• Platypus Finance, a DeFi protocol for stablecoins, announced that it will repay at least 63% of user funds after suffering a $9 million hack.
• The exploit was identified by the protocol working with crypto exchange Binance and law enforcement was contacted to file a complaint in France.
• A total of $2.4 million was recovered with the help of blockchain security firm BlockSec and Tether froze $1.5 million worth of stolen USDT.

Platypus Finance Suffers $9M Hack

Platypus Finance, a decentralized-finance (DeFi) protocol for stablecoins, recently suffered a major hack where $9 million was drained from the protocol last week due to an exploit in the platform’s solvency check mechanism.

Platform Repays Users 63% Of Stolen Funds

The Avalanche-based protocol worked with crypto exchange Binance to identify the exploiter responsible for last week’s attack and has since announced that it will repay at least 63% of funds to users.

Recovery Efforts Lead To Partial Recovery Of Stolen Funds

In addition to filing a complaint in France and contacting law enforcement, Platypus Finance managed to recover some assets through various efforts. Blockchain security firm BlockSec helped recover $2.4 million worth of USDC stablecoins while Tether froze another $1.5 million worth of stolen USDT assets. Meanwhile, some $287,000 worth of assets were mistakenly transferred to lending protocol Aave and Platypus has submitted a proposal asking them for release those assets back into their control.

Crypto Industry Facing Rampant Problem With Hackers

The exploit of Platypus Finance is yet another example of crypto’s rampant problem with hackers as similar incidents have happened before on other protocols such as Yearn Finance and Harvest Finance not too long ago resulting in millions being lost from users‘ wallets without any sign or trace left behind from the attackers themselves. These events serve as harsh reminders that our industry still has much work to do when it comes to ensuring its protocols are secure enough against malicious actors who seek out potential vulnerabilities within smart contracts or liquidity pools in order to get their hands on withdrawals amounting up into millions quickly without much effort or risk involved on their part aside from what is needed initially for setup purposes prior executing any attack itself..

Conclusion: Protocols Must Remain Vigilant To Protect User Funds

It is clear that more must be done when it comes improving upon existing protocols’ security measures as well as introducing new ones altogether if we want these types incidents from occurring again in future times which could result potentially worse outcomes than what we have seen so far this time around where most user funds were fortunately able reclaim back due diligence taken place afterwards by affected parties such as exchanges and blockchain firms alike used track down offending individual(s).

• GBBC Digital Finance has become an affiliate member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
• GBBC Digital Finance’s goal is to engage regulators in order to inform policy development by major regulatory bodies
• IOSCO’s fintech task force is prioritizing work related to crypto assets and decentralized finance (DeFi)

GBBC Digital Finance Joins IOSCO as Affiliate Member

GBBC Digital Finance, a digital asset industry association, has become an affiliate member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), an association of securities regulators from around the world. As an associate for the digital asset industry, GBBC Digital Finance’s goal is to engage regulators to inform how policy will be developed by the world’s major regulatory bodies.

Purpose for Joining IOSCO

Affiliate members of IOSCO share experiences with the aim of enhancing cooperation between members and thereby providing input into standard-setting for securities regulation globally. By joining this organization, GBBC hopes to provide input and shape global policy around digital assets.

IOSCO’s Focus on Cryptocurrency

IOSCO, regarded as the standard setter for securities regulation, has been increasing its focus on cryptocurrency in recent months. Its fintech task force has prioritized work related to crypto assets and decentralized finance (DeFi). Two working groups headed by U.S. SEC and U.K. FCA are set to publish reports with recommendations for crypto assets and DeFi by the end of 2021.

GBBC Merger

Prior to its merger with Global Blockchain Business Council (an industry association for blockchain technology), GBBC was known as Global Digital Finance.

Why This Matters

By becoming an affiliate member of IOSCO, GBBC Digital Finance will have more influence over how policy surrounding digital assets is shaped on a global scale. This could potentially result in more clarity regarding regulations surrounding cryptocurrency worldwide.

• Robinhood Markets (HOOD) reported $39 million in crypto trading revenue in the fourth quarter, down 24% from $51 million in the third quarter.
• The company also said its board had authorized the company to pursue purchasing all or most of the 55 million shares that a holding company for former FTX execs Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang bought in May 2022, and canceled nearly $500 million of its share-based compensation.
• Overall for the fourth quarter, Robinhood posted an adjusted loss of 19 cents a share, ahead of the consensus analyst estimate of a loss of 15 cents a share.

Robinhood’s Crypto Revenue Declined 24%

Online trading brokerage Robinhood Markets (HOOD) reported $39 million in crypto trading revenue in the fourth quarter, down 24% from $51 million in the third quarter. This was part of overall earnings and revenues estimates for the quarter that were missed by Robinhood.

The Company Authorized Purchase Of Shares

The company also said its board had authorized it to purchase all or most of 55 million shares that a holding company for former FTX execs Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang bought in May 2022. Additionally, nearly $500 million worth of share-based compensation was canceled by Robinhood.

Rollout Of Polygon-Based Web3 Wallet

Robinhood noted that its Robinhood crypto wallet was rolled out to more than one million waitlisted users after a beta version of its Polygon-based Web3 wallet was released in September. This rollout allowed users to access Ethereum DeFi protocols without having to leave their app interface.

Q4 Adjusted Loss Ahead Of Estimate

Overall for the fourth quarter, Robinhood posted an adjusted loss of 19 cents a share, ahead of the consensus analyst estimate of a loss of 15 cents a share according to FactSet, on revenue below analyst expectations at $380 million versus an estimated $396 million.

Shares Up 30% Year To Date

Shares were up about 3% to $10.80 after hours Wednesday and are up about 30% year to date but down 21% over last year despite missing both earnings and revenues estimates for Q4

Crypto Markets Today

• Bitcoin dips below $23K ahead of the Fed’s meeting.
• Equities close lower as traders await the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates Wednesday.
• LayerZero co-founder denies accusations from a competitor that it covered up a critical „backdoor“ vulnerability in its code.

Bitcoin Price Analysis

The largest cryptocurrency by market value, Bitcoin (BTC), was recently trading at about $22,700, down more than 4% over the past 24 hours and well off its high Sunday near $24,000. Bitcoin-related funds dominated last week’s digital-asset investment products inflows, accounting for almost all of the $117 million coming in.

Equities Market Performance

Equities closed lower as traders awaited the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates Wednesday and studied a flurry of fourth-quarter earnings reports from big techs including Apple and Meta. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed down 1.9%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 1.3% and 0.7%, respectively.

Critical „Backdoor“ Vulnerability

A co-founder of LayerZero, which provides services to help blockchains bridge digital assets between each other, is denying accusations from a competitor that it covered up the existence of a critical „backdoor“ vulnerability in its code. James Prestwich, founder of the cross-chain bridging service Nomad, alleged in a blog post that LayerZero can bypass security controls to pass data between blockchains without anyone’s permission.

Conclusion

As traders wait for direction on interest rates from Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting and scrutinize major tech companies‘ fourth quarter earnings reports, crypto markets remain volatile with BTC dipping below $23K ahead of the announcement while equities markets close lower overall. Furthermore, LayerZero faces allegations that it has been concealing an undisclosed capability which can compromise system function without users‘ knowledge or consent—accusations which have been denied by one of its founders thus far.

• LayerZero, a blockchain bridge services provider, has been accused of having a backdoor vulnerability in its code.
• The allegations come from James Prestwich, the founder of Nomad, a competitor to LayerZero.
• Bryan Pellegrino, co-founder of LayerZero denies the accusations and suggests that they may be motivated by an upcoming Uniswap governance vote to pick a bridge provider.

Allegations on LayerZero’s Code

The head of Nomad, a LayerZero competitor, recently made allegations that the platform kept „backdoor“ secret which would enable it to bypass security controls in order to pass data between blockchains without anyone’s permission. According to the accuser James Prestwich, this vulnerability could potentially compromise the function of the system.

LayerZero Denies Allegations

Bryan Pellegrino, co-founder of LayerZero denied these accusations and suggested that Prestwich’s motives might be tied to an upcoming Uniswap governance vote to pick a bridge provider. Pellegrino stated that all applications have the ability to set their own security properties which will prevent any kind of unauthorized access or privilege for LayerZero. He also added that describing anything as a critical security vulnerability is insane.

Uniswap Governance Vote

The allegations against LayerZero come just before Uniswap votes on whether to partner with them or not. This vote will decide which bridging service provider will be used by Uniswap and both Nomad and Wormhole are competitors for this position as well.

Security Practices Openly Discussed

Pellegrino further explained that they have openly discussed their security practices with developers who can set parameters barring LayerZero from special access privileges if they choose too.

Conclusion

At this time there is no clear indication whether or not Uniswap will partner with Layer Zero but both sides are asserting their stance on this matter clearly and it is up to Uniswap now to make their decision keeping in mind all possible factors involved in this situation.