gm, readers.

At Automata we work on protecting privacy and fairness. And in this newsletter, we find more reasons to talk about it. Explore headlines and catch up on the biggest crypto news in Web3 privacy.

This week:

• Zengo offers ‘on-chain bounty’, challenging hackers to access a wallet containing 10 Bitcoin

• Gamma Strategies publishes a post-mortem following a $3.4 million hack

• Particle Network mints out all 21 billion $ALLY Inscription tokens on Linea

• Brave announces Boomerang integration, empowering Brave Rewards users to qualify without sharing sensitive data

• Binance considers delisting privacy coins Zcash, Monero and Horizen amid regulatory scrutiny

• SEC’s account hack raises renewed concerns about X’s security

Op-Ed:

• Curve integrates ZetaChain for the first native BTC support for cross-chain swaps and omnichain asset pools

• Exploring the critical role of privacy in ensuring successful DAO governance

• 2024 poised as the breakout year for mainstream adoption of privacy applications

• ZK proofs as a key solution for privacy challenges

Zooming into ZK:

• Starknet opens up delegated vote for moving STRK fee payment upgrade from testnet to mainnet

• OKX Ventures invests in Polyhedra to advance their vision to build a trustless, privacy-focused Web3 using ZK-proof technology

• Polygon teases the launch of a DeFi campaign on Polygon zkEVM

• Transactions via zkSync now live on Etherscan

We dive into the details, so you don’t have to:

The recent hack of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's official account on X has raised concerns about the platform's security under Elon Musk's ownership. Hackers posted false information about a pending SEC announcement on Bitcoin, with X confirming that the compromise resulted from unauthorized access to the SEC account's phone number, with no two-factor authentication enabled. After this false start, the US securities regulator gave its approval Wednesday for 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, including Ark Invest together with 21 Shares; Bitwise, BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, Hashdex, Invesco, WisdomTree, Valkyrie and VanEck.

Binance has announced the potential delisting of three privacy tokens, including Zcash (ZEC), Monero (XMR), and Horizen (ZEN), citing concerns about meeting listing criteria. The exchange placed a "Monitoring tag" on these tokens, leading to a significant impact on the privacy sector, which has seen a 6% drop in the last 24 hours and nearly 10% in the past week. Users interested in these assets must now take quizzes every 90 days to understand the associated risks. Binance's decision aligns with European local laws, with the move seen as a response to heightened regulatory scrutiny on privacy coins globally.

Connect with Automata on both X (Twitter) and Discord.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice or interpreted as investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and you should always do your own research before making any informed decisions when investing or trading.