Nifty News: Trader nabs 800 ETH by baiting a bot, NFT thefts slow and more

August 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blur

A trader walked off nearly $1.5 million richer after tricking a bot copying his trades to buy a slew of NFTs at a markup.

NFT trader's $1.5M bot chess move

YouTuber and nonfungible token (NFT) trader Hanwe Chang said he scored 800 Ether (ETH), around $1.5 million, by tricking a rival trader’s bot into buying his own inflated NFTs.

In an Aug. 5 X (Twitter) post, Chang said he noticed a bot was copying his bids on the NFT marketplace Blur and decided to trick them.

An NFT-focused account A Raving Ape speculated that from a separate, anonymous wallet Chang purchased multiple Azuki NFTs sharing the same background color.

Context on how @HanweChang executed a plan to perfection and made 800e by selling "Off White A - Background color" azuki at 50e each and azuki elementals at 15e each.

This is an epic case of PvP in the current NFT trading market ⚔️

Hanwe has been coasting at the top spot of… pic.twitter.com/M8Ujm8CquJ
— A-Raving-Ape.eth (@a_raving_ape) August 5, 2023

Knowing bots were copying his trades, Chang placed an inflated bid on the NFTs held in his anonymous wallet from his publicly-known hanwe.eth wallet.

Once a bot automatically copied the inflated bid, Chang accepted it from his anonymous wallet and was able to palm off the NFTs at a significant markup.

Seemingly, the owner of the bot known as elizab.eth responded to Chang’s post claiming the funds were stolen and offered to discuss a 10% bounty if the funds were returned.

We would like to discuss a bounty with you. We are offering a 10% bounty of any funds stolen from our bot, which are yours to keep if you return the remaining 90%.
— elizab.ethᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠ (@ThinkingETH) August 5, 2023

Chang’s on-chain move triggered discussion over its legality.

Lawyer Gabriel Shapiro said he thinks elizab.eth “might have good legal claims” to get their ETH back from Chang’s trick — but only if they hire a skilled litigation attorney.

NFT volumes nearly halves over July

NFT volumes have continued to slide in the ongoing bear market, having sank by almost half over July.

Figures from NFT data aggregator CryptoSlam show U.S. dollar sales volume decreased nearly 42% over July with the month starting off with $22 million in daily volume before sinking to $12.8 million on July 31.

*Weekly NFT sales with black line depicting U.S. dollar sales volume. Source: Cryptoslam!*

July’s drop comes after a significant rally in late June where daily sales volumes peaked at nearly $58.5 million on June 27, the largest trading day since March 16’s $61.9 million figure.

Royalties from NFTs are also biting creators. A July 25 report from Nansen said out of the 699,816 ETH in royalties paid to NFT projects, just 9.4% of the figure was in the first half of 2023.

Nansen said the effective fee rate for royalties has seen a significant downtrend — average royalties in 2022 were 2.5% which as of July 2023 had dropped to 0.6%, a 98% drop.

Slow month for NFT thefts

On the other hand, NFT-related thefts have seen their slowest month in 2023.

Figures by blockchain security firm PeckShield shared on Aug. 6 show around $1.7 million worth of NFTs were stolen in July. The figure marks a 31% decrease from June.

PeckShield said half of the stolen NFTs were sold within less than three hours, or 165 minutes, on marketplaces such as Blur and OpenSea after being nabbed.

#PeckShieldAlert In July 2023, ~$1.73M worth of #NFTs were stolen, marking a 31% decrease compared to the previous month. Within a span of 165 minutes, half of the stolen NFTs were promptly sold on various marketplaces. The percentage of stolen NFTs initially sold on @blur_io… pic.twitter.com/cknsefpfwe
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) August 6, 2023

Blur had the highest amount of stolen NFTs sold, with over 67% while OpenSea had just under 20% sold through its platform, PeckShield claimed.

Just over $41.5 million worth of NFTs have been stolen in 2023 up until the end of July. February was the biggest month for NFT thieves, where they stole $16.2 million worth of tokens.

Gary Vee’s NFT project also steps into sneaker trend

VeeFriend’s, the NFT project by entrepreneur and internet talking head Gary Vaynerchuck has joined the latest craze of NFT-related sneakers.

On Aug. 4 VeeFriend’s announced its partnered with Reebok to launch a limited edition sneaker only available to those holding an alpaca-related NFT as part of the collection.

Dreamers, let’s do this. We’re proud to introduce the VeeFriends x @reebok Aspiring Alpaca Classic Nylon, the shoe that will take you wherever you aspire to go. pic.twitter.com/DHsvMdHPGR
— VeeFriends (@veefriends) August 3, 2023

The shoe looks like any other aside from a few changes. The tongue of the shoe depicts the original handdrawn version of VeeFriend’s alpaca NFT and the NFT project’s logo appears in place of Reebok’s.

It’s the third sneaker-NFT project in recent weeks. In late June Dior put up a new line of sneakers that offered an NFT replica and NFT’s came embedded in Puma’s recent sneaker collection.

Other Nifty News

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has finally caught on that criminals are hijacking social media accounts and posing as legit NFT and crypto space figures, posting a warning of the trend on Aug. 4.

NFT protocol JPEG’d confirmed 5,495 ETH worth about $10 million was returned by the Curve Finance hacker, who received a bounty of 610.6 ETH, or $1.1 million.

Magazine: 6 Questions for Simon Davis of Mighty Bear Games

Toy Manufacturer Mattel to Launch P2P Marketplace for Virtual Collectibles on NFT Platform

April 21, 2023 Bitcoin.com

NFT market held back by oversupply, greed and bad projects: Gary Vee

December 12, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The number of celebrities, brands and artists that hopped on the NFT bandwagon was bound to cause supply and demand issues, said the Vee Friends creator.

Popular entrepreneur and NFT proponent Gary Vaynerchuck — also known as Gary Vee — has argued that oversupply, greed and subpar projects are the main reasons the NFT market fell so hard over the past year.

On Dec.12, Vaynerchuck highlighted his latest blog post via Twitter which explores the NFT sector's current issues and where he thinks it's headed next year.

Hope this article can help some of you, the feedback has been humbling …. Why I Said 97-99% of NFTs Would Go to Zero - Gary Vaynerchuk https://t.co/BmhO7OUGdH
— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) December 11, 2022

Commenting on the state of the market, Vaynerchuck emphasized that there has been a significant amount of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) from the media and users of social media this year, who have generally highlighted issues such as dwindling trading volumes and floor prices.

“The truth is, if you’ve been paying attention, you know what’s really happening here – and if you’re like me, you’re not surprised," argued Vaynerchuck.

He pointed back to a prediction he made a year prior in which he argued that “98-99% of NFT projects” that gained traction during the NFT boom in 2021 will end up being bad investments or “go to zero.”

Problems with NFTs

Explaining this prediction, Vaynerchuck highlighted three major issues holding back the market — oversupply, short-term greed and poor operators.

In terms of oversupply, Vaynerchuck argued that the large number of “celebrities, influencers, sports leagues, big brands and individual artists” that jumped on the bandwagon last year was bound to cause supply and demand issues.

“Some have been amazing projects led by true operators who are focused on delivering value to their communities – most are not,” he wrote, adding that:

“The demand has not and will not be able to keep up with that extraordinary level of supply, and any time that happens, there’s a bubble waiting to burst.”

In regards to short-term greed, Vaynerchuck argued that the industry has been hampered by too many people rushing to make a quick buck from launching projects or trading NFTs, resulting in losses to scams and projects with poor fundamentals imploding.

“Everyone’s way too selfish, way too fast, and lacking thoughtfulness. This is a marathon, but everyone’s treating it like a micro sprint and a gold rush, and that’s why most will lose,” he wrote.

In June, blockchain monitoring software company DEXterlab polled more than 1,300 people on Twitter about their NFT buying habits from late May to early June. It found that while 64.3% of its respondents said they bought NFTs "to make money," less than 42% had made a profit at the time of the poll.

Meanwhile, on the subject of bad projects, he suggested that as anyone can simply launch an NFT project “there’s now a huge number of people with no real knowledge of things like business, long-term community building, culture, day-to-day operating of a staff, and creating demand.”

Where are NFTs going in 2023

Looking forward into 2023, Vaynerchuck argued that there's unlikely to be another market boom like that of 2021, particularly as he doesn’t see the “macroeconomic landscape” turning bullish anytime soon.

Additionally, Vaynerchuck likened the crypto and NFT sector to the internet boom of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, in which a countless number of companies crumbled while the strongest rose to dominance.

“Due to a ridiculous amount of supply, many projects will crash and go to zero like Pets.com, but there will be some – that 1-3% of projects – that will become the Amazons and the eBays. The key is… how many of you are willing to do the homework it takes to make smart investments?”

Vaynerchuck jumped into NFTs back in early 2021 and went on to launch his debut project VeeFriends in May that year, and has invested in a number of projects since then. According to data from CryptoSlam, VeeFriends is the twentieth ranked NFT collection in terms of all time sales volume at $241.8 million.

Nifty News: Yuga Labs launches BAYC council, Animoca backs Cool Cats and more…

October 6, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Animoca Brands

Solana NFT volume surged to $130 million in September and Gary Vaynerchuck’s VeeFriends are set to be released as collectibles at Macy’s and Toys “R” Us.

Yuga Labs has announced a new Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) community council to help the project “grow and thrive.”

The team revealed seven council members in an Oct. 5 blog post, noting that they are all OGs who have been around since the early days of the BAYC.

Yuga Labs said it assembled a new community council made up of “Apes with a proven track record of proactively and positively contributing to the club since the start.”

The members include, @beijingdou, @SeraStargirl, @TheMiamiApe, @OxEthanDG, @OxWave, @negithenagi, @peterjfang.

“This council was formed with the intention of representing the club at large and providing an avenue for new perspectives,” Yuga Labs wrote.

Yuga Labs stated that they will engage with the community and gather feedback for the firm, work with Yuga on community-driven initiatives such as commercial projects, meetups and charity work.

“Every Ape in our community has directly impacted our decisions-making from day one. This council, and future councils to come, puts a more formal, efficient and consistent process in place for Yuga leadership to get community feedback and advice on an ongoing basis," it wrote.

Yuga Labs also teased that it could soon launch community councils for its other NFT projects including CryptoPunks, Meebits and the Otherside moving forward.

Today, Yuga Labs welcomes the first BAYC community council that will assist us in shaping the future of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. For more details on the council head over to our official blog at https://t.co/MSD3M1QkfE
— Yuga Labs (@yugalabs) October 5, 2022

Animoca Brands partners with Cool Cats

NFT venture fund giant Animoca Brands has made a strategic investment into blue chip NFT project Cool Cats to help the project expand into new avenues such as gaming.

The Oct. 5 announcement from the duo states that the “partnership will drive Cool Cats' mission to become the largest global NFT brand and a robust media and content company, including through expansion of its gaming offerings.”

Cool Cats was launched in July 2021 and consists of 9,999 cartoon cat avatars. The project has generated $369.2 million worth of NFT sales volume to date as per CryptoSlam data. The latest announcement has also coincided with Cool Cats sales volume pumping 220% over the past 24 hours.

The move also follows a partnership with Animoca Subsidiary GAMEE from Sept. 1, a virtual platform focused on connecting creators, brands and players in the GameFi space.

1/ .@animocabrands is excited to announce our partnership with @coolcatsnft one of the earliest, important and cutest #NFT metaverse first collections out there, to celebrate I picked up a few #CoolCats including this rare beauty #CoolCatsNFT #7807 a little pic.twitter.com/oYzRYHU4XC
— Yat Siu (@ysiu) October 5, 2022

Solana NFT sales volume surges past $100M in September

NFT sales volume on the Solana blockchain tagged $130.1 million in September, with that figure marking an 82.2% increase compared to the $71.4 million posted in August.

While the figure still places Solana well behind Ethereum, which hosted $354.3 million worth of NFT sales volume last month, the difference between the two’s number of unique buyers is much smaller.

According to CryptoSlam data, Solana NFTs saw 143,997 unique buyers in September (up from 95,516 in August) compared to Ethereum’s 166,168 that month (down from 202,467).

While the figures may indicate that Solana is making up some notable ground on Ethereum, the latter still hosts the majority of blue chip NFT projects.

Looking at data over the past 30 days, only one Solana NFT project makes the top 10 in terms of sales volume with tenth ranked y00ts mint t00b’s $13.3 million worth of sale volume. In comparison, eight Ethereum-based projects make the top 10 during that time frame.

Mommy, I want that NFT!

Gary Vaynerchuck’s NFT project VeeFriends has penned an exclusive deal with Macy’s and Toys “R” Us to sell physical plush and figure collectibles featuring VeeFriends NFT characters.

The collectibles will be available in stores from Oct. 17th, and will be priced from $9.99 to $29.99. The characters include Common Sense Cow, Willful Wizard, Practical Peacock, Gratitude Gorilla, Genuine Giraffe and Be The Bigger Person.

Hodlers who own the NFT version of the characters will receive the associated physical collectibles, with the more expensive plush and six inch figures going to season one NFT holders.

Notably, the hodler’s won’t get a kick-back from the sales of the physical toys however.

Other Nifty News:

Horizon Blockchain Games, the developers of popular NFT card game Skyweaver have raised $40 million in Series A funding, the company disclosed on Oct. 4. The round was led by Brevan Howard Digital and Morgan Creek Digital, with additional participation from Polygon, Take-Two Interactive, and Ubisoft to name a few.

NFT marketplace OpenSea announced in a series of tweets on Oct. 5 that the platform will officially allow its users to bulk list and bulk purchase up to 30 digital collectible items in a single flow.