Timothy McKimmy’s lawsuit accuses Opensea of negligence and asks for $1 million, his Bored Ape NFT, or both.
Leading NFT marketplace OpenSea is facing a $1 million lawsuit from a now former Bored Ape NFT owner over phishing hack the platform recently experienced. According to Timothy McKimmy, his Bored Ape NFT unwittingly sold on the OpenSea platform for 0.01 ETH, or $26. The aggrieved Texas-based seller alleges that OpenSea was aware of a bug that allowed hackers to purchase NFTs far below their actual market value. A statement in the complaint read:
“…instead of shutting down its platform to address and rectify these security issues, Defendant continued to operate. Defendant risked the security of its users’ NFTs and digital vaults to continue collecting 2.5% of every transaction uninterrupted.”
As a result, McKimmy now wants the NFT platform to pay him $1 million in damages and/or return his Bored Ape NFT. McKimmy’s lawsuit portends to be just the first of many expected in reaction to the attack. NFT owners on the OpenSea platform who incurred massive losses caused by the breach may also bring action against the platform.
Details of the Lawsuit Brought Against OpenSea Over the Hacked Bored Ape
McKimmy filed his complaint in a Texas federal court, claiming to be the rightful owner of Bored Ape #3475. The digital asset belongs to a set of 10,000 highly sought-after primate-themed NFTs collectively known as the Bored Ape Yacht Club, or BAYC. McKimmy further explained that he did not list his Bored Ape NFT for sale at the time of the exploit. Instead, a hacker took advantage of a security vulnerability on the OpenSea platform to illegally access his wallet and sell his NFT to a third party for peanuts. The aggrieved former Bored Ape owner further stated that the buyer resold the NFT for 99 ETH, or $250K.
McKimmy asserts that the ape NFT in question is extremely rare and belongs to the top 14th percentile. He stated the digital asset illegally acquired from his possession is even significantly rarer than the $1.3 million Bored Ape NFT acquired by Justin Bieber. Furthermore, McKimmy’s lost NFT is reportedly for sale again for 225 ETH, or around $570K on OpenSea. However, he laments that the current owner refuses to return his Bored Ape digital asset to him.
The Hack
Some users on OpenSea began reporting a loss off NFTs, later officially confirmed by the platform. The attacker exploited the moment when OpenSea was updating its smart contract to protect users from a previous malicious attack. The NFT platorm had to send official mails to users, asking them to authorize the execution of the new contract. The hacker allegedly seized that opportunity to trick users into signing malicious code, taking away wallet control. This led to the dire situation that McKimmy and several others find themselves in.
So far, OpenSea is yet to comment on McKimmy’s allegations.
Tolu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast based in Lagos. He likes to demystify crypto stories to the bare basics so that anyone anywhere can understand without too much background knowledge.
When he’s not neck-deep in crypto stories, Tolu enjoys music, loves to sing and is an avid movie lover.
