Search

NFT Marketplace OpenSea Faces $1 Million Lawsuit Over Allegedly Stolen Bored Ape

Timothy McKimmy allegedly lost his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT due to what he describes as a malicious attack on the platform.

Advertisement
Highlights
  • OpenSea has been subject to a number of attacks over the past weeks
  • The Ape is arguably in the top 20 percent of rarity among BAYC NFTs
  • Hackers were able to purchase the NFT for ETH 0.01
NFT Marketplace OpenSea Faces $1 Million Lawsuit Over Allegedly Stolen Bored Ape

Timothy McKimmy wants his Bored Ape NFT back and/or damages

Photo Credit: OpenSea

A person who claims to have been the owner of a Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible token (NFT) has decided to sue NFT marketplace OpenSea, alleging that the platform was aware of a bug that allowed scammers to buy NFTs well below their listed market price. The Texas, US-based individual who's suing OpenSea claims that he's the rightful owner of a rare Ape that was wrongfully bought off by a hacker at a really low price and then promptly sold. OpenSea, the world's biggest marketplace for NFTs, meanwhile, is in the midst of a more recent breach that has costed the company hundreds of digital collectibles amounting to losses worth $1.7 million (roughly Rs. 12.5 crore).

In a complaint filed in Texas federal court, seen first by those over at Decrypt, the individual who goes by Timothy McKimmy claims he is the owner of Bored Ape #3475 — one of a set of 10,000 highly coveted primate NFTs known as the Bored Ape Yacht Club and one which ranks in the top 1,400 in terms of rarity. McKimmy claims in his complaint that he did not list his Bored Ape for sale and that the NFT was "stolen" and that the "buyer" promptly resold it for 99 ETH ($250,000 or roughly Rs. 2 crore).

For an idea of how rare the NFT is, McKimmy claims his Ape is significantly more rare than the Bored Ape NFT Justin Bieber recently purchased for $1.3 million (roughly Rs. 10 crore). He is seeking "the return of the Bored Ape... and/ or damages over $1 million (roughly Rs. 7.5 crore)."

The alleged vulnerability that led to the widely-reported “phishing attack” was not unknown to OpenSea, McKimmy claims, arguing that OpenSea “was aware of security vulnerabilities in its platform,” and that despite having “full knowledge of these security issues, [the popular platform] did not properly inform its users and did not timely put adequate safety measures in place.” Instead of shutting down its platform “to address and rectify these security issues,” McKimmy alleges that OpenSea “continued to operate”.

Although unrelated to McKimmy's incident, OpenSea's more recent hack reveals that attacker(s) lured OpenSea users into digitally signing malicious messages via phishing emails or websites. Exact details are still unclear although Devin Finzer, the co-founder and CEO of OpenSea has stated on Twitter that at least 32 of the platform's users have fallen prey to this attack.

Blockchain security firm PeckShield has also been following the incident closely while also monitoring developments. PeckShield has been able to compile a list of 254 NFTs that were stolen in this attack.


Do Samsung's Galaxy S22 and Tab S8 series have any Android competition? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

 
Show Full Article
Please wait...
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. IPL 2025 Live Streaming for Free: How to Watch RR vs CSK IPL Match Online?
  2. Asus Gaming V16 Review: Impressive Battery, Average Performance
  1. Mr Housekeeping Now Streaming on Aha Tamil: Everything You Need to Know
  2. Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch it Online?
  3. AMoRE Experiment Sets New Benchmark in Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay Research
  4. Did Black Hole Radiation Shape the Universe?
  5. Aghathiyaa Tamil Fantasy Thriller Now Streaming on Sun NXT
  6. Google Pixel 9a Sale Date Revealed; to Be Available for Purchase in India Starting April 16
  7. Artemis II Orion Service Module Secured for Launch at Kennedy Space Center
  8. Zakir Khan’s Delulu Express Stand-Up Special Now Streaming on Prime Video
  9. NASA to Launch Three Rockets in Alaska to Study Auroral Substorms’ Impact
  10. Partial Solar Eclipse of March 2025: Satellite Images to Show Moon’s Shadow
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
App Store App Store
Available in Hindi
App Store
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »