Hong Kong Targets DeFi and Metaverse for Fintech Expansion
Despite current challenges in the landscape, Hong Kong is doubling down on its ambitions to expand its fintech dominance, particularly in DeFi and the metaverse. Recent government-backed studies have identified these sectors as key opportunities for the region’s growth.
The Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research, the research arm of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance, released two pivotal reports on June 25. These reports delve into the implications of DeFi and the metaverse on the finance sector. One highlighted DeFi’s explosive growth, noting its market capitalization surge from $6 billion in 2021 to over $80 billion in 2023.
AssangeDAO Spends $37M to Free Julian Assange
After 14 years of battling against extradition to the United States, Julian Assange is now a free man. AssangeDAO, a decentralized organization formed to support Assange’s legal fight, revealed it spent $37 million on his defense.
AssangeDAO member Silke Noa shared in an X post that 11,000 Ether (ETH) out of the total 16,593 ETH raised was used for Assange’s legal defense and campaigning. The Wau Holland Foundation administered these funds from their Safe.global multisig wallet.
Assange, an Australian journalist and activist, founded WikiLeaks, a platform that publishes classified and sensitive documents. He had been imprisoned since April 2019.
Crypto Losses from Hacks and Scams Soar by 113% in Q2 2024
Crypto losses from hacks and scams more than doubled in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in the previous year. Research from blockchain security platform Immunefi reported losses totaling $572 million in Q2, a significant increase from $220 million in Q2 2023.
Centralized exchange hacks constituted the bulk of these losses. This spike comes after a period of decline, with Immunefi noting a 23% reduction in losses in Q1 2024. The increase in losses was particularly sharp towards the end of May and June.
MakerDAO Delegate Loses $11 Million in Phishing Scam
A MakerDAO governance delegate fell victim to a phishing scam, resulting in the loss of $11 million worth of Aave Ethereum Maker (aEthMKR) and Pendle USDe tokens. The incident, detected by Scam Sniffer on June 23, occurred after the user signed multiple signatures.
Wu Blockchain reported that Arkham identified the victim as a MakerDAO governance delegate, a key player in the MakerDAO system responsible for voting on governance proposals, polls, and executive votes, thereby influencing significant decisions within the Maker protocol.
DeFi Market Overview
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed a mixed week for DeFi’s top 100 tokens by market capitalization. Most tokens traded in the red, and the total value locked in DeFi protocols fell below $100 billion.