💪 Base Dominates Ethereum DeFi

GM Defiers!

Analysis from Steakhouse Financial shows Base dominating activity within Ethereum’s broader ecosystem. Coinbase’s Layer 2 is enjoying all-time highs for weekly active wallets, transactions, and decentralized exchange trading.

Hamster Kombat’s airdrop continues to attract backlash, with recipients complaining about the value of their airdrop allocations. Many players took to social media to announce that months of grinding on the tap-to-earn game had netted them just a few dollars worth of HMSTR.

Markets rallied on Friday, with BTC soaring above $66,000. Memecoins led the charge, with BONK, FLOKI and PEPE posting double-digit percentage gains.

Ethena Labs launched a stablecoin backed by BlackRock’s on-chain treasury fund, BUIDL. Ethena said it will leverage the token to hedge its existing USDe stablecoin.

XProtocol is getting in the crypto smartphone game, announcing plans to launch a “DePIN phone” later this year.

Plus, Aave’s WBTC deposits surge to record highs, Truflation offers $500,000 bounty to hacker, and uniBTC liquidity pools get drained.

✍️ In today’s newsletter:

Base’s on-chain activity keeps surging
Hamster Kombat airdrop disappoints
Markets rally to end the week
Ethena launches BUIDL-backed stablecoin
XProtocol enters crypto phone market
WBTC holders converge on Aave
Truflation hacked for $5M
Bedrock’s uniBTC exploited

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Goat Network is the first BTC L2 to offer sustainable BTC yield

DIA launches ‘Lumina’ – a brand-new trustless oracle network. Its modular, rollup-based design enables the verifiable sourcing and delivery of any data to any blockchain. Fully decentralized and permissionless.

🌐 Base Accounts for Majority of Ethereum Ecosystem Activity

On-chain activity on Base is showing no signs of slowing down. The network’s weekly users, transaction volume, and DEX activity are all at record highs despite the adoption of rival Layer 2s pulling back.

😡 Unmet Expectations Spark Hamster Kombat Airdrop Outrage

Hamster Kombat’s high-anticipated airdrop failed to live up to expectations. Many users claimed months of grinding qualified them for just a few dollars worth of HMSTR. The token also crashed 42% in 24 hours.

🚀Memecoins Steal Spotlight as Bitcoin Rallies Above $66,000

Cryptocurrency markets soared on Friday, with memecoins leading the charge. BTC rallied 1% to $66,100, while ETH gained 2% to $2,700. SOL and DOT climbed 1%. The total memecoin market cap has surged 8% in the past 24 hours to $52 billion.

🪙 Ethena Launches Stablecoin Backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund

Ethena Labs launched a new stablecoin backed by BlackRock’s on-chain treasuries fund, BUIDL. “UStb can also help USDe better weather difficult market conditions,” Ethena said.

📱 Crypto Smartphone Wars: XForge Aims to Compete With Solana Seeker

XProtocol, an Ethereum Layer 3, is looking to steal market share away from Solana Mobile. XProtocol said its upcoming Android device, XForge, is the world’s first “DePIN phone.”

📈 Aave’s WBTC Holdings Surge To Record High Despite Restructure Drama

The sum of Wrapped Bitcoin supplied to Aave v3 is at a new all-time high. The trend follows Aave’s community pushing back on a proposal to limit WBTC exposure amid Wrapped Bitcoin’s pending controversial restructure.

💰 Truflation Offers $500,000 Bounty After Suffering $5 Million Hack

Truflation is offering a $500,000 bounty to a hacker that ransacked the protocol for $5 million. Truflation said it the bounty is available to either the hacker for returning the funds or a community member who can identify the attacker contingent on legal conviction.

🥷 Bedrock Vulnerability Allows Hacker To Drain $2M From UniBTC Liquidity Pools

Liquidity pools for Bedrock’s uniBTC token were drained after a hacker identified a vulnerability allowing them to mint the token against ETH. Bedrock reached out to its assailant to offer them a job as a white-hat hacker.

🌍 ELSEWHERE

BlackRock Bitcoin Holdings Swell to Nearly $24 Billion After Latest Buy (Decrypt)
Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm to face trial as US judge rejects dismissal (The Block)
Binance Founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao Could Be Released on Friday (CoinDesk)
Is an ‘Uptober’ Bitcoin Price Rally Imminent? (Unchained)