#DeFi

Tether CTO: "The launch of PayPal stablecoin doesn’t impact Tether as the firm does not serve U.S. users. If PYUSD launches in international markets, it could have a positive impact on the crypto industry and potentially erode revenues for payment giants like MasterCard and Visa." Co-founder of zkLend: "PayPal will indeed bolster the perception and acceptance of cryptocurrencies, but it can lead to a diminished market share for decentralized stablecoins, threatening the very principles of decentralization that underpin the crypto space." Analysts at JPMorgan: "This could boost Ethereum activity and enhance Ethereum’s network utility as a stablecoin/DeFi platform. PYUSD could fill the void left by the $20 billion shrinkage of Binance's BUSD stablecoin, which was forced to shut down by U.S. regulators earlier this year." Co-founder of Sei Network: "The gas fees of using PYUSD will be ridiculous, which will disincentivize its usage. To help make the user experience better, PayPal will either need to subsidize transaction costs or will need to help support PYUSD on other networks with cheaper gas fees." It's worth noting that PayPal currently serves 435 million customers globally.

A Twitter debate has erupted, speculating that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) might be involved with the BALD memcoin rugpull. Blockchain analysts delved into the developer’s on-chain history and discovered a connection between the wallet address deploying the BALD token and ETH funding from wallets linked to FTX and Alameda Research. An anonymous DeFi commentator suggested that this link might indicate SBF’s attempt to recover some losses. Data editors found that the same wallet address had made numerous transfers (400) to blacklisted USDT addresses and appeared to have strong connections with Alameda Research.

The Exactly Protocol has suffered a hacking attack. Running on the Optimism blockchain, this lending DeFi platform was targeted by malefactors who stole over 4300 ETH, totaling approximately $7.3 million. Both BlockSec and Beosin security agencies have corroborated the theft. The hackers reportedly found and exploited a weak point in the platform's smart contracts, although the finer details are still under wraps. UPD: The team at Exactly Protocol would declare a $700,000 reward for any leads on the hacker, should they not receive a response from the malefactor by the end of August 22nd. "You can return the funds, minus a 10% fee to you, without worries about us coming after you," the Exactly team conveyed in their message.

The Snapshot platform has recently showcased a proposal: allocate 1 million FRAX tokens from the treasury and use them to buy CRV tokens. This, according to the initiative's creator, will fortify the community's foothold in DeFi for years to come and enhance liquidity for pairs involving FRAX.