Entries by Naga Avan-Nomayo

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Sky Mavis Release Report On $600 Million Ronin Exploit With Future Roadmap and Validator Action Plan

Nearly a month after the biggest exploit in decentralized finance history, the Sky Mavis team has released an updated post-mortem audit on the massive $600 million hack on the Ronin Bridge.
The roadmap explains the team’s plan to redesign the sidechain, boost security protocols, and launch a bug bounty program. Also, the report gives further insight into how the alleged North Korean cybercriminal group Lazarus deployed the attack and compromised the protocol.

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21Shares and ByteTree Launch The World’s First-Ever Bitcoin and Gold ETP

The first-ever Bitcoin x Gold exchange-traded product was launched by a collaboration between ETP issuer 21 Shares and ByteTree, an asset management heavyweight. Dubbed BOLD, the fund will debut on the Swiss exchange SIX. BOLD is split with an 18.5% BTC and an 81.5% Gold sharing formula. An algorithm that leverages 360-day historical volatility data will rebalance the fund on a monthly basis.

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Fidelity Plans To Support Bitcoin Investments For 401K Retirement Accounts

Fidelity expands its offerings with a Crypto retirement product. American employers can designate a portion from their 401K retirement accounts to Bitcoin. Fidelity will implement a 20% allocation cap for this option. The retirement plan faces stiff opposition from the U.S. Labor Department. However, Fidelity insists the department does not have jurisdiction over the matter and a major institution has already agreed to the initiative.

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The Central African Republic Approved Bitcoin As Legal Tender – First African Country To Adopt Bitcoin

Bitcoin becomes an acceptable means of payment for the first time in the continent of Africa. Legislators from the Central African Republic recently approved the bill to legalize crypto in the country. The country joins El Salvador in a shortlist of countries with Bitcoin as legal tender.
It’s possible that the CAR could draw scrutiny from international financial bodies and sovereign governments from adopting Bitcoin on a national level. Organizations like the European Union and IMF have been critical regarding widespread crypto adoption in recent times.

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Uniswap Begins Restricting Suspicious Wallets From Using DEX Front End

Popular decentralized Ethereum-powered exchange Uniswap disclosed measures geared towards curbing illicit activities and suspicious wallet addresses. A partnership with on-chain data and security outfit TRM Labs will facilitate Uniswap’s latest decision to block addresses with shady transactions.
Also, Uniswap Labs has delisted a plethora of tokens due to concerns regarding regulatory clarity. These tokens supposedly shared similarities with securities and infringed on established policies. Notably, the ban from Uniswap only applies to the front end of the platform.

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Binance Recovers $5.8 Million from $600 Million Ronin Bridge Exploit

About $5.8 million from the funds stolen in the Ronin bridge hack have been frozen on Binance, says Changpeng Zhao. The exchange supposedly spotted the suspicious activity across several accounts and linked the funds to the alleged North Korean hacker group Lazarus.
The exploit remains one of the biggest in DeFi history with over $600 million in cryptocurrencies stolen. Ronin has since resumed activities on the bridge and continues to attempt recovery of the funds in collaboration with law enforcement and industry stakeholders like exchanges.

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Binance: US Branch Leaves The Blockchain Association, Restricts Services in Russia in Compliance With EU Sanctions

Binance US has left the Blockchain Association with immediate effect. The American affiliate of the world’s biggest crypto exchange said a distance existed between the goals and ideals of both entities. The announcement comes just two years after Binance US initially joined the association back in 2020.
In the same week, Binance has also restricted access to its services in Russia. Reports claim the exchange had no other choice but to effect the limited ban following stiff pressure from the European Union due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

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Tron Blockchain Will Launch USDD Stablecoin on May 5 says Founder Justin Sun

Justin Sun disclosed news regarding an upcoming algorithmic stablecoin for the Tron blockchain. The token dubbed USDD goes live on May , 2022, barring any last-minute changes or incidents. Tron’s native cryptocurrency TRX will be leveraged to support the new player in the stablecoin market. Also, both the Ethereum network and the Binance Smart Chain will onboard USDD once it launches.
Sun also plans to deploy $10 billion to maintains USDD’s dollar peg and the reserve will be managed by the Tron DAO. Tron’s stablecoin launch follows recent success in the stablecoin market recorded by Terra’s UST token.

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CoinDCX Raises $135 Million Despite Stifling 30% Crypto Tax In India

Major Indian-based cryptocurrency exchange CoinCDX raised a staggering $135 million during a recently concluded Series D funding round. The latest capital raise will help the platform continue to scale its services and expands its employee count from around 400 to over 1000.
Also, the fundraiser increased CoinCDX’s market valuation to $2.15 billion, further cementing the platform’s crypto unicorn status. The news broke despite India’s rigid crypto tax regime which recently came into effect. Since its implementation, trading volumes in the country have severely dipped and competitors like WazirX have opted to relocate to more friendly jurisdictions.

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Bitcoin Spot ETF Is Inevitable – Says Grayscale Boss Michael Sonnenshein

Micheal Sonnenshein, the chief operating officer of major Bitcoin fund and digital asset management company Grayscale Investments said that a BTC spot exchange traded fund (ETF) approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could come sooner rather than later.
The SEC has so far rejected every application for Bitcoin Spot ETF citing doubts regarding severe market manipulation and money fraud. However, a recently regulated BTC Futures ETF approved under a Securities law signals hope as institutions continue to push for a similar verdict regarding a Bitcoin ETF from the SEC.

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