NFT Trader Palms Off Collection for 800 ETH in Rigged Trade

Trader Hanwe Chang fooled a bot unaware of his ownership of an Azuki non-fungible token (NFT) to earn 800 Ethereum (ETH).

The NFT trader allegedly posted an inflated bid for several similar Azuki NFTs he held in an anonymous wallet.

NFT Trader Could Face Legal Battle to Recover 800 ETH

The bot, owned by elizab.eth, copied the bid, which Chang accepted from his secret wallet. The trade netted Chang 800 ETH, worth roughly $1.5 million at current prices. Elizab.eth has offered to discuss a 10% bounty if Chang returns the asset.

Lawyer Gabriel Shapiro argued elizab.eth could legally recover the asset with the help of a competent attorney. He opined the case is likely more nuanced than it appears at face value on crypto Twitter.

Security firm PeckShield said NFT thefts declined 31% month-on-month to $1.7 million in July.

An NFT is essentially a digital title deed “minted” on a blockchain to establish digital or physical asset ownership. Sales volumes fell 38% between July 3 to July 31 as issuers mull long-term strategies.

Bored Apes Yacht Club NFTs owners can apply for new logos with a unique license number that allows them to register businesses on-chain. The CEO of Yuga Labs, Daniel Alegre, recently confirmed the upcoming ApeFest in Tokyo, Japan, and the company’s commitment to building its Otherside virtual world.

On-Chain Transfers Will Reshape NFT Ownership Models

Most global regulators have not tabled clear rules for NFTs outside their taxability. 

Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets bill, considered amongst the most advanced regimes in crypto regulation, has yet to formulate new laws on NFTs. The UK Law Commission recently suggested the law view crypto assets as personal property.

In most cases, an issuer encodes an NFT according to a specific token standard, with a link granting owners access to an item on a server. Like cryptocurrencies, NFTs can be stored as tokens in a blockchain user’s crypto wallet.

In an interview with BeInCrypto, Horizon Blockchain Games’ Michael Sanders said blockchains would soon be able to finalize the transfer of ownership of digital assets between Web3 gamers.

The CyberKongz team last month announced an NFT collection that would occupy the Axie Infinity world. The assets would be transferable through the Mavis Marketplace.

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