Jack Kubinec

Quantstamp is rolling out DeFi hack protection for US-based users.



The product will recoup clients of the crypto asset security firm in the event their funds are lost in an exploit, and is the latest such attempt to insure users as hacks remain a prevalent risk. But previous hack coverage products have encountered hurdles, and it remains to be seen whether Quantstamp can clear them.



Quantstamp was founded after the 2016 DAO hack as a security auditing platform and began considering providing hack coverage as early as 2018, according to Sebastian Banescu, the company’s head of insurance. The product, which Banescu compared to Apple Care for <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/defi">DeFi</a>, is launching in the US with approval from the North Carolina Department of Insurance.



Users can pay Quantstamp to guarantee their holdings on Aave, Compound, Curve, Lido and Uniswap. The company said the product would cost 2.55% to 4.28% of the covered amount.



Quantstamp is not the first company to try insuring users against hacks. A report from the DeFi protection provider Opencover <a href="https://www.certik.com/resources/blog/1dloJV023Tm4ajXiluRctb-hack3d-the-web3-security-quarterly-report-q3-2023">listed</a> 23 DeFi risk coverage projects and $34.4 million in claims paid out last year. <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/mixin-network-200m-loss-hack">Hacks remain a major risk for DeFi investors</a>, with $699 million being <a href="https://www.certik.com/resources/blog/1dloJV023Tm4ajXiluRctb-hack3d-the-web3-security-quarterly-report-q3-2023">lost</a> to hacks in the crypto space in Q3, according to a report from Certik. Still, hack coverage has seen uneven success so far.



Jeremiah Smith, CEO of Opencover, said that there is currently more capital available to underwrite hack risk than there is demand for hack coverage.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/upbit-cold-wallet-policy-hackers">Upbit updates cold wallet policy in bid to thwart hackers</a>



“So far, the main challenges [are] on the risk pricing,” Smith said. “If the yields are low, and the premiums are high, it’s not always worth it to insure a position on one of these protocols.”



Banescu said users will be drawn to Quantstamp because of its regulatory status.&nbsp;



“If we as an entity who’s offering this service don’t want to pay out, there’s a regulator who can force us to pay out,” Banescu said.



Smith said prices for DeFi coverage should decrease as protocols stop updating as frequently, since exploits often happen as a result of updates. Uniswap v3, for instance, has yet to be hacked since going live in 2021, meaning insurance providers face less risk when underwriting assets on the protocol. 



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DeFi security firm Quantstamp pilots hack protection program

Bessie Liu

Institutional staking provider Chorus One is partnering with Nexus Mutual to bring insurance coverage for stakers on Ethereum.&nbsp;



The company will be one of the first node providers to purchase on-chain staking coverage from Nexus Mutual to protect its users from slashing, Hari Iyer, marketing manager at Chorus One told Blockworks.



Staking has been a relatively appealing source of income <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/shapella-institutional-interest-blockchain">following the Shapella upgrade</a> for institutional investors.



“Institutions are looking for a safe source of yield, but no matter how much protection you have, how good the infrastructure set up is, there can be incidents of downtime or slashing,” Iyer said.



Slashing is a penalty for validators who engage in dishonest or inactive behavior. Although it is extremely rare, penalties can be severe, Iyer explained.&nbsp;



Validators could lose a cut of their stake or be removed from a network completely if they are slashed.&nbsp;



“When staking your ETH, even with the best technical set-up and expertise, mistakes can happen and slashing can occur,” Hugh Karp the founder of Nexus Mutual said in a statement reviewed by Blockworks. “The most professional operators recognize this and put in place protection for their users.”



Nexus Mutual itself <a href="https://app.nexusmutual.io/governance/view?proposalId=157" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dedicates</a> a portion of the ether in its capital pool to staking as a way to generate revenue for the DAO.



Chorus One will provide base coverage for all users who stake Ethereum through OPUS, its multi-chain staking API for institutions, until the end of this year. This measure aims to protect customers from potential slashing losses.



OPUS serves as a non-custodial staking solution that enables investors and institutions to stake their tokens securely. Additionally, institutions have the option to integrate OPUS into their products, allowing them to provide staking services to their customers.



“Our customers also have the option of going for an upgradable insurance cover on other networks outside of Ethereum as well,” Iyer said.



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Fearful of being slashed on Ethereum? Here’s a staking service with on-chain insurance.

James Cirrone

Decentralized insurance protocol Etherisc on Thursday announced its new peer-to-peer coverage option, intending to cover participating users <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/stablecoins-peg-usdc-all-time-low">should USDC depeg again in the future</a>. 



Customers who have an Etherisc-insured non-custodial wallet that holds <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/usdc">USDC</a> deposits are entitled to a payout when and if the price of Circle’s stablecoin falls “below its $1 USD pegged value by 0.5% for a period longer than 24 hours,” according to a statement from Etherisc. The protocol will rely on a Chainlink data feed to verify price fluctuations. 



Should a depegging scenario play out, customers have 7 days to claim their payout in <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/usdt">USDT</a>, the value of which would be determined by Ethereum-based smart contracts, according to Etherisc. Initially, the minimum protected amount per wallet is 2,000 USDC, though Etherisc said it has plans to roll out coverage to other stablecoins in the future. 



Etherisc CEO and co-founder Christoph Mussenbrock said he believes that this product will bring stability and predictability for the protocol’s approximately 30,000 users, especially in hindsight of the US bank failures in March.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/who-will-bank-crypto">After Bank Failures, Where Will Crypto Firms Turn?</a>



“The purpose behind stablecoins is to provide a predictable haven within the volatile world of cryptocurrency,” he said, adding that his team “saw a clear gap in the market for stablecoin protection and the launch of depeg cover on Etherisc brings immediate peace of mind for customers and their USDC deposits.” 



Unlike a traditional insurance plan where you buy coverage from a large company, Etherisc is offering a marketplace that “connects people seeking cover with investors providing collateral” in the form of tether tokens, Mussenbrock told Blockworks. Investors set premium prices and the duration of coverage. Those seeking protection are then able to shop for the best price, he added. 



Etherisc wasn’t the first to the market with a similar type of solution. InsurAce sells depeg coverage for stablecoins USDC, <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/busd">BUSD</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/mim">MIM</a> and USDT, all of which are currently sold out. And <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/payouts-to-ftx-blockfi-users">Nexus Mutual</a> also sells coverage in case crypto-collateralized stablecoin OUSD were to fail. 



Blockworks reached out to InsurAce and Nexus Mutual for comment but did not receive an immediate response.&nbsp;



Notably, Etherisc is not a licensed insurance company which means it can’t legally brand its products as “insurance.”



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USDC Depeg Insurance From Etherisc Hits Market

Casey Wagner

<div id="highlights-block_63345d75ceec0" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Investors from crypto, TradFi and insurance are betting on new decentralized reinsurance platform approach</li>
 <li>Re is built on Avalanche with private information is kept on a subnet, the team said</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The team behind insurtech platform Cover has debuted a new venture, and seed investors have bet $14 million that it will work.



Re is a decentralized protocol for investors to gain exposure to insurance premiums. It’s a “massive, uncorrelated asset class” the team wants to make accessible, Karn Saroya, CEO of Re, told Blockworks.



“This is a decentralized Lloyd&#8217;s of London at its highest level,” Saroya said.&nbsp;


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-medium"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-28-Karn-DSC_0639-300x169.png" alt="" class="wp-image-32714" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-28-Karn-DSC_0639-300x169.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-28-Karn-DSC_0639-300x169.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-28-Karn-DSC_0639-300x169.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-28-Karn-DSC_0639-300x169.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-28-Karn-DSC_0639-300x169.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-28-Karn-DSC_0639-300x169.png?w=464 464w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-28-Karn-DSC_0639-300x169.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-28-Karn-DSC_0639-300x169.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-28-Karn-DSC_0639-300x169.png?w=50 50w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-28-Karn-DSC_0639-300x169.png?w=1600 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Karn Saroya, Re CEO | Source: Re</figcaption></figure></div>


The protocol is built on the <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/avalanche/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Avalanche</a> blockchain, Re said. Backing insurance policies (i.e., allowing companies to offload part of their risk to a larger pool of capital) is nothing new to finance, but bringing it on chain adds a new level of transparency, speed and security, the team said.&nbsp;



“What we tried to do was mimic a marketplace that has evolved over the course of the last 350 years to something that we think is a stable configuration for current insurance market participants,” Saroya said.&nbsp;



While Re’s main application is built on Avalanche’s primary network, private information is warehoused on a subnet, the team said, to ensure security.



On Avalanche, <a href="https://docs.avax.network/subnets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subnet architecture</a> caters to the demands of regulatory compliance, among <a href="https://www.blockworksresearch.com/research/avalanche-subnets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">other features</a>.



Re’s capital providers, known as Members, provide the financial backing for baskets of insurance policies to earn insurance premiums and yield. Members are required to be accredited investors.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Crafting a new DeFi market</h3>



The decentralized fund, taking a page from massive insurance and reinsurance market Lloyd’s of London, is a capital layer of last call, Saroya said. It offers stop-loss coverage — insurer protection against large claims — against all programs that are in that marketplace at any given point in time. The fund, by backing the entire protocol, also earns a consistent yield, the team said.&nbsp;



“What regulators care about is that somebody is going to be there to pay the claims at the end of the day,” Saroya said.&nbsp;



Re currently has more than $300 million in potential premiums from insurance programs, including backing drivers in Texas and California, the team said. The company plans to expand coverage to small businesses around the US in the coming weeks.&nbsp;



Re’s now-closed $14 million seed funding round featured participation from crypto investment fund Morgan Creek Digital, global insurer and reinsurer SiriusPoint and holding company Exor, Re said. The fresh round of capital will go toward building out the company’s reinsurance and underwriting pipeline, Re said.&nbsp;



“What we tried to do was make sure we had reinsurers on the [capital] table, we wanted to be sure we had crypto folks on the cap table, and then traditional venture, so we got a pretty good mix of that,” Saroya said.



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First Blockchain-powered Reinsurer Gets a Funding Boost

Shalini Nagarajan

<div id="highlights-block_62c7fcae929e9" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Customers are figuring out their Voyager deposits aren’t directly insured by the FDIC</li>
 <li>The crypto lender said customers would be able to access funds “after a reconciliation and fraud prevention process” is completed</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Voyager, the cryptocurrency lender that <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/voyager-files-for-bankruptcy-days-after-freezing-withdrawals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed for bankruptcy</a> this week, is under the spotlight for the way it marketed its deposit accounts to users.&nbsp;



The crypto lender had publicly said dollar deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, owing to a partnership with Metropolitan Commercial Bank.&nbsp;



The <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fdic-scrutinizing-voyagers-marketing-on-safety-of-customer-deposit-accounts-11657212266?mod=markets_lead_pos6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wall Street Journal</a> reported on Thursday that a December 2019 <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210218190959/https://www.investvoyager.com/blog/voyager-is-now-fdic-insured/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> on Voyager’s website claims customers would receive full reimbursement in “the rare event your USD funds are compromised due to the company or our banking partner&#8217;s failure.”&nbsp;



But the same statement has now been <a href="https://www.investvoyager.com/blog/voyager-is-now-fdic-insured/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">altered</a> to remove references to the banking partner or itself, now simply saying in the “rare event your USD funds are compromised, you are guaranteed a full reimbursement (up to $250,000).”



What is notable is that Voyager’s rule applies only to customers’ dollar deposits — not cryptoassets. The lender’s customers have <a href="https://twitter.com/MattJacksonUSF/status/1544645272269209605" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expressed frustration</a> at not being able to access their funds, and are especially concerned after it revealed significant exposure to embattled crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.



Voyager is among some firms that have taken a hit from plunging cryptocurrency prices and a liquidity crisis in the market. After <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/voyager-seeks-strategic-alternatives-following-pause-to-withdrawals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">freezing withdrawals</a> and trading on its platform, the firm filed for bankruptcy and said customers would receive their funds upon reorganization. It has said it holds more than $350 million in cash at the Metropolitan Commercial Bank.&nbsp;



In its <a href="https://www.investvoyager.com/pressreleases/voyager-digital-commences-financial-restructuring-process-to-maximize-value-for-all-stakeholders" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> on July 6, Voyager said customers with dollar deposits would receive access to their funds after a “reconciliation and fraud prevention process” is completed with Metropolitan Commercial Bank. But it didn’t lay out how long that would take.



Some customers have only just worked out that their deposits are not insured in the way they initially thought, according to The Journal. It appears Voyager guaranteed a safety net — when there actually isn’t one — by stealthily packaging how its deposits are insured.



The firm’s individual customer accounts are eligible for insurance, but only in the event of failure by Metropolitan Commercial Bank. The New York-based bank <a href="https://www.mcbankny.com/fdic-coverage-available-to-voyager-customers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">clarified</a> that this week, saying FDIC insurance would only be available if the bank itself failed and not in case of Voyager’s failure. It added that it maintains an account for Voyager customers holding only US dollars, not cryptoassets.&nbsp;



A <a href="https://www.investvoyager.com/useragreement/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">user agreement</a>, which can often easily be overlooked by users, on Voyager’s website shows that the FDIC protection applies only if the partner bank fails.



That mix-up about the protection of funds placed in Voyager through Metropolitan Commercial Bank has drawn the FDIC’s attention, and the agency is now looking into the lender’s marketing material, a spokesperson for the agency told Blockworks.



&#8220;Voyager Digital is not&nbsp;an FDIC-insured bank or savings association,&#8221; they added. &#8220;This means that the FDIC’s deposit insurance does not protect Voyager Digital’s customers against Voyager Digital’s default, bankruptcy, suspension of withdrawals, or against loss in value of products.&#8221;



Less than two months ago, the FDIC announced a <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-releases/2022/pr22041.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rule</a> prohibiting any person or entity from falsely using the agency’s deposit insurance, as this could undermine confidence in legitimately insured banks. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau <a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-to-protect-depositors-from-false-claims-about-fdic-insurance/#:~:text=Misrepresenting%20the%20FDIC%20logo%20or,insurance%20will%20typically%20be%20material." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">addressed</a> the issue on the same day, highlighting the risks posed to consumers of emergent financial assets like cryptocurrencies.&nbsp;



Daniel Besikof, a partner at law firm Loeb &amp; Loeb in New York, said Voyager’s bankruptcy filing is a negative development for its account holders, some of whom held millions of dollars of cryptoassets in their accounts.&nbsp;



“Voyager Digital is treating those account holders essentially as unsecured creditors and proposing to satisfy their claims with a package of coins, equity in the reorganized Voyager and other assets,” he added. “The value of that package is unknown.”&nbsp;



Voyager didn’t immediately return Blockworks’ request for comment.



This story has been edited to include the FDIC&#8217;s response.



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Crypto Lender Voyager’s Marketing Materials Under FDIC Scanner

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_61e96a4a59049" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The platform currently only accepts payments in crypto, but plans to accept traditional bank cards in the future</li>
 <li>Etherisc integrates Chainlink oracles in its product so users can see if the correct flight information was used when determining the claims process</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The firm behind a blockchain protocol custom-built for the insurance industry is launching a new on-chain product for flight delays and cancellations.&nbsp;



Etherisc’s FlightDelay product will go live on Thursday, which will make filing an insurance claim faster and more transparent, according to co-founder Christoph Mussenbrock.&nbsp;



The application will issue policies and give almost instant payouts for travelers who experience flight cancellations or delays of over 45 minutes. The project aims to take out the paperwork and lengthy process of manually filing an insurance claim.



“While there are other travel insurance products available, they typically require a delay of several hours to a planned flight before any compensation is deemed applicable. In addition, policyholders need to manually file a claim and this process is cumbersome, time-consuming and lacks transparency,” Mussenbrock told Blockworks.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“In contrast, Etherisc’s blockchain-backed insurance product offers real-time, fully automated payouts starting at just 45 minutes delay. We are the only providers currently offering such a solution.”</blockquote>



Additionally, Etherisc integrated Chainlink oracles in FlightDelay, so users can access on-chain data to see if the correct flight information was used when determining the claims process.



“[This product] has a real opportunity to disrupt manual claims processing by reducing employee labor, server, software management, and other overhead costs via blockchain-based automation,” William Herkelrath, managing director at Chainlink Labs, said in a statement.&nbsp;



FlightDelay’s insurance risk pool will be generated by members of the Etherisc community that actively stake its native DIP token, according to a press release.&nbsp;



FlightDelay is available with over 80 airlines. The platform currently only accepts payments in crypto for its services, specifically through blockchain payments platform Gnosis Chain, but plans to accept traditional bank cards in the future.



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