https://web3isgoinggreat.com/?id=2022-02-21-0

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Illustration: A sad-looking Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT monkey looks at
a world engulfed in flames.

Web3 is going just great

...and is definitely not an enormous grift that's pouring lighter
fluid on our already-smoldering planet.

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Created by Molly White (Twitter, Website)

  * What is web3?
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site.

[shades]
February 21, 2022

  * Permalink

Coinbase CEO tries to weave a compelling story about how their own
team came up with a Super Bowl ad that "broke the rules on
marketing", is quickly revealed to just be taking credit for the work
of an outside ad agency

Two tweets. First by Brian Armstrong: "10/ I guess if there is a
lesson here it is that constraints breed creativity, and that as
founders you can empower your team to break the rules on marketing
because you're not trying to impress your peers at AdWeek or
wherever. No ad agency would have done this ad." Reply by Kristen
Cavallo: "Except an ad agency did do that ad."Tweet by Armstrong,
with reply from Cavallo (attribution)
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong embarked on a 12-tweet-long thread
congratulating Coinbase employees for coming up with the bouncing QR
code. He wrote, "I guess if there is a lesson here it is that
constraints breed creativity, and that as founders you can empower
your team to break the rules on marketing because you're not trying
to impress your peers at AdWeek or wherever. No ad agency would have
done this ad."

Unfortunately for him, CEO of The Martin Agency Kristen Cavallo
showed up with receipts: "It was actually inspired by presentations
our agency showed your team on 8/18 (pages 19-24) and 10/7 (pages
11-18) with ad concepts for the Super Bowl with floating QR codes on
a blank screen."

  * Tweet thread by Brian Armstrong
  * Tweet by Kristen Cavallo

Theme tags: Shady business
Tech tags: cryptocurrency
[rug]
February 20, 2022

  * Permalink
  * Tweet link

Avalanche-based Atom Protocol rug pulls within a day of its launch,
claiming a bug

Tweet by Atom Protocol: "There is a problem/mistake in contracts, we
can't do anything. We have to close the project, sorry"Tweet by Atom
Protocol (attribution)
Atom Protocol, a project built on the Avalanche blockchain (and not
to be confused with the Atom/Cosmos project on Binance), rug pulled
within a day of launching. The developers posted a tweet reading,
"There is a problem/mistake in contracts, we can't do anything. We
have to close the project, sorry". Shortly afterwards, they deleted
their Twitter account and Discord.

Some users directed their anger at Assure DeFi, a project that claims
to "privately verify the identity" of various projects. The group had
reportedly verified the identities of those behind Atom Protocol,
lending the project credibility to some who bought in. Assure later
tweeted that "many people are still misunderstanding the role of KYC/
verification. KYC is a deterrent and not a scam prevention and if
anyone says otherwise they are misleading you."

  * "Avalanche-based protocol reportedly rug-pulled within hours of
    launch", AMB Crypto
  * Tweet thread by AssureDefi

Theme tags: Bug, Rug pull
Blockchain tags: Blockchain: Avalanche
Tech tags: DeFi
[robber]
February 19, 2022

  * Permalink
  * Tweet link

Seventeen OpenSea users have their NFTs stolen and flipped for a
total of $3 million by a phishing scammer

OpenSea logo, a blue circle with a white ship silhouetteOpenSea logo 
(attribution)
Panic erupted on February 19 as a few users saw their wallets emptied
of valuable NFTs without knowing why, and many others feared the same
could happen to them. Early explanations blamed a new contract that
OpenSea had rolled out, or an airdrop from a new NFT marketplace
called X2Y2. People urged NFT owners to revoke permissions for both
the OpenSea contract and for X2Y2 until more was known, although one
of the most popular websites helping people do so went down shortly
after from the high traffic.

An hour and a half after users began to report missing NFTs, OpenSea
finally acknowledged the issue. They tweeted that they were "actively
investigating rumors of an exploit associated with OpenSea related
smart contracts", and wrote that they believed it was a phishing
attack coming from outside of OpenSea, rather than an issue with
their contract. It was later determined that an attacker had
successfully phished 17 OpenSea users into signing a malicious
contract, which allowed the attacker to take the NFTs and then flip
them. Bizarrely, the hacker returned some of the NFTs to their
original owners, and one victim inexplicably received 50 ETH
($130,000) from the attacker as well as some of his stolen NFTs back.
The attacker later transferred 1,115 ETH obtained from the attack to
a cryptocurrency tumbler, worth around $2.9 million.

  * Tweet by Jon_HQ
  * Tweet from AJFromDiscord
  * Tweet by MikeBurgersburg
  * Etherscan transactions for phishing attacker's wallet

Theme tags: Hack or scam
Blockchain tags: Blockchain: Ethereum
Tech tags: NFT
February 18, 2022

  * Permalink
  * Tweet link

Crypto.Chicks team member gives a non-apology for blatantly copying
the work of another artist

Side-by-side comparison of an Instagram post and an NFT listing, both
containing similar illustrations of a woman with a grimace and three
eyesComparison of the original and Crypto.Chick #2 (attribution)
Polly, a member of the popular Crypto.Chicks NFT team, apologized for
"drawing inspiration from" artists and "inadvertently cop[ying]"
their work, after it is discovered that she blatantly traced the
artwork used in some of the Crypto.Chicks NFTs. Although she wrote
that she had "redrawn" the NFT in question, the artwork was nearly
identical to artwork by a Brazilian artist named Amanda, who
apparently was never credited nor compensated. The Crypto.Chick in
question had sold for $27,500 in late January.

The following day, Crypto.Chicks announced that they would be
replacing Polly as a team member, and pausing their planned release
of another NFT collection that also appeared to contain stolen
artwork.

  * Tweet by NFTCryptoChicks
  * Tweet by ShrewdCharlie
  * Etherscan transaction for Crypto.Chick #2

Theme tags: Art theft
Blockchain tags: Blockchain: Ethereum
Tech tags: NFT
February 18, 2022

  * Permalink

Appeals court allows legal claim to continue against online promoters
of Bitconnect

Bitconnect logo: an orange background with white connected dots of
varying sizesBitconnect logo (attribution)
An appeals court found that a legal claim could continue to be
pursued against some of the major voices that promoted Bitconnect
online. Bitconnect was a Ponzi scheme that collapsed in early 2018,
defrauding investors of $2 billion. This claim, should it succeed,
could set a frightening precedent for those irresponsibly hyping
cryptocurrency schemes in online videos and other promotions.

  * Tweet thread by dcsilver

Theme tags: Good news, Law
Tech tags: cryptocurrency
February 18, 2022

  * Permalink
  * Tweet link

Authorities raid Generacion Zoe, an Argentine pyramid scheme propped
up by cryptocurrencies

Generacion Zoe logo, a blue and yellow Z-shape next to the text "zoe"
Generacion Zoe logo (attribution)
Authorities performed nine separate raids targeting Generacion Zoe, a
holding company raising money from thousands of Argentines. The
company promised 7.5% monthly returns at the lowest level, but more
if investors recruited others to the scheme. They said these returns
came from cryptocurrency trading, sales of "coaching" courses, and
other investment strategies. The group even had their own
cryptocurrency, Zoe Cash, and had begun other ventures--including a
church. The accountant from the firm and several others were arrested
in the February 18 raid, but the head of the scheme was on the lam.

  * "Detuvieron al contador de Generacion Zoe", Pagina 12 (in
    Spanish)
  * "Pierri sera el abogado de Leonardo Cositorto, CEO de Generacion
    Zoe", Infobae (in Spanish)
  * "Estafas: que es Generacion Zoe y quien es Leonardo Cositorto",
    Clarin (in Spanish)
  * "A bitcoiner against a powerful cryptocurrency pyramid from
    Argentina", Money Training Club

Theme tags: Hack or scam, Law, Shady business
Tech tags: cryptocurrency
[wtf]
February 18, 2022

  * Permalink

Kickstarter says they "won't make changes to Kickstarter without you"
after blockchain backlash... but they will continue with blockchain
plans

Kickstarter logo: white bubble letters on green backgroundKickstarter
logo (attribution)
Kickstarter announced back in December that they planned to
completely rebuild their product on a blockchain. It was quickly met
with resistance from the community, including some big-name users
announcing plans to stop using the service. Two months later, the
company published an article titled "We Won't Make Changes to
Kickstarter Without You". Despite the title, they did not appear to
waver on the blockchain plans, and committed only to "not mov[ing]
Kickstarter.com onto the new protocol unless it has been tested" and
to gathering "input" while they move forward with the plans.

Kickstarter's COO, Sean Leow, did an interview with The Beat to
discuss the announcement. He seemed to be a little bit confused on
the whole concept throughout, and seemed to believe that "open
source" is some sort of competing idea to blockchains. At one point
he stated, "We believe that that data can be structured in a way
through a blockchain where it ... can move in a much more efficient
and effective way between services ... in a way that open source
doesn't allow". Later in the interview he spoke about governance,
saying, "our understanding is that [governance] is done more
effectively with blockchain then with open-source."

  * "Kickstarter exec on the blockchain controversy: 'We've learned a
    hell of a lot in the last couple of months.'", The Beat
  * "Kickstarter responds to backlash over its decentralized
    crowdfunding platform", Engadget
  * "We Won't Make Changes to Kickstarter Without You", Kickstarter

Theme tags: Bad idea, Hmm
February 17, 2022

  * Permalink
  * Tweet link

Andrew Yang announces plans to fight poverty with a lobbying group
that distributes voting power in proportion to how much you pay

A greenish-yellow hexagon with an abstract black symbol on itLobby3
logo (attribution)
Perennial political candidate Andrew Yang, perhaps in a desperate bid
to stay relevant, announced his plans to create "Lobby3". Lobby3 is a
DAO which he says will push for crypto-friendly regulation and
"eradicate poverty". Like many DAOs, the voting power is allocated
based on how many tokens a member owns, meaning that those who pay
more have more votes. A single token, representing one vote, costs
0.07 ETH (about $200). The "Founder" tier of participation in the
DAO, which appears to offer access to Yang more than anything
particularly lobbying-related, costs 40 ETH (about $125,000).

Interestingly, one of the people credited as a "contributing artist"
to Lobby3 is "Robness", who had the previous day minted an NFT of a
photo of a journalist as a child in an attempt to harass her.

  * "Andrew Yang's Web3 Lobbying Group Wants to End Poverty With
    Vote-Buying", Vice

Theme tags: Bad idea, Law
Blockchain tags: Blockchain: Ethereum
Tech tags: DAO
February 17, 2022

  * Permalink
  * Tweet link

Class action lawsuit names SafeMoon, its executives, Jake Paul, Nick
Carter, and others in alleged pump-and-dump scheme

SafeMoon logo, a turquoise swirl shape with a white rocket in the
middleSafeMoon logo (attribution)
A class action suit was filed against SafeMoon, various executives,
and a handful of influencers and celebrities who promoted the token.
The plaintiffs allege that promotions included false or misleading
statements, and that the defendants misrepresented their control over
SafeMoon and its tokens in what is commonly called a "pump and dump".
In addition to SafeMoon and its executives, the lawsuit named various
celebrities and influencers who had promoted the token to their
followers: Jake Paul, Nick Carter, Soulja Boy, Ben Phillips, and Lil
Yachty. Promotions by the influencers occurred primarily between
March and May 2021, and helped the coin spike to its all-time-highs
of about $0.000008. However, the coin has spent most of its history
worth less than half or, more lately, a quarter of that amount. The
token underwent a migration in early 2022, which increased the price
per token, but the value has continued to decrease.

These influencers join a growing list of celebrities who have been
named in class action suits over alleged pump-and-dumps. The list
includes names like Kim Kardashian, who was named among others in a
January class action suit pertaining to a coin called EthereumMAX.

  * "Jake Paul, Nick Carter, Soulja Boy, Lil Yachty Facing 'Pump and
    Dump' Class Action Over SafeMoon Tokens", ClassAction.org

Theme tags: Law
Blockchain tags: Blockchain: BSC
Tech tags: cryptocurrency
February 17, 2022

  * Permalink
  * Tweet link

Binance halts activities and marketing in Israel over "licensing
issues"--namely, the lack of one

Binance logo, a yellow diamond next to the word Binance in yellow
capsBinance logo (attribution)
Binance announced they had stopped "marketing to Israelis and all
activities focused on Israel until we examine the issue of
licensing." The "issue" in question seems to be that they don't have
a license at all: according to the Israeli Capital Market, Insurance
and Savings Authority, they never received an application that would
license Binance to do business in Israel.

  * "Binance stopped 'all activities focused on Israel' following
    regulatory request: Report", CoinTelegraph

Theme tags: Law
Tech tags: cryptocurrency