According to Cointelegraph, September has become the largest month for crypto exploits in decentralized finance (DeFi) in 2023, with over $300 million in losses. Blockchain security firm CertiK reported that the most significant contributor to the month's totals was the Mixin Network attack on September 23, when the Hong Kong-based decentralized cross-chain transfer protocol lost $200 million due to a breach of its cloud service provider.
In other DeFi news, Yield Protocol announced its decision to shut down by the end of the year due to a lack of business demand and global regulatory pressures. The DeFi lending protocol will cease to exist after its December 2023 series ends, which is due to mature on December 29.
Polygon co-founder Jayant Kanani has stepped down from his day-to-day roles at the firm, stating that he will now contribute from the sidelines. Kanani helped found the Matic network in 2017, which was later rebranded to Polygon. He plans to focus on new adventures while still contributing to Polygon.
The Nature science journal recently published an editorial praising decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) as a revolutionary new method for researchers working in underfunded scientific fields to create communities around their work and raise funding that might not otherwise be available. In a DAO-based research scheme, a project's organization, fundraising, feedback, and pipeline from discovery to product/industry can all be handled by the same decentralized governing body.
Crypto payment service provider Wirex announced the launch of a zero-knowledge proof (ZK-proof)-based noncustodial crypto debit card service called W-Pay on October 3. Wirex's new decentralized solution utilizes zero-knowledge technology and is built on Polygon's Chain Development Kit, promising increased scalability and security.
