Cross-chain protocol Wormhole mistakenly included wallets belonging to one or more hackers involved in its 2022 exploit during its recent airdrop event.

The oversight was noted by a pseudonymous crypto user named Pland on X, who pointed out that addresses confirmed to be associated with the exploit were included in the project's eligibility checker.

Approximately four addresses linked to the hack were allocated over 31,600 W tokens, valued at around $38,000. However, these tokens have since been removed from the allocation, as confirmed by a source familiar with the situation.

The addresses belonged to the hacker responsible for siphoning 120,000 ETH from the interoperability protocol in 2022, resulting in one of the largest hacks in decentralized finance history, with the stolen amount worth around $323 million.

Despite this hiccup, Wormhole's airdrop event has garnered significant attention within the crypto community, with the trading volume of its W token reaching $1.25 billion since its commencement, as per data from CoinGecko. The price of the W token experienced fluctuations, reaching a high of $1.66 before settling at $1.21 at the time of publication.

Silk Road $BTC On The Move By U.S. Govt🇺🇸

A wallet containing a staggering $2 billion worth of bitcoin, previously seized by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with the Silk Road dark web marketplace, has raised eyebrows with a recent test transaction.

The wallet, housing more than 30,174 Bitcoin, initiated a transfer of a mere 0.001 BTC (approximately $65) to a wallet associated with Coinbase Prime, a move that garnered attention due to its potential significance.

Although the majority of the funds remained untouched and were sent to a change address, speculation has arisen regarding the purpose behind this seemingly minor transaction. While it's common for exchanges like Coinbase Prime to require multiple confirmations before validating transactions, the single block confirmation of this transfer has sparked curiosity.

Observers are now closely monitoring for any further movements from the wallet, as this test transaction may signal impending activity. Given the substantial value of the assets involved, any subsequent transfers could have significant implications for the cryptocurrency market.

The origins of these funds trace back to the Silk Road, a notorious online marketplace shut down by authorities, with the U.S. appeals court finalizing the forfeiture of over 69,370 bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies linked to the illicit platform. The DOJ had seized these assets in 2020 and subsequently sought their official forfeiture, originally valued at over $1 billion.

Coinbase, when approached for comment, declined to provide any insights into the matter, adding to the intrigue surrounding this high-profile bitcoin wallet and its recent activity. As the crypto community awaits further developments, speculation continues to swirl regarding the fate of these seized bitcoins and their potential impact on the market.

Ripple’s Stablecoin…NOT $XRP?💵

Ripple has unveiled plans to launch a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, aiming to compete with established stablecoins like USDT and USDC.

This strategic move marks a significant expansion of Ripple's offerings, with the stablecoin set to debut on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum blockchains.

Monica Long, President of Ripple, emphasized the transformative potential of this initiative, highlighting how issuing the stablecoin on multiple blockchains will unlock new opportunities across institutional and decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems. Long stressed the importance of fostering a vibrant ecosystem by enhancing accessibility and trust via the introduction of a trusted stablecoin.

Backing the stablecoin with USD deposits, short-term U.S. government treasuries, and other cash equivalents, Ripple aims to ensure transparency and reliability by subjecting its reserve assets to audits by third-party accounting firms. This commitment is reinforced by Ripple's pledge to publish monthly attestations.

Ripple envisions a broad spectrum of use cases for its stablecoin, targeting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and non-banking financial institutions, including payment companies. By leveraging its compliance expertise and enterprise-grade solutions, Ripple aims to facilitate institutional adoption of its stablecoin.

Despite facing legal challenges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the sale of XRP, Ripple remains committed to compliance and has been bolstering its regulatory credentials through a growing license portfolio globally.

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Pendle Peaks $4bn TVL Mark🌡️

Pendle has achieved a significant milestone, with its Total Value Locked (TVL) soaring to $4 billion and trading volume surpassing $10 billion.

The platform's unique concept of separating yield-bearing assets into their underlying asset and yield components has resonated well within the crypto community, driving its rapid adoption.

Most notably, Pendle has thrived amidst the ongoing ether restaking frenzy, with a substantial portion of trading activity revolving around liquid restaking tokens associated with ether and its corresponding yield. This surge in interest has propelled Pendle's holdings, particularly its weETH reserves from platforms like EtherFi, which have spiked by 13% in the past week alone, now totalling 263,442 weETH ($920 million).

Additionally, the platform has seen significant trading activity related to tokens associated with the synthetic dollar protocol Ethena. Yield pools for Ethena's stablecoin USDe recently introduced on Pendle have contributed over $500 million to the platform's TVL.

CEO TN attributed Pendle's success to the surge in interest towards restaking assets and Ethena, underscoring the platform's commitment to meeting user needs through continuous product innovation.

While the majority of trading occurs on Ethereum, Pendle is gaining traction on Ethereum Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum and Mantle. Furthermore, Pendle offers leveraged points trading, enabling users to hedge against or leverage their loyalty points, accounting for approximately 10% of the platform's TVL.

With Pendle's meteoric rise, the value of its native token, Pendle (PENDLE), has experienced a steady ascent, starting the year just above a dollar and recently surpassing $5, according to The Block's Price Page. This growth trajectory underscores Pendle's position as a key player in the burgeoning DeFi landscape.

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