Monthly Review -- September 2022

TL;DR

  • We’re all set to deploy the Neptune Mutual testnet2 protocol on the Fuji Avalanche network on the 8th October. Join Discord for details of our testnet2 competition.
  • We created the Exploit Analysis blog category so our readers can better understand how a hack or exploit incident was executed.
  • Neptune Mutual mainnet launch scheduled for later in 2022.

Protocol Updates

Among the many updates and improvements, we’re particularly excited to introduce a completely new type of parametric pool called a Diversified Cover Pool. This new type of pool will open up the opportunities for parametric protection to a much wider range of blockchain projects. There are a number of important differences between dedicated cover pools and diversified pools and we have provided an overview of these differences in the blog called Enhance Liquidity via Diversified Cover Pools.

As you might expect, we have made a number of changes to the search function and other UI aspects of the protocol to help search for cover products either directly or by category of cover pool (dedicated/diversified).

Upcoming Events

After several weeks of working on security and UI improvements, we’re delighted to announce that the Neptune Mutual testnet2 competition will start on the 8th October. The competition will run through to October 29th, and will reward over 100 successful participants with amazing rewards. This time rewards for winners will include an allocation of future NPM tokens and, new for testnet2, an allocation of some of our brand new NFTs.

Mainnet is launching soon! That’s right, the Neptune Mutual protocol is expected to go live later this year. Our engineering team has been hard at work, finalizing everything for our mainnet protocol, and we’re nearly ready for our users to begin accessing parametric digital asset protection.

We’ll keep you updated and publish an official statement as soon as we are in a position to share details of the mainnet launch.

Blog Digest

As part of our commitment to keeping our community up-to-date on security issues affecting the blockchain industry, we created the Exploit Analysis blog category that looks at decoding the hacks and exploits that impacted blockchain projects over the course of the month. For September, we broke down GMX’s Price Manipulation exploit, Omni Bridge’s Call Data Replay exploit, and Wintermute’s Hot Wallet compromise. Check them all out here.

In our blog post How to Safeguard Against Malicious Websites, we looked at the most common platform-based attacks, including DNS spoofing, DNS Tunneling, and NX-Domain Attack, as well as how Web 3 users can avoid falling victim.

Parametric cover is a new approach to digital asset protection that is very different from the discretionary approach used by a number of protocols to compensate for individual loss. This is why we’re sure you’ll find our blog on How Discretionary and Parametric Covers are Different interesting. Parametric cover policies available in the Neptune Mutual marketplace help streamline the process of claims and payouts in the blockchain space. They eliminate the need for individual loss assessment allowing for quicker, more reliable payouts in the event of a predetermined hack incident. Not only is this approach more efficient and scalable, but it can also provide income earning opportunities for key stakeholders.

Lastly, our blog post Unpacking the Basics of the Metaverse looks at what the Metaverse is all about, including current developments, risks, assets, and growth opportunities. Stay tuned to part two of this post where we discuss parametric insurance protection in the Metaverse.

Team

We’re looking to expand the Neptune Mutual team by onboarding a Cyber Security Research Analyst / Content Creator. Qualified candidates may visit our Linkedin post for more details about the position.