Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) emerged in 2014 and took the industry by storm. The continuous growth of NFTs has made it an attractive sector for crypto enthusiasts. Unfortunately, this quest to create and own these tokens has also given rise to manipulations, plagiarism, thefts, and scams.
In a recent development, a core Bitcoin developer took to Twitter to call out a fraudulent site selling his code as an NFT. The developer disclosed that he didn’t consent to such use of his property and wants the seller(s) to desist from such action.
Luke Dashjr Never Consented To The NFT Sale
Dashjr is one of the original Bitcoin developers. His recent social media posts reveal that an auction site used his name to sell an NFT of his code without permission. The developer declared such a product misleading since it didn’t come from him. He also revealed that many other bitcoin developers had had such experiences too.
In his post, the developer disclosed that the fraudsters advertised the NFT as his, listed it under his name, and sold it at 0.41 BTC or $9500 at market price. Dashjr continued that he never knew about such a creation and wasn’t part of the process.
Also, he didn’t authorize anyone to use his name and code to create and sell any NFT, including the present one. Instead, third parties are using his name and code for personal monetary gains.
The developer further revealed that the auction winner contacted him about the NFT, and he clarified the situation with him. Also, the NFT sellers reached out to him, offering 90% of the proceeds, but he declined the offer. The bitcoin developer believes that the attempt is to bribe him to stop revealing their fraudulent act or to obtain his consent after the fact.
Dashjr stated he would not support misleading the public and insisted that sellers give the buyer 100% of the auction proceeds. Further, he urged the sellers to stop using his name to mislead the public for monetary gains.
Plagiarism Cases Emerge In NFTs
Dashjr’s Twitter post revealed that he is not the only one who has seen scammers steal their information to create NFT. Other developers have received the exact offers of percentage share in a sale of NFTs created and sold without their permission. Last year, OpenSea reported that 80% of NFTs on its shared storefront are scams, plagiarized, or fake.
In the tweet, the NFT marketplace mentioned that creators misuse the feature constantly to perpetrate their illegal acts, which is far from its intention to add it.
Featured image from Pexels, Chart from TradingView.com
