Welcome to the dark web of DeFi.Authentic investigative journalism and unfiltered creative commentary
Monday, January 13, 2025
Money doesn't grow on trees, but DeFi protocols have a way of making it multiply - until reality does the math.
French protocol Usual Money sold users a dream: transform your boring USD0 into magical USD0++, a yield-bearing token that was "usually worth one dollar." Not always. Usually.
Farmers couldn't resist. 60% yields on stablecoins? A piece of the USUAL token pie? Time to ape in and watch the money printer go brrr.
The "usually worth one dollar" tagline should have been the first red flag.
Meanwhile, MEV Capital's vaults ballooned to $300 million while their founder played both sides of the table, silently holding shares in both companies.
Then came January 9th's evening entertainment - USD0++ wasn't a stablecoin at all, but a four-year zero-coupon bond worth $0.87. Plot twist.
While USD0 kept its dollar peg, hundreds of millions in USD0++ got trapped in protocols still dreaming of dollar valuations. MEV Capital?
They just kept cooking $100k per day in performance fees from their captive audience.
When your money's making others rich, are you really the user or the product?Read more »
Stories and Articles
• Cryptocurrency wallet drainers stole $494 million in 2024 [Read more]
• Hong Kong crime ring used deepfake personas and dating apps to steal millions [Read more]
• Court Order Reveals US Government Made ‘Coordinated Effort’ To Shut Down Crypto Activity [Read more]
• Vitalik Buterin suggests AI hardware pause for humanity’s safety [Read more]
• CoinSwitch launches $70M recovery fund for WazirX hack victims [Read more]
Best of Feed
• The Tron-backed T3 Financial Crime Unit said over 100 million in USDT involved in illicit activities has been frozen on the blockchain in the almost five months since it was formed. | 394 points
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• A thread of fun facts about the Bitcoin launch | 307 points
• Bitcoin is now worth more than JPMorgan, Visa, and MasterCard COMBINED! | 272 points
• Fractional banking is just a stablecoin protocol .. | 203 points
Read more in Rekt's Feed»
Research of the Week
Bridging to Nowhere: How Cross-Chain Bridges Get Hacked
Cross-chain bridges sell you the dream: seamless transfers, endless interoperability, and the freedom to roam between blockchains. But the reality? These bridges often hide pitfalls that can catch even the savviest users off guard. Hackers love them, and if you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself donating your bags to the exploit-of-the-week fund.
Bridges aren’t just complicated — they’re fragile systems that demand scrutiny. Unlike native transactions, bridges rely on Frankenstein setups: clunky smart contracts, sketchy wrapped tokens, and off-chain validators that barely hold it all together. One bad line of code, one lazy validator, and boom—your funds are gone. Wormhole, Nomad, Ronin — the list of rug-pulled bridges reads like a DeFi hall of shame, and the common thread? Security always comes second to hype.Here’s how they bait you. You send tokens to the bridge, expecting a smooth transfer. Behind the curtain, your tokens are locked, and wrapped versions are minted on the other chain. Sounds great, until a hacker cracks the vault. Now, your locked tokens are gone, your wrapped ones are worthless, and the devs? Probably radio silent. You thought you were bridging chains, but you were just walking into a heist.
If you don’t want to get rekt, start with the basics: use bridges you trust — or don’t use them at all. The right bridge isn’t the flashiest; it’s the one with a proven track record of resilience. Look for projects with real audits, public teams, and actual transparency. If the bridge feels rushed or sketchy, assume it’s a ticking time bomb. DeFi Llama and similar tools can help you check TVLs and spot signs of trouble. And don’t get too comfortable. A bridge is a transit zone, not a storage unit. Move your funds and get them out fast. The longer your tokens sit on a bridge, the more you’re gambling with fate. Hackers don’t sleep, and bridges are open 24/7.
Understand what’s securing your funds. Centralized bridges carry more risk, as a single point of failure can lead to massive losses. Decentralized ones can be safer, but only if their validators are reputable. If the bridge depends on some no-name validators or a single point of failure, you’re asking to get rugged.Bridges might be the backbone of interoperability, but they’re also DeFi’s Achilles’ heel. Every transaction is a bet, and the stakes are your hard-earned funds. Because in this game, bridges don’t always lead somewhere better — sometimes they just drop you straight into the void.
Memes and Videos Inside the World of Russian HackersRussian hackers don’t just break into systems — they break the rules of the game, turning chaos into a weapon and nationalism into fuel. From teenage cyberpunks to government-backed operatives, they target the West, raking in cash and carnage like it’s a sport. In this world, hacking isn’t just survival — it’s war, and the only winners are the ones who don’t play fair. Source: Cybernews Source: 0xgaut
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