An unnamed hacker has provided 28% of the liquidity on Curve Finance’s stablecoin liquidity pool using stolen funds, according to Etherscan. The individual is contributing about $114m of the $409m behind the pool. Pools like Curve enable token swaps through market-making algorithms rather than intermediaries, with liquidity providers earning significant fees by depositing tokens with high trading volumes. Due to the immutability of the smart contract, effected swaps and deposits can’t be revoked, meaning criminals can benefit from stolen funds without recourse on behalf of victims. Curve founder Michael Egorov said the hacker couldn’t be prevented from providing liquidity since the pool is permissionless.
Meanwhile, one of Curve’s stablecoins, USDC, can now be transferred between networks using Circle’s cross-chain transfer protocol. The method allows USDC transfers between Avalanche and Ethereum, with the coin’s market cap currently at $30.71bn, down $13bn from its peak market cap of $56bn on 20 June. The regulatory bog has seen crypto firms like Coinbase express interest in moving to areas with clearer laws.
