More DeFi protocols could snub US users as crypto airdrops explode – DL News

A version of this article appeared in our Decentralized newsletter of May 7. Register here.

general manager, Alex here replacing my colleague Tim.

Here’s what caught my eye about DeFi recently:

• EigenLayer’s next airdrop eliminates the Americans.
• The announcement of Aave v4 ruffles feathers.
• DL News may have confirmed the true identity of ZKasino’s pseudonymous founder, Derivatives Monke.

It’s a szn airdrop

DeFi projects are announcing token airdrops left and right in an attempt to profit from rising crypto prices.

Last week, the so-called SocialFifriend.tech platform handed over over 13 million FRIEND tokens to early adopters, resulting in six-figure airdrops for some recipients.

But the ami.tech airdrop will likely pale in comparison to the next EIGEN airdrop, scheduled for May 11.

Crypto deposited on friend.tech stood at $13 million as of Monday. Clean diaper? More than 15 billion dollars.

Undoubtedly, a good portion of EigenLayer deposits came from users in the United States.

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US users were therefore upset to learn that they would be excluded from the next airdrop due to their location in a “jurisdiction otherwise considered high risk with respect to the airdrop.”

And no, a VPN won’t save them.

Excluding Americans from airdrops is nothing new. As of 2021, crypto perpetual futures exchange dYdX has banned US users from its airdrop.

But now, airdrops are rarely retroactive. Many protocols have moved to “points” campaigns to attract more deposits. The result is airdrops that look more and more like yield farming.

Many argue that EigenLayer should not have accepted deposits from those in the United States if it never planned to include them in the airdrop – it’s like a bank advertising a lucrative interest rate then refusing to pay it to the depositors.

And EigenLayer isn’t the only multibillion-dollar DeFi protocol gearing up for an airdrop. The LayerZero cross chain bridge also has shared similar projects.

LayerZero and its associated crypto bridge, Stargate, have no problem letting the United States send cryptocurrencies or provide liquidity for bridge transactions.

Airdrop hopefuls are now closely watching whether LayerZero will also ban US users.

The OSS drama continues

I find comfort in the steady beat of a clock, the bounce of a basketball, and a crypto founder complaining that a competitor stole his code.

For our past coverage on the open source crypto conundrum, see here And here And here.

A reminder: open source development is sacrosanct in crypto. The OG cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is open source. People are free to use the code as they wish.

After all, industry players are trying to build a more open and transparent financial system. Might as well let everyone take a look at what’s going on under the hood.

Here’s the problem: Good ideas spread quickly, but often at the expense of those who invented them in the first place. IP? Copyright? I got tired of it.

The latest hubbub came last week, when Aave Labs announced “Aave 2030“, an ambitious set of proposals that include a rebranding and a new version of the company’s eponymous lending and borrowing protocol, dubbed “V4.”

Within hours, competitors expressed their dissatisfaction.

Curve founder Michael Egorov said DL News he spoke with Aave founder Stani Kulechov, and they are friendly.

“[Aave] probably won’t copy the algorithm. They are fascinated by this feature, but would implement [it] by them selves. This is very good in this case,” Egorov said.

“But it’s not a trivial thing to build either!” It’s like building a rocket. Building your own to go to space is a good thing. …Going to space is not a “concept” that can be stolen.

Disclaimer: Both co-founders of DL News were previously major contributors to the Curve Protocol.

Who is Monke Derivatives?

Last month, ZKasino, a crypto gaming platform, disappeared $30 million in user deposits, swapping user-deposited Ether for a protocol-issued token, ZKAS.

This change caused an uproar, as depositors were unable to redeem their Ether.

New documents shed light on the identity of one of its pseudonymous founders, Derivatives Monke.

“The FIOD has arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of fraud, embezzlement and money laundering,” FIOD Beaggingdienst, a Dutch financial fraud prevention agency, said in a statement.

“The investigation focuses on a large-scale scam around the so-called ZKasino gaming platform,” the agency said.

It is unclear who Dutch authorities have arrested in connection with the millions of missing people.

But the legal documents consulted by DL News Elham Nourzai, a 26-year-old Dutch national known online as Derivatives Monke, was the main figure behind ZKasino.

Other evidence, including photos on social media, company registration documents and a scan of a passport shared with DL Newssuggests that Nourzai and Derivatives Monke are one and the same.

Nourzai, who attacked previous charges on social networks, I did not respond to one DL News request for comment.

ZKasino investors are now focused on getting their crypto back.

Previous attempts to recover crypto projects have had limited success. But Dutch authorities making an arrest in connection with ZKasino could be a major step forward in recovering funds.

Data of the week: a revival of friend.tech technology?

We’re keeping an eye on friend.tech activity, to see if last week’s airdrop can reignite interest in the struggling protocol.

Friend.tech experienced a post-drop bump – the question is: will it last? (@whale_hunter)

This week in DeFi governance

PROPOSAL: Aave details ambitious ‘Aave 2030’ plans, including major upgrade and rebranding

VOTE: GMX Considers Ending Multiplier Points Rewards

VOTE: Rocket Pool considers contributor allocations

Article of the week

John Paul Koning weighs in on USDT issuer Tether’s gargantuan first-quarter profits.

What we’re looking at…

MakerDAO’s ambitious and controversial “Endgame” transformation is about to unveil major changes.

Founder Rune Christensen believes Endgame will place Maker and its dollar-pegged digital token DAI beyond the reach of any government, impossible to shut down or deactivate. And it starts with a stablecoin to replace DAI, codenamed NewStable.

Do you have a tip on DeFi? Contact us at tim@dlnews.com.

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