TL;DR#
- Curve Finance front end UI compromised following a DNS attack.
- AUSD, a stablecoin based on Polkadot, was exploited by hackers who minted over 1.2 billion tokens.
- Lamborghini is set to launch newer set of digital collectibles.
- Paris Hilton is building a virtual Malibu Mansion in The Sandbox.
NFTs have already entered the financial, entertainment, healthcare, global supply chain, and insurance industries, demonstrating their disruptive potential in these field. Originally developed as a means to tokenize and transact in fine art and collectibles, this new asset class emerged at the forefront of blockchain technology. The NFT industry is worth over $40 billion, and consumers all around the world are willing to spend millions to add one to their collection.
Blockchain Hacks#
There appears to be no letup in the frequency of attacks on blockchain companies. In a recent DNS hijacking attack, hackers stole stablecoins from Curve Finance customers, demonstrating their growing competence in the sector. According to multiple sources, the hacker compromised Curve Finance's name-server and redirected users to his own website, where a malicious link was planted to steal their stablecoins. The perpetrator laundered $570,000 in stolen ETH by sending it to the FixedFloat cryptocurrency exchange. Eventually, the exchange froze 112 ETH, totaling about $191,088.
Hackers infiltrated into the decentralized financial hub of Polkadot, Acala Network, and issued 1.2 billion aUSD tokens, making it the most recent Defi network to experience an exploit. Following the hack, the dollar-pegged stablecoin lost its peg immediately, losing 99% of its value. The coins were purportedly created without any collateral because the hacker exploited a flaw in the iBTC/aUSD liquidity pool. In response, the Acala team put the network in maintenance mode and froze the erroneously minted tokens, that led to the crashing of the USD-pegged stablecoin to a cent.
Hackers targeted the EGD Finance on Binance Smart Chain, eventually cause an unexpected withdrawal of funds from its pool. According to reports, this incident occurred because the price-feeding mechanism for calculating rewards when EGD Finance's contracts received rewards was too simple, resulting in the token price being manipulated for profit by flash loans. The price of the $EGD token fell by 20% of its original value during the heist, which netted the malicious actor approximately 36,000 $BUSD.
After the success of its first two NFT initiatives, Lamborghini is now releasing a third, in collaboration with NFT Pro and INVNT.ATOM in the form of a thrilling airdrop. The manufacturer has launched a virtual tour that begins on the moon, travels through space, and then visits famous landmarks across the earth. Lamborghini's newest NFT lineup advertises itself as an epic road trip through space for NFT collectors. NFTs represent the cars, and can be accumulated by users on a monthly basis until March 2023. The digital collectible consists of four NFTs released each month for 4 days consecutively, each with 24 hours availability period only. The fourth NFT will be available in a limited edition of just 63 units, and at the very end of the campaign, only those who have acquired all the monthly NFTs issued, either the three regular NFTs or three regular plus the limited edition, will receive a special NFT.
The Sandbox has collaborated with Paris Hilton's 11:11 Media to create a replication of her Malibu mansion in the Metaverse. This action provides her community and fan base with a brand new channel of communication with the star. For example, the Hilton will organize community and social events, such as rooftop parties and glamorous social experiences, in the virtual mansion. In addition, she is organizing a one-of-a-kind Halloween party at her LAND. Even though neither Paris Hilton nor The Sandbox have revealed any specifics regarding the mansion, 11 new avatars based on Paris Hilton's numerous personas will be available on the platform very soon.
Samsung Electronics has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with partners, including Theta Labs, to operate an NFT ecosystem for its new Galaxy mobile phones. According to the company, the NFT ecosystem will promote consumer experience innovation by connecting the virtual world with real-world benefits. Samsung plans to use NFTs to provide practical benefits such as customer discounts and an authentication tool. The detailed information about the benefits of the digital collectible were revealed during the launch of Galaxy Fold 4, on August 10.
Dapper Labs has announced a partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, the most recent Super Bowl champions. The company, which created NBA Topshot and NFL All Day, will enter into a lucrative contract with the NFL franchise, fulfilling their NFT needs for the entire season. On the NFL All Day Platform, the initial NFTs will be a brand new set of Super Bowl LVI commemorative rings. Users will be able to purchase 6,050 rings in three tiers of rarity for this initial drop. This included 5k starter rings for $9, 1k all-star rings for $59, and a limited quantity of 50 hall of fame rings for $699. All of the NFTs have now sold out, but the partnership will continue for the remainder of the 2022/23 NFT season.
OnChain Insurance Industry News#
Bumper Finance has completed their Falkor Alpha test stage, which lasted 14 days! Following the wrap-up, their engineering team has been working to classify and fix bugs and errors before moving on to the beta stage.
The Insurace Protocol has revised its road map in response to the UST depeg event. Among the short-term objectives for Q3 and Q4 in 2022 are team growth, community and user expansion, loyalty programs, fundraising, and newer cover products.
