ZachXBT Blames Wallet Behind $1M NFT Heist
Blockchain researcher ZachXBT has maintained that the wrong individual was arrested by law enforcement officials over the recent high-profile NFT heist that involved Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) tokens. In a May 9 X post, ZachXBT confirmed he had located the actual wallet behind the 2022 heist and identified it as being from a since-deleted social media account.
The individual theft consisted of 14 Bored Ape NFTs, each of which was then worth around $86,000, totaling more than $1 million. The BAYC collection is one of the most recognized and expensive NFT projects out there, developed by Yuga Labs in 2021.
Former Yuga Labs Researcher Misidentified
Sam Curry, a former Yuga Labs security researcher, was incorrectly arrested by the authorities in 2023, according to ZachXBT. Curry was reportedly detained at an airport and kept as a suspect for theft.
The error is believed to be the result of police utilizing the IP logs by OpenSea to lead them to Curry’s home address. ZachXBT described how Curry was researching the hacked site while working with OpenSea when he accidentally clicked and triggered the connection.
“In fact, in his Yuga security work, Curry was researching the stealing and used a single key located on the scam website’s JavaScript,” ZachXBT wrote.
Blockchain Forensics Indicate New Suspect
ZachXBT alleged to have utilized forensic science to follow tainted assets through the use of Tornado Cash, an Ethereum blender for obscuring transactions. His research brought another individual, whose activity and background in the X wallet provide an interesting lead.
He asked police to instruct metadata and user details from the social media websites attached to the wallet and observe on-chain usage for additional cues.
NFT Market Remains Valuable
Despite market fluctuations, the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection remains highly valuable, with a floor price averaging around $30,000 per NFT, according to OpenSea. The collection continues to maintain a total market cap of over $300 million, as indicated by CoinGecko.
