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November 19, 2023 Coin Telegraph

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The decentralized exchange increased margin requirements on several markets on Nov. 18, after an alleged targeted attack on the YFI token triggered massive liquidations.

Decentralized crypto exchange dYdX has disclosed new measures to mitigate trading-related risks after burning $9 million of its insurance fund on Nov. 17 to cover users’ losses.

According to an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), the exchange increased margin requirements on several “less liquid markets,” affecting tokens such as Eos (EOS), 0x Protocol (ZRX), Aave (AAVE), Algorand (ALGO), Internet Computer (ICP), Monero (XRM), Tezos (XTZ), Zcash (ZEC), SushiSwap (SUSHI), THORChain (RUNE), Synthetix (SNX), Enjin (ENJ), 1inch Network (1INCH), Celo (CELO), Yearn.finance (YFI), and Uma (UMA).

dYdX triggered its insurance fund to cover users’ trading losses on Nov. 17 after a profitable trade targeting long positions on the YFI token caused the liquidation of positions worth nearly $38 million.

dYdX founder Antonio Juliano dubbed the move a "targeted attack" on the exchange. According to him, YFI's open interest in dYdX spiked from $0.8 million to $67 million in a matter of days as a result of the actions of one individual. The same individual, according to Juliano, attempted to attack the SUSHI market on dYdX a few weeks earlier.

"We did take action to increase initial margin ratios for $YFI prior to the price crash, but this was ultimately not sufficient. The actor was able to withdraw a good amount of $USDC from dYdX right before the price crash," he wrote.

On X, the exchange’s team said that "highly profitable trading strategies have now been banned on dYdX,” in a reference to the language used by Mango Markets’ exploiter Avraham Eisenberg in his $116 million attack of 2022.

dYdX is now offering a bounty payment in exchange for valuable information:

dYdX will pay bounties to those most helpful in aiding the investigation

We will not pay bounties to, or negotiate with the attacker

We and others have made significant progress into identifying the attacker. We are in the process of reporting the information we have to the FBI
— Antonio | dYdX (@AntonioMJuliano) November 19, 2023

The YFI token declined by 43% in just a few hours on Nov. 17 after soaring over 170% in November. The sharp decline wiped out over $300 million in market capitalization from the recent gains, according to data from CoinMarketCap. In the past 30 days, however, the token has still gained over 90%, trading at $9,190 at the time of writing.

The Yearn.finance team hasn’t disclosed any official details about the incident. A source familiar with the matter told Cointelegraph that developers on the team do not control the majority of the token supply, strongly refuting initial concerns about a potential scam. The claim is supported by Etherscan data showing large centralized exchanges as YFI top holders.

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No CZ, no problem: Binance Blockchain Week showcases Turkish crypto industry

November 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Binance

Binance picked the Bosphorus as the backdrop for Binance Blockchain Week, the flagship event in its 2023 calendar.

Binance Blockchain Week Istanbul 2023 saw global crypto exchange Binance bringing its flagship event to Turkey on Nov. 8–9, where business is conducted in the Turkish lira — a top trading pair on its platform.

While Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was absent from the event, the Binance c-suite, along with key executives from a full roster of event sponsors, was more than enough to turn Binance Blockchain Week into one of the most packed Web3 events Istanbul has ever seen.

As a city bridging Europe to Asia, Istanbul is no stranger to international crypto and blockchain summits. While most events pick the heart of the city for easy access and nearby hotels, Binance picked a venue on the coastline of the Bosphorus — away from the subway and many other transportation methods — to show its visitors Istanbul’s true beauty.

The event occurred on the European side of Istanbul, but visitors could step outside the terrace and enjoy the view of the Asian part, the Bosphorus and the bridge connecting the two continents. Source: Cointelegraph

It’s usually not a problem to visit the main event area without a registration or to get a last-minute ticket at the entrance — at least for most events in Turkey. But, for Binance Blockchain Week, the security was tight and tickets were sold out. Binance’s event team designed a two-floor layout for over 2,000 attendees from all around the world.

Visitors were welcomed by a spacious hall that led to the upper floor, where the main stage and booths were installed. The entry floor offered various activities, including a small hair salon where visitors opted in to get the Binance logo sprayed on their hair, two old-school arcade machines and the startup-focused Innovation Stage.

There’s no better way to show Binance affection than spraying its logo on one’s hair. Source: Cointelegraph

The importance of the Istanbul event was evident from Binance’s perspective, as the crypto platform kept the big announcement of its Web3 wallet — not to be confused with the Binance-owned Trust Wallet — for this event.

Binance’s head of regional markets, Richard Teng, kicked off the event by introducing the Binance Web3 Wallet to 150 million Binance users.

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Starting on a high note, Binance Blockchain Week Istanbul provided keynotes and panels from prominent names of blockchain, crypto, Web3, gaming and entertainment gathered in Istanbul for two days. There were panels to attend or networking opportunities for people from all backgrounds and experience levels.

The big moment

Watch when @_RichardTeng first announced the new #Binance Web3 Wallet at #BinanceBlockchainWeek!

https://t.co/tP0nOtLANQ pic.twitter.com/xEQh6YpBS5
— Binance (@binance) November 11, 2023

Binance chief marketing officer Rachel Conlan told Cointelegraph that the exchange considered several cities before picking Istanbul as the destination for this year’s Binance Blockchain Week.

“The city has an incredibly vibrant crypto community, and the strong support we’ve continually received from this local community played a decisive role in our decision.”

Referencing surveys that placed Turkey among the countries with the highest crypto adoption, Conlan noted that this engagement and adoption “reaffirms our long-term commitment to investing in and nurturing the blockchain ecosystem in Turkey, making Istanbul a natural choice for our flagship event.”

The flagship event was missing Binance’s CEO, who is known to adopt a decentralized culture within Binance and even suggested that he might be willing to step down as CEO.

“Effective decentralization means not only the distribution of authority and responsibility but also visibility,” Conlan said.

Binance wants to constantly engage users and ensure consistent presence across multiple forums and regions, and having an experienced team to independently represent the company is crucial to that goal, she added.

Binance and the larger Web3 ecosystem

Even though it was a Binance event, the conference included several other firms and platforms. Tron, Chiliz, Animoca Brands, Zignaly, Alchemy Pay and Trust Wallet were among the booths installed in the sponsor area.

“Binance Blockchain Week has always been about more than just Binance; it’s about building community,” Conlan explained, adding that by fostering collaborations with partners, Binance aims to extend its reach to the larger Web3 ecosystem.

Who needs a bell to announce that panels are starting when there’s an ear-splitting drum on hand? Source: Cointelegraph

Event participants were also happy with the vivid and dynamic atmosphere they encountered in Istanbul. “We are surprised by the energy and enthusiasm of the Turkey crypto community at Binance Blockchain Week,” said David Uhryniak, Tron’s head of ecosystem development, adding that the most exciting aspects of the event were the stablecoin panel and “the amazing venue next to the Bosphorus.”

More praise for Istanbul’s charm and hospitality came from Abdul Rafay Gadit, the co-founder of the crypto trading platform Zignaly. Commenting on Binance Blockchain Week, Gadit told Cointelegraph, “The event in Istanbul was a success with diverse crypto projects showcasing their long-term efforts, especially given the long bear run.”

One highlight of the event was engaging directly with developers building Web3 for the next billion users, according to BNB Chain’s head of business development, Tomasz Wojewoda. “It was fantastic to meet so many developers that are building in the BNB Chain ecosystem and hear firsthand about how they are benefiting from opBNB’s low gas fees and BNB Greenfield’s decentralized storage,” he said.

Bilal Bin Saqib, a blockchain entrepreneur who featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia, told Cointelegraph that he was fascinated by the discussion on the future of blockchain. “I think the launch of Binance’s first self-custody Web3 wallet was the highlight for me,” Saqib said, noting that the launch opens “countless avenues to the future of Web3 for the masses.”

As for Conlon, the “Women in Web3” session on the Innovation Stage was a substantial highlight of the whole event. “The discussion delved into the perspectives of several industry-leading women, covering the intersection of female power and the future of technology,” Conlan said.

Turkey as a hotbed of Web3 innovation

The sponsor area was next to the terrace, where the food and beverages were served. Despite the overwhelming crowd, a rich selection of food was always available. Aside from the main dishes, visitors were lining up to taste local delicacies such as simit (a kind of Turkish bagel), Maras-style ice cream and Turkish coffee.

Visitors from different countries get together in the food line, at the sponsor booths, and over a coffee to talk about Web3, blockchain and crypto within the context of Turkey’s role in the industry while cherishing long-awaited bullish price action in the crypto market.

Maras-style ice cream made from goat’s milk. Source: Cointelegraph

Highlighting that Turkey has grown to become a significant player in the blockchain space, Binance Turkey general manager Mücahit Dönmez told Cointelegraph that the open collaboration between traditional financial institutions like Turkish banks and crypto platforms shows the forward-thinking approach of the country. “This collaborative business environment stimulates an innovation-friendly atmosphere and is good for the blockchain and crypto sector,” he added.

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The declining local economy will contribute to the accelerating crypto adoption in Turkey, according to Bin Saqib. “With the Turkish Lira not showing any significant signs of recovery, I think more and more people will enter the crypto ecosystem in hopes of saving their hard-earned money,” he said.

Cointelegraph couldn’t break the high score in the arcade version of Space Invaders. Source: Cointelegraph

After two days of sessions, Zhao closed out the event via video call, highlighting the crypto exchange’s efforts in compliance and how Binance is helping lawmakers create regulatory frameworks for digital currencies.

Fielding questions from the audience, the Binance CEO said that the crypto industry is moving toward decentralized finance (DeFi), adding:

“I would like to spend more of my time in DeFi, wallets, etc. I think that’s where the real technology innovation is.”

Binance Blockchain Week Istanbul 2023 allowed the Turkish crypto and blockchain ecosystem to boost its visibility through Binance’s global brand.

Bin Saqib said, “Binance has shed light on Turkey’s crypto ecosystem — something not a lot of people knew about, and this will attract other projects, investors and crypto natives to the country as well.”

Lower-middle income countries lead in crypto adoption, but not volume: Chainalysis

October 23, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Usage is down, but the future of crypto looks bright thanks to adoption in up-and-coming economies, according to Chainalysis.

India leads the world in crypto adoption, followed by Nigeria and Vietnam, according to a new Chainalysis report. Nonetheless, North America accounts for nearly a quarter of all value received by cryptocurrency exchanges, with the United States leading by far.

To calculate adoption, Chainalysis used web traffic data from 13 billion web visits to track five categories of activity, weighted by purchasing power parity per capita. That is, “if two countries received equal amounts of cryptocurrency at centralized services, the country with lower PPP per capita would rank ahead.” That will help determine where “everyday people are embracing crypto the most.”

Crypto adoption is down worldwide, with the exception of lower-middle income (LMI) countries, such as India, Nigeria and fifth-ranked Ukraine, the report found. Those countries, where 40% of the world’s population lives, have been the greatest crypto adopters since the second quarter of 2022, when world usage began to plummet:

“This could be extremely promising for crypto’s future prospects. LMI countries are often countries on the rise, with dynamic, growing industries and populations. […] If LMI countries are the future, then the data indicates that crypto is going to be a big part of that future.”

Central and Southern Asia and Oceania, Central, Northern and Western Europe, and North America group together as the top originators of transaction value received.

*Crypto transaction volume received by region. Source: Chainalysis*

While North America was dominant on the crypto market by volume, there was a clear drop in institutional transaction volume beginning in April. The share of stablecoin in that volume also fell significantly, from 70.3% in February to 48.8% by June. The weighted volume of transactions in decentralized finance (DeFi) fell from over 75% in August 2022 to less than 50% in July 2023.

Central, Northern and Western Europe produced 17.6% of crypto value received, with the United Kingdom accounting for more than twice the volume of second-runner Germany. The U.K. ranked 14th in adoption worldwide.

France led in DeFi growth, however. DeFi saw growth in Central and Southern Asia and Oceania, Eastern Europe and Central, Northern and Western Europe year-on-year in the 12 months ending in June 2023.

Central and Southern Asia and Oceania accounted for 19.3% of crypto value received by exchanges. First-place India led second-place Vietnam by approximately 100%.

Bans in China dragged down transaction volume in Eastern Asia, beginning in 2020. Nonetheless, China produced over $75 billion in value received by exchanges in the 12 months ending in June, with almost three-quarters of it being handled by centralized exchanges.

The top 10 countries in our 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index spanned five continents, but Central & Southern Asia dominated the list. See the rest of the top 20 and gain more insights on global crypto usage here. https://t.co/czQb7cXPgn pic.twitter.com/z6FOFvQgzf
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) September 21, 2023

In the Middle East and North Africa, Turkey saw a large predominance in web traffic to NFT sites, and Saudi Arabia led the world in transaction growth, up 12%. Nigeria towers over other sub-Saharan countries by transaction volume. That region accounts for 2.3% of world volume. Bitcoin is most popular in that region, accounting for 9.3% of volume, compared to 4.2% in Eastern Asia.

In Latin America (where Chainalysis places Mexico and Puerto Rico), Argentina and Brazil are the top contributors to transaction volume. The report notes crypto’s role in protecting users against inflation in the region.

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Pancakeswap integrates Transak for fiat onboarding on multiple chains

September 21, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Pancakeswap now allows users to purchase crypto with debit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and other methods through Transak.

Decentralized exchange Pancakeswap now offers Transak as a provider in its “buy crypto” tab, giving Pancakeswap users an additional option when shopping for crypto, according to an announcement on September 21. Mercuryo and Moonpay were previously providers for this feature, making Transak the third provider to be added.

*Caption: Pancakeswap buy crypto tab. Source: Pancakeswap*

Pancakeswap is a multichain decentralized crypto exchange (DEX). It’s available on 8 different blockchain networks, including BNB Chain, Ethereum, Base, Polygon zkEVM, and others. It has over $1.3 billion worth of crypto locked in its contracts and does over $150 billion in volume per day, according to crypto analytics platform DeFi Llama.

As with all DEXs, Pancakeswap can’t perform fiat to crypto conversions on its own. Users have to first own cryptocurrency in a wallet before they can use the exchange. Its development team recently implemented the “buy crypto” feature in an attempt to fix this problem by allowing users to onboard with third-party providers like Mercuryo, Moonpay and now Transak. Transak claims to be integrated into over 350 Web3 apps, making it one of the most accessible crypto onboarding services.

According to the announcement, Transak will provide “over 20 different payment options based on global needs,” including debit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, bank transfers, and others, and will provide nine different cryptocurrencies across seven different blockchain networks to Pancakeswap users.

Pancakeswap’s pseudonymous leader, head chef Mochi, stated that the integration will help make decentralized finance protocols easier to use:

“[I]t's imperative that entry points remain simple yet robust. Transak's expertise in fiat on-ramping, combined with PancakeSwap's platform capabilities, promises an era where diving into decentralized finance is intuitive and barrier-free for all."

Pancakeswap launched a web3 game called “Pancake Protectors” on May 30. The game gives extra perks to holders of the DEXs governance token, CAKE. The token’s inflation rate was reduced to 3%-5% through a governance vote in April.

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Judge dismisses class-action suit against Uniswap over token scam losses

August 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The judge showed rare understanding of DeFi technology and stated the defendants would do better to address their complaints to Congress.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed a class-action suit against Uniswap Labs and its CEO, foundation and venture capital backers brought by plaintiffs who claimed they lost money due to scam tokens on the decentralized cryptocurrency exchange. Judge Katherine Polk Failla, who handed down the dismissal, is also hearing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against Coinbase.

The suit was brought by six individuals who bought tokens on Uniswap between December 2020 and March 2022. They argued on behalf of a “nationwide class of users” that Uniswap Labs controlled liquidity pools on the protocol, including those created by the scammers they lost money to.

The suit was filed in April 2022. The defendants were demanding the recission of the (smart) contracts they entered into to buy the scam tokens, with compensation, under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

*The order dismissing the suit against Uniswap. Source: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York*

The plaintiffs argued that their claim was backed up by the fact that Uniswap held “liquidity provider funds and newly created tokens in Uniswap’s proprietary core contracts,” used routers it controlled to process transactions on the protocol and issued liquidity tokens when pools were created. In addition, the plaintiffs held that the defendants “likely” held at least 88% of the Uniswap (UNI) governance tokens, although they had no actual knowledge of token ownership.

The judge said in her order that neither side knew the identities of the scammers, and in place of suing the scammers for unlawful solicitation, the plaintiffs were suing the defendants for statements made on social media:

“Undaunted, they now sue the Uniswap Defendants and the VC [venture capital] Defendants, hoping that this Court might overlook the fact that the current state of cryptocurrency regulation leaves them without recourse, at least as to the specific claims alleged in this suit.”

The court did not overlook that fact:

“The Court declines to stretch the federal securities laws to cover the conduct alleged, and concludes that Plaintiffs’ concerns are better addressed to Congress than to this Court.”

The judge commented in more general terms as well. Writing about the plaintiffs’ allegations concerning the core and router contracts, she said:

“[I]t defies logic that a drafter of computer code underlying a particular software platform could be liable under Section 29(b) [ of the Exchange Act] for a third-party’s misuse of that platform.”

The judge cited the unsuccessful class action brought against Coinbase in 2022 for unregulated securities sales in her reasoning. She dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be retried.

Community commenters noted with pleasure that the decision showed a considerable depth of understanding of decentralized finance.

Big Lesson for crypto policymakers and financial regulators (and the administrative state at large):

If you choose to avoid the legal process, if you do not want to engage in good faith rulemaking, the courts will not bail you out. https://t.co/r5RATmiwwq
— Mike Wawszczak (@mikewawszczak) August 30, 2023

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DYdX to unlock 6.52M tokens worth $14M for community treasury, rewards

August 29, 2023 Coin Telegraph

DYdX to unlock 6.52M tokens worth M for community treasury, rewards

Coin Telegraph

Out of the lot, 2.49 million DYDX tokens — worth $5.36 million — will be allocated to the community treasury, which funds contributor grants, community initiatives and liquidity mining, among other programs.

Decentralized exchange (DEX) platform dYdX will unlock $14.02 million worth of its native DYDK tokens to be allocated to its community treasury and rewards for traders and liquidity providers.

On Aug. 29, dYdX will release 6.52 million tokens, representing 3.76% of the DYDX circulating supply. Out of the lot, 2.49 million DYDX tokens — worth $5.36 million — will be allocated to the community treasury. The treasury funds contributor grants, community initiatives and liquidity mining, among other programs.

*Upcoming dYdX unlock event. Source: token.unlocks.app*

The remaining 4.03 million DYDX tokens will be split between liquidity provider rewards (1.15 million tokens worth $2.47 million) and trading rewards (2.88 million tokens worth $6.18 million).

*Full funds allocation for dYdX. Source: token.unlocks.app*

DYdX conducted an identical unlock event on Aug. 1 with the same allocation of funds. Data on dYdX’s full allocation from TokenUnlocks suggests that investors hold the highest allocation at 27.7%, followed by trading rewards and community treasury at 20.2% and 16.2%, respectively.

*Total unlock progress for dYdX. Source: token.unlocks.app*

DYDX has a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens, and over 75% are locked, as shown above.

DYdX founder Antonio Juliano recently recommended crypto entrepreneurs explore markets outside the United States.

Crypto is aligned with American values. What could be more American & capitalist than a financial system of the people, by the people, and for the people

That is literally what we’re building here. America will realize that eventually
— Antonio | dYdX (@AntonioMJuliano) August 25, 2023

Juliano emphasized that crypto startups could scale faster overseas in friendlier markets:

“Crypto builders should just give up serving US customers for now and try to re-enter in 5-10 years. It’s not really worth the hassle/compromises. Most of the market is overseas anyways. Innovate there, find PMF [product market fit], then come back with more leverage.”

As the U.S. government continues to drag its heels on establishing crypto regulation, Juliano suggested that the crypto sector needs to grow further to have more sway over U.S. policy.

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Decentralized Exchange

Binance and the larger Web3 ecosystem

Turkey as a hotbed of Web3 innovation

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