Scam alert: MetaMask warns users of deceptive March 31 airdrop rumors

Blur

MetaMask posted a warning on its Twitter after coming across rumors of an upcoming MetaMask snapshot or airdrop on social media.

Web3 wallet provider MetaMask has warned its users of “false rumors” of a purported MetaMask airdrop, which appears to have been making the rounds on social media.

According to a March 28 tweet from MetaMask, there have "quite a few rumors going around" of a MetaMask snapshot or airdrop on March 31.

There are quite a few false rumors going around about a MetaMask snapshot/airdrop/etc. on March 31.

These rumors are not only false, but they are dangerous. They create opportunities for scammers and phishers.

Please be on the lookout for fake sites in the coming days
— MetaMask (@MetaMask) March 28, 2023

“These rumors are not only false, but they are dangerous. They create opportunities for scammers and phishers,” warned MetaMask.

Cointelegraph has identified a number of Twitter accounts purporting to be related to MetaMask or a MetaMask token airdrop.

*A Twitter account claiming to be owned by MetaMask which links to a phishing website*

In its Twitter post, MetaMask has denied the rumors of an upcoming airdrop and has urged users to stay vigilant for fake sites in the coming days.

*Screenshot from a phishing website claiming to be MetaMask*

The recent rumors may be linked to a “fireside chat” session with ConsenSys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin at ETHDenver 2023 on March 14, who reiterated his firm is “actively working to decentralize” MetaMask. He later reportedly confirmed that they were intending to launch a token.

Lubin also first hinted at a MetaMask token in a Nov. 8 Tweet from 2021, saying “Wen $MASK? Stay tuned.”

Andrew, ConsenSys has thousands of tokens on our balance sheet. ConsenSys is vigorously controlled by its employees, which includes me. And we are driving towards decentralization of several of our projects. Wen $MASK? Stay tuned. Wen objective journalism, ser?
— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) November 8, 2021

While MetaMask has debunked an imminent airdrop, many of the replies from the community suggest they are still hopeful that an airdrop may still occur, but just at a later date.

Cointelegraph has contacted MetaMask’s parent company ConsenSys for clarification about whether there were plans for a future airdrop but was yet to hear back at the time of publication.

Activity on MetaMask nearly tripled on the back of the rumors, with data from DappRadar showing that the number of transactions on March 27 reached 21,460 from a baseline of approximately 8,000.

*MetaMask activity from Feb. 27 to March 28. Source: DappRadar.*

MetaMask saw a similar flurry of activity due to rumors of an airdrop back in November 2021, following recent airdrops from both the Ethereum Name Service and Lubin’s mention of a token.

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<div>The 'launch of a rocket' — Observers on the future of Ethereum post-Merge</div>

Bloomberg

With the Ethereum Merge only hours away, Cointelegraph spoke to industry experts about the transition to proof-of-stake today and what to look out for.

The Ethereum Merge is set to occur later today with the energy-efficiency focused transition expected to have a major impact on crypto investment and adoption, experts say.

Speaking to Cointelegraph in the lead up to the Merge, StarkWare president and co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson noted that the Ethereum Merge will be the “first step in a process that will lead to exceedingly widespread adoption of Ethereum.”

The immediate importance of the Merge is the dramatic effect on energy consumption.

The Merge is expected to see Ethereum’s energy cut by 99.95% compared to its current Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which requires large amounts of energy to be used in a competition to solve arbitrary mathematical puzzles.

“I think of the Merge like the development of the first solar fields,'' added Ben-Sasson.

“We saw that we can slash the environmental impact of electricity production. We didn’t say ‘problem solved,’ but rather that if we’re generating electricity with less pollution, it’s time to double down on efforts to use the power more sparingly.”

Excited to never have to hear about "ommer blocks" again.

(ok fine I know "ommer" was meant to be a gender-neutral replacement for "uncle", but come on, it just *sounds* like an insult for people who meditate)

Oh, and saving electricity. That's cool too.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) September 14, 2022

Ben-Sasson believes the end result where the general population uses blockchain-based apps in many different areas of life, “and as naturally as people use smartphone apps today.”

CEO of crypto exchange Coinjar, Asher Tan says the Merge is set to change the narrative around crypto more broadly, pointing out that it’s incredibly rare for a tech sector to “execute such a drastic reduction in their energy intensity.”

"We believe that people are underselling the significance of the post-Merge 99.95% drop in energy usage,” noted Tan.

It makes the Ethereum network far more publicly palatable and opens the door for investors and companies that had remained crypto-agnostic due to its carbon footprint.

Despite optimism about Ethereum’s transition, there is still debate on whether the Merge has already been factored into Ether (ETH) price or not.

Charmyn Ho, head of crypto insights at crypto exchange Bybit, says their analysts have concluded there is “no consensus” amongst institutional investors or market makers regarding short-term trading around The Merge, but will instead be more likely to accumulate ETH and become hodlers.

Meanwhile, most within the Ethereum “bubble” don’t appear to be concerned over whether the Merge will be a success or not.

Ethereum Co-Founder Joseph Lubin told Bloomberg yesterday he believes the transition will result in very little disruption to developers and users, and will be “as smooth as if your iPhone or laptop has upgraded its operating system overnight.”

StarkWare’s Ben-Sasson also sees the transition being a smooth one, suggesting the “Ethereum Foundation has prepared so meticulously for this moment, and inspires lots of confidence," noting:

"It will be a significant mark of success when the first block is produced by proof of stake. But this is like completing the launch of a rocket — we still have the rest of the journey ahead of us, which will pose its challenges."

Lubin suggests that in his opinion, this is the third most important event in the crypto space, behind only the development of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Lubin