If you missed them, here are the top stories of the week as they unfolded. Remember HODL FM is the lens that sees it all and reports to you.
Hamster Kombat Claims Top Spot Among Fastest Apps in History
Hamster Kombat, a viral Telegram-based game, achieved an exclusive milestone after reaching 150 million users in record time. Many say the game is destined for the Guinness Book of Records, given its claim of the 3rd spot among the fastest applications in history.
Related: Binance Fines, Notcoin Woes, Certik-Kraken Clash & New Secure AI Startup
Very few platforms achieve this feat. Pokemon Go was the fastest app to reach 150 million users in 33 days. Then, in 2023, Meta launched Threads, and it reached the milestone in six days.
Telegram-based play and earn games are gaining popularity after Notcoin set the stage in March. Now we have Hamster Kombat, which the team behind it says is a cryptocurrency exchange CEO simulator. Over the last three months, the game’s user base has grown exponentially with everyone highly anticipating a July Token Generation Event (TGE).
Players are optimistic that Hamster Kombat will reward their loyalty with future airdrops depending either on the number of in-game coins they accumulate or the amount of profit per hour based on the type of cards they purchase using the accumulated in-game coins.
Meanwhile, the game has applied for a Guinness World Record as the first YouTube channel to get 10 million subscribers in seven days.
By the third week, the channel had amassed 22 million subscribers, thereby outpacing MrBeast as the world’s largest YouTube channel.
$1.19 Billion Crypto Losses Due to Hacks in H1 2024: CertiK is Championing for Effective Security
As per the latest report from Certik, crypto lost $1.19 billion to security breaches in 2024’s first half. Nearly half of this amount, $498 million got lost through phishing attacks. As of now, the biggest attack is the DMM Bitcoin where hackers made away with over $304 million. Another big security breach was BtcTurk, where criminals stole $90 million from several hot wallets.
Other types of hacks that contributed to H1’s $1.19 billion in lost crypto funds are weak access controls, vulnerable code, exit scams, honey pot, price manipulation, phishing, and private key compromise. The chart below indicates each type and the financial loss attached to it:
Ripple (XRP) Advocate States Case Against the U.S SEC Could End in July
When asked about the end date for the SEC vs. Ripple saga, Attorney Fred Rispoli declared it could be July 31. Last year, on that same date, Federal Court Judge Annalisa Torres decreed that XRP is a commodity when sold to the general public.
Nonetheless, the drama is far from being over against the regulator, given that so much still hangs in the balance.
For example, U.S District Court judge Amy Berman Jackson partially allowed some of the SEC’s claims, like the one about a financial regulator having the power to render direct sale of cryptocurrency tokens as security transactions by demonstration.
AI Remains A Dominant Crypto Sector Theme Throughout H1 2024
Grayscale’s recent report “Crypto Sectors in Q3 2024” has underscored the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence across the cryptocurrency sector. Throughout the period, AI has demonstrated its significance in driving the growth of smart contract platforms, and crypto utility sectors.
More:
- Digest 60: Stablecoins Bypassing Sanctions, Legal Bitcoin Wallet Hack, Grayscale’s Ether ETF Challenges, and AI Browsers Review
- Digest 61: TFTX Claim Spirals from $44B to $200M, XRP CEO “Seek Regulatory Clarity FIRST” DOG Just Went to the Moon, and Zoom’s New Digital Twin
- Digest 62: Traders Lost $200 Million, AI and Crypto Could Boost GDP, China's Main Bank Crypto Outlook, Superintelligence Alliance Delay
In the near future, Grayscale forecasted the overlap between AI and blockchain will continue evolving and fueling innovation. For instance, AI crypto tokens have increased by 80% YTD compared to the overal cryptocurrency market which is currently taking a downturn.
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