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After $200M Theft, Euler Finance Says It Will Offer $1M Reward
On Monday, a hacker used a flash loan to rob lending platform Euler of digital assets valued at $200m. The theft occurred over four transactions in DAI, WBTC (wrapped bitcoin), sETH (staked ether) and USDC.
The hacker tricked the platform’s protocol into falsely believing he held collateral in eToken and dToken.
In a message on the blockchain, Euler threatened to offer a bounty on the hacker: “Following up on our message from yesterday. If 90% of the funds are not returned within 24 hours, tomorrow we will launch a $1M reward for information that leads to your arrest and the return of all funds.”
The threat followed a previous (apparently unanswered) message to the hacker, stating, We understand that you are responsible for this morning’s attack on the Euler platform. We are writing to see whether you would be open to speaking with us about any potential next steps,” developers said.
Shareholders Sue Signature Bank and Executives for Fraud
Just one day after it was shuttered by NY regulators, shareholders have sued the crypto-friendly Signature Bank. In the complaint, shareholders accuse the bank and its CEO, CFO and COO of fraud for falsely claiming the bank was “financially strong” just three days before it was seized.
According to the suit, Signature Bank claimed it had capital and liquidity to meet “all client needs”. The statement is alleged to have concealed the bank’s dire financial condition. The case is brought in federal court in Brooklyn by a group of shareholders led by Matthew Schaffer, represented by the same law firm suing Silicon Valley Bank.
On Monday, former congressman Barney Frank, who sits on the board of Signature Bank, suggested that the closure was part of a show of force by regulators. He said the “only” sign of issues was a $10 billion run by depositors on March 10th, which he attributed to fallout from Silicon Valley Bank.
Blur Rewards Are Distorting NFT Market With Fake ‘Wash’ Sales
The Blur NFT marketplace has seen a major surge in trading volume as 10 percent of its token supply was distributed to reward trades. An analysis by Dune Analytics claims that more than four in ten trades on Blur are fake ‘wash’ trades, incentivized by the reward schemes.
Wash trading is nothing new. It has long been used in securities to avoid capital gains taxes. Investors sell to each other at a loss, then repurchase the assets at market value in the following tax year. Wash trading in securities is considered market manipulation and generally illegal.
In the crypto and NFT markets, wash trading is often used to create the illusion of higher volume and liquidity in a market. The practice has been allowed to flourish because of lax regulation, but proposed legislation in Washington would close that loophole.
To date, NFT marketplaces have reportedly accounted for almost $74 billion in trades, Dune Analytics data indicates that some $31 billion of that is wash trading.
SD Governor Noem Vetoes CBDC Bill
Last week, South Dakota’s governor, Kristi Noem, vetoed SD House Bill 1193, which proposed excluding cryptocurrencies from the state’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). The bill, however, contained an exception for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Under the proposed UCC amendment, money is defined as “a medium of exchange that is currently authorized or adopted by a domestic or foreign government.” Analysts claim that the wording of the bill, which excluded digital assets, would not apply to CBDCs:
“HB 1993 opens the door to the risk that the federal government could more easily adopt a CBDC, which then may become the only viable digital currency. […] It would be imprudent to create regulations governing something that does not yet exist,” said Noem.
Crypto advocates applauded the veto, citing the bill’s threat to financial freedom. Last month, Representative Tom Emmer of Minnesota, introduced legislation to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC.
