In this recap of the crypto world, we will explore the events and news that had the most significant impact in the past week of Dec 18. Our focus will be on the following developments:
● NFT Trader Faces Breach, but Victims Are Made Whole
● Bitwise Launches its Spot Bitcoin ETF Commercials
● Solana Phone Hype
● Phantom Adds Support for Bitcoin
NFT Trader Faces Breach, but Victims Are Made Whole
In a recent turn of events, the popular NFT trading platform, NFT Trader, experienced a significant security breach on December 16. This breach resulted in the unauthorized transfer of millions of dollars worth of NFTs, leaving users devastated. The attackers exploited a vulnerability introduced during a smart contract upgrade just 11 days prior, specifically misusing a multi-call feature to compromise the platform’s security.
The breach led to a variety of high-value NFTs being stolen, including 18 Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) and 36 Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) tokens. Additionally, valuable assets such as VeeFriends and World of Women NFTs were also compromised, resulting in cumulative losses to be nearly $3 million, as reported by Revokecash.
Following the breach, the attacker, claiming to possess limited technical skills, made an audacious move by demanding a 10% bounty in Ether (ETH) from the victims in exchange for the return of their NFTs. In a statement, the hacker declared, “If you want the monkey NFT back, then you need to pay me a bounty, which is what I deserve.”
In response, Boring Security, a non-profit organization dedicated to Web3 security, took the lead in orchestrating community-driven efforts to recover the stolen NFTs. Negotiations ensued between the community and the hacker, ultimately leading to a resolution.
As part of the resolution, the hacker agreed to return all 36 Bored Ape Yacht Club and 18 Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs in exchange for a 120 ETH bounty, equivalent to approximately $267,000. The payment was generously provided by Greg Solano, co-founder of Yuga Labs, the entity behind the creation of the Bored Ape collections. Read more on this here.
Bitwise Launches its Spot Bitcoin ETF Commercials
In a bold move, Bitwise Asset Management has brought back the iconic “Most Interesting Man in the World” character to spearhead a new advertising campaign aimed at promoting its crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This revival, featuring actor Jonathan Goldsmith reprising his role, coincides with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) contemplation of several spot crypto ETF applications.
Goldsmith, renowned for his portrayal of the witty and eccentric character in Dos Equis beer commercials from 2006 to 2018, makes a captivating return to the spotlight in the first ad spot for Bitwise. Maintaining his signature look and charisma, Goldsmith swaps his famous “Stay thirsty my friends” tagline for a new statement: “You know what’s interesting these days? Bitcoin. Look for Bitwise, my friends.”
In the second ad, as highlighted by WatcherGuru, Goldsmith continues to captivate audiences with a nod to the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, stating, “I thought you would like to know; Satoshi sends his regards.” The commercial concludes with a compelling call to action, urging Bitcoin investors to choose Bitwise for their future Spot Bitcoin ETF endeavors.
The media campaign is a big push to generate awareness and anticipation for Bitwise’s pending Bitcoin ETF application with the SEC, a groundbreaking move as the SEC is yet to approve any spot crypto ETFs.
Solana Phone Hype
In April of this year, Solana made headlines with the launch of its groundbreaking flagship mobile phone, the Solana Saga. Now, with a pre-order sellout and resale prices skyrocketing 7-8 times their base value on platforms like eBay, the hype around this device is evident.
Developed in collaboration with Osom, an Android development company with a rich history of crafting hardware for tech giants like Google, Apple, and Intel, the Solana phone, aka Solana Saga, is said to be a premium, flagship-grade Android device meticulously tailored for the Web3 space.
Surprisingly, the phone’s appeal does not stem from its looks, performance, or security attributes. Instead, it is linked to an airdrop. Reportedly, every dispatched phone comes with a 30 million $BONK token airdrop, sparking the curiosity of countless Web3 enthusiasts. This is particularly intriguing considering the significant surge in $BONK token values over the past few weeks. Furthermore, in response to the increased BONK trading volume on its platform, the Access Protocol has airdropped $250 in $ACS tokens to Saga phone users.
However, as the hype continues to swirl, it is important to note that the true potential of the Solana Saga as a Web3-centric device is yet to be fully realized. Users will play a crucial role in determining how well the device delivers on its promises of enhanced Web3 security and functionality. Until then, the fascination surrounding the Solana Saga remains nothing, but a speculative play for airdrop farmers. Read more on this here.
Phantom Adds Support for Bitcoin
Phantom, the Solana-based wallet celebrated for its versatility, has made waves once again by expanding its capabilities to include support for the Bitcoin blockchain. This strategic move positions Phantom as an omnichain wallet, offering users a unified and seamless experience in managing a diverse range of digital assets across different blockchains.
As the crypto space continues to evolve, the demand for interoperability and cross-chain functionality has become increasingly apparent, and Phantom’s move reflects a response to this growing need. This release solidifies Phantom’s position as an all-encompassing wallet, merging the best features of Solana, Ethereum, Polygon, and now Bitcoin.
As per the blog post, the Phantom wallet empowers users to manage their SOL, ETH, MATIC, and BTC holdings, curate NFT and Ordinal collections, execute token swaps across different chains, and explore various DeFi applications. All of these functionalities are consolidated within the convenience of a single wallet, offering users a streamlined and holistic crypto management experience.
One thing to note is that during the initial beta phase, Phantom’s support for Bitcoin is limited to trusted apps such as Magic Eden and UniSat. However, the development team has ambitious plans to expand this support to include a broader range of applications in the near future.
