🫂Friend Tech Faces Challenges From Copycats and Hackers

DeFi Daily
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The recently surging social trading application, Friend Tech, is confronting stiff challenges in the form of hackers and copycats.
Researchers estimate that up to 40% of Friend Tech's total value locked could at risk of falling into the hand identity fraudsters — predominantly SIM-swappers — igniting calls for revamped security on the platform.
Yet transaction volumes on Avalanche doubled since the launch of Stars Arena, an Avalanche-based competitor to Friend Tech, two days ago.
Plus, Lido's rising dominance over staked Ethereum is making headlines again, with Glassnode estimating usres have converted 7% of Ether's supply into its liquid staking token, stETH.
✍️ In today’s newsletter:
- SIM Swaps loom large over Friend Tech ecosystem
- Avalanche activity doubles as social trading arrives
- DeFi integrations accelerate Lido's staking dominance
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📈 Markets in last 24 hrs:
Ticker | Value | 24h |
---|---|---|
BTC | $27,439 | ↙ -0.64% |
ETH | $1,656 | ↙ -0.54% |
S&P 500 | $4,264 | ↗ 0.81% |
GOLD | $1,818 | ↙ -0.33% |
Arch WEB3 | 0.75pts | ↙ -0.89% |
↳ FINANCE | 0.77pts | ↙ -1.24% |
↳ INFRA | 0.76pts | ↗ 0.38% |
↳ CONSUMER | 0.82pts | ↙ -2.46% |

Learn more about Arch Indices here.
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Hacks
friend.tech Users Fall Prey To SIM Swap Attacks
TLDR Friend Tech users are increasingly becoming targeted by SIM Swap attacks, prompting calls for stringent security requirements on the platform. Researchers believe Friend Tech keys making up 40% of the surging project's TVL could be at risk to opportunistic hackers.
SO WHAT Friend Tech has quickly emerged as the new shiny thing in web3, with its bubbling activity rivaling that of some of the sector's largest and longest-running protocols. However, many valuable Friend Tech keys corresponding to the profiles of public individuals vulnerable to being doxxed.
DeFi
Friend.tech Rival Stars Arena Boosts AVAX Price Amid Calls That They "Will Prevail"
TLDR Avalanche's on-chain activity is up 130% in just two days following the launch of Stars Arena, the low-cost Layer 1's answer to Friend Tech. Stars Arena has attracted more than 300,000 users over the same period.
SO WHAT Star Tech is among a cohort of projects reproducing Friend Tech's markets for keys granting their holders access to private chatrooms. Post Tech, another rival social trading platform, hosted more than 1M trades and more than 100,000 users since launching in mid-September.
READ MORE: Friend.tech Rival Stars Arena Boosts AVAX Price Amid Calls That They "Will Prevail"
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Ethereum
Lido’s stETH Token Accounts For 7% Of Circulating Ether
TLDR Lido's growth continues to ruffle feathers in the Ethereum ecosystem, with researchers flagging that 7% of ETH's supply has been converted into Lido's stETH liquid staking derivative.
SO WHAT Despite the recent rise of the liquid staking sector, some Ethereum researchers warn staking derivatives threaten to undermine the network's staking layer in search of fast returns.
READ MORE: Lido’s stETH Token Accounts For 7% Of Circulating Ether
🔎 OUR REPORTERS ARE WATCHING
🌍 ELSEWHERE
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- Taiwanese Crypto Trader's 6-Cent Fee Leads to $310K Win in Tax-Receipt Lottery (CoinDesk)