⚠️Scammers Target Velodrome and Aerodrome With DNS Attack

Reminder: The correct domain for The Defiant is THEDEFIANT.IO — NEVER click on any links coming from other domains!

A subset of our subscribers have reported receiving a phishing email promoting a Defiant token - To be clear, we do not have a token nor are planning to launch one in the near future. We urge our community to NEVER click on links coming from outside our official communication channels, which are:
- https://thedefiant.io
- https://twitter.com/DefiantNews
- https://discord.com/invite/3SdRdEs5ag
- https://youtube.com/TheDefiant

TLDR The sister-projects Velodrome and Aerodrome, the top DEXes on Optimism and Base, were targeted by domain name server (DNS) attacks rerouting traffic from their main front-ends to a malicious platform. The projects set up alternative domains and warned users not to visit their front-ends.

SO WHAT While DNS attacks do not put protocol assets or smart contracts at risk, unsuspecting users risk being tricked into approving malicious transactions if they visit the main Velodrome and Aerodrome DEXes.

READ MORE: Velodrome and Aerodrome DEXs Say Funds Are Safe After Frontend Hack

TLDR Chainlink upgraded its staking mechanism, allowing existing stakers to migrate their funds to the new contract. A whitelisted early-access launch will take place on Dec. 7, followed by a permissionless deployment on Dec. 11.

SO WHAT Chainlink's revamped staking contract introduces a modular architecture to facilitate future upgrades, an unbonding mechanism, and improved security guarantees through slashing.

Read More: Chainlink Launches Upgraded Staking v0.2 On Ethereum

TLDR Stakewise has unveiled its v3 iteration, introducing a new liquid staking token and marketplace for staking services.

SO WHAT Stakewise is aiming to eat into the dominance of Lido, the leading liquid staking provider. Stakewise currently holds $200M worth of assets, compared to Lido's monstrous $18.8B TVL.

Read More: Stakewise Plans to Launch New Liquid Staking Token and Validator Marketplace

TLDR Contango has launched perpetual contracts tapping SparkLend, the DAI-focussed money market from MakerDAO. Users can now enter into leveraged perpetual positions via recursive lending on Spark.

SO WHAT The launch follows a similar deployment from Contango leveraging Aave last month. Spark's TVL surpassed $1B for the first time two weeks ago.

Read More: Contango Taps Spark For DeFi Native Perps

TLDR The Uniswap DAO voted to distribute 10M UNI worth of governance rights among seven prominent community members. Wintermute Governance, 404 DAO, StableLab, and Keyrock were among the recipients.

SO WHAT The move is intended to stimulate greater participation in the Uniswap governance process, which has slipped below 10% of UNI's supply this year.

Read More: Uniswap DAO Approves Delegation Of 10M UNI To Active Voters

TLDR Animoca Brands, the major web3 game studio, has onboarded The Open Network (TON) as a validator. Animoca is now TON's largest validator.

SO WHAT Animoca emphasized the recent launch of TON Play, which will streamline the deployment of GameFi projects launching on the network. TON was initially envisaged as the native blockchain of the Telegram ecosystem and continues to leverage the popular messaging app's user base.

Read More: Animoca Brands Becomes TON Validator

TLDR Near Protocol has overtaken Bitcoin and Ethereum by daily transaction volume and active addresses. The jump in activity comes amid surging adoption of the Near-based dApps Kaikanow and Sweatcoin.

SO WHAT The increase in activity has been accompanied by an impressive rally for NEAR, with the token gaining 84% in the past six weeks. Near is now tying with BNB Chain to rank as the second-most popular Layer 1 network with 830,000 daily active addresses.

Read More: NEAR Protocol Overtakes Ethereum and Bitcoin in Key Activity Metrics

TLDR The SEC initiated public commentary proceedings for the proposed spot Bitcoin ETFs from Franklin Templeton and Hashdex. Commentors have three weeks to submit feedback, with an additional two weeks provided for rebuttal to submissions.

SO WHAT James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, interpreted the move as further evidence the SEC is preparing to approve the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF around Jan. 10. BTC posted a new year-to-date high in response to the news.

Read More: SEC Opens Public Comments On Franklin Templeton and Hashdex Spot Bitcoin ETFs

• Ethereum developers begin planning Prague/Electra upgrades
• Spanish tax authority mandates declaring crypto holdings exceeding $55,000
• CZ steps down from Binance.US board

• Jack Dorsey Aims to Create Anti-Censorship Bitcoin Mining Pool With New Startup (CoinDesk)
• Binance operates without a license in the Philippines, warns country's securities regulator (The Block)
• UK investors may be liable for up to 20 years of ‘unpaid tax on cryptoassets’ (CryptoSlate)