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Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced in its latest release that it has decided to delist the Balancer (BAL) and Tensor (TNSR) tokens.

In its statement, Coinbase did not specify a clear reason for the delisting decisions, stating that the decision was made after a regular screening of tokens that did not meet listing standards.

In an announcement published yesterday, the exchange also delisted Stargate Finance (STG) and Vulcan Forged (PYR) tokens.

*This is not investment advice.

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Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.

Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.

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Pausable pools begin moving to withdrawals-only on Oct. 30, while BAL holders can redeem for treasury assets starting at the end of May 2027.

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4Stock saw a nearly 50% short-term surge, with its current market cap standing at $14.17 million.

According to GMGN market data, the stock token 4Stock listed on BNB Chain surged nearly 50% in a short period, likely driven by Binance Wallet’s announcement of the distribution plan for 4Stock Alpha user holding rewards, with its current market capitalization standing at $14.17 million.

2 minutes ago

Tencent Music is beta testing MusicBuddy: users can modify audio tracks with a single sentence and release their finished works directly.

Exclusive report from Dujia, via Beating AI Express: Tencent Music is currently in internal testing of its AI music creation tool MusicBuddy, which integrates AI dialogue directly into a multi-track arrangement workstation. Users can modify lyrics, switch instruments, adjust volume and reverb using natural language, eliminating the need to manually operate complex arrangement software. MusicBuddy also provides creation suggestions based on musicians’ existing works, fan preferences and trending topics, and supports selecting different generation models, vocals and reference music. Once a song is completed, it can directly enter the distribution process, and can also generate music videos (MVs) and promotional posters. Tencent Music has previously launched the Qin Yun and Qin Le large music models, and rolled out capabilities such as AI song creation, vocal synthesis and audio editing. MusicBuddy further integrates these capabilities into a single workstation covering creation, editing and distribution. Overseas, Suno Studio 2.0 is following a similar path, already supporting multi-track editing, MIDI and modifying projects directly via chat commands.

2 minutes ago

Binance Wallet Releases Distribution Schedule for 4Stock Alpha User Holding Rewards

According to official announcements, Binance Alpha has released the following arrangements for distributing rewards related to 4Stock holdings: For Binance Wallet holding users, rewards will be automatically sent to users’ on-chain Binance Wallet addresses in BNC4 form by Four Meme, in line with its distribution rules. For Alpha 2.0 holding users (CEX), since Four Meme’s rewards will be uniformly distributed to the Binance Alpha Treasury Contract Address, Binance Alpha will calculate token holdings via daily random snapshots and disburse rewards monthly. Eligible users will receive rewards corresponding to last month at the start of the next month, credited to their spot accounts. A user’s valid daily 4Stock holdings only count if they exceed 10,000 units that day; monthly valid holdings are the sum of each day’s valid holdings within the month. Monthly rewards are allocated proportionally based on each eligible user’s valid holdings of the token relative to the total valid holdings of all qualified users. 4Stock rewards will be issued in BNCB form. For reward calculation purposes, 1 BNCB is considered equivalent to 1 BNC4.

2 minutes ago

Analyst: The '1011' incident, where risk contagion began with USDe’s depegging, theoretically will not repeat.

Crypto analyst Chen Mo noted in a post that Binance’s USDe briefly depegged abnormally to $0.92 today. The last USDe-related incident occurred on October 11 (1011), though its on-chain price remained normal throughout. USDe has a thin order book on centralized exchanges (CEXs) and is accepted as collateral for position opening; the risk spillover from the October 11 incident stemmed from this mechanism. Since then, Binance has added USDe’s actual redemption price to its price index, no longer relying solely on order book quotes. In theory, the October 11 event will not repeat.

2 minutes ago

BNY Mellon: Projects one more interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve in December, though the outlook for 2027 remains uncertain.

BNY Mellon Americas macro strategist John Velis stated in a report that he expects the Federal Reserve to deliver one more interest rate hike in December, but is uncertain whether the Fed will implement as many rate increases in 2027 as currently priced by markets. "The outcome hinges on how effective policy tightening will be amid the current inflation shock," he said. He noted that this largely depends on the situation in the Middle East, where visibility remains low. "A de-escalation of tensions and the resulting drop in oil prices could shift the considerations of both markets and the Fed," he added, cautioning that tying policy outlooks to a situation that may first deteriorate before improving is not a sustainable long-term approach.

2 minutes ago

After a 7-hour flight delay, Muse helped a user secure a $250 compensation payout in just 5 minutes.

Beating AI Express: AI podcast *Limitless* host Ejaaz Ahamadeen shared that after his Delta flight was delayed for around seven hours, he delegated follow-up processing to Meta’s personal AI agent Muse. Muse automatically filled out the complaint form, only requesting his SkyMiles number and mailing address from him. About five minutes later, he received a $250 account credit in his Delta account. Muse then helped him search for alternative flights and rebook a trip. Some questioned whether Muse simply submitted applications based on pre-set rules, to which Ejaaz responded that Muse also continued to communicate with Delta customer service via email. Delta has no fixed rule of “$250 compensation for seven-hour delays”; this payment was a case-specific compensation. This is not an isolated case: recently, three other users shared similar experiences: Muse helped one person get $200 in flight delay compensation, submitted a $189.37 Alaska Airlines flight cancellation claim for another, and helped a third person obtain about $1000 in account credit due to a United Airlines ticket price drop. Business Insider also reported today on Meta’s promoted #MuseMoneyChallenge, noting that many of the current successful cases come from Meta employees, so community-shared wins should not be taken as general results.

2 minutes ago

Balancer Eyes Wind-Down as V3 Revenue Fails to Replace V2 Income

Balancer is moving closer to a possible shutdown after its restructuring failed to produce a sustainable revenue recovery.

The decentralized exchange has proposed an orderly wind-down that could return more than $9 million in treasury assets to BAL holders.

Balancer Labs CEO Marcus Hardt submitted the proposal on the protocol’s governance forum, saying the business continued to struggle after a major exploit weakened confidence and made user growth more difficult. The proposed closure still requires approval from BAL holders, with a Snapshot vote scheduled for Sept. 25 through Sept. 29.

Revenue Weakness Puts Pressure on Balancer The latest proposal follows an earlier attempt to keep Balancer operating with a leaner structure.

Balancer Labs shut down in March 2026, but the protocol continued under a reduced operating model. That restructuring helped lower costs and allowed the team to deliver previously promised products. However, those savings were not matched by stronger revenue.

According to Hardt’s proposal, most protocol income still comes from Balancer v2. Meanwhile, v3 has not generated enough revenue to replace the older version’s contribution.

Hardt made a similar point in comments posted on X, saying the technology performed as intended but commercial demand remained too weak. Revenue figures cited from DefiLlama illustrate the scale of that problem.

Balancer generated about $1.13 million in protocol revenue during October 2025. In November, that figure fell sharply to roughly $371,000 following an exploit involving composable stable pools on Balancer’s older v2 system. The original report estimated the incident’s losses at $128 million.

Revenue failed to recover during 2026. According to the cited DefiLlama figures, monthly protocol revenue fell to $56,781 in August.

Hardt said the November 2025 exploit played a significant role in that weakness, even though the affected pools belonged to the legacy v2 architecture rather than Balancer v3. Notably, he said the reputational impact extended beyond the compromised system and continued to shape perceptions of the broader Balancer brand.

He later acknowledged on X that he had underestimated how long the exploit would weigh on adoption. 

With revenue still under pressure, Balancer is weighing whether staying operational could leave tokenholders with less value in the end.

Proposed Shutdown Would Happen in Stages Under the proposed plan, Balancer would begin scaling down operations next month.

The first step would be ending new business development, while liquidity providers would have until Oct. 30 to prepare their exits. After that, pools with pause functionality would move into withdrawal-only mode, allowing users to remove funds while normal activity stops.

Pools that cannot be paused would continue operating. However, protocol fees would be reduced to zero wherever the underlying contracts permit that change.

The transition would enter another phase from Nov. 1. At that point, Balancer would maintain only the infrastructure needed to support withdrawals, while the decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, would begin winding down.

A smaller team would remain in place to manage the process and support the final stages of closure. To cover those costs, the proposal sets aside up to $400,000 for wind-down expenses.

Hardt argued that continuing under the current model would gradually consume the remaining treasury. In his view, further spending would delay rather than change the likely outcome, making the preservation of treasury assets for BAL holders an important consideration.

Accordingly, the plan would distribute the remaining assets to tokenholders after paying all wind-down costs.

BAL Holders Could Receive Remaining Treasury Assets  If BAL holders approve the plan, Balancer would distribute its remaining treasury based on each holder’s proportional ownership.

The first distribution is scheduled for May 2027, when holders would burn their BAL tokens to receive their share of the treasury assets.

The process would not end with that initial distribution. A second round would return any unused wind-down funds and assets left unclaimed after the first distribution, followed by a final sweep six months later.

Before any of those steps can begin, however, the community must approve the shutdown through Snapshot.

If the proposal is rejected, Balancer would remain under its existing operating structure.

The Sept. 25-29 vote will therefore determine whether Balancer proceeds with an organized closure or continues operating despite its persistent revenue challenges.

Table of contents

A Balancer contributor has published a governance proposal to wind down the decentralized exchange and return its treasury to token holders, a move that would close out one of DeFi’s longest-running automated market makers. The proposal, filed on Balancer’s official forum on September 14, calls for no new business development, a phased shutdown, and the distribution of a DAO treasury worth at least $9 million at current prices to BAL holders.

The Proposal and Timeline The plan is a series of dates that only move if holders approve it. Contributor notice already began on August 27 and runs to October 31. A Snapshot vote is scheduled for September 25-29. If it passes, pausable pools shift to withdrawals only on October 30, 2026, the same day bug-bounty coverage ends. A first distribution round would open at the end of May 2027, once existing veBAL locks have expired, when holders burn BAL to claim a pro-rata share of the treasury in kind. A second round would airdrop unspent funds and later arrivals within two months of the close, followed by a final sweep by the end of July 2028.

Why Balancer Is Considering a Shutdown The proposal’s author frames the decision around runway and revenue. Balancer still earns most of its income from v2 pools, while v3 – rolled out on Avalanche with a focus on yield and efficiency – is live but has not grown enough to replace it. Protocol revenue fell to roughly $30,000 in August from about $97,000 in June, against a monthly burn of about $150,000, and key contributors have left or stepped back over the past year. The author also cites the November 2025 exploit on legacy v2 pools as a further drag on traction.

What BAL Holders Would Receive The proposal cancels the BIP-919 buyback and sets aside a $400,000 winddown budget, with anything unspent flowing back into the distribution. The treasury would be paid out in kind and pro rata over circulating supply, with BAL itself excluded, and nothing is paid before the first round. Funds recovered from past attacks stay separate and go to the affected liquidity providers. The plan has not yet been voted on, and a “no” vote would keep the existing framework in place – leaving the future of one of DeFi’s most established protocols an open question.

AUTHOR

Jide Idowu is a skilled freelance writer with expertise in blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and digital finance. Known for his ability to break down complex topics into clear, engaging content, Jide crafts articles, blog posts, and analyses that resonate with both beginners and seasoned professionals. His work spans a wide range of subjects, from emerging crypto trends to in-depth explorations of blockchain innovations. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for educating readers, Jide is a reliable voice in the rapidly evolving world of digital assets.

Balancer, a decentralized exchange and automated market maker, has proposed winding down the protocol after its post-exploit restructuring failed to generate enough revenue, with its leader saying he underestimated how much a $128 million exploit in November would continue to weigh on adoption. 

The proposal was authored by Balancer Labs CEO Marcus Hardt and published on the Balancer governance forum on Monday. It calls for an orderly wind-down of the protocol and the distribution of its remaining treasury, currently worth more than $9 million, to BAL tokenholders.

The proposal comes after Balancer Labs shut down in March, when executives opted to continue operating the protocol under a leaner structure. Hardt said Monday that while the restructuring succeeded in cutting costs and delivering the products promised to tokenholders, the revenue side of the plan fell short, echoing profitability challenges faced by several other DeFi protocols this year. 

“What did not come was enough revenue. Most of the protocol’s revenue still comes from v2, and v3 revenue has not grown to replace it. The product worked. It did not sell enough,” Hardt said in a statement on X. 

Data from DefiLlama show that Balancer’s monthly protocol revenue fell to $371,000 in November from $1.13 million in October after an exploit affecting composable stable pools on its legacy v2 protocol. Revenue continued to trend downward into 2026, with August revenue at just $56,781. 

“The November 2025 exploit hit legacy v2 pools. v3 is a different architecture, but the event followed the name into every conversation since and made traction harder to build,” Hardt said on the Balancer forum. 

“I underestimated how much the exploit would continue to limit adoption,” he added in a separate post on X. 

Balancer wind-down proposalUnder the proposal, Balancer would begin a phased shutdown next month, with new business development ending and liquidity providers given until Oct. 30 to prepare to exit the protocol. Meanwhile, pools that can be paused would move to withdrawal-only, while those that can’t be paused will continue working but have the protocol fee set to zero where contracts allow it. 

From Nov. 1, Balancer would operate only the minimal infrastructure needed to support withdrawals, and the DAO would be wound down, with a small team to manage the transition. The proposal sets aside up to $400,000 for the wind-down process.

BAL holders would receive the remaining treasury on a pro-rata basis, with the first distribution scheduled for May 2027, when holders would burn their BAL in exchange for their share of the treasury assets. 

A second distribution would return unspent wind-down funds, unclaimed assets from the first distribution, followed by a “final sweep” six months later. 

Hardt said delaying a wind-down would eat into the treasury without changing the ultimate outcome.  

“Continuing on the current path spends the treasury to arrive at the same place later. That treasury belongs to BAL holders. The question is whether what remains reaches holders while it is still substantial, or is spent first on a path that has already been tried,” he said. 

The wind-down requires approval from BAL holders, with a snapshot vote scheduled for Sept. 25 to 29. A rejection would leave Balance’s existing operating framework in place. 

Magazine: Why are AI’s biggest companies suddenly asking to slow down?

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Balancer has proposed winding down the DeFi protocol and distributing its treasury to holders of its native token BAL (BAL).

Marcus Hardt, a treasury council member and former Balancer Labs CEO, posted a governance proposal on Monday that calls for an orderly wind-down. This means there would be no new business development, a phased sunset of the protocol, and closure of the DAO to a legal and practical extent.

The proposal would cancel a previously approved BAL buyback proposal and instead distribute remaining treasury assets in kind and pro rata to BAL holders who burn their tokens. The proposal said the treasury holds at least $9 million worth of tokens. 

Other DAO wallets and positions would be put into inventory first and later included in the first round of redemptions. BAL held by the treasury itself would be excluded, with a limited exception for holders of tetuBAL, a liquid staking wrapper token.

"Balancer tried," Hardt wrote. "In April, token holders approved a plan to take the protocol to profitability on a restructured base: costs cut, emissions ended, the token model simplified, protocol revenue routed to the DAO, growth expected from v3."

Hardt said that while some new initiatives gained traction, none successfully converted into sustained revenue growth. 

Round I & II If the wind-down proposal is approved, contributor notice would run through Oct. 31, and pools would be transitioned to withdrawals-only on Oct. 30. The first redemption window would open at the end of May 2027 and run for six months, where holders would burn BAL and receive a share of the treasury.

A second-round airdrop would go to those same addresses within two months of the close, covering unspent wind-down funds, later receipts, and unredeemed shares. A final sweep six months later would distribute any remaining inflows.

Balancer said in a post on X that discussion is open, and the snapshot vote for the proposal is expected to take place from Sept. 25 to 29. It also clarified that nothing changes in the protocol until the vote.

The proposal comes six months after Balancer Labs, the protocol's corporate entity, closed down, citing a Nov. 3, 2025 exploit that drained around $128 million from various Balancer v2 pools across multiple chains. 

Key Takeaways The Balancer DeFi platform is considering a complete shutdown following unsuccessful attempts to recover from a major security breach According to CEO Marcus Hardt, the devastating $128 million exploit in November 2025 has permanently damaged user confidence despite reconstruction efforts Protocol earnings plummeted from $1.13 million in October 2025 to a mere $56,781 by August 2026 BAL token holders could receive proportional shares of the protocol’s $9+ million remaining treasury The community will vote between September 25-29 to determine whether to proceed with the shutdown plan The Balancer protocol, operating as both a decentralized exchange and automated market maker, is facing potential closure after efforts to revitalize the platform following a significant security breach proved insufficient to sustain operations.

A proposal to wind down Balancer and distribute the treasury to BAL holders is live on the forum, authored by Marcus Hardt. Discussion is open; a Snapshot vote is expected to happen from 25 to 29 September.

Nothing changes today: pools and withdrawals work as they do now. Any…

— Balancer (@Balancer) September 14, 2026

Marcus Hardt, CEO of Balancer Labs, authored the shutdown proposal and published it on the Balancer governance forum this Monday. The plan outlines a structured discontinuation process and proposes allocating over $9 million in remaining treasury assets to holders of the BAL token.

Financial Performance Collapsed Post-Breach The protocol’s difficulties began with a devastating November 2025 security breach that drained $128 million from Balancer’s older v2 composable stable pools. Protocol revenue experienced an immediate collapse, tumbling from $1.13 million in October 2025 to $371,000 in the subsequent month.

sad to see @Balancer is winding down

balancer literally changed the defi space by a ton things, seeing an OG defi protocol windings down is sad

thanks for all the memories and much love to the team ❤️ https://t.co/FEybxppWWM

— hrithik ( 히리틱 ) (@hrithikk) September 15, 2026

The downward trajectory persisted throughout 2026. Data from DefiLlama reveals that monthly protocol revenue had crashed to a mere $56,781 by August.

In March 2026, Balancer Labs ceased operations. Leadership opted to maintain protocol functionality through a streamlined organizational model, anticipating that an upgraded version would catalyze renewed growth.

While Hardt confirmed the restructuring successfully reduced expenses and fulfilled commitments to token holders, revenue generation remained problematic.

“The bulk of protocol income continues flowing from v2, while v3 revenue hasn’t expanded sufficiently to compensate. The technology functioned as intended. Sales volume simply fell short,” Hardt explained in an X platform statement.

He further admitted misjudging the exploit’s long-term reputational impact. “The November 2025 breach targeted legacy v2 pools. Although v3 employs entirely different architecture, the incident became permanently associated with the Balancer brand, making user acquisition increasingly difficult,” he wrote on the governance platform.

Shutdown Plan Details Should the proposal pass, Balancer would initiate a gradual closure beginning next month. All new business development activities would cease immediately, with liquidity providers receiving until October 30 to arrange their exits.

Pools with pause functionality would transition to withdrawal-only operation. Pools lacking this capability would continue operating, though protocol fees would be eliminated where smart contracts permit.

Beginning November 1, Balancer would maintain only essential infrastructure necessary for withdrawal processing. The DAO would be dissolved, with a skeleton crew overseeing the transition period. Approximately $400,000 has been allocated for shutdown-related expenses.

Treasury assets would be distributed to BAL holders proportionally based on their holdings. The initial distribution is scheduled for May 2027, when holders would burn their BAL tokens to claim their allocation. A subsequent distribution would return any unspent shutdown funds, with a final treasury sweep occurring six months thereafter.

Hardt emphasized that delaying the decision would merely deplete treasury resources without altering the inevitable outcome.

The governance vote will run from September 25 through 29. Should the proposal fail, Balancer would continue operating under its existing organizational framework.

Balancer proposes shutdown and treasury distribution to BAL holders

Blockchain

15 September 2026 | 00:35 Balancer token holders are being asked to wind down the protocol despite an estimated treasury of more than $9 million. The proposal argues that Balancer should distribute its remaining assets before operating costs consume more of them.

Key Takeaways The winddown remains subject to a token vote. Balancer’s managed treasury is estimated above $9 million. Eligible pools could become withdrawals-only in October. BAL redemptions would begin no earlier than May 2027. Exploit recoveries remain reserved for affected LPs. Balancer is spending more than it earns A Treasury Council member has proposed an orderly winddown of Balancer, subject to a governance vote. The plan would stop new development work, reduce the protocol to a limited withdrawal service and later distribute the remaining treasury to eligible BAL holders.

The proposal rests on a simple calculation: Balancer is spending more each month than the protocol and treasury management bring in. Monthly costs are about $150,000, while August protocol revenue was about $30,000. Treasury management added roughly $25,000 a month, but that still left the DAO spending more than it earned.

Balancer had already tried to reach profitability through lower costs, a simplified token model and growth in its newer v3 products. The proposal says those efforts did not create enough sustained revenue to replace the protocol’s older v2 income. Its authors argue that a capped exit budget is preferable to allowing operating costs to continue without a clear path to profitability.

The proposed transition starts with withdrawals No change would take effect unless BAL holders approve the proposal. If they do, Balancer would first move through an exit period rather than shut down overnight.

Before October 30, 2026: LPs would have an exit window and access to withdrawal guidance.

From October 30: Pools that can be paused would move to withdrawals-only, while the bug-bounty program would end.

End of May 2027: The first proposed BAL treasury-redemption round would open.

End of November 2027: The six-month first-round redemption window would close.

Balancer does not hold LP assets in the way a centralised exchange holds customer deposits. Users can withdraw through the contracts even if the organisation stops maintaining its usual interface. Pools whose contracts cannot be paused could remain live, with protocol fees set to zero where the contracts permit it.

Different holders would follow different routes The proposed distribution is not a single process for every Balancer user. Liquidity providers need to consider their pool’s withdrawal route, while BAL holders and wrapper-token holders face later redemption rules and separate deadlines.

What the proposal means for each group

Liquidity providers
Review the pool’s withdrawal route. Eligible pools could become withdrawals-only from October 30, while others may continue under different contract rules.

Ordinary BAL holders
Follow the opening-snapshot announcement, then redeem during the proposed six-month first round by burning BAL for a pro-rata, in-kind share of the treasury.

veBAL holders
Existing locks are expected to expire before round one. Holders would exit the 80/20 BAL/WETH pool into BAL before redeeming.

auraBAL and sdBAL holders
These positions would need to unwind through their own protocols and become BAL before the first-round deadline.

Exploit-affected LPs
Recovered funds stay outside the BAL-holder distribution and remain allocated to the affected pools.

A holder who has not converted auraBAL or sdBAL into BAL by the end of round one would not redeem through Balancer’s claim process. veBAL holders who extend their locks after the proposal date would also need to wait until those new locks expire.

tetuBAL follows a separate rule because it is permanently locked. The proposal fixes tetuBAL ownership at the block when the forum post was published. Those holders would receive BAL equal to half of the measured BAL behind their tetuBAL position, then redeem that BAL in the same first-round process.

Redeeming in round one would also determine later distributions The proposed first round would not be the only payment. After the six-month claim window closes, a second-round airdrop would go only to addresses that redeemed in round one. It would include unspent winddown funds, assets received after the first snapshot and the share connected to BAL that was not redeemed.

No separate claim would be needed for that second round. A final sweep six months later would also go to the same first-round redeemers. For BAL holders, missing the first window could therefore mean missing both the initial distribution and any later proceeds collected by the DAO.

The treasury estimate is not a fixed value for BAL The claim rules explain who may receive assets; they do not establish how much each BAL could be worth. The $9 million figure is an estimate of the managed treasury at current prices, while other DAO wallets, positions and receivables are still being inventoried.

The amount available for distribution would be fixed only when round one opens, after the DAO has completed its asset inventory and an audit. It could change with token prices, recovery of receivables, funds identified as belonging to third parties and the costs of completing the winddown.

The plan sets aside up to $400,000 from November 1 onward: $150,000 through May 2027, $30,000 for the later distribution process and a $220,000 reserve if needed. At the current $150,000 monthly cost base, the proposal argues that a capped winddown budget is easier to justify than open-ended operating expenses. Any amount not spent would return to the distribution pool.

Recovered exploit funds must stay separate Some funds recovered from attacks on Balancer may sit in DAO-controlled addresses, but the proposal says they do not belong to the general treasury. They belong to LPs in the affected pools and would need to be identified and excluded before the treasury snapshot.

Recovery work would continue through private investigators and law enforcement. Any further funds recovered would go to affected LPs, rather than being added to the BAL-holder distribution.

The vote is about Balancer’s remaining runway The vote asks BAL holders to choose between preserving an independent protocol with an uncertain revenue path and accepting a structured exit while the treasury can still fund one. Until a Snapshot vote approves the proposal, Balancer’s pools, treasury assets and operations remain under the current governance arrangements.

This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. The proposed winddown, its dates and its distribution rules remain subject to governance approval and may change.

Author

Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.

TLDR: RedSonic Vault lost 9.25 ETH after an attacker exploited a dual-asset pricing flaw entirely. A permissionless registerErc20 function let the attacker add a second, conflicting stETH share class. The attacker flash-loaned 1,139 WETH from Balancer and needed zero starting capital of their own. ExVulSec traced the full exploit, including the Curve swap and the final loan repayment step. A flash loan attacker drained 9.25 ETH from Ethereum’s RedSonic Vault in a single transaction. Blockchain security firm ExVulSec identified the exploit and published a full technical breakdown. 

The attacker manipulated a permissionless asset-registration function to double count the same underlying collateral. On-chain records show the entire operation executed inside one self-contained transaction.

How the RedSonic Vault Exploit Unfolded The attacker flash-loaned 1,139 WETH from Balancer to fund the entire operation. No upfront capital of their own was required.

RedSonic’s vault prices its rsvETH shares through a function called getTotalAssetBalance. For the Lido position, that function reads the vault’s raw stETH balance directly.

That design choice became the exploit’s foundation. Share prices tied directly to a raw balance can shift if that balance changes unexpectedly. No corresponding shares need to be minted or burned.

The vault’s registerErc20 function carried no access restrictions, according to ExVulSec. Anyone could register a brand new asset class inside the vault.

The attacker registered stETH as a second asset, creating a class called rsvstETH. Both share types then drew from the exact same underlying stETH balance.

The exploit contract self-destructed once execution finished. Security researchers note that self-destructing contracts often complicate later on-chain tracing efforts.

Flash loans let borrowers access large sums without posting collateral, provided the loan gets repaid within the same transaction. Attackers commonly use this mechanism to fund exploits that would otherwise demand substantial capital.

🚨 ALERT — Exploit on Ethereum @reddio_com RedSonic Vault was drained for ~9.25 ETH. A no-capital attacker flash-loaned 1,139 WETH from Balancer, inflated the vault's share price, and cashed out. The exploit ran inside a self-destructing contract's constructor.

Root cause:
the…

— ExVul (@exvulsec) September 5, 2026

RedSonic Vault Exploit Exposes a Dual-Asset Flaw The attacker deposited 1,130 ETH first, acquiring close to 99% of all outstanding rsvETH shares. That position set up the rest of the exploit.

Next, the attacker deposited 9.34 stETH directly into the vault. That single deposit inflated the stETH balance without minting any new rsvETH shares.

Because rsvETH pricing reads the raw stETH balance, the extra deposit pushed the share price higher artificially. The attacker’s existing rsvETH holdings gained value instantly as a result, without any new rsvETH being issued.

The attacker then redeemed rsvETH for 1,139.5 ETH, according to ExVulSec’s transaction analysis. That single redemption produced the full 9.25 ETH profit.

The same attacker also redeemed the rsvstETH shares for stETH separately. The identical underlying collateral effectively paid out twice from one shared, pooled vault balance.

ExVulSec reported that the recovered stETH was swapped for ETH on Curve. The attacker repaid the Balancer flash loan within that same transaction.

Etherscan data lists the attacker’s wallet as 0x70f2333d21Ed7E7D105F6578227A9A747687982C. The RedSonic Vault contract itself sits at 0x4315990d9eeaffdfafd49958b4851f203fa1126f.

The attack transaction carries the hash 0xe3cba90e865c6cba950ebce36a52607f51f1fd33cd9fb920c78803f19b57791a. It remains publicly viewable on Etherscan for anyone verifying the exploit’s details.

Balancer announced that its team has sent on-chain messages to wallets linked to the August 31 Balancer V1 exploit attack, proposing a deal: return of stolen funds in exchange for a bounty, with a commitment not to pursue legal liability for the return itself once conditions are met. If the attacker does not respond by 5:00 on September 9, Balancer will take technical, on-chain, and legal measures to track them. The incident resulted in approximately $234,000 in losses.

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US stocks have maintained low volatility for 25 consecutive days, marking the longest such stretch since May 1992.

According to market data, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), the benchmark gauge for U.S. stock market volatility tied to the S&P 500, has closed in the 14 to 17 point range for 25 consecutive trading days — the longest such stretch since May 1992. Over the past 34 years, the only comparable period occurred in 2025, with the streak lasting 24 trading days. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has not posted a decline of at least -1.0% across 26 consecutive trading days, leaving the market in an unusually calm phase.

21 minutes ago

Hyperliquid will cut the minimum order notional amount for its prediction markets from $10 to $1.

Hyperliquid announced that in its upcoming network upgrade, it will lower the minimum notional amount for outcome orders (prediction market result token orders) from $10 to $1. Meanwhile, deployers will be able to query their remaining quota via the outcomeDeployerLimits information request interface.

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Anthropic’s strategic deployment of in-house payment technology could erode Stripe’s market share.

Beating AI Express (from Dongcha) reports: Recent job postings reveal that Anthropic is planning to develop more in-house billing, fraud detection, and other financial infrastructure, while evaluating which payment-related services can be built internally instead of relying on external service providers. The postings show Anthropic has not yet finalized decisions on whether to further develop its own tools in areas including payments, billing, and tax processing, or continue procuring solutions from external providers. One senior software engineer position focused on billing requires assisting the company with technical selection: determining which business lines will continue development on external provider platforms, and which scenarios necessitate building their own underlying foundational modules around those external platforms.

21 minutes ago

Analyst: Bitcoin successfully retested the long-term descending trend line, and its monthly chart needs to hold above $76,000.

Prominent crypto analyst Rekt Capital notes that Bitcoin has successfully retested its macro downtrend line as support, with this line aligning closely with the highs from April-May 2026. Current price levels indicate the retest is initially valid. Rekt Capital also states that to avoid a shift into a downtrend, BTC must prevent its monthly closing price from falling below the downtrend line (approximately $761.87 million), as this could form an upper wick and weaken its breakout potential.

21 minutes ago

Tesla’s intraday price fell more than 6% as its Cybercab launch failed to meet expectations.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), Tesla’s intraday price dropped as much as 6.3%. The highly anticipated Cybercab event held Thursday evening delivered far less substance than Wall Street had expected. Tesla’s stock had risen 5.4% ahead of the Thursday event, with analysts noting that a strong presentation could have reversed the stock’s upward momentum. The electric vehicle maker has staked its future on a shift toward physical AI, including autonomous driving and robotics.

21 minutes ago

The UK's largest retail investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown has launched Bitcoin and Ethereum ETN products.

UK’s largest retail investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, which manages over $200 billion in assets, announced it is making nine Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded note (ETN) products available to its 2 million clients. The products are offered by issuers including BlackRock iShares, CoinShares, WisdomTree, 21Shares, Invesco and Bitwise, with annual fees ranging from 0% to 0.35%. The move comes less than a year after the platform previously warned clients against cryptocurrency investments, and follows a policy adjustment in response to the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) lifting its retail ban on crypto ETPs in October 2025. New buyers on the platform must complete an appropriateness assessment and wait 24 hours before trading. (CoinDesk)

21 minutes ago

Circle surges more than 6%, now trading at $92.67

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), Circle’s shares rose more than 6% intraday, currently trading at $92.67. Earlier reports noted that Hyperliquid is in discussions with Kraken’s parent company to enter the U.S. market.

2 hours ago

ByteDance's New Stock Guru Takes Over: US Stock Assets Surge 23-Fold in 7 Years, Core Strategy "Buy Early and Hold Steadfast"

The central figure behind the viral story "ByteDance Employee Makes 23x Gains Trading US Stocks", Dexter Yang, posted that over the more than 7 years since he joined ByteDance on January 14, 2019, ByteDance options have appreciated 4.5 to 5 times at the repurchase price, yielding an annualized return of 22% to 24%; based on the company's market valuation (USD 600 billion to USD 1 trillion), they have risen 8 to 13 times, with an annualized return of 31% to 40%. His personal US stock assets have surged 23 times over the same period, delivering an annualized return of 51%. If such returns are not attainable, excelling at work at ByteDance and earning more options is the optimal investment. Career development mirrors investing: it requires taking risks, entering early, staying committed, and achieving exponential growth through compound interest from personal growth and sector accumulation—essentially, it's about "buy and hold". Earlier, Leto Bao, a former ByteDance employee nicknamed "ByteDance Stock Trading Guy", reaped massive profits by capitalizing on the AI storage sector via US stock investments. Online reports claim he earned approximately RMB 30 million and subsequently resigned.

2 hours ago

Hyperliquid is in discussions with Kraken's parent company about entering the U.S. market.

According to market sources, Hyperliquid is in talks with Kraken's parent company to enter the U.S. market.

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Viewpoint: Bitcoin’s rebound momentum remains strong, with institutional allocations and speculative leverage rising in tandem.

Glassnode noted in a report that Bitcoin is currently trading around $78,600, having largely held onto the strong rally it launched from the $64,000 zone at the end of August after earlier breaking above $80,000. The broader digital asset market still shows strong institutional demand, though activity in spot and derivatives trading has cooled in some segments. Meanwhile, price momentum has clearly exceeded the upper bound of its statistical range. The secondary market’s trading volume and spot Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) indicate that the balance of buying power in the market may be shifting, while retail participation has also weakened. Traditional finance capital continues to flow into regulated crypto investment products. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF holdings remain profitable and have maintained weekly net inflows. At the same time, short-term, price-sensitive capital is entering the market, coinciding with high options open interest and a rapid narrowing of volatility spreads—signaling that market participants may be underestimating short-term volatility risks. On-chain data also reflects a pattern of "active settlement but weakening user participation": entity-adjusted transaction volumes are significantly above normal levels, while daily active addresses and total fee revenue have declined slightly. Overall, the Bitcoin market is in a transition phase from a strong rally to structural divergence. Sustained institutional capital allocation and a rebound in on-chain valuations are providing market support, though speculative leverage is rising and signs of short-term capital selling have begun to emerge. The market’s fundamentals remain solid, but short-term volatility and correction risks are on the rise.

2 hours ago

Iran's Revolutionary Guards: An MQ-9 drone was shot down east of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that an MQ-9 drone was shot down east of the Strait of Hormuz.

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Telegram Founder: Gram Wallet Is Ready, Now Open to Select Users

Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced in a post on his personal channel that Telegram’s Gram wallet is now ready for use and currently available to a select group of users. It will be gradually rolled out to over 1 billion users in the coming weeks. Durov thanked the validators who approved the core smart contract, noting this means future wallet upgrades will not require cumbersome wallet migrations. This is just one of many innovations Telegram has developed to enhance the usability of non-custodial wallets.

2 hours ago

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@Monad has launched Agent Hub, a dedicated ecosystem portal designed to streamline the deployment and management of autonomous AI agents directly on its blockchain network.

One-Click Agent Deployment The platform lets users spin up agentic entities through a single-click interface, removing much of the technical friction that has historically made on-chain AI deployments the preserve of specialist developers. Central to the offering is native support for what Monad calls "DApp skills", a modular set of capabilities that allow agents to execute complex financial transactions across the network without manual intervention at each step.

Agent Hub launches with an integrated directory of skills sourced from established liquidity protocols, including @Uniswap, @Morpho, and @Balancer. The inclusion of these providers from day one signals that the hub is intended as a functional DeFi operations layer, not simply an experimental sandbox.

Monad's Broader AI Infrastructure Push Agent Hub is the latest step in a sustained push by Monad to position its network as the primary settlement layer for the emerging agent economy. Monad is a Layer 1 blockchain designed to handle high-frequency agent workloads, targeting throughput of 10,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality. That combination of speed and low cost is central to the network's pitch: AI agents are not chatbots but autonomous software actors that can pursue goals, make decisions, and transact, operating as hyper-rational economic participants at machine speed.

The launch also builds on the Monad AI Blueprint program, which the Monad Foundation introduced to accelerate AI project development on the network. The AI Blueprint is a dedicated builders program designed to support and onboard the most promising AI projects to the Monad ecosystem, providing applications with the resources, infrastructure, and support they need to build, launch, and scale.

By early 2026, the broader industry has been implementing systems where AI can decide, blockchains can verify, and payments can execute automatically, with autonomous agents now capable of holding wallets, executing transactions, and interacting with smart contracts under programmable controls. Agent Hub positions Monad to capture a share of that infrastructure demand by consolidating agent tooling, DeFi integrations, and deployment rails into a single interface.

Sources:
Monad Blog: The Rise of the Machine Economy
Monad Foundation: Introducing Monad AI Blueprint
Blockchain Council: AI in Blockchain in 2026

THE BLOCK: The Daily: Balancer Labs to wind down, Bernstein calls bitcoin bottom with $150K target for 2026, and more

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) across the DeFi landscape made several notable moves during a dynamic week, with treasury decisions, structural overhauls, and experiments in governance taking center stage. Lido proposed a significant token buyback, Aave advanced architectural upgrades, Balancer responded to a costly exploit with restructuring, Lista redesigned tokenomics, and the European Central Bank (ECB) released a study on governance concentration in major protocols.

Lido and Aave vote on treasury usage and architectureLido Finance DAO put forward a $20 million LDO token buyback proposal, targeting support for its governance token by using 10,000 stETH — a direct link between its core staking product and token market value. This treasury move aims to align Lido’s protocol revenue with sustained demand for LDO.

Lido Finance is a leading liquid staking platform and one of the largest by total value locked in DeFi, enabling users to stake assets like Ethereum while maintaining liquidity through staking derivatives.

Meanwhile, Aave DAO, which oversees one of DeFi’s top money markets, held a vote on the Aave Will Win Framework, addressing its strategic competitive outlook. The more actionable step last week, however, was approval to deploy Aave V4 on Ethereum.

Aave V4’s planned architecture, based on a hub-and-spoke model, is designed to facilitate diverse risk profiles while centralizing liquidity — a technical answer to longstanding challenges in on-chain lending markets. This architectural shift marks a substantial evolution for Aave after extensive development.

Balancer and Lista react to recent challenges and trendsFollowing a serious exploit in November 2025, Balancer DAO initiated a deep restructuring: its core team size was cut by half and the annual budget lowered to $1.9 million — a 34% reduction. The protocol also removed the veBAL model, scaled back token emissions, and moved all collected fees directly into the DAO treasury. These actions indicate a priority on financial stability in the wake of the security incident.

Balancer functions as a decentralized exchange (DEX) and automated portfolio manager, notable for its customizable liquidity pools, and remains a foundational DeFi protocol despite recent setbacks.

Lista DAO introduced Tokenomics 2.0, eliminating the veLISTA lockup and governance mechanism in favor of a more straightforward model incorporating buybacks and direct revenue sharing to LISTA holders. The shift away from veToken mechanics departs from a popular trend, indicating an attempt to reduce governance complexity amid evolving DAO preferences.

In response to the Resolv incident, Fluid repaid substantial debt on BNB and Plasma, while Resolv Labs reported ongoing 1:1 redemptions and confirmed no insider involvement in the exploit. Fluid indicated further user compensation plans are under consideration, showing the interconnectedness of DeFi systems and the importance of rapid action when vulnerabilities occur.

P2P futarchy proposal and ECB’s DeFi governance analysisP2P.me introduced a MetaDAO proposal featuring a futarchy model for governance — a method in which market mechanisms help decide organizational direction. The proposal allows up to $500,000 USDC worth of P2P tokens to be bought back at 8% below ICO prices, providing a live test of market-based decision-making in DAO governance.

The ECB’s latest research paper highlighted that over 80% of governance power in major DeFi protocols, such as Aave, MakerDAO, and Uniswap, sits with their top 100 addresses. Many are managed directly by protocols or exchanges, not individuals, quantifying concerns about decentralization and providing regulators with concrete figures on concentration in DeFi governance structures.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

US-listed AI chip stocks saw mixed pre-market performance, with Qualcomm surging 13%.

According to Bitget market data, U.S. AI chip stocks posted mixed pre-market performance: Qualcomm (QCOM.O) surged 13%, Intel (INTC.O) rose nearly 6%, AMD (AMD.O) gained nearly 4%, and Google (GOOG.O) declined 1.4%.

4 minutes ago

Micron Technology surges 18% in pre-market trading on US stocks

According to Bitget market data, the US stock storage sector is seeing broad pre-market gains. Micron Technology (MU.O) jumps 18% in pre-market trading, as its strong earnings significantly exceeded expectations, with multiple major banks raising the stock’s target price. SanDisk (SNDK) rises 12.25%, Western Digital (WDC) gains 12.05%, and Seagate Technology (STX) climbs 8.63%.

4 minutes ago

SBI announced it will acquire cryptocurrency trading platform Bitbank for 46.7 billion yen.

According to Nikkei News, Japanese financial group SBI Holdings announced on the 25th that it will acquire cryptocurrency exchange platform bitbank for 46.7 billion yen (approximately $288 million). Upon completion of the transaction, SBI Group’s crypto asset custody scale is expected to exceed 1 trillion yen, making it one of the largest operators in Japan’s crypto industry. Per the plan, a subsidiary under SBI Holdings will acquire Bitbank shares from individual shareholders including its founders as early as August this year. Bitbank will then repurchase shares held by existing shareholders MIXI and Ceres by the end of October. If combining data from SBI’s own crypto exchange SBI VC Trade and Bitbank, as of April this year, the two firms had a total of around 2.92 million accounts and total custody assets of approximately 1.1 trillion yen. While different crypto exchanges disclose custody assets at varying time points, among Japan’s major industry competitors, bitFlyer held about 960 billion yen in custody assets as of the end of December 2025, and Coincheck had around 800 billion yen as of the end of March 2025.

4 minutes ago

Bithumb was fined for sharing user data overseas without consent.

South Korean regulatory authorities have ordered cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb to pay a 210 million won (approximately $136,000) fine for sharing user personal information with overseas platforms without user consent. According to an announcement released Thursday by South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), the relevant user data exposure occurred between September and November 2025. At that time, Bithumb transferred user information to overseas platforms while sharing its USDT market order book data. The PIPC also noted that when assisting users with asset transfers to 13 overseas exchanges, Bithumb failed to obtain full and sufficient user consent before sharing personal details including names, wallet addresses, and dates of birth. For the two violations, the PIPC not only imposed the fine but also ordered Bithumb to rectify its processes and management systems related to cross-border transmission of user information.

4 minutes ago

PANews reported on April 24 that, according to Ember, the hacker who stole approximately $98 million from Balancer last November has recently begun exchanging some of his ETH for BTC via the cross-chain protocol THORChain. Today, the hacker exchanged 7,000 ETH for 204.7 BTC (approximately $15.88 million), and the transaction is still ongoing. Currently, the hacker still holds 15,000 ETH (approximately $34.65 million) on the Ethereum blockchain and 204.7 BTC (approximately $15.88 million) on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Balancer hackers conducted a large-scale cross-chain cryptocurrency swap, exchanging a total of 419 BTC.

The Balancer attackers have exchanged 21,000 ETH for 617.43 BTC in the past three days.

PANews reported on April 26 that, according to Onchain Lens monitoring, the Balancer attacker has exchanged 21,000 ETH for 617.43 BTC in the past three days, worth $48.72 million. The attacker currently holds 1,000 ETH, worth $2.32 million, and may sell them off further.

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US AI chip stocks mixed in pre-market trading, Qualcomm surges 13%

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BAL price outlook as Balancer Labs proposes radical tokenomics overhaul