A token unintentionally created by blockchain investigator ZachXBT has surged to a market capitalization of $3.4 million.
A token unintentionally created by blockchain investigator ZachXBT has surged to a market capitalization of $3.4 million.
This situation arose after ZachXBT launched a series of open-edition NFTs titled "243M Theft" on the Base network via the Zora protocol in August. The NFTs were intended as free digital collectibles linked to his investigation of a $243 million theft involving a Genesis creditor.
The Zora protocol automatically converted these NFTs into ERC-20 tokens, allowing them to be traded as memecoins on decentralized exchanges. The Zora user interface did not clearly indicate that minting the NFTs would result in the creation of tradeable tokens, a fact ZachXBT addressed in a response to a post by crypto influencer Ansem.
ZachXBT's aim in minting these NFTs was to provide a permanent record of his investigative work on the blockchain, similar to his previous content hosted on Mirror. However, the automatic issuance of an ERC-20 token contradicted his original intent.
The newly created token, using Zora's "ERC20z" standard, has seen significant trading activity, with approximately 3,500 tokens generated on the Base network.
The token's market cap grew from nearly zero to $3.4 million, with a current valuation of around $970 per token. The unexpected liquidity provision has led to active buying and selling on secondary markets, prompting ZachXBT to express frustration over the speculative trading.
He indicated that he may take actions to dilute the token's value, such as minting additional tokens without an end date or replacing the artwork associated with the NFTs.
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