DeFi Weekly Roundup: Assange's Freedom, Soaring Crypto Losses, and Hong Kong's Regulatory Advances
Summary:
This comprehensive DeFi weekly roundup includes significant regulatory developments in Hong Kong's DeFi sector, crypto losses due to DeFi-related hacks and exploits soaring over 100% in Q2 2024, and Julian Assange's release, supported by a decentralized entity which spent $37 million on his legal fight. It also covers research highlighting the explosive growth of DeFi, phishing scams in DeFi and the state of the market.
This is Finance Redefined, a comprehensive weekly roundup on essential decentralized finance (DeFi) updates – a resource specially curated to keep you informed about key happenings over the last week. Major regulatory updates from Hong Kong marked significant developments in the DeFi sector this past week, as the city-state aims to explore potential opportunities in this decentralized arena.
In a significant development, Julian Assange has gained freedom after a 14-year battle against extradition to the U.S. AssangeDAO, a decentralized entity formed to raise legal funds for Assange, disclosed an expenditure of $37 million assisting the WikiLeaks founder to attain his freedom.
Additionally, the recent spate of DeFi-related hacks and exploits caused a surge in crypto losses, exceeding 100% in the second quarter of 2024.
Hong Kong, seeking DeFi and metaverse advancements for fintech expansion, has government-funded studies identifying these technologies as potential for strengthening the area's global foothold in fintech. Two reports, issued on June 25 by the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research, an affiliate to the Hong Kong Academy of Finance, respectively elaborate on how DeFi and metaverse can influence the financial sector.
The increase in the DeFi market's capitalization from a mere $6 billion in 2021 to above $80 billion in 2023, is highlighted in Hong Kong's DeFi report.
Silke Noa, a member of AssangeDAO, affirms that $37 million was expended in securing Assange's release. In a recent X post, Noa reports an estimated 11,000 ETH, valued around $37 million of the total 16,593 Ether (ETH), was allocated towards legal and campaigning expenses by AssangeDAO's The Clock. Assisting Assange's release, this Ether allocation was managed by the Wau Holland Foundation, explains Noa.
Assange, an Australian journalist turned activist recognized for his role in founding WikiLeaks, a platform releasing classified documents, was incarcerated since April 2019.
Crypto-related losses from hacking and scams rose by a startling 113% in Q2 2024, leading to a total loss of $572 million. Research from the blockchain security platform, Immunefi, reveals the losses doubled when compared to Q2 2023. A massive chunk of this quarter’s losses came from centralized exchange hacks. The end of May and June witnessed a significant upturn in losses after a consistent reduction trend until the earlier parts of May.
A phishing scam led to a MakerDAO governance delegate losing $11 million worth of Aave Ethereum Maker (aEthMKR) and Pendle USDe tokens. Occurring on June 23, multiple signature signings caused this scam, detected by Scam Sniffer. The case's victim, identified by Arkham as a MakerDAO governance delegate, plays a critical role in the MakerDAO system’s decision-making processes.
DeFi Market Update – According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, top 100 DeFi tokens, by market capitalization, showed mixed results over the last week. The total value locked in DeFi protocols dipped beneath $100 billion.
Thanks for catching up on the week’s most crucial DeFi updates with us. We hope to see you again next Friday for more updates, insights, and knowledge in this rapidly evolving space.
Published At
6/28/2024 10:25:00 PM
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