The good thing about transactions that take place across blockchains is that they are permanent once completed and cannot be undone.
The bad thing about transactions that take place across blockchains is also that they are permanent once completed and cannot be undone. This is why blockchain users are always advised to double-check every transaction before they complete it.
As every crypto exchange will tell you, if you send funds to the wrong address or the wrong blockchain, not much can be done after the fact.
One unlucky NFT merchant learned this the hard way after a rock NFT that was valued at over $1.2 million was sold for less than a penny after they made a mistake with the listing details.
Rocky Roads for an NFT Merchant
The merchant, who goes by @dino_dealer on Twitter, revealed on March 10, 2022, that while trying to list their NFT for 444 ETH (worth roughly $1.2 million), they accidentally listed it for 44 Wei (worth less than a penny). The NFT, which was a picture of a rock, was almost immediately bought by a bot sniper for the very low amount.
Because of how popular NFTs have become, many people these days use bots to buy them as cheaply as they can. Similar to ticket scalpers, the goal is usually to resell the NFTs for as much as possible to others.
The unfortunate incident is probably the worst-case scenario for an NFT seller. Once an NFT is sold, the transaction can’t be reversed and considering the fact that the bot is already trying to sell it for several thousand times what it cost, there isn’t a likely resolution between the two.
The story quickly went viral on social media and served as a cautionary tale for potential NFT sellers and for blockchain users as a whole. We’ve seen several times where the mistake of a single person can lead to incalculable losses for others.
Who can forget the incident of the CEO of QuadrigaCX, Gerry Cotten, who died with the private keys to the company’s cold wallet, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars lost forever?
Moving On?
While this made for a funny, albeit cringe-inducing Twitter moment, it does bring up the question of whether or not the industry needs a change.
Is the lack of centralized support for when things like this happen something that should be looked into? Is it just the price we pay for using blockchain?
The merchant, however, seems to be moving past the whole incident. Shortly after, they changed their profile picture to one of Pepe the frog dressed as a clown with sad rocks in the background.
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Tokoni
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