This Week in DeFi: October 25
Decentralized Finance or DeFi, as it is popularly stylized, is an innovative force to be reckoned with in the finance space. Based on the blockchain network, the defining attribute of DeFi is its lack of reliance on any central authority or intermediary for finance decisions. DeFi is an umbrella term for all those financial services and applications on the public blockchain, usually Ethereum. It is a fast-growing industry, with new updates every week.
This week’s edition of This Week in DeFi features million-dollar bug bounties, Walmart enabling bitcoin buying, and Pakistan’s development towards cryptocurrency in the country. Read on to find out more!
October 20- Pakistan’s Sindh High Court Directs the Government to Develop Crypto Regulatory Framework
The Sindh High Court of Pakistan has directed the government of the country to submit a working regulatory framework on cryptocurrencies within 3 months. This comes a few weeks after neighbor China announces a nationwide ban on all crypto-related activity. This decision was made in a hearing held on a petition against the ban on cryptocurrencies by the State Bank of Pakistan two years ago.
October 21- Polygon Pays Bug Bounty of $2 million to White Hat Hacker
In a record move, the blockchain technology company Polygon pays out $2 million as a bounty reward to a developer who discovered a double-spend vulnerability on its platform. This bug could have caused chaos had it not been discovered, allowing any hacker to double their withdrawal amount up to 233 times. This could have potentially put assets worth $850 million at risk. The company fixed the issue within a half-hour of being informed about the bug and no funds were compromised.
October 21- Synchrony Raises $4.2 million to Develop its Copy-Trading Protocol
Solana-based copy trading and asset management protocol Synchrony has secured $4.2 million to build its project. Once completed, it will serve as a marketplace for users to automatically replicate parameter-defined trading strategies across the Solana ecosystem. This will be very beneficial for the growth of Solana as a whole, providing valuable data for further analytics.
October 22- Walmart Allows Shoppers to Buy Bitcoin at Coinstar Kiosks
Retail giant Walmart recently announced that certain locations will allow customers to buy bItcoin. Around 200 Coinstar kiosks which are machines that are used for coin-to-cash exchange will have this feature. This is possible due to Coinstar’s partnership with the digital currency exchange platform CoinMe. The bitcoin option will be cheaper, charging 4% in exchange fees compared to regular cash exchange taking 7%.
October 25 — ACI Teams With RocketFuel To Power Cryptocurrency Merchant Payments
ACI Worldwide, the software company providing payment solutions in real-time has announced a partnership with the cryptocurrency payments platform RocketFuel Blockchain. This partnership will have ACI’s eCommerce platforms all integrated with RocketFuel, allowing alternative currency payment options to all its users around the world. Merchants anywhere will be able to accept payments in the form of over 50 cryptocurrencies without having to worry about any extra processing fees.
October 25- MasterCard and Bakkt Offer Crypto and Loyalty Programs
Technology firm MasterCard has announced its inclusion of crypto marketplace Bakkt on its payments network. Affecting thousands of banks and merchants across the United States, this partnership will allow any cryptocurrency rewards earned at retailers to be spent on MasterCard. Wallets powered on Bakkt will manage buying, selling, and holding of all such digital assets. This announcement has had quite the effect on stocks of both companies, increasing Bakkt’s stock by 40% and MasterCard’s price per share by 1%.
