The NFT marketplace OpenSea has frozen $2.2 million worth of Bored Ape NFTs after they were reported stolen.
The NFTs on the market now come with a disclaimer that they’ve been “reported for suspicious activity.” Purchasing and sale of these digital assets have been halted.
In total, 15 apes and mutants have been stolen. Todd Kramer, the owner of the NFTs, described the incident as “probably the worst night of his life” and expressed hope that it would be resolved.
Raising security concerns
This is the first time that NFTs from a large collection has been stolen in recent memory, creating security concerns.
According to the crypto community, freezing NFTs casts doubt on decentralization. They argue that the approach is “anti-crypto,” and that OpenSea’s security was lacking.
With hundreds of thousands of users and a significant volume of trade, OpenSea is the most popular NFT platform on the market.
The theft of these NFTs raises worries about the platform’s overall security. Little information has been released on how the NFTs were obtained, and the platform has yet to release an official statement.
NFT clones battle it out with genuine Bored Ape NFTs
Meanwhile, there’s a bit of a debate going on over at OpenSea regarding the Phunky Ape Yacht Club (PAYC).
The NFT platform prohibited this NFT series because of its resemblance to the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s NFTs. PAYC is virtually identical to BAYC, except for the fact that it is paralleled.
The community has been debating the finer elements of plagiarism in light of the NFT’s theft. The most contentious issue has been OpenSea’s prohibition of the PAYC NFT series.
According to the complainants, prohibitions would not be permitted in a fully decentralized system.
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