Avalanche
TLDR
The hacker behind the recent Defrost Finance exploit has returned the $12M to the protocol
The International Chess Federation has announced a partnership with the Avalanche network
Defrost Finance Hacker Returns Stolen Funds
Defrost Finance, a DeFi protocol built on the Avalanche blockchain that offers leveraged trading, recently released a blog post that contained some good news for users affected by the Christmas Day hack that drained the project of around $12 million worth of crypto assets.
According to the latest update shared by the team managing the decentralized finance venture, the still-to-be-identified cybercriminal responsible for the hack seemed to have had a change of heart and returned all the funds he siphoned off during the breach.
International Chess Federation Checks Into Web3 With Avalanche Integration
The International Chess Federation (FIDE), the sport’s governing body, announced it is partnering with the Avalanche blockchain to bring its competitions into Web3.
The partnership will create “operational efficiencies for players and federations and improve game integrity,” according to a press release, such as publishing tournament data and player rankings on-chain, as well as AVAX-hosted tournament prize pools.
The tie-up also places Ava Labs, the builders behind the Avalanche blockchain, and Core, a self-custody crypto wallet, as featured sponsors at physical chess tournaments worldwide, including the World Chess Championship and Chess Olympiad.
BNB Chain
TLDR
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has released an open letter discussing the milestones Binance achieved in 2022
BMW has partnered with BNB to support a new customer rewards program
Unique addresses on BNB Chain have surpassed Ethereum
A Letter From Binance CEO: 2022, the Year of Resilience
Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has penned an open letter to the BNB/Binance community. The letter highlights the milestones in retail adoptions, regulatory compliance, and financial transparency that the platform has accomplished throughout 2022.
The article touched upon the exchange’s efforts towards security, education, and the extensive know-your-customer (KYC) requirements required to operate on the platform.
BMW Taps BNB Chain For Blockchain Loyalty Program
German car manufacturer BMW plans to integrate blockchain technology into its daily operations and create a blockchain loyalty program for its customers in Thailand. The popular carmaker has onboarded blockchain infrastructure firm Coinweb as its decentralized architecture provider and BNB Chain for settling transactions.
Coinweb will develop a customized Web3 application for BMW’s customer loyalty program. The program will use a blockchain-based rewards scheme to incentivize BMW Group customers. A customer’s tier and status in the ecosystem will be determined by the loyalty rewards they have acquired via various actions.
Owners will be able to use their rewards to purchase goods and services from BMW and a linked ecosystem in the future. Binance’s native BNB chain will be used to settle transactions.
BNB Chain Surpasses Ethereum in Unique Addresses
BNB Chain has seen its number of unique addresses on the blockchain grow to the point that the network now surpasses Ethereum.
In a message shared by the BNB Chain’s developers, they claim to be the “largest layer-1 blockchain in the world” because of the rise. Data from a BNB Chain block explorer shows it has over 230 million unique addresses, surpassing the 217 million unique addresses seen on the Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum
TLDR
Ethereum-based programming language, Cairo, is now the third-largest smart contract language by total value locked
Pudgy Penguins NFTs experience explosive growth during the holiday season, surpassing the 24-hour trading volume of Bored Ape Yacht Club
Ethereum L2 language Cairo’s TVL Surpasses Solana’s Rust
Ethereum-based Cairo is now the third-largest smart contract language by total value locked (TVL) at $418.23 million on December 26. Solana's Rust has a TVL of $396.22 million, and Cardano's Haskell's TVL is $53.27 million. Ethereum's Solidity and Vyper are the top two smart contract languages, with TVLs of $50.4 billion and $3.98 billion, respectively. Solana's Rust had a TVL of around $12 billion a year ago. The Solana ecosystem has lost 90% of its developers over the past year.
Pudgy Penguins NFTs Break All-Time Highs With Holiday Rally
Ethereum-based NFT collection Pudgy Penguins has eclipsed other 'blue chip' digital collectibles in 24-hour trading volume, nearly doubling that of runner-up Bored Ape Yacht Club. Pudgy Penguins set new all-time highs in terms of ETH-dominated floor price.
The collection rallied after a change of ownership and refocusing on branding. Its sister collection, Lil Pudgys, also saw a spike in floor price and trading volume. Pudgy Penguin-branded merchandise saw an uptick in sales during the holidays.
FTX
TLDR
Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang borrowed Alameda funds to purchase Robinhood shares
The US Department of Justice has launched a probe into the alleged hack that followed FTX’s collapse
FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried Borrowed From Alameda to Buy Robinhood Shares
Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang borrowed over $546 million from Alameda via promissory notes to capitalize a shell corporation that bought a 7.6% stake in Robinhood in May. BlockFi, FTX Group, and Bankman-Fried have all attempted to lay claim to the shares, which could be worth over $440 million.
BlockFi claims that the shares were part of a deal that Bankman-Fried made in early November. The shares were pledged as collateral against a loan taken out by Alameda Research.
Justice Department Launches Criminal Probe Into $400M FTX Hack
The US Department of Justice has reportedly launched a probe into the hack that drained almost $400 million from FTX the night it filed for bankruptcy. Multiple FTX employees have stated that they don't recognize the transfers. The investigation is separate from the fraud case against Sam Bankman-Fried. Authorities have successfully frozen a portion of the stolen funds. Several factors indicate that the hacker was an FTX insider.
Terra
TLDR
A wallet linked to Do Kwon and the Luna Foundation Guard has withdrawn Bitcoin since the chain’s collapse
Do Kwon Cashes Out Some Stolen Bitcoin
Korean news outlet Digital Asset reports that Do Kwon is believed to have cashed out Bitcoins for the first time after fleeing to Serbia. The report says he disbursed 9.64 BTC, the equivalent of $120,000. For this, Do Kwon allegedly used the LFG Luna Foundation Guard wallet.
According to an October analysis by OXT Research, Do Kwon, the Luna Guard Foundation (LFG), or another Terra-related entity, may hold over 6,983.21 BTC in a wallet.
Solana
TLDR
Avraham Eisenberg has been arrested in Puerto Rico for his role in the Mango Markets exploit earlier this year
Mango Markets Exploiter Eisenberg Arrested in Puerto Rico
Avraham Eisenberg has been arrested for his role in draining Mango Markets' treasury of $110 million. He faces charges of commodities fraud and manipulation and could face punishments ranging from fines to prison time.
Eisenberg manipulated the price of perpetual contracts and sold massive amounts of MNGO perpetuals contracts to himself, pumping the price of those contracts up by 1,300% in under an hour. He then borrowed against the position's value and withdrew all of the cryptocurrency deposits on Mango Markets, essentially making the platform insolvent. Eisenberg agreed to return $67 million to Mango Markets.
Boom or Bust?
TLDR
MicroStrategy has increased its holdings to 132,500 Bitcoin after conducting a small Bitcoin sale for tax benefits
MicroStrategy Buys, Sells and Buys more Bitcoin
The most Bitcoin-bullish Wall Street company, MicroStrategy Incorporated, has announced it has increased its Bitcoin holdings by exactly 2,395 units. Co-founded by Michael Saylor, the business software vendor has conducted its first sell order of Bitcoin, offloading 704 Bitcoins for $11.8 million on the premise that a loss on the transaction would offset previous capital gains.
Three days later, the company acquired an additional 810 Bitcoins for $13.6 million, bringing its total holdings up to 132,500 Bitcoin. The total value of this Bitcoin treasure trove is around $2.25 billion at current prices, compared with MicroStrategey’s acquisition cost of $4 billion. The price of each Bitcoin acquired averages $30,397, according to a Tweet from Ex-CEO Michael Saylor.
While this sum may seem like an extraordinary amount for the average investor, the percentage of MicroStrategies holding against the 19.2 million Bitcoin in current circulation comes to just under 0.69%. Nice.