Decentralized finance startup dForce is returning all the $25 million stolen from its platform to its users, as the attacker returned all of the funds in what appears to be a change of heart.

Samsung is adding TRON-based decentralized applications to its Galaxy Store for users in Europe and the United States, putting blockchain-based games and apps in front of millions of mobile device users.

Binance has launched its own cryptocurrency mining pool, with an initial focus on BTC while also supporting Proof-of-Stake (PoS) cryptoassets. The move raised centralization concerns given the exchange’s influence.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• DeFi Startup To Return Funds to Users After Hacker Returned Stolen $25 Million
• Samsung Galaxy Store Adds TRON Decentralized Applications
• Binance Launches Its Own Cryptocurrency Mining Pool

At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $7,690.88 (-0.27%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $2.27 bn. As for ether (ETH), it is trading at $194.84 (-0.57%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $895.88 million. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index is currently tracking at 2,784.77 (-0.09%).

DeFi Startup To Return Funds to Users After Hacker Returned Stolen $25 Million

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) startup dForce, that earlier this month lost nearly $25 million in an attack and later on saw the hacker return the stolen funds, has announced it will be compensating all users for their stolen assets.

On social media, dForce shared that “over 90% of assets have been distributed to users in less than 24 hours. 100% [of] users have been made whole in the recovery. We will disclose more future actions shortly.” Via a blog post, the firm addressed the hacker exchanging some assets before returning them:

"Given that hacker was only able to exchange a few assets before returning the funds, we have elected to rebalance most of the portfolio back to the last state prior to the contract being attacked and the pausing of the contract. The funds are secure, and we're eager to return them."

Per the post users with outstanding balances on their accounts can request withdrawals, which will be processed on a case-by-case basis. Those who don’t make a request will receive their assets automatically within a week.

Users will also have a week to repay loans with the protocol. Failure to do so will see dForce sell their collateral to cover outstanding loans and return the remaining assets to them in the form of stablecoins.

Samsung Galaxy Store Adds TRON Decentralized Applications

Samsung has added support for TRON decentralized applications to its proprietary Galaxy Store, granting mobile device users in both Europe and the United States access to them. The decentralized applications will be available in a dedicated section of the Galaxy Store.

On-chain games, like Super Player and Blockchain Cuties, are to be available this week, while other dapps will be added in the near future, according to TRON. Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, has said the collaboration with Samsung was going to “the next level by integrating both ecosystems together.” When the partnership was first announced in October, both firms released a software development kit (SDK) that gave users access to the TRON blockchain via Samsung’s devices.

Samsung is notably one of the world’s largest smartphone companies in the world, having shipped more than 295 million devices in 2019. It was already offering users a crypto wallet supporting TRON, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.

Binance Launches Its Own Cryptocurrency Mining Pool

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance has launched its own mining pool, Binance Pool, with an initial focus on Bitcoin (BTC). The pool is set to operate with zero fees until the end of May, and then has a fee rate of 2.5%. Large miners can, according to a press release, reach out to Binance to extend the fee-free period.

Binance Pool supports Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithms and is integrated within the rest of the Binance ecosystem, so miners can easily transfer funds from their exchange wallet to the Pool and vice-versa. Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao stated:

“As an integral part of the global crypto market, empowering miners will therein enable significant growth and scale in the larger industry. With Binance Pool, we aim to establish a comprehensive platform for miners that will bring more possibilities to the mining industry by bridging traditional mining to financial services.”

Some crypto community members expressed concern BTC mining could become centralized, given Binance’s popularity. The exchange addressed these concerns by saying it’s a decentralizing force on the mining sector.

Bitcoin (BTC) is the Daily Mover

This week’s Daily Mover featured is Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency to ever be created. Bitcoin’s blockchain suffers from important design limitations, which currently make mining expensive, make it have a slow transaction throughput, and influence its volatility. Since BTC was created over 6,000 altcoins with varying features were launched.

Bitcoin’s fundamentals went up 1.25% since mid-March thanks to a 2.66% climb in Developer Behavior and a 2.21% climb in Market Maturity. During the same period, BTC’s price increased by 44.47%. Its upcoming halving event, estimated to occur on May 13, will cut its block rewards in half and is the third one since BTC was created in 2009.

The halving was added to the Bitcoin protocol to limit the supply of new coins entering the market and prevent inflation. Various analysts believe BTC’s halving is an extremely bullish event. Indeed, previous halvings led to considerable price rises. Others, however, claim the halving is a perfectly forecastable event and, as such, cannot constitute an information shock. Previous price rises, as such, would be related to other phenomena and not the reduced supply.

Flipside notes that in the short-term, at least, the halving will negatively impact miners and their ability to stay in business. Mining BTC required a huge amount of energy, and a reduced reward will likely see smaller operations give way to larger mining farms with access to cheap energy.

If Bitcoin’s price does increase exponentially, coinbase rewards coupled with transaction fees collected will make mining profitable in the long run.

BTCS Improves Cash Position to Capitalize on Economic Dislocations Created by COVID-19

BTCS Inc., a digital asset and blockchain technology-focused company, announces the strengthening of its cash position by $500,000 in response to and to capitalize on economic dislocations as a result of COVID-19.

A core part of BTCS’ business plan is to establish positions in key digital assets. The Company believes Bitcoin, Ethereum, and certain other digital assets are a great store of value and can be an effective hedge against monetary debasement in the wake of multi-trillion-dollar economic bailouts. With a strengthened cash position and lowered burn, BTCS believes it’s in an ideal position to increase exposure to digital assets at depressed values. With no active mining operations, BTCS believes it’s in a stronger position to capitalize on the ongoing market dislocation compared to some of its public company peers.

BTCS has strengthened its cash position by raising $500,000 in a convertible note financing and applied for a $42,000 loan through the CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program, which is forgivable subject to certain restrictions. The Company has also implemented cost reduction measures, including lowering its annual independent director fee from $75,000 to $18,750 for 2020 and to $15,000 for 2021 and thereafter. Additionally, BTCS management agreed to defer 35% of their salaries for the second quarter of 2020.

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