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 previous week.
During a fireside chat at ETHDenver, Commissioner Hester Pierce of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voiced her support for increased decentralization and highlighted the risks associated with centralization.
According to a report by PeckShield, an attacker gained control of the Ethereum staking contract on the Shido blockchain and transferred billions of Shido (SHIDO) tokens.
A recent report by Immunefi reveals that Ethereum was the most targeted blockchain by hackers in 2024, accounting for 85% of the value lost in February.
The top 100 DeFi tokens maintained their bullish momentum, and the total value locked in DeFi protocols surpassed $95 billion.
SEC Commissioner Pierce advocates for greater decentralization in the financial system
The SEC commissioner has called for increased decentralization in the U.S. financial system and a more lenient approach to crypto regulation and enforcement.
Pierce, also known as “Crypto Mom,” concluded her fireside chat at the ETHDenver conference on Feb. 29 by stating that decentralization is beneficial for the U.S. financial system.
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Hacked funds in 2024 increased by 15.4% compared to the same period in 2023
According to a research report by blockchain security firm Immunefi, over $200 million worth of cryptocurrency has been lost to hacks and rug pulls in 2024 year-to-date (YTD) across 32 separate incidents.
This represents a 15.4% increase in losses compared to January and February 2023, when $173 million worth of digital assets were stolen.
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Seneca stablecoin hacker returns stolen funds after $6.4 million exploit
Following an approval mechanism bug in the protocol’s smart contract, a hacker gained access to at least $6.4 million in digital assets from the stablecoin protocol Seneca.
The protocol offered a 20% bounty to the exploiter. Multiple blockchain security firms, including CertiK, flagged the exploit and urged users to revoke approvals on the Ethereum and Arbitrum networks. Initial estimates put the losses at $3 million, but it was later discovered that over 1,900 Ether (ETH), worth approximately $6.4 million, had been taken.
Shortly after Seneca’s announcement, the hacker returned around 1,537 ETH, equivalent to approximately $5.3 million, to the specified wallet address.
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Shido token plummets 94% as exploiter drains Ethereum staking contract
The token of the layer-1 blockchain Shido experienced a 94% drop in just 30 minutes after an exploit occurred on its Ethereum-based staking contract.
PeckShield, a blockchain security firm, alerted its followers to the drop in a post on Feb. 29. They later explained that the exploiter transferred the blockchain’s Ethereum staking contract to another address under their control and then upgraded the contract with a hidden function to withdraw staked tokens.
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DeFi market overview
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView indicates that the top 100 DeFi tokens by market capitalization had a bullish week, with most of them trading in the green on the weekly charts. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols exceeded $95 billion for the first time in over a year.
Thank you for reading our summary of the most significant DeFi developments this week. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights, and education on this rapidly evolving space.
Finance Redefined: Shido token plunges by 94% as hacks result in a $200M loss in 2024.