Unchained Uneasy Money: ICOs Are Back and Why Airdrops Are Instantly Dumped - Ep. 947
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Nov 14, 2025 Dive into the chaotic world of crypto as the hosts tackle the Balancer hack and Berachain's controversial response. Explore the surprising return of ICOs and the mechanics behind new airdrops, questioning their real value. Luca advocates for generous airdrops to build community momentum, while discussions swirl around why many dump their tokens immediately. Get insights into MetaMask's innovative rewards design and the implications of Uniswap's fee switch proposal, along with the unexpected merger of Velodrome and Aerodrome.
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Old Contracts Hide New Attack Vectors
- Balancer V2 had a long-hidden rounding and batching vulnerability that allowed attackers to manipulate contract state and drain funds.
- Taylor Monahan explains the exploit combined batching for gas savings with decimal rounding to fake larger balances and withdraw assets.
Audits Alone Aren't Enough
- Audits and forks didn't prevent the Balancer exploit because attacker techniques evolved beyond historical assumptions.
- Taylor warns security must add new layers beyond audits as adversaries innovate quickly in high-value systems.
Barachain Rolled Back To Recover Funds
- Barachain coordinated validators, halted the chain, and patched validator state to recover $13M from Balancer forks.
- Luca defended such centralized rollbacks for performant chains that act like payment rails to protect users quickly.