Hackers stole over $544 million worth of cryptocurrency from Binance network. But did not manage to withdraw most of it, Crypto-Upvotes expert

Blockchain BNB Chain returned to work after the BSC Token Hub bridge was hacked. Hackers managed to steal over $544 million worth of cryptocurrency. However, they were able to withdraw only $100 million. After that, the work of network was temporarily suspended.

Binance CEO published a link to a post on Reddit, which describes the details of the incident. In particular, it is claimed that according to initial estimates, hackers managed to take from $100 million to $110 million from BNB Chain network, while with the support of partners managed to freeze $7 million worth of cryptocurrency.

Hackers have $543 million worth of cryptocurrency at their address, $432 million of which remain in BNB Chain and cannot be withdrawn. At the same time, these funds are not the users’ cryptocurrency. Changpeng Zhao explained that hackers managed to create additional BNB tokens using a vulnerability.

Later, the BNB Chain team presented a code update. After it was activated by the network’s validators, the hackers’ accounts were blocked and asset transfers between BNB Beacon Chain and BNB Smart Chain were frozen.

BNB Chain will decide fate of blocked crypto-assets by voting

As decided by blockchain team, a vote will be held. As a result, it will decide such issues as freezing the funds in the hacker’s account. And using a mechanism to automatically burn BNB tokens to cover the remainder of stolen funds.

At the same time, the issue of introducing a reward of $1 million for “white hackers” will be put to vote. Who will be able to detect bugs in the system in future. Also, community will decide whether to announce reward for catching hackers in form of 10% of recovered funds.

BSC validator voting functionality will be turned on in the next few days after a BNB Beacon Chain update. Also, the team noted that a new management mechanism will be implemented in a BNB network to protect against possible future attacks.

Tens of thousands of viewers watched fake Apple streams with interviews of Tim Cook and Elon Musk promoting cryptocurrencies

Crypto Scammers took advantage of the fact that Apple was holding a presentation of a new phone on September 7. And launched parallel streams on YouTube promoting cryptocurrencies, allegedly on behalf of their company. Tens of thousands of viewers watched live spoofed old interviews with Tim Cook and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Currently, these videos have been deleted.

Scammers on YouTube was live streaming an old interview with Tim Cook. That was seemingly being used to attract attention to a crypto scam. And when it was live, tens of thousands of viewers were tuning.

If you’ve seen crypto scams on YouTube before. You would have recognized a lot of hallmarks of what was going on. The fake live stream was getting attention by filling its description with an array of Apple keywords in both the title and description. But when you actually opened it up, it was filled with odd messages linking to a shady-looking crypto site.

One video titled “Apple Event Live. Ceo of Appl Tim Cook: Apple & Metaverse in 2022” aired an old interview from 2018. Bitcoin and Ethereum logos were added to this video. The number of viewers was up to 70,000.

Our experts have noticed that at the same time, more than 10 thousand people watched another stream on a channel called “Apple Inc”. Allegedly, it was supposed to contain an interview with Tim Cook and Elon Musk about Apple and the metaverse. But in fact it was a faked interview about bitcoins with CEO of Tesla and ex-Chief Twitter Jack Dorsey.

Binance announces measures to protect customer funds in case of ETH network hardfork

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will suspend withdrawals and deposits of ETH and ERC-20 tokens during the “Merger” (blockchain’s migration to Proof-of-Work protocol). In an official announcement, platform team announced measures. Which will be taken to minimize trading risks. And to protect customer funds in case of a split network and the emergence of a second Ethereum token.

Deposit and token withdrawal transactions will be suspended on the platform on September 6 during the Bellatrix update. And also on September 15 during the Paris update. The exchange will suspend Binance Crypto Loans. As well as ETH margin borrowings between September 14 and 16.

Spot trading of ETH and ERC-20 will not be affected during Ethereum update. However, Binance has drawn attention to the risk of increased volatility in the event of a hardfork. And reserved the right to suspend margin trading.

In the case of network splitting and new ETH token emergence. Binance will use ETH ticker for PoS Ethereum chain. Withdrawals for another version of token will be supported. But distribution details will be covered in a separate announcement.

Coinbase will suspend Ethereum operations during the “Merger” of network

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced in its blog. That new deposit and withdrawal transactions in ETH and ERC-20 tokens will be temporarily suspended on Coinbase during Ethereum Merge (blockchain update). Transactions launched before the suspension will also be temporarily delayed.

Coinbase team stated that this will be done as a precautionary measure. To ensure that customer funds are protected. Once the update is complete, processing of suspended transactions will be restarted.

“Merger” is tentatively scheduled for September 15. Customers of Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Exchange services may encounter delays in withdrawals. That’s why Exchange recommends customers to withdraw funds in advance, if necessary.

Users of Coinbase Wallet with ETH and ERC-20 tokens. As well as NFT or DeFi products of Ethereum network, this update should not affect them.

Our experts recommend withdrawing the necessary funds from CEX exchanges in advance. Or convert them to other cryptocurrencies at the time of ETH network update.

Startups related to metaworlds and WEB3 continue to attract huge funds for their development. What awaits cryptocommunity with arrival of new technologies, and what latest developments of this industry are focused on

Last few weeks bring news about new venture capital funds in cryptocurrency sector. NFT platform Immutable launched a $500 million venture fund, Multicoin Capital is investing $430 million in crypto startups, and Binance has raised more than $500 million to launch its venture fund. While some analysts talk about the onset of crypto winter, WEB3 projects are gaining popularity.

A lot of new projects will use new tokens within their ecosystems. The easiest and most budget-friendly way to provide new tokens with liquidity. This is to create liquidity pools on DeFi platforms paired with existing assets.

This will lead to an increase in DeFi sector funds currently being used in smart contracts on a particular platform or across the market as a whole (total value locked; TVL). The imminent potential increase in TVL due to the arrival of traditional financial products in DeFi has been discussed by many sector analysts in their reviews.

Initial liquidity for new pairs will be provided by funds from developers’ funds. Then, the rest of the users who want the tokens of the new projects will join the liquidity supply. Participation in the new pools will in many cases involve swaps (temporary exchanges) of users’ existing tokens on the platforms in order to obtain tokens of the desired pair. Thus, the emergence of even one new popular pair will inevitably lead to the popularization of other platform pairs as well.

Possible arrival of Killer App

Increased funds for developing new solutions for this sector will lead to an influx of new specialists. Ideas of which may turn out to be breakthrough ones. Despite almost a decade of history. All cryptoprojects have not yet been able to create Killer App, coveted and expected by many. It is an app that would demonstrate the undeniable convenience of new technological solutions for the entire population of world. Which would lead to an acceleration of blockchain expansion.

New venture capitalists rate the emergence of such an app as the most likely to happen in the area of gaming projects. A large number of P2E and x-2-earn developments are among them. X-2-earn involves replacing  “X” in a phrase with any other action in order to obtain rewards. For example, such an action can even be useful to the planet collecting and recycling garbage.

Everyone has been waiting for Killer App since BTC appeared in 2014. A combination of many conditions is necessary for the emergence of Killer App. Thus, the number of attempts to develop different apps is important for the sector. To increase probability of combining all conditions to achieve desired effect.

From histories of companies that develop computer games. We know that despite technical similarities of many products. Only a few of these games became really popular. Their success was due to a combination of many factors necessary for popularity as well as good marketing.

New earning opportunities and popularity of WEB3 projects

The attraction of users to new projects will, to some extent, take place through Giveaways and Airdrop. In this way, users will be able to earn a small amount of money without investing their own money.

Tracking promising projects at an early stage. It helps to notice in time a message about token allocation or NFT. You can get a valuable digital asset for the simplest actions. It is using bridge between networks, swapping on DEX or providing liquidity in a new pair.

The increase in the number of projects under development will also affect the labor market. New projects will be in demand from designers, UI and UX specialists. As well as copywriters, SMM-managers, analysts and developers who will be interested in further development in blockchain technology.

Decentralized transactions allow buyers and sellers to set their own terms for cryptocurrency transactions. Main benefits and disadvantages of P2P

Peer-to-peer (P2P) trading is direct trade of users with each other without an exchange as an agent. When working on a traditional crypto exchange, platform organizes transaction on behalf of client. And market price determines the exact price of asset at moment of transaction. P2P trading implies a transaction directly between users on terms they choose.

However, such transactions carry certain risks due to lack of a third party. Large platforms provide some protection for the parties to transactions by offering escrow accounts, feedback systems and user ratings. When making P2P transactions outside of a crypto platform, risks of coming across scammers increase a lot.

How P2P works

A P2P platform is a meeting place for buyers and sellers. Allowing them to conclude a deal on favorable terms for both parties. A user publishes an ad on a platform, specifying specific terms for buying or selling cryptocurrency. These are terms such as price, payment methods and limits.

Second party browses listings and, after selecting optimal conditions, places an order to conduct a transaction with a specific seller. Platforms offer a variety of filters for searching. You can select merchants by their location, payment methods, rating, and even view only those who are fully verified. Most platforms offer information on specific sellers: how many orders they executed, customer reviews, and trade volumes.

Exchange is a guarantor of transaction transparency and honesty. Also platform resolves disputes between its participants. Many exchanges offer escrow for transaction time. Escrow accounts are used: assets are held on them until a buyer makes a payment.

Verification is not always required to work on P2P platforms. Some services do not require personal information. And somewhere they only ask for a phone number or e-mail address. But there are also platforms that require full KYC verification and Google Authenticator. Sometimes services ask for additional information to increase trading limits. But mostly they allow trading cryptocurrencies without disclosing a lot of personal information.

Also, to attract new users, cryptoplatforms offer referral programs. Client receives a percentage of exchange commission from each transaction of their invited users. Opportunities for market participants to buy cryptocurrency on P2P exchanges are constantly expanding.

Benefits of P2P

• When trading on P2P exchanges, many more payment methods are available compared to traditional platforms. Payment methods include bank transfers, cash, using e-wallets, PayPal, gift cards, SWIFT transfers, Western Union and others.
• P2P platforms in most cases allow traders to connect to a service and conduct transactions with zero fees. Not all P2P exchanges offer such service. That’s why it’s a strong point to review terms and conditions of your chosen marketplace. Some exchanges impose a small commission for placing an ad or % of transaction amount.
• Transaction protection with an escrow service blocks funds until parties comply with transaction terms. If either party fails to do so, cryptocurrency or fiat funds are returned.
• You don’t have to have a bank account to buy cryptocurrency on a P2P exchange. Most platforms require only Internet access and a phone.

Disadvantages of P2P

• Although P2P transactions are fast enough, one party may delay the transaction for a variety of reasons. Also, buyer or seller may change his or her mind and cancel transaction while processing transaction. A normal transaction can take anywhere from 10 min to several days (depending on chosen payment method).
• Liquidity on P2P platforms is lower than on CEX exchanges. Therefore, traders making large transactions usually prefer to work on a standard exchange or over-the-counter trading. When platforms provide options to buy and sell cryptocurrency from an administrator or broker (OTC).

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts warn that as with many other cryptocurrency transactions. When you trade on P2P-platform there is a high risk of entering into a deal with a scammer. To prevent meeting with a scammer, you should choose a solid platform for transactions and carefully read statistics of partners. Or choose large CEX exchanges for P2P trading: Binance, OKX, etc.

Cristiano Ronaldo will launch the first NFT collection in partnership with Binance by end of 2022

Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will release several NFT collections. Sportsman entered into a multiyear partnership with Binance exchange, according to a Binance blog. So a goal of this partnership would be to create digital collectibles and attract soccer fans to Web3 ecosystem. “Nothing is more important to me than the fans, so the idea of bringing unprecedented experiences and access through this platform is something that I wanted to be a part of” – says Ronaldo. “We are thrilled to provide his fans with exclusive engagement opportunities to connect with Ronaldo” – said Binance CEO “CZ”.

So the first collection, set to launch at the end of this year. Will feature NFTs with an original design developed by Binance in collaboration with Ronaldo. According to an exchange blog, through a series of NFT collections, Ronaldo will provide a unique experience for soccer fans from many countries. Binance does not disclose details about this partnership, we do not know pricing or other options for this NFT collection at this time. Cristiano Ronaldo already has experience with crypto projects. In 2019, he played for Italian Juventus Football Club, which launched token JUV, which gave fans the right to vote in a number of decisions.

Our company Crypto-Upvotes offers complex promotion for NFT projects.

Complex promotion is necessary for an NFT project to increase brand awareness and attract new holders. Our team offers many different services to promote NFT projects. We can offer PR, Influencers, Trends Everywhere, Billboards and more. We can create a individual marketing plan for you for any advertising budget.