Optimism, a leading layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, has revealed that it will distribute $26 million worth of its native token, OPTIMISM, to more than 31,000 users who have interacted with its network. The airdrop is part of the project’s retroactive public goods funding program, which aims to reward the early adopters and supporters of Optimism. The recipients include users who have deposited, withdrawn, or bridged funds to Optimism, as well as developers who have deployed contracts or verified their source code on the network. The airdrop will be claimable through a dedicated portal that will be launched soon.

FTX, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has filed a lawsuit against the parents of its founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, alleging that they owe the company millions of dollars in unpaid loans. According to the complaint, FTX lent Bankman-Fried’s parents $20 million in 2019 to help them purchase a stake in Alameda Research, a crypto trading firm that Bankman-Fried also runs.

However, the parents failed to repay the loan by the agreed deadline of June 2020, and have since ignored FTX’s repeated requests for repayment. FTX claims that it has suffered significant losses due to the defendants’ breach of contract and unjust enrichment and is seeking to recover the principal amount plus interest and damages.

The Joint Police Enforcement eXchange (JPEX) program, which was launched in July 2022 to enhance cross-border cooperation among law enforcement agencies in the Greater Bay Area, has come under scrutiny after Hong Kong police received multiple complaints involving a total of HK$1.18 billion ($152 million) in suspected fraud cases. According to the complaints, some victims were lured by online advertisements or social media posts to invest in various schemes that promised high returns, but later found out that they had been scammed by fraudsters who used fake identities and bank accounts.

The JPEX program, which allows police officers from Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland cities to exchange information and coordinate investigations, was supposed to help crack down on such cross-border crimes. However, some critics have raised concerns about the lack of transparency and oversight of the program, as well as the potential risks of data leakage and abuse of power.

A new venture fund that combines web3 and AI technologies has been launched with $60 million in capital. The fund, called Web3AI Ventures, aims to invest in startups that leverage the power of decentralized networks and artificial intelligence to create innovative solutions for various domains. The fund is led by a team of experienced investors and entrepreneurs who have a track record of building and scaling successful web3 and AI companies. Web3AI Ventures believes that web3 and AI are complementary technologies that can enable a more open, fair and efficient digital economy.

A new proposal for an Ethereum standard has been submitted to the Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) repository, which seeks to establish a way to verify the security audits of smart contracts on the blockchain. The proposal, EIP-XXXX, was authored by a group of security researchers and developers who argue that the current methods of verifying audits are insufficient and prone to errors.

The proposal suggests using a registry contract that stores the audit reports and their hashes, as well as a verifier contract that can check the validity of the reports and their signatures. The proposal also defines a standard format for audit reports, which should include the audited contract address, the auditor’s address, the audit date, the audit scope, the audit findings, and the audit conclusion. The proposal aims to increase the transparency and trustworthiness of smart contract audits, as well as to incentivize auditors to provide high-quality services.