2023's worst month for crypto hacks reaches a climax + more
2023's worst month for crypto hacks reaches a climax + more
Here's everything you need to know in the world of crypto for the week ahead
GM! This week: the SEC sued HEX and PulseChain founder Richard Heart. Plus, DeFi suffered another massive exploit, Binance’s regulatory struggles continued, and Coinbase’s BASE Layer-2 got its first blockbuster meme coin.
In SEC v. Richard Heart…
“Richard Heart is a force for good,” according to his own website. (Click that link if you want to see him install a bidet for his mom, for some reason.)
According to the SEC’s lawsuit, however, Heart, whose real name is Richard Schueler, sold unregistered securities and used the profits for “personal luxury purchases,” including the largest diamond ever auctioned. The lawsuit accuses him of faking Hex volume, misleading investors, and using mixers to hide his blockchain activity.
In DeFi Drama…
Curve Finance, a decentralized exchange with a focus on stablecoins, was exploited over the weekend, with an estimated $70 million lost. The attackers exploited a “re-entrancy” vulnerability in the programming language Vyper, an alternative to Solidity that powered some of Curve’s liquidity pools. This (hopefully) caps off the worst month for crypto hacks in 2023 so far.
Luckily, $5 million worth of the stolen funds were able to be recovered after a MEV hunter frontran the hacker’s transaction. MEV — Maximal Extractable Value — refers to profit that can be found by reordering transactions. For example, coffeebabe.eth’s bot noticed the hacker’s transaction and copied it, paying a higher gas fee in order to steal the funds first and return them to Curve.
Speaking of MEV, Flashbots, an organization working to mitigate the downsides of MEV, raised $60 million in a fundraising round last week. The Curve exploit made July 30th a record payout day for MEV.
Will SBF’s bail be remanded?
After SBF was caught leaking documents to the New York Times, a contentious hearing in NYC was held in order to decide whether or not the former FTX kingpin would be allowed to remain free on bail. Though no decision was made at the time, SBF’s bail could be revoked this week.
Our fearless host, Zack Guzman, was in the courtroom, and you can read more about his experience on our site.
In… BALD?
Coinbase’s Layer-2 blockchain Base has barely launched, but it already has a blockbuster meme coin. One trader turned a $500 initial investment in BALD into over $1 million — though after BALD’s developer pulled liquidity, the token plunged 90%. One X user documented the happenings in greater detail, including just how much the memecoin’s creator likely walked away with after all was said and done (more than $5 million.)
I wouldn’t be surprised if Layer-2s like Optimism and Arbitrum became the next foci for meme coins based on this news.
An interview Coinage had planned with Base’s Jesse Pollak was rescheduled for a future date. Stay tuned for updates on what Base has cooking up!
In Other Headlines…
Binance and its CEO seek dismissal of CFTC complaint
Binance's Activities Are Illegal in Nigeria, Securities Regulator Says
Binance Wins Operational License in Dubai
Tether reports $850 million net profit for second quarter in latest attestation report
Celo Proposal to Migrate to Ethereum Layer 2 Passes
Ethereum turned eight yesterday!
That’s everything we’re taking a look at this week!
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