• Bitcoin and Ethereum rally after interest rate hike – $1.76B options expiry looms.

• Solana protocol Nirvana (NIRV) suffers flash exploit, drained of liquidity.

• Cardano’s mainnet ‘Vasil’ hard fork launch delayed for weeks.

• Zipmex files for bankruptcy in Singapore, succumbing to pressure from crypto winter.

• Celsius warns users of potential phishing attacks amid email leak.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Rally After Interest Rate Hike – $1.76B Options Expiry Looms

Bitcoin has lead the crypto market into its second consecutive day of gains, in stark contrast to the downtrend many analysts had expected to follow the Fed’s announcement of a 0.75 point hike in interest rates.

Bitcoin has gained in value by more than 17% over the last three days, which saw the world’s largest crypto trade at as high as $24,294 for the first time in six months. According to CoinGlass, the rally liquidated more than $300 million in trading positions over the course of the last day.

The 3 day price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap

Ethereum (ETH) has also continued its strong uptrend, gaining 5% to break past the $1,770 level earlier today, July 29th, for the first time since June 9th. ETH now trades at $1,680 at press time, with gains of 3.36% over the last 24 hours.

The 3 day price chart for Ethereum (ETH). Source: CoinMarketCap

Flipsider:

• Although cryptos are rallying, there could be a change in that trend, with $1.76 billion in options set to expire today. Bitcoin remains under the $24,000⁠ at the time of writing—level with most bets.

• The U.S. economy also underwent a decline in Q2, signaling the unofficial start of the recession, which could heavily impact the crypto market.

Solana Protocol Nirvana (NIRV) Suffers Flash Exploit, Drained of Liquidity

Solana-based DeFi protocol Nirvana Finance has become the latest DeFi protocol to suffer an exploited. On Thursday, July 28th, the Solana-based yield protocol suffered a $3.5 million flash loan exploit, leaving only 7 cents in its treasury balance.

According to on-chain data, the hacker borrowed 10 million USDC from Solend in a flash loan for the purposes of attacking Nirvana. As a result, the network was tricked into minting $10 million worth of ANA, which the hacker swapped for $3.5 million USDT.

Following the flash attack, the DeFi protocol that allows users to earn annual yields of up to 100% on locked assets has seen its ecosystem crumble. Nirvana’s native token, ANA, has fallen by more than 85% in the last 2 days, dropping from $8.8, to below $1.

The 48 hour price chart for Nirvana (ANA). Source: CoinMarketCap

The algorithmic stablecoin of the Nirvana ecosystem, NIRV, also suffered the ignominy of de-pegging in the wake of the hack. NIRV, which had held parity with the U.S. dollar until Thursday, July 28th, is now valued at $0.112 at the time of writing.

Flipsider:

• Nirvana has posted a public plea to the hacker, asking for the return of stolen funds in exchange for $300,000.

Why You Should Care

The hack and subsequent de-pegging of Nirvana’s stablecoin puts even more pressure on the stressed Solana ecosystem.

Cardano’s Mainnet Vasil Hard Fork Launch Delayed

Cardano’s ‘Vasil’ hard fork, one of the most anticipated upgrades in the entire crypto space, which was expected to launch at the end of July, faces the setback of yet another delay.

Kevin Hammond, technical manager at Input Output Global (IOG), speaking on ‘Cardano 360‘, revealed that the Vasil hard fork would not be ready to launch for at least a few more weeks.

According to Hammond, the delay in the mainnet upgrade is due to the final testing phase, and other minor issues found therein. He emphasized IOG’s intention to get things right, as opposed to rushing into the hard fork.

The main reason for the delay is to reportedly give Cardano developers and engineers room to conduct exhaustive testing of the hard fork before it launches on the mainnet.

Flipsider:

• Despite the delays, Cardno continues to record developer activity, with more than 1,000 projects currently under development.

Why You Should Care

Cardano and the IOG have been consistent in prioritizing the decision to not deploy a system unless it’s completely perfect and devoid of flaws.

Zipmex Files Bankruptcy in Singapore, Succumbing to Pressure from Crypto Winter

Zipmex, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, has become the latest crypto firm to fall under the weight of the crypto winter as it filed for bankruptcy protection against legal action from creditors.

Zipmex announced that the company had filed for bankruptcy protection in Singapore for five of its entities. Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring, and Dissolution Act of 2018 will thus protect Zipmex from claimants for at least 30 days.

According to Zipmex, the moratorium will help “protect Zipmex against third party actions, claims, and proceedings while it is active, and enables the team to focus all our efforts on resolving the liquidity situation.

The bankruptcy protection is intended to buy Zipmex enough time to resolve its liquidity issues. According to Zipmex, the moratorium filed by the company does not mean the exchange has been liquidated.

Flipsider:

• Zipmex is currently working to resolve its liquidity crisis, and is actively involved in “conversations with various interested parties [that] have progressed significantly.”

Why You Should Care

Zipmex’s liquidity issues stem from the combined trials from the collapses of Terra and crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, along with the depressed crypto prices throughout the last eight months.

Celsius Warns Users of Potential Phishing Attacks Amid Email Leak

Now bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network has warned its customers to be wary of phishing attacks as a list of customer emails was leaked in a data breach.

Celsius sent a email to users stating that one of the company’s employees “accessed a list of Celsius client email addresses held on their platform and transferred those to a third-party.”

According to reports, the breach was reportedly identified on June 30th, the same day as OpenSea’s client data was leaked.

Celsius has gone of record to state that the data leak does not “present any high risks to our clients.” However, it notes that the purpose behind the announcement is to make users aware of the risk of a potential phishing scam.

Flipsider:

• Celsius Network users are appealing to the bankruptcy court to have their crypto released, with one customer claiming that they need the funds to “put food on the table.”

Why You Should Care

Celsius users have been warned to remain wary of any potential phishing emails that may be sent to them in the wake of the leak.