From being an underrated and very concealed digital currency to now declaring its potential to the world, crypto has come a long way. Similar to crypto, NFTs came from nowhere and today stand ahead of crypto.
When normal life is disturbed, innovation is often triggered, which gives rise to unexpected ideas which later become revolutionary. As a result, the Non-fungible tokens continue to make headlines. The NFT platform is reaching almost every industry today, not just digital arts or music.
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have emerged as a potential investment trend that, with some luck, could bring in millions of dollars. NFTs, which are disseminated across thousands of nodes on the blockchain as a record of transactions and to verify ownership, are actually distinct tokens. The main breakthrough underlying Web3 is its decentralization technology, which distributes each data block throughout an entire network, making it secure and impenetrable.
The system was formerly impenetrable, but as hackers have improved their skills, they may now breach it, costing victims priceless assets. In one infamous incident, phishing scammers stole Taiwanese music artist Jay Chou’s Bored Ape NFT, which was valued at over US$500,000.
What are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ?
NFTs also referred to as Non-fungible tokens, are described as the digital tokens present in the blockchain network. These are the digital assets that are further transformed into a kind through the unique digital signature. Back in the day, NFTs were termed as the only means to sell and buy digital art, whereas today, it had successfully traveled to all spaces of life. There are several platforms that support NFTs. As a result, the dependencies of the NFT marketplaces are readily increasing. One such popular NFT platform is OpenSea which also faced its fair share of ups and downs in recent years.
One should be aware of many things before stepping into the sphere of buying and selling NFTs. As an NFT buyer, you will need a digital wallet for storing it. Every crypto lover must have guessed the second requirement. Yes, you would use cryptocurrency to buy NFTs. The NFT providers are slightly inclined towards Ethereum, which anyone could purchase easily from websites offering NFTs.
When it comes to selling NFTs, there are two main options. The first and most straightforward way is to have your own NFTs. However, in another way, the person selling their NFTs can mint it through websites like OpenSea and so on. Once the minting of NFT is done, it can be listed on any sites for sale.
Before getting into the NFT phishing attack on Opensea, let’s understand the significance of OpenSea.
Significance of OpenSea
Similar to eBay, Etsy, and Amazon, OpenSea is the first and the best non-fungible token marketplace which emerged as a game-changing marketplace. It was first introduced in 2017 by Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer in New York City. Shortly after entering the market space, it proved itself with its rising numbers. From its market capitalization to its trading volume, OpenSea offers it all. As per the recent survey conducted, OpenSea is the only platform to show a massive growth of almost 13 billion net worth.
In August 2021, OpenSea alone recorded more than $3.5 billion in NFT trading volume. Whereas it posted $21 million during the year 2020. Looking at the numbers, it would be safe to say that there is a massive rise of 12,000% in trading activities.
NFT collectors, investors, traders, and artists rated OpenSea as one of the best platforms; however, if you’re just starting off, it can be pretty confusing. Recently, in February 2022, news came where it was said that many NFTs were stolen from OpenSea. This led to the rumor that some other body hacks the NFT marketplace. However, the NFT market team completely dined to this and declared it a phishing attack. According to the OpenSea team’s analysis, about 32 users signed a malicious payload from the attacker, which resulted in their NFTs being stolen.
The chairman and CEO of OpenSea stated that the incident was a phishing attack and he, along with his team, does not believes that it is anyhow connected to the OpenSea website. Presently, the team is continuously in sync with users whose data has been stolen to track the attacker.
1. Store Your NFTs in a Secure Wallet
Non-custodial wallets are safe wallets where you control the private keys that safeguard your bitcoin and NFTs. A hardware non-custodial wallet is more secure than a custodial wallet, which is merely a marketplace or exchange where you store your NFTs.
With non-custodial wallets like the Ledger, you have to keep in mind a seed phrase that can be up to 24 syllables long. In addition, there are other security precautions, such as requiring a PIN and a physical device to access your money.
A non-custodial wallet can provide more security and shield you from phishing assaults, a common NFT theft method. Your bitcoin won’t be secure until you don’t share your seed phrase with anyone.
2. Verification Tag — Avoid clicking suspicious and dodgy links
Make certain that you are researching the projects you are investing in. A blue checkmark will appear next to the official collection adjacent to verified projects on OpenSea. The transaction history of NFTs’ smart contracts will be published, making it easier to determine who created and owned an object initially. Verification can also take place using an NFT verification service, a search of the owner’s social media accounts, and NFT platforms. A digital certificate of authenticity is included with many NFTs.
3. Buy-Sell on Trusted NFT Marketplace
There are several NFT marketplaces available, but it’s crucial that you only trade on those that are well-established and have a good reputation in the community. Some of the greatest NFT marketplaces go above and beyond to confirm user identity and offer a secure platform for buying and selling NFTs.
For instance, BuyUcoin has a well-known NFT marketplace where you can purchase and sell NFTs from a variety of well-known creators. Even better, it’s free to mint your own NFTs there. Additionally, BuyUcoin provides you with a history of the NFT’s ownership as security against cybercrime.
4. Roadmap of the NFT project
The roadmap is a project’s strategic plan. To demonstrate any NFT project’s long-term worth as an investment, it outlines and defines its objectives and aims. A thorough and well-considered roadmap should go a little further than that. You will learn about the project’s upcoming plans from it. And, how they intend to get there, including their marketing and growth objectives and plans.
5. Safeguard Your Password
Passwords should never be shared or used more than once. Each software wallet is given a seed phrase, which consists of a string of words, upon setup in order to regain access. Ironically, writing down your password on paper and going back to the analogue method is the greatest way to protect your bitcoin password — as long as you don’t lose it. Instead of using simply a username and password, it’s a good idea to use two-factor authentication (2FA) as an additional layer of security.
Is it Safe to Buy NFTs?
Unlike cryptocurrency, the NFTs value is completely based on the fact of how much the buyer agrees to pay for it. Keeping that aside, one should run in-depth research before considering NFTs to avoid deviations. Experts like Jack Dorsey, the CEO and co-founder of Twitter, along with Vignesh Sundaresan, a medic van, successfully earned around 70 million dollars worth of digital art NFTs on Beeple. If you’re someone who has a love for digital art, buying and selling NFTs can be your gem.
Conclusion
Believe it or not, the recent rise in the usage of decentralized banking and cryptocurrency is most likely to directly revolutionize the overall financial structure in the next decade and even the upcoming decades. In this horde of NFTs, OpenSea has emerged as one of the most promising platforms. However, taking the necessary steps to be extra safe gives you an upper hand.
BuyUcoin is the most secure and safe crypto exchange platform where our experts provide a series of products and services for selling, trading, and buying cryptocurrency easily in India. If you’re looking to start NFTs or crypto trading, get started with BuyUcoin now.
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Is Your NFT Safe? 5 Ways to Protect Your NFTs From Theft was originally published in BuyUcoin Talks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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