Kategorie: Ethereum News

Ethereum news about the ETH blockchain and its crypto ecosystem.

Veröffentlicht am

zkSync unveils new proof system dubbed Boojum

  • Boojum upgrade is live as zkSync Era transitions to a new STARK-powered proof system.
  • The new proof system is designed to power world-class performance on regular consumer-grade hardware.
  • zkSync is rolling out the feature in phases as it tests out its security and functionality.

zkSync Era, a zero knowledge (ZK) proofs layer 2 protocol for Ethereum, has announced its high-performance proof system called Boojum.

According to the team, the upgrade is not only to scale network performance but also significantly improve on its overall decentralisation by allowing for the use of consumer-grade hardware.

New zkSync Era upgrade

Boojum is a Rust-based arithmetization and constraint library that zkSync is transitioning to from its SNARK-based prover system. The protocol noted in an announcement on Monday that the new proof system will power the platform’s upgraded version of ZK circuits.

While zkSync Era can currently process over 100 transactions per second (TPS), Boojum is expected to considerably bump this up. On top of that, the team targets near-real-time and cheap transactions.

“Our current SNARK-based system, while effective for today, won’t scale to the high-volume, near real-time transactions the ZK Stack, where zkSync Era operates as a Hyperchain, aims to support in the coming years. The future we imagine for these systems is one in which proofs are generated and verified cheaply and quickly, allowing for fast finality and interoperability between Hyperchains,” the zkSync Era team wrote.

In terms of reducing hardware requirements, Boojum will allow for GPU provers with as little as 16 GB of RAM. The move to have such a low barrier is crucial to supporting an increasingly decentralised ecosystem.

Today’s rollout of Boojum upgrade will incorporate a phased out integration into mainnet. While live on the mainnet, the upgrade’s first implementation is in “shadow mode”. It means the team will run the new proof system in tandem with the current one.

However, while Boojum will be in testing mode, “shadow proofs” will be generated and verified from real production data on Mainnet blocks. zkSync will continually work on the ecosystem to fine-tune the upgrade’s functionality as it moves closer to full migration.

The post zkSync unveils new proof system dubbed Boojum appeared first on CoinJournal.

Veröffentlicht am

Rodeo Finance exploited for the second time in a week, $1.53M lost

  • Rodeo Finance is an Arbitrum-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol.
  • The hacker manipulated price oracles and executed trades using the manipulated price.
  • The price of Rodeo Finance’s native token has plunged 54% after the hack.

On July 11, the Arbitrum-powered decentralised finance (DeFi) protocol Rodeo Finance was hacked resulting in the loss of 810 Ether (ETH) worth $1.53 million. The DEX was exploited using a code vulnerability in its Oracle.

Peckshield, a blockchain analytics company, revealed data showing that the exploiter eventually transferred the stolen funds from Arbitrum to Ethereum and exchanged 285 ETH for $unshETH. The ETH was subsequently placed on ETH2 staking by the exploiter. Last but not least, the exploiter used Tornado Cash, a well-known mixer service, to route the stolen ETH.

Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP) Orcale manipulation

The hacker manipulated the Rodeo’s Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP) Orcale and tampered with the pricing of the ETH.

The TWAP Oracle is used by DeFi protocols to calculate the average price of assets for a specific time frame to mitigate price fluctuation due to the volatility in the crypto market. However, it is vulnerable to manipulations through artificial skewing of the calculated average prices of assets.

The exploiter first borrowed a large sum of ETH and then artificially manipulated the price to buy the same asset at a deflated price. Later the hacker returned the loan and made a profit based on the low price after the manipulations.

Rodeo’s TVL drops significantly

Besides causing the Rodeo Finance (RDO) token to tumble 54%, the hack has also caused the total value locked (TVL) in Rodeo to drastically fall.

Before the hack, the DeFi protocol had $20 million in TVL, but it has since dropped below $500 after the hack.

This is the second time that Rodeo Finance is being hacked in July 2023. It was hacked again on July 5, 2023, and $89,000 worth of crypto assets were lost due to a vulnerability in its ‘mintProtocolReserves’ function.

The post Rodeo Finance exploited for the second time in a week, $1.53M lost appeared first on CoinJournal.

Veröffentlicht am

Chibi Finance allegedly executes $1M rug pull on Arbitrum, CHIBI plummets 98%

  • Chibi Finance has allegedly executed a $1M rug pull on Layer 2 blockchain Arbitrum.
  • The team has vanished and their social media accounts are inaccessible.
  • Security platform Peckshield says the team channeled the funds via Tornado Cash.

Arbitrum-based DeFi project Chibi Finance has disappeared into thin air with $1 million in what is reported to be a potential rug pull.

Chibi Finance, which went live only recently on Arbitrum’s Layer 2 network, is said to have drained its liquidity pool, vanishing with 555 ether (ETH). At current market prices, that’s about $1 million worth of user deposits.

Chibi Finance latest in rug pulls

According to an alert by blockchain security and data analystic firm PeckShield, the Chibi Finance team withdrew staked tokens by converting them to ETH and then funneling them to the Ethereum network via the crypto mixing service Tornado Cash.

The Chibi Finance team has allegedly also “disappeared” with the DeFi projects social media accounts on Twitter and Telegram deleted. The platform’s website is also offline.

Chibi Finance’s apparent rug pull adds to the recent spate of bad actors in the Arbitrum and Ethereum ecosystems. In April, zkSync project Merlin allegedly siphoned off $2 million from its users. Meanwhile, Arbitrum-based Swaprun vanished in May, with close to $3 million of user funds in another rug pull.

CHIBI, the native Chibi Finance token, has plummeted following the news. After trading above $1.62 on Monday, CHIB price fell sharply on Tuesday morning to almost zero. Data from CoinGecko shows the crypto token has lost 98.7% of its value in the past 24 hours and currently hovers near $0.017.

The post Chibi Finance allegedly executes $1M rug pull on Arbitrum, CHIBI plummets 98% appeared first on CoinJournal.

Veröffentlicht am

Closed beta version of Neon EVM launches on Solana’s Mainnet

  • Neon EVM is a low-friction solution that enables Ethereum dApps to settle transactions on Solana.
  • The EVM helps breach the gap between Ethereum and Solana.
  • Since the Neon EVM beta is closed it will only accept transactions for those on the guest list.

Neon Labs, an Ethereum virtual machine on Solana that enables dApp developers to use Ethereum tooling to scale and get access to liquidity, has announced that it has launched a closed Neon EVM beta version, Neon EVMβ, on Solana’s mainnet. The launch is a significant milestone for the Neon EVM roadmap.

The Neon EVMβ is a fully-functioning Neon EVM that supports fee-free transactions. 

All Neon EVM transactions are settled to Solana’s L1 and require payment in SOL, the native token of Solana, just like any other Solana transaction. However, in the just-launched beta version, the NEON token is not requested by the Proxy Operator responsible for accepting the transaction request and ensuring that it is finalized.

What is Neon EVM?

Neon EVM is a low-friction solution that enables Ethereum dApps to settle transactions on Solana, eliminating the gap between these two leading blockchains. It allows Ethereum developers to enjoy the best of Solana’s network, from low fees to high transaction speeds, and parallel transaction execution capabilities. 

The Neon EVM solves Solana’s incompatibility with EVM which made EVM multichain dApp developers avoid the chain, which is otherwise known for being one of the fastest and organically-growing chains. It aims at making Solana a viable option for multichain builders.

Why a closed beta Neon EVM?

The Neon EVM ecosystem includes many more players than just the Neon EVM and the Proxy Operators that accept and settle transaction requests. It includes DAO, oracles, indexers, wallets, multisigs, bridges, explorers, and more. 

Neon EVMβ provides an opportunity for all parties to deploy and test to ensure the seamless integration of their services before the official Solana Mainnet launch.

Launching in closed beta allows the Neon EVM team to onboard and test the services of ecosystem players in controlled phases. It will only allow those who are on the guest list to test transactions.

The first phase onboards the infrastructure components, and the second phase accepts dApps and will test the connection of wallets.

Operating in closed beta also controls the budget by keeping the activity limited to an invite-only list. Remember, while the Proxy Operator is not charging a fee, the Solana network still does. It simply is not possible to provide an open beta and predict the cost in SOL for such an initiative.

The post Closed beta version of Neon EVM launches on Solana’s Mainnet appeared first on CoinJournal.

Veröffentlicht am

Schwab-backed crypto exchange EDX Markets goes live

  • EDX officially launched trading in bitcoin, ether, litecoin, and bitcoin cash today.
  • The crypto exchange has also completed a second funding round with new investors.
  • EDX has plans of launching a clearinghouse business later this year as well.

Investors can now trade bitcoin, litecoin, ether, and bitcoin cash on a new digital assets marketplace – EDX Markets.

EDX Markets is backed by financial giants

On Tuesday, the crypto exchange that has support from a bunch of Wall Street behemoths, including Fidelity, Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities launched trading in the said digital assets.

EDX Markets had first revealed plans of launching a non-custodial exchange last year in September. In a press release this morning, its CEO Jamil Nazarali said:

EDX’s ability to attract new investors and partners in the face of sector headwinds demonstrates strength of our platform and demand for a safe and compliant crypto market.

It is noteworthy that neither of the four crypto assets available to trade on EDX were dubbed “securities” in the recent complaints the U.S. SEC has filed against Binance and Coinbase.

EDX will soon launch a clearinghouse business

In its press release, EDX Markets also confirmed today that it has completed a second round of funding with new investors. CEO Nazarali added:

We are committed to bringing the best of traditional finance to cryptocurrency markets, with an infrastructure built by market experts to embed key institutional best practices.

A non-custodial crypto exchange is known to be safer than the custodial wallet. On Tuesday, EDX Markets revealed plans of introducing a clearinghouse business in the coming months as well.

The news arrives only days after BlackRock officially filed to launch a Spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States (read more), suggesting the long-term institutional demand remains intact despite the FTX fiasco and the ongoing regulatory crackdown.

The post Schwab-backed crypto exchange EDX Markets goes live appeared first on CoinJournal.