Headline: Pump.fun Faces Flash Loan Attack, Bonkbot Bans Trading on the Platform
According to on-chain data, hacker @satcc is launching a flash loan attack on Pump.fun. As a precautionary measure, Bonkbot has temporarily banned trading on Pump.fun to ensure user safety. The marginfi team, particularly member macbrennan, is assisting Pump in dealing with this incident. Despite the attack being carried out using marginfi, the platform is still functioning normally.
The attackers of Pump.fun are suspected to be conducting random airdrops of stolen funds to holders of various tokens, including slerf and saga. Several addresses have already received varying amounts of SOL tokens, ranging from dozens to hundreds. The total value of these airdrops is approximately $80 million. It is believed that this massive airdrop could potentially lead to a fork in the Solana network. Multiple addresses have reported receiving SOL tokens in varying amounts.
Pump.fun has revealed that the attack was carried out by a former employee who exploited their privileged position within the company to gain unauthorized withdrawal permissions. By utilizing a lending protocol, the attacker executed a flash loan attack, resulting in the theft of approximately 12,300 SOL tokens, equivalent to around $1.9 million. Pump.fun had already upgraded its contracts prior to this incident, preventing any further theft of funds.
CME Group, the largest futures exchange globally, is planning to introduce Bitcoin spot trading. According to three sources familiar with the matter, CME has been in discussions with traders who are interested in trading cryptocurrencies on regulated markets. While the plan has not been finalized yet, its implementation would signify further involvement of major Wall Street institutions in the digital asset industry. CME declined to comment. If CME introduces Bitcoin spot trading alongside its existing Bitcoin futures trading, it would make it easier for investors to engage in basis trading. Basis trading is a common strategy among professional Bitcoin traders and is the primary trading method in the US Treasury market. It involves borrowing money to sell futures and buy the underlying asset, profiting from the small price difference between the two. Most of the US Treasury basis trading occurs on the CME exchange.
Industry News:
CZ, the former CEO of Binance, has not been imprisoned yet due to certain procedures within the US criminal justice system and the protection of due process under the Fifth Amendment. Despite receiving a four-month sentence, CZ has not surrendered to prison. As per the judge’s ruling, CZ is expected to surrender after being notified by the probation or pretrial services office. However, CZ has not yet received any notification from the relevant authorities regarding which California prison he must enter. According to US federal regulations, a convict’s sentence begins when they are “confined awaiting transportation or voluntarily surrender to official detention facilities.” While the sentence could start immediately on the day of the ruling, there are three potential delays: firstly, the judge may require the defendant to surrender to the US Marshals first, who will then either escort or notify the convict of when to report to prison. Secondly, the judge may authorize the probation or pretrial services office to notify the defendant of their incarceration date. Thirdly, the judge may allow the defendant to voluntarily surrender. This option is typically reserved for defendants with the shortest or least likely to flee sentences. CZ may have received the second type of ruling since he was not sentenced to many years of imprisonment, and the US Marshals did not immediately confine him. Instead, the judge provided CZ with the most lenient path, allowing him to wait for notification from the probation or pretrial services office.
Alexey Pertsev, the developer of Tornado Cash, has appealed his guilty verdict for money laundering. The spokesperson for the Dutch court stated that Pertsev has filed an appeal with the s-Hertogenbosch Appeals Court, and the first hearing may take several months to be scheduled. The court did not disclose whether the appeal has been approved. If Pertsev wishes, he has the opportunity to seek home detention while awaiting the appeal trial. Following Tuesday’s verdict, he was immediately taken to prison to begin his sentence. Prior to this, the Dutch judge ruled at the ‘s-Hertogenbosch court that Alexey Pertsev was guilty of money laundering. The court sentenced Pertsev to 64 months of imprisonment.
JPMorgan Chase predicts that the cost of Bitcoin mining will drop to $45,000 as inefficient miners exit the market. JPMorgan Chase stated in a research report on Thursday that the halving of mining rewards and the subsequent decrease in hash rate will lead to a significant drop in mining costs. However, there may be some delays in this situation.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard stated that the central bank will not launch a digital currency without the involvement of Congress. Bullard emphasized that the Fed has not made a decision regarding a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and will not launch one without congressional participation.
Project News:
Aevo announced on X Platform that the conversion of RBN to AEVO has been completed. This conversion, rather than a token unlock, brings AEVO close to full circulation. To demonstrate their long-term commitment, the team and supporters of Aevo have voluntarily locked 15% of the token supply until the end of 2024.
The Drift Foundation announced on X Platform that the DRIFT token airdrop claim has gone live. The claim period will be open for three months and will close on August 16, 2024, at 18:00 UTC (2:00 am on August 17, Beijing time). Additionally, the unlocking of bonuses has begun. The airdrop consists of two parts: the initial allocation and the bonus distribution. The initial allocation is available upon launch, while the bonus will be unlocked linearly within six hours, fully unlocking at 6:00 pm UTC (2:00 pm Eastern Time) on the same day.
Layer 2 network Scroll has launched its loyalty program, Session Zero, which includes a retrospective points distribution to early users to compensate for their gas fees incurred while using the Scroll network. Eligible users will receive additional points automatically, which will be added to their personal data dashboard and can be viewed through the new user interface.
Personality & Voices:
Neel Somani, CEO of Eclipse, is stepping down following rumors of sexual harassment, and Vijay Chetty will take over as the new CEO. Chetty, who has over a decade of experience in the cryptocurrency space and has held leadership positions at Uniswap Labs, dYdX Trading, and Ripple Labs, will assume all responsibilities as the CEO. Earlier this month, Neel Somani announced his temporary exit from his role at the Ethereum Layer 2 solution due to allegations of sexual harassment. While multiple accusations were made regarding his misconduct, Somani vehemently denied any wrongdoing in a post. Somani stated that this decision is a fair treatment for the Eclipse team, investors, and developer ecosystem. Eclipse also mentioned that they will share more information about senior leadership in the coming days. Somani has pledged to “work towards clearing his name and defending” himself, emphasizing that this power transition will facilitate the truth coming to light. Somani and Eclipse have not responded to media requests for comments regarding this development.
Hack VC, the leading investor in Eclipse’s $50 million Series A funding round, expressed deep concern over the allegations of sexual harassment against Eclipse founder Neel Somani. Hack VC maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of sexual harassment or misconduct, holding both founders and invested companies to the same high standards. After learning about the allegations, Hack VC collaborated with other investors and the team to urge Neel Somani’s resignation and expressed strong belief in the mission of the Eclipse team and project. They fully support Vijay Chetty’s appointment as the new CEO and believe he is the ideal candidate to drive the project forward. Earlier this year, Eclipse Labs announced the completion of a $50 million Series A funding round, led by Placeholder and Hack VC, with participation from RockTree Capital, Polychain Capital, Delphi Digital, Maven 11, DBA, funds managed by Apollo, Fenbushi Capital, and ParaFi Capital.
Investments:
Web3 gaming platform Param Labs has raised $7 million in funding, with Animoca Brands leading the round. Delphi Ventures and Cypher Capital also participated in the funding round. Param Labs aims to build a game ecosystem managed by its native PARAM token, which will be launched soon.
Web3 infrastructure company Chainstack has secured $6 million in funding, with participation from SBI Ven Capital, Sygnum, Azimut Group, Unicorn Factory Ventures, and others. Chainstack provides tools and services that allow developers to create, deploy, and scale blockchain applications without managing the underlying infrastructure. Chainstack collaborates with over 25 public chains and serves over 100,000 Web3 developers. The company claims to process over 100 billion requests per month with an uptime of over 99.99%.
TON ecosystem’s decentralized automated market maker, STON.fi, has completed a new round of funding with participation from CoinFund. The specific funding amount and valuation data have not been disclosed. The new funds will be used to further strengthen operations and expand financial services to Telegram users, enabling them to trade encrypted assets across multiple blockchain networks without the need for bridging or wrapping.
