Qrafty starts the day with Metamask crypto to bank withdrawal, BofA bullish on RWA's and Base stopped processing transactions

***Qrafty smiling the biggest smile*** Aloha, crypto curious! I am Qrafty - the crypto lovin’ honey badger!

🌟Welcome to Coinqraft – the daily crypto newsletter for busy but curious people who don’t have time for the crypto drama!🌟

 Qrafty is back with fresh bits from the crypto jungle, so let’s dive in:

1. Metamask Offers Crypto To Bank/PayPal Withdrawal

2. Lowest User Count On Solana Network

3. Stake.com Wasn’t Really Hacked Hacked

Bonus: Today you learn about a Sybil bot attack

The Sybil Bot Attack On NEXT

To start off, let’s get the technical details out of the way: a Sybil bot attack is a type of malicious activity in which an attacker creates multiple fake identities or nodes on a network, typically in a peer-to-peer (P2P) or decentralized system.

These fake identities are controlled by a single entity, but they appear as distinct and independent entities to the network. The term "Sybil" is derived from the book "Sybil," which describes a case of multiple personality disorder.

So, here’s a story from the crypto jungle: once upon a wild blockchain adventure, a sneaky Sybil bot named "Bot-o-Matic" hatched a genius plan. Just hours before the highly anticipated NEXT token airdrop, Bot-o-Matic sprung into action. It registered over 200 wallets, making it appear that every single one of them was an individual user who just wanted to get some airdropped NEXT tokens.

But, as the airdrop commenced, these newly minted bots grabbed their share of NEXT tokens with lightning-fast reflexes from more than 200 claims that they managed to get approved via multiple wallets.

But the real twist in the tale was Bot-o-Matic's clever move—he swiftly converted the tokens into USDT and Ethereum, slipping away unnoticed with $38,000 from selling the NEXT coins. Well… not really really unnoticed, but rather more unidentified or undoxxed. Even one of the founders noted that this was a Sybil attack, based on the behavior of the botnet.

So yeah… that’s how coins which could have ended in user wallets to contribute to the growth of the network reached a botnet. But this is the world of crypto and there will definitely be more and more fascinating and innovative cases of hackers or exploiters testing the vulnerability of projects.

😇 Qrafty hopes that today’s main story brought brave badgery value to you! 🙃 Now it’s time for a break, you deserve a bit of fun!  👇️ 

1. The Stake.com “hack“ revealed

In another case of potential heavy foul play in crypto, it seems that the “hack“ of the online casino wasn’t really an outside job, but a more inside approach… to put it mildly.

An investigation by TruthLabs on Twitter/X revealed that the online casino has an interesting history with exploits.

Long story short: the wallet that initially funded the Stake.com wallet is actually one of the wallets that participated in the Nomad Bridge exploit. This particular one managed to get away with $436K from the Nomad Bridge Exploit, which ended up with losses of $200 million in August, 2022.

Although some funds were returned by the hackers, they still got away with $168,000. Things like this make Qrafty think…

2. Metamask is launching “Sell“ - crypto to fiat

And another new connection has been made between the worlds of crypto and fiat. Metamask, the huge crypto wallet, announced that they are offering a new service called, ironically, Sell.

You can now withdraw to your bank account or to PayPal, because you should have KYC done with the financial institution you are working. This is a huge development for the whole industry and it has the chance of adding a lot of people to the crypto market. As things become easier and user interfaces become simpler, more people will join.

3. Coinbase will lend your crypto to institutions

Yep, you read right. Coinbase has raised $57 million to build a new lending platform aimed at institutions.

If you want, you will be able to lend your crypto or capital to Coinbase, which in turn will lend it to institutions. The obvious question would be: what’s in it for me?

Here’s the interesting part: Coinbase wants to launch a product which qualifies for Regulation D exemption. Regulation D exemptions are for companies that want to sell securities to the public up to $10 million.

These exemptions are usually used by startups to get investments from VC’s or angel investors without going through registration with the SEC (usually done through equity shares). Instead of registration, they would just need to file a Form D within 15 days of the first sale and that’s it.

It’s interesting to watch how Coinbase will use this legal loophole for their customers.

4. ARK Invest Chief Futurist: US is hurting Bitcoin

First of all, Qrafty discovered that there’s actually a job title called Chief Futurist! Who would’ve think…

Second, ARK’s futurist considers that the US’s attempts to hurt Bitcoin come at the expense of US in the long term… This is exactly the vague statement that doesn’t really say a lot but places a blame on a vague actor: the state.

It’s not like the SEC delaying ETFs would hurt ARK Invest projections… right?This opinion isn’t because they invested so much in launching and advertising for their ETF… nooo, it can’t be!

Mister Futurist definitely has America’s future at heart and weeps deeply when he sees that little old US and A is such a meanie towards Bitcoin and crypto!

Remember, there’s always an angle!

5. Bank of America bullish on tokenized assets (RWA’s)

BofA released a report in which they are predicting asset tokenization will exceed $16T in the next 5-15 years. They also mentioned AVAX subnets as one of the platforms for moving value around the world.

BlackRock is betting on the ETF-ization of everything that can be digitalized and Bank of America is bullish on the tokenization of real world assets (which is already happening). It’s pretty clear that the whole of TradFi wants a piece of the crypto action. And they know how to make their strategic moves.

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Tomorrow's like a software update - you hope it fixes bugs, but you never quite know what new glitches it'll introduce!

Qrafty’s thougt of the day

❝

Bitcoin's price, oh what a sight,

Stuck in place, like glue on a kite.

HODLers wait with all their might,

For a move, day and night.

It's not a bull, nor bear's delight,

Just sideways action, quite the plight!

Other stories

EPIC Games is cool with AI games, unlike Steam

As if gaming isn’t enough drama by itself, Steam and Epic Games have taken completely different stances on games with AI generated content. It’s pretty clear that AI content doesn’t mean an AI game, but some want to prove that they’re more catholic than the Pope.

So Valve, the owner of Steam, decided to restrict access to games that have AI generated content because of legal potential problems, while EPIC Games decided to roll with AI content.

Bottom is near? Lowest user count on Solana

Solana is pretty much the only chain that has had some serious activity this bear market. Just lately, we learned that VISA pilots for cross border payments on Solana and MakerDAO pissed off Vitalik by considering Solana for their next project. Even so, the blockchain has seen its lowest number of users since 2020.

Considering how hard things have been lately, the user exodus is not unexpected. This bottoming predicts a near future bottoming in price as well. But that also depends on the overall ecosystem and bigger bubbles in which crypto exists. So Qrafty thinks we might still see some down action in Solana’s price, before seeing it move upwards.

Grayscale asks SEC to “quickly approve“ its ETF

It’s pretty clear that all of it is ETF PR, but it’s funny nonetheless. Grayscale is showing off after their win against the three letter regulations enforcement agency and asking them to “quickly approve” the ETF.

More reputation protocols are popping up

Qrafty mentioned a while ago that a blockchain based financial system combined with financial reputation controlled by governments sounds like a dystopian scenario… but it’s slowly and surely getting there. There are more and more protocols that deal with onchain reputation.

A new protocol for intellectual property

Andreesen Horrowitz just led the round for Story Protocol, a new crypto startup that is “building the infrastructure layer to power a new era of open and collaborative IP”.  

Base stopped processing transactions

This happened yesterday and Friend.tech announced the error, as it affected their operations as well. The issued was identified and remedied fast, Based announced on X.

Coin Listings/Delistings - September 6, 2023

Binance US will delist OMG Network (OMG) on September 12, 2023.

Market Whispers

Qrafty had mixed feelings today, as I am sure many on CT. We've been oscillating between "We're over..." to "We're so back!", in an one hour candle

To be more specific, bitcoin went from $25,370 to $26,040 in one hour. 🤪 😱 

We really have to be more specific when asking for volatility, maybe we could specify the time interval too. ‘Cause if we keep doing this up and down moves in such a short interval of time the crypto traders will develop a new illness, "Bitcoin candle heart attack".

In conclusion... there is no conclusion.

Qrafty ends channeling his inner trader.

Today is INTERNATIONAL PROCRASTINATION DAY!

That’s all from Qrafty  for today! Qrafty thanks you and wishes you to live each moment as if you are listening to the music you love most!

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