$100M DeFi Hacker Exploit (With An Ultimatum)

Check out the biggest breaking crypto market updates for today:

DeFi Platform Mango Markets Hit By $100 Million Exploit – Hacker Provides Ultimatum

According to a tweet from blockchain security firm OtterSec, Solana-based DeFi exchange Mango Markets (MM) has been hit with an exploit that resulted in the theft of over $100 million dollars in crypto. 

The attacker reportedly manipulated price oracle data which allowed them to take out “massive” under-collateralized crypto loans. 

Following the attack, the hacker posted a proposal to the platform’s governance forum. The proposal poses an ultimatum to the MM community demanding they use treasury funds to repay the bad debt using $70M of USDC within the protocol in exchange for the exploited funds being sent back to a crypto address designated by the MM team. 

It also demands no legal action or freezing of funds be taken against the attacker. 

Voting for the governance proposal is currently live and ends on October 14 at 9:12pm EST. 

This bad debt stems from a bailout that Mango Markets and rival Solana lending platform Solend put together for a large Solana whale that had $207 million in debt spread across multiple lending platforms. At one time, the whale had borrowed 88% of the available USDC on Solend. 

The bailout was put together over concern that should the SOL token drop by another 20%, the whale’s positions would be liquidated – which would cause contagion and adversely impact the Solana ecosystem. 

As a result of this ongoing issue with Mango Markets, the Wormhole token bridge announced it is pausing transfers from Solana. 

Mango’s MNGO token is down 38% on the day.

BAYC Creator Yuga Labs Faces SEC Probe Over Unregistered Offerings

Yuga Labs, creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, is facing a probe by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into whether sales of its digital assets such as certain NFTs and its APE coin violate federal law. 

The probe seeks to determine if certain NFTs are closer to stocks and thus should follow the same disclosure rules. 

Yuga Labs issued a statement in response which reads, 

“It’s well-known that policymakers and regulators have sought to learn more about the novel world of web3. We hope to partner with the rest of the industry and regulators to define and shape the burgeoning ecosystem. As a leader in the space, Yuga is committed to fully cooperating with any inquiries along the way.” 

The SEC is examining whether certain NFTs from the Miami-based company are more akin to stocks, or “securities,” and should follow the same disclosure rules. Wall Street’s main regulator is also examining the distribution of ApeCoin, which was given to holders of Bored Ape Yacht Club and related NFTs. 

The cryptocurrency was created in part for Web3, the vision of a decentralized internet built around blockchains. 

Yuga has not been accused of any wrongdoing as of right now. The opening of an SEC probe doesn’t mean the firm is being sued by the SEC. 

This investigation is the latest attempt by SEC Chair Gary Gensler to regulate the crypto market as much as he possibly can. 

Gensler has repeatedly said that most crypto assets should be regulated by the agency since they have characteristics of securities as defined by a 1940s Supreme Court decision. 

That ruling gave the agency authority to label investments as securities when there’s an expectation of profit from management. It’s unclear whether “management” is what’s bringing profit in the case of Bored Ape Yacht Club, however. 

In recent years, the regulator has brought dozens of enforcement cases against digital asset firms for failing to register their offerings, including a $50 million dollar penalty against BlockFi Inc. in February. 

Yuga Labs, which was founded in 2021, has become one of the most prominent brands in crypto. Its NFTs of cartoon primates are a sought-after status symbol. Buyers include celebrities Jimmy Fallon, Eminem, and Madonna – and their NFTs often trade for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Google and Coinbase Partner On Plan To Offer Crypto Payments For Cloud Services

Tech giant Google has announced a strategic partnership with Coinbase that will allow select customers to pay for Google’s cloud services using digital currencies such as BTC and ETH by early next year. 

In turn, Coinbase will use Google CLoud to process blockchain data, while also using its fiber-optic network to improve its global reach. 

Google also stated that it plans to use Coinbase Prime for its institutional crypto services, such as custody and reporting. In August the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, also chose Coinbase Prime for its institutional offering. 

Initially crypto payments will be available to companies working in the web3 space, with a limited number of cryptocurrencies available. Coinbase’s commerce platform already integrates into several platforms, notably Shopify. 

Blockchain developers will also be able to use Google’s BigQuery crypto public datasets. These will be powered by Coinbase’s cloud nodes – which aim to streamline the building process for decentralized applications. 

Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said that Google Cloud’s aim is to make it frictionless for customers to take advantage of its services.

Luke Baldwin

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