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$20 million lost in 24 hours
Welcome to Akutar’s NFT Story! NFT influencer and enthusiast, waleswoosh, took to Twitter to reveal this captivating story. So, how exactly did $20 million disappear in one day? And was Akutar’s NFT history one of the biggest fumbles in NFT history? Let’s take a closer look.
TL; DR
- In April 2022, Akutar’s NFT became popular with its mission to empower children and promote inclusion in the metaverse.
- Concerns about a potential exploit in the smart contract arose before the minting process, but the team assured the community that it was a feature and continued with the mint.
- Unfortunately, a bug in the smart contract resulted in the permanent capture of 11,539 ETH, causing a huge financial loss to the team.
Concerns and excitement: The story behind Akutar’s NFTs
First, let’s take a look at when Akutar’s NFTs came into being. In April 2022, the project was hugely popular. Significantly, former Major League Baseball player Micah Johnson created Akutar’s NFT with a mission to empower children and make the metaverse more inclusive. Because of this, the project was popular. In addition, many members of the community were happy to try and get involved.
However, just before the minting process, some regarding tweets appeared. Several people sounded the alarm about a potential exploit in Akutar’s NFT smart contract. The team responded and assured the community that the potential exploit was indeed a feature. Thus they went ahead with the coin.
The mint for Akutar’s NFT was a Dutch auction with a starting price of 3.5 ETH. In a Dutch auction, the seller starts with a high price for an item and gradually lowers it until someone is willing to buy it. The seller sets the initial high price and reduces it over time. Bidders can choose to buy the item at the current price or wait until it drops further. The first person to accept the prize wins the item.
From setbacks to success
So where did it go wrong? A bug in Akutar’s NFT smart contract has resulted in the permanent capture of a whopping 11,539 ETH. This means that no one, including individuals or developers, can retrieve the funds. It is an irreversible situation with no possibility to recover the captured ETH. The result was that the team did not make any money from the mint. In addition, they had to personally refund the unsuccessful bids. As a result, the overall loss incurred by the team goes far beyond just the captured ETH.
Despite this, the Akutars team continued to build. They didn’t just deliver NFTs and refunds; they went a step further and achieved remarkable feats. Akutars made history as the first NFT to be chosen for TV and film. On top of that, they formed successful partnerships with well-known brands such as Puma and BBC. Despite the challenges they faced, the Akutars team persevered and achieved significant milestones in the process.
