Welcome to the Akutars NFT Story! NFT influencer and enthusiast, waleswoosh, took to Twitter to reveal this jaw-dropping tale. So, exactly how did $20 Million vanish within a day? And was Akutars NFT story one of the biggest fumbles in NFT history? Let’s take a closer look.
TL;DR
- In April 2022, Akutars NFT gained popularity with its mission to empower children and promote inclusivity in the metaverse.
- Concerns about a potential exploit in the smart contract arose before the minting process, but the team assured the community it was a feature and proceeded with the mint.
- Unfortunately, a bug in the smart contract resulted in the permanent trapping of 11,539 ETH, causing a huge financial loss for the team.
Concerns and Excitement: The Story Behind Akutars NFTs
Firstly, let’s take a look at when Akutars NFTs came into being. In April 2022, the project was hugely popular. Significantly, former Major League Baseball player, Micah Johnson, created Akutars NFT with a mission to empower children and make the metaverse more inclusive. Because of this, the project was popular. Plus, many community members were excited to mint and get involved.
However, right before the minting process, some concerning tweets emerged. Multiple individuals raised alarms about a potential exploit in the Akutars NFT smart contract. The team responded, reassuring the community that the potential exploit was, in fact, a feature. Thus, they went ahead with the mint.
The mint for Akutars NFT was a dutch auction with a starting price of 3.5ETH. To clarify, 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. Basically, a reverse auction. The seller sets the initial high price and then reduces it over time. Bidders can choose to buy the item at the current price or wait for it to go down further. Then, the first person to accept the price wins the item.
From Setbacks to Success
So, where did it all go wrong? A bug in the Akutars NFT smart contract has resulted in the permanent trapping of the entire 11,539 ETH. This means that no one, including individuals or developers, can retrieve the funds. It’s an irreversible situation with no possibility of recovering the trapped ETH. The outcome was that the team didn’t make any money from the mint. Additionally, they had to personally refund the unsuccessful bids. As a result, the overall loss incurred by the team goes far beyond just the trapped ETH.
Despite this, the Akutars team kept building. They didn’t just deliver the NFTs and refunds; they went a step further and accomplished remarkable feats. Akutars made history as the first NFT to be optioned for TV and film. On top of that, they successfully formed partnerships with renowned brands like Puma and BBC. Despite the challenges they faced, the Akutars team persevered and achieved significant milestones in the process.
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