On the eve of April Fool’s Day, most people prepare special jokes to play pranks on their friends and family. This also applies to influence figures who play tricks on their audience. But this time, for some members of the crypto industry, the joke was not “funny” but rather sad. Perhaps because it was not a joke at all? How last week went and what happened on April 1 in the crypto industry is the topic of today’s article.
OpenLeverage has become a victim of hackers
OpenLeverege, a decentralized platform for margin trading, has become a victim of numerous hackers who stole $230,000 worth of assets.
On April 1, Cyvers Alerts, a blockchain security company, notified users on the social network X. According to the report, the losses amounted to about $230,000 in cryptocurrency, and the attacker’s wallet was on Tornado Cash.
“Our system has detected the malicious contract deployment 13 sec earlier than the attack transactions! Stolen funds are still at the attacker’s address!” the company says in its post.
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Tornado Cash is an OFAC-sanctioned cryptocurrency exchange protocol that was allegedly used by the North Korean Lazarus Group to launder more than $100 million stolen in cryptocurrency thefts.
PeckShield, a blockchain security company, also covered the situation, estimating the total loss at $236,000.
Shortly after the attack, OpenLeverage announced that it had suspended its operations and was conducting an investigation.
“Accumulated insurance and buyback funds should be able to cover the loss.” OpenLeverage writes.
The team also noted that their D1 was not affected and promised to share more information after the investigation was completed.
Later, they published new information that confirmed the loss of $220,000 on BNB Chain and $40,000 on Arbitrium. Although the team assured that users’ funds would be returned, they announced the closure of their services until “early next week.”
“In light of this, we’ve made the tough decision to discontinue the OpenLeverage trading and lending protocol. We’re initiating processes for users to close trades/borrowings & withdraw funds safely.” the team says.
According to the post, OpenLeverage is ready to offer the hacker a reward in exchange for the return of the stolen funds, after which “the trace and legal process will start immediately.”
Elon Musk and His April Fools’ Day Prank
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of X, stirred up the crypto community with his April Fools’ Day tweet. The investor is known for opposing the “awakened” position of Disney, Netflix, and other influential business giants. On April 1, Elon Musk wrote in X that he was excited to join Disney as their Chief DEI Officer.
“Can’t wait to work with Bob Iger & Kathleen Kennedy to make their content MORE woke!” Musk writes.
He went on to post a meme mocking the company’s penchant for making cartoon sequels, saying “Can’t wait for Toy Story 5 & two more Moana movies. Yay …”
Musk’s tweet stirred up the crypto community, which decided to support Musk’s joke and began posting memes and responses in the same vein, trolling Disney and Netflix for their stance on social policy.
The user DogeDesigner replied, “The first thing Elon Musk will do after joining Disney is to change their logo”
Source: cb_doge/X
At the same time, Epik.NFT sent a picture with a new design for X and wrote “New branding?”.
Source: Epik.NFT/X
WhiteBIT became a partner of the Paris Blockchain Week Summit and TOKEN2049 Dubai
WhiteBIT, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Europe, has announced its participation in two major blockchain industry events – Paris Blockchain Week Summit, which will take place on April 9-11, 2024 in the Louvre, Paris, and TOKEN2049 Dubai, scheduled for April 18-19 in Dubai, UAE.
In partnership with the events, the crypto exchange will present its products and conduct networking among an audience of thousands of participants to identify new opportunities for cooperation, exchange ideas and experiences, and develop joint innovative projects.
The events will feature the WhiteBIT branded zone, where potential business partners and investors will be able to meet the company’s team and learn more about its offers for institutional clients. These include customized solutions for market makers, exchanges, brokers, crypto projects, and private investors. Participants will also be presented with a new Crypto-as-a-Service product that allows traditional financial players to integrate cryptocurrency trading into their main products, giving their customers access to digital assets.
Volodymyr Nosov, founder of WhiteBIT, commented on participation in upcoming events: “WhiteBIT’s presence at the Paris Blockchain Week Summit and Token2049 Dubai underlines our commitment to innovation and development in the field of blockchain. These events allow us to share knowledge, learn, and collaborate with other industry leaders. We believe that real progress is achieved through joint efforts and sharing experiences, and this is one of our ways to contribute to the future of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.”
A New Blockchain Protocol From the Co-founder of Solana
Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, has released a white paper for a new protocol called BunkerCoin. It is designed to improve sending and receiving data in places with weak internet, offering a new and efficient solution for remote and inaccessible areas.
The published white paper titled “BunkerCoin: A Low Bandwidth, Shortwave Radio-Compatible Blockchain Protocol” presents a technical overview.
BukerCoin is distinguished by the fact that it operates efficiently in low-bandwidth environments, using shortwave radio broadcasting for secure and reliable data transmission. This innovation solves the problem of blockchain technology by improving communication in remote areas.
Blockchain overcomes the problem of data transmission over shortwave radio by optimizing for a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of 300 bytes. To ensure reliable data transmission and network resilience in low-bandwidth conditions, erasure-encoded frames are used. The protocol uses a Nakamoto-style longest-chain rule that works with transmission and verification methods to maintain network security.
Yakovenko’s initiative could also be a strategic move to reduce the volatility associated with meme coins based on the Solana platform, emphasizing the constant evolution and expansion of blockchain applications.
Telegram Trading Bot Solareum Shuts Down
Following a series of setbacks, including a recent security breach and financial constraints, the developers of Solareum, a Telegram trading bot powered by the Solana blockchain, have made the difficult decision to permanently cease operations.
The team expressed deep regret over the closure in a message posted on Solareum’s Telegram support channel and the X of the co-founder, king.sol.
They wrote: “Unfortunately, due to a combination of insufficient funds, evolving market trends, and a recent security breach to our systems, we find ourselves compelled to make this difficult decision.”
They also noted that, despite their best efforts, the recent hack compromised the integrity of the systems, and they can no longer guarantee the security of users due to a lack of funds.
Solareum is a cryptocurrency trading bot based on the Telegram messenger with a bridge between Ethereum and Solana virtual machines, programmed to buy and sell Solana cryptocurrency tokens based on certain predefined parameters.
At the end of March, the bot suffered a security breach that allowed attackers to exploit the vulnerability. According to BONKbot’s analysis, more than 2,800 SOLs worth about $520,000 from more than 300 Solana users were lost from wallets connected to this bot.
Initially, it was believed that the Telegram bot BONKbot was behind the attack. However, on March 30, the team denied this, stating that BONKbot is safe and adding: “The attack occurred in another Solana app.”
The developers stated that “we DO NOT steal money. But a lot of $SOLAR user’s wallet got drained, but this is a part widespread exploit that’s happening to other bot projects/Dapp as well.”, after which they added “There may be a chance we got exploited.”
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Deniz Tutku
Deniz Tutku is a digital journalist with a background in copywriting. A longtime cryptocurrency enthusiast, she has been following the industry closely for many years. Having moved on from her early career, Deniz now writes extensively about various events and developments in the cryptocurrency world, providing her audience with in-depth and informed views on the field.