‘New frontier’ of crypto laundering involves cross-chain bridges and DEXs: Elliptic
New research from blockchain analytics and crypto compliance firm Elliptic has revealed the extent to which cross-chain bridges and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have removed barriers for cybercriminals. In an Oct. 4 report titled “The state of cross-chain crime,” Elliptic researchers Eray Arda Akartuna and Thibaud Madelin took a deep dive into what they described as […]
Algorand upgrade boosts speed, adds trustless cross-chain communication
Pure proof-of-stake (PPoS) blockchain Algorand has introduced cross-chain communication and transaction speed improvements with the latest upgrade to its protocol. The layer-1 blockchain network announced the implementation of State Proofs to its mainnet, which introduces trustless communication between different blockchain protocols. The upgrade also increased Algorand’s processing speed from 1,200 to 6,000 transactions per second. […]
Cross-chains in the crosshairs: Hacks call for better defense mechanisms
2022 has been a lucrative year for hackers preying on the nascent Web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi) spaces, with more than $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency fleeced in several high-profile hacks to date. Cross-chain protocols have been particularly hard hit, with Axie Infinity’s $650 million Ronin Bridge hack accounting for a significant portion of stolen […]
Aave devs propose freezing Fantom integration, citing lack of traction and potential vulnerability
On Tuesday, Marc Zeller, integration lead at decentralized finance (DeFi) borrowing and lending protocol Aave, proposed to freeze the platform’s v3 Fantom market. Created in 2018, Fantom is a directed acrylic graph smart contract platform that provides DeFi services and on which Aave is currently bridged. Zeller explained the rationale for removing the Fantom bridge: […]
Aurora pays $6M bug bounty to ethical security hacker through Immunefi
On Tuesday, Ethereum (ETH) bridging and scaling solution Aurora announced it had paid out a $6 million bounty to ethical security hacker pwning.eth, who discovered a critical vulnerability in the Aurora Engine. The exploit allegedly placed over $200 million worth of capital at risk. The sum was paid in collaboration with Immunefi, a leading platform […]
Harmony launches Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT Passport
On Friday, blockchain platform Harmony — whose mainnet runs on the Ethereum network, claiming to have two-second transaction finality and fees 1,000 times lower than Ethereum — announced the launch of its Bored Ape Yacht Club Passport. The Passport enables users to import proof of their apes into DeFi Kingdoms, a play-to-earn game built on […]
Interchain Accounts is the biggest upgrade to Cosmos since Stargate
On Thursday, the Interchain Foundation, a nonprofit steward of the Cosmos ecosystem, announced the release of Interchain Accounts. The Inter-Blockchain Communications protocol (IBC) enables an entire blockchain to control an account on a separate chain. It is the largest software upgrade to the Cosmos ecosystem since Stargate. To date, there are 38 projects utilizing IBC, including […]