OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, has made a lot of headlines lately. However, this may not be for the best of reasons. Over the course of the last couple of months, the NFT marketplace has been attacked multiple times. Just as the platform was dealing with an alleged phishing attack, it was slapped with a lawsuit over stolen funds.
Timothy McKimmy filed the complaint and was represented by DALY & BLACK, P.C., and the Tadghighi Law Group PLLC. McKimmy pointed out that his Bored Ape NFT was stolen. Seeking damages for about $1 million, McKimmy was eyeing a jury trial.
McKimmy further brought it to notice that not only was his NFT stolen but was again listed and sold to another user on OpenSea. The Bored Ape McKimmy entailed was Bored Ape #3475, which was a seven-trait tan fur ape with a wool turtleneck, sunglasses, and a baby’s bonnet. He reportedly paid 55 ETH for this purchase back in December 2021. This NFT was acquired with the wallet ‘tjmckimmy,’ but it was later transferred to the wallet ‘dextermoonshine.’
This is when things went down. Two months following this purchase and transfer, OpenSea carried out the transfer of NFT to the wallet 0x0ea12ccd16b1a9b8b28ceea7241d905eda7e8d73. The wallet then sold the 1392nd most rare ape for a whopping 98.9 ETH. The aforesaid sale was executed even though McKimmy hadn’t listed the NFT. Therefore, the filing read,
“Defendant’s security vulnerability allowed an outside party to illegally enter through OpenSea’s code and access Plaintiff’s NFT wallet, in order to list and sell Plaintiff’s Bored Ape at a literal fraction of the value (at .01 ETH). Essentially, OpenSea’s vulnerabilities allowed others to enter through its code and force the listing of an NFT. This is through no fault of the owner.”
Is OpenSea’s Business in Jeopardy?
It’s no secret that OpenSea has been encountering a lot of trouble lately. The latest news adds to the list. While $1 million may not seem like a lot for the largest NFT marketplace, the damage to its reputation is certainly hefty.
Just yesterday, 35 OpenSea users lost funds following a phishing attack. Back in January hackers managed to secure $800k from the marketplace. With the advent of the NFT revolution, a slew of new marketplaces has emerged. Given the number of attacks and the onset of platforms such as LooksRare, the likelihood of OpenSea dropping down in terms of business was significant.