The Daily: WazirX exploit, Biden's dropout odds, BlockFi to begin crypto distributions and more
Quick Take
Happy Thursday! In today's Daily, WazirX gets hacked for over $230 million, Polygon sets a date for the MATIC to POL migration, Mt. Gox creditors report brute-force login attempts and more.
Meanwhile, Lens targets Q4 for a mainnet launch on ZKsync, with the end goal of AI monetization.
Let's get started.
WazirX exploited for over $230 million
Indian crypto exchange WazirX suffered an exploit on Thursday that resulted in the unauthorized transfer of over $230 million in crypto assets.
- The hack targeted WazirX's multisig wallet on the Ethereum network, potentially due to a private key compromise, and drained the funds.
- To carry out the attack, the perpetrator needed to upgrade the implementation of a Safe Wallet to a malicious contract, security firm Blocksec explained.
- The exchange acknowledged the incident, adding that it's still investigating the outflows and has paused all withdrawals.
- The stolen funds include over $100 million in SHIB, $52 million in ETH, $11 million in MATIC, $7.5 million in PEPE and $5.7 million in USDT, on-chain data shows.
- Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said on-chain data suggests that hackers affiliated with North Korea likely conducted the exploit.
- The compromised funds were moved to an address that actively began selling the stolen assets into ether, laundering them using decentralized services and Tornado Cash — consistent with behavior demonstrated by North Korean hackers in previous incidents.
- The price of WazirX's token fell 16% following the incident.
Polygon plans to migrate MATIC to POL token on Sept. 4
Polygon is set to upgrade its mainnet on Sept. 4, 2024, transitioning its native token from MATIC to POL following community approval.
- A testnet migration was launched on July 17 to identify and address potential issues before the mainnet transition.
- After the upgrade, POL will replace MATIC as the primary token for gas fees and staking on the Polygon network and maintain MATIC's existing tokenomics, distribution and total supply.
- Current MATIC holders on the Polygon PoS network will have their tokens automatically converted to POL without requiring user intervention.
- However, those with MATIC on Ethereum, Polygon zkEVM or various centralized exchanges must follow specific migration procedures.
Mt. Gox creditors claim brute-force login attempts on accounts
Multiple Mt. Gox creditors reported unauthorized login attempts on their accounts over the past 24 hours, suggesting possible brute-force attacks.
- Users claimed two-factor authentication likely prevented unauthorized access, though others speculated the incidents could simply be system glitches.
- Meanwhile, the Mt. Gox claims website is down for maintenance, with the temporary closure appearing to take place following reports of the login attempts, according to comments on a subreddit.
- Mt. Gox is currently in the process of distributing around $9 billion in bitcoin to its creditors, recently moving funds to crypto exchanges Bitbank, Kraken and SBI VC Trade to manage the payouts.
BlockFi to begin processing crypto distributions via Coinbase
Defunct centralized crypto lender BlockFi confirmed it will start initial crypto distributions via Coinbase in July, but non-U.S. clients remain ineligible due to regulatory requirements.
- Distributions will occur in batches over the coming months, and notifications will be sent to eligible clients' registered email addresses, the firm said.
- The commencement of distributions follows an announcement in May that eligible BlockFi clients could still access crypto withdrawals via Coinbase after BlockFi shut down its web platform.
- BlockFi's bankruptcy plan administrator will continue using Coinbase for future distributions, including potential recoveries from the FTX and Alameda Research estates from which it reached an $875 million in-principle settlement.
Polymarket bettors push odds of President Biden dropping out of the race to 80%
Memecoins inspired by potential replacements for Joe Biden surged after announcing his COVID-19 diagnosis and amid reports he could exit the presidential race by this weekend.
- Decentralized prediction platform Polymarket currently forecasts an 80% chance of Biden dropping out of the race, leading to rallies in potential successor-based misspelled memecoins such as Gabin Noosum and Kamala Horris.
- In contrast, memecoins inspired by Donald Trump, like MAGA and the misspelled Doland Tremp, have dropped in value over the past day.
In the next 24 hours
U.S. FOMC member John Williams is scheduled to speak at 10:40 a.m. ET on Friday. Raphael Bostic follows at 12:45 p.m.
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AUTHOR
James Hunt is a reporter at The Block and writer of The Daily newsletter, keeping you up to speed on the latest crypto news every weekday. Prior to joining The Block in 2022, James spent four years as a freelance writer in the industry, contributing to both publications and crypto project content. James’ coverage spans everything from Bitcoin and Ethereum to Layer 2 scaling solutions, avant-garde DeFi protocols, evolving DAO governance structures, trending NFTs and memecoins, regulatory landscapes, crypto company deals and the latest market updates. You can get in touch with James on Telegram or 𝕏 via @humanjets or email him at [email protected].
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