The Protocol: Lido Avoids Major Hack

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Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. This is Margaux Nijkerk and Sam Kessler, CoinDesk’s Tech team.

In this issue:

Hacking Attempt on Lido Results in 1.4 Ether Lost From Oracle Provider
Bitcoin DeFi Security Improves as Rootstock Boosts Hashrate Share
Ethereum’s Next Upgrade ‘Fusaka’ Could Cut Layer-2 and Validator Costs
Telegram Cracks Down on $8 billion Crypto Crime Marketplace

Network News

LIDO AVOIDS MAJOR SECURITY BREACH: Lido, Ethereum’s largest liquid staking protocol, avoided a major security incident after one of its nine oracle keys was compromised in what appears to be a low-impact but serious breach involving validator operator Chorus One. Lido secures over 25% of all ether (ETH) staked on Ethereum, making it one of the most systemically important protocols in the Ethereum ecosystem. The compromised key was tied to a hot wallet used for oracle reporting, leading to the theft of just 1.46 ETH ($4,200) in gas fees. No user funds were affected, and no broader compromise was detected, per X posts from both Lido and Chorus One. — Tim Craig Read more.

BITCOIN DEFI BLOSSOMING: Decentralized finance (DeFi) on the Bitcoin blockchain may still be in its infancy relative to Ethereum, but Bitcoin DeFi (BTCFi) is becoming safer and cheaper, crypto analytics firm Messari said in a new report. A central participant is Rootstock, one of the oldest Bitcoin layer-2 projects, crypto analytics firm Messari said in its “State of Rootstock” report. Rootstock is now secured by 81% of Bitcoin’s total hashrate, meaning miners that account for amount the hashrate are also approving transactions on the layer 2. The figure was just 56% before the the onboarding of Foundry and Spiderpool, the world’s largest and sixth-largest mining pools, respectively, in February. — Jamie Crawley Read more.

FUSAKA PLANNING BEGINS: After the successful deployment last week of Pectra, Ethereum’s biggest upgrade in more than a year, the network’s core developers are already shifting focus to the next major chain upgrade: Fusaka. Pectra, the biggest code change to Ethereum since the Merge in 2022, introduced key changes aimed at making staking easier for institutions, improving wallet accessibility, and boosting transaction efficiency. Developers have already begun planning for Fusaka, the network’s next upgrade, and have thus far agreed to include an Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) called “PeerDAS” that could help the network support larger “blobs” of transaction data. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.

TELEGRAM CRACKS DOWN ON CRYPTO CRIME MARKETPLACE: Messaging app Telegram has closed thousands of channels belonging to suspected Chinese crypto-crime marketplaces after new research shed light on the situation, according to Elliptic. The closure follows a report published by the blockchain analytics firm on Tuesday into the fast-growing Telegram-based marketplace called Xinbi Guarantee. The Colorado-incorporated marketplace has processed over $8.4 billion worth of transactions using Tether’s USDT stablecoin since 2022. It facilitates services relating to money laundering, operating crypto scam compounds and other illicit services, such as intimidation and sex trafficking, according to Elliptic. — Tim Craig Read more.

In Other News

Robinhood Markets (HOOD), the California-based financial services company, said it agreed to buy Canadian crypto firm WonderFi (WNDR) for $178.98 million. The all-cash acquisition values WonderFi at 36 Canadian cents per share, a 41% premium over its closing price prior to the announcement. — Omkar Godbole Read more.
Stock and crypto trading platform eToro (ETOR) debuted at $52 a share on the Nasdaq exchange. The company raised about $312 million from investors by selling 6 million shares at a price of $52 a piece. The listing values the company at $4.2 billion. EToro became the first U.S. crypto company to go public following the market uncertainty wrought by President Donald Trump’s tariff actions. — Helene Braun Read more.

Regulatory and policy

The Gibraltar government said it plans to establish the world’s first rules for the clearing and settlement of crypto derivatives, creating a regulatory framework to improve market integrity and reduce key risks. Working with the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) and crypto exchange Bullish (whose owner, Bullish Group, is also the parent of CoinDesk), the government has built a framework over the past six months that tailors traditional financial clearing regulations to the virtual asset market. — Jamie Crawley Read more.