Audited, Yet Hacked: The Critical Role of Real-Time Monitoring in Web3

In the evolving landscape of Web3, security remains a paramount concern for crypto companies. Most of these companies rely heavily on pre-deployment smart contract audits, believing that such audits will safeguard their projects and client funds from hacks. However, recent data reveals a stark truth: 90% of the smart contracts that were hacked had undergone … Read more

US Accounting Watchdog Issues Warning on Crypto Proof-of-Reserve Audits: Investors Urged to Exercise Caution

According to a recent warning by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), crypto proof-of-reserve (POR) audits have limitations, and the board believes that investors should exercise caution when dealing with companies using POR audits. PCAOB Calls for Investor Caution and Due Diligence When Using Proof-of-Reserve Reports The U.S. accounting watchdog recently issued an … Read more

Elementus Raises $10 Million to Bring Clear Blockchain Analytics to Institutional Customers

Elementus, a New York-based blockchain firm, has raised $10 million as part of its Series A-2 funding round, led by Web3 VC company Parafi Capital. The raise, which values the company at $160 million, aims to allow Elementus to keep improving its processes for providing effective and sound blockchain analytics to Web3 companies and government … Read more

Snowden to Musk: ‘I Take Payment in Bitcoin’; Big Short Investor Says Audits of Exchanges like Binance and FTX Are ‘Meaningless,’ and More — Week in Review

Ahead of the holidays and new year, the former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor known to the world as a staunch privacy advocate and whistleblower, Edward Snowden, has offered to step up as the new CEO of Twitter after current “Chief Twit” Elon Musk has said he is stepping down. In other news from … Read more

Report: SEC Heightens Probe Into Auditors Servicing Crypto Exchanges

According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Paul Munter, the agency’s acting chief accountant, the U.S. regulator is monitoring proof-of-reserves (POR) more closely. “We’re warning investors to be very wary of some of the claims that are being made by crypto companies,” Munter explained to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Dec. 22. SEC … Read more

Accounting Firm Mazars Stops Proof-of-Reserve Audits for Crypto Firms, Binance Audit Removed From the Web

The accounting firm Mazars Group has stopped doing proof-of-reserves (POR) audits for cryptocurrency exchanges and the recently published Binance POR has been removed from the web. Mazars was conducting a number of POR audits for crypto exchanges like Binance, Crypto.com, and Kucoin following the FTX collapse last month. Mazars Group Pauses Crypto Company Audits, Binance … Read more