Despite the ongoing rally in the cryptocurrency market, the NFT space remains in a state of anticipation. On December 25th, two phishing attacks were detected on Blur, the largest NFT marketplace in the Ethereum ecosystem. According to blockchain security firm PeckShieldAlert, a total of 9 NFTs from popular collections like Dooplicator and LilPudgys were stolen in the phishing attacks.
In addition to this incident, on December 16th, the NFT marketplace NFT Trader experienced a security breach resulting in the theft of millions of dollars’ worth of NFTs. The NFT Trader team confirmed the incident on social media and identified that the attack targeted old smart contracts. Users were urged to cancel approvals made to certain addresses.
Estimates from blockchain security platform Revoke Cash suggest that the stolen NFTs include 13 Mutant Ape Yacht Club and 37 Bored Ape NFTs, as well as VeeFriends and World of Women NFTs, with the total loss nearing approximately 3 million dollars.
Following the attack, rumors and serious allegations surfaced on social media. The identities of the hackers remain unknown, and one of the attackers claimed the attack was initiated by another user, demanding a ransom for the return of the stolen NFTs. Investigations into the matter are ongoing.
The NFT market saw rapid adoption in 2021 as famous brands like Gucci, Nike, and Adidas entered the space, with users spending over 21 billion dollars on these digital ownership certificates for exclusive content and experiences. However, the rapidly adapting NFT industry faced significant challenges in 2022 due to bankruptcies in the crypto sector, global economic strains, and an oversaturation of collections, some of which were fraudulent.
Now in 2023, the NFT market is still struggling, with monthly volumes continuing to exceed 415 million dollars. This indicates that investors are still embracing NFTs. However, the sector is unable to gain momentum due to ongoing fraudulent activities, and transaction numbers are not significantly increasing, leading to fear and concern among Web3 users regarding the NFT market.