Let’s get into how Vitalik’s hacked Twitter promoted an NFT scam, why celebrity endorsements are not to be trusted and explore cool products like Binocs and Mirror World, along with new opportunities to learn, earn and move up in web3! 🚀
If you like reading TWIW3, consider sharing it with your friends and help them climb up the web3 ladder! No Gatekeeping! 😋
Vitalik’s Account Misled People Into an NFT Scam! 😳
When you’re a “crypto icon” and one of the most looked up to people in the web3 space, you really have no excuses for slipping and puttingeveryoneatrisk.
…but what if it happens without your knowledge?
The Attack! 💣
In last week’s tragedy, a hacker slithered into Vitalik’s Twitter and posted a link for what seemed like exclusive NFTs from Consensys. Now when Vitalik, someone with almost 5 million followers, posts something like this, and you go on believing it, there's not much blame on you.
A Costly Click 🖱
Some people clicked the malicious link, thinking they would 'mint'—or create—a digital asset. But, they unknowingly unlocked their own crypto assets for the hacker.
Dmitriy "Dima" Buterin, Vitalik's father, was quick to point out that his son had been hacked and the tweet was deleted, but not before it had done a fair amount of damage.
Thanks to ZachXBT, who has been actively informing everyone about the hacker’s activities. Just in the first hour, the hacker managed to pocket more than $147,000, and that sum went up to $691,000 by the end of the day.
Vitalik hasn't said a word, though. In fact, his last Twitter activity was a retweet from September 6th. Is he still recovering access or plotting revenge somewhere 👀
Questioning The Security 🛡
All of this points to the question: “How did a hacker get into the account of one of the most prominent figures in crypto?”
X user Satoshi 767suggested that Buterin might not have implemented sufficient security measures for his X account, noting that SIM-swap attacks are a "common mistake" for many crypto project founders. But we don’t know whether it was a SIM swap.
💡 A SIM swap scam is a cybercrime in which an attacker takes control of a victim's cellular number by posing as the victim and tricking the phone company into transferring the number to a new SIM card under the attacker's control.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhaopointed out that Twitter's security features are not up to the mark. If Twitter can be breached so easily, it's time for an upgrade. Also, what about a hardware 2-factor authentication? 🤔
Lesson learned: Be cautious with links, and keep your accounts secure! While SIM-swaps are dangerous, enabling 2-factor authentication is a smart move. DO IT! 😤
Weekly Product Spotlight ⚡️
Got a product you want to get on our 34K+ readers’ radar? Reach out to us at gm@spacekayak.xyz & spill the beans! Let's get your product the hype it deserves ✨
A crypto tax software and accounting platform that simplifies tax calculations and portfolio tracking. It supports over 300 exchanges, wallets, and chains. It makes managing your crypto taxes easy with a user-friendly interface and robust features.
A comprehensive toolkit for web3 mobile apps that supports multiple chains and platforms. It offers key features like Smart Auth, Smart Wallet, and Smart NFTCreation, aiming to help developers easily navigate the crypto ecosystem.
Web3 playbooks are still being made, whether it’s BD, products or regulations. The Ramp Show Season 2 takes you to the BTS of web3 to talk to the people who build, grow and move Web3.
From Pareen Lathia, Ayush Ranjan, Arjun Kalsy and more of your favourite web3 folks, check out the playlist here 👇
If you liked this episode or found it useful, Support us in making Web3 accessible for all 👇
While Bankman-Fried is in jail, the not-so-surprising FTX bombs keep dropping.
We already know how FTX, under Sam Bankman-Fried, wasn't shy about throwing some cash around. A recent court filing has revealed their lavish payments to major organizations and celebrities!
🏀 Athlete All-Stars: Big names like Shaquille O’Neal, Naomi Osaka, and David Ortiz made the list.
🎤 Beyond Sports: Even the iconic music festival, Coachella, and the business magnate, Kevin O’Leary, were beneficiaries.
These payments were categorised as advertising and sponsorship agreements, security deposits, retainers and other miscellaneousprepayments. However, this is still not an exhaustive list of all of FTX’s financial commitments.
Let’s also look at FTX’s aggressive marketing tactics:
🏟️ Secured naming rights for the Miami Heat’s stadium for a cool $135 million.
📺 Recruited comedian Larry David for a Super Bowl ad.
🏈 Frequently featured investor Tom Brady in various campaigns.
Here’s how much these athletes were paid!
Shaquille O'Neal - Bagged close to $750,000
Naomi Osaka - Bagged $308,000
David Ortiz - Receieved $271,000
Trevor Lawrence - Almost $206,000
The current FTX management is in chaos and hoping to claw back some of these payments.
This includes $700 million from K5 Global and funds directly linked to Bankman-Fried and other top FTX executives.
FTX is also fighting on multiple fronts, launching lawsuits to recover what they claim was "illegally withdrawn." The latest is against LayerZeroLabs to claw back $21 million.
If this story has taught us anything, it's that celebrity endorsements are not the golden ticket they might appear to be and no one can always be a 100% aware of what’s going on behind the scenes.
🚨 GIVEAWAY TIME! 🚨
The Product House is giving away 5 headphones along with their “TPH tunes” drop, and you can collect it for free.
Poor prison Wi-Fi? 🤔 Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers say he can't prep for his case due to bad internet in jail. They're asking for his temporary release. Again!
G20 says "Let's talk crypto, folks!" 🎉 New international framework on the way for sharing deets on crypto transactions. Starts in 2027 and covers almost everyone!
Ripple's chief lawyer, Stuart Alderoty, calls the SEC's new legal move a "hypocritical pivot." He's pointing out that the SEC can't claim crypto rules are clear and then urgently ask for an appeal to clarify them. 🤔
Lido Finance says LDO and stETHtokens are safe despite a security flaw that could allow "fake deposit" attacks. The company is working on updates to fix the issue. 🛡️
Like the newsletter? You'd love the writers behind it. Follow the editorial team at Spacekayak and get the creative team you need for Web3 founders.
