“Data is the pollution problem of the information age, and protecting privacy is the environmental challenge”. It is probably one of the reasons why there’s an increase in crime and scam rates with tech-savvy businesses. NFT Trade is no exception. If you are a part of the crypto and NFT community, then you already know about the NFT scams that have been on the air for quite some time. Are your NFTs secure?  

Why is NFT Security gaining momentum in 2022?

The world’s most-loved social networking platform Facebook has begun to work towards Metaverse, which is expected to provide extensive support for SMBs. The brand claims a whopping 10 million user base for its personalized ad tools, of which the majority are SMBs. As you know, NFTs are prominently finding their showcase in metaverses and being used for multiple purposes like marketing & promotion, entry ticket, gallery display, etc. On the other hand, these NFTs are exposed to a lot of threats and scams which can affect their usage and scope. 

You may wonder how? Imagine a scenario where an overpriced NFT is displayed for sale. Nobody wants to buy that. But how would you know the real price of the asset? Will securing your NFT solve this? 

Read on to know more about the importance of NFTs and the scope of securing them. Before getting into the intricacies of it, let’s just do a quick recap. 

NFT Evolution & Marketcap

The world’s first NFT called Quantum was sold in 2014 by Kevin McCoy and Anil Dash minted on Namecoin blockchain.

(Source: Google)

The term ‘NFT’ gained popularity post the sale of Quantum. However, the first NFT on Ethereum was sold in 2015, which led to the digital art revolution and paved the way for the creator’s economy. Further, NFTs like Cryptokitties, Cryptopunks, and Forever Rose followed suit on Ethereum. As of April 2022, Ethereum boasts of an 80,300 NFT collection. The global market size of NFT is anticipated to touch $3 Billion by the end of 2022 while it was $30 Million in 2017.

Today’s crypto world is progressing towards metaverse. The first metaverse is Decentraland which hosts boundless applications of NFTs, digital assets, and in-game collectibles. This further drives us to know more about the scope of NFTs.

NFT Advantages & Scope

People outside the virtual world regard NFTs as a scam or spurious ideology. Some even think that NFT is a fad that will fade away soon. But the reality is that NFT has infinite potential and will be implemented in various segments blazing a trail to the creator’s economy. Let’s understand the fundamental advantages of NFTs to validate the need for NFT Securities.

So what’s the actual need to keep your NFTs secure? Are there any serious threats to the NFTs that you own?

Need for NFT Securities

• Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is the most common threat to NFTs in a marketplace. While NFTs testify ownership of digital art, fake NFTs and purchasing a copy of an original piece doesn’t solve the purpose. Giveaways and Identical marketplaces are some ways to deceive NFT enthusiasts and make them fall for the trap – a masked NFT Scam. This further leads to the copyright issue of NFTs that some creators are fighting today. 

We, at bitsCrunch have leveraged AI and data analytics to solve the burning copyright issue in the NFT segment through our product Crunch DaVinci. The product efficiently identifies digital asset forgery just by entering the token ID of the NFT, asset URL, and contact address. 

As a creator, this step can help you safeguard your NFTs from cybersecurity threats. 

• Frauds & Scams

Beyond cybersecurity threats, NFTs are exposed to a lot of fraudulent activities. The identity of a creator is faked, and scammers have sold their NFTs to customers. This doesn’t stop here; the customer account information was also compromised via customer support channels on look-alike NFT exchanges. 

Making yourself aware of such happenings in the industry can help you to a great extent. 

• Smart Contract & Meta Data Challenges

Hackers meddle with the smart contract code and sell the NFTs for a fortune. It is quite common in heterogeneous blockchains. But with the Ethereum blockchain, Ethereum DAO is trying to solve this problem by bringing in a high-level security approach. Furthermore, editable metadata is another challenge, but storing it on-chain can prevent attacks. 

• NFT Valuation & Price Inflation

NFTs are valued based on rarity, utility, appreciation value, ownership history, and liquidity. Price Inflation happens with a group of individuals trying to inflate the price of NFTs by bidding for a higher price than its original value. This activity forces secondary buyers to purchase NFTs higher than their original value. 

If you are a creator who is selling your NFT or an investor who is going to purchase one, then we can assist you to solve this problem with one of our products, Liquify. So, remember to get the specific NFT audited before you could get into trading it. 

Now that’s a lot of awareness, isn’t it? Below are a few things that one has to keep in mind to secure their NFTs. 

Things you need to know to secure NFTs

Your NFTs might have dealt with a lot of issues in the past. But preparing yourself and keeping your files safe can turn lucrative for your NFT investment.

1. Remember to use a unique password for the NFT Marketplace account that you have chosen to sell your NFTs. This can protect your NFTs as well as your crypto-wallets. Also, go for multi-factor authentication (MFA), as it can reduce cybersecurity attacks on your NFT accounts. 
2. Most common NFT issues arise with the usage of unreliable internet connections or the opening of spam emails. To overcome this, ensure you follow certain internet disciplines. Some of them could be: Refraining from internet access over third-party hotspots / VPNs and Skipping email attachment downloads from junk or unknown senders. 
3. The smart contract transparency will lead to a reentrancy attack, another common issue with NFTs. Go for a smart contract audit before you could proceed with listing your NFTs in a marketplace for sale.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, the blooming scope for NFTs and surging threats are just like the Batman and Joker respectively of the NFT community. But the virtual world is no Gotham city, and you have to put on your cape of awareness to give a firm ‘YES’ to the question – Are your NFTs secure?

We believe our NFT Securing Services and Analytics Dashboard will be the superpower to protect your NFTs from the hackers out there. Subscribe to bitsCrunch to know more!