GM! Buidlers

In this edition, we spotlight the latest pivotal updates from the blockchain world. Discover Solana’s newly implemented congestion patch, explore Polygon’s collaboration with OKX through the X Layer, and learn about Subsquid’s launch of BeraChain. We also cover Arbitrum's bold moves toward greater decentralization, and address the serious implications of recent security breaches which have led to significant financial losses of over $47M. Get all the details on these critical developments and more, ensuring you stay ahead in the evolving landscape of blockchain technology and security, courtesy of QuillAudits.

EtherScope: Core Developments 👨‍💻

  • Token2049: Crypto experts highlight Ethereum blockchain problems

  • Ethereum aims for $1 billion annual profit as DeFi gains momentum in Q1

  • Layer 2

    • L2BEAT Costs: breakdown of L2 transaction costs

    • XEN spam is 68% of Base state

    • Steven Goldfeder: technical & financial benefits end at L3

    • ZeroPool: zk native sharded storage protocol

    • Prooφ: SNARK prover market mechanism

    • RollCall (L2 standards) call video

  • EIPs:

    • EIP7684: Return deposits for distinct credentials

    • EIP7685: General purpose execution layer requests

    • EIP7686: Linear EVM memory limits

    • EIP7688: Forward compatible consensus data structures

  • RIPs (Rollup Improvement Proposals):

    • RIP7696: Precompile for generic DSM (double scalar multiplication)

  • ERCs (application layer):

    • ERC7680: Valued tokens with layered liquidity

    • ERC7681: Dual nature multi-token protocol (ERC20 & ERC1155)

    • ERC7682: Auxiliary funds capability

    • ERC7689: Smart blobs (state machine on top of blobs)

    • ERC7695: Ownership delegation and context for NFTs

    • ERC7683: The Cross-Chain Intents Standard

  • Tools

    • Guide to using Kurtosis & ethereum-package to launch local devnets

    • Tracoor: beacon data & execution trace explorer to identify & address network problems

    • Assertoor: cross-client integration testing tool, higher abstraction level than Hive

EcoExpansions: Beyond Ethereum 🚀

  • Solana

    • Solana releases mainnet beta update v1.17.31 to resolve congestion issues

    • Solana rallies 9% as developers launches update to tackle network congestion

    • Solana AI projects to watch as io.net's launch draws near.

    • Solana DEX Drift to Airdrop 100M Tokens in Weeks

  • Polygon

    • OKX Launches X Layer, Built with Polygon CDK, Enabling 50M+ Users to Tap Unified Liquidity of the AggLayer

    • OraProtocol’s onchain AI oracle (OAO) is integrating with Polygon PoS

    • Polygon Labs Awarded ISO 27001 Certification, the Gold Standard of Compliance for Information Security Management Systems

    • IBC, meet AggLayer, for cross-chain transactions and inter-network communication

    • Polygon aims to bridge Solana with Ethereum as analysts eye new AI altcoin

  • Berachain

    • Berachain's Meme Marketing Leads to $100M Raise

    • Subsquid Unleashes BeraChain Indexing for Enhanced Decentralized Data Access

    • ZOTH Atlas (Incentivized Testnet) is Now Live on Berachain

  • Arbitrum

    • Arbitrum BOLD Testnet Live: The Next Step in Decentralization

    • Arbitrum Foundation Grant Program Phase Three is NOW OPEN!

DevToolkit: Essentials & Innovations 🛠️

  • A beginner's guide to Runes

  • Learn, integrate, and build on a new modular EVM with Berachain.

  • Slither v0.10.2: slither-mutate support for Foundry projects, unused imports detector and supports aliases

  • Guide to writing efficient DuneSQL queries

  • Remix v0.47.0: adds Solidity Copilot using SolCoder LLM, pin contracts deployed to Remix VM and DappDraft plugin to generate a front end

  • Fuzzing smart-contracts practical aspects: Echidna

  • Sub Zero: mine vanity addresses using CREATE2, tokenized as ERC721 NFTs

  • inkmate , a set of gas-efficient smart contracts written in Rust .

Explore the Depths of Knowledge: Research Papers, Blogs and Tweets🔖

  • Good Reads 📚

    • Runes Will Help Bitcoin DeFi ‘Close the Gap’ on Ethereum, Solana: Franklin Templeton

    • 2024 Q1 Crypto Industry Report

    • Zero Knowledge Summit (zkSummit) 2024: Field notes

    • WorldCoin to launch Layer 2

    • Layer 2 Scroll zkEVM Introduces Points Program

  • Tweets

    • Introducing Subscription Minting

    • The Decentralized Compute Narrative

    • Runes - Bitcoin's new Fungible Token Standard

    • 20 of the Most Innovative Onchain Experiments From the Last 3 Years

    • HyperspaceZK: A fast and free browser-based ZK engine for AI agents

  • GitHub Repos

    • Theoretical and technical aspects of tokenisation of real world assets.

    • Zero-Knowledge-Mastery

  • Research Papers

    • Privacy-Preserving UCB Decision Process Verification via zk-SNARKs

    • Performance Analysis of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks and Centralized Clouds

    • mABC: multi-Agent Blockchain-Inspired Collaboration for root cause analysis in micro-services architecture

    • SoK: Decentralized Finance (DeFi) -- Fundamentals, Taxonomy and Risks

  • Watch🎥

Web3 Security Watch 🛡️

  • Good Reads 📚

    • Privacy by default on L1s?

    • SEAL-ISAC (database of blackhat info): free membership for whitehats via application

    • Heimdall Security Bug Fix

    • Demistifying account abstraction ERCs

  • Tweets

    • Zelic found critical vulnerability in Gains network

    • Concept of Stealth Addresses

  • Github Repos

    • DeFi, Blockchain and crypto-related OpSec researches and data terminals

  • Research Papers

    • Evaluating the Security of Merkle Trees in the Internet of Things: An Analysis of Data Falsification Probabilities

    • Larger-scale Nakamoto-style Blockchains Don't Necessarily Offer Better Security

  • Tools

    • Mempool Dumpster :- Dump all the mempool transactions 🗑️ ♻️ (in Parquet + CSV)

Hacks and Scams 🚨

  1. Hedgey Finance
    Loss ~ $44.7 million

    • Hedgey Finance experienced two hacks, losing a total of $44.7 million across the Arbitrum and Ethereum networks.

    • The larger hack on the Arbitrum network resulted in a loss of approximately $42.8 million in ARB tokens, with some funds moved to Bybit exchange.

    • A smaller exploit on the Ethereum network earlier led to a loss of $1.9 million in cryptocurrencies.

    • Hedgey Protocol confirmed the exploits and is working with auditors to identify the underlying vulnerabilities.

    • Following the attack announcement, fake accounts appeared, posting harmful links under the guise of offering help, leading to potential further scams.

  2. Grand Base
    Loss~$1.7 million

    • Grand Base, a real-world asset tokenization protocol on Coinbase's layer-2 blockchain, lost $1.7 million due to a private key compromise.

    • The incident occurred on April 15, with PeckShield confirming the private key leak allowed the theft and on-chain swap of tokens for Ether, then sent to an external address.

    • The protocol’s native token value plummeted by 99% within 24 hours of the exploit.

    • Grand Base admins warned users via Telegram to avoid interacting with the compromised token contract.

    • Analysis by CertiK revealed the hacker gained control of deployer contracts, minted GB tokens unauthorizedly, and withdrew them.

    • Grand Base staff are monitoring the hacker’s wallets and coordinating with exchanges to potentially freeze any transferred funds.

    • Users in the protocol's Telegram expressed frustration and distrust, advising against further investment.

  3. MASA Token
    Loss~$502.0K

    • Fake Masa $MASA on Ethereum dropped -100%. The deployer 0xEB35...80a71 dumped 1,769,800,761,000,000 $MASA for ~142.8 $WETH (worth ~$502K).

Community Spotlight

#DeFi #Solana #Ethereum #Polygon