Latest news with #Immunefi


Time Business News
4 days ago
- Business
- Time Business News
Top 10 Blockchain Development Challenges and How to Overcome Them
Let's start this blog with statistics! Last year, global blockchain adoption reached $10 trillion in transaction volume. Despite this massive growth, developers still face specific issues. Why? Building on the blockchain isn't just about smart contract development or token creation; it is a complex landscape filled with unique challenges that developers often don't anticipate. From scalability issues to regulatory uncertainties, building on the blockchain isn't as easy as it seems. Understanding these blockchain issues is essential, not just to survive but to thrive in the Web3 era. In this blog, we'll discuss the top blockchain development challenges and offer solutions to help you navigate them easily. Without further ado, let's begin with the blog! Below are some of the existing blockchain challenges, along with their solutions on how to address them. The scalability of blockchain remains a significant hurdle. While Ethereum's transaction throughput is limited to approximately 15-30 transactions per second, financial networks like Visa can handle over 24,000 TPS. This affects the blockchain's potential for widespread adoption. As the adoption of blockchain technology increases, especially in industries like supply chain and finance, the demand for higher transaction speeds and lower costs rises. Without scalable solutions, blockchain networks result in risk congestion, increased fees, and slower transaction times. There are exciting innovations tackling the scalability issue right now, such as: The Lightning Network is a second-layer protocol built on top of blockchains. It allows transactions to happen off-chain and settle instantly. This means faster payments, reduced fees, and less congestion on the main chain. Sharding is a solution that splits the blockchain into smaller and more manageable pieces called 'shards'. Each shard handles its transactions and smart contracts, which allows multiple processes to run in parallel. Blockchain technology is known for its secure nature. But that doesn't mean it's not prone to security attacks. In fact, in 2024, over $1.8 billion was lost to blockchain-related hacks and exploits. Blockchain technology involves security risks. One minor coding flaw can result in massive financial losses and irreversible damage to a project's reputation. Smart contracts must undergo regular third-party audits to rule out all vulnerabilities and bugs. You can utilize platforms like Immunefi that allow developers to crowdsource security testing by rewarding ethical hackers. Another way is to use multi-signature wallets and time delays on critical functions to prevent anonymous access. Indeed, blockchain operates globally, but its laws vary across different jurisdictions and countries. In 2025, over 60% of countries are still drafting or revising crypto regulations, which creates massive uncertainty for developers and entrepreneurs. You might work on building a compliant blockchain product today, but there are huge chances that it may get banned or restricted tomorrow. It is important to keep track of evolving regulations in your target markets. For that, you can use platforms like CoinDesk or The Block for updates. You can hire blockchain experts who specialize in crypto law. They can even help you structure your tokenomics and compliance approach. The other way is to consider regulatory-friendly jurisdictions like Switzerland, Singapore, and the UAE, which offer clearer frameworks for crypto startups. Let's be honest – using most of the blockchain applications still feels like rocket science to most users. That's mostly because of the complicated user experience. According to a 2024 survey, over 70% of new users drop off after onboarding gets too confusing for them. No matter how innovative and engaging you build your app or the end product, if people can't use it efficiently, it won't scale. Wallet setups, technical phrases, and gas fees get too overwhelming for average users. Consider using solutions like Web3Auth or Magic Link to let users log in with Google or social accounts. Let users interact with your dApp without paying gas fees directly. Most users are on mobile. Thus, ensure your dApp is optimized for smaller screens and fast interactions. You can provide walkthroughs or videos to guide new users. Despite all the innovation, trust still remains a huge barrier. According to the latest survey, it was found that only 39% of people trust blockchain technology to keep their data and money safe. Users today are still sceptical about leveraging blockchain technology. That's because they have observed high-profile hacks and scammy crypto projects. And without trust, even the best blockchain solution won't get adopted. It is important that you prioritize security and audits, as users won't trust what isn't secure. If you are a newbie, consider working with a reliable provider of blockchain development solutions who can help audit your solutions. You can use blogs, tutorials, and Ask Me Anything to clarify users' doubts about your project. This will help users understand, which will allow them to invest confidently. Show how your platform solves problems. People today trust value and not buzzwords. There are over 6,500 active blockchain projects. Each of them is built on different platforms with their own protocols, coding languages, consensus mechanisms, and privacy models. The networks can't easily communicate, which leads to inconsistent security and a poor user experience. This makes interoperability a serious problem. This lack of connectivity affects the user experience. If your assets are on one chain, but the app you want is on another, you get stuck. And for developers, it means extra work building isolated tools for each network. Consider using cross-chain bridges that support cross-chain asset transfers. You can use Cosmos and Polkadot, which were built with interoperability in mind. They let apps interact across chains using shared protocols. Design your dApp to work on multiple blockchains simultaneously using SDKs. One of the major issues that comes with blockchain development is its high energy consumption. Today, the majority of blockchain platforms now use power, especially the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. In 2024 alone, Bitcoin mining consumed an estimated 91 terawatt-hours of electricity. Isn't that huge? As the world focuses more on sustainable practices, blockchains that use a lot of energy are being criticized and closely examined. If the energy inefficiency of blockchains isn't addressed, mass adoption of blockchain technology may go down. Consider shifting to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, which is far more energy-efficient than PoW. It may cut down energy usage by 99.9%. You can use eco-friendly blockchain platforms like Cardano, Avalanche, Tezos, and more, as these are designed with sustainability in mind. You must optimize smart contracts to reduce unnecessary computations and network load. Undoubtedly, blockchain technology is currently booming. But what about skilled blockchain developers? Well, not much! In 2024, one LinkedIn report stated that the demand for experts specializing in blockchain technology grew by 50%, but the supply lagged far behind. Unlike traditional web or mobile development, blockchain requires an in-depth understanding of cryptography, smart contracts, and decentralized protocols. Hiring the wrong team or taking too long to find one can eventually delay your project or lead to costly mistakes. You must consider upskilling your current development team with blockchain certifications or courses from platforms. Publishing your code on open-source platforms, where you can attract skilled developers to contribute to your blockchain projects. Blockchain development agencies often have pre-vetted experts with deep experience. They can allow you to quickly onboard talent. Today, most of the businesses want to adapt to blockchain technology. But their existing systems weren't built for it. Integrating blockchain with outdated databases, ERP platforms, or traditional APIs can be a significant headache. If blockchain isn't able to work with traditional systems and tools, businesses won't use it. It leads to delays, higher costs, and failed pilots. You can use blockchain middleware tools like Chainlink, Hyperledger Fabric, or others, as they can help connect blockchain networks to existing software. Instead of replacing entire systems, you can start small. Consider using blockchain alongside your current infrastructure and scale gradually. Even with all the hype, blockchain adoption is relatively slow. One of the recent surveys found that only 12% of global businesses use blockchain in their operations. But what about 88% of them? They are still experimenting or sitting on the sidelines. Even the most impactful blockchain projects struggle to stay in the market without real-world users and use cases. Investors might not be interested and won't invest in the project. You must focus on real use cases and build solutions for real-world problems such as payments, identity verification, or supply chain tracking. Educate your audience and simplify blockchain concepts for non-technical users. Using webinars, blogs, and tutorials can help you. That brings us to the end of this blog! The above-mentioned list of blockchain adoption and development issues highlights the necessity of technological advancements. We can't ignore that the industry is working hard to resolve them. Blockchain adoption will rise even more if we work towards fixing these and removing these hurdles. At Technoloader, we have a team of highly skilled and knowledgeable blockchain developers who are well-versed in the nuances of the industry. They identify all prevailing blockchain development challenges and have the potential to solve them. Contact us, and let's integrate blockchain technology into your business! TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Q1 2025 was the worst quarter ever for crypto hacks — $1.64B lost
The first quarter of 2025 was the worst quarter ever in the history of crypto hacks. We saw crypto assets worth $1.64 billion stolen by bad actors during Q1 2025. Security platform Immunefi shared these insights in a report on March 27. The Bybit hack worth $1.46 billion — the largest crypto hacking incident ever — and the Phemex hack worth $69.1 million alone accounted for $1.52 billion in stolen crypto assets. These two incidents made up 94% of all the stolen assets during this quarter. Due to the Bybit hack, February turned out to be the worst month of the quarter as it saw $1.53 billion in losses. January and March saw $73.9 million and $27.9 million in losses respectively. There was a stark contrast between centralized (CeFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) exchanges when it came to breaches. While DeFi suffered $106.8 million in losses during the quarter, CeFi took the major hit with $1.5 billion in losses. The two most targeted chains this quarter were BNB Chain (19 hacks) and Ethereum (15 hacks). The recovery so far has been worth only $6.5 million, i.e., 0.4% of total assets stolen worth $1.64 billion. In contrast, 21.2% of the stolen funds had been recovered in Q1 2024. In both Bybit and Phemex incidents, the notorious Lazarus Group — the hacking group tied to North Korea — allegedly took the spoils. Immunefi founder Mitchell Amador remarked, 'The sheer scale of these attacks shows how state-backed actors are arguably the most pressing threat to our industry.' Sign in to access your portfolio

Associated Press
25-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Immunefi Launches the Magnus Platform to Protect the Next Trillion Dollars Moving Onchain
Onchain security today is fragmented, inefficient, and dangerously reliant on manual workflows. As capital flows into a rapidly expanding web of protocols, the complexity of securing the ecosystem grows—exposing projects to immeasurable risk and inevitable large-scale breaches. Without a fundamental shift in how security is managed, the next trillion dollars won't move onchain. Immunefi is solving this problem by launching Magnus, a unified security platform that integrates all essential tools in the onchain security stack in a single command center, unifying threat intelligence and automating SecOps using AI agents across CI/CD pipeline security, vulnerability scanning, audits, bug bounties, onchain monitoring, and firewalls. Magnus will be powered by Immunefi's own products and the best providers in each product and service category, a proprietary agentic security workflow automation engine, and threat intelligence built upon the largest onchain vulnerability dataset available today. Immunefi, the leader in onchain crowdsecurity protecting over $190 billion in assets, launches Magnus, an AI-powered security orchestration platform that unifies and automates security operations across a protocol's security stack for maximum protection. Onchain security is fragmented and inefficient, relying on manual workflows that struggle to keep up with the relentless pace of threats the ecosystem faces 24/7. This scenario will only get worse as liquidity spreads across a growing number of protocols and the complexity of securing the ecosystem compounds. This leaves the ecosystem vulnerable to a future where major breaches remain inevitable, hindering the adoption and growth of the onchain economy. The lack of trust that digital assets are fully secure remains one of the biggest obstacles to TradFi investment in the onchain economy, even as interest continues to grow. While Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has surpassed $124 billion in total value locked (TVL), the industry is still plagued by catastrophic hacks. If security remains fragmented, the next trillion dollars in finance won't move onchain. The only way to address this and mitigate threats at scale is by unifying security into a single platform that enables protocols to access, automate, and coordinate best-in-class security tools. Immunefi leverages years of experience securing over $190B in assets across a network of 500+ projects to launch Magnus, an AI-powered security platform that unifies threat intelligence and automates security workflows across the best tools in the onchain security stack. Immunefi has integrated its pioneering bug bounty products and audit competitions into Magnus and is partnering with top-tier security researchers, auditors, service providers, and tooling companies to provide a comprehensive security platform. Unified Security Toolstack: A seamlessly integrated suite of best-in-class security solutions, including CI/CD pipeline security, vulnerability scanning, audits, bug bounty programs, audit competitions, Safe Harbor, onchain monitoring, and a firewall, ensuring protocols can detect and mitigate threats at every stage. Security Swarm: An automation engine that orchestrates task-specific AI agents, enabling instant threat response and drastically reducing manual workloads. As more tools are added to Magnus, Security Swarm will become more autonomous in managing security and ensuring the safety of funds. CODEX: The industry's largest and most comprehensive onchain vulnerability dataset, proprietary to Immunefi—built from processing over 90% of all industry reports and additional materials related to onchain bug bounties. CODEX powers AI security models, allowing protocols to train and refine AI agents for onchain security applications, advanced threat detection, and defense. 'Security must evolve as fast as the onchain economy itself, or the industry will remain trapped in a cycle of catastrophic breaches,' said Mitchell Amador, Founder and CEO of Immunefi. 'Magnus marks the first time security in web3 is being addressed as a cohesive, integrated, and efficient system rather than a patchwork of tools. We're transforming the way the security industry works altogether and equipping protocol teams with the ability to anticipate, prevent, and respond to threats at unprecedented speed and scale. All from a single platform, with technology that will continue to evolve alongside the industry and its projects.' Due to its foundational position in the web3 security industry, Immunefi has established partnerships with top-tier security providers such as Nexus Mutual, Halborn, Sigma Prime, and Asymmetric Research, amongst others. Immunefi has already secured interest from a number of top tier security service and tooling providers to integrate with Magnus that will be announced soon. About Immunefi Immunefi is the leading crowdsourced security platform for Web3. It guards over $190 billion in user funds and is trusted by 370+ projects, including Ethereum Foundation, Lido, Sky, Polymarket, Optimism, LayerZero, Hyperlane, and Stacks. The company has paid out the most significant bug bounties in the software industry, amounting to over $112 million, and has pioneered the scaling Web3 bug bounties standard. For more information, please visit Contact Info: Name: Jonah Michaels Email: Send Email Organization: Immunefi Disclaimer: This press release is for informational purposes only. Information verification has been done to the best of our ability. Still, due to the speculative nature of the blockchain (cryptocurrency, NFT, mining, etc.) sector as a whole, complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. You are advised to conduct your own research and exercise caution. Investments in these fields are inherently risky and should be approached with due diligence. Release ID: 89153693 In the event of any inaccuracies, problems, or queries arising from the content shared in this press release, we encourage you to notify us immediately at [email protected] (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). Our diligent team will be readily available to respond and take swift action within 8 hours to rectify any identified issues or assist with removal requests. Ensuring the provision of high-quality and precise information is paramount to us.