The Quantstamp Blog

In this series, we describe the market dynamics of the 1st bZx attack so we can avoid attacks with market manipulation components in the future.

This post discusses how flash loans, zaps, and DeFi aggregators are leveraging composability in order to simplify the user experience and ultimately make DeFi markets hyper-efficient.

DeFi is blockchain’s first killer app, with assets locked up approaching $1 billion USD. But one major asset is missing: Bitcoin. Bitcoin is not only the first crypto asset, but the largest - with over $168 billion USD of Bitcoin in circulation it has deep pools of liquidity. It is one of the least volatile cryptocurrencies and has a large network of fiat on and off ramps. All these properties make it a great crypto-collateral. We think Bitcoin has the potential to transform the DeFi landscape as the most widespread and liquid asset available today.

Composability allows for DeFi projects to leverage one another to create powerful new functionality. However this composability also introduces more risk. These issues have existed for a while, but have been made easier to exploit through the introduction of flash loans. While flash loans themselves do not introduce new vulnerabilities, they level the playing field for attacks which previously required large amounts of capital. 

Quantstamp provides readers with insightful information concerning the bZx hacks.

Quantstamp is proud to be a Cypher sponsor of ETHDenver. This will also mark the third time we participate in the hackathon (we have attended the event every time!).

The recent Istanbul hard fork in December affected some important smart contracts deployed on Ethereum mainnet. Thankfully, major projects such as Kyber were prepared and migrated to new contracts before the fork, but many developers are still unaware of the impact the Istanbul hard fork may have on both smart contract development and previously deployed contracts.

OmiseGO's More Viable Plasma added features to plasma designed to enhance user experience.

Maker set the foundation for the DeFi ecosystem by creating DAI, but their impact does not end there. They facilitating the success of future DeFi rockstars and Quantstamp is providing the security.