The recent dramatic plunge of a newly minted cryptocurrency, Miner, has garnered significant focus within the digital currency sphere. The token, based on the novel ERC-X standard, saw its value nosedive by more than 99% within hours, later reducing its deficit to an 87% loss, valuing each Miner at $11.41. A flaw in the token’s smart contract enabled holders to duplicate their Miner tokens, triggering a mass sell-off and a financial hemorrhage estimated at $10 million.
Smart Contract Snafu Raises Concerns
Developers have acknowledged the bug and are committed to rectifying the glitch, with a promise to conduct a thorough audit prior to the smart contract’s re-release. The team has safeguarded liquidity, equating to 130 Ethereum, which aligns with the liquidity provider ASTX LP, earmarked for future distribution to liquidity providers. Yu Xian of SlowMist, a Singaporean blockchain security company, criticized the oversight, pointing to the perilous nature of innovation without adequate reference standards.
The ERC-X standard, devised by Miner’s creators, synthesizes the characteristics of well-known Ethereum token standards such as ERC-20, ERC-721, and the recent ERC-404. After the glitch was discovered, the Miner team negotiated with the whistleblower to recover 30% of the misallocated assets, rounding up to $120,000.
Emerging Standards and Industry Implications
The Ethereum ecosystem has seen a surge in new token standards, though experts caution about their tentative nature and absence of endorsement from the Ethereum Foundation. ERC-404, one of these recent introductions, facilitates a unique form of partial ownership over non-fungible assets. Pandora, the first ERC-404 token, has achieved a valuation exceeding $200 million. The community is eagerly anticipating future developments within ERC-404 and any potential overlap with trends in the Bitcoin Ordinals segment.