gm, readers.

At Automata we work on protecting privacy and fairness. And in this newsletter, we find more reasons to talk about it. Explore headlines and catch up on the biggest crypto news in Web3 privacy.

This week:

• Velodrome and Aerodrome experienced a second instance of compromised frontend domain in just a few days

• Hacker steals $2 million from Safe Wallet users in ‘address poisoning’ attacks

• Perpetrator of the $46 million KyberSwap exploit demands total control over Kyber company as a condition for returning stolen funds

• Oasis Foundation announces grant for NFTb smart privacy integration

• Railgun unveils v3, enabling complete on-chain privacy for DeFi on Ethereum

Zooming into ZK:

• Polygon and Matter Labs present rival proposals to Optimism for Celo's upcoming Layer-2 network

• Polyhedra integrates with Trust Wallet for zkBridge ecosystem

• Ankr introduces second Rollup as a Service for ZK Stack Chains

• Namada launches Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RPGF) initiative to recognize contributors in the privacy and ZK tech sphere

• HyperOracle integrates zkOracle with Polygon CDK, co-developing a zk-WASM-based proving backend to boost DeFi and on-chain AI capabilities

• Beam launches on Immutable zkEVM

We dive into the details, so you don’t have to:

cLabs, the primary developer behind the Celo blockchain, has outlined a framework for selecting a technology provider for its new Layer-2 network on Ethereum. After approving the plan in July, the Optimism Stack was designated as the default provider, but competing proposals from Polygon and Matter Labs (team behind zkSync) have emerged over subsequent months. The focus is on finding the best fit for Celo's technical and non-technical needs, prioritizing simple migration, minimal downtime, low gas fees, and Ethereum compatibility. Notably absent from the document is the debate between optimistic rollups and ZK rollups, a pivotal design choice with substantial tradeoffs between operational costs and speed.

A malicious actor has recently pilfered over $2 million from Safe Wallet users through "address poisoning attacks”. Scam Sniffer, a Web3 scam detection platform, reported this loss from around 10 Safe Wallets between Nov. 26 and Dec. 3. Over the past four months, the same attacker has targeted a total of 21 victims, accumulating thefts of at least $5 million. Address poisoning involves creating a deceptive address similar to the victim's regular transaction destination, leading to unwitting users sending funds to the hacker's wallet instead.

The hacker responsible for the $46-million KyberSwap exploit has outlined conditions for returning the stolen funds, demanding "complete executive control" over Kyber. In a message on Nov. 30, the hacker specified requirements, including temporary authority over KyberDAO, all company documents, and assets. In return, they pledged to buy out executives at a fair valuation, doubling employee salaries, and offering 12-month severance to those leaving. The hacker has since set a deadline of December 10.

Connect with Automata on both X (Twitter) and Discord.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice or interpreted as investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and you should always do your own research before making any informed decisions when investing or trading.

gm, readers.

At Automata we work on protecting privacy and fairness. And in this newsletter, we find more reasons to talk about it. Explore headlines and catch up on the biggest crypto news in Web3 privacy.

This week:

• Velodrome and Aerodrome experienced a second instance of compromised frontend domain in just a few days

• Hacker steals $2 million from Safe Wallet users in ‘address poisoning’ attacks

• Perpetrator of the $46 million KyberSwap exploit demands total control over Kyber company as a condition for returning stolen funds

• Oasis Foundation announces grant for NFTb smart privacy integration

• Railgun unveils v3, enabling complete on-chain privacy for DeFi on Ethereum

Zooming into ZK:

• Polygon and Matter Labs present rival proposals to Optimism for Celo's upcoming Layer-2 network

• Polyhedra integrates with Trust Wallet for zkBridge ecosystem

• Ankr introduces second Rollup as a Service for ZK Stack Chains

• Namada launches Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RPGF) initiative to recognize contributors in the privacy and ZK tech sphere

• HyperOracle integrates zkOracle with Polygon CDK, co-developing a zk-WASM-based proving backend to boost DeFi and on-chain AI capabilities

• Beam launches on Immutable zkEVM

We dive into the details, so you don’t have to:

cLabs, the primary developer behind the Celo blockchain, has outlined a framework for selecting a technology provider for its new Layer-2 network on Ethereum. After approving the plan in July, the Optimism Stack was designated as the default provider, but competing proposals from Polygon and Matter Labs (team behind zkSync) have emerged over subsequent months. The focus is on finding the best fit for Celo's technical and non-technical needs, prioritizing simple migration, minimal downtime, low gas fees, and Ethereum compatibility. Notably absent from the document is the debate between optimistic rollups and ZK rollups, a pivotal design choice with substantial tradeoffs between operational costs and speed.

A malicious actor has recently pilfered over $2 million from Safe Wallet users through "address poisoning attacks”. Scam Sniffer, a Web3 scam detection platform, reported this loss from around 10 Safe Wallets between Nov. 26 and Dec. 3. Over the past four months, the same attacker has targeted a total of 21 victims, accumulating thefts of at least $5 million. Address poisoning involves creating a deceptive address similar to the victim's regular transaction destination, leading to unwitting users sending funds to the hacker's wallet instead.

The hacker responsible for the $46-million KyberSwap exploit has outlined conditions for returning the stolen funds, demanding "complete executive control" over Kyber. In a message on Nov. 30, the hacker specified requirements, including temporary authority over KyberDAO, all company documents, and assets. In return, they pledged to buy out executives at a fair valuation, doubling employee salaries, and offering 12-month severance to those leaving. The hacker has since set a deadline of December 10.

Connect with Automata on both X (Twitter) and Discord.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice or interpreted as investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and you should always do your own research before making any informed decisions when investing or trading.