hodler

9 Jun 2026, 15:00

Why Charles Hoskinson thinks Cardano is the ‘only ecosystem’ that can run the world

Cardano struggles with adoption despite solving blockchain trilemma.

9 Jun 2026, 14:50

Token of Power Protocol Drained of $1.58 Million in Latest DeFi Exploit; Funds Funneled Through Tornado Cash

BitcoinWorld Token of Power Protocol Drained of $1.58 Million in Latest DeFi Exploit; Funds Funneled Through Tornado Cash The Token of Power (TOP) protocol has fallen victim to a security exploit, resulting in the loss of approximately $1.58 million in digital assets. According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, the attacker swiftly converted the stolen funds into 945 Ether (ETH) and subsequently routed them through the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash, a move designed to obscure the transaction trail. Details of the Exploit PeckShield’s on-chain analysis revealed that the exploit targeted the TOP protocol, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform. The attacker drained approximately $1.58 million worth of various tokens before converting them into a single tranche of 945 ETH. Within a short window, the funds were sent to Tornado Cash, a privacy-focused tool that mixes multiple transactions to sever the link between the source and destination addresses. This laundering technique is commonly employed by malicious actors to hinder law enforcement and blockchain forensic efforts. Broader Implications for DeFi Security This incident is the latest in a persistent wave of exploits plaguing the DeFi sector. In 2024 alone, blockchain security firms tracked over $1.8 billion in losses from hacks and scams, with cross-chain bridges and lending protocols being frequent targets. The use of Tornado Cash, despite its legal scrutiny and sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2022, highlights the ongoing challenge regulators face in curbing illicit finance within decentralized systems. What This Means for TOP Token Holders The immediate impact on Token of Power’s native token and the protocol’s liquidity pools is severe. Users who had assets locked in the protocol face potential losses, and the project’s credibility is significantly damaged. The exploit underscores the critical need for rigorous smart contract audits, real-time monitoring, and robust insurance mechanisms within the DeFi ecosystem. Investors are advised to exercise heightened caution when interacting with newer or less-vetted protocols. Conclusion The $1.58 million exploit of the Token of Power protocol and the subsequent laundering through Tornado Cash is a stark reminder of the persistent security vulnerabilities and regulatory gaps in decentralized finance. As the investigation unfolds, the incident will likely fuel further calls for stricter oversight of privacy tools and more stringent security standards for DeFi projects. The community awaits official statements from the TOP team regarding potential recovery plans or compensation for affected users. FAQs Q1: What is the Token of Power (TOP) protocol? The Token of Power (TOP) is a decentralized finance protocol that allows users to lend, borrow, and earn yields on cryptocurrency assets. The exact details of its smart contract functionality are still being analyzed following the exploit. Q2: How did the attacker launder the stolen funds? The attacker converted the stolen tokens into 945 ETH and then deposited the Ether into Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service. Tornado Cash breaks the on-chain link between the sender and receiver, making it difficult to trace the funds. Q3: Can the stolen funds be recovered? Recovery of funds laundered through Tornado Cash is extremely challenging. While blockchain analytics firms and law enforcement have had some success in tracing funds, the mixing process is designed to obfuscate the trail, making full recovery unlikely in most cases. This post Token of Power Protocol Drained of $1.58 Million in Latest DeFi Exploit; Funds Funneled Through Tornado Cash first appeared on BitcoinWorld .

9 Jun 2026, 14:04

Zcash Ironwood Upgrade Finalizes to Patch Orchard Pool Flaw, Targets July

Zcash developers have finalized consensus rule changes for the Ironwood upgrade, targeting late July. It aims to get an activation at block height 3,417,100 to address a critical vulnerability in the Orchard shielded pool that exposed the network to unlimited counterfeit ZEC minting. UPDATE: Zcash devs finalized the Ironwood upgrade, adding a new Orchard shielded pool to reduce the risk of unlimited counterfeit $ZEC circulating. ZEC has now recovered +80% from its intraday low of around $252 on June 5. pic.twitter.com/4jGJWXPlIH — Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) June 9, 2026 The upgrade introduces a replacement shielded pool, enforces supply controls via an existing turnstile mechanism, and disables new incoming payments to the compromised Orchard pool, all backed by formal verification of the underlying zero-knowledge proof circuits and independent third-party security audits. Discover: The Best Token Presales The Orchard Pool Bug: Ironwood to Fix Zcash The Orchard pool was introduced in May 2022 as part of the NU5 upgrade, which brought the Halo 2 proof system to Zcash and positioned Orchard as the protocol’s next-generation privacy layer. It is a shielded environment leveraging zero-knowledge proofs to obscure transaction amounts and participant addresses without a trusted setup. The flaw discovered in early 2026 resided in the Orchard protocol’s circuit integrity: an attacker exploiting it could have minted counterfeit ZEC without any on-chain trace detectable through normal node verification. The bug meant the total ZEC supply enforced by consensus was not actually bounded within the Orchard pool. Because Zcash’s zero-knowledge architecture is precisely what makes Orchard private, the same properties that protect legitimate user transactions also make unauthorized issuance invisible to external observers, and, critically, to the Zcash development team itself. An AI-assisted security review by external researchers surfaced the flaw, leading to a quiet patch and coordinated disclosure before Ironwood was formally proposed. Discover: The Best Crypto to Diversify Your Portfolio Turnstile, New Pool, and Supply Verification Ironwood was proposed jointly by ZODL, Tachyon, Valar Group, the Zcash Foundation, and Shielded Labs, a multi-stakeholder governance structure that distinguishes this response from a single-team patch. The upgrade’s core mechanism is a redesigned Orchard circuit that includes a flag capable of disabling payments to other users within a pool while preserving the ability to generate change notes, which Bowe has described as a privacy safeguard. Zcash (ZEC) 24h 7d 30d 1y All time Once activated, that flag will be permanently enabled for the legacy Orchard pool, constraining the valueBalance field and routing all new Orchard-addressed payments automatically to the replacement pool. The supply controls enforced by Ironwood depend on the protocol’s pre-existing turnstile mechanism; every ZEC exiting the old Orchard pool must pass through the turnstile before entering the new pool, and the turnstile enforces that the total value leaving the old pool cannot exceed the value that verifiably entered it. Bowe stated: “This combination enforces a bound on the circulating supply of ZEC through the use of the existing turnstile mechanism; the amount of ZEC that anyone can transact with is no more than the amount that is supposed to exist.” Once migration is complete, on-chain data will allow any full node to independently verify that no counterfeit ZEC crossed into the new pool, restoring trustless supply verification at the protocol level for the first time since the vulnerability was introduced. The activation target coincides with zcashd end-of-support at block height 3,417,100. Testnet trials, ecosystem coordination, and final security audits remain outstanding before mainnet activation. Wallet providers supporting Orchard are expected to offer one-click migration tooling, and the new pool is designed to preserve existing Orchard addresses, avoiding disruptive key rotation for active users. Discover: The Best Token Presales The post Zcash Ironwood Upgrade Finalizes to Patch Orchard Pool Flaw, Targets July appeared first on Cryptonews .

9 Jun 2026, 13:05

Neura Closes Strategic Funding Round and Partnerships to Build Emotional AI with Persistent, User-Owned Memory

Tokyo, Japan, June 9th, 2026, Chainwire Joined by partners and investors including Animoca Brands, Basics Capital, TBV, Kinetic Kollective, Mario Nawfal, and Grammy-winning artist Ne-Yo, Neura is building the missing layer of AI: empathy and memory. Neura , the protocol building the world’s first Emotional AI Economy, today announced the close of a strategic funding round to accelerate development of AI agents with persistent emotional memory and user-owned identity. The round drew leading investors and partners in the Web3, AI, and culture spaces, including Animoca Brands, Basics Capital, TBV, Kinetic Kollective, Mario Nawfal, and Grammy Award-winning artist Ne-Yo. Today’s AI is getting smarter every month — but it still forgets users the moment a session ends or devices change. It processes what people say, not what they feel. Neura is built to close that gap. Its agents interpret tone and emotional context, remember a user’s emotional history across interactions, and adapt over time to build genuine, long-term relationships — with that memory anchored on-chain and owned by the user, not trapped inside a centralized app. “Emotional intelligence is the missing layer in AI, and memory is what makes it useful — we’re building both,” said Sahin Bayar, CMO of Neura. “The whole industry is racing on IQ. We believe the next leap is EQ. The smartest tool in the world means nothing if it doesn’t remember who you are. At Neura, your AI understands how you feel — and that memory belongs to you.” The new capital will fund Neura’s three-phase roadmap: Neura Social, the consumer app where users interact with emotional AI companions; the Neura AI SDK, enabling developers to build agents that persist context and emotional state; and the full Neura Protocol, a decentralized network with verifiable compute and community governance. Through Neura’s on-chain Memory Ledger, emotional context is preserved with privacy-first cryptographic proofs — portable across models, platforms, and devices. The backing of investors spanning Web3 infrastructure, capital markets, and global culture — including Ne-Yo, whose involvement signals Neura’s reach into the creator economy and entertainment — underscores growing conviction that emotionally intelligent, user-owned AI is the next frontier for both consumer adoption and the broader AI economy. Neura invites builders, creators, and the wider community to join early as it builds the Emotional AI Economy. To learn more, users can visit neura-ai.io . About Neura Neura is building the world’s first Emotional AI Economy — a decentralized protocol that gives AI agents empathy, persistent emotional memory, and user-owned identity. Most AI today processes what people say, not what they feel; it forgets users the moment a session ends or devices change. Neura closes that gap. Its agents interpret tone and emotional context, remember a user’s emotional history across interactions, and adapt over time to build genuine, long-term relationships. Crucially, that memory belongs to the user. Through Neura’s on-chain Memory Ledger, emotional context is anchored with privacy-preserving cryptographic proofs — portable across models, platforms, and even physical embodiments, rather than locked inside one company’s walls. Neura unites trust (blockchain), aligned incentives (tokenomics), and empathy (emotional AI) into a new class of long-lived, community-owned digital agents. The next leap in AI isn’t IQ. It’s EQ. Users can learn more at neura-ai.io . Contact CMO Sahin Bayar Neura AI [email protected]

9 Jun 2026, 12:56

Ethereum DeFi Protocol That Just Raised $175 Million From a16z And Paradigm Has A Bold Message For Wall Street

Morpho, a decentralized lending protocol operating on Ethereum, HyperEVM, and other blockchains currently holding $6.6 billion in total value locked, has raised $175 million in a funding round led by Paradigm, Ribbit Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz’s digital assets arm a16z crypto — valuing the protocol at up to $2 billion and positioning it for an eventual public debut as its founders set their sights on bringing Wall Street’s most traditional institutions into DeFi, according to Fortune’s report published June 9. Related Reading: The XRP Dream Has Changed: Why A Rally To $10 Could Happen Despite Disappointment The round also drew participation from Apollo Funds, Circle’s venture unit, and VanEck — a coalition of backers that spans crypto-native venture capital, traditional asset management, and institutional finance simultaneously. The investment was structured in cryptocurrency and priced at the token’s average monthly price, with the exact cost varying by when participants contributed, per Fortune’s reporting of co-founder Paul Frambot’s account. ETH's price trends to the downside on the daily chart. Source: ETHUSD on Tradingview The 25-Year-Old Taking On TradFi Frambot, who is 25 years old and founded Morpho at 20 alongside three fellow French co-founders — Merlin Egalite, Julien Thomas, and Mathis Gontier Delaunay — framed the fundraise with characteristic directness in his conversation with Fortune. “I think TradFi is going to have to wear shorts,” he told the publication — a reference to the cultural gap between crypto’s hoodie-and-shorts developer community and the suit-wearing institutions he is now actively courting. His pitch to those institutions is grounded in yield. Morpho allows any user to create their own blockchain-based lending markets with customizable risk parameters — effectively enabling anyone to build their own version of Aave, the incumbent DeFi lender that currently holds nearly $12.5 billion in TVL, per Fortune’s citing of DeFiLlama data. Morpho’s $6.6 billion positions it as the clear second-largest player in the decentralized lending space, a gap that has narrowed considerably after Aave’s significant exposure to a $290 million hack of other crypto protocols in April 2026, per Fortune. Ethereum And Crypto DeFi: The Institutions Already Inside Morpho’s existing user base signals the institutional crossover is already underway. Coinbase, Kraken, Anchorage Digital, and Galaxy Digital all use Morpho’s infrastructure, per Fortune’s reporting. Guy Wuollet, general partner at a16z crypto, described the moment to Fortune as one where traditional finance professionals may need casual Fridays while DeFi builders dress up ever so slightly — a convergence he views as the natural direction of an industry increasingly operating in lockstep with institutional capital. Frambot himself recently attended an event at the New York Stock Exchange — and wore trousers. This development marks a pivotal moment for the nascent sector’s relationship with mainstream venture capital and traditional finance. Related Reading: Citrini Research Puts Hyperliquid On Wall Street’s Crypto Radar A $175 million raise from three of the most prominent names in both crypto, Ethereum, and conventional investing — targeting the same Wall Street institutions that have spent two years cautiously circling DeFi — is the clearest signal yet that decentralized lending is no longer a crypto-insider experiment. It is becoming infrastructure that institutional capital intends to use. Cover image from ChatGPT, ETHUSD chart from Tradingview

9 Jun 2026, 12:46

Near Protocol price forecast: Can NEAR price break past $2.25

NEAR, the native token of Near Protocol, is trading at $2.17 at the time of writing, up 2.88% in the past 24 hours, even as Bitcoin remains under pressure. The question is whether this is the start of a stronger recovery or just another trap before a deeper drop? The $2.25 level has already rejected bulls once NEAR price had a sharp drop over the past seven days, falling 19.5% and touching a low of $1.84 within the weekly range. From that low, the price bounced back toward $2.25 on June 8, although bulls couldn't hold it. Notably, the rejection at $2.25 locked in a lower high on the chart, which is typically a bearish signal in technical analysis. The 14-day RSI is currently sitting at 50.69, which means momentum is neither overbought nor oversold. It is in neutral territory, which does not favour bulls or bears on its own; it simply means the market has not made up its mind yet. According to technical analysis shared on CoinMarketCap by GainMuse , NEAR’s price is currently biased to the downside, with $1.75 identified as the key support level where the main trendline sits. GainMuse’s analysis notes that below $1.70, the broader macro structure begins to break down, which would be a more serious problem than a short-term correction. For bulls to change the picture, NEAR needs a clean hold at $1.75 and a confirmed push back above $2.25. Until that happens, sellers control the range. There is also a notable cluster of liquidations sitting between $2.13 and $2.20, which adds friction for buyers trying to push through. Each attempt to break that zone risks triggering stop orders from both sides, making it a messy area to trade through. Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX, took profits on his NEAR holdings recently, which added to the selling pressure seen over the past week. When a high-profile investor of his stature publicly exits a position, it tends to shake confidence among smaller holders. SpaceX IPO and record on-chain volume could change current trend Despite the bearish technical setup, upcoming developments could provide support for the token. Investors are also watching the anticipated SpaceX IPO, which is expected to price on June 11 and begin trading on June 12. SpaceX's recent acquisition of Elon Musk's xAI lab has framed the offering as a major AI trade, and that narrative has been driving capital into AI-linked cryptocurrencies. NEAR markets itself as a Layer-1 blockchain built specifically for AI development, which makes it one of the more direct proxies for this theme in the crypto market. The current price rebound is partly the result of capital rotating out of Bitcoin and into AI-themed altcoins. What makes the rally slightly more credible than a pure narrative trade is what is happening on-chain. NEAR's Intents framework, which handles cross-chain swaps, processed a record $223.9 million in daily swap volume recently. The network also surpassed 550,000 unique users over the past 30 days. That level of activity suggests actual usage is growing, not just speculation. https://twitter.com/near_intents/status/2064037240204853418?s=20 The Unstoppable Wallet integration with NEAR Intents , announced alongside these figures, adds another distribution channel for cross-chain swaps, which should support continued volume if usage trends hold. The 24-hour trading volume for NEAR stands at approximately $521 million, roughly 18.7% of its total market value changing hands in a single day, which signals elevated activity and volatility. However, high volume can cut both ways; it can accelerate a breakout or speed up a breakdown. Key levels to watch into the SpaceX IPO The immediate resistance that matters is $2.20. A daily close above that level would open the path toward the next Fibonacci target at $2.29. If that falls too, $2.25 becomes support rather than resistance, and that would represent a genuine shift in structure. On the downside, $2.00 is the psychological support level to monitor first. A break below $2.00 would likely bring $1.85 into focus, and from there, the critical trendline at $1.75. Losing $1.75 support would put NEAR in a position where the broader bearish structure could accelerate, potentially opening the door to a deeper decline below $1.70. The post Near Protocol price forecast: Can NEAR price break past $2.25 appeared first on Invezz