BAYC smart contract function allows unlimited minting of new Apes by single wallet

? Want to work with us? CryptoSlate is hiring for a handful of positions!

NFT Developer foobar has called attention to a Bored Ape Yacht Club smart contract function that would allow a single, non-multi-sig, wallet to mint an unlimited number of new Apes.

The contract allows the wallet to mint 30 Bored Apes NFT at a go, and there is no limit set on the number of mints. The wallet can continue minting Bored Apes infinitely as long as it can pay the gas fees.

Bored Ape refuses to act for over a year

The issue has been brought up before, but BAYC has yet to take action. 

In 2021, NonFungibles founder Dan Kelly inquired about BAYC’s plan for the function. BAYC said that it would revoke the access soon, but nothing has changed more than a year later.

Crypto community reacts

Members of the crypto community have been reacting to the news that new Bored Apes could be minted.

One user pointed out that the wallet was still active as of February 3, 2022, revealing that the wallet can “arbitrarily change the metadata associated with each existing ape.”

Another community member used the opportunity to troll Yuga Labs, the parent company of the collection, saying they would handle the issue “the same way they take good care of their discord.”

Bored Ape’s Discord channel was breached recently, leading to the loss of millions in NFTs. 

Meanwhile, Bored Apes isn’t the only NFT project with this function. A software engineer, Ethan Hunsaker, pointed to a similar function in Doodles smart contract.

What is the effect of this?

Most of the concerns about the contract functions come from what could happen if the wallet is hacked. Since one of the selling points of Bored Apes NFTs is the scarcity, the possibility of creating unlimited newer NFTs could affect their value.

The CEO and founder of Chainfrog, Keir Finlow-Bates, recently wrote that the creation of new Apes might drive the value down, but it is not a certainty. He added that new Apes could potentially become more valuable than the originals.

Source: https://cryptoslate.com/bayc-smart-contract-function-allows-unlimited-minting-of-new-apes-by-single-wallet/