Interview: Hacks, scams and launching on Polygon – De.Fi

It’s no secret that DeFi has struggled because the heyday of 2020. Like a variety of issues in crypto, liquidity has fled and costs have collapsed. DeFi has been hit particularly exhausting because the enticing yields that have been as soon as obtainable have disappeared – on the similar time that charges in conventional finance have rocketed. 

We chatted with Artem Bondarenko, Software program Architect at De.Fi, to get his ideas on what it’s like working within the sector at the moment in opposition to this backdrop. Moreover, we talked about hacks and scams in DeFi, an issue which has plagued the bludgeoning sector, and an space wherein Bondarekno’s firm is working. 

Interview with Artem Bondarenko of De.Fi

Invezz (IZ): When DeFi was taking off, yields within the area have been extraordinarily excessive whereas rates of interest in conventional finance have been close to zero. This has now utterly flipped – do you suppose TVL in DeFi will stay low so long as charges outdoors of crypto are stout?

Artem Bondarenko (AB): The “DeFi summer time” was primarily pushed by hypothesis with out strong underlying fundamentals. The preliminary surge was a short-term impact missing sustainable foundations.

Contemplating the present panorama, it’s unlikely that the TVL in DeFi will expertise substantial progress within the close to future, except there’s one other bullish market interval or important non-speculative use circumstances emerge for DeFi. 

These developments might doubtlessly reignite curiosity and entice a bigger pool of members to the DeFi area.

Scams and hacks inside DeFi

The DeFi sector is infamous for hacks, with hundreds of thousands upon hundreds of thousands syphoned throughout the blockchain as customers fall sufferer to varied varieties of scams and exploits. De.Fi is aiming to cut back these losses, and has just lately launched an AntiVirus software on the Polygon community, the favored Layer-2 for Ethereum.

IZ: Are you able to clarify in easy phrases how the AntiVirus software might shield in opposition to crypto exploits and scams?

AB: An antivirus for crypto is accountable for defending your digital property (equivalent to cryptocurrency tokens and NFTs) from potential threats equivalent to sensible contract exploits and malicious assaults. De.Fi’s Antivirus is a multi-layer safety answer that consists of two instruments: a Scanner and a Defend. 

De.Fi Defend features as a conventional antivirus, just like famend software program like Kaspersky, that mechanically scans all downloaded recordsdata in your PC. Our Defend scans all sensible contract approvals saved within the consumer’s pockets, promptly notifying them if they’ve interacted with high-risk contracts. 

It permits customers to revoke entry to doubtlessly malicious dApps they’ve interacted with, both proactively or reactively, equivalent to after an utility has been hacked or skilled a safety breach.

However, De.Fi Scanner serves as a due diligence software, enabling customers to evaluate the safety stage of any NFT, token, or staking vault earlier than partaking with them. By utilising the Scanner, people can conduct prompt safety analyses, serving to them make knowledgeable selections and keep away from high-risk property.

The De.Fi Antivirus suite, comprising the Scanner and the Defend, offers sturdy safety and proactive measures to reinforce the safety of digital property inside the crypto ecosystem.

IZ: How large an issue are hacks and scams within the DeFi area?

AB: 

I’ll let the numbers communicate for themselves: over $452 million was misplaced within the first quarter of 2023. And solely 28% of the lacking funds that went lacking throughout this era  have been efficiently recovered. 

Notably, $125 million of those losses occurred particularly on Polygon, underscoring the significance of implementing revolutionary safety measures to safeguard customers on the community.

Competitors is fierce

The DeFi sector might solely be a few years outdated, however doesn’t imply the area is rife for the taking. Many initiatives have popped up within the final couple of years, which means it’s out of the blue a crowded area. 

IZ: De.Fi is marketed as a “Web3 tremendous app”. There are a lot of opponents on this space striving to realize the identical factor – does this make it a troublesome area to function in?

AB: The sector of cryptocurrency attracts a large number of exceptionally proficient and extremely motivated people from various backgrounds, contributing to a dynamic and thriving trade the place new concepts flourish. Consequently, this inflow of expertise additionally results in heightened competitors inside the subject.

Within the context of Web3, Tremendous Apps can serve numerous functions. As an illustration, just like how Uber caters to a number of transportation wants and WeChat combines messaging, social media, and banking functionalities, De.Fi features as a Tremendous App serving as a gateway to Web3.

It gives a user-friendly and complete dashboard, enabling retail traders to conveniently monitor the efficiency of their digital asset positions throughout 40 networks, DEXes, and CEXs. 

Moreover, our platform contains important safety features. Our purpose is to reinforce the DeFi consumer expertise with higher accessibility and safety on the core.

Whereas we face competitors from numerous different corporations engaged on related merchandise, we’re assured that our platform at the moment boasts essentially the most in depth vary of blockchains and protocols obtainable to our customers.

IZ: You stated in a press launch that “De.Fi’s suite of digital asset administration instruments are already trusted by researchers at corporations like Coingecko, in addition to tutorial establishments such because the College of London and the Nationwide College of Singapore”. Are you able to please elaborate on how these corporations and organisations use your protocol?

AB: All of those establishments are actively utilizing the precious information supplied by our REKT Database for a wide range of functions, together with analysis papers and investigations. The REKT Database stands as the most important repository of hacks and scams inside the cryptocurrency area. 

Every case inside the database undergoes an intensive on-chain investigation and is meticulously defined by the Safety Division. Presently, the Database encompasses over 3,000 documented situations of crypto-related hacks and scams, with data courting again to 2011. 

This in depth assortment of circumstances serves as an important useful resource for the trade, facilitating complete evaluation and additional enhancing the understanding of safety incidents inside the crypto panorama.

IZ: TVL on Polygon two years in the past was near $10 billion. In the present day as you launch on the community, it’s under $1 billion. Does this sample concern you, and is there a purpose you might be deciding to launch on Polygon now?

AB: 

We recognise the immense potential of Polygon as a blockchain community and look at the present downtrend as a pure incidence inside the broader bear market.

Two years in the past, we have been nonetheless within the early levels of our growth of De.Fi Antivirus and now we’ve began getting a variety of traction this 12 months.

We firmly consider that it’s by no means too late to prioritise consumer safety, and Polygon gives a sturdy infrastructure for us to implement our revolutionary safety suite.