GM. Does anyone know if there was an event going on in Denver this past week? Barely hs any posts about it…

NFTS

It's OpenSeason for hackers

There are lots of ways to make money in the crypto space, but bad actors have figured out that phishing on the open seas is one of the most lucrative. Here is the latest on the OpenSea scam from this weekend that cost users millions and has the public questioning the company's security measures.  

The damage

According to a public spreadsheet put together by blockchain security firm Peckshield, hackers made off with over 250 NFTs worth at least $1.7 million. The stolen tokens come from a wide range of high-profile collections including Bored Ape Yacht Club and CloneX.

Crypto Twitter has been awash with theories about the origin of the attack, with some arguing that OpenSea's updated contract was vulnerable to an exploit. However, OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer tweeted on Saturday that it was likely a phishing attack that led to the stolen NFTs.

The details

• First, the attacker sent a message to a potential target that appeared to come from OpenSea. The message prompted the target to migrate to the new OpenSea smart contract. In reality, the message linked to a nearly empty trade contract.

• Believing it to be legit, victims unknowingly signed the incomplete contract. With a signature in place, the hacker filled in the rest of the information and executed the contract.

• Since the contract had a valid signature from the target, possession of the NFT was transferred to the attacker—with no money flowing back to the victim.

Finzer believes that the attacker’s phishing messages were sent on some external platform rather than on OpenSea itself. The exchange has added a banner to the top of the site reminding users not to click links to external sites.

Bottom line: Moments like these are always a painful reminder as to how far security and education still has to go in the web3 space. But in a slightly Pyrrhic victory for proponents of transparency, all the attacks are public on the blockchain for the world to see. You can check them out here if you so desire. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Trump’s Truth has arrived

Former President Trump’s social media app, Truth Social, is set to go live in Apple’s app store sometime today, per Reuters. Barring any setbacks, it will mark Trump’s return to social media after a lengthy absence following the January 6 insurrection. 

The deets: Truth closely resembles Twitter with users posting “Truths” to a timeline instead of Tweets. “The design is clean,” one beta tester told The Hill, but added that “the major issue with the app is it’s slow, it’s laggy.” 

The alt-social opportunity 

Millions of users have already joined alt-social platforms like Parler or Gettr, attracted by the promise of a censorship-resistant and privacy-focused corner of the internet. But these platforms have quickly turned into right-leaning political echo chambers, which has reduced their appeal to a broader market and limited their business upside. 

Truth certainly has a good chance to break through a crowded market on the back of Trump’s influence, but will have to prove it has a sticky and differentiated product if it hopes to pose any sort of threat to established social networks. 

Zoom out: Regulatory scrutiny could still kill the Truth before it can set anyone free—the SEC is currently investigating Trump Media’s merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp to see if it violated securities regulations.

QUICK HITS

Seed Round

Stat: Bitcoin is king in El Salvador and it just passed the Queen in one notable metric: bitcoin ATMs. El Salvador now ranks third globally in total Bitcoin ATM installations, passing the UK’s crypto ATM count this past month. The Central American nation has added over 200 crypto ATMs since adopting bitcoin as a legal tender in September 2021.

Startup: What do you get when you combine mindfulness, music, and Gen Z? The “function music” app, Spoke. It’s a new platform that generates music with mindfulness benefits, targeting the under 25 age group that’s largely been underserved by traditional mindfulness apps. Read more here. 

Rabbit Hole: Food scientists and entrepreneurs weigh in on how humanity will eat in the year 2030. (Substack)

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

• Meta was accused of lying to investors about its efforts to stop climate change and coronavirus misinformation.

• Crypto enthusiasts launched a Hail Mary campaign to buy the Denver Broncos using a DAO.

• Tim Cook spoke out against a bill targeting the restrictions the App Store places on developers.

• EV batteries contributed to a fire aboard a cargo ship, raising concerns about shipping the vehicles.

• A whistleblower leaked the data of 30,000 Credit Suisse clients, unmasking politicians, criminals, and fraudsters. It's juicy.

MONDAY MUSING

Is requiring investors to be accredited to participate in startup rounds unethical? 

TRIVIA

Which Disney movie uses the largest number of unique words?

NEWS FROM THE HOUSE

Reverse Demo Day

It's only Monday, but we're getting serious Freaky Friday vibes right now. That's because we're hosting a reverse demo day live on Stonks tomorrow. 

How it works: Instead of founders pitching VCs, VCs pitch founders to try to gain a spot on their cap tables.

How to register: Head to this link. See ya there. 

TID BITS

Cool stuff we found around the internet. Do with it what you will. 

📕 How a book is made

✍️ What makes writing more readable?

🎲 Is this the greatest gambler of all time? 

TRIVIA ANSWER

Zootopia. Officer Judy Hopps has quite the vocabulary.

Source Reddit, u/elviejozuloqi