Key Insights:
- NFT marketplace Mintable finds stolen OpenSea NFTs from a phishing attack
- OpenSea sees trading activity fall as investors respond to repeated attacks on OpenSea
- One former NFT owner is suing OpenSea for $1m as platform vulnerabilities leave NFT holders exposed to cybercrime
OpenSea was back in the crypto news headlines on Wednesday. It has been a busy start to the year for the leading NFT marketplace that had seen record-high trading volumes in January.
While trading volumes and NFT values have dived, NFT market activity remains solid. Amidst heightened activity at the start of the year, however, illicit activity has also spiked.
Mintable Recovers Stolen NFTs from OpenSea
On Wednesday, NFT marketplace Mintable reportedly located three stolen NFTs and sent the NFTs back to their original owners. According to the report, Mintable tracked down the NFTs on the LooksRare (LOOKS) marketplace.
While OpenSea has seen a spike in cybercrime at the turn of the year, LooksRare has faced allegations of wash trading and trading stolen NFTs.
OpenSea A Target for Cybercriminals
The 3 NFTs were part of a phishing attack that occurred last week. Attackers reportedly stole 250 NFTs, which they then sold off for $1.7m in Ether (ETH). Amongst the stolen NFTs were the famous Bored Ape Yacht Club and Decentraland.
The theft was not the first on OpenSea in recent months. Since late December, OpenSea has experienced several attacks and a spike in plagiarism and fake and spam NFTs. This week, a former owner of a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT reportedly filed a lawsuit against OpenSea.
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See all Ethereum forecastsThe lawsuit claims that OpenSea was aware of the bug that allowed hackers to steal the NFTs. OpenSea also allegedly continued to operate instead of shutting down the platform to address the vulnerability.
Repeated attacks and loss of NFTs could see OpenSea in more hot water in the months to come. For OpenSea, addressing vulnerabilities will be business-critical. OpenSea trading activity reportedly took a hit in response to the phishing attack.
Mintable’s actions could set precedence, which would ease some pressure on NFT marketplaces. Regulators and investors would likely deem NFT marketplace collaboration and self-policing as positive.