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Paradigm Drives $225M Funding Round For Monad Labs, Blockchain Rival To Ethereum, Solana

Venture Capital (VC) firm Paradigm is leading a substantial $225 million funding round for a new Layer 1 (L1) network, that aims to compete with the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. Other notable participants include VC firms Electric Capital and Greenoaks.

According to a recent Fortune Magazine report, Monad Labs, the company behind the blockchain project, aims to compete with established players such as Solana (SOL) and Ethereum and the Layer 1 blockchain protocol Sui (SUI). 

Monad’s Rebuilt Ethereum Blockchain 

Per the report, Monad’s initiative is to rebuild the Ethereum blockchain from the ground up, while retaining the ability to execute smart contracts. The project aims to achieve faster transaction speeds, handle higher volumes, and offer lower costs compared to existing networks. 

Notably, Monad ensures compatibility with Ethereum’s programming infrastructure, known as the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This compatibility allows developers to port applications built for Ethereum, ensuring a fluid transition to the new blockchain.

Keone Hon, the founder of Monad, stated in an exclusive interview with Fortune that the company has dedicated approximately two years to developing its blockchain solution. 

Hon noted that Monad Labs stands out by fully supporting the EVM bytecode standard. Developers use this standard to create decentralized applications (dApps) on platforms such as Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, Binance Smart Chain, and Optimism. 

According to Avichal Garg, managing partner of Electric Capital, nearly 90% of developers working across various crypto ecosystems focus exclusively on EVM chains. 

This statistic, highlighted in a recent report by Electric Capital, demonstrates the significant appeal of EVM compatibility. Although Monad does not undergo a complete redesign of its programming language like some other blockchains, it still benefits from the widespread usage and familiarity of the EVM.

Blockchain-Powered Exchanges? 

According to the report, Monad plans to launch its mainnet by the end of the year and expects to launch a testnet in the coming months. The company, which currently employs around 30 people, is also looking to launch a native token, although details of its launch alongside the mainnet have not been disclosed.

While Keone Hon emphasized the pursuit of mainstream adoption, he pointed out that Monad’s initial use case is likely to be “high-frequency” trading activity, drawing on his own experience at Jump Trading, a data and research-driven trading firm. 

Hon emphasized the need for a highly performant blockchain to enable exchanges on the scale of Nasdaq or Chicago Mercantil Exchange (CME), which process millions to billions of transactions daily.

Lastly, Hon also highlighted the potential for a blockchain with high transaction capacity and low fees to enable various applications, such as gaming. He cited examples where blockchain-based games, such as RuneScape, require frequent updates of player statistics, necessitating low-cost and fast transactions on the blockchain.

Ethereum

At the time of writing, ETH was trading at $3,497, down nearly 5% in the past 24 hours. 

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

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Ledger Commits To Full Restitution For Victims Of $600,000 ConnectKit Attack

Hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger has responded to a recent security breach resulting in the theft of $600,000 worth of user assets. 

The company has pledged to enhance its security protocols by eliminating Blind Signing, a process where transactions are displayed in code rather than plain language, by June 2024.

Ledger Takes Responsibility For ConnectKit Attack

In a statement, Ledger emphasized its focus on addressing the recent security incident and preventing similar occurrences in the future. 

The company acknowledged the approximately $600,000 in assets that were impacted by the ConnectKit attack, particularly affecting users blind signing on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) decentralized applications (dApps). 

Furthermore, Ledger pledged to make sure affected victims are fully compensated, including non-Ledger customers, with CEO & Chairman Pascal Gauthier personally overseeing the restitution process. 

According to the statement, Ledger has already initiated contact with affected users and is actively working with them to resolve their specific cases.

In addition, by June 2024, blind signing will no longer be supported on Ledger devices, contributing to a “new standard of user protection” and advocating for “Clear Signing,” which refers to a process that allows users to verify transactions on their Ledger devices before signing them across dApps.

On this matter, Ledger’s CEO Pascal Gauthier stated: 

My personal commitment: Ledger will dedicate as much internal and external resources as possible to help the affected individuals recover their assets.

Heightened dApp Security Measures

According to an incident report released by the hardware wallet manufacturer, the attack exploited the Ledger Connect Kit, injecting malicious code into dApps utilizing the kit. 

This malicious code redirected assets to the attacker’s wallets, tricking EVM dApp users into “unknowingly signing transactions” that drained their wallets. 

Ledger addressed the attack by deploying a genuine fix for the Connect Kit within 40 minutes of detection. The compromised code remained accessible for a limited time due to the nature of content delivery networks (CDNs) and caching mechanisms.

Ledger acknowledged the risks faced by the entire industry in safeguarding users and emphasized the need to continually raise the bar for security in dApps. 

The company plans to strengthen its access controls, conduct audits of internal and external tools, reinforce code signing, and improve infrastructure monitoring and alerting systems. 

Additionally, Ledger will educate users on the importance of Clear Signing and the potential risks associated with blind signing transactions without a secure display.

Notably, with Clear Signing, users are presented with a clear and readable representation of the transaction details, enabling them to review and validate the transaction before providing their signature. 

This added layer of transparency and verification helps users mitigate the risks associated with front-end attacks or malicious code injected into decentralized applications

Ledger

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

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Polygon zkEVM Successfully Completes First Major Upgrade, Introduces Dragonfruit

Polygon (MATIC) zkEVM, a zero-knowledge scaling solution designed to be compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), has achieved a significant milestone by completing its first upgrade. 

The upgrade, known as the Dragonfruit Upgrade, marks a significant step forward for Polygon zkEVM since its launch in mainnet beta in March 2023.

Polygon zkEVM Implements Key Improvements

As an EVM equivalent ZK rollup scaling solution, Polygon zkEVM aims to ensure seamless compatibility with existing smart contracts, developer tooling, and wallets. This compatibility allows for a “smooth transition” and continued operation without disrupting the ecosystem. 

Developers can leverage the benefits of Polygon zkEVM’s zero-knowledge proofs, specifically validity proofs, to reduce transaction costs and increase transaction throughput while maintaining the robust security provided by the Ethereum base layer.

The successful completion of the Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta upgrade, including bridge operations, signifies a notable achievement, according to the protocol’s announcement on September 20. 

With the completion of the upgrade, the system has resumed full activity, providing users with enhanced functionality and improved scalability.

Regarding the PUSH0 opcode support, Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta is now included in the list of EVM networks that support this opcode. 

Including Polygon zkEVM Mainnet Beta alongside Ethereum demonstrates its compatibility with existing Ethereum-based networks and further expands the options available to developers.

Completing the first major upgrade for Polygon zkEVM represents a notable advancement in zero-knowledge scaling solutions. 

By combining the benefits of zero-knowledge proofs, lower transaction costs, increased throughput, and Ethereum’s base-layer security, Polygon zkEVM aims to provide an efficient and secure environment for decentralized applications and blockchain development.

With the successful upgrade and its continued commitment to compatibility and scalability, Polygon zkEVM strengthens its position as a scaling solution within the broader Ethereum ecosystem. 

Developers and users alike can leverage the capabilities of Polygon zkEVM to build and interact with decentralized applications while enjoying the benefits of improved efficiency and reduced costs.

MATIC Sees Modest Gain, Holding Significant Seven-Day Increase

Despite ongoing developments within the Polygon ecosystem, the native token of the protocol, MATIC, has remained range-bound for the past two days, failing to test upper resistance levels. 

Currently, the token is consolidating between the price range of $0.536 and $0.5472, trading at $0.5426. It has maintained relative stability for over 24 hours, with a slight gain of 0.5% during this time frame.

Polygon

However, MATIC has still held significant gains over the seven days, with a 5.9% increase. This allowed the token to reclaim the $0.500 level after losing it and experiencing a decline to $0.419 on September 11, following the overall market trend. This marked the lowest point of the year for MATIC.

MATIC faces resistance at two key levels, namely $0.5587 and $0.5930. These resistance walls pose challenges for the token’s recovery and upward momentum. MATIC must surpass these obstacles in the short term before it can regain the $0.600 mark.

On the other hand, a concerning factor is that MATIC only has a support level at a 1-year low of $0.4614. Bulls must defend this threshold to prevent a significant downtrend leading to new yearly lows. 

However, MATIC could break free from the lower lows zone if the market conditions become more favorable for altcoins, potentially leading to a price surge.

Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com