EDUCare(EKT)

Bitcoin (BTC) has been stirring up the market, with analysts like Rekt Capital predicting a potential surge in its value

Bitcoin and Ether lead in liquidation heatmap with over $335 million in rekt positions in the last 12 hours.

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The overarching goal with the Elektrik airdrop is to catalyse the growth of its protocol and prepare it for long term sustainable growth.

Innovations such as Elektrik's DLP, combining age-old financial principles with cutting-edge technology, are narrowing the gap in the race towards an efficient, decentralised financial future.

Introduction If financial markets are an ocean, then liquidity is the water. Although definitions of liquidity vary between the availability of cash and the cash itself, one thing is for certain; just as an ocean cannot exist without water, a market cannot function without liquidity. Meanwhile, the flow of liquidity between markets can make or break them. Furthermore, the liquidity of a particular asset, cryptocurrency for example, is an important indicator of their viability as well as an essential element of their tradability. Thus, in financial markets, liquidity truly is king! Understanding Markets: Why Liquidity is King Before jumping into its importance, let us define the concept. Liquidity, in its most fundamental sense, refers to the ease with which an asset can be bought or sold in the market. This tradability often correlates with the availability of the asset and is therefore conflated with the relative quantity of the asset itself. Accordingly, liquidity is discussed in relation to an individual or group allocating their funds to an opportunity in addition to the liquidity of an asset or market itself. Nevertheless, liquidity in both forms is critical, with its importance having been recognised by numerous economists and financial theorists throughout history. For instance, Nobel laureate Eugene Fama highlighted liquidity's role in ensuring that asset prices fully reflect all available information, as stated in his Efficient Market Hypothesis. The concept of liquidity is multifaceted, encompassing aspects such as market depth, immediacy, and tightness. Market depth refers to the exchange’s ability to handle large orders without significant price changes that occur following a trade, known as slippage. Immediacy is the speed at which orders can be executed. Finally, tightness refers to the spread between the bid (purchase) and ask (sale) prices. A market is considered highly liquid if it possesses depth, immediacy, and tight spreads in the order book, allowing for efficient price discovery and minimal transaction costs. In the burgeoning world of decentralised finance (DeFi), liquidity takes on a newfound importance. Liquidity in these markets is often provided by liquidity providers (LPs) who pool their assets in smart contracts. These liquidity pools are used to facilitate trading activities on decentralised exchanges (DEXs), with LPs earning fees in return. The concept of Automated Market Makers (AMMs), pioneered by platforms like Uniswap, hinges on this principle of liquidity provision. The importance of liquidity in these markets cannot be overstated. It is the cornerstone upon which the promise of DeFi - a truly open, inclusive, and efficient financial system - is built. The Role of Liquidity in Driving DeFi Innovation The management of liquidity and the maximisation of capital efficiency have been pivotal in driving the continued innovation of DEXs in the DeFi landscape. As the backbone of DeFi, DEXs have had to constantly evolve and adapt to the challenges posed by the unique characteristics of the crypto market, particularly its volatility and the fragmentation of liquidity. The quest for efficient liquidity management and capital utilisation has led to the development of novel mechanisms and protocols. Uniswap, one of the pioneers of the AMM model, serves as a prime example of this liquidity-driven innovation In its initial iteration, Uniswap V1, the platform introduced the concept of liquidity pools, where users could deposit equal values of ETH and any Ethereum Request for Comment 20 standard token (ERC-20) to create a market. While this model was revolutionary, it had its limitations, particularly in terms of capital efficiency. The 50/50 liquidity provision requirement meant that capital was often underutilised, especially for pairs with significant price disparity. In response to this, Uniswap V2 introduced several improvements, including the ability to create direct pairs between any two ERC-20 tokens, thereby improving capital efficiency. However, the most significant leap came with Uniswap V3, which introduced concentrated liquidity. This feature allows liquidity providers to specify price ranges for their liquidity, thereby maximising capital efficiency. Using this model, LPs can provide liquidity only at price levels where they anticipate trading activity, ensuring they are constantly making use of the liquidity in pools. This innovation has not only improved capital efficiency but reduced slippage, benefiting traders. The evolution of Uniswap and the broader DeFi landscape underscores the critical role of liquidity management and capital efficiency in driving innovation. As the DeFi space continues to mature, the quest for improved liquidity and capital utilisation will undoubtedly continue to shape its trajectory. From the development of more sophisticated AMM models to the integration of cross-chain and layer 2 solutions, the pursuit of liquidity and capital efficiency will remain at the forefront of DeFi innovation. The role of liquidity in driving DeFi innovation is not only significant yet concurrently transformative, shaping the future of finance in profound and novel ways. Taking the Next Step with Elektrik Despite the progress made by protocols such as Uniswap V3, liquidity in web3 is still critically underutilised. While DeFi boasts a number of protocols that offer high levels of capital efficiency, the relatively small amount of liquidity present in the market often causes issues, particularly as it pertains to the cold start problem. At its core, the cold start problem refers to the challenge of launching a new product or service in a market where network effects are prevalent. In such markets, the value of the product or service increases with the number of users, creating a virtuous cycle of growth. However, this also means that when a product or service is first launched, it has little to no value as there are no users yet. Subsequently, at a fundamental level, the cold-start problem can be understood through a question - in an environment where users extract value from the existence of other users, why would the initial wave of users remain in the environment? This problem is faced not only by newly minted protocols aiming to facilitate the liquidity of their own token, but also newly created DEXs looking to establish a base of liquidity providers for trading. Without this base, tokens would be untradable and the DEX would subsequently be rendered ineffective. Hence, the importance of implementing effective measures to foster the highest level of capital efficiency possible becomes clear, DEXs are seeking to overcome the cold-start problem with as little liquidity as possible whereby traders always face a positive experience. Elektrik is one such DEX looking to solve this problem, implementing effective capital efficiency measures to facilitate high volume trading from its inception. Incidentally, this necessitates the adoption of novel and creative mechanisms to attract LPs and manipulate liquidity so that it is always available where needed. While traditional DEXs, such as Uniswap, have taken strides in this regard, Elektrik represents a new wave of DeFi protocols that can achieve more with less liquidity. How Does Elektrik Work? Elektrik is a DEX protocol built on the Lightlink Network. In its first iteration, Elektrik V1, the DEX plans to implement itself as a fork of the revolutionary Uniswap V3 architecture. As a fork of Uniswap V3, Elektrik carries forward the proven AMM model, enhancing it with the unique capabilities and features of the Lightlink network. This AMM model allows users to trade directly with the smart contract on the platform. Users can also become LPs by depositing assets into the liquidity pools and earn fees from the trading activity. This design is intended to provide efficient and flexible trading opportunities for all users. The protocol is built on Lightlink, a layer 2 blockchain secured by Ethereum, purposefully built for Metaverse, NFT, and Gaming applications. By harnessing the power of the Lightlink network, Elektrik is able to offer an efficient and seamless trading experience for its users. Most importantly, Lightlink offers a unique feature referred to as ‘enterprise mode’ which allows organisations to pay a monthly fee, covering its users’ gas costs, to simplify users' experiences when transacting with ERC20 and ERC721 smart contracts, effectively bypassing native gas costs. This feature, combined with Lightlink's low transaction fees and high speed, provides Elektrik with a significant advantage over other DEXs built on more traditional blockchains. Elektrik's design as a Uniswap V3 fork also brings with it a number of benefits. For instance, Elektrik, like Uniswap V3, provides higher capital efficiency compared to its predecessors by allowing liquidity providers to provide liquidity in concentrated price ranges, which, for sophisticated and active LPs, can potentially lead to higher returns. Furthermore, Elektrik supports single-sided liquidity provisioning, enabling LPs to deposit only one type of asset in a trading pair, reducing the risks associated with price fluctuations. In terms of fee structure, Elektrik implements an adaptive fee structure that dynamically adjusts fees based on market conditions and liquidity utilisation. This is achieved through the introduction of multiple fee tiers for each pair: 0.05%, 0.30%, and 1.00%. These options allow LPs to adjust their margins based on the expected volatility of the pair. For example, LPs can choose to take on more risk with non-correlated pairs like ETH/DAI, or minimal risk with correlated pairs like USDC/DAI, and select the fee tier that best compensates them for this risk. This ensures competitive fees for users while maintaining incentives for liquidity providers. By adapting fees to market conditions, Elektrik aims to promote efficient market participation and attract liquidity. Moreover, Elektrik introduces enhanced capital efficiency by utilising multiple fee tiers within liquidity pools. Liquidity providers can allocate their funds to different fee tiers, optimising their capital allocation and earning potential. This feature encourages efficient capital deployment and enables liquidity providers to maximise their returns. Understanding Elektrik V2’s Liquidity Model Although Elektrik is initially being released via the aforementioned Uniswap V3 model, Elektrik V2 plans to implement an innovative AMM. The Elektrik V2 platform represents a significant advancement in the realm of decentralised exchanges, distinguished by its incorporation of abstracted AMM, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Reinforced Learning (RL), and dynamic smart contracts. Central to Elektrik's proposition is its commitment to capital efficiency, ensuring that liquidity is not merely present but is deployed judiciously for optimal trading outcomes. The Dynamic Liquidity Provision (DLP) mechanism is pivotal in this regard, meticulously adjusting liquidity with each block on the LightLink network to meet the precise requirements of liquidity providers. While Elektrik V1 allows for LPs to add liquidity to particular price ranges, Elektrik V2 harnesses the power of AI to anticipate and modulate liquidity in the inherently unpredictable cryptocurrency market. While conventional AI models may falter in such volatile environments, Elektrik's model is characterised by its dynamic adaptability. It undergoes continuous training on a diverse array of data, both internal to Elektrik and from external sources, ensuring its models remain contemporaneous and pertinent. This perpetual refinement is instrumental in ensuring that liquidity is judiciously allocated, responding adeptly to market fluctuations and safeguarding optimal trading conditions. The decision-making prowess of this AI is further enhanced by the principles of Reinforcement Learning (RL). To elaborate, RL operates on a paradigm wherein the system discerns optimal actions through a process of iterative trial and error. Within Elektrik's operational framework, RL assists in determining the most efficacious deployment of liquidity, harmonising the dual objectives of return maximisation and risk minimization. By synergizing dynamic AI with RL, Elektrik underscores its commitment to the judicious management of liquidity, thereby promising an unparalleled trading experience driven by precision and efficiency. Comparing Elektrik to the Competition Since 2021, the DEX landscape has been dominated by Uniswap V2-style DEXs, with many implementing the tried-and-tested x * y = k algorithm and spreading liquidity evenly across all price ranges. This can lead to inefficiencies, especially those associated with use of capital. If liquidity is dispersed across all price ranges, each pool will require a larger amount of liquidity to facilitate the same amount of volume. Consequently, more trading fees are dispersed to a greater number of parties and traders must be charged higher fees in order to provide LPs with the same level of yield. With the advent of Uniswap V3 in 2022, the DEX landscape has likewise undergone a subsequent evolution, with concentrated liquidity models becoming increasingly prevalent in DeFi. Nevertheless, these types of models often require manual rebalancing of liquidity or custom automated strategies by LPs, which can be relatively inefficient. Thus, even the relatively recent AMM models possess inherent flaws with regards to their management of idle liquidity that make them ineffective solutions when compared to next generation AMMs such as that implemented by Elektrik V2. Elektrik V2 and similar DEXs will offer far greater flexibility than their contemporaries. The greater capital efficiency facilitated by the continuous rebalancing and concentration of liquidity will allow protocols to handle high volume trading with relatively insignificant liquidity. Thus trading fees for users can be reduced and those which are earned can be dispersed between fewer LPs, providing incentives for the participation of users and LPs alike. Another key advantage of an automatic liquidity rebalancing model is the potential reduction in impermanent loss. Impermanent loss is a risk faced by LPs in traditional AMMs when the price of the assets in a pool diverges. By automatically adjusting liquidity to follow price movements, a DEX implementing this model can ensure that a LP’s liquidity is never concentrated in one side of a pool, mitigating the effects of impermanent loss. This means LPs are less likely to be holding the wrong asset when prices change, which can lead to more stable and predictable returns. Notably, this model does possess some inherent challenges, particularly associated with the potential incorporation of machine learning for liquidity rebalancing. After all, if the AI makes an incorrect judgment, then the actual price range will have less liquidity than if the prediction were correct. However it is important to note that any particular price range would never be completely devoid of liquidity due to the use of a price weighting model by the AI, which allocates liquidity to certain price ranges depending on the likelihood that the price will be achieved. Furthermore, the learning curve for LPs in actually understanding and grasping this system may pose some challenges to adoption. Nevertheless, these challenges can be solved via frequent rebalancing and user interface abstraction for a more seamless user experience. Conclusion The very definition of liquidity as the ability to quickly and effortlessly buy or sell assets, is the essence of a functional market, be it the financial markets at large or the intricate DeFi space. Its influence extends throughout history, where liquidity has ruled the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of markets and as we have found, continues to influence the modern financial system - even in the context of DeFi. Therefore, it's evident that DeFi markets, such as Elektrik, which foster liquidity and allocate it efficiently, are likely to remain at the forefront of their respective industries. Therefore, it's evident that DeFi markets, such as Elektrik, which foster liquidity and allocate it efficiently, are likely to remain at the forefront of their respective industries. Consequently, as one of the principal determinants of market and asset success, liquidity, as championed by platforms such as Elektrik, will continue to drive innovation, incentivize adoption, and remain paramount in financial markets. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Even though crypto hedge funds managed positive returns during the first half of 2023, bitcoin trounced them, according to a 21e6 Capital report.

The frequent name on Steam’s Global bestseller list is now entering web3, porting the first batch of its world famous simulator games into OuterLife. PlayWay, the global gaming giant, has teamed up with GameSwift to introduce and launch OuterLife as their entry into the web3 gaming world on Polygon network OuterLife is an innovative Web3 gaming accelerator and incubator, and it will allow PlayWay to integrate blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into its famous simulator titles such as Animal Shelter, Farming Life, Cafe Owner Simulator and more.. PlayWay commented that it will port some of its existing catalogue of games, providing new, engaging and fresh experiences for its gamers with constantly evolving storylines and added productions. OuterLife also gives opportunity to other gaming studios producing simulators to join the incubator and using a zk-powered Polygon Supernet, to also build their own blockchains. Paweł Łaskarzewski, COO at OuterLife expressed that the gaming industry is “ripe for disruption,” in this case led by blockchain and NFT based initiatives. He said, “Blockchain technology has the ability to provide new and engaging enhancements to tried and tested gaming models that have worked over the years, allowing players to get close to the game more than ever.” Marek Parzyński, PlayWay, conveyed his delight in being part of the OuterLife launch and looks forward to a promising future in collaboration with both Polygon Labs and GameSwift. What does this mean for players and developers? Through the collaboration, existing and new developers within PlayWay’s ecosystem and beyond will be able to connect their games to a world of interconnected digital reality, simply by an SDK, creating a truly open world. For players, OuterLife will offer an all new gaming experience where players can enhance statistics, acquire in-game items as non-fungible tokens and establish interconnected gaming simulations. CEO of GameSwift Wojciech Gruszka known also under his Twitter handle as Pan Paragraf comments, “With OuterLife, character developments and upgrades in one game simulator will also have an impact in another - creating a truly interconnected digital reality with the power of blockchain.” Healthy Supply and Demand Major strides are being made to bring blockchain technology to mainstream gaming, with over $739M invested in Q1 2023 alone, according to a DappRadar report. Driving forces for mass adoption are games that are fun, and not complicated for user onboarding, regardless of its usage of blockchain technology. In addition to fun, trends suggest healthy supply and demand for ownership, privacy, creator empowerment and ecosystem growth. OuterLife will use a zk-powered Polygon Supernet integration, which will address those to create a winning economic formula, while ensuring a seamless, scalable, easy to onboard and privacy-focused ecosystem for players, developers and gaming studios alike. Not Far Off PlayWay, the leading company behind gaming boom, was listed as the third-largest games company—trailing only CD Projekt Red, developers of The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077, and Techland with Dying Light. It is worth to highlight that PlayWay has around 4 times bigger capitalization than Ten Square Games, the mobile giant behind Let’s Fish and Fishing Clash. The Global Giant has been home to some of the most successful gaming titles on Steam marketplace, with more than 100 titles in development, having partnered with more than 120 studios worldwide. While it's unclear on when the watershed mass-adoption moment will arrive, it's clear to see it having a major push with one of the biggest game studios in the world making heaps with the technology. Gaming continues to be one of the major vectors of mainstream adoption for Web3,” said Urvit Goel, Vice President, Head of Global Business Development at Polygon Labs. “When leading game companies like PlayWay and GameSwift join forces to establish the groundwork for Web3 gaming infrastructure, and with the market leading advancements in zero knowledge technology being developed at Polygon Labs, the future of gaming holds tremendous potential. PlayWay’s simulator games have frequently been on Steam’s global bestseller list, and the partnership with GameSwift only means it is not a question of if, but when blockchain technology will enhance games in a way that drives mass adoption. About PlayWay: PlayWay is one of the biggest group of gaming simulator studios in the world. Created in 2011, it has produced and released over 100 games that are sold and downloaded worldwide. With over 200 more still to come, PlayWay is listed at the Stock Exchange, with over 10 companies from PlayWay Group now on the stock exchange. About GameSwift: GameSwift is a Modular Gaming Ecosystem based on Modular Blockchain with Steam-like platform in its heart, which enables gamers to play web3 games with just one click (using Google/Facebook account) and without any blockchain know-how. GameSwift collaborated with Polygon Labs in August 2022 and will be building a Polygon Supernet. GameSwift will be backing PlayWay on the way to build their side chain using ZK rollups. About Polygon Labs: Polygon Labs develops Ethereum scaling solutions for Polygon protocols. Polygon Labs engages with other ecosystem developers to help make available scalable, affordable, secure and sustainable blockchain infrastructure for Web3. Polygon Labs has initially developed a growing suite of protocols for developers to gain easy access to major scaling solutions, including layer 2s (zero-knowledge rollups), sidechains, app-specific chains and data availability protocols. Scaling solutions that Polygon Labs initially developed have seen widespread adoption with tens of thousands of decentralised apps, unique addresses exceeding 287 million, over 1.4 million smart contracts created and 2.7 billion total transactions processed since inception. The existing Polygon network is home for some of the biggest Web3 projects, such as Aave, Uniswap, and OpenSea, and well-known enterprises, including Robinhood, Stripe and Adobe. Polygon Labs is carbon neutral with the goal of leading Web3 in becoming carbon negative. Disclaimer: This is a sponsored press release and is for informational purposes only. It does not reflect the views of Crypto Daily, nor is it intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, or financial advice.

The Poly Network has fallen victim to another exploit after hackers manipulated a smart contract function on the cross-chain bridge protocol. Poly Network confirmed the hack, adding that it would be temporarily suspending all services. 57 Crypto Assets Impacted The attack on Poly Network occurred on the 2nd of July, resulting in the hacker being able to issue billions of tokens seemingly out of thin air to generate a profit. Poly Network confirmed the attack through its official Twitter handle, stating that it had become the latest DeFi entity to fall victim to a hack, adding that it was temporarily suspending services. The update also stated that the exploit had impacted 57 crypto assets based on ten blockchains, including BNB Chain, Ethereum, Avalanche, Polygon, OKx, Heco, and others. While it isn’t clear how much has been stolen in the attack, PeckShield has reported that the attacker had transferred at least $5 million worth of crypto from the cross-chain bridge. In an update issued on the 3rd of July, the Poly Network team stated, “We have already initiated communication with centralized exchanges and law enforcement agencies and sought their assistance.” The team further advised token holders to withdraw liquidity and unlock their liquidity provider tokens. Poly Network Hack Breakdown According to DeFi security analyst @0xArhat, the exploit stemmed from a smart contract vulnerability that allowed the hackers to create a malicious parameter that contained a fake validator signature and block header. The smart contract accepted this malicious parameter, allowing the hacker to bypass the verification process and issue tokens from Poly Network’s Ethereum pool to their address on other chains such as BNB Chain, Polygon, and Metis. The same procedure was repeated for other chains, resulting in a massive pile-up of tokens. According to @0xArhat, the hacker’s wallet held over $42 billion worth of tokens at one point. However, the hacker could only convert and steal a fraction of the tokens. The attackers had minted 24 billion Binance USD (BUSD) and BNB on the Metis blockchain, 999 trillion Shiba Inu (SHIB) on the Heco blockchain, and millions of other tokens on other prominent networks such as Polygon and Avalanche. “This way, the hacker was able to mint billions of tokens on various blockchains that did not exist before and transfer them to their own wallet addresses.” Dedaub has dubbed the latest hack to hit Poly Network as the “34 billion Poly Network hack.” He also highlighted several weaknesses in the protocol’s multi-sig, adding that it only had a simple 3 of 4 multi-signature arrangement for over two years. “Getting to the bottom of the “34 billion” Poly network hack with a technical postmortem. TL;DR Poly network had a simple 3 of 4 multisig arrangement over 2 years! Looking at the final event, we found that the private keys to the addresses marked were compromised.” According to the blockchain security solutions provider, the attack was not complex, as no logic bugs were exploited. Poly Network itself was slow to respond, eventually costing the platform $5.5 million in stolen crypto. However, a lack of liquidity in a majority of the tokens in question prevented further significant losses. Binance, Polygon Reassure Users Following the attack on the Poly Network, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stated that the exploit does not impact Binance users, adding that it did not support deposits from the Poly Network. Polygon’s Mudit Gupta stated on Twitter, “Poly Network got rekt again, allegedly because of compromised hot keys. It’s going to keep happening until our industry changes our approach to security. Smart contract audits only scratch the surface. Ps Poly network has NOTHING to do with Polygon.” Poly Network’s Previous Hack This was the second time a major hack hit the Poly Network. In August 2021, the protocol was hit by attackers who managed to drain a then-record $600 million through the alleged leak of a private key that was used to sign a cross-chain message. As a result, the Poly Network lost $264 million in ETH, $250 million in BSC, and $85 million in MATIC. However, Poly Network later updated that the hacker had returned the stolen funds, with the hacker claiming the attack was orchestrated for fun, and even offered the anonymous hacker a job as the Chief Security Advisor to the protocol, adding that it won’t be pressing any charges. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Uniswap recently disclosed its preferred choice for handling non-Ethereum deployments in its cross-chain bridging operations: Wormhole and Axelar. These selections are the result of a comprehensive analysis conducted by Uniswap's Bridge Assessment Committee, which evaluated a range of potential protocols. The proposed changes are also aligned to the protocol's recent disclosure of its plans for V4. Diving Deep into the Decision Uniswap's Bridge Assessment Committee scrutinized multiple contenders, namely Wormhole, Celer, DeBridge, LayerZero, Axelar, and Multichain (CRP). Each of these was rigorously assessed for its proficiency in facilitating cross-chain governance. Out of the competition, Wormhole and Axelar emerged victorious, with the committee endorsing these two for utilization across all cross-chain deployments. As the committee puts it, both Wormhole and Axelar have demonstrated their aptness in managing governance messaging for potential cross-chain deployments. They, however, advised the community to persistently review these and other bridge providers, bearing in mind the dynamics of the industry. Cross-Chain Governance and Its Implications The fundamental application for Uniswap DAO's cross-chain bridge lies in its ability to relay governance messages from Ethereum to other chains for execution. All Uniswap deployment proposals undertake a formal voting procedure on Ethereum. Any upgrades for deployments on alternate chains are then communicated via a cross-chain messaging protocol. While Wormhole and Axelar have gained the committee's approval, this doesn't entirely exclude other bridges. The report also pointed out that those deemed unsuitable for Uniswap's present cross-chain governance needs might still satisfy the prerequisites of other protocols and applications. Vulnerabilities and Controversies: The Story of Cross-Chain Bridges The controversy around cross-chain bridges in the Web3 sphere is nothing new. In 2022, these bridging protocols proved to be a weak spot, with hackers successfully exploiting them and causing billions in losses. As per data from Rekt, four out of the top five most expensive DeFi breaches targeted bridges, resulting in an aggregated loss of over $2.1 billion. In response to these vulnerabilities, Uniswap has formed its Cross-Chain Bridge Assessment Committee to aid governance delegates and the Uniswap community in making well-informed decisions regarding cross-chain bridging protocols. The Committee's evaluations covered more than 130 assessment questions for each protocol, taking into account their ability to ensure "safety, liveness, and censorship resistance". Looking ahead, Celer and DeBridge might be reassessed despite their current shortcomings in slashing mechanisms and security assurances. The report was notably critical of Multichain for its lack of transparency and ineffective deterrents to prevent validator collusion. To underscore the context, Uniswap has over $5.9 billion locked in its protocol as of May 2023, with daily transaction volume frequently exceeding $1 billion. Given these figures, Uniswap's choice of Wormhole and Axelar could have significant implications for both the involved protocols and Uniswap's ongoing cross-chain operations. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Investors diversifying their portfolio is an essential tactic that can shield them from big losses in the cryptocurrency space, due to so much volatility involved. Cryptocurrencies can be risky investments due to their unpredictable volatility and quick price changes. Investors can reduce these risks and improve their chances of avoiding “getting rekt” by employing the […]

There seems to be no end to the problems at Multichain, with the team unable to reach the protocol’s CEO and gain the necessary server access for maintenance works. The Multichain team has been trying its level best to keep the protocol running. Where Is The Multichain CEO? Last week, rumors that Chinese authorities had arrested several Multichain executives began doing the rounds. According to the rumors, the arrested executives included Zhaojan, the protocol’s Chief Executive Officer. While the integrity of these reports has not yet been confirmed, and the authorities have neither confirmed nor denied the reports, Binance responded to the news and suspended specific token deposits. Multichain has been facing days of continued outages, with several transactions in limbo due to multiple cross-chain pathways that are offline. Furthermore, it was also rumored that law enforcement officials have taken control of a wallet containing $1.6 billion belonging to Multichain, according to several Twitter accounts. “According to the rumors earlier today in the Chinese community, it is said that the core members of the Multichain team were arrested by Chinese police, and the cold wallet was controlled, involving about $1.5 billion in funds.” Problems Continue According to Multichain’s Twitter account, the problems currently facing the protocol began on Monday, with the team stating that the protocol has been experiencing several issues thanks to unforeseen circumstances. The team stated that despite the team’s best efforts to maintain the protocol and keep it running, they could not reach their CEO to access critical servers and carry out maintenance. “In the past two days, the Multichain protocol has experienced multiple issues due to unforeseeable circumstances. The team has done everything possible to maintain the protocol running, but we are currently unable to contact CEO Zhaojun and obtain the necessary server access for maintenance.” According to the team, the latest set of issues was triggered by problems arising from a network of nodes within the Multichain protocol. This was impacting cross-chain services for several blockchains, including PublicMint, Dyno Chain, Keychain, Dexit, Red Light Chain, Ekta, ONUS, HPB, Omax, Planq, and Findora. “This afternoon, there was an issue with the scanning node network of Router5, which has affected the normal cross-chain service of some chains. Furthermore, this problem is beyond the team’s current permissions and ability. In order to protect the interests of our users, we have decided to suspend the corresponding cross-chain service for the affected chain on the UI. Last week, the same issue happened on Router2.” MULTI Token Relatively Unaffected Over Past 24 Hours The Multichain team has asked partners to stop calling smart contracts running on Multichain until they can get the permissions to access the protocol servers. Despite the gloomy news, the protocol’s MULTI token has fared relatively well, reporting an increase of over 3%. Currently, the token is trading at $4.07. However, the token has lost over 19% of its value since Multichain’s problems began. Multichain was previously known as Anyswap before suffering a major exploit in 2021. However, it made a strong recovery, becoming one of the largest blockchain bridges in the crypto space, with transaction volumes hitting the $100 billion mark. Multichain facilitates the exchange of tokens across several major networks, including Polygon, Ethereum, Binance Chain, and Avalanche. Head of product at Coinbase, Conor Grogan, tweeted that the problems at Multichain will impact only a small number of users, highlighting the low transaction outputs on the networks. Crypto Twitter is also nervous about rumors that Gate.io is facing liquidity issues, although the company has denied the reports. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Cross-chain services are suspended for Kekchain, PublicMint, Dyno Chain, Red Light Chain, Dexit, Ekta, HPB, ONUS, Omax, Findora, and Planq.

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Crypto security and auditing firm CertiK has stated that crypto scams, exploits, exit scams, and flash loan attacks have resulted in a loss of $103 million during the month of April. The figures were published during CertiK’s April roundup of crypto scams and exploits, bringing the total loss during the current year to $429 million. No Let Up From Major Exploits According to CertiK, April saw a barrage of major crypto exploits that hit the ecosystem. “Combining all the incidents in April, we’ve confirmed ~$103.6M lost to exploits, hacks, and scams. Exit scams were ~$9.3M. Flash loans were ~$19.8M.” The security and auditing firm listed out some of the major exploits, such as the $25 million lost thanks to an exploit of several MEV bots. This exploit occurred during the first week of the month, the 3rd of April to be precise. It also listed out an exploit where $22 million were stolen thanks to a hot wallet exploit that occurred at the Bitrue exchange and the hack of South Korea-based GDAC Exchange, which resulted in a loss of $13 million. According to CertiK, April saw a total of around $74.5 million lost to crypto and DeFi exploits. This figure is close to half of the $145 million lost during the first four months of the ongoing year, according to CertiK. $20 Million Lost To Flash Loan Attacks CertiK also stated that April saw $20 million lost to flash loan attacks. The biggest contributor to this figure was Yearn Finance, which saw a hacker exploit a bug in an old smart contract on the 13th of April. CertiK also highlighted that $9.4 million were lost to exit scams in April. The most significant exit scam to occur during April was that of the Merlin DEX, which ended up losing $2.7 million. CertiK has reported that it was investigating a “potential private key management issue” at the exchange on the 26th of April. This exit scam occurred after the Merlin DEX was audited by CertiK, which had warned the protocol about key centralization issues. Following the exploit, CertiK outlined a compensation plan and urged the rogue developer to return 80% of the stolen funds while offering a 20% white hat bounty. According to data from De.Fi Rekt, April saw over 50 scams, hacks, crypto exploits, and rug pulls, with a significant chunk of these being meme coin rug pulls. Major Exploits And Scams In April There were several other prominent scams to hit crypto in April. On the 9th of April, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol SushiSwap lost over $3 million thanks to a bug in one of its smart contracts. According to PeckShield, the approval function in SushiSwap’s Router Processor 2 contract was at the center of the unusual activity on the protocol. Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain Optimism also reported a significant security breach that involved Hundred Finance on the 17th of April. According to CertiK, Hundred Finance lost $7.4 million thanks to the exploit. While the protocol did not disclose the attack’s methodology, CertiK described it as a flash loan attack. The most recent exploit to occur during April was that of Polygon lending protocol 0VIX. The protocol announced that it was temporarily suspending its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and zkEVM operations thanks to an exploit that resulted in a loss of $2 million to the protocol. An investigation revealed that the exploit was possible thanks to the attacker using the vGHST token. “0VIX is working with its security partners to look into the current situation that seems to be related to vGHST. As a result, POS and zkEVM markets have been paused. This includes pausing oToken transfers, minting, and liquidations.” Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.