The exploiter of the Web3 social media platform Stars Arena agreed to keep a 10% bounty in exchange for returning the remainder of the stolen funds.
In an Oct. 11 X (Twitter) post, Stars Arena said around 90% of the 266,000 Avalanche exploited, at the time worth around $3 million, was returned after reaching an agreement to give a 27,610-AVAX bounty worth nearly $257,000 to the exploiter.
The bounty also included compensation for 1,000 AVAX worth over $9,000 seemingly lost by the exploiter in a bridge.
In a separate post, Stars Arena added that it had written a new smart contract, and before placing the returned funds and launching, it was finalizing an audit of the new contract.
Stars Arena first alerted its community to the exploit on Oct. 7, calling it a “major security breach,” with its smart contract leading to funds being drained.
In a subsequent post, Stars Arena said it secured funding to plug the hole left by the exploit and contracted a development team to do a full security audit, though the team has yet to detail how the exploit took place.
Japanese Firms Will Launch Digital Currency for Clean Energy Transactions
A group of Japanese firms will issue a digital currency by July 2024 for the transaction and settlement of clean energy certificates, cryptocurrency exchange DeCurret said on Thursday.
GMO Aozora Net Bank will issue the yen-based digital currency, called “DCJPY”, which will then be used by telecommunication firm Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) to settle clean energy certificates, DeCurret said.
Transaction of DCJPY will be made using a network launched by DeCurret which, unlike stablecoin, is backed by bank deposits through blockchain technology, DeCurret added.
The launch would align Japan with other countries that have seen an increase in digital currencies backed by bank deposits and blockchain technology. It could affect the central bank’s plan for issuing its own digital yen.
DeCurret has been spearheading the launch of a digital currency by anchoring discussions at a consortium of Japanese firms keen to tap the technology.
The consortium, which includes megabanks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Mizuho Financial Group Inc., and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., has been meeting regularly to study ways to build a common settlement infrastructure for digital payments.
San Bankman-Frieds’ Trial Update (Day 6)
In her second day of testimony at the Sam Bankman-Fried trial on Oct. 11, Caroline Ellison provided more information regarding the months leading up to the anticipated FTX debacle in November 2022. Lenders required Alameda Research to repay millions in loans in mid-June following the market downturn in May, according to Ellison. “I was very stressed out,” she said.
Genesis Capital was one of these lenders, recalling $500 million in loans, according to screenshots taken from conversations between Ellison, Bankman-Fried, and Genesis employees via Telegram.
At the time, Alameda had over $13 billion of debt on its credit line with FTX, while its open-term loans exceeded $1.3 billion. As per Ellison’s testimony, Bankman-Fried instructed her to come up with “alternative ways” to disclose Alameda’s financial information to lenders, specifically Genesis.
According to Ellison, Genesis could recall all loans to Alameda if it were aware of Alameda’s true financial status, as well as damage its reputation. “I didn’t want Genesis to know that,” she stated about Alameda’s billionaire liability towards FTX.
As per prosecutors’ evidence, Ellison worked on at least seven alternative spreadsheets for Genesis. A spreadsheet sent by Alameda to Genesis in June listed $10.3 billion in total liabilities, whereas the actual amount was approximately $15 billion at the time.
Bankman-Fried’s plans to survive the storm included raising capital from Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. According to evidence presented in court, Ellison made a list of “things Sam is freaking out about” months before the exchange collapse.
The list featured raising capital from “the MBS”, borrowing more capital from BlockFi, which had already lent Alameda over $660 million, as well as “getting regulators to crack down on Binance,” an effort by Bankman-Fried to expand FTX market share, Ellison said.
She also mentioned a $150 million bribe that FTX allegedly paid to a Chinese official in 2021 to release funds frozen there as part of an investigation into money laundering. The alleged bribe is not included in the United States trial.