Balancer

**Balancer released comprehensive post-mortem of November 3 exploit that drained $121M from V2 Composable Stable Pools** **Technical Root Cause:** - Incorrect rounding in exact-out swap calculations - Required three conditions: rounding error, rate providers, and low liquidity - Only affected specific V2 pools with BPT tokens and rate providers **Recovery Efforts Secured $45.7M:** - Emergency pool pauses protected $19.3M - Whitehat rescues recovered $4.6M across chains - StakeWise DAO emergency operation recovered $21.8M in osETH/osGNO **Key Response Timeline:** - 07:46 UTC: Attack detected, whitehats immediately front-ran on Ethereum - 08:07 UTC: V6 pools paused, protecting vulnerable liquidity - 11:01 UTC: Recovery mode activated for safe withdrawals **V3 Completely Unaffected:** - Different architecture with explicit rounding controls - Consistent 18-decimal precision - Formal verification prevented this attack vector **Migration Plan:** - V2 stable pool factory disabled - BAL incentives stopped for affected pools - Weighted and Gyro pools remain operational - Comprehensive V3 migration guidance coming **Fund Recovery Process:** - Pool-by-pool basis, not socialized losses - Active claiming required (no airdrops) - Governance proposal needed for distribution - Law enforcement coordination ongoing [Read full post-mortem](https://medium.com/balancer-protocol/nov-3-exploit-post-mortem-51dcbeb6b020)

**StreamDefi** has launched four new StableSurge pools on Balancer v3, bringing their $265M+ TVL and delta-neutral strategies to **Plasma, Arbitrum, and Avalanche**. **Key Features:** - **StableSurge hooks** maintain tight pegs through dynamic fee adjustments - Penalties for destabilizing trades, rewards for rebalancing trades - **100% boosted pools** earn lending yield while providing liquidity - Delta-neutral strategies offering **8-18% APY** with zero directional risk **Live Pools:** - [xUSD/USDT on Plasma](https://balancer.fi/pools/plasma/v3/0x694c009aa31b3f80ee18c218b02390ca2d7151e7) - [USDC/xUSD on Arbitrum](https://balancer.fi/pools/arbitrum/v3/0x7c60989d5e663836cf688f2bacf12a1208ae11b7) - [mevUSDC/xUSD on Avalanche](https://balancer.fi/pools/avalanche/v3/0x9dfdf58e1624cba507d0a38059e85eeab74f3b6b) - [BTC.b/xBTC on Avalanche](https://balancer.fi/pools/avalanche/v3/0x345e9afe5dd68237541993e5e2b9a87367ed91b7) The partnership focuses on **sustainable returns** rather than unsustainable incentives, combining Stream's proven strategies with Balancer's peg-protecting technology. Explore pools at [balancer.fi](http://balancer.fi)

**Plasma Protocol achieved over $100M in Total Value Locked (TVL) within just 24 hours of deployment.** Key highlights: - Protocol launched and immediately attracted significant capital - Liquidity flows directly into Aave vaults to boost yields for liquidity providers - Aave simultaneously reached $4B+ TVL during the same period The rapid adoption demonstrates strong market demand for the protocol's yield-boosting mechanism. By channeling funds into established Aave infrastructure, Plasma creates additional earning opportunities for participants while leveraging proven DeFi protocols.

Balancer is hosting their weekly office hours to discuss two key developments: - Insights and impressions from DappCon Berlin - Updates on the upcoming Readjusting Concentrated Liquidity AMM (reCLAMM) The community session will provide firsthand ecosystem updates and allow participants to ask questions directly. Join the discussion on [Discord](https://discord.com/channels/638460494168064021/930442359932600380). *Previous office hours have covered Balancer V3 developments and ecosystem updates.*

The Balancer Alliance program is now live, allowing protocols to earn swap fee shares by committing to long-term alignment. **Key developments**: - Rocket Pool joins, bringing deep rETH liquidity and ongoing DAO collaboration - Lido strengthens partnership, focusing core liquidity on Balancer - Protocols must convert fees to 80/20 BAL/WETH and lock as veBAL - Program connects governance rights with protocol commitment The Alliance structure emphasizes DAO-to-DAO cooperation and sustainable liquidity, particularly suited for Liquid Staking Tokens.

Balancer has unveiled a redesigned veBAL interface aligned with Balancer V3's visual identity. The update focuses on improving the user experience for $BAL token holders who participate in governance. Key features: - Streamlined process for locking $BAL tokens - Simplified gauge voting interface - Enhanced pool incentives visibility - Calendar integration for vote tracking The new interface maintains core governance functionality while reducing friction points. Users can access all veBAL features at [balancer.fi/vebal](https://balancer.fi/vebal). This update follows recent DAO initiatives to optimize liquidity, including deactivating inactive v2 gauges and boosting incentives for high-performing pools.

Balancer V3 launches MEV-Cap Hook, a new feature that redirects Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) back to liquidity providers. The system works by dynamically adjusting pool fees based on priority fees paid by MEV bots on OP Stack chains like Base and Optimism. Key features: - Higher priority fees trigger higher dynamic pool fees - Captured value stays within the pool - Works across all pool types, not just ETH pairs The mechanism allows MEV bots to operate while ensuring value flows back to LPs instead of leaking out. Currently live on Base, with plans to expand MEV protection offerings through collaboration with CoW Protocol.

Balancer V3 introduces a new boosted pool featuring MiCA-compliant stablecoins $USDR and $USDQ, with initial TVL of 1M. Key features: - Powered by Morpho Labs and curated by Steakhouse - 100% LP liquidity redeposited into lending markets - Enhanced yields through lending incentives - Fully compliant solution for business operations The stablecoins are issued by StablR ($USDR) and Quantoz ($USDQ), designed for both on-chain and off-chain financial solutions. Learn more: - $USDQ: [Quantoz](https://quantozpay.com/eurq-usdq/) - $USDR: [StablR](https://stablr.com/usdr)

Balancer v3 is launching a new Priority Fee Router on Base in Q1 2025, introducing a mechanism to redistribute MEV rewards to liquidity providers. - The system taxes high-priority transactions and shares fees with LPs - Creates new revenue stream for liquidity providers - Reduces sequencer MEV dominance The innovation draws inspiration from Paradigm's research on priority fees. Implementation aims to create a more equitable distribution of transaction fees in the DeFi ecosystem. [Read the full research](https://medium.com/@mikeisballin/mev-internalization-through-priority-fee-taxes-coming-to-balancer-v3-on-base-q1-2025-f20b3e1b7295)

Balancer has partnered with BackedFi to launch permissionless trading of tokenized S&P 500 index ($bCSPX) on Gnosis Chain. Key features: - Regulatory-compliant access to S&P 500 performance - ERC-20 token format for easy transfers - New liquidity pool pairing $bCSPX with $sDAI - Earning opportunities through swap fees and $GNO rewards The integration represents Balancer's first step into tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), with more developments planned.