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Decentralized Finance, or simply DeFi, refers to a financial system built on a blockchain network, which enables the creation, trading, and exchange of virtual financial assets without the interference of intermediaries. It is based on transparency, immutability, and trustlessness, enabling anyone with an internet connection to access financial services.

Furthermore, the DeFi sector has emerged as one of the most promising and fast-growing sectors in the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem. It provides a wide range of financial services, including lending and borrowing, trading, investing, insurance, and more. These services are provided by a network of smart contracts that execute financial transactions automatically based on predefined rules.

Our DeFi News provides comprehensive coverage of the latest DeFi trends, including news on the latest projects, partnerships, and innovations in the Crypto and DeFi industry. We feature detailed insights into the latest trends and market movements in the DeFi space so that you stay up to date on the latest developments, news, and happenings.

DeFi News

DeFi hacks and scams resulted in losing more than $204 million in the second quarter of 2023, according to a report by Web3 portfolio app De.Fi.



Dubbed &#8220;Q2 De.Fi Rekt Report,&#8221; the report pointed out that the total amount was really more than $208.5 million but $4.5 million were recovered through prosecutions, deals with hackers and other recovery methods, according to Cointelegraph. The report found that the DeFi hacks increased by seven times year-over-year as 117 incidents were recorded during the period compared with only 17 in the same quarter of 2022.



The total value of losses in the first half of 2023 in DeFi hacks reached more than $665 million so far. The top five hacks of the second quarter were against Atomic Wallet, Fintoch, MEV-Boost, Bitrue, and GDAC. The Atomic Wallet incident represents nearly 17% of the total DeFi hacks with $35 million in losses.&nbsp;



While Fintoch lost $30.6 million in a rug pull and MEV-Boost lost $26.1 million in an attack.&nbsp;



It is worth mentioning that the losses from <a href="https://upyo.com/en/news/tags/defi">DeFi</a> hacks and scams in the second quarter are less than the first quarter, which recorded more than $320 million. 



The report attributed the main reasons for such losses to access control issues or issues where an attacker gained unauthorized control of a wallet, exploits, rug pulls, and exit scams.&nbsp;



Worthy to mention also that the total amount of cryptocurrency lost due to hacks, scams, and rug pulls amounted to $656 million in the first half of 2023.



According to Cointelegraph, the $656 million includes $471.43 million lost in 108 protocol attacks, an additional $108 million in various phishing scams and $75.87 million over 110 rug pulls.

DeFi Hacks

Web3

DeFi Hacks, Scams Result in Losing over 204 Mln Dollars in Q2 of 2023

Besides the cryptocurrencies&#8217; increasing value in January, there was also positive news in the crypto industry this month, according to Cointelegraph.



This month saw a decline in the losses due to crypto exploitation, compared to the same period in the last year, reaching $8.8 million, according to data from blockchain security firm PeckShield.



The $8.8 million losses in January 2023 due to exploits represented 92.7% lower than the $121.4 million recorded in January 2022. These losses were represented in 24 exploits over the last month.



According to PeckShield, the biggest crypto exploit in the last month was carried out on the DeFi loan and borrowing site LendHub which lost $6 million on January 12, accounting for 68% of the total loss. Other crypto attacks against Thoreum Finance, which lost $580,000 and Midas Capital, which was exploited for $650,000 were among the remarkable incidents also.



The security firm reported that January&#8217;s figure is 68% lower than December&#8217;s figures which saw almost $27.3 million in exploit losses.



Despite the good news, Blockchain security company CertiK told Cointelegraph in early January that crypto attacks and exploits will unlikely witness a slowdown this year. The firm also reported that the $62 million in crypto stolen in December was the &#8220;lowest monthly figure&#8221; in 2022. As of the end of last year, the ten biggest exploits of 2022 resulted in a whopping $2.1 billion stolen from crypto protocols.



In prior years, attackers continued to prefer DeFi as their top target as 155 attacks cost the DeFi ecosystem $3.1 billion in losses in 2022, a significant rise over the previous year, making DeFi the most vulnerable.

blockchain

Crypto

Losses of Crypto Exploits in January Down 92.7% Compared to Last Year

Abu Dhabi-based blockchain firm Venom Foundation partnered with Iceberg Capital Limited to launch a $1 billion venture fund for Web3 and blockchain companies.



The Venom Ventures Fund (VVF) aims to pump investments in protocols decentralized apps (Dapps) of Web3, which focus on GameFi products and services, DeFi, payments, asset management, and banking services to be a pioneering supporter for coming entrepreneurs and digital technologies.



In VVF, Iceberg, which is an Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) regulated investment manager, will use its resources to offer incubation programs and provide projects with marketing, regulatory, legal, technical, and exchange listing support, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/abu-dhabi-based-venom-foundation-launches-1b-fund-for-web3-and-blockchain" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to Coin Telegraph</a>.



VVF&#8217;s team is experienced with enhancing Web3 and traditional funds and offering growth capital for startups and scaleups. Its leadership includes Chairman of Venom Ventures and former global CIO for fixed income at Barclays Global Investors Peter Knez and Mustafa Kheriba, a board member for multiple family offices and long-term investment professional in the Middle East and North African regions, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/11/venom-foundation-and-iceberg-capital-launch-1b-venture-fund-to-invest-in-web3/?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGgOXanZc5NiQfX1V2aeCMfBA5oSU3CLcJJtrvS6P5jiU-I6PpdG_UvKHfuUqLbQHUzVMVBPl8CYh2JxwrFXQDkYSkvH2zHPIm5M90cZqQAMKSwRM2TD1eFURFG7utnxNVAIgppjuV4MEmYeiKSIO-EcHWIEL8cPF9s6txIC6MbJ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tech Crunch reported</a>.



Managed by Iceberg, the fund will invest in companies and projects from pre-seed to Series A rounds to speed up the adoption of Web3, blockchain and DeFi.



In this regard, Knez said that the fund is ready for allocating strategic investments for the most innovative Web3 start-ups, adding VVF would not be limited to Abu Dhabi firms only, but it will support projects and companies around the globe.



Meanwhile, Kheriba, who doubles as the executive chairman of Iceberg Capital, noted that the cooperation with Venom Foundation will give access to provide marketing, financial and technical support to the most prominent projects and teams in the Web3 world to bring their visions to life.



Indeed, the fund made its first investment, leading Nümi Metaverse’s $20 million funding round. Nümi Metaverse is a universal platform for creators, innovators, and followers. It will debut its ‘Visual Novel’ this year, a mini-game experience with a range of special rewards for players.

Blockchain

Venom Foundation, Iceberg Team Up to Launch $1 Bln Fund for Web3 Projects

Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi Inc. repaid $15 million to an investor to settle for a threatened lawsuit over the company&#8217;s cratering equity value in the summer of 2022, BlockFi attorneys said at a bankruptcy court.



BlockFi attorney Joshua Sussberg said at a bankruptcy court hearing in Trenton, New Jersey, that the investor, identified as &#8220;Counterparty A&#8221; claimed that he had bought equity shares that were issued as part of executive compensation packages.



These shares were valued at $6 billion to $8 billion when the company bought them in January 2022, but their value declined due to the collapse of FTX and the bearish crypto market. Therefore Counterparty A threatened to sue BlockFi and its executives, accusing them of being non-transparent about the disturbances in the crypto market, Sussberg added.



BlockFi believed that Counterparty A&#8217;s allegations were specious, but it had reached a confidential agreement with him, repaying him $15 million on August 23. In this settlement, BlockFi founder Zac Prince made the largest payment with $6.144 million.



The New Jersey-based crypto lender filed for bankruptcy protection on November 28, following the FTX collapse and laid off 20% of its employees after its value was down.



Moreover, BlockFi said in a Twitter thread that it will file both its Schedules of Assets and Liabilities and its Statement of Financial Affairs with the court on Wednesday to show its commitment to maximizing value for all clients and other stakeholders by moving forward in its chapter 11 cases expeditiously and transparently.

BlockFi

BlockFi Repaid $15 Mln to Investor to Settle Crypto Lawsuit

The crypto industry lost more than $3.94 billion in 2022, a report by Immunefi, Web3&#8217;s leading bug bounty platform, revealed.&nbsp;



According to Immunefi&#8217;s&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.globenewswire.com/Tracker?data=XwA-llMfYgKggrH9oq5iaYNJDMXKZpovyaE3Y1sRXY8X7u-el_lxck8UpMfON8Xb9cXD54ncT5uMcNmrRbSpRPH5MQI89IkUXK3OKy1FVlGa1DZRBpKf9yvrmFv1TNUHoXf_ZIgNg5EwEJDezQEdYl2qhskDZS4zm2cN-Z4eEQr7XZ_gRaijf-7pUXj7Q3T_IZRW0QIwlMGb1h2ZN5xW59tiBwaUSeG7Ag5iSYfxWrJ3RCwYT9Q8k1kJCkXNhxhNakPaiXvQcE77bhrNKqciz8qgxtgvWxAS6loLhF9YA9dWTrO6P0pnwf9iExPLtpKo2hWh_3_nn4itfGfYxf-8RGEMnzO0NizPcJiX0QyW-OirW2X1CkTP6OaJ-3mMp2I8PgsEtt31UmAcjhDOvr-AExRA3c0aI4RbnORAGoh3f18B1fkhLdGdGGO--kWzY2M5Ch31siOiOMaTKAYcqzI5Qg==" target="_blank">Crypto Losses in 2022 Report</a>, hacks were the main reason for these losses, accounting for 95.6%, while rug pulls, scams and fraud represented only 4.4% of the total losses. Because of hacks, the crypto industry lost over $3.77 billion in 2022 in 134 specific incidents, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/3-9-billion-lost-in-the-cryptocurrency-market-in-2022-report" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to Coin Telegraph</a>.&nbsp;



These abovementioned figures represented a 58.3% increase compared to 2021. In 2021, the crypto industry lost around $2.384 billion only due to the hacks.&nbsp;



Immunefi revealed that decentralized finance (DeFi) was the most targeted sector, accounting for 80.5% in losses, compared to centralized finance (CeFi) which suffered a loss of 19.5%. In 2022, DeFi lost $3.180 billion across 155 incidents, a number that represents a 56.2% hike compared to 2021, as DeFi suffered $2.036 billion in total losses in 107 incidents.&nbsp;



Regarding the affected blockchains, the report found that BNB of Binance and Ethereum blockchains were the most targeted chains in 2022, accounting for 63.3% of attacks on the chains. BNB was more affected than Ethereum with 65 incidents, representing 36.1%. while Ethereum represented 27.2% of the attacks with 49 incidents.&nbsp;



The report also mentioned that the crypto industry lost more than $1.620 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, a 45% increase compared to the crypto losses in the same period in 2021 (around $739 million). In addition, hacks were the main reason for the losses and DeFi was the main target of the attacks.&nbsp;



In this regard, CEO of Immunefi Mitchell Amador said such figures give impetus to protect the crypto community from harm and build trust by proactively identifying and addressing vulnerabilities



&#8220;Looking at the losses suffered by the community in 2022 is a reminder of the importance of prioritizing security and implementing robust and consistent measures moving into 2023,&#8221; Amador added.&nbsp;

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