From being an underrated and much hidden digital currency to now declaring its potential to the world, crypto has come a long way. Similar to crypto, NFT came from nowhere and stands ahead of crypto today.
5 ways to protect your NFT assets
Innovations are often triggered when normal life goes awry, giving rise to unexpected ideas that later become revolutionary. As a result, non-fungible tokens keep making headlines. NFT platforms are reaching almost every industry today, not just digital art or music.
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have emerged as a potential investment trend that could bring in millions of dollars with some luck. NFTs, which are broadcast across thousands of nodes on the blockchain to serve as a record of transactions and to verify ownership, are actually specific tokens. The main breakthrough underlying Web3 is its decentralization technology, which distributes each data block across the network, making it secure and impenetrable.
The system was previously impenetrable, but as hackers have improved their skills, they can now breach it, costing victims priceless assets. In one infamous incident, phishing scammers stole Bored Ape NFTs worth over US$500,000 from Taiwanese music artist Jay Chou.
NFTs are also referred to as non-fungible tokens, which are described as digital tokens that exist in a blockchain network. These are digital assets that are further converted into a kind through unique digital signatures. In the past, NFT was said to be the only means of selling and buying digital art, whereas today, it has successfully traveled across all walks of life. There are many platforms that support NFTs. As a result, the reliance on the NFT marketplace is growing exponentially. One such popular NFT platform is OpenSea which has also faced its fair share of ups and downs in recent years.
There are several things to be aware of before venturing into the realm of buying and selling NFTs. As an NFT buyer, you will need a digital wallet to store it. Every crypto lover would have guessed the second requirement. Yes, you will use cryptocurrency to buy NFTs. NFT providers are slightly inclined towards Ethereum, which one can easily buy from websites offering NFTs.
When it comes to selling NFTs, there are two main options. The first and most straightforward way is to have your own NFTs. However, in another way, the person selling their NFT can do so through websites like OpenSea. Once an NFT is minted, it can be listed for sale on any number of sites.
Before getting into the NFT phishing attack on Opensea, let’s understand the importance of OpenSea.
Similar to eBay, Etsy, and Amazon, OpenSea is the first and best non-fungible token marketplace that has emerged as a game-changing marketplace. It was first introduced in 2017 in New York City by Alex Attallah and Devin Finzer. Shortly after entering the market, it proved itself with its ever-increasing numbers. From its market capitalization to its trading volume, OpenSea offers it all. According to a recent survey, OpenSea is the only platform to show a huge growth of around 13 billion net worth.
In August 2021, OpenSea recorded over $3.5 billion in NFT trading volume alone. While it posted $21 million during the year 2020. Looking at the numbers, it would be safe to say that there has been a whopping 12,000% increase in trading activity.
NFT collectors, investors, traders and artists rated OpenSea as one of the best platforms; However, if you are just starting out, it can be quite confusing. Recently in February 2022 there was a news saying that many NFTs were stolen from OpenSea. This led to a rumor that another entity hacked the NFT marketplace. However, the NFT Markets team thoroughly considered this and declared it a phishing attack. According to analysis by the OpenSea team, approximately 32 users signed a malicious payload from the attacker, resulting in their NFTs being stolen.
OpenSea’s president and CEO said the incident was a phishing attack and that he, along with his team, do not believe it is in any way connected to the OpenSea website. Currently, the team is in constant touch with the users whose data has been stolen to track down the attacker.
Non-custodial wallets are secure wallets where you control the private keys that protect your bitcoins and NFTs. A hardware non-custodial wallet is more secure than a custodial wallet, which is simply a marketplace or exchange where you store your NFTs.
With a non-custodial wallet like Ledger, you need to have a seed phrase in mind that can be up to 24 syllables long. In addition, there are other security precautions, such as requiring a PIN and a physical device to access your money.
A non-custodial wallet can provide more security and protect you from phishing attacks, a common NFT theft method. Your bitcoin will not be safe until you share your seed phrase with someone.
Make sure you research the projects you are investing in. A blue checkmark will appear next to the Official Archive next to verified projects on OpenSea. The transaction history of smart contracts for NFTs will be published, making it easier to determine who initially created and owned an item. Verification can also be done using the NFT Verification Service, a search of the owner’s social media accounts, and the NFT Platform. A digital certificate of authenticity is included with many NFTs.
There are many NFT marketplaces available, but it is important that you only trade on those that are well established and have a good reputation in the community. Some of the largest NFT marketplaces go above and beyond to verify user identities and provide a secure platform to buy and sell NFTs.
For example, BuyUcoin has a well-known NFT marketplace where you can buy and sell NFTs from various well-known creators. Even better, it’s free to create your own NFTs there. Additionally, BuyUcoin provides you with NFT ownership history as a protection against cybercrime.
A roadmap is the strategic plan of a project. To demonstrate the long-term value of any NFT project as an investment, it outlines and defines its objectives and goals. A comprehensive and well thought out roadmap should go a little further than this. You will learn about the upcoming plans of the project from it. and, how they want to get there, including their marketing and growth objectives and plans.
Passwords should never be shared or used more than once. Each software wallet is given a seed phrase, which is a string of words upon setup, to gain access. Ironically, writing down your password on paper and reverting to the analog method is the best way to keep your bitcoin password safe – until you lose it. Instead of just using a username and password, it’s a good idea to use two-factor authentication (2FA) as an additional layer of security.
Unlike cryptocurrency, the value of an NFT is based entirely on the fact that how much the buyer agrees to pay for it. Keeping this aside, one should do thorough research before considering NFTs to avoid divergence. Experts like Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey, Vignesh Sundarson, along with a medic van, successfully acquired digital art NFTs worth around $70 million on Beeple. If you are someone who is in love with digital art, then buying and selling NFTs can be your gem.
Believe it or not, the recent rise in decentralized banking and cryptocurrency use has the potential to directly revolutionize the overall financial structure over the next decade and even decades to come. In this crowd of NFTs, OpenSea has emerged as one of the most promising platforms. However, taking the necessary steps to be extra safe gives you the upper hand.
BuyUcoin is the safest and most secure crypto exchange platform where our experts provide a range of products and services to easily sell, trade and buy cryptocurrencies in India. If you want to start trading NFTs or crypto, get started with BuyUcoin now.
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