SEC charges Mila Kunis-backed Stoner Cats NFT project

An illustrated beige cat, with eyes pointed in opposite directions, wearing a yellow rain hat on a rainy day. It's holding a roll of $100 bills in one hand and a baggie of marijuana in the otherStoner Cat #7605 (attribution)
In a rather amusing press release, the SEC announced they had charged "Stoner Cats 2 LLC" with conducting an unregistered securities offering when they raised $8.2 million selling NFTs that were intended to finance an animated web series called Stoner Cats.

The series was developed by Mila Kunis and her production company, and she, Ashton Kutcher, and Chris Rock all performed in the show, which ultimately aired six episodes accessible only to those who hold the NFTs. The premise, according to the SEC, is "house cats that become sentient after being exposed to their owner's medical marijuana".

The SEC determined that the project had marketed the NFTs as an investment in a web series enterprise, and had therefore violated securities laws by not registering with the SEC. Stoner Cats 2 LLC agreed to a cease-and-desist order, and will pay a $1 millon penalty.

Developer steals $1 million from the group behind Milady NFTs

A pixel art image of a humanoid robot holding a paint palette, with a small dog by its feet, and a desert with a cactus in the backgroundBonkler #150 (attribution)
A developer working on an NFT project spearheaded by Remilia, the DAO behind the Milady NFT project, stole around $1 million from the group by diverting fees generated by their new Bonkler "experimental finance art project". According to leader Charlotte Fang, the developer "also seized codebases and coordinated with two others on the team in an attempt to seize control of our social media, followed by demands for a significant portion of our treasury, including the NFT reserves." Fang stated that they believed they knew the thief's identity and had filed a lawsuit against them, and promised that they "will now be dealt with through the heavy hand of the law".

Remilia is a very controversial group, particularly after it was exposed that leader Charlotte Fang was a major figure in a white supremacist cult known as Kali Yuga Accelerationism (abbreviated "kaliacc"), and involved in a 4chan suicide cult.

Fang announced the theft on September 11 in a tweet accompanied by a glitch art image derived from a photo of the Twin Towers engulfed in flames and smoke shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Vitalik Buterin's Twitter account hacked to promote crypto scam

Scam tweet from the Vitalik Buterin account, reading: "To celebrate Proto-Danksharding coming to Ethereum, @Consensys is marking the moment with a commemorative NFT.
"Proto", honors the work of the devs who made this possible. The collection is free for the next 24 hours.
Claim your piece of history:"Scam tweet by Vitalik Buterin (attribution)
The Twitter account belonging to Vitalik Buterin, inventor and effective leader of the Ethereum project, was hacked to promote a crypto scam. A tweet posted to his compromised account advertised a "commemorative NFT" to celebrate the impending release of "proto-danksharding", which is the actual name for an upcoming change to the Ethereum protocol.

However, the link was a scam, and anyone who connected their wallet risked having their wallet drained of its cryptocurrency and NFTs. Some blue-chip NFTs were stolen, including two CryptoPunks (a collection with a floor price of around 47 ETH, or $76,800). Altogether, stolen assets surpassed $650,000 in value within a few hours of the theft according to zachxbt, though this counts notoriously difficult-to-value NFTs.

The tweet was taken down within twenty minutes of being posted. All in all, posting a link to a wallet drainer was probably among the least effective things the attacker could do with the Twitter account of a person whose word can dramatically move markets.

It did seem to be something of a stark warning to some in the crypto world, however, who expressed sentiments along the lines of "if Vitalik can get hacked, anyone can."

NFT startup Glass shuts down a year after raising $5 million

The NFT startup Glass was operating under the assumption that YouTubers and others who post video content for fans online might want to mint those videos as NFTs, which their fans could then buy. Unfortunately for them, they have since "come to the conclusion that there is not sustainable demand for video NFTs".

In September 2022, the startup managed to raise $5 million from investors including TCG Crypto and 1kx. Either that money's run out, or they're cutting their losses early.

Impact Theory to pay $6.1 million for unregistered NFT offering in an SEC first

An Impact Theory lengendary-tier "Founder's Key" NFT, which resembles a gold metal ticket with the Impact Theory logo on itLegendary "Founder's Key" NFT (attribution)
Entertainment company Impact Theory has agreed to a $6.1 million payment to settle charges from the SEC that its sales of its "Founder's Keys" NFTs constituted an unregistered crypto asset securities offering. This is the first time the SEC has taken action against issuers of NFTs as unregistered securities offerings.

As a part of the agreement, Impact will destroy all remaining Founder's Keys NFTs, forgo royalties from future secondary sales, and publish a notice of the order on its websites and social media.

Founder's Keys in the rarest tier have recently sold for $1,500 apiece, and promised to give their holders access to Impact Theory's self-help content, which supposedly taught viewers how to "unlock their potential and pursue greatness". According to the SEC, the company encouraged holders to view the tokens as an investment into the business.

Recur NFT platform shuts down after $50 million Series A

In September 2021, the Recur NFT platform announced it had raised $50 million in a Series A funding round that saw the startup valued at $333 million.

In December 2021, the company offered $300 "Recur Passes", which promised holders early access to NFT drops and other perks. One of them resold for $88,888 in February 2022.

Now, Recur has announced they will be closing up shop, and warned users to migrate their assets away from the platform in advance of a November shutdown. The company cited "unforeseen challenges and shifts in the business landscape".

As for the Recur Passes, they're currently selling for somewhere between $7 and $11.

Copytrader asks for "stolen" funds back after someone tricks their bot

An Azuki NFT: an anime-style side portrait of a person with short brown hair, a beige headband tied around their head, wearing a puffy coat and holding a fanAzuki #9745, one of the NFTs purchased at an inflated price (attribution)
After noticing someone set up a bot to copy his bids, NFT trader Hanwe Chang tricked the bot into purchasing multiple NFTs at hugely inflated prices. Chang purchased a large number of Azuki NFTs using an anonymous wallet, then placed an inflated 50 ETH (~$90,700) bid on one. The bot then came along and offered the same amount on the other NFTs, and Chang accepted the overpriced bids. Altogether, Chang made 800 ETH (~$1.45 million) from the scheme, draining the bot of its available funds. Azukis have been trading with a floor price of around 5 ETH (~$9,000).

The apparent operator of the bot tweeted at Chang, accusing him of theft: "We would like to discuss a bounty with you. We are offering a 10% bounty of any funds stolen from our bot, which are yours to keep if you return the remaining 90%." In other tweets they suggested they might try to take legal action against Chang for the "theft".

Web3 platform Nifty's shuts down

Nifty's was a web3 business backed by the likes of Mark Cuban, Joey Lubin, Coinbase, and Dapper Labs. In 2021, they raised a $10 million seed round, and launched as an NFT-focused company in July 2021 with a collection of Space Jam NFTs to accompany the widely panned box office disappointment, Space Jam: A New Legacy.

The platform later partnered with other companies to produce NFT collections for franchises including The Matrix and Game of Thrones, the latter of which featured hilariously bad artwork. The company then pivoted to a broader web3 focus as the NFT bubble collapse led the broader crypto downturn.

However, their promised web3 platform never materialized, and now the project has reached "the end of [its] runway".

Nifty's is not to be confused with Nifty Gateway, a separate NFT platform run by the embattled Gemini crypto platform.

Melania Trump's space NFTs likely violate NASA policy

A photo of Buzz Aldrin in a space suit on the surface of the moon, superimposed on an iPod Nano-esque object where the screen would beMan on the Moon NFT (attribution)
Melania Trump doesn't seem willing to let the flop of her first NFT project, which ended with her allegedly buying the NFT herself, slow her down. She's just announced a line of Apollo 11-themed NFTs, because apparently our former first lady is a big space buff. The Man on the Moon NFTs sell for $75 each, and feature a 1969 photo of Buzz Aldrin on the moon surface, bizarrely superimposed on what appears to be a 2007-era iPod Nano.

As a photo produced by a federal agency, NASA's image is not copyrighted. However, NASA policy outlines "strict laws and regulations", including that "NASA is not approving any merchandising applications involving Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), as they are not consistent with the categories of products the agency is approved to merchandise... NASA does not wish for its images to be used in connection with NFTs."

The NFTs don't seem to be exactly flying off the shelves. The collection contains 500 copies, and according to the website, only 55 have been sold in the week following the project's release, garnering Mrs. Trump $4,125.

Scammer "Soup" makes more than $1 million through Discord hacks

A Mutant Ape wearing a leather aviator hat with teeth on the brim, with Xs for eyes, with a beer can wrapped in a serpentine tongue, and with leopard print furMutant Ape #21080, stolen by Soup (attribution)
A Canadian named Dan, who goes by "Soup" online, made more than $1 million through various phishing scams targeting Discord projects including those belonging to the Pika Protocol and Orbiter Finance. In one scam, he impersonated crypto journalist Luke Hamilton, trying to convince victims to join a fake Decrypt Discord server so he could steal their credentials.

Soup was exposed by crypto sleuth zachxbt, who also described how the scammer had spent some of his ill-gotten funds on exclusive Roblox items that sell for "high 5 figs".

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