Solana Saga Mania, Teter brings FBI on board and more.
Although overall losses are down from last year, the crypto industry faces significant security risks in 2023. A report by TRM Labs says that this year, around 160 crypto projects have been hacked, causing losses of around $1.7 billion.
Although TRM Labs says that things are improving in the crypto world, with a small loss of hacks, there have still been some significant security issues recently. Take, for example, the hack of Ledger Link Library and the theft of millions of dollars worth of non-vulnerable tokens (NFTs) from an NFT trading platform.
However, the crypto space has seen some interesting developments that may signal a new trend in addressing on-chain security issues. Ledger has pledged to fully cover the victims' losses, and the security initiative led by Yuga Labs has paid 120 Ether (ETH) as a bug bounty to recover stolen high-value NFTs. Over the past few days, the platform protocol has decided to compensate users affected by the attack.
In another eyebrow-raising development, stablecoin issuer Tether has announced that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has entered the fray as part of a collaborative effort with law enforcement to track and control illegal activity.
According to TRM Labs, the industry has improved their overall security to prevent attacks and strengthened community coordination to fight cybercrime. Indeed, these recent actions by crypto companies signal a shift towards greater accountability and protection of users on chain services, where users have limited resources in the event of an attack.
This week's CryptoBiz explores Solana's saga mania, the rise of blockchain loans and the unlikely sale of his gaming business.
Solana Saga fetches up to $5,000 on eBay as bonk drives frenzy
A Solana Saga phone has apparently sold for up to $5,000 on eBay – more than 8x its retail cost – after a free memecoin airdrop took off, putting the devices up for sale on the official website for the first time. An additional 20 devices managed to sell for over $2,000 over the weekend, up from the original $599 price tag of over $1,400. Since the device launched on May 8, every new Saga phone has come with a free airdrop of 30 million Bonk tokens. In the last 30 days, Bonk has risen almost 800% as the token has gained mass traction among memecoin fans and lucky traders.
The saga is sold out!
Words cannot express how much we appreciate your support. We are nothing without this amazing community.
While these past few days will be cemented in our history, we are excited for the future
Stay tuned ✨ pic.twitter.com/KJje8lBDLL
— Solana Mobile (@solanamobile) December 16, 2023
Blockchain-based personal loans reached $582 million, doubling from 2022.
Blockchain-based lending is set to rebound in 2023, with revenue token personal credit standing at $582 million as of December 18 – a staggering 128% increase from a year ago. While still far from the peak of $1.5 billion in June 2022, the resurgence could indicate that borrowers are seeking blockchain-based alternatives to traditional financiers amid rising interest rates. The loans being taken are also not small. RWA.xyz has tracked $4.5 billion in blockchain-based loans across 1,804 deals, with an average loan size of $2.5 million.
Impossible Gaming Venture Sells for $97M, Shares Contradictory Predictions for 2024
Metaverse technology company Improbable has announced that it has sold its gaming venture, Multiplayer Group (MPG), to Keyword Studios for €76.5 million ($97.1 million). Keywords works with well-known names in the gaming industry such as Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Zenimax, Epic Games and 2K. Herman Narula, co-founder and CEO of Improbable, said the agreement is part of the company's venture strategy 2024. Improbable first obtained MPG in 2019 around 30 million euros ($38 million). Narura believes that 2024 will see further consolidation and improvement in the gaming, web3 and crypto sectors.
Shiba Inu has announced plans to open a .shib domain for SHIB owners
The team behind the dog-themed memecoin Shiba Inu (SHIB) has applied for a “.shib” domain that runs on the Internet Domain Name System. The application, developed in partnership with Internet Domain Company D3, plans to unlock a “name token” for SHIB users, allowing them to send digital assets to different blockchains without the need for long, alphanumeric wallet addresses. If approved, Shiba Inu memecoin holders will be able to create email addresses with the .shib extension. In addition, it will be compatible with common email applications.
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