🦍💸 Bored Apes Go On Clearance!
Happy Hump Day everyone,
It’s been a pretty wild week so far with more Russia-Ukraine tensions, $334.5M in luxury cars are still lost at sea, and a DAO forming to buy the Denver Broncos. So sit back, pour yourself some coffee, and let’s give you a recap!
Cyber theft - when it comes to crypto, is an interesting conundrum because of the decentralization that comes with it. If you are a victim of fraud under your Chase card, you can call someone up at Chase and they can revert the funds back to you. There’s no one to call at MetaMask (an Ethereum Wallet) when you accidentally send crypto to someone you shouldn’t have, or if your funds get stolen.
Earlier this week, a number of users were victim to a phishing attack on OpenSea with over $1.7M in NFTs stolen. The attack appeared to have exploited a “bug” or “flexibility” in the protocol that underlies most NFT smart contracts.
One of the 15 victims had their account hacked into, had their Bored Ape #3475 listed for sale at just 0.1 ETH ($26) which the hacker bought and subsequently sold back for 99 ETH ($250,000). The victim noted that it was significantly rarer than the Bored Ape purchased by Justin Bieber for $1.3M and he’s seeking the return of his Bored Ape and/or damages over $1M.
This is a major selling point for cold-storage wallets where you can take your crypto and NFTs off exchanges and shows the risks of relying on the big exchanges to safe-keep your crypto. These kinds of stories pop up every now and then and are starting to become more common. Hackers and scammers are getting really good at bypassing current cybersecurity measures so everyone be careful out there when dealing in crypto and NFTs.
Hope you enjoy this week’s Hump Days newsletter!
-Humphrey & Rickie
In the Markets
Weekly News Roundup
$1.7M in NFTs Stolen in Phishing Attack on OpenSea Users (The Verge)
OpenSea, one of the most valuable companies in the NFT space known for their NFT marketplace had 254 tokens valued at over $1.7M stolen from 17 different users
HY: The biggest problem with decentralization is “no FDIC insurance”. In the US, we are privileged to have it! If you are planning on getting into the NFT space, you need to be very knowledgeable + cognizant of all the scams that can happen.
St. Louis Fed says Fed May Need to Raise Rates Above 2% to Curb Prices (BBG)
James Bullard, St. Louis Fed President said that bringing down inflation may require the central banks to overshoot the neutral target, which he sees at 2%. Fed officials concluded in January that they would start raising interest rates soon and would be on alert if further tightening is needed.
RH: Bullard seems a lot more aggressive than his other counterparts but what he’s saying does make sense. Might not like it but inflation has gotten pretty crazy lately.
HY: Market volatility for the foreseeable future will remain high.
UK Lifts All Remaining Covid Restrictions in England (CNBC)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson lifted all remaining Covid restrictions in the UK as he set out the government’s long-term plan for living with the virus. This comes just one day after Queen Elizabeth tested for positive for Covid but Johnson cited incredibly vaccine rollout for the lifting of restrictions.
RH: Interesting timing given the Queen Elizabeth situation but hope she’s okay!
In Case You Missed It
This video sums up what’s going on with Russia & Ukraine and how it affects the markets. Note it is about a week old.