Ethereum NFT Whale Loses $150k On A Meme Gone Wrong

[TL; DR]

The Ethereum Name Service allows you to create a unique machine-readable identifier.

Users can easily create several domain names on the Ethereum blockchain

You can sell these unique ethereum domain names on NFT marketplaces and access a decentralized webpage and a crypto wallet address.

Franklin, a pseudonymous Nft collector and owner of 57 BAYC NFT collections, created “doing-fake-bids-its-honestly-lame-my-guy. eth” using an alternate Ethereum wallet.

He placed a 100ETH bid in another wallet on this ethereum domain name.

Shortly after, a user acquired the domain name for 1.9 Eth and accepted the bid of 100 ETH before Franklin could cancel the offer after selling the domain name.

The new owner accepted the bid and made 100ETH in a few minutes.

Shortly after, Franklin discovered his mistake and could not hold the vast loss of about $150,000 to himself.

He tweeted it, and the tweet has since gone viral.

Franklin has acquired back his controversial domain name but lost about 100ETH.

Keywords: Ethereum Name Service (ENS), domain name, NFT, Twitter, Franklin, lost, joke.

[Full Article]

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) has continued to attract unprecedented attention. Individuals, corporate organizations, crypto enthusiasts, holders, and gamers, among others, have picked up one ENS or the other.

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) gives the ability to combine your name or whatever terminology and create a unique machine-readable identifier on the blockchain. Because it is seamless to create one, users have continued to develop several ENS identities. Those who make desirable and unique names can sell them on the Non-fungible token marketplace and get paid heavily.

On this premise, Franklin, a notable NFT collector who created an Ethereum domain name, jokingly placed a bid on it and lost about $150 000.

Not to worry, this article will highlight how to get an Ethereum domain name and the whole scenario surrounding Franklin’s loss.

The Ethereum Name Service

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Image: ens.domains

The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is an open, decentralized, and extensible naming system on the Ethereum blockchain.

The Ethereum Name Service allows you to create a unique domain name powered by the Ethereum blockchain and map it to machine-readable identifiers. For example, you can combine your name with “.eth” to form “gates.eth, Alice. eth”

The Ethereum name service is a kind of blockchain-based domain name that operates on a system of dot-separated hierarchical names called domains.

The Ethereum domain name is the most popular domain name provider in web3. ENS helps to map machine-readable wallet addresses to a human-readable name. For example, a machine-readable name like ‘6f867cm28ih8wk’ can now be converted to ‘GATES.eth.’

The Ethereum Name service enables cryptocurrency users to buy and manage their domain/usernames on Ethereum. The ENS simplifies decentralized transactions and eliminates the hassle of machine-readable addresses.

The Ethereum Name service works by minting a nonfungible token on the Ethereum blockchain for every domain name you create that ends with ‘.eth.’ You can use the ‘.eth’ domain name to access a decentralized website using web browsers like Brave browser or browsers with Metamask extension.

Interestingly, you can create unique ethereum domain names and sell them on a Non-fungible token marketplace. You can also use an Ethereum Network Service as a crypto wallet address.

How Franklin, A Pseudonymous NFT Collector Lost $150,000

Image: Reddit

Franklin, a pseudonymous NFT collector and an Ethereum NFT whale who owns 57 Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, decided to register a “controversial” Ethereum domain name. He registered the domain name as “doing-fake-bids-its-honestly-lame-my-guy.eth'' using an alternate Ethereum wallet.

Franklin had two Ethereum wallets; he registered the Ethereum domain name with his first wallet and placed a 100ETH bid on it from his second wallet. Shortly after, he sold that ENS domain name to a willing buyer for about 1.9 ETH (equivalent to $2,880). Immediately afterward, Franklin tweeted in celebration of the sale as he considered it a good return on investment.

Unfortunately, Franklin forgot to cancel the 100 ETH bid he placed on the domain name from his second Ethereum wallet. About 15 minutes after the sale, the owner that purchased the domain name accepted the 100 ETH bid and received it in his wallet.

Even though Franklin could buy back his “doing-fake-bids-its-honestly-lame-my-guy.eth'' domain name, he already lost his 100ETH equivalent to about $150,000.

Franklin tweeted that “Oh no, I lost 100 ETH… I was celebrating my joke of a domain sale, sharing the spoils, but in a dream of greed, I forgot to cancel my bid of 100 ETH to repurchase it. This will be the joke and bag fumble of the century. I deserve all of the jokes and criticism.”

Franklin went further and made another mistake; he sent back the 1.9 WETH (Wrapped Ethereum) to the new owner of the domain name and flipped it back to himself. What started as a joke led to the loss of about $150,000.

Some Twitter users and industry players considered it a bot and an automatic program that accepted the 100 ETH bid before he could cancel it. Franklin, however, said it was entirely his mistake.

He said, “I didn’t get ‘botted.’ I had plenty of time to cancel my offer; I ran to Twitter instead…. This is a mistake that I can’t imagine anyone else putting in the effort to make.”

Franklin sent a Twitter Direct Message to Decrypt, detailing how it all happened. He said, “I did not think about my outstanding bid; I didn’t think about canceling or expiring because I had already concluded earlier in the day that I would never transfer. But then I saw $$ signs and acted on it.”

Conclusion

Image: BizToc

All that transpired started as a joke. From creating such a controversial ethereum domain name to making it available for sale on one wallet and bidding for it with your other wallet. Even though it eventually ended on a sad note for Franklin, it has gone viral, especially on Twitter.

Some industry players do not feel pity for Franklin. Instead, they hope it will serve as a lesson to him and other “jokers.” DCinvestor, an NFT collector and investor, said, “Y’all gotta respect the blockchain as a fiduciary layer and not go around making joke bids on stuff, signing 100 ETH from your wallet,” He added that “Every time you sign something like that, feel the gravity of it. I do feel bad for Franklin’s loss here but let it be a lesson to everyone.

Author: Valentine. A, Gate.io Researcher

This article represents only the researcher's views and does not constitute investment suggestions.

Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted, provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.