Here’s what happened in crypto today!!
Cross-chain protocol Orbit Chain was hit with an estimated $82 million exploit just ahead of the new year, with an attacker taking millions in Tether USDT$1.00, USD Coin USDC $1., Ether (ETH $2,300 Wrapped Bitcoin and DAI. Coinbase’s Custody division has a new CEO and a Solana trader hit a $2M jackpot after putting $62 into a Solana memecoin called Silly Dragon.
Cross-chain Orbit Bridge reportedly hacked for $82M
Orbit Bridge, the bridging service of the cross-chain protocol Orbit Chain was hacked a reported $82 million, just three hours out before ringing in the new year.
In a Dec. 31 post to X (formerly Twitter), pseudonymous Twitter user Kgjr drew attention to the potential exploit, pointing to a series of large outflows from the Orbit Chain Bridge protocol. Onchain sleuth Officer CIA and blockchain security firm Cyvers also posted similar information not long after.
According to data from blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, the hackers appear to have made off with a total of $81.68 million in ill-gotten funds.
In five separate transactions, $30 million in Tether, $10 million in USD Coin, $21.7 million in Ether, $9.8 million in Wrapped Bitcoin and $10 million worth of the algorithmic stablecoin DAI were all transferred to fresh wallets.
Orbit Chain said it is working to identify the root cause of the issue with cybersecurity firm Theori.
“We are actively engaging with international law enforcement agencies,” it added.
Coinbase Custody changes leadership ahead of spot Bitcoin ETF decision
According to Bloomberg, Coinbase has replaced the leadership of its Custody division ahead of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) spot Bitcoin ETF decision in January.
Aaron Schnarch has reportedly resigned as chief executive officer of Coinbase Custody and is being replaced by Rick Schonberg, a senior executive who has been at the firm since 2022. Schonberg has career stops at Goldman Sachs, State Street and JPMorgan, among others.
A spokesperson for Coinbase reportedly told Bloomberg that the exchange is "prepared for ETF approval" and has systems in place "designed and tested to handle added trading volume" that's expected to materialize once a spot Bitcoin product gets approved.
To be sure, the SEC has not indicated that a spot Bitcoin product is forthcoming. However, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas believes it's likely that a spate of products will be approved around Jan. 9, 2024.
Trader hits $2M jackpot after putting $62 into a Solana memecoin
A Solana SOL$108 trader who started with a balance of only 1.5 SOL hit the jackpot after putting one token on a dragon-themed memecoin on the Solana blockchain.
On Dec. 27, blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain flagged a lucky trade where a Solana holder got hold of around $2 million after buying a memecoin. While the trader only had 1.5 SOL at the start, the user caught wind of Silly Dragon (SILLY), a meme token showcasing a “silly dragon” as its mascot, on Dec. 5.
Five minutes after the memecoin opened trading, the trader exchanged 1 SOL, worth around $62 at the time, for 43 million SILLY tokens. About 22 days later, the tokens were worth around $2 million as the price of SILLY surged to new highs, reaching a market capitalization of over $123 million.
According to on-chain data, the trader has already withdrawn around $528,000 while leaving around $1.5 million worth of tokens in the wallet.
