NFTs, or Non Fungible Tokens, are all the rage at the moment. With neo-finance and decentralized blockchain technology showing serious uptrends in users and transactions worldwide, there’s no doubt that cryptocurrency is the way of the future—and NFTs are playing a huge role in forging the path forward. It’s not all clear skies ahead, though. NFTs have consistently been making headlines lately after reports of multiple phishing-related ‘attacks’ and scams that have occurred on popular NFT trading platforms like OpenSea.
For the uninitiated – What are NFTs?
In the broadest sense, NFTs are digital assets (content in the form of images, animations, music, and more) that are held on a blockchain, the same technology that underpins other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The distinction between NFTs and other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, however, is that NFTs are one-of-a-kind tokens that cannot be reproduced or exchanged for identical, plagiarized, or similar NFTs. This indicates a sense of unique ownership of the asset and hence the massive prices these digital assets are being traded and sold for.
NFT scams making the headlines
OpenSea, one of the most popular NFT trading platforms around, has been under the scanner and is now facing a $1 million lawsuit from complainant Timothy McKimmy. McKimmy claims that he was a victim of OpenSea's "inactive listing" hack, which resulted in users facing collective losses of up to $1.8 million. He also alleges that although his Bored Ape #3475 NFT was not listed for sale on the platform, hackers managed to purchase it for a mere 0.01 ETH (roughly $25) and promptly flipped it for a whopping 99 ETH (roughly $250,000). OpenSea had said in a statement recently that they were “investigating” the matter, although they deny that the ‘hacks’ arose from any vulnerabilities on their platform.
So, should you be wary of the NFT space? The short answer is a resounding yes. NFTs are still in their infancy—and the reports of scams and hack-like attacks on users are further proof that trading platforms like OpenSea need to iron out some serious kinks if they are to thrive in this space. Will NFTs stand the ultimate test of time? We’ll just have to wait and find out.
