On April 1 last week, Jay Chou posted on the social platform Instagram that he held an NFT (Non-fungible Token) - BAYC #3738因遭钓鱼攻击被盗取. According to the NFTGO website, the digital collection has been transferred four times within an hour, selling for 130WETH ($419,500), 155WETH ($500,200), and 164.69WETH ($575,500) before being transferred. According to the data, the average price of the collection is now 214,200 US dollars.
Jay Chou posted on Instagram on April 1
OpenSea last week Jaylen was stolen NFT transaction records
Nandu reporter combed and found that the domestic head Internet manufacturers have also laid out digital collections, such as Ali Whale Detective, Tencent Phantom Core, etc. How secure is it? Some lawyers said that the mainland has relatively clear provisions on illegal fundraising and transaction speculation of digital collections, especially restrictions on secondary transactions, and the key for users to avoid the risk of theft is to protect personal private keys.
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Overseas NFT theft incidents are frequent
What is Jay Chou's stolen NFT? NFT, or Non-fungible Token (Non-Homogeneous Token), is a digital work with a unique identity, unique, indivisible, immutable and tradable. Users store NFTs in self-built crypto wallets and issue or trade them through the NFT platform. Based on blockchain technology, each NFT can be accurately traced to the address of its creator, brand, and current owner.
Nandu reporter learned from OpenSea, an NFT overseas trading platform, that the stolen NFT, BAYC #3738, came from the hottest NFT series of boring Ape Yacht Club. Launched on April 23, 2021 by U.S. web company Yoga Labs, the project consists of ten thousand computer-generated apes. Once released, it has won the favor of many celebrities at home and abroad. Famous American host Jimmy Fallon, famous pop singer Justin Bieber, music producer Timbaland and others have purchased the series.
It is understood that jay Chou's stolen BAYC #3738 was given away by a friend, MachiBigBrother. Transferred to Jay Chou's account address on January 31 this year. The website shows that after the NFT was stolen, there were 13 more NFTs in Jay Chou's account.
Although there is a blockchain technology bonus, the confidentiality and security of NFT transactions are guaranteed. However, according to nandu reporters, the theft of Jay Chou's NFT is not the first accident in the overseas NFT market.
Last December, RossKrammer Art Gallery owner Todd Kramer announced that 15 NFTs in his collection worth about $2.2 million had been stolen, according to ArtNews Usa magazine. His stolen NFTs belong to the Same Bored Ape Yacht Club series as Jay Chou's stolen ones.
In view of the theft of NFTs held by users, the security center of the OpenSea official website shows that once the official learns that NFTs have been stolen, it will take measures to prohibit trading through the platform to ensure the rights and interests of users. But similar thefts are still common.
Official OpenSea Security Center
How were NFTs stolen? Cheng Nian, a member of the Meta-Universe Legal Research Department of Zhejiang Kenting Law Firm, told Nandu reporters that most of the NFT user asset theft incidents that have broken out now are related to phishing attacks. Specific cases include hackers using fake real URL addresses to obtain private information about users' encrypted wallets.
As for whether the stolen NFTs can be recovered, she further pointed out that "the possibility is not very optimistic." "Although NFTs are traceable, there is a great deal of concealment in hacking. In terms of our entering our own information in a phishing link, this is our active disclosure of information. It will be difficult to track later. She said.
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Domestic strict control of digital collection speculation Users still need to be vigilant against the risk of theft
The development of the overseas NFT market is in full swing, and the domestic leading Internet manufacturers Ali, Tencent, and JD.com have also laid out. From the domestic head NFT platforms such as Whale Detective, Phantom Core, Lingxian, and NetEase Planet, Nandu reporters noted that most of the domestic NFT distribution platforms did not use the name "NFT". On the official details pages such as Ali Whale Detective, Tencent Magic Core, and Tmall Digital Collection, the platform uses the term "digital collection" for the naming of its products.
In this regard, the article published by Ouke Cloud Chain Research Institute introduced that there are two completely different implementation paths in the field of NFT at home and abroad. Among them, foreign NFTs use the public chain as the underlying network, and the market is more free and open, but the speculation situation is also more serious. The domestic digital collection is mostly based on the development of the alliance chain, paying more attention to the combination with the real economy and clearly restricting its transaction circulation links.
Guosen Securities pointed out in its meta-universe special report that the domestic digital collection market has stricter control than overseas. It is understood that there are still gaps in the relevant policies and regulations of the mainland on the digital collection market. However, there are now clear instructions for illegal fund-raising, transaction speculation, etc. On September 15, 2021, the People's Bank of China, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Procuratorate and other ten ministries and commissions jointly wrote the Notice on Further Preventing and Handling the Risk of Speculation in Virtual Currency Transactions.
The meta-universe team of Zhejiang Kenting Law Firm further pointed out in its "Blue Book of Digital Collection Platform Law" that the current policy shows a high degree of vigilance against the price speculation of NFTs in the market, while the focus of policy compliance of various collection trading platforms is the control of secondary transactions.
According to the observation of Nandu reporters, in terms of circulation, most of the digital collection head platforms explicitly prohibit or restrict secondary transactions, such as Tencent Phantom Core, which clearly does not support transactions and gifts, and Ali's whale detective (formerly known as "Ant Chain Fan Grain") currently only opens the gift model, and takes technical measures to restrict circulation to the transfer function of "holding for 180 days", "reaching 14 years old", "real-name authentication", "secondary transfer must be completed for 2 years", etc.
"The risk of theft of digital collections overseas NFTs and domestic ones is actually the same if technically speaking" Cheng Nian believes that the reason why we rarely see such cases in China is because we started a little late. The market is still in the process of formation, and some problems have not yet been exposed; second, due to the control of the secondary market, the circulation speed and price have been suppressed. Thieves who steal NFTs can't deal with them as quickly as they do abroad.
So, how should NFT or digital collection users avoid the risk of theft? In the event of fraud and theft, on what basis can individuals defend their rights and interests?
Cheng Nian said that the key is the protection of personal private keys. In the case of domestic platforms, the platform of digital collections can be examined from the platform qualification and the reliability of the access chain. "There are already corresponding cases of virtual property in China. Theft of virtual property is suspected of constituting theft. Individuals who are stolen can first find the platform to retrieve their lost NFTs. If the value of the theft reaches the amount of theft in China, it can be reported to the police in time. ”
Written by: Intern Yang Xixia Nandu reporter Jiang Lin