DeFi
How Sybil Attackers Are Ruining the Golden Age of Airdrops – DL News
A version of this article appeared in our Decentralized newsletter of June 25. Register here.
general manager, Tim here.
Here’s what caught my attention about DeFi recently:
- How Sybil Attackers Are Ruining the Golden Age of Airdrops.
- The latest on CertiK’s $3 million Kraken hack.
- DL News discovers an agreement between Lens Protocol and ZKsync.
Airdrop attackers
In recent months, the number of crypto airdrops has exploded.
So why do many people say that the golden age is over?
In short: Sybil Attackers.
These buccaneer DeFi players create multiple wallet addresses to spoof airdrops by pretending to be running legitimate activity.
So-called airdrop farming allows them to potentially rake in millions.
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The problem with Sybil attackers is that they cost crypto projects millions.
Some airdrops targeted by industrial-scale Sybil attackers include:
Increasing the number of Sybils could force airdrops to shift to a distribution method that rewards smaller players with significantly fewer chips.
One idea is a linear distribution.
This means that the more crypto a user stakes to provide liquidity on a blockchain or DeFi protocol, the larger their airdrop will be.
While a linear distribution may be fairer, it turns airdrops into a whale game – skewing them to benefit large crypto holders at the expense of smaller ones.
Despite problems with Sybil attackers, the number of airdrops is not slowing down.
Here are some confirmed airdrops that could happen soon:
And a few who hinted at airdrops launch points:
The CertiK Kraken spat
The multi-day hack of crypto exchange Kraken by crypto auditor CertiK has left DeFi experts and security researchers stunned.
CertiK has since income the $3 million he took out of Kraken using what is called a comeback attack. But many questions remain.
Onchain records show that a hacker used the same bug to attempt to exploit other exchanges as early as May 17.
These exchanges include:
This is almost three weeks before CertiK announced that it had discovered the bug in Kraken’s systems.
CertiK declined to comment on the matter.
Certainly, the records do not prove that CertiK was behind the previous attempts.
A security researcher who wished to remain anonymous said DL News that another actor could have used the same name that CertiK used for its exploit code.
Lens ZKsync agreement
Zero-knowledge protocol ZKsync paid Lens Protocol tens of millions of dollars in tokens to use its technology, sources said. DL News.
The exact number of tokens Lens received in the transaction is unclear.
Those who were competing with ZKsync to attract Lens to their blockchains withdrew from the bidding war once Lens said they had been offered around 0.5% of the total supply of ZKsync tokens.
This represents 105,000,000 ZK tokens, with a market value of $17 million.
The deal may not be as interesting for Lens as it initially seemed.
When tokens are sold in transactions, they are typically locked for a period before the recipients can sell them.
Since its launch on June 17 at around $0.28 per token, the ZK token has sunk. It is down 37% and is now trading at around $0.16.
It is unclear how long, if at all, Lens’ ZK tokens are locked.
Data of the week
Ethereum gas fees briefly dropped to around 1.7 gwei over the weekend for the first time since 2020.
Decreasing demand and shifting activity to Ethereum Layer 2 are contributing factors to low gas fees.
This week in DeFi governance
VOTE: Aave DAO takes first step in integrating Aave Labs as a service provider
VOTE: Real DAO split over Wallfacer Labs funding request
VOTE: Composite votes to renew OpenZeppelin security partnership
Article of the week
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, is back with another blog post on how the macroeconomic situation between the United States and Japan could benefit crypto.
“Shikata Ga Nai” is an essay exploring a theory of how Bad Gurl Yellen can stop Japanese banks from dumping Treasuries.
As always, the money printer goes brrrrr.
Hope you’re stacking sats.
😘😘😘😘😘
-Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) June 21, 2024
What we watch
Crypto-based prediction market Polymarket just hit an all-time high in terms of open interest – the total value of bets placed on the markets.
Do you have a tip on DeFi? Contact us at [email protected].
DeFi
Cryptocurrency and defi firms lost $266 million to hackers in July
In July 2024, the cryptocurrency industry suffered a series of devastating attacks, resulting in losses amounting to approximately $266 million.
Blockchain Research Firm Peck Shield revealed in an X post On August 1, attacks on decentralized protocols in July reached $266 million, a 51% increase from $176 million reported in June.
The most significant breach last month involved WazirX, one of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, which lost $230 million in what appears to be a highly sophisticated attack by North Korean hackers. The attack was a major blow to the stock market, leading to a break in withdrawals. Subsequently, WazirX launched a program in order to recover the funds.
Another notable incident involved Compound Finance, a decentralized lending protocol, which suffered a governance attack by a group known as the “Golden Boys,” who passed a proposal who allocated 499,000 COMP tokens – valued at $24 million – to a vault under their control.
The cross-chain liquidity aggregation protocol LI.FI also fell victim On July 16, a hack resulted in losses of $9.73 million. Additionally, Bittensor, a decentralized machine learning network, was one of the first protocols to suffer an exploit last month, loming $8 million on July 3 due to an attack targeting its staking mechanism.
Meanwhile, Rho Markets, a lending protocol, suffered a $7.6 million breach. However, in an interesting twist, the exploiters research to return the stolen funds, claiming the incident was not a hack.
July 31, reports The Terra blockchain protocol was also hacked, resulting in a loss of $6.8 million across multiple cryptocurrencies. As crypto.news reported, the attack exploited a reentrancy vulnerability that had been identified a few months ago.
Dough Finance, a liquidity protocol, lost $1.8 million in Ethereum (ETH) and USD Coin (USDC) to a flash loan attack on July 12. Similarly, Minterest, a lending and borrowing protocol, saw a loss of $1.4 million due to exchange rate manipulation in one of its markets.
Decentralized staking platform MonoSwap also reported a loss of $1.3 million following an attack that allowed the perpetrators to withdraw the liquidity staked on the protocol. Finally, Delta Prime, another decentralized finance platform, suffered a $1 million breach, although $900,000 of the stolen funds was later recovered.
DeFi
Centralized crypto exchanges are slowly losing ground to their DeFi counterparts
Centralized crypto exchanges are slowly losing ground to their DeFi counterparts, according to an in-depth data analysis conducted by Decrypt.
DeFiLlama’s decentralized exchange (DEX) volume data and CoinGecko’s total cryptocurrency trading volume data show that the percentage of cryptocurrency trading volume occurring on DEXs relative to total trading volume has increased from 4.6% in February to over 7% this month. This is an increase in the share of trading volume driven by DEXs of over 52%.
Source: Adrian Zmudzinski
Kunal Goel, a senior research analyst at Messari, told Decrypt that several factors are fueling the growth in DEX market share. He cited “the growth of meme coins and long-tail assets” as one of the reasons, explaining that they tend to list first on DEXs and only appear on centralized exchanges much later.if they last that long.
“The onchain user experience has improved with low fees and high throughput on Solana and Ethereum L2,” he added, highlighting advancements making decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions increasingly easier to use.
DeFiLlama data further shows that over the past 24 hours, DEX volume accounted for 22% of total trading volume. The crypto price aggregator notes that this percentage is meant to represent the dominance of decentralized exchanges over aggregated decentralized exchanges and centralized exchanges.
So far in 2024, DEX volume has seen a slow and steady increase.
CEX and DEX trading volume increased from $133.5 billion in January to $179.5 billion this month, an increase of about 34%. The year-to-date high was recorded in March, when CEX and DEX volumes saw a sharp increase, reaching $4.8 trillion and $266.89 billion, respectively.
Goel noted that at the time, “Bitcoin hit new all-time highs in March and trading activity is generally positively correlated with price and sentiment.” Looking ahead, he expects centralized exchanges to move on-chain and disrupt their own business models before others can. He added that “Base and BNB Chain are the most prominent examples of this.”
TradingView also shows a DeFi market cap dominance chart, in percentage terms. Currently at 3.86%, it fell from 4.47% on January 1 and hit a 2024 high of 4.81% on February 25. Goel noted that this was unexpected since “DEX volumes are a key driver of DEX value, so it’s a bit contradictory.”
Challenge is an umbrella term for a group of financial tools built on a blockchain, including DEXs, exchanges that operate primarily on-chain. The primary goal of DeFi is to allow anyone with internet access to lend, borrow, and bank without relying on intermediaries.
Similarly, the main goal of DEXs is to allow anyone with internet access to trade or even provide liquidity in exchange for a stake. DeFi and DEXs are one of the main areas of focus in decentralized application (dapp) development, which have seen considerable adoption this year.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
DeFi
Pump.Fun Overtakes Ethereum in Daily Revenue: A New Leader in DeFi
In a remarkable turn of events, Pump.Fun, a memecoin launchpad, has surpassed all other platforms in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, achieving the highest gross revenue in the last 24 hours. According to data from DeFiLlama, Pump.Fun amassed $867,429 during this period, surpassing Ethereum’s $844,276. This achievement underscores the growing influence of memecoin infrastructure within DeFi.
Pump.Fun Revenue Milestones
The impressive revenue numbers go beyond daily performance. Pump.Fun is generating $315 million in annualized revenue, averaging $906,160 per day over the past week. This revenue surge is largely due to the recent memecoin frenzy, with Solana-based memecoins being particularly popular among on-chain enthusiasts. The platform’s user-friendly interface allows non-technical users to quickly launch their own tokens, spending as little as $2 without needing to provide any initial liquidity.
How Pump.Fun works
Pump.Fun’s operating model is designed to facilitate the use and rapid launch of tokens. Users can create new tokens in minutes, which are then allowed to trade along a bonding curve until they reach a market cap of approximately $75,000. At this point, the bonding curve is burned on Raydium, establishing a secure liquidity pool. The platform generates revenue through a 1% fee on transactions made on the platform. However, once a token is bonded and burned on Raydium, Pump.Fun stops charging this fee.
Ethereum: Traditional Power
Despite its daily revenues, Ethereum remains a cornerstone of the DeFi ecosystem. It is the blockchain of Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $395 billion. Ethereum powers many applications and digital assets, backing over $60 billion worth of smart contracts. Revenue generation on Ethereum is done through transaction fees, called gas, which are paid in ETH for executing transactions and smart contracts.
Comparative analysis of revenue models
While Ethereum’s revenue model relies on gas fees for transactions and smart contract executions, Pump.Fun takes a different approach. By enabling easy and low-cost token launches, Pump.Fun caters to a broad audience, including non-technical users. This inclusiveness, combined with the excitement surrounding memecoins, has led to rapid revenue growth. The 1% transaction fee ensures continued revenue generation until the token transitions to Raydium, creating a sustainable business model.
Memecoin frenzy
The recent rise in popularity of memecoins has been a major contributor to Pump.Fun’s success. Memecoins, particularly those based on Solana, have captivated the DeFi community, generating substantial activity on platforms like Pump.Fun. This trend highlights a shift in DeFi dynamics, where niche platforms catering to specific interests can achieve significant revenue milestones.
Future prospects
Pump.Fun’s recent successes suggest a potential shift in the DeFi landscape. As the platform continues to attract users with its simple token launch process and low-cost entry point, it could solidify its position as a leader in the DeFi space. The memecoin phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down, indicating that platforms like Pump.Fun could continue to see robust growth.
In conclusion, Pump.Fun’s ability to surpass Ethereum in terms of daily revenue underscores the evolving nature of the DeFi space. By providing a user-friendly platform for launching memecoins, Pump.Fun has tapped into a lucrative niche, demonstrating the potential for niche platforms to thrive alongside traditional blockchain giants like Ethereum. This development signals a broader trend toward diversification and innovation within the DeFi ecosystem, with new entrants challenging established players through unique value propositions and targeted services.
DeFi
$10 Billion Venture Firm May Target 10x Opportunities in Ripple (XRP) and This DeFi Token
According to recent reports, one of the largest venture capital firms is looking for new opportunities in the cryptocurrency space as Bitcoin (BTC) attempts to break its all-time high and start a new bull run in the cryptocurrency market. They are balancing risk with low-risk, low-reward and high-risk, high-reward opportunities.
The first investment candidate is a top cryptocurrency, Ripple (XRP); it doesn’t have much growth potential because it’s already a large cap. Another scenario the firm is targeting is DTX ExchangeThe new hybrid exchange is expected to revolutionize the foreign exchange industry. According to analysts, its growth potential is immense and the risk is also very limited due to its low price.
Market is bullish as Trump wants to make US a Bitcoin (BTC) superpower
Over the past 30 days, Bitcoin (BTC) has increased by about 10%, and one of the catalysts for this price increase has been Donald Trump recently speaking out as a crypto pro. Presidential candidate Donald Trump has promised to make the United States the world leader in cryptocurrencies if elected in November. Speaking at the Bitcoin2024 conference in Nashville, Trump compared Bitcoin (BTC) to the steel industry of 100 years ago, highlighting its potential.
Trump’s plans include firing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and immediately creating a “Presidential Advisory Council on Bitcoin (BTC) and Cryptocurrencies.” He stressed the importance of American leadership in the cryptocurrency space, saying, “I am laying out my plan to ensure that the United States is the cryptocurrency capital of the planet and the Bitcoin (BTC) superpower of the world.”
$600 Million Worth of Ripple (XRP) to Be Released in August
Ripple (XRP), the company behind the XRP Ledger blockchain and its native token Ripple (XRP), unlocks up to 1 billion tokens on the first day of every month. Since 2017, they have used several major escrow wallets, including Ripple (XRP) (24) and Ripple (XRP) (25), to evenly distribute these monthly unlocks.
However, Ripple (XRP) often relocks a large portion of newly issued XRP. For example, on June 1, Ripple (XRP) relocked 800 million XRP but still sold about 300 million XRP, worth $182 million at the time.
While Ripple (XRP) releases up to 1 billion XRP tokens each month, the actual amount released into circulation is typically much lower due to this re-escrow process, as noted in a 2017 XRP Ledger blog post.
DTX Exchange Follows Bitcoin (BTC) Path
The main target of large private equity firms is the DTX exchange (DTX), the reason being a clearly high utility like Bitcoin (BTC). This project has attracted global attention thanks to its exceptional pre-sale performance, offering early buyers a 100% return on investment and raising over $1 million. Projections suggest that this figure will reach $2 million by the end of August 2024.
DTX Exchange offers a revolutionary hybrid trading platform, combining the best features of centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) exchanges. Traders can enjoy a seamless experience with access to over 120,000 asset classes, no KYC verification upon registration and ultra-fast transaction speeds of 0.04 seconds.
These benefits have attracted traders to this new cryptocurrency exchange. Currently, in Phase 2 of its pre-sale, DTX Exchange is listed at $0.04, which is double its starting price of $0.02. Market analysts predict that the upcoming listing of DTX Exchange on the Level 1 CEX in late 2024 could trigger a 100x bullish rally, making DTX Exchange the top cryptocurrency exchange to watch.
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