Decentralized cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform Hyperliquid has seen its largest single-day outflow as traders withdrew funds from the platform amid growing concerns that North Korean hackers are trading on the exchange.

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has announced the launch of its institutional custody service in the United States as part of its plans to expand in the country. The new entity, Crypto.com Custody and Trust Company, is a chartered trust authorized to hold digital assets for U.S. institutions and high-net-worth individuals.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) focused Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain developed by popular decentralized exchange Uniswap, Unchain, is set to launch its public mainnet early next year. The network has been operating on Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet and has processed over 50 million test transactions.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Crypto Exchange Hyperliquid Faces Exodus Amid North Korean Hacking Concerns
• Crypto.com Launches Institutional Custody Service in the United States
• Uniswap's New Ethereum Layer-2 Blockchain Set to Launch Public Mainnet in Early 2023

Crypto Exchange Hyperliquid Faces Exodus Amid North Korean Hacking Concerns

Decentralized cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform Hyperliquid has seen its largest single-day outflow as traders withdrew funds from the platform amid growing concerns that North Korean hackers are trading on the exchange.

The exodus, which saw more than $112 million in the popular USDC stablecoin leave the platform in a single day, followed security expert Taylor Monahan revealing blockchain addresses she suspects belong to North Korean hacking groups trading on Hyperliquid.

The North Korean hackers’ trading activity on the exchange is a way for them to probe potential security bugs on the platform, according to Monahan. Hyperliquid’s core developer team addressed the controversy, saying there has been no DPRK exploit — or any exploit for that matter — of Hyperliquid. All user funds are accounted for.”

Hyperliquid bills itself as a hybrid exchange combining elements of centralized platforms like Blanche and decentralized ones like Uniswap. It operates its own blockchain, offering a degree of transparency similar to decentralized exchanges, but it’s maintained by a select group of developers, a trade-off made to achieve high  speeds similar to those seen on centralized platforms.

The platform’s structure has allowed it to quickly become one of the largest by trading volume in the decentralized finance space, achieving a 24-hour trading volume of over $15 billion on Dec. 21.

Crypto.com Launches Institutional Custody Service in the United States

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has announced the launch of its institutional custody service in the United States as part of its plans to expand in the country. The new entity, Crypto.com Custody and Trust Company, is a chartered trust authorized to hold digital assets for U.S. institutions and high-net-worth individuals.

The exchange noted that digital assets held by its users in the U.S. and Canada will be migrated to the new entity “over the coming weeks.” The move, according to its CEO Kris Marszalek, reflects their “confidence in the North American market.”

Marszalek added that it also moves Crypto.com’s plans for “building our business and presence in two of the most important and active crypto markets in the world — the US and Canada” forward. The move comes after Marszalek met with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago to discuss crypto policies, and after the firm dropped its lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Uniswap's New Ethereum Layer-2 Blockchain Set to Launch Public Mainnet in Early 2023

The decentralized finance (DeFi) focused Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain developed by popular decentralized exchange Uniswap, Unchain, is set to launch its public mainnet early next year. The network has been operating on Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet and has processed over 50 million test transactions.

Unchain is built on the OP Stack, a development framework from Optimism, and its test network has maintained over 99% uptime across its core services. Starting Jan. 6, Unichain’s Sepolia testnet will undergo maintenance to activate permissionless fault proofs, a security feature that will be present from day one on the mainnet.

Permissionless fault proofs allow any network participant to independently verify the blockchain’s state and challenge potentially invalid withdrawals, bolstering the network’s security. Following its maintenance period and additional security checks, Unchain’s mainnet will launch for the public.

After launch, new features are planned. These include Flashbacks, which will move block times to just 250 milliseconds, making transactions appear almost instantaneous. Unchain will become a part of Optimism’s Superchain ecosystem, and Uniswap Labs will become a contributor to the OP Stack with the launch of Unichain’s mainnet. 

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