- On August 20, a hacker lost 5 ETH ($85000) in 31 seconds for trying to hack the Rainbow Bridge.
- Interestingly, this is not the first time the NEAR Protocol ecosystem has resisted an attack. On May 8 this year, a similar attempt was made on the Rainbow bridge, and the attacker once again ended up losing 2.5 ETH
- A NEARCON event will be happening in Lisbon, Portugal, from September 11 to 14.
On August 20, a hacker lost 5 ETH ($85000) in 31 seconds for trying to hack the Rainbow Bridge.
What is a crypto bridge?
A crypto bridge is a link that connects different blockchain networks. The rainbow bridge, for example, is the link that allows one to move their ETH to the Near Protocol network.
Bridges have become a primary target for criminals. According to CryptoWorld, hackers have stolen over US$1.4 billion this year through the crypto bridges. Ronin network, a crypto bridge that supports the popular NFT gaming blockchain known as Axie Infinity, lost over US$600 million to hackers.
Criminals target crypto bridges because they are more centralized and often run under a particular company or institution.
Rainbow Bridge hack attempt
On August 20, cybercriminals attempted to hack the rainbow bridge that links Ethereum to the Near Protocol. However, for the hacker to initiate the fraudulent transaction, they had to deposit 5 ETH. The software security that manages the network immediately invalidated the transaction. Within 31 seconds, the cybercriminals had lost their ETH.
The whole system is automated and requires no human interaction. As such, no investment was lost in the Near Protocol bridge hacking attempt.
Interestingly, this is not the first time the NEAR Protocol ecosystem has resisted an attack. On May 8 this year, a similar attempt was made on the Rainbow bridge, and the attacker once again ended up losing 2.5 ETH.
How has the Rainbow bridge successfully resisted these attacks? The network has a systemized security by having audits, alerts, automated robotic oversights and bug bounties. NEAR has tested its systems through self-induced hacks. They have even paid other professionals to try and hack their systems and organized hackathons to brainstorm on the same.
The NEAR Protocol has invested millions of dollars into bug bounties, which has helped them make their system almost impenetrable.
What is the NEAR Protocol
Near Protocol is a blockchain network (Layer 1) that provides a platform for developers to build decentralized applications. The key features of layer 1 blockchain networks are transaction costs, speed and the ability to maintain these features as the volume of transactions increases.
So far, the most successful layer 1 blockchain network has been Ethereum, and networks like NEAR Protocol have come to the scene to challenge Ethereum. NEAR Protocol is cheaper and faster than Ethereum. Upon full implementation, NEAR will process up to around 100,000 transactions per second (TPS). Solana is Ethereum’s biggest rival, processing about 3,000 transactions per second.
Among the challenges arising from the adaptability of the NEAR Protocol is the belief that the network is a clone of Ethereum, which the developers gravely object. They have stood their ground to say they are their own Layer 1 blockchain networks.
EVM compatibility through the Aurora platform
Aurora is another protocol built on the Near Protocol that allows Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility and NEAR Protocol scalability. The application enables developers to move their decentralized applications from Ethereum over to the NEAR Protocol ecosystem.
Build your blockchain on the NEAR ecosystem
There is a platform known as the Octopus Network that is helping developers in building their blockchain on NEAR Protocol. This multichain, interoperable crypto network allows users to develop their blockchain on top of the NEAR Protocol network.
The NEAR Protocol ecosystem has over 788 projects building on the NEAR, Aurora and Octopus network ecosystem.
Setting up a NEAR Wallet
To set up a NEAR wallet, visit wallet.near.org. The price of NEAR currently stands at US$4.19, a market cap of US$3,252,312,380 and a $129,043,077 24-hour volume at the time of writing.
In conclusion, a NEARCON event will be happening in Lisbon, Portugal, from September 11 to 14. The conference will focus on the NEAR blockchain hosting over 2000 delegates and crypto enthusiasts.
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