Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly digest of crucial developments in decentralized finance (DeFi) — a newsletter designed to deliver the most significant updates from the past week.
The previous week in DeFi witnessed notable regulatory advancements in Hong Kong, where the government has embarked on a study to pinpoint key opportunities within the decentralized sector.
After a 14-year legal battle against extradition to the United States, Julian Assange has finally achieved freedom. AssangeDAO, a decentralized organization established to raise funds for Assange’s legal defense, disclosed that it expended $37 million in securing the release of the WikiLeaks founder.
In another development, losses from hacks and exploits in DeFi surged by over 100% in the second quarter of 2024.
Hong Kong Aims at DeFi and Metaverse for Fintech Expansion
Government-backed research initiatives in Hong Kong have identified DeFi and metaverse technologies as emerging avenues to bolster the region’s prominence in the global fintech arena.
The Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research, affiliated with the Hong Kong Academy of Finance, published two reports on June 25, outlining the implications of DeFi and metaverse technologies on the financial sector.
Hong Kong’s report on DeFi underscored the sector’s explosive growth, with market capitalization skyrocketing from a modest $6 billion in 2021 to over $80 billion by 2023.
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Silke Noa of AssangeDAO: $37 Million Spent to Secure Assange’s Freedom
Silke Noa, a member of AssangeDAO, detailed in an X post that the organization allocated 16,593 Ether (ETH), equivalent to $37 million, for legal defense and advocacy efforts through AssangeDAO’s initiative, The Clock.
To secure Assange’s release, Noa explained that the allocation of 16,593 Ether was overseen by the Wau Holland Foundation, utilizing their Safe.global multisig wallet address.
Assange, an Australian journalist and activist, is the founder of WikiLeaks, a platform renowned for publishing classified and sensitive documents. He has been detained since April 2019.
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Crypto Losses from Hacks and Scams Surge by 113% in Q2 2024, Reaching $572 Million
Research from blockchain security platform Immunefi reveals that losses from hacks and scams in the crypto sphere more than doubled in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in the previous year.
A total of $572 million was lost in Q2, up from $220 million in Q2 2023. The majority of losses stemmed from hacks targeting centralized exchanges. Before Q2, losses from hacks and scams had been declining, with Immunefi reporting a 23% reduction in Q1. However, losses surged notably towards the end of May and throughout June.
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MakerDAO Delegate Loses $11 Million in Phishing Scam
A governance delegate of MakerDAO fell victim to a phishing scam, resulting in the loss of $11 million worth of Aave Ethereum Maker (aEthMKR) and Pendle USDe tokens due to signing multiple fraudulent transactions.
The incident, detected by Scam Sniffer on June 23, highlighted vulnerabilities in digital asset security. According to Wu Blockchain, Arkham identified the victim as a governance delegate of MakerDAO, an essential role involved in decision-making within the Maker protocol.
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DeFi Market Analysis
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView indicates a mixed performance among DeFi’s top 100 tokens by market capitalization over the week. Most showed losses on weekly charts, and the total value locked in DeFi protocols dipped below $100 billion.
Thank you for exploring this week’s pivotal developments in DeFi with us. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights, and education on this rapidly evolving landscape.