📰 Why Is Crypto Lending Surging Again? How Can We Tackle AI Hackers and Protocol Risks This Time?

The crypto lending market has grown by 55% since July, but this rapidly expanding industry is now facing new challenges: AI technology is being used to exploit lending protocols, while interconnected risks between different protocols are spreading like dominoes. This means users' assets face a double threat, and the industry urgently needs to find solutions.

Why does this news matter?
The surge in crypto lending reflects two kinds of demand: on one hand, DeFi users are chasing high yields; on the other, there is demand for crypto asset management that traditional finance has struggled to meet. But behind that 55% growth are rising leverage and increasing interdependence between protocols. The involvement of AI hackers has also pushed risks from the technical level to the intelligent level, meaning that code logic alone is no longer enough to guard against every attack. This is a warning to the entire DeFi ecosystem—when the lure of returns is too strong, risks often erupt in unexpected ways.

Market impact
In the short term, BTC and ETH may benefit from investors' risk-averse sentiment. But in the long term, if lending protocols suffer major failures, trust in the entire DeFi ecosystem could be shaken. This means:
1. Price impact: If a major protocol collapse occurs, BTC at $82,806.01 and ETH at $2,495 could face selling pressure
2. Market landscape: Regulators may accelerate the development of rules for crypto lending platforms
3. Capital flows: Some funds may move from high-risk lending protocols to more compliant asset management products

A historical comparison is the 2018 “flash loan” crisis, when design flaws in protocols trapped large amounts of capital. But that was a centralized risk; the threat posed this time by AI involvement and chain reactions between protocols is greater.

💡 My view: If an AI hacker attack succeeds within the next month and triggers a cascade of protocol failures, this 55% growth could be sharply reversed. $2,300 below ETH's $2,495 is a key support level. This view would be invalidated if regulators step in urgently.

[Conditions that would invalidate this view] If regulators impose a comprehensive ban on crypto lending, this view is invalidated.

[Disclosure of position] This article is not sponsored by any project, and the author does not hold any of the assets mentioned.

⚠️ This is not investment advice. Predictions are for reference only