Research Summary
The report discusses key events in the crypto world, including Blur’s Season 2 airdrop, the exploitation of Heco Chain Bridge and HTX, and the volatility of $WLD. It also covers the launch of Eigenlayer’s Ethereum re-staking protocol, Avalanche’s selection by Republic Note, and the rebranding of Aave Companies to Avara. Other topics include the launch of Illuvium’s first game, the testing of Neon’s gas fee payments, and the development of Evmos’ mechanism for seamless use of Cosmos tokens as ERC-20 tokens.
Key Takeaways
Significant Developments in DeFi
- Blur’s Season 2 Airdrop: Blur’s Season 2 airdrop went live, with 88% of the 300M $BLUR tokens already claimed. Additionally, 35% of these claimed tokens have been staked in the Blast contract to qualify for the upcoming Season 3 airdrop.
- Heco Chain Bridge and HTX Exploitation: Heco Chain Bridge and HTX were exploited for a combined loss of $100M. This marks the fourth incident affecting platforms owned by Justin Sun, most recently with Poloniex being hacked for $100M.
- $WLD’s Volatility: $WLD experienced significant volatility over the week following news of its co-founder Sam Altman being removed as CEO from OpenAI and subsequently offered a position to lead Microsoftโs new AI team.
Upcoming Developments and Rebranding
- Eigenlayer’s Ethereum Re-staking Protocol: Eigenlayer, an Ethereum re-staking protocol, will soon allow users to delegate staked $ETH to the operators of EigenDA, securing its data availability network. The update is expected for the first half of 2024.
- Avalanche’s Selection by Republic Note: Avalanche has been selected by Republic Note to launch its dividend-paying digital security token, offering investors exposure to a private equity portfolio of more than 750 assets. The product had raised more than $30M during its pre-sale.
- Aave Companies’ Rebranding: Aave Companies has rebranded to Avara and will serve as the parent company over Aave, Lens, the $GHO stablecoin, and its other brands.
Actionable Insights
- Monitor the Performance of $BLUR: With the successful launch of Blur’s Season 2 airdrop and the anticipation of Season 3, it would be beneficial to monitor the performance of $BLUR and its impact on the DeFi space.
- Assess the Impact of Security Breaches: The exploitation of Heco Chain Bridge and HTX, along with the hacking of Poloniex, highlights the importance of assessing the impact of security breaches on the overall crypto market and individual platforms.
- Understand the Influence of Corporate Changes: The volatility of $WLD following changes in its co-founder’s professional status underscores the need to understand the influence of corporate changes on token performance.
