Another NFT bet disappeared hours after launch, this time with $815K
Crypto scams are getting bolder by the day, but the latest NFT scam is as brazen as it gets. SudoRare, a platform meant to facilitate NFT transactions, managed to walk away with about $815,000 worth of user funds just six hours after launch.
The platform was an iteration, or what is referred to as a fork, of two other decentralized NFT marketplaces called SudoSwap and LooksRare. Simply put, a fork occurs whenever a crypto community changes the nature or protocol of a given blockchain.
Ahead of SudoRare’s launch, a number of Twitter users in the crypto community were skeptical about the venture, in particular citing the team’s anonymity behind the new market square. Data on Etherscan confirmed skepticism, revealing two sketchy fund swaps. The developers behind the project effectively drained the amount of user funds (in this case LOOKS tokens, the original token of LooksRare, an OpenSea fork) for around 154 ETH and 60,865 USDC. In total, almost 520 ETH were tapped, which amounts to around $850K. The SudoRare team subsequently deleted the platform’s online presence.
Self-doxxing – SudoRare’s entire premise was to offer unrealistically high returns on staking opportunities, requiring stakeholders to keep useful tokens like LOOKS, frozen in a common pool in exchange for the venture’s own token. Part of the mistrust surrounding the launch was related to the anonymity of the project’s team – they refused to self-doxx, or reveal their identities, which would normally set off some red flags.
Due to the high profile of some carpets on major platforms, guidelines have been put in place to improve safety. Solana, which has its own NFT marketplace called Magic Eden, implemented a doxxing policy back in February for anyone who wants to use the site.
Consequently, it becomes more mystifying that people still fall victim to scams like SudoRare. If there is one silver lining, the value of the heist is relatively tame compared to other breaches in the crypto world, which target weaknesses in blockchain bridges. Interestingly, while the SudoRare scam falls under the category of crypto scams, crimes of that nature have actually decreased by 65 percent in the past year, according to a Chainalysis report. Instead, malicious actors are diversifying their attack, such as crypto hacks is comparably more widespread in the same time frame, having increased by 58 percent.
Regardless, if you plan to invest in an NFT venture, at least make sure you know the names of the people involved.
