale of a total of 308 Otherdeed NFTs, 90 Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, and 191 Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFTs.

However, Machi Massive Brother quickly purchased back 991 NFTs, and Thurman theorized that this may be a move to either record some gains while simultaneously undertaking “one big wash deal to produce enormous Blur airdrop profits” or a “quite blatant market manipulation.”

Reportedly one of the largest recipients of the Blur (BLUR) token airdrop from upstart NFT marketplace Blur, which recently dethroned OpenSea from its position as the top-ranked NFT platform in trading volume, Machi is said to be one of the largest recipients of the airdrop.

The project began its first round of airdrops to the community on February 14. The quantity of tokens that were airdropped depended on the user’s degree of involvement on the platform as well as the amount of Ethereum-based NFT trading activity that they participated in.

The blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intel said on February 17 that Machi had received 1.8 million BLUR and cashed it out for $1.3 million USD.

As a result, Machi may be able to acquire some more BLUR tokens in the next round by increasing the amount of activity in the NFT trading market, while other whales may be trying to do the same thing.

According to the statistics provided by NFT Price Floor, when looking at the floor prices of top collections that Machi first dropped, the prices of BAYC, MAYC, and Otherdeed NFTs have experienced a decline of 7.77%, 9.2%, and 8.16% respectively in the previous 24 hours.

In a recent piece, Thurman made the observation that “One man’s drive for an airdrop is ruining certain markets.”

According to CoinGecko, the price of BLUR is $0.79 at the time of this writing, reflecting a decrease of 17.7% over the course of the previous week.

The Blur team said in a tweet on February 22 that the project would shortly airdrop $300 million worth of tokens as part of its second round of funding.

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G20 Discusses Crypto Regulations Under India Presidency

by Blockchain News

During the time that India presided over the G20, the first meeting of its kind for the group’s Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) was conducted. At this meeting, key issues pertaining to financial stability and regulatory oversight were discussed. India has urged the other member nations to acknowledge the macro-financial consequences of crypto assets and has advocated the development of a coordinated worldwide strategy. In addition, India has proposed the formation of a global strategy coordination group.

In light of the fact that cryptographic assets are traded all over the globe, Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Finance Minister, has in the past voiced her support for the establishment of crypto regulations in collaboration with other countries. This story is now being told as part of the discussions that are being held in the mainstream while India holds the presidency of the G20.

During the 24th and 25th of February, members of the G20 gathered with the FMCBG to discuss the prospects of technological advances while placing a focus on finding a balance between the risks associated with such developments. Among the most significant subjects that were discussed during the G20 meeting were the significance of financial stability and regulatory goals, policy measures for boosting financial inclusion, and productivity increases.

Sitharaman expressed appreciation to individuals who supported efforts to modify rules pertaining to crypto assets in her closing remarks. To be more specific, the Minister of Finance asked for a concerted effort “for creating and comprehending the macro-financial ramifications,” which could be used to change crypto legislation on a global scale. Specifically, the Minister of Finance asked for a concerted effort “for creating and comprehending the macro-financial ramifications.”

She then continued by expressing her appreciation to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for producing a thorough paper on the implications that crypto assets will have on the overall macroeconomic system. In her final comments, Sitharaman underlined the need of cooperation between the nations that are members of the G20 “to foster responsible technological breakthroughs and protect the stability of the financial system.”

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Two suspects have been arrested by the French police in connection with Platypus

by Blockchain News

According to the authorities in the area, the French police have made two arrests in connection with the 9.1 million euro cryptocurrency heist that was perpetrated by Platypus, and they have also reported seizing 210,000 euros worth of bitcoin.

According to Platypus, the on-chain sleuth ZachXBT and the cryptocurrency exchange Binance provided help for the investigations that led to the arrests. On February 16, a single exploiter carried out three different flash loan assaults, each of which resulted in a breach of the decentralized system.

As a consequence of the assaults, a number of stablecoins in addition to other digital assets were stolen. The first assault led to the theft of valuables worth roughly $8.5 million, which were then sold off. In the second occurrence, about 380,000 assets were delivered to the Aave v3 contract when they should not have been. The third break-in resulted in the theft of around $287,000 worth of goods. As a direct consequence of the hack, the stablecoin known as Platypus USD (USP) was untethered from the United States dollar.

Platypus has just established that the perpetrators employed a flash loan technique in order to investigate a logic flaw inside the USP solvency check mechanism within the collateral-holding. The operations of the stable swap have not been disrupted in any way.

Avi Eisenberg, the exploiter of Mango Market, is said to have employed the similar technique, which is known as a flash assault, when he claimed credit for manipulating the price of the MNGO currency in October 2022. Following the discovery of the vulnerability, Eisenberg said that “all of our acts were legitimate open market actions, utilizing the protocol as it was intended.” On December 28th, Eisenberg was taken into custody in Puerto Rico on allegations related to fraud.

On February 23, Platypus made public their proposal to reimburse customers who had their monies stolen. The protocol stipulates that 63% of the monies from the primary pool shall be returned within a period of six months. Reminting the stablecoins that have been frozen according to the plan might result in 78% of the cash being returned. According to what was indicated in the protocol, “if our application presented to Aave is granted and Tether verifies reminting the frozen USDT, we will be able to retrieve about 78% of user’s cash.”

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Solana Network Experiences Slowdown in Block Production Following Upgrade

by Blockchain News

After an update to the validator software on February 25, the Solana network saw a decrease in the rate at which blocks were produced. Transactions were disrupted as a consequence of the event, which prompted validators to downgrade the software in an effort to restore network speed.

At around 6:00 AM (UTC), a technical problem began, which prompted validators to downgrade to version 1.13 in an attempt to get transactions back up throughout the network. However, the downgrade was not sufficient to return Solana to regular operations, and as a result, the decision had to be made to restart the network on version v1.13.6.

“A considerable delay in block production was reported by the network about the same time as an upgrade to the validator software was being implemented. The engineers are currently investigating the underlying reason of the problem “Noting Solana’s webpage for the compass

The problem is related to the upgrading from version 1.13 to version 1.14, which slowed down the process of finalizing blocks. The Solana network is in the process of being restarted, and in order for activities to continue, it is essential to have 80 percent of active stake online:

“As additional validators finish their restart, this number will climb in accordance with the amount of stake they have delegated: this implies that bigger validators such as CEX have a disproportionately high influence on restart timeframes.”

Within the first few hours after the issue was reported, Solana’s validators got together and brainstormed potential solutions to the problem. Infrastructure provider Chorus One pointed out in a Tweeter that the event “demonstrated how really decentralized the network is.” The first chorus continued: “If we didn’t have to spend so much time debating, we could get back up in an hour. However, every step along the route is up to controversy, including whether or not to downgrade, whether or not to restart, and whether to transition from an approach of downgrading to one of restarting. Voting occurs. In the end, it takes us between 8 and 10 hours to recuperate, rather than only 1.”

This is a developing story, and further information will be posted as it becomes available. Please check back for updates.

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2022 was a tough year for crypto with a decline in venture

by Blockchain News

The year 2022 will go down in history as a challenging one for cryptocurrencies, as the gloomy market circumstances were reflected by a decrease in the amount of venture capital (VC) financing pouring into the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries.

A analysis by Blockdata reveals that there would be consistent decreases in financing on a quarterly basis through the year 2022. This comes after a period of growing venture capital investing into the larger Web3 field through 2021.

Blockdata closed out the final quarter of 2022’s analysis of the value of venture capital financing by noting a 34% decrease from the previous quarter’s total. The data was obtained from CB Insights. When compared to the first and second quarters of the year, the third quarter’s results were much worse, falling by 67% and 53%, respectively.

After reaching a record high of $11 billion in investments and 692 agreements in the first four months of 2022, the ensuing decline in venture capital investment occurred quarterly after that point.

Blockdata identifies a number of reasons for the decrease in venture capital financing for cryptocurrency and blockchain-related projects in 2017. The collapse of the Terra ecosystem, which cost $60 billion and occurred in May 2022, is noted as a trigger event that led to the eventual insolvency of bitcoin lending businesses Three Arrows Capital and Celsius.

The implosion of FTX in November 2022 contributed further to the volatility that permeated throughout the space, while the global macro conditions in capital markets, which were affected by rising interest rates and inflation, also played a role in the decline of investments made by venture capitalists.

As a direct consequence of this, venture capitalists only contributed $3.7 billion to financing during the fourth quarter of 2022. This is a 61% decrease compared to the $9.6 billion that was contributed during the same period in 2021. The overall capital received by blockchain and cryptocurrency firms fell by 11% annually, from $32 billion to $29 billion, bringing the total to $29 billion.

A good conclusion that Blockdata notes is the fact that the number of trades in 2022 is expected to increase by 35% compared to 2021. According to the company, there has been a slowdown in venture capital expenditure, but investors are still eager to fund blockchain-based technology, apps, and businesses. This is despite the fact that venture capital spending has been on the down.

According to the findings of the research, investments in venture capital are gradually moving toward “non-volatile ideas.” These innovations include cross-chain bridges, payments and remittances, loans, decentralized autonomous organizations, asset management, and digital identity management.

The fourth quarter saw a number of significant venture capital investments. Amber Group was successful in obtaining the most money, bringing in $300 million during a Series C round in December 2022. This was done in order to combat drawdowns of certain goods that were impacted by the FTX scandal.

During the fourth quarter, there were a total of nine “blockchain mega-rounds,” each of which resulted in the receiving of more than $100 million in investment. Only Uniswap and Celestia, with respective market values of $1.7 billion and $1 billion, were able to achieve the coveted “unicorn” designation during the fourth quarter of the previous year.

Due to their participation in thirteen separate fundraising rounds for blockchain and cryptocurrency businesses, Coinbase Ventures has been recognized as one of the most active corporate venture capital investors until 2022.

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BlueWallet is Sunsetting Its Lightning Node Connection to Lndhub

by Blockchain News

According to an official announcement, BlueWallet will be disconnecting its lightning node connection to Lndhub in the near future. BlueWallet is going to stop its custodial lightning operations. This means that customers of BlueWallet who are also members of the Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning Network will need to connect to nodes in order to continue making use of BlueWallet’s lighting services.

“The most essential thing is that people don’t panic, and suddenly noobs take out their on-chain money or incorrect lightning balances,” said one person. “This is the most crucial thing.”

Bitcoin serves as the foundation for the Lightning Network, which is a layer-2 payment system. Small sums of bitcoin, also known as satoshis or sats, may be transferred between users with the use of the Lightning Network. This is often done via a lightning wallet.

Blue Wallet is a well-known Lightning Network wallet that has a liquidity pool of more than 42 BTC (one million dollars). According to the statistics provided by Amboss, the network’s biggest channel has a capacity of 4 BTC, which is equivalent to $95,000. BlueWallet is a well-known lightning wallet that comes highly recommended by some of the most prominent Bitcoin users.

Calle said, “It is essential to understand that lndhub is a protocol that facilitates the linking of wallets to accounts. BlueWallet is the wallet that supports LndHub in this instance; however, other wallets, like as Alby and Zeus, also support LndHub.

It is just the account that is being closed, not LndHub or Bluewallet in and of itself. This particular account is hosted by the BlueWallet team, and they have expressed that they no longer want to be responsible for it.

Although users will still be able to withdraw their sats, the LndHub node will no longer let users to create new lightning wallets or refill current ones. BlueWallet has issued a public statement advising customers who have satellite wallets linked to BlueWallet’s lightning node to transfer such wallets as soon as possible.

Because customers of BlueWallet will no longer have access to the service after April 30th, it is imperative that they transfer their sats to another service or wallet of their choosing before the service is discontinued. However, Bitcoin wallets that are used regularly will not be impacted by this change.

According to the website, BlueWallet will “only support self-custody solutions,” which is a crucial fact to keep in mind despite the fact that some people may regard the move as an impediment to the widespread adoption of the Lightning Network. The modification intends to encourage decentralized solutions and self-custody in its recipients.

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Binance Australia Derivatives Closes Accounts After False Classification

by Blockchain News

On February 23, the company Binance Australia Derivatives sent an unexpected notice to a subset of its customers, informing them that the company would be immediately canceling their accounts because of an error in which certain users were incorrectly categorized as “wholesale clients.” The error occurred as a result of the company incorrectly classifying certain users as “wholesale clients.” This issue transpired as a result of some users being wrongly classified as “wholesale customers.” The problem occurred because the company was mistakingly referring to certain users as “wholesale clients,” which was caused by a misunderstanding.

This incident caused a flurry of responses from users on social media, and the next day, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced that it would be conducting a “targeted review” of Binance’s local derivatives operations in response to the public outcry that it had generated. This review was in direct response to the public outcry that this incident had generated. This evaluation was an immediate reaction to the backlash that had been caused by this episode in the public’s eye. This assessment was an instant response to the backlash that had been produced by this incident in the eyes of the public.

The “categorization of retail customers and wholesale clients” of Binance Australia Derivatives will be one of the topics that will be examined as part of the assessment that will take place on the 24th of February, according to a statement that was released by a representative for the regulator. This will be one of the topics that will be examined as part of the evaluation that will take place. On February 24th, as part of the evaluation that will take place on that day, this will be one of the subjects that will be reviewed and discussed in depth. The evaluation will be carried out on February 15, which is the day after Valentine’s Day in the Gregorian calendar.

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Scammers Target Australians in Cryptocurrency Call Center Scheme

by Blockchain News

It has come to light that people of Australia are the principal targets of a sophisticated multinational network of con artists that operate out of call centers focused on bitcoin. The network is believed to have originated in China. The heart of operations for the network may be found on the continent of Australia. It is commonly believed that the administration of this network is being handled by criminal syndicates that have their headquarters in Israel.

As part of a large-scale operation, law enforcement officers from the countries of Serbia, Germany, Bulgaria, and Cyprus carried out house searches in a total of eleven locations across the country of Serbia, including four call centers. These locations included the country’s capital city of Belgrade. Officials from the island nation of Cyprus were responsible for the operation’s coordination. During the course of this operation, they discovered evidence showing that Australians were among the citizens of all of the other countries who were exposed to the highest degree of examination. This information suggests that Australians were among those subjected to this level of inspection. The material was made available to the general public on February 23 via the dissemination of an article that had been authored by The Australian and published on that day.

Fifteen individuals and about 1.46 million dollars’ worth of cryptocurrencies were seized into custody as a direct result of the operations, which were carried out as a direct consequence of the acts.

It would seem that con artists who work out of these contact centers are using advertisements on social media in an effort to persuade fresh victims into falling for their schemes. They achieve this goal by ensuring prospective investors that any investments they make would result in a significant return on the cash that they have invested. The findings of the research reveal that individuals do engage in this activity, which testifies to the notion that it is prevalent since it indicates that people do participate.

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Former facilities worker who allegedly set up a secret cryptocurrency mining operation

by Blockchain News

After skipping a planned court appearance to respond to accusations, a former facilities worker who is accused of setting up a covert bitcoin mining operation inside a Massachusetts school’s crawl space is slated to be arrested. The hearing was to answer to the allegations.

According to several sources in the media, Nadeam Nahas’ arraignment on the allegations of vandalizing a school and making fraudulent use of power was due to take place on February 23.

A form of warrant known as a default warrant is the kind of warrant that courts issue when a person fails to appear in court or comply with an order. This type of warrant gives law enforcement officials the authority to arrest the individual in question.

It is alleged that Nahas, who is said to have previously worked in the facilities department for the town of Cohasset, Massachusetts, United States, stole electricity worth almost $18,000 in order to power his cryptocurrency mining operation in 2021, between April 28 and December 14, specifically between the dates of April 28 and December 14.

According to the reports, the local authorities were notified about the operation for the first time in December 2021. This occurred after the director of facilities at Cohasset noticed computers, wiring, and ductwork that appeared to be out of place given that they were located in a crawl space close to the school’s boiler room.

There were a total of 11 computers discovered at the location, and after a three-month investigation, Nahas was determined to be a suspect in the case.

In March, Nahas handed in his resignation from his job with the municipality of Cohasset.

It is very unlikely that this is the first time someone has been accused of stealing energy for the purpose of mining cryptocurrencies.

Officials in Malaysia destroyed Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs worth $1.2 million in July 2021 after seizing them from citizens who were stealing energy to mine Bitcoin. The rigs had been taken from citizens who were mining Bitcoin illegally.

A year earlier, in August of 2019, Bulgarian police made the arrest of two individuals for unlawfully siphoning off more than $1.5 million in energy to run two cryptocurrency mining farms.

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Bitcoin (BTC) $ 27,554.38 0.68%
Ethereum (ETH) $ 1,640.29 0.77%
Litecoin (LTC) $ 63.91 2.61%
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 227.41 1.82%