Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of crucial insights into decentralized finance (DeFi) – a newsletter designed to bring you the most important updates from the past week.
The previous week in the world of DeFi witnessed the conviction of Tornado Cash developer, Alexey Pertsev, for money laundering. Pertsev has been sentenced to more than five years in prison.
In other news, Binance has discovered a solution to the notorious address poisoning scam, Polymarket has raised $70 million in funding, with investments from Vitalik Buterin and Peter Thiel, and DeFi is facing a challenging future in the European Union.
Tornado Cash developer found guilty of money laundering
Alexey Pertsev, the creator of Tornado Cash, a protocol for mixing cryptocurrencies, has been found guilty of money laundering. This verdict carries significant implications for developers of open-source code.
On May 14, Pertsev was convicted of money laundering by Dutch judges at the s-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal. The developer has been sentenced to five years and four months in prison for allegedly laundering $1.2 billion worth of illicit assets on the platform.
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DeFi may encounter difficulties in maintaining decentralization under new EU law
New regulations in the European Union may soon force DeFi protocols to make tough decisions. The issue at hand is the tendency of many DeFi protocols to have centralized front-ends and intermediaries.
The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) by the EU, which will be fully implemented by the end of 2024, will require DeFi protocols to comply with the same licensing and Know Your Customer requirements as traditional financial services firms. This could be a burden that many DeFi protocols are unable or unwilling to bear.
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Binance develops solution for address poisoning scams after $68 million exploit
Binance’s security experts have created a solution to combat the growing number of address poisoning scams that deceive investors into willingly sending funds to a fraudulent address.
The security team at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has developed an algorithm that has detected millions of poisoned crypto addresses, according to a report shared with Cointelegraph.
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Polymarket secures $70 million from Vitalik Buterin and Founders Fund
Founders Fund, a venture capital firm led by Peter Thiel, and Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, have led a $70 million fundraising campaign for Polymarket, a platform that allows users to bet on political events.
As reported by Bloomberg, Polymarket has successfully raised $70 million in two funding rounds, fueled by the growing interest in betting on the 2024 United States presidential elections. The latest funding round, Series B, raised $45 million and was spearheaded by Founders Fund.
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DeFi market overview
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView reveals that the top 100 DeFi tokens by market capitalization had a mixed week, with most experiencing gains on the weekly charts. The total value locked in DeFi protocols remained above $90 billion.
Thank you for reading our summary of the most impactful DeFi developments from this week. Join us again next Friday for more stories, insights, and education on this ever-evolving space.
Founder of Tornado Cash imprisoned as DeFi faces challenges in EU: Finance Redefined