Heist or Masterstroke? Trader Buys $1.5 Million NFT for Just $23,000

As a seasoned researcher with years of experience delving into the intricacies of blockchain technology and NFTs, I find this incident to be both fascinating and cautionary. The CryptoPunk heist is a testament to the power and potential of smart contracts, but also serves as a stark reminder of their limitations.


In a cunning move, a valuable and unique Non-Fungible Token (NFT) from CryptoPunk, estimated to be worth millions, was obtained at a significantly lower price by skillfully manipulating the underlying smart contract mechanisms. This event has been termed as an ingenious “heist.

Some NFTs originating from the CryptoPunk series are amongst the priciest available, often fetching millions of dollars. Consequently, these high-value items are sometimes divided into parts, allowing multiple parties to share ownership.

The specific CryptoPunk at hand, an exclusive Ape-themed NFT adorned with a headband and sunglasses, was divided into 10,000 pieces on the discontinued platform Niftex. Although Niftex is no longer operational, the original smart contracts associated with it continue to function on the blockchain.

As a crypto investor, I recently came across contracts that, as Cointelegraph reported, incorporate a “shotgun” provision. This means that any shareholder like myself has the power to propose a buyout at a predetermined price. If no one challenges this offer within a defined timeframe, the NFT gets transferred to the one who proposed it.

Taking advantage of the situation, a trader made an offer to purchase 10 ETH, approximately $23,000, for a NFT that was significantly more valuable. This proposal attracted the notice of prominent NFT collector gmoneyNFT, who tried to prevent the sale by submitting a higher bid. Unfortunately, due to a technical error, the counterbid did not go through, enabling the buyout to move forward.

The cryptopunk ape was initially sold for 10 Ether, but now there’s an offer of 600 Ether for it. If the seller accepts this bid, they stand to make a profit of approximately 590 Ether within the next hour or so, though I suspect the seller won’t agree to such a high price increase.

— Stats (@punk9059) September 11, 2024

The NFT that was bought for 10 ETH is now already receiving bids for 600 ETH, meaning that the seller, which managed to obtain the fund by seemingly going unnoticed in the process, could now sell it back for $1.4 million.

In contrast to certain members within the NFT community who propose modifying the smart contracts due to recent events, entities like gmoneyNFT argue that these contracts functioned exactly as they were designed.

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2024-09-13 01:40