TechFlow Intelligence Bureau: KelpDAO Attack Causes Nearly $300 Million Loss, Triggers Aave Withdrawal Wave, RAVE Crashes 95% in a Single Day

marsbitОпубліковано о 2026-04-19Востаннє оновлено о 2026-04-19

Анотація

China's AI firm DeepSeek is seeking external funding for the first time, with a valuation exceeding $10 billion, signaling intensifying competition and high R&D costs in the domestic large model sector. Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman faces scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest between his personal investments and OpenAI’s business ahead of a possible IPO. In Web3, KelpDAO suffered a $294 million attack due to forged cross-chain messages on LayerZero, leading to massive withdrawals from Aave and a resulting 18% drop in AAVE tokens. Separately, RAVE cryptocurrency collapsed by 95% in a single day amid suspected insider manipulation. Geopolitically, Iran is now demanding Bitcoin payments for transit through the Strait of Hormuz, reflecting both internal governmental discord and the growing adoption of crypto in tense regions. In semiconductors, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang showed rare public frustration over questions regarding chip sales to China, while the industry faces renewed price hikes. Tesla continues expanding its Robotaxi service, and a Chinese humanoid robot outperformed humans in a half-marathon, marking a milestone in robotics. Despite Middle East tensions and market uncertainties, U.S. stocks continue to rise, prompting discussions about market optimism versus risk blindness. Overall, today’s developments highlight systemic vulnerabilities—in tech, finance, and geopolitics—while also showcasing innovation in crises.

A landmark event has occurred in the domestic large model sector. DeepSeek, which had been self-funded until now, is seeking external financing for the first time, with a valuation exceeding $10 billion. This could alter the competitive landscape of China's AI large models and also reflects the ongoing pressures of computing power and R&D investment.

Zhihu

Sam Altman's Side Projects Blur the Boundaries of OpenAI's Interests

The Wall Street Journal reported that several personal investment projects by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pose potential conflicts of interest with OpenAI's business, sparking governance controversies. As OpenAI prepares for its IPO, this issue may become a regulatory focus.

WSJ

Running Qwen3.6-35B Locally Yields Results Comparable to Claude

A user ran the Qwen3.6-35B model (64k context) with 8-bit quantization on an M5 Max 128GB MacBook, achieving a programming experience close to that of Claude through OpenCode. The usability of local large models is rapidly approaching that of cloud services.

Hot topic: The developer community is seriously discussing "when we no longer need to subscribe to Claude."

Reddit

> Spicy take: The timing of DeepSeek's fundraising is微妙—when you prove that you can build a good model without burning cash, investors actually want to give you more money.

Crypto / Web3

KelpDAO Hacked for $294 Million, LayerZero Cross-Chain Bridge Incident Again

An attacker forged LayerZero cross-chain messages, minted 116,500 rsETH (worth $294 million) out of thin air, and used it as collateral to drain real ETH from lending protocols. The multi-signature paused the protocol after 46 minutes, but the damage was already done.

Hot topic: The community is once again questioning the trust layer design of cross-chain bridges, while THORChain promotes its "native cross-chain" solution.

lookonchain | THORChain

Aave Faces $5.4 Billion ETH Withdrawal Wave, Utilization Rate Soars to 100%

Following the KelpDAO attack that left Aave with bad debt, whales panicked and withdrew over $5.4 billion, with Justin Sun alone withdrawing $154 million worth of ETH. The ETH pool utilization rate has reached the 100% cap, and the AAVE token plummeted 18% in a single day.

WuBlockchain | lookonchain

RAVE Cryptocurrency Crashes 95% in a Single Day, $6.3 Billion Market Cap Evaporates

Suspected insider manipulation caused the RAVE token to plummet 95% from its peak in one day, wiping out $6.3 billion in market cap. Another typical pump-and-dump incident highlighting the manipulation risks in the crypto market.

Reddit

Iran Demands Bitcoin Payment for Strait of Hormuz Transit Fees

Amid the chaos of repeatedly closing and opening the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has begun requiring ships to pay transit fees in Bitcoin. Geopolitical crises are driving the practical application of alternative payment methods.

Finance Feeds

> Spicy take: Cross-chain bridges are in trouble yet again. The industry's obsession with "trust layers" is like its obsession with "decentralization"—everyone talks about it, but in action, they all take shortcuts.

Chips / Hardware

Huang Renxun Nearly Loses Composure When Questioned About Chip Sales to China

When asked about selling chips to China, Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun emotionally responded: "You're not dealing with someone who wakes up a loser." A rare public loss of composure reflects the immense pressure from the U.S.-China chip war.

Tom's Hardware

Semiconductor Industry Faces Another Round of Price Increase Notices

Following consecutive limit-up rallies for leading optical module equipment companies, the semiconductor supply chain has issued another round of price increase notices, affecting coupling and packaging testing equipment.

Cailian Press

Tech Companies

Tesla Expands Self-Driving Taxi Service to Dallas and Houston

Tesla's Robotaxi service continues to expand, adding two major cities in Texas. Musk's commercialization of full self-driving is accelerating.

36Kr

U.S. Stocks

Trump Launches Rapid Treatment Program for Severe Mental Illness

The White House released a fact sheet announcing an accelerated medical treatment approval process for severe mental illnesses. The WSB community热议 with dark humor, saying "finally someone cares about us."

White House

U.S. Stocks "Rise No Matter What" Sparks Discussion

Despite Middle East geopolitical tensions and Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. stocks continue to rise. Investors are beginning to question whether the market is overly optimistic or numb to risks.

Reddit

Finance / Macroeconomics

Iran's Strait of Hormuz "Opened Then Closed" Exposes Internal Rifts

Iran's foreign minister announced on Friday that the strait was "fully open," only for the Revolutionary Guard to announce via maritime radio hours later that it was "still closed" and criticize the foreign ministry's "naive tweets." This public confrontation reveals deep contradictions between Iran's political leadership and military hardliners.

WSJ | CNN

50 Days of Iran Conflict, Global Oil Revenue Losses Reach $50 Billion

Since the conflict erupted in late February, global markets have lost over 500 million barrels of crude oil and condensate. At an average price of $100 per barrel, losses exceed $50 billion. Analysts call this the largest energy supply disruption in modern history.

6551

> Spicy take: Iran's foreign ministry and Revolutionary Guard argued on Twitter, and oil prices went on a roller coaster. This is probably the Persian version of "governing by Twitter."

New Products / New Trends

Chinese Humanoid Robot Wins Half Marathon, Surpasses Human Record

At the Beijing Humanoid Robot Half Marathon, Glory's "Lightning" robot broke the 20-kilometer mark for the first time and won, with a time surpassing some human runners. Over 70 teams and 300+ robots participated, marking a milestone in the athletic capabilities of humanoid robots.

Hot topic: Overseas communities are amazed by the speed of China's robot development.

Zhihu | Reddit

NASA Shuts Down Voyager 1 Instrument to Extend Spacecraft's Life

To conserve energy, NASA turned off one of Voyager 1's scientific instruments. Launched in 1977, the probe has been operating for nearly 50 years. The team faces a difficult choice: collect more data or let it travel farther.

NASA

Today's Undercurrent

Cross-chain bridges exploding again, U.S. stocks immune to all bad news, Iran's factions working against each other—today's theme is "systems out of control." Whether it's the trust assumptions at the technical layer, the market's risk pricing mechanisms, or the command chains in geopolitics, vulnerabilities are being exposed. Amid the chaos, some are collecting tolls in Bitcoin, while others are making robots run marathons. When old orders begin to fail, new experiments emerge.

Пов'язані питання

QWhat was the cause of the KelpDAO attack and how much was lost?

AThe KelpDAO attack was caused by an attacker forging LayerZero cross-chain messages to mint 116,500 rsETH (worth $294 million) out of thin air, which was then used as collateral to drain real ETH from lending protocols.

QHow did the KelpDAO attack impact Aave and what was the scale of the withdrawal?

AThe KelpDAO attack caused Aave to incur bad debt, triggering a panic withdrawal of over $5.4 billion in ETH by whales, with Justin Sun alone withdrawing $154 million. The ETH pool utilization reached 100%, and the AAVE token plummeted 18% in a single day.

QWhat happened to the RAVE cryptocurrency and how much value was erased?

AThe RAVE cryptocurrency crashed by 95% in a single day, erasing $6.3 billion in market value, in a suspected pump-and-dump event orchestrated by insiders.

QWhy did NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang nearly lose his temper when questioned about chip sales to China?

AJensen Huang became emotionally agitated when questioned about NVIDIA's chip sales to China, retorting, 'You're not dealing with someone who wakes up a loser,' reflecting the immense pressure from the U.S.-China chip war.

QWhat geopolitical event is driving the use of alternative payment methods like Bitcoin?

AIran's repeated opening and closing of the Strait of Hormuz, along with its requirement for ships to pay transit fees in Bitcoin, is driving the use of alternative payment methods due to the geopolitical crisis.

Пов'язані матеріали

Bitcoin Mining Farms Are Becoming AI Factories

Bitcoin mines are transforming into AI factories. This shift is driven by the convergence of three key assets from the previous crypto cycle: infrastructure, talent, and capital. Crypto mining companies like Crusoe, CoreWeave, and Bitdeer are repurposing their core competency—securing power, land, and grid connections in remote locations—to build data centers for AI clients. These firms are signing multi-billion dollar, long-term contracts with companies like Anthropic, AWS, and Microsoft, as AI's demand for reliable, high-capacity compute surpasses the profitability of Bitcoin mining. Simultaneously, crypto entrepreneurs and engineers are applying their skills to new AI ventures. Examples include OpenSea's co-founder launching OpenRouter (an AI model aggregator), and former Coinbase engineers building Fal.ai (a generative media infrastructure platform). Their experience in building scalable, global software networks translates effectively to the AI space. Furthermore, capital accumulated during the crypto boom is now fueling AI. Figures like Jed McCaleb (co-founder of Ripple) funded Voltage Park, a large-scale GPU cloud provider. Notably, some crypto investments, like FTX's early bets on Anthropic and Cursor, have generated astronomical paper returns, demonstrating how high-risk crypto capital flowed into AI before it became mainstream. The transition is not just about repurposing hardware, but about redirecting critical resources—power infrastructure, distributed systems expertise, and venture funding—to the next technological frontier: artificial intelligence.

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Morpho Launches Fixed-Rate Product Midnight: Lenders and Borrowers Set Their Own Rates, Ending the Era of Interest Rate Models

Morpho Launches Fixed-Rate Product Midnight: Lenders and Borrowers Set Their Own Rates, Ending the Era of Algorithmic Interest Models On-chain lending has grown to $60 billion but remains minuscule compared to traditional finance's $200 trillion annual credit volume. Morpho identifies the lack of fixed rates and maturity dates as key bottlenecks. Institutions need predictability, not the passive floating rates set by algorithmic models. Midnight allows lenders and borrowers to directly quote rates, set terms, and become price makers, not takers. Fixed-rate lending is now viable due to cheaper, faster blockchains and the entry of institutions demanding control and certainty over returns, costs, and duration. Morpho Blue previously gave users control over risk; Midnight adds control over interest rates. Past attempts at on-chain fixed-rate lending failed primarily because they were built on top of floating-rate pools (creating unpredictability) or lacked sufficient active participants. Midnight avoids these pitfalls as a standalone primitive with fixed rates at its core, built upon Morpho Blue's existing large and active user base. Midnight offers distinct value: institutions gain predictable term structures and full control; fintech companies can offer tailored fixed-rate products; lenders/borrowers achieve predictability and efficiency; and curators can now differentiate by configuring both risk and interest rates. Morpho Midnight is not a replacement for Morpho Blue. The Morpho network will now feature two complementary market structures: floating-rate/open-term (Blue) for flexibility and fixed-rate/fixed-term (Midnight) for predictability. Liquidity can flow between them. The launch will be gradual, prioritizing security. Initially, it will support direct lending on Base network with one trading pair (cbBTC/USDC) and limited maturity dates. Advanced features like auto-rollovers will be introduced later.

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Morpho Launches Fixed-Rate Product Midnight: Lenders and Borrowers Set Their Own Rates, Ending the Era of Interest Rate Models

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human.tech Launches Clean SDK for Privacy-First Web3 Apps

human.tech has launched the Clean SDK, a toolkit enabling developers to build privacy-first Web3 applications with transparent accountability. Released alongside Aztec's version 5, the SDK provides components for integrating zero-knowledge identity verification, sanctions screening, and private transactions, without developers handling sensitive user data or building compliance infrastructure from scratch. It uses zero-knowledge proofs and programmable verification to allow apps to confirm user legitimacy and sanctions compliance while keeping identities confidential. The first application built on the SDK, Shield, a privacy bridge to Aztec, also launched. It allows users to transfer assets privately while proving a unique human is behind each transfer and that funds have passed sanctions checks, as verified by a May 2026 audit. The SDK offers three core verification techniques: Proof of Innocence (sanctions screening against 23 sources), Proof of Personhood (simpler verification via Human Passport), and Proof of Clean Hands (higher-assurance zero-knowledge government ID checks). This allows apps to authenticate users and transactions without exposing personal data. Designed for Aztec builders, the SDK lets developers add programmable privacy to decentralized apps, eliminating the need to create their own verification and ZK infrastructure. Shield demonstrates its practical use for private bridges, but the SDK aims to enable a wider ecosystem of private, accountable financial apps and services. The launch addresses growing demand for infrastructure that balances privacy and accountability. The SDK avoids traditional identity databases, storing encrypted data off-chain, screening at both entry and exit points, and including a gated disclosure mechanism for legal requests. human.tech's products, including the Clean SDK, focus on using zero-knowledge technology to enable verifiable personhood and privacy in digital systems.

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human.tech Launches Clean SDK for Privacy-First Web3 Apps

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Unlocking $100 Million in Liquidity? Pump.fun's New Policy Tests the 5-Minute Pump Technique

Pump.fun, a popular meme coin launchpad, has introduced a new standard mechanism called BOOST. It aims to address a significant capital efficiency issue: when a newly launched token graduates from its initial bonding curve to a liquidity pool (LP), roughly 20% of its liquidity becomes permanently locked as "dead liquidity," estimated to waste over $100 million annually. Instead of locking these funds permanently, BOOST repurposes them. Upon a token's migration, approximately 20% of the settlement funds (e.g., 17.6 SOL or ~$2516 USDC) are used to buy back the token on the open market over a 5-minute period via a Time-Weighted Average Price (TWAP) mechanism. All purchased tokens are immediately burned. This creates a brief, systematic buy pressure immediately after migration, potentially generating a short-term price surge ("pump") while permanently reducing the token's circulating supply. The goal is to enhance the immediate post-launch trading experience, potentially increasing trader retention and sustainable protocol revenue, which funds ongoing token buybacks. However, concerns exist that this artificial 5-minute boost could lower the barrier for launching low-quality tokens and lead to steeper price crashes once the buy pressure stops, if followed by large sell-offs. The feature automatically applies to tokens migrating after July 21, 2024, but not to previously migrated tokens or those launched via the Mayhem AI Agent lab.

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Unlocking $100 Million in Liquidity? Pump.fun's New Policy Tests the 5-Minute Pump Technique

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