TL;DR
- Over $11.56 million was lost in multiple DeFi hacks.
- Coinbase debuts an AI-powered Instamint tool for NFT creation.
- Anichess elevates the chess experience with NFT integration and magic spells.
Blockchain Hacks
The Socket Protocol was exploited on the Ethereum Mainnet, which resulted in a loss of over $3.3 million worth of assets. The root cause of the exploit is the incomplete validation of user inputs, which was exploited to steal funds from users who had token approvals for the vulnerable contracts. We have shared a detailed analysis of the exploit in this blog.
BasketDAO was exploited on the Ethereum Mainnet due to a smart contract vulnerability, which resulted in a loss of assets worth approximately $107,000. The root cause of the exploit is an arbitrary low-level call in the approval process of their smart contracts.
Samudai was exploited, presumably due to a compromise of their wallet access control, which resulted in a loss of assets worth approximately $1.25 million. Both the multisignature wallet addresses of the protocol as well as the wallet of their founder appear to have been compromised. The stolen assets were all converted into ETH and then laundered into Tornado Cash. A part of the stolen funds, worth 21 ETH, amounting to $54,000, were deposited at CEX.
According to PeckShield, many projects were identified as rug pulls. The deployer of SolDragon, the DRAGON token, swapped approximately 100,100,100,100,100,100,100 DRAGON tokens for 1006 BNB, worth $306,000. Likewise, the price of the Speero token dropped 100%. The deployer of the token also swapped 100,100,100,100,100,100,100 SPEERO tokens for roughly 976 BNB, which are worth $300,000. Similarly, the deployer of the AUDI token from the Audify project also swapped 100,100,100,100,100,100,100 AUDI for 956 BNB, which is worth $290,000. In yet another instance, the deployer of StarkPepe SPEPE token swapped 100,100,100,100,100,100,100 SPEPE tokens for approximately 855.5 BNB, which are worth $270,000. The deployer of the BOX token from the BoxyDude project also swapped 100,100,100,100,100,100,100 BOX tokens for 1,002 BNB, worth approximately $303,000. Also, the price of the MAR3 token dropped by 100%. The deployer of this token also swapped 100,100,100,100,100,100,100 MAR3 for 984 BNB, worth $300,000. The patterns show that a single person or people working for the same organization handled all of these scams. These rugpull tokens also share the same name as the legitimate ones.
In a similar instance, the LONG token associated with the LongNoseDog project also dropped by 100%. The deployer of the token swapped 100,100,100,100,100,100,100 LONG tokens for 998.7 BNB, which are worth $310,000. Likewise, the deployer of the POLDO token from the Poldo project also swapped 100,100,100,100,100,100,100 POLDO tokens for 1,014 BNB, worth $315,000. Additionally, the deployer of the CRONUS token from the CRONUS project swapped 100,100,100,100,100,100,100 CRONUS for 1,020 BNB, which is worth $316,000.
A user fell victim to a phishing scam, losing approximately $4.20 million worth of aEthWETH and aEthUNI. The victim had reportedly signed multiple ERC20 permit signatures, and the token spenders involved temporary addresses precomputed by CREATE2.
Metaverse, and NFTs
Coinbase has taken a significant step forward by incorporating Instamint, an innovative AI technology, into its NFT trading platform. This addition markedly improves the ease of use and accessibility in the realm of NFTs, streamlining the production of these digital assets. For a limited period, Instamint is offering complimentary NFT minting to attract newcomers, although they must still pay for Ethereum gas fees. Instamint eases the creation process by utilizing AI to craft distinct artworks. It offers a range of styles and themes for users to select from, with the AI generating original artwork based on their choices. Additionally, the tool enables users to transform their own images into NFTs. Consequently, individuals with varying levels of artistic talent can effortlessly produce and market NFTs on Coinbase. A key benefit of this tool is the ease it provides to artists. Artists lacking the means or expertise in digital art creation can use Instamint to swiftly produce high-quality NFTs, opening up new opportunities for income and engaging with the increasing demand for unique digital assets.
Animoca Brands, Chess.com, and esteemed chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen collaborated to revolutionize chess gameplay with the introduction of Anichess, an innovative NFT chess game. Anichess elevates the conventional chess experience by integrating magical spell dynamics. This allows players to use offensive, defensive, and strategic maneuvers during gameplay, enhancing engagement and accessibility for players of all skill levels. This fresh approach infuses excitement into the timeless game and distinguishes Anichess from other chess games on the market. A distinctive aspect of Anichess is the opportunity for players to acquire NFTs known as Orbs of Power through daily puzzle challenges. These Orbs, linked to different chess pieces and elements, are highly coveted by players.
OnChain Insurance Industry News
Neptune Mutual’s growth initiatives are seeing results as a growing number of users purchase cover policies in Neptune Mutual’s cover marketplace, available on the Arbitrum, Binance Smart Chain, and Ethereum networks. Over 400 new users have now purchased cover policies since the beginning of 2024, and most of these users have also now minted their first soulbound NFT and are actively accumulating points towards achieving the Level 1 free-to-mint tradeable NFT. For further details, check out the minting levels in our NFT portal.
The Popular DeFi Apps cover pool on Neptune Mutual’s BSC marketplace is now returning over 12% ROI to cover pool LPs. LPs looking to earn high returns on a stablecoin investment should head over to the Popular DeFi Apps cover pool on BSC to check out this opportunity.
Neptune Mutual cover pool LPs on the Ethereum Mainnet have the opportunity to withdraw liquidity from the cover pools until the end of the withdrawal period on January 25, 2024. This unique feature provides an exit opportunity for LPs from cover pools every 180 days. This is an important feature of Neptune Mutual’s marketplace and is an important consideration for any user looking to provide liquidity to a DeFi Insurance protocol. For further information, read the blog article relating to the “forever lock-in” roadblock of many other DeFi Insurance protocols that Neptune Mutual’s withdrawal cycle is designed to overcome.