In the world of cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have gained immense popularity over the past year. However, with the rise of NFTs comes the risk of losing them to technical mishaps, which is exactly what happened to crypto investor Brandon Riley. Last month, he accidentally burned his CryptoPunk NFT, which was worth a staggering $129,000.
Riley had attempted to wrap his CryptoPunk NFT so that it could be listed for trade on Ethereum NFT markets. However, he made a tragic mistake by entering an incorrect address while following the instructions to wrap his NFT for the first time. As a result, he irretrievably sent his NFT to nowhere, destroying a third of his net worth from investing in cryptocurrency.
Riley’s experience highlights the importance of being cautious when handling NFTs. It is crucial to understand the technical aspects of NFTs, such as how to wrap them properly, to avoid making costly mistakes. Moreover, it is recommended to seek advice from the NFT community and peer review any code execution before attempting to wrap an NFT.
He stated in his Twitter post, “Stay safe out there, everyone, and please be way more careful than I was.“
As Riley noted, it is essential to remember that self-custody of NFTs comes with both beauty and curse. While it provides complete control over one’s assets, it also means that any mistakes made are solely the responsibility of the owner.