DAO Maker, a crypto fundraising platform focused on Web3 projects, is distinct from the MakerDAO stablecoin protocol and aims to raise significant funds in 2024.
Despite this initiative, the platform is under scrutiny from victims of a 2021 hack who claim they have not been fully compensated for their losses, despite promises from the development team.
The hack, resulting in a loss of approximately $7 million, was attributed to a compromised private key, which victims allege stemmed from developer negligence.
Initially, DAO Maker responded to the August 2021 breach by distributing 500 USD Coin per affected user and promising further compensation through a new IOU token named “USDR,” scheduled to be redeemable within a year for the platform’s native DAO token at enhanced rates.
However, victims told Cointelegraph that they were never able to redeem their USDR tokens, and the promised redemption process was reportedly canceled following a governance vote influenced by DAO Maker using its substantial token holdings.
Adding to the controversy, a decentralized finance (DeFi) researcher from SOMA Analytics reported that DAO Maker might have manipulated the governance vote to abandon the USDR redemption and attempted to erase evidence of this decision.
Victims of the hack remain uncompensated, and the USDR token has become nearly worthless, with no active market or exchange possibilities.
One investor, speaking under the pseudonym “Red Drac,” described receiving 500 USDT immediately after the hack and 1,500 USDR later, which they were unable to redeem or sell at full value.
They discovered a liquidity pool that offered the USDR tokens at a substantial discount but chose not to sell, leaving the tokens in their wallet.
Another affected user, “Zztelecom,” also highlighted the inability to redeem USDR, buying them at a discount in the hope of future gains that never materialized.
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SOMA Analytics further detailed how a specific proposal on the DAO Maker platform to adjust the USDR redemption terms was passed by just six wallets, suggesting potential manipulation.
This proposal reduced the redemption value of USDR significantly, contradicting earlier commitments.
Despite the DAO vote favoring a 50% redemption rate, no compensation was distributed, and the tokens were made unredeemable for anything other than DAO Power on the platform, effectively rendering them useless in the secondary market.
The situation has left many investors with tokens that offer little more than the potential to participate in future token offerings without guarantee of profit.
As DAO Maker continues to operate, servicing Web3 startups and maintaining a significant market presence, the unresolved issues from the hack raise ongoing concerns about governance and compensation practices within the platform.
Cointelegraph’s inquiries to DAO Maker for comments remained unanswered at the time of publication.
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Puffer Finance, a burgeoning liquid staking initiative based on the Ethereum restaking protocol Eigenlayer, has successfully raised $18 million in a Series A funding round.
This significant financial injection is aimed at facilitating the launch of its mainnet.
The funding round, as announced on April 16, saw participation from a variety of investors including industry heavyweights such as Brevan Howard Digital and Electric Capital, along with contributions from Coinbase Ventures, Kraken Ventures, Lemniscap,
Franklin Templeton, and Avon Ventures—a venture capital fund linked to Fidelity Investments’ parent company. Other notable investors included Mechanism, Lightspeed Faction, Consensys, Animoca, GSR, and several angel investors.
The announcement detailed how Puffer Finance had achieved a milestone shortly after its preliminary test phase in February, amassing over $1.2 billion in total value locked (TVL) according to DefiLlama.
To date, the project has garnered $23.5 million in venture capital.
“Following this round, Puffer secured a strategic investment from Binance Labs, enhancing its position within the Liquid Restaking ecosystem,” the company stated.
The announcement also highlighted upcoming “technological advancements” set to coincide with the mainnet debut.
Puffer Finance’s innovation significantly lowers the entry threshold for Ethereum validators by reducing the required capital from 32 Ether to just one.
Users who stake their Ether through Puffer are rewarded with Puffer liquid restaking tokens (nLRTs), which can be used concurrently in other decentralized finance protocols to farm yields while still earning Ethereum staking rewards.
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This method, known as liquid staking, has previously been utilized by other blockchains like Cosmos and has recently been adopted by Ethereum following the network’s transition to a proof-of-stake model through the Merge upgrade.
“We aim to significantly reduce the barriers for home validators to participate, while delivering the most advanced liquid restaking protocol,” Amir Forouzani, a core contributor at Puffer Labs, commented.
In related news, Eigenlayer, the protocol on which Puffer Finance is built, recently surpassed Aave in TVL, as reported by Cointelegraph on March 6.
Following a temporary lift on staking caps, the protocol attracted $10.4 billion in crypto assets.
Additionally, data from Dune Analytics reveals that Eigenlayer boasts over 107,900 unique depositors, with DefiLlama statistics indicating that 74% of the staked tokens comprise Wrapped Ether (wETH) and Lido Staked Eth (stETH).
The liquid staking sector has grown substantially, now standing as the largest DeFi protocol category with nearly $55 billion in locked value spread across roughly 160 protocols, dominated by Lido, which alone accounts for $35 billion.
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As the first quarter of 2024 draws to a close, Bitcoin is on the brink of reaching the end of Q1 with a 65% increase in BTC price, but faces the risk of “exhaustion.”
QCP Capital, a trading firm, alerted its Telegram channel subscribers on March 29, suggesting that the “exponential” rise in price could present challenges in the upcoming quarter.
The Bitcoin market is especially attentive this weekend as critical candlestick patterns—the weekly, monthly, and quarterly—are set to close simultaneously.
Despite Bitcoin’s strong performance at the start of the year, maintaining momentum around its all-time highs and establishing them as new support levels remains challenging.
QCP Capital, however, maintains a “very bullish” outlook for Q2, citing several factors that could fuel further growth.
These include ongoing demand for BTC spot ETFs, the upcoming BTC halving event, the introduction of London Stock Exchange ETNs, and the potential approval of an ETH spot ETF.
The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States in January marked a significant milestone, yet the firm cautions that the rapid pace of the Q1 rally may be hard to sustain due to signs of market fatigue.
QCP Capital expressed concerns over declining interest in Ether, the largest altcoin, and the high funding rates persisting across trading platforms.
Despite a generally optimistic stance, the firm advises caution with leverage and readiness to capitalize on significant price dips.
Recent data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, TradingView, and CoinGlass confirms that the BTC/USD pair has seen a 65.4% increase since the beginning of the year, closely competing with the performance in the first quarter of 2023.
A close significantly above $61,000 would mark the seventh consecutive month of gains for BTC/USD, a feat only previously achieved in 2012.
This delicate balance of potential and caution defines the current state of Bitcoin as it navigates the complex dynamics of the cryptocurrency market entering Q2 2024.
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The recent surge in the tokenization of U.S. Treasurys, exceeding $1 billion across various blockchains like Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana, has been significantly influenced by the introduction of BlackRock‘s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund.
Launched on March 20 on Ethereum, the fund, known by its ticker “BUIDL,” has quickly reached a market cap of $244.8 million.
This growth was propelled by four substantial transactions totaling $95 million within a week, placing BUIDL as the second-largest fund of its kind, just behind Franklin Templeton’s Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) which leads with $360.2 million in assets.
This milestone of over $1 billion in tokenized U.S. Treasurys is spread across 17 distinct products, demonstrating the expanding reach of this financial innovation.
The largest recent contribution to BlackRock’s fund came from Ondo Finance, which added $79.3 million. This deposit is part of Ondo’s strategy to facilitate instant settlements for its U.S.
Treasury-backed token, OUSG, making it a substantial player with a 38% stake in BUIDL. This move was highlighted by Tom Wan of 21.co, marking a significant step in the fund’s growth.
BlackRock’s BUIDL operates with a 1:1 peg to the U.S. dollar, offering investors daily accrued dividends paid monthly. Its launch utilized the Securitize protocol on Ethereum, reflecting the broader industry trend towards blockchain-based efficiencies.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and others in the sector see tokenization as a pathway to more streamlined capital markets, with predictions suggesting a potential market size of $16 trillion by 2030.
This innovation is not limited to government securities; a wide array of assets including stocks and real estate are also being tokenized, with Ethereum hosting $700 million of the total real-world assets (RWA) on-chain.
Tokenization efforts extend beyond traditional asset management firms, with Franklin Templeton utilizing Stellar and Polygon for FOBXX, reflecting a diverse ecosystem of platforms supporting tokenized products.
This growing sector includes both established financial institutions like WisdomTree and blockchain-native companies such as Ondo Finance, Backed Finance, and others, illustrating a broad and multi-faceted approach to incorporating real-world assets into the digital blockchain space.
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The global network of Bitcoin ATMs is poised for rapid expansion, spurred by the anticipation of the Bitcoin halving event, as stated by the chief of a leading ATM provider.
This prediction comes after a significant drop in crypto ATM installations in 2023, marking the first decline in a decade, attributed to a bear market intensified by the failure of several cryptocurrency firms.
Brandon Mintz, CEO of Bitcoin Depot, highlighted an encouraging start to 2024, with 1,469 new crypto ATM installations in the first quarter alone.
This is a stark contrast to the previous year when over 3,000 units were removed. Mintz expressed optimism for continuous growth in the industry, especially with Bitcoin experiencing remarkable performance, having surpassed its all-time high twice in March.
According to Mintz, the latter stages of bull markets often witness a surge in cryptocurrency adoption, which in turn boosts customer traffic to Bitcoin ATMs.
He anticipates this trend to escalate post-halving, an event set for late April that reduces Bitcoin mining rewards by half.
Historical patterns suggest that the halving leads to a substantial price increase and heightened investor interest.
Despite the recent increase in ATM installations, the industry has seen a reduction in operators over the last 18 months, with notable bankruptcies such as Coin Cloud’s.
Mintz attributed this downturn to the broader crypto market’s challenges, especially following the collapse of the FTX exchange.
Bitcoin Depot reported a 7% increase in annual revenues to $689 million, although net income saw a significant decline.
The company is expanding its ATM network in the U.S., planning hundreds of new installations across convenience stores in 24 states.
The U.S. dominates the global distribution of crypto ATMs, hosting over 83% of the world’s total.
Recent regulatory approvals, like spot Bitcoin ETFs, have been seen as potential growth drivers for the sector, although Mintz views Bitcoin ATM users and ETF investors as distinct customer groups.
He underlined the importance of Bitcoin ATMs for people who are underbanked or prefer cash transactions, contrasting them with the typically wealthier ETF buyers.
Mintz believes that any positive impact of ETFs on Bitcoin’s price and adoption will likely increase the usage of Bitcoin ATMs, benefiting the industry overall.
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The XRP token, with a price-to-sales ratio of 61.689, stands out for its valuation nearly double that of Nvidia’s ratio of 37, reflecting a stark contrast in the investment attractiveness of these two entities.
This metric, which offers insight by dividing market capitalization by total sales over the last year, positions XRP in a unique light compared to Nvidia, one of the most actively traded stocks.
In 2023, the Ripple XRP ledger saw over $583,000 in network fees, as reported by Messari.
In stark contrast, Nvidia’s revenue reached $26.97 billion, as highlighted in its fiscal report for the same year.
Despite these differences, the XRP token experienced a slight increase of 0.15% in its price to $0.6205, boasting a market capitalization of $34 billion, per CoinMarketCap.
Meanwhile, Nvidia’s shares saw a slight decline of 0.49% in pre-market trading, setting its price at $898.25, based on Yahoo Finance data.
Nvidia, standing as the top semiconductor chip manufacturer globally and the third-largest company by market cap at $2.25 trillion, reported a significant 265% revenue increase year-on-year.
This surge is attributed to the escalating demand for artificial intelligence (AI) equipment globally.
The XRP token, on the other hand, marked a 20.55% price increase over the past year. Nvidia’s shares soared by over 241%, driven by the heightened demand for semiconductor chips essential for advanced AI models.
However, XRP’s growth faces challenges, notably the lawsuit initiated by the SEC in December 2020 against Ripple, alleging unregistered securities offerings through XRP sales.
The legal landscape for XRP saw a notable development in July 2023, with Judge Analisa Torres ruling that XRP is not a security, except when sold to institutional investors.
This nuanced legal stance stems from the Howey test criteria.
In a March 25 court filing, the SEC proposed a $1.95 billion civil penalty against Ripple for its alleged defiance of the law regarding XRP sales, underscoring the ongoing legal challenges that Ripple faces.
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In an effort to capitalize on the burgeoning interest in meme tokens within the cryptocurrency market, BNB Chain, a leading smart contract blockchain, has launched a unique initiative to lure memecoin developers.
The blockchain has announced a funding pool of up to $1 million, specifically earmarked to incentivize developers who choose to build their memecoin projects on its network.
This initiative is part of BNB Chain’s broader strategy to stimulate the expansion of the memecoin sector on its platform.
The company conveyed through a statement to Cointelegraph its ambition to bolster the memecoin ecosystem’s growth, underscoring its commitment to fostering innovation in this niche.
Developers keen on leveraging this opportunity are invited to participate in the “Meme Innovation Campaign” set by BNB Chain.
This campaign, running from April 10 to May 9, is designed to encourage the deployment of memecoin projects on the network.
BNB Chain emphasizes the campaign’s role in bridging creativity, Web3 culture, and innovation, encouraging both experienced developers and newcomers to explore the potential of blockchain technology in realizing their creative ideas.
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However, the competition stipulates several challenging criteria that participants must meet.
A notable requirement is achieving a minimum trading volume of $2 billion for memecoins to be eligible for the lowest tier of rewards, with a $30 billion trading volume threshold set for the top prize of $1 million.
Other prerequisites include undergoing at least one security audit and making the project code publicly available on BscScan, along with a requirement for the project to have more than 1,000 new tokenholders and an active presence on social media platforms such as Telegram and Discord.
The move by BNB Chain comes against the backdrop of a significant uptick in the popularity of meme-focused tokens in the crypto realm, with the total market capitalization of these tokens reaching $70 billion on April 1.
This surge was fueled by the rise of new tokens like Dogwifihat (WIF) and Book of Meme (BOME), alongside gains in established meme tokens such as Pepe and Bonk (BONK).
BNB Chain is not alone in its quest to support memecoin development; other blockchain networks, including the Avalanche Foundation, have also introduced initiatives to foster the growth of memecoins, offering substantial rewards to liquidity providers for selected memecoin projects.
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Consensys recently responded to an inquiry by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding concerns about the potential for fraud and manipulation within Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) system, especially in relation to spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In a comment letter to the SEC, Consensys, a leading blockchain and Web3 software development firm known for creating the MetaMask wallet, argued that the worries about fraud and manipulation are unfounded.
The company elaborated on its position in a blog post, asserting, “In fact, Ethereum’s PoS implementation meets and even exceeds the security of Bitcoin’s proof-of-work (PoW), which underlies Bitcoin-based ETFs that have already been approved for trading by the SEC.”
Consensys outlined several features of Ethereum that contribute to its security advantages over Bitcoin, including quicker block finality, a split of duties between proposers and attesters to prevent dominance by any single group, higher costs for potential attackers, strict penalties for validator misconduct, and greater environmental sustainability.
Moreover, Consensys emphasized Ethereum’s extensive developer community and its operation on a fully transparent and public blockchain.
The firm urged the SEC to recognize these superior security attributes, which exceed those of Bitcoin-based ETPs already sanctioned by the SEC.
While spot Bitcoin ETFs have garnered significant interest, the approval of a spot Ether ETF within 2023 remains uncertain.
The SEC has set a deadline of May 23 to decide on the pending spot ETH ETF applications, starting with VanEck’s proposal.
Despite optimism from some experts about an approval in 2023, there’s speculation that the SEC may defer its decision into 2024.
Companies such as Fidelity, Hashdex, and ARK 21Shares are among those with pending spot ETH ETF applications. The SEC began green-lighting Ether futures-linked investment vehicles in October 2023.
The crypto betting markets are closely watching the SEC’s decisions, with over $12 million wagered on the outcome of the spot Ether ETF approvals before the end of May.
Previously, the SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10. Grayscale, an investment management firm, has expressed hope for a positive verdict from the SEC on spot Ether ETFs by May.
Grayscale’s Chief Legal Officer, Craig Salm, noted on March 25 that the SEC’s current lack of direct engagement with ETF applicants does not necessarily indicate the outcome of their decisions.
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In a recent development in the United States government’s legal battle against Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, prosecutors have moved to liquidate two luxury aircraft before finalizing forfeiture procedures.
The action, detailed in a filing on March 22 with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, stems from efforts led by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams to mitigate the financial losses on two planes associated with FTX and Bankman-Fried.
The government’s strategy aims to address the depreciation of the assets in question, specifically a Bombardier Global and an Embraer Legacy, which were previously flagged in October 2023 as liable for seizure due to their connection with Bankman-Fried’s criminal activities.
The financial specifics regarding the aircraft, which were initially purchased for $15.9 million and $12.5 million respectively, remain somewhat ambiguous.
Nevertheless, the prosecution plans to allocate up to $1.8 million for their maintenance and an additional $183,000 for the Embraer Legacy’s transfer, contingent upon the sales’ returns being adequate.
An agreement facilitated between the prosecutors, FTX, and its affiliates has paved the way for the Embraer Legacy to be relocated to a Florida airport, facilitating the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) to initiate the sale process expediently.
The USMS had already taken control of the Bombardier Global earlier in February 2023, pursuant to a legal warrant.
These aircraft represent a fraction of the assets linked to Bankman-Fried that are earmarked for forfeiture following his conviction on multiple criminal charges.
A list of assets disclosed in March included shares in Robinhood, various currencies, cryptocurrencies, and political donations made by SBF during his tenure at FTX.
Neither Bankman-Fried nor his legal representative, Marc Mukasey, have contested the sale of the planes.
Bankman-Fried was found guilty of seven felony charges in November 2023 and is currently incarcerated, awaiting a sentencing hearing scheduled for March 28.
The prosecution has proposed a sentence ranging from 40 to 50 years, while his defense has suggested a more lenient sentence of 6.5 years.
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Bitcoin recently marked a significant milestone by closing above $69,000 on March 25, indicating a bullish momentum reclaiming an important resistance zone.
This event, as reported by Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, registered BTC/USD’s highest daily closure in nearly ten days, demonstrating a notable uptrend.
The surge was particularly catalyzed by a positive shift during the initial Wall Street trading session, where Bitcoin’s value increased by up to $4,600 within a single day.
This momentum carried forward, propelling Bitcoin past the $71,000 threshold subsequently.
Financial commentator Tedtalksmacro highlighted a shift in the market dynamics, pointing out that U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced net inflows after a week of negative flows and significant withdrawals from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
He shared, “After 5 consecutive outflow days, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw +$15.4M USD flow in on Monday. +262M from Fidelity.
“The bid is back.”
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Despite the continued large outflows from GBTC, amounting to $350 million, BTC/USD managed to overcome these potential hindrances, signaling strong market resilience.
Market analysts are looking at the developments with an optimistic lens.
Matthew Hyland, a well-known trader and analyst, speculated about the potential for Bitcoin’s price to reach the $100,000 mark, especially if the current momentum can clear significant resistance areas.
He underscored this possibility based on a reset of a classic Bitcoin price metric that had previously aligned with a notable increase in Bitcoin’s value.
The daily relative strength index (RSI), a key indicator of market momentum, also showed promising signs, although it remained below the threshold typically associated with bull market conditions.
Analyst Mark Cullen, however, cautioned about potential volatility, pointing to “gaps” in the CME Group Bitcoin futures markets that could act as short-term price targets.
A specific gap below $64,000 was identified as unfilled, suggesting possible price movements.
Conversely, Daan Crypto Trades downplayed the immediate impact of these gaps, suggesting that significant breakouts often leave such gaps unfilled without necessitating immediate corrections, thus indicating a less pressing concern for a potential price dip in the near term.
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