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9 Jun 2026, 12:40

Starknet launches STRK20, a zero-knowledge privacy framework for private ERC20 transfers

BitcoinWorld Starknet launches STRK20, a zero-knowledge privacy framework for private ERC20 transfers Starknet, the layer-2 scaling network for Ethereum, has introduced STRK20, a zero-knowledge privacy framework designed to enable balance protection and private transfers for all ERC20 assets. The framework was first implemented on strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin token on the Starknet ecosystem, according to a report by The Block. What STRK20 brings to developers and users STRK20 allows developers to integrate privacy features into a wide range of decentralized applications without building a separate privacy system from scratch. The framework supports private transfers, swaps, lending, staking, payments, and donations. By leveraging zero-knowledge proofs, STRK20 ensures that transaction details and wallet balances remain confidential while still being verifiable on the public blockchain. This approach addresses a long-standing tension in public blockchains: transparency versus privacy. While Ethereum and its layer-2 networks offer open ledgers, many users and institutions require confidentiality for financial operations. STRK20 aims to bridge that gap by providing a standardized privacy layer that works with existing ERC20 tokens. First implementation on strkBTC The initial deployment of STRK20 is on strkBTC, a token representing Bitcoin on Starknet. This choice is strategic: Bitcoin-based assets are widely used in decentralized finance, and privacy is often a requirement for large holders and institutional participants. By enabling private transfers of strkBTC, Starknet demonstrates the framework’s practical utility for high-value transactions. The framework is designed to be token-agnostic, meaning any ERC20 asset can adopt STRK20 privacy features. Developers can enable or disable privacy for specific operations, giving users control over their on-chain footprint. Why this matters for the broader crypto ecosystem Privacy remains a contentious topic in cryptocurrency regulation and adoption. While some regulators view private transactions with suspicion, legitimate use cases include corporate treasury management, supply chain payments, and personal financial privacy. STRK20 provides a technical solution that balances transparency with confidentiality, potentially appealing to both retail users and institutional clients. For Starknet, the launch strengthens its position as a platform for advanced decentralized applications. The network already supports high throughput and low fees through its zero-knowledge rollup architecture. Adding a native privacy framework could attract developers building privacy-sensitive applications such as payroll systems, private lending protocols, and confidential donation platforms. Conclusion Starknet’s STRK20 framework represents a significant step toward making privacy a built-in feature for ERC20 tokens rather than an afterthought. By starting with strkBTC and offering a flexible toolkit for developers, Starknet is addressing a real market need for confidential on-chain transactions. The framework’s success will depend on adoption by dApp developers and user trust in its zero-knowledge implementation. FAQs Q1: What is STRK20? STRK20 is a zero-knowledge privacy framework launched by Starknet that provides balance protection and private transfer capabilities for all ERC20 assets. It allows developers to add privacy features to their decentralized applications without building a separate privacy system. Q2: Which token first implemented STRK20? The first token to use STRK20 is strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin token on the Starknet ecosystem. The framework is designed to work with any ERC20 token. Q3: What types of transactions can be made private with STRK20? STRK20 supports private transfers, swaps, lending, staking, payments, and donations. Developers can choose which operations to make private, giving users control over their transaction visibility. This post Starknet launches STRK20, a zero-knowledge privacy framework for private ERC20 transfers first appeared on BitcoinWorld .

9 Jun 2026, 12:17

Strategy Buys $100M BTC as Humanity Loses $36M, SBI Shinsei Adds Crypto Deposits

Crypto News Tokenization is collapsing the boundary between Wall Street and blockchain infrastructure, according to Brickken founder Edwin Mata, who projects that traditional finance will run entir...

9 Jun 2026, 12:08

Wall Street will run entirely on the blockchain by 2030, says Brickken CEO

Edwin Mata argues that EU regulations are choking local startups, leaving the U.S. and automated AI tools to run the future of tokenized finance.

9 Jun 2026, 11:52

Asterix hit as Flooring Protocol vulnerability spreads across forks

The Flooring Protocol exploit from June 8 got a sequel earlier today when Asterix, a fork of the NFT liquidity platform, became the victim of an exploit that drained roughly $40,000 in assets. The exploit news sours the mood after white hat researchers reported having helped claw back more than $500,000 in blue-chip NFTs from the same Flooring contracts vulnerability that appears to have been used to break into Asterisk. Flooring Protocol’s vulnerability spread to Asterisk via forked code A member of the BlockSec blockchain security firm, Phalcon was one of the first to notice the similarities between the Asterix attack vector and the flaw that allowed attackers to drain Flooring Protocol pools on June 8. Phalcon said the Flooring Protocol attack was essentially run back on Asterix because the latter was apparently forked from DN404/BT404, a token standard that blends fungible and non-fungible mechanics. Initial reports on the Flooring incident had loss numbers at above $900,000 before white hat interventions helped recover around $500,000. Asterix has already confirmed the breach in an X statement , acknowledging an exploit had struck the $ASTX token contract around 4 a.m. GMT+8. The team said it was investigating and would publish a full post-mortem once the analysis was complete. How did the Flooring exploit happen? Flooring Protocol, which shut down operations last year, allowed users to deposit NFTs into pools and receive fungible tokens pegged one-to-one to those locked assets. The Flooring Protocol attack that has since started to spread exploited a flaw in the platform’s BT404-style accounting system that Yuga Labs VP of Blockchain called a “ghost ownership” phenomenon on X . In simple terms, it means someone could use one malicious token ID to pass one ownership check and still reuse it to produce a different result in another accounting logic, causing a mathematical problem in token balance. In this case, the attacker created a near-infinite balance of fpTokens, the fungible tokens that anyone can use to claim NFTs locked in Flooring’s pools. Yuga Labs steps up with white hat effort Once the Flooring drain became public, Yuga Labs CEO Michael Figge said the company quickly launched a white hat rescue before another attacker could reach vulnerable NFTs. The NFT rescue operation secured 68 NFTs worth an estimated 346 ETH (roughly $570,000 at the time), including 29 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, four Mutant Apes, two CryptoPunks, one Azuki, two Elementals, 26 Captains, one Moonbird, and two Doodles. Super Secret Rare (SSR), a project that detected its vulnerability after Asterisk was hit, warned users not to interact with the pool while the situation remained unresolved. FreeLunchCapital, the developer behind Flooring’s affected contracts, confirmed the exploit also hit BitmapPunks, which used a similar contract design. Both projects relied on fungible tokens pegged one-to-one to locked NFTs, making them vulnerable to the same attack path. One exploit after another The Flooring and Asterix incidents add to a miserable streak of security failures ripping through Web3. As Cryptopolitan observed in earlier reports , the astronomical dollar losses in April snowballed into a higher count of individual incidents in May, reaching 60 confirmed security incidents totaling $68.3 million in gross losses per Certik. PeckShield attributed $340.7 million in losses to 14 bridge and cross-chain exploits as of June 1. Forked protocols present their own kinds of headaches. When downstream projects copy code without auditing it, a single vulnerability in the base codebase can be replicated across multiple levels, just as it happened in the Flooring, Asterix case now. Yuga Labs said the rescued NFTs will be returned once Flooring Protocol developers complete a patch. 0xQuit warned users not to deposit new NFTs into Flooring while the vulnerability remains open. For Asterix holders, the $40,000 loss is smaller in scale, but the team has not yet disclosed whether any recovery is possible. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .

9 Jun 2026, 11:02

ZachXBT Says Humanity Protocol’s $32 Million Crypto Hack Looks Staged — Here’s The Evidence He Found

Humanity Protocol, a biometric blockchain identity project that had been one of crypto’s top-performing tokens of 2026, suffered a catastrophic security incident on June 9 in which attackers drained approximately $32 million from more than 17 wallets — sending the H token crashing 90% within hours — before on-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly questioned whether the incident was a genuine external hack or a staged exit by the project’s own insiders. The attack unfolded in two phases. In the first, attackers minted 100 million H tokens and drained associated wallets, converting approximately $23.7 million into ETH across multiple addresses while leaving roughly $7.9 million in H tokens, per on-chain data flagged by Arkham Intelligence. In the second phase, the attacker extended the exploit to BNB Chain — taking over the H token’s proxy admin contract and minting an additional 100 million H tokens worth approximately $12.9 million to a fresh wallet, per blockchain security firm Blockaid’s on-chain monitoring of the incident. Humanity Protocol acknowledged the breach in an official post on X, confirming that private keys belonging to a member of the Humanity Foundation had been compromised. The team urged users to avoid interacting with the bridge or any liquidity pools until further notice, and stated that official updates would come only from the main account or co-founder Terence Kwok’s personal account, per the @Humanityprot post — one of your provided sources. ZachXBT’s Three-Post Takedown On The Crypto Hack The incident might have passed as a conventional private key compromise had ZachXBT not weighed in within hours. In three posts on X the pseudonymous on-chain investigator systematically dismantled the team’s narrative. In his first post, ZachXBT noted that the picture was unclear — it could be a hack or a deliberate rug — but flagged that the H team appeared to be working with an active market maker given the concentrated token supply, and that all H tokens were sold on DEXs rather than centralized exchanges — an unusual pattern for an external attacker seeking liquidity. In his second post, he sharpened the assessment: “The incident seems possibly staged. I am not buying the team’s story. It’s a convenient way for the active MM to have exited.” In his third post, he turned to the project’s broader credibility: “You choose to crime pump your token for weeks with zero fundamentals and think CT will blindly trust your story? Disclose your active MM agreements with the HK entity first.” ZachXBT later walked back some of his concerns after additional analysis suggested the private key compromise and market-making issues may be unrelated — but the damage to the project’s credibility was already done. The Context That Made ZachXBT’s Suspicions Land The timing of the incident carries its own weight. The H token had surged approximately 875% above its 2026 low before the crash, per BanklessTimes — making it one of the year’s most extreme performers in a sector not short of extreme performers. A token unlock is scheduled for June 25 — two weeks away — a timeline that would make a staged exit before unlock a financially rational, if criminal, decision. Three of the project’s four co-founders have documented histories involving lawsuits, financial fraud allegations, and management failures. Reports citing internal conversations suggested only approximately one million of the project’s nine million registered identities had completed biometric verification — the core metric on which Humanity’s entire value proposition rests. This development marks a critical and deeply familiar moment for the nascent sector. A 90% token crash tied to a private key compromise that crypto’s most respected on-chain investigator publicly questions as staged — arriving weeks before a major token unlock, involving a project whose leadership carries documented red flags — is precisely the pattern that has defined the sector’s most damaging fraud cases. Whether ZachXBT’s suspicions ultimately prove correct will depend on on-chain evidence still being gathered. What is already clear is that $32 million is gone and the community that trusted Humanity Protocol’s identity narrative is left with nothing but questions. Cover image from Grok, ETHUSD chart from Tradingview

9 Jun 2026, 11:02

Legendary Trader Peter Brandt Is Bullish On XRP. Here’s why

XRP supporters received a notable boost after veteran market analyst Peter Brandt expressed a favorable view of the digital asset in a recent appearance on Crypto Banter. The comments, highlighted by crypto commentator JackTheRippler on social media, quickly attracted attention due to Brandt’s long-standing reputation in financial markets and his history of providing candid assessments of assets. In the post, JackTheRippler shared a direct quote from Brandt, writing, “HUGE: Peter Brandt is bullish on $XRP! ‘XRP IS THE BEST.’ He is one of the MOST POPULAR stock market analysts.” The statement immediately caught the attention of market participants, particularly because Brandt has spent decades analyzing traditional financial markets and is widely followed for his technical market insights. HUGE: Peter Brandt is bullish on $XRP ! "XRP IS THE BEST." He is one of the MOST POPULAR stock market analysts. pic.twitter.com/3JEBSTHvll — JackTheRippler © (@RippleXrpie) June 7, 2026 Brandt Names XRP Among Leading Blockchain Networks During the Crypto Banter interview, Brandt was asked about XRP and delivered a response that surprised some viewers. He stated, “XRP probably is the best.” The host quickly sought clarification, asking, “Did you just say XRP is probably the best?” Brandt responded affirmatively, saying, “Yeah.” He then expanded on his view by discussing which blockchain networks he believes have the strongest chance of becoming widely used for transactions. According to Brandt, if investors were placing bets on which digital assets could achieve transactional relevance, XRP would rank among the leading contenders. “I mean, right now, if you had a bet on a horse to become transactional, it would probably be XRP, Solana, ETH,” Brandt said. While mentioning XRP alongside Solana and Ethereum, Brandt also expressed skepticism toward much of the broader cryptocurrency market. He added that he believes many projects will ultimately fail, stating that “most of them are going to end up junk.” The comments stood out because Brandt’s assessment focused on practical utility rather than short-term price movements. His remarks suggested that he sees XRP as one of the stronger candidates for real-world transactional use as the digital asset industry continues to mature. Community Members React to the Remarks The video and accompanying tweet generated reactions from several members of the crypto community, many of whom viewed Brandt’s comments as a significant endorsement. Lila Hayes expressed enthusiasm about the analyst’s position, writing, “Haha, if Peter Brandt says $XRP is the best, people are definitely going to take notice! I’m really excited to see how it performs.” Another commenter, Lina, focused on the long-term investment perspective. She stated , “Faith will be tested, and patience will eventually be rewarded. This is one of the most important lessons investing has taught me.” We are on X, follow us to connect with us :- @TimesTabloid1 — TimesTabloid (@TimesTabloid1) June 15, 2025 Mia also emphasized the importance of Brandt’s opinion, noting that the veteran analyst rarely offers praise without careful consideration. “Peter Brandt doesn’t hand out compliments lightly, so his positive view on XRP is definitely worth paying attention to,” she wrote. XRP Gains Support From a Respected Market Voice Brandt’s remarks have given XRP supporters another reason to follow developments surrounding the asset. While he acknowledged that only a handful of blockchain networks may achieve lasting relevance, he placed XRP among the projects he believes have the strongest potential to serve transactional purposes in the future. Given his standing in the investment world, those comments are likely to remain a point of interest for both XRP holders and the broader cryptocurrency community. Disclaimer : This content is meant to inform and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author’s personal opinions and do not represent Times Tabloid’s opinion. Readers are advised to conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. Any action taken by the reader is strictly at their own risk. Times Tabloid is not responsible for any financial losses. Follow us on X , Facebook , Telegram , and Google News The post Legendary Trader Peter Brandt Is Bullish On XRP. Here’s why appeared first on Times Tabloid .