Morning Minute is a daily newsletter authored by Tyler Warner. The views expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent those of Decrypt. Be sure to check out our daily news show 'FOMO HOUR' for a recap of the latest developments and market trends.
Good morning!
Here are today’s leading stories:
- Major cryptocurrencies surge 3-4% as oil prices and bond yields stabilize; Bitcoin is at $86,400.
- The SEC has introduced new regulations allowing investment advisors and funds to directly hold cryptocurrencies.
- The Ethereum Foundation has unveiled zkAPI for private AI transactions.
- Pump has once again led on-chain protocols with $2.6 million.
- A unique 7-Trait CryptoPunk sold for $5.9 million in a significant transaction on Gondi.
🔓 NEAR Intents Hacked for $3.8M—Was It A Bullish Hack?
NEAR Intents experienced a brief shutdown on Thursday after an attacker stole approximately $3.8 million.
The vulnerability was linked to the mechanism that manages fund transfers and its interaction with the main contract that holds user funds. ZachXBT tracked the stolen assets to KuCoin, where they were converted into Bitcoin. The NEAR team has alerted law enforcement and plans to release a detailed report soon.
For those unfamiliar, NEAR Intents is a tool designed for swapping cryptocurrencies across various blockchains while maintaining privacy. It has gained significant traction in the privacy sector, facilitating over $30 billion in swaps across 35 different networks.
In response to the hack, the team acted swiftly. The exploit was addressed, and core services were restored within an hour. However, deposits and withdrawals for 11 networks, including BNB Chain, Polygon, and Optimism, remained suspended for an additional 12 hours while further fixes were implemented. Importantly, all affected users will receive full compensation.
The price of NEAR dropped nearly 9% to $4.86, while shares of the Bitwise NEAR ETF fell over 7%. This ETF had launched just two days prior, meaning its inaugural week was marred by the hack of the very product that Bitwise used to demonstrate the network's growth.
In terms of severity, this hack is among the more manageable scenarios. Other incidents have seen far greater losses, such as Kelp DAO which suffered hundreds of millions in damages, and Bitget’s loss of $387.5 million, which led to a four-day withdrawal freeze. In contrast, NEAR Intents identified the flaw, halted operations, implemented a fix, resumed services within an hour, publicly acknowledged the issue, notified law enforcement, and committed to reimbursing users. This reflects a rapid and effective response to a contained breach with limited fallout.
Some observers are even labeling this a "bullish hack," reminiscent of the exploit discovered by the ZCash team. Whether this incident will ultimately be seen as a positive turning point for NEAR remains to be seen.
🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets
- Major cryptocurrencies are performing well with gains of 2-4%; BTC is up 3% at $86.4k; ETH is up 2% at $2,740; SOL has increased by 3% to $122; HYPE is up 1% at $91; ZEC is down 1% at $1,380.
- Top altcoins experiencing significant movement include SKY (+17%), AAVE (+11%), ZRO (+12%), and VVV (+8%).
- Oil prices have decreased by 4% to $89; Gold is slightly up by 0.3% at $4,220.
- Stock futures are showing positive trends as oil and bond prices decline; DOW is up 0.6%, Nasdaq is up 0.7%.
- The SEC has proposed rules allowing investment advisers and funds to hold cryptocurrencies directly, including the ability to manage keys when custodians are unavailable; the extensive 760-page proposal also permits state trust companies to serve as custodians and mandates quarterly checks to determine if custodians are available.
- Illinois has decided to delay its crypto tax implementation by six months while ongoing legal disputes continue.
- Former President Trump is hosting a third dinner for major investors in his memecoin on November 22 at his golf club in Virginia; the top 185 investors will be invited, with special receptions for the top 29 and an 18-karat gold watch for the top four.
- Evernorth’s shareholders have approved its listing on Nasdaq, making it the largest public entity solely focused on XRP; it will close on October 7 and begin trading as XRPN on October 8, backed by approximately 473 million XRP valued around $705 million.
- USDT is set to return to the Bitcoin network this month through Utexo, a Tether-backed firm authorized to issue it there; this will utilize a system called RGB that allows users to hold both dollars and Bitcoin in a single wallet, with support for Lightning planned for the future.
- Fiserv's digital asset platform launched on Thursday, starting with Roughrider Coin from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.
Corporate Treasuries & ETFs
- Bitcoin ETFs recorded $103 million in net inflows on Thursday, whereas ETH ETFs experienced $55 million in outflows and Solana saw $1.1 million in outflows.
Meme Coin Tracker
- Meme coins were generally up 2-5%; DOGE +2%, SHIB +2%, PEPE +2%, PENGU +2%, TRUMP +4%, SPX +2%, BONK +4%.
- Leaders in the Robinhood chain showed a mixed performance; Pons down 2% to $360 million; AI down 2% at $154 million; Cashcat up 3% at $174 million; while Genie +500%, Shroom +24%, and Moo +80% led the top gainers.
- In the Solana ecosystem, the top movers included www +135x, Hooked +180%, Cards +26%, and Sapling +170x.
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
- Pump led the on-chain protocols in revenue with $2.62 million, followed by Hyperliquid at $1.44 million, Stonk at $940k, and Collector Crypt at $750k.
- The Ethereum Foundation has launched zkAPI to facilitate payments for AI without revealing user identities; users can deposit ETH or USDC once and then prove their financial capacity without disclosing which deposit is theirs, now operational on Ethereum and developed with the Open Anonymity Project.
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
- NFT markets showed mixed results; Punks remained steady at 33 ETH, BAYC fell 1% to 6.18 ETH, and Pudgy dropped 7% to 3 ETH.
- Quotrons (+6%) and OTC desks (+14%) led the notable movers.
- The only 7-Trait CryptoPunk was sold for approximately $5.9 million on Gondi, although complete details of the sale were not disclosed overnight.