Tether fights back against insolvency claims, EU struggles to curb inflation

The biggest news in the cryptoverse for Aug. 30 includes the FBI’s warning against using DeFi protocols, liquidation of $20 million in Bitcoin longs, and Tether’s fightback against WSJ insolvency claims.

CryptoSlate Top Stories

FBI warns against DeFi after data reveals sector accounts for 97% of stolen $1.3B during Q1 

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned investors against using DeFi protocols due to growing cyber crimes. It highlighted that 97% of the $1.3 billion stolen in cryptocurrencies in 2022 were siphoned from DeFi protocols.

The FBI, however, recommended that investors who wish to proceed with DeFi services should perform due diligence on the protocols and access potential risks and audit reports.

DeFi protocols on their end were advised to conduct periodic monitoring and testing to curb smart contract risks.

Tether responds to WSJ’s insolvency claim, says its US Treasury assets are safe

With Tether’s reserve having an excess of $191 million, Wall Street Journal had claimed that a 0.3% decline in asset value could result in insolvency for the USDT issuer.

Tether in response stated that a large portion of its reserve assets is held in U.S. Treasuries which have remained “the premier safe asset for several decades.”

LUNA Classic pumps 70% on ambitions to wipe the past, revive the chain

Following the UST depeg in May, developers working on forked LUNA Classic have introduced high-yield staking rewards and token burns to regain investors’ trust.

Investors have reportedly shown support for the revival plan as the LUNC token has gained 54% in value over the last 30 days and has increased 70% from its bottom on Aug. 19.

Bitcoin sell-off leads to $20M in longs liquidated 

In a swift response to Bitcoin’s price action over the last 24 hours, bears have forced BTC back to as low as $19,600. As a result, $20.28 million in longs were liquidated, according to Glasscoin.

CryptoSlate also highlighted the Open Interest by Strike price metrics, which revealed that derivatives traders expect BTC to fall below $19,500 which will trigger sales of their contract holdings by Aug. 31.

Crypto Lender Nexo allocates $50M to buyback its native token

Nexo said it will use $50 million to buy back its native token from the open market over the next six months. The approval is an ongoing initiative that has seen Nexo spend over $112 million in executing buybacks between 2020 and 2021.

Nexo Co-Founder Antoni Trenchev said the buyback will help stabilize…