Time-weighted average price is an algorithmic trade execution strategy commonly used in traditional finance tools. The goal of the strategy is to produce an average execution price that is relatively close to the time-weighted average price (TWAP) for the period that the user specifies. TWAP is mainly used to reduce a large order’s impact on the market by breaking it down into smaller orders and executing each one at regular intervals over a period of time. How TWAP can reduce the price impact of a large order Bids can influence the price of an asset in the order books or …

Hackers have started the year with another exploit, with several million being taken from a whale holding large amounts of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol GMX’s native token. On Jan. 3, various community members saw suspicious movements of GMX tokens. Following this, security firms CertiK and PeckShield flagged the transactions as an exploit that drained $3.4 million worth of GMX tokens from a GMX whale. According to data analysis platform Lookonchain, the hackers took control of 82,519 GMX tokens and exchanged the assets for 2,627 Ether (ETH). Then, the attackers cross-chained the assets to the Ethereum network using Hop Protocol and …

Uniswap’s recently launched bug bounty program has led to the discovery of a now-fixed vulnerability of the protocol’s Universal Router smart contract. The automated market maker released two new smart contracts to its platform in November 2022. Permit2 allows token approvals to be shared and managed across different applications, while Universal Router unifies ERC-20 and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) swapping into a single swap router. Uniswap also advertised a lucrative bug bounty program to identify potential vulnerabilities in its smart contracts towards the end of 2022 as it looked to assure the safety and efficacy of its protocol. Smart contract security …

Hacking in Web3 is easy because it uses the same pattern that’s been used since the inception of the internet — pretending to be someone else. Due to the complexity and the “cool factor” of Web3 projects, one can easily — and mistakenly — assume that it takes Mr. Robot level of advanced hacking techniques to pull off a successful attack. In truth, however, it only takes a sinister ad placed on Google search results, an impostor Telegram group or a deviously-crafted email to break the security barriers of the Web3 ecosystem. Blockchain projects can use top-notch smart contracts, securely …

The new year is a fresh start for malicious actors in the crypto space and 2023 won’t likely see a slowdown in scams, exploits and hacks, according to CertiK. The blockchain security company told Cointelegraph its expectations for the year ahead regarding bad actors in the space, saying: “We saw a large number of incidents last year despite the crypto bear market, so we do not anticipate a respite in exploits, flash loans or exit scams.” Regarding other ill-natured incidents the crypto community might face, the company pointed to the “devastating” exploits that took place on cross-chain bridges in 2022. …

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is defined as any product or service offered by the Web3 world that helps users conduct financial activities such as payments, borrowing, lending, investing, trading and staking. Several Web3 use cases, including DeFi, GameFi, SocialFi and nonfungible tokens (NFTs), emerged through the last bullish cycle. DeFi has been the largest market cap activity within Web3, with a peak total value locked (TVL) of over $175 billion at the peak of the 2021 bull market. DeFi: The primary use case for blockchain? Things have not been the same since the Bitcoin genesis block was created. Thanks to the …

Liquid staking protocol Lido Finance appears to have benefited most from the Ethereum merge in September, with its total value locked (TVL) now sitting at the top position among other decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. According to data from DeFiLlama, Lido’s liquid staking protocol now commands $5.9 billion in TVL, compared to MakerDAO's $5.89 billion and AAVE’s $3.7 billion. Lido now has the highest TVL of any DeFi protocol. pic.twitter.com/2xsM3lVGVl — Patrick | Dynamo DeFi (@Dynamo_Patrick) January 1, 2023 According to Lido Finance’s website, as at Jan. 2 had $5.8 billion Ether (ETH) staked. Meanwhile, there was around $23.2 million staked …

Cryptocurrency hackers and exploiters seemingly slowed down for the 2022 holidays as December saw $62.2 million worth of cryptocurrencies stolen, the “lowest monthly figure” of the year according to CertiK. The blockchain security company tweeted a list of the month's most significant attacks on Dec. 31. It highlighted the $15.5 million worth of exit scams as the method that stole the most value over the month followed by the $7.6 million worth of flash loan-based exploits. #CertiKStatsAlert Combining all the incidents in December we’ve confirmed ~$62.2M lost to exploits, hacks and scams. The lowest monthly figure this year. Exit scams …

On the back of the worst year for crypto hacks and exploits, the crypto community has given some advice to newbie investors going into 2023 — check your smart contract approvals and revoke access regularly. Reddit user 4cademy posted their advice to the r/CryptoCurrency subreddit on Jan. 1, noting that they had approved a slew of smart contracts over a two-year period and “thought it was time to check my approved smart contracts.” They found “nearly all” of their approvals were for “unlimited amounts," which spurred them to revoke approvals for all smart contracts in their wallet as it was …

Futures and options let traders put down only a tiny portion of a trade’s value and bet that prices will go up or down to a certain point within a certain period. It can make traders' profits bigger because they can borrow more money to add to their positions, but it can also boost their losses much if the market moves against them. Even though the market for crypto derivatives is growing, the instruments and infrastructure that support it are not as developed as those in traditional financial markets. Next year will be the year that crypto derivatives reach a …

Play-to-earn gaming enabled by blockchain technology has grown exponentially over the few years. Gamers have embraced the opportunity to collect cryptocurrencies or nonfungible tokens ( NFTs ) that have been produced in blockchain-based games. Through the advent of this new technology, players have been able to generate income by selling in-game NFTs or earning cryptocurrency rewards, both of which can be exchanged for fiat cash. Because of this , according to data from Absolute Reports , the estimated value of the GameFi industry will grow to $2.8 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.4% over the …

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin showed sympathy for competitor Solana (SOL) in a Dec. 30 tweet. He said that “smart people” tell him that Solana has “an earnest smart developer community,” and suggested that the opportunists who were involved with the project in the past have been “washed out.” Buterin also expressed hope that the Solana community “gets its fair chance to thrive.” Some smart people tell me there is an earnest smart developer community in Solana, and now that the awful opportunistic money people have been washed out, the chain has a bright future. Hard for me to tell from …