Welcome to The Protocol, RialCenter’s weekly wrap of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, a reporter at RialCenter.
In this issue:
- SwissBorg’s SOL Earn Wallet Exploited for $41.5M After Partner’s API Is Compromised
- Ledger CTO Warns of NPM Supply-Chain Attack Hitting 1B+ Downloads
- Backpack Opens Regulated Perpetuals Exchange in Europe After FTX EU Acquisition
- Polygon PoS Sees Transaction Finality Lag, Patch in Progress
Network News
SWISSBORG’S SOL EARN WALLET EXPLOITED: Crypto exchange SwissBorg reported that about 192,600 SOL ($41.5 million) was stolen from an external wallet used for its SOL Earn strategy. The exploit resulted from a partner’s compromised API, affecting a single counterparty, the exchange stated. It was not a hack of the SwissBorg platform. The loss impacted fewer than 1% of users and represented about 2% of SwissBorg’s total assets. All other funds and strategies remain secure, and user balances within the SwissBorg app are unaffected. SOL Earn redemptions are paused while recovery efforts proceed. SwissBorg will cover any shortfall, ensuring no user losses. They are collaborating with security firms and law enforcement to recover the funds. A full incident report will be released once investigations conclude. This exploit comes amid a sharp rise in crypto thefts, with over $2.17 billion already stolen in 2025. — Shaurya Malwa
LEDGER CTO WARNS OF NPM ATTACK: Charles Guillemet, the chief technology officer at hardware wallet maker Ledger, warned that a large-scale supply chain attack was occurring after a developer’s Node Package Manager account was compromised. Malicious code was pushed into packages with over 1 billion downloads, designed to silently swap crypto wallet addresses in transactions, allowing attackers to siphon funds. Guillemet did not name the developer involved. The incident highlights security vulnerabilities in developer tools that can quickly impact the crypto economy. Guillemet later noted that almost zero crypto users had been affected. “NPM is a tool commonly used in software development using JavaScript,” he explained. When an attacker compromises a developer’s account, they can insert malicious code into widely used packages. — Margaux Nijkerk
BACKPACK EU GOES LIVE FOLLOWING FTX EU ACQUISITION: Backpack Exchange, a global cryptocurrency trading platform, announced that its European division, Backpack EU, is officially live. Operating under the European Union’s MiFID II framework, the exchange aims to be one of the first fully regulated venues in Europe to offer crypto derivatives, starting with perpetual futures. Following the acquisition of FTX EU earlier this year, Backpack EU will provide access to over 40 trading pairs with up to 10x leverage. The rollout underscores Backpack’s strategy to rebuild trust in digital assets. — Margaux Nijkerk
POLYGON POS CHAIN EXPERIENCES FINALITY LAG: Polygon’s proof-of-stake chain is live, but transactions are experiencing delays, with finality running 10–15 minutes behind schedule. The slowdown was related to issues on some nodes and RPC providers. A fix has been identified and is being implemented. This disruption follows Polygon’s Heimdall v2 upgrade, which promised 5-second finality. – Shaurya Malwa
In Other News
- World Liberty Financial (WLFI) blacklisted Tron founder Justin Sun’s blockchain address, preventing the transfer of WLFI tokens. The action impacts 595 million unlocked WLFI tokens worth approximately $107 million. Sun claimed the address only conducted minimal transactions, urging the WLFI team to release the block. — Sam Reynolds
- Decentralized finance protocol Ethena submitted a proposal to issue a forthcoming stablecoin, entering a competitive landscape already involving several prominent companies. Ethena pledged that 95% of net revenue from reserves would support the stablecoin’s ecosystem. — Kristzian Sandor
Regulatory and Policy
- Nasdaq is seeking approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to put equities on the blockchain, allowing customers to choose between traditional trading routes or tokenized stocks. The move follows a surge in competition among firms to adopt blockchain technology in asset trading. — Jesse Hamilton
- President Trump’s new crypto adviser, Patrick Witt, is pushing for the completion of U.S. crypto policies while urging regulators to implement a new stablecoin law. Witt’s appointment reflects ongoing initiatives to address crypto regulation. — Jesse Hamilton
Calendar
- Sept. 22-28: Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul
- Oct. 1-2: Token2049, Singapore
- Oct. 13-15: Digital Asset Summit, London
- Oct. 16-17: European Blockchain Convention, Barcelona
- Nov. 17-22: Devconnect, Buenos Aires
- Dec. 11-13: Solana Breakpoint, Abu Dhabi
- Feb. 10-12, 2026: Consensus, Hong Kong
- Mar. 30-Apr. 2: EthCC, Cannes
- May 5-7, 2026: Consensus, Miami
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