Archive for the ‘Smart Contracts’ Category

Demystifying Smart Contracts: The Power of Decentralization | by Advancio | Dec, 2023 – Medium

In the ever-evolving landscape of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, smart contracts have emerged as a revolutionary concept. But what exactly is a smart contract, and why is it causing such a buzz in the crypto community? In this blog post, well explore their role in decentralization, the use of tokens, and the world of yield farming.

At its core, a smart contract is a self-executing agreement with the terms of the contract directly written into code. This code operates on a decentralized blockchain, such as Ethereum, eliminating the need for intermediaries like banks or lawyers. It is an easy way to facilitate and enforce agreements.

Decentralization is a fundamental concept in the world of these automated digital agreements. Traditional contracts rely on centralized authorities to ensure compliance and resolve disputes. Smart contracts, on the other hand, operate on decentralized networks, which means, any entity control rather instead by a distributed network of computers. This decentralization ensures transparency and trust in the contracts execution. Once deployed, a contract cannot be altered, providing participants with a level of security.

Tokens play a pivotal role in the functioning of smart contracts. These digital assets represent value within the blockchain ecosystem and people implement them as currency or for specific functions.

For example, in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, people use tokens as collateral to initiate and execute smart contracts for lending, borrowing, or trading. These tokens can represent a wide range of assets, from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum to stablecoins like USDC or even non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

One of the exciting aspects of these automated digital agreements in the crypto space is yield farming. Yield farming involves using smart contracts to optimize returns on crypto assets. Participants provide liquidity to decentralized exchanges or lending platforms in exchange for rewards, typically in the form of additional tokens or a share of transaction fees. Yield farming leverages the automation and efficiency of smart contracts to continuously seek out the most profitable opportunities within the decentralized ecosystem. It has become a popular way for crypto enthusiasts to earn passive income and maximize the potential of their assets.

In summary, a smart contract is a self-executing digital agreement that operates on decentralized blockchain networks. It leverages the power of decentralization, tokens, and innovative concepts like yield farming to transform the way we engage in agreements and financial transactions. As blockchain technology continues to evolve, smart contracts are likely to play an increasingly prominent role in reshaping various industries and financial systems. Stay tuned for more exciting developments in this dynamic space!

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Demystifying Smart Contracts: The Power of Decentralization | by Advancio | Dec, 2023 - Medium

Web3 Firm Thirdweb Finds Major Vulnerability In Smart Contracts – Cryptonews

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Web3 developer Thirdweb has disclosed a security vulnerability that has the potential to affect a range of smart contracts within the Web3 ecosystem.

In an X post on Monday, the firm notified its followers that it had found a vulnerability in a commonly used open-source library that could impact specific pre-built smart contracts, including some of its own. Luckily, Thirdwebs investigations determined that the smart contract vulnerability remains unexploited, providing a brief window of opportunity for Web3 firms to take preventive measures and mitigate the risk of a potential hack.

In most cases, the mitigation steps will involve locking the contract, taking a snapshot and migrating to a new contract without the known vulnerability, the firm said on X. The exact steps you need to take will depend on the nature of your smart contract, and you can determine these using the tool.

Thirdweb noted that the impacted pre-built contracts include but are not limited to DropERC20, ERC721, ERC1155 (all versions), and AirdropERC20. The company included a link to see a full list of impacted smart contracts and mitigation steps.

The company advised users who had deployed the listed smart contracts before November 22 to immediately take mitigation steps or use a company-provided tool.

Thirdweb also recommended developers assist users in revoking approvals on all affected contracts through revoke.cash. DefiLlama developer 0xngmi noted in a reply to the post that this would protect your users if you choose not to mitigate the contract.

Following the discovery of the vulnerability, Thirdweb has committed to increasing investments in security measures. The firm plans to double bug bounty payouts, raising them from $25,000 to $50,000, and is implementing a more stringent auditing process. The Web3 developer will also provide a grant to cover the costs associated with contract mitigations.

We understand that this will cause disruption, and we are treating the mitigation of the issue with the utmost seriousness, the firm continued in its post. We will be offering a retroactive gas grant to cover fees for contract mitigations.

Thirdweb is a Web3 developer that provides multichain smart contract deployment tools for minting, gaming, wallets, and more. The firm claims to have more than 70,000 developers using its services monthly.

The company previously raised $24 million in a Series A funding round with Haun Ventures, Coinbase, Shopify and Polygon in August 2022.

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Web3 Firm Thirdweb Finds Major Vulnerability In Smart Contracts - Cryptonews

What is Flare (FLR)?: Will Flare Price Explode in 2024? – CryptoTicker.io – Bitcoin Price, Ethereum Price & Crypto News

There is significant excitement surrounding the Flare Network and its potential for disruption within the cryptocurrency industry. The ecosystem has gained prominence, driven in part by integrating essential industry participants such as Ankr, Figment, Restake, and NorthStake, and involving them in dual roles as validators and data providers. With the successful distribution of the FLT token, the network is now officially operational. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of Flare Network, encompassing its definition, operational mechanisms, key features,Flare priceprediction, and mission. Lets delve into the details.

Flare Network is a blockchain initiative designed to introduce smart contract capabilities to crypto assets issued on blockchains lacking support for Turing-complete smart contracts.

For instance,holders of XRPcan seamlessly transfer their coins to the Flare Network, where they become represented as FXRP. These FXRP tokens can then be utilized in decentralized finance applications, a functionality not available on the XRP Ledger itself. Flare Network also aims to extend support to other crypto assets without native smart contracts, including Bitcoin, Stellar, and Litecoin.

The networks native asset, formerly known as Spark Token, is now called Flare and is denoted by the ticker FLR. FLR token holders play a role in the governance of the Flare Network. Additionally, the token is essential for contributing to the Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO), which integrates external data into the Flare Network. As an example, the FTSO provides information about a tokens price to the Flare Network, and in return, holders of the Flare cryptocurrency receive an oracle reward.

Its important to note that the FLR token does not play a role in the Flare Networks consensus process. The network employs a combination of the Avalanche consensus protocol and the Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA).

Before delving into a detailed examination of the FLR crypto, lets briefly outline some key features of the Flare Network:

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The primary objective of the Flare Network is to facilitate communication and transactions among diverse blockchain networks, extending the functionality ofsmart contractsto alternative networks. Operating as a Turing-Complete Byzantine Agreement Network, the Flare network utilizes the Flare Consensus Protocol. Its Turing-complete nature allows the execution of smart contracts that can simulate any computer algorithm, enabling developers to use any coding language for smart contract deployment on the network.

Flare adopts theEthereum Virtual Machine (EVM)for the deployment of smart contracts, simplifying the process for Ethereum developers to create applications on the Flare platform.

To enhance interoperability across various blockchains, the Flare network employs two protocols: the State Connector and the Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO). The State Connector facilitates the extraction of external data from other blockchains, processing this data on-chain to establish consensus on the state of the connected blockchain.

This enables the Flare Network to replicate the activities occurring on the connected blockchain. Conversely, the Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO) enables decentralized acquisition of time-series data, encompassing information such as data indices, asset prices, and more, collected consistently over time on other blockchains.

Through the deployment of these protocols, the Flare Network can effectively communicate with and exchange data across multiple blockchains, promoting interoperability in the development and utilization of applications on different networks.

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The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is software designed for executing and deploying smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. It serves as an environment for developers to create decentralized applications (DApps) within the Ethereum network. Similarly, in the Flare Network, the EVM plays a parallel role in executing smart contracts and hosting DApps, rendering the network accessible and practical for Ethereum developers.

The Flare State Connector Protocol is a smart contract that empowers the Flare Network to gather data from any interconnected blockchain in a decentralized and secure manner, leveraging independent attestation providers. These providers autonomously retrieve data from a specified blockchain, and once a consensus is achieved, the Flare network publishes this data.

The Flare Time Series Oracle Protocol (FTSO) is an additional feature on the Flare Network for cross-chain data collection and validation. In contrast to the State Connector Protocol, FTSO focuses on collecting time-specific data. Utilizing independent data providers ensures decentralized and secure data collection, often sourced from locations such as cryptocurrency exchanges. The gathered data is automatically weighted based on the voting power of the information providers. A median is then calculated, producing an estimate that becomes usable on the Flare Network once appropriately weighted.

Songbird serves as Flares Canary network, functioning as a test and experimental network equipped with the same features and functionality as the main Flare network. Independent developers and the Flare team leverage Songbird to conduct real-life experiments, assessing the impact of proposed changes on the Flare network. This provides a safe and controlled environment for experimenting and deploying changes without risking disruptions to the primary network.

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The FLR token, native to the Flare Network, serves multiple purposes including payments, covering transaction fees to thwart spam attacks, and participating in staking within validator nodes. Additionally, FLR can be encapsulated into anERC-20variant known as WFLR.

These wrapped tokens, WFLR, offer versatile functionality, such as delegation to Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO) data providers and engagement in governance processes.

Importantly, these uses are not mutually exclusive and do not constrain the tokens from being employed in other Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts on the Flare Network.

Minting Wrapped FLR (WFLR) involves depositing native FLR tokens into a smart contract, subsequently withdrawing the newly minted WFLR tokens. This process facilitates the integration of FLR into the broader Ethereum-compatible ecosystem on the Flare Network.

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As of the latest data, thecurrent price of Flare (FLR) is $0.019127, with a 24-hour trading volume of $94.06 million. The market capitalization stands at $282.11 million, and Flare holds a market dominance of 0.02%. Over the past 24 hours, the FLR price has increased by 28.07%.

Flare achieved its highest price on August 13, 2022, reaching an all-time high of $0.702240. Conversely, its lowest price was recorded on October 19, 2023, at an all-time low of $0.008248. Following the all-time high, the lowest price since the peak was $0.008248 (cycle low), while the highest FLR price since the last cycle low was $0.022083 (cycle high).

The current circulating supply of Flare is 14.75 billion FLR. The overall sentiment for Flares price prediction is currently bullish, and the Fear & Greed Index indicates a score of 74, signifying Greed in the market sentiment.

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The FLR price prediction for 2024 is subject to both positive and cautionary considerations. With 17 green days in the last 30 days, representing a 57% positive trend, there are indications of recent bullish momentum. The cryptocurrency exhibits high liquidity, underscored by its market capitalization, which fosters an environment conducive to sustained trading activity.

However, a comprehensive risk analysis reveals notable concerns. The price of FLR has experienced a significant downturn over the past year, plummeting by -96%, a factor that requires careful consideration. It is noteworthy that FLR has underperformed in comparison to 100% of the top 100 crypto assets over the past year, as well as against prominent cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Furthermore, FLR is currently trading below the 200-day simple moving average, indicative of a potential bearish sentiment. Additionally, the cryptocurrency faces a substantial decline of -97% from its all-time high, signaling historical challenges.

Achieving a price of $1 for the FLR token entails a formidable increase in its current value. A point of reference is Bitcoin, which has seen its value surge by nearly $20,000, showcasing the potential for significant price movements within the crypto space.

Notably, various tokens have experienced meteoric rises, often fueled by an influx of available funds. However, the path to a $1 FLR token involves a market capitalization of almost $20 billion, surpassing established cryptocurrencies like Cardano and Solana.

Its essential to consider the practicality of such growth, especially given the historical trends and market dynamics. If Flare Token were to sustain a growth rate of 25% annually, it would take approximately 19 years to attain the coveted $1 mark.

This projection underscores the importance of assessing both short-term and long-term factors, including market conditions, adoption rates, and investor sentiment when evaluating the feasibility of such ambitious price targets.

Yet, the 2024 forecast for Flare appears optimistic, as indicated by various technical quantitative indicators. This bullish outlook suggests that Flare may present itself as an attractive investment opportunity in the coming year.

The predicted upward trajectory is often associated with the economic principle that scarcity tends to drive up prices. If Flare demonstrates characteristics of scarcity, such as limited token supply or high demand, it could contribute to an increased value of the cryptocurrency.

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What is Flare (FLR)?: Will Flare Price Explode in 2024? - CryptoTicker.io - Bitcoin Price, Ethereum Price & Crypto News

Web3 developer Thirdweb boosts bounty to $50,000 in light of fresh smart contract security risks – CryptoSlate

Thirdweb, a Web3 software development kit (SDK) provider, confirmed the presence of a security vulnerability in a widely used open-source library, impacting numerous Web3 smart contracts, according to a Dec. 4 statement on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

The firm stated that the vulnerability was initially identified on Nov. 20 and impacted a variety of smart contracts across the web3 ecosystem, including some of its pre-built smart contracts.

However, itclarified that the vulnerability has yet to be exploited and refrained from disclosing the open-source library to prevent potential exploitation. The firm wrote:

Based on our investigation so far, this vulnerability has not been exploited in any thirdweb smart contracts. However, smart contract owners must take mitigation steps on certain pre-built smart contracts that were created on thirdweb prior to November 22nd, 2023 at 7pm PT.

Thirdweb identified 13 affected smart contracts, including AirdropERC20, ERC721, ERC1155, and others, impacted by the vulnerability.

Smart contract owners are advised to take proactive mitigation steps to prevent exploitation. Additionally, Thirdweb assured ongoing efforts with security partners to develop tools for easy identification and execution of necessary mitigation measures.

Depending on the contracts nature, these steps might involve contract locking, snapshot creation, and migration to a new contract. Additionally, users of these contracts are encouraged to revoke approvals on all Thirdweb contracts.

Thirdweb is also increasing the bounty rewards for its platform to $50,000 and is implementing a more rigorous auditing process.

Meanwhile, 0xngmi, the pseudonymous developer of DeFillama, urged the community to revoke their approvals to thirdweb contracts because people might have interacted with them without knowing as they are white-labeled.

Several NFT projects, including OpenSea, have responded to concerns raised by the vulnerability.

OpenSea confirmed discussions with Thirdweb regarding security concerns in specific NFT collections. The NFT platform hinted at forthcoming support for affected collection owners and anticipated changes related to contract migration on their platform.

Some NFT collections like CoolCats and ApesRare have reassured their holders they are not affected by these vulnerabilities.

However, Thirdwebs disclosure approach has received criticism within the community.

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Web3 developer Thirdweb boosts bounty to $50,000 in light of fresh smart contract security risks - CryptoSlate

Smart contract exploit in TIME token leads to $188k loss – crypto.news

According to CertiK, the TIME token was exploited recently, resulting in a loss of approximately $188k.

The attack began with the exploiter converting 5 ETH to Wrapped Ether (WETH), and then trading this for over 3.4 billion TIME tokens.

CertiK analysts reported that the exploits root cause was the manipulation of the Forwarder contract, which is designed to execute transactions from any address. The attacker crafted a request with a falsified sender address, which they controlled, and a matching signature. This deceptive req passed the Forwarder contracts verification process.

The attacker leveraged a parsing error, where the TIME contract was deceived into recognizing an attacker-controlled address as legitimate. As a result, the TIME contract erroneously burned a massive amount of tokens from the target pool controlled by the attacker, rather than the intended address.

The attacker burned over 62 billion TIME tokens, leading to a drastic reduction in the token pool. The tokens were then exchanged for a substantial amount of WETH, eventually converting these back to ETH, including a portion used for a bribe in the process.

This incident highlights the underlying vulnerabilities in smart contracts, where even a minor error can lead to substantial financial losses.

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Smart contract exploit in TIME token leads to $188k loss - crypto.news