View source for EtherRock Sold For 444 Wei CoinMarketCope

{{Case Study Under Construction}}[[File:Etherrock.jpg|thumb|Ether Rock NFT]]NFT Collector CoinMarketCope (formerly Dino_Dealer) accidentally sold his EtherRock NFT for 444 wei instead of 444 ethereum.

== About CoinMarketCope ==
CoinMarketCope (formerly Dino_Dealer) has been a user of Twitter since January 2021<ref>[https://twitter.com/dino_dealer dino_dealer's Profile - "MEV fat finger mempool bot TAKE ROCK. MEV  bot bad." - Twitter] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/CoinMarketCope CoinMarketCope Profile - Twitter] (Jul 7, 2023)</ref>.

=== Falling Out With Past Friend ===
According to Twitter user apez1lla, the EtherRock NFT was originally in a shared wallet<ref>[https://twitter.com/SS24CRYPTO/status/1504893329682673672 SS24CRYPTO - "Called Karma" - Twitter] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref>. 

== About Ether Rock ==
EtherRock is one of the oldest NFT projects in existence<ref name="etherrock-10668" /><ref name="btcdotcom-10669" /> having launched in 2017<ref name=":0">[https://opensea.io/collection/ether-rock-2 EtherRock NFTs - OpenSea] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref>. There were only 100 EtherRock NFTs ever minted<ref name="btcdotcom-10669" /><ref name=":0" />.<blockquote>Launched in 2017, EtherRock was one of the first crypto collectible NFT-type projects on the Ethereum blockchain, having launched shortly after CryptoPunks. Only 100 rocks can ever be available, and each new virgin rock gets more and more expensive. This game is built entirely on the Ethereum blockchain, with a decentralized smart contract (deployed here) used to manage everything including the buying and selling of rocks, their prices and owners (though this website is still necessary so you can see pretty pictures of the rocks).

These virtual rocks serve NO PURPOSE beyond being able to be brought and sold, and giving you a strong sense of pride in being an owner of 1 of the only 100 rocks in the game :)</blockquote>



"DinoDealer claims that he had intended to list his Ether Rock for 444 ETH — worth a jaw-dropping $1.2 million at current rates.

But instead, he confused this for the smaller denomination of Ether, meaning it was advertised for sale on OpenSea at just 444 WEI.

Before DinoDealer could realize his fatal error, a bot snapped up the rock for just $0.0012 — and instantly began offering the NFT to the marketplace for 234 ETH. If sold, this would result in a tidy profit of about $650,000."

== The Reality ==
Transactions on most blockchains such as ethereum are permanent and irreversible. Transacting requires great care to ensure that everything is correct, especially when large sums of money are at stake.

There are a number of bots interacting with the ethereum blockchain. These bots will very quickly take advantage of any common arbitrage opportunity in the market.

== What Happened ==
NFT trader DinoDealer accidentally listed his EtherRock NFT for a price of 444 Wei instead of 444 Ethereum. The NFT was quickly purchased by a trading bot.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Key Event Timeline - EtherRock Sold For 444 Wei DinoDealer
!Date
!Event
!Description
|-
|March 6th, 2022 8:06:35 AM MST
|Ether Rock 44 Sells For 444 WEI
|Ether Rock NFT #44 is sold for 444 WEI<ref name=":1">[https://etherscan.io/tx/0xd08cdd1423f08f6b09c9a7908ebb6bed2b81cda501aa1f53fc4cbd240dd82f08 Sale of Ether Rock #44 for 444 WEI - Etherscan] (Jul 5, 2023)</ref>.
|-
|March 9th, 2022 11:07:00 PM MST
|Original Twitter Post
|DinoDealer first shares his story on his Twitter account<ref name=":3">[https://twitter.com/dino_dealer/status/1501802006364635139 dino_dealer - "I just erroneously listed @etherrock #44 for 444 wei instead of 444 eth" - Twitter] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref>.
|-
|March 16th, 2022 12:26:50 PM MDT
|Ether Rock 44 Sells For 234 ETH
|The Ether Rock NFT #44 was resold for 234 ETH<ref name=":2">[https://etherscan.io/tx/0x2a259eeaf9c299457c426b785fd98b2e5a0d0fa05c43f1ae184c325c9f00b210 Ether Rock NFT #44 Sold For 234 Ethereum] (Jul 5, 2023)</ref>.
|-
|March 17th, 2022 10:05:35 PM MDT
|Shared On Reddit
|The story was shared on Reddit<ref name="redditold-10666" />.
|-
|March 18th, 2022 12:50:00 PM MDT
|CoinMarketCap Article
|The story is picked up by CoinMarketCap<ref name="coinmarketcap-10667" /><ref>[https://twitter.com/CoinMarketCap/status/1504892899116335109 CoinMarketCap - "he listed it for 444 WEI — worth just $0.0012 — and it was snapped up by a bot in seconds" - Twitter] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref>.
|-
|March 19th, 2022
|CoinGape Story
|The story is shared on CoinGape<ref>[https://coingape.com/web-stories/nft-collector-loses-entire-net-worth-in-one-single-click/ NFT Collector Loses Entire Net Worth in One Single Click - CoinGape] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref>.
|}

== Technical Details ==
Ether Rock was launched before standard such as ERC20, so the smart contract<ref>[https://etherscan.io/address/0x41f28833be34e6ede3c58d1f597bef429861c4e2 Ether Rock Smart Contract - EtherScan] (Jul 5, 2023)</ref> does not integrate well with other NFT services, and sale transactions are not automatically decoded on many services. (TBD - An expert can confirm this?)

The particular Ether Rock sales transaction<ref name=":1" /> involves the sale of Ether Rock NFT #44 for 444 wei, which was intended to be 444 eth. A sniper bot allegedly took advantage of the typo to remove the NFT from the victim's wallet<ref>[https://etherscan.io/address/0x51d0821e8564678226366ba267c758867f172a68 Victim Wallet - EtherScan] (Jul 5, 2023)</ref> and immediately attempted to resell the NFT. The NFT ultimately resold several days later<ref name=":2" />.

TBD - How did the sale get established - via what platform or wallet? How was the transaction generated?

== Total Amount Lost ==
There are two potential ways to calculate the loss amount:

* The intended sales price of 444 ETH. With a closing market price of $2,555.04 USD on March 6th<ref name=":4">[https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/historical-data/ Ethereum Historic Price Data - CoinMarketCap] (Jul 10, 2023)</ref>, that creates a valuation of $1,134,437.76. Multiple sources cite a value of $1.2m<ref name="redditold-10666" /><ref name="coinmarketcap-10667" />, which would require a market price of $2,702.70 USD, which was the market price a few days earlier.
* The successful sales price of 234 ETH<ref name=":2" />, using the closing market price of $2,772.06 USD from March 16th<ref name=":4" />. That creates a valuation of $648,662.04 USD.

Given that it is uncertain the Ether Rock would have sold at the original price of 444 ETH, the total amount lost has been estimated at $649,000 USD.

== Immediate Reactions ==
Dino Dealer shared his story on Twitter. The community was a mix of reactions.

=== Initial Tweet On Twitter ===
The initial Tweet by Dino Dealer<ref name=":3" />.<blockquote>How's your week?

Mine? I just erroneously listed @etherrock #44 for 444 wei instead of 444 eth

Bot sniped it in the same block and trying to flip for 234 eth

In one click my entire net worth of ~$1 million dollars, gone

Is there any hope?

Am I GMI?

Can snipers show mercy?</blockquote>

=== Twitter Community Reactions ===
Community reactions on Twitter were mixed, with some expressing sympathy, some condemning his actions, and others cracked jokes<ref>[https://twitter.com/pomocanthus/status/1504902735598174219 Hung Le - "No WEI this happened." - Twitter] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/tonyGvince4/status/1504893237290582022 sunrise - "Terrible news..wouldn't wish that on my enemy even" - Twitter] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/AMGXRP/status/1504893207540232193 XRP WOLF - "Kinda his own fault for not triple checking and also putting your entire net worth into a jpeg of a rock" - Twitter] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/samueldwizz/status/1504893333549858818 <nowiki>Samuel - "How [on Earth] does one make this mistake" - Twitter</nowiki>] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/MrWilli19096742/status/1504896727253401600 Brotherhood - "Should we call this a mistake or ignorant?" - Twitter] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref>.<blockquote>No WEI this happened.</blockquote><blockquote>Terrible news..wouldn't wish that on my enemy even</blockquote><blockquote>Kinda his own fault for not triple checking and also putting your entire net worth into a jpeg of a rock</blockquote><blockquote>How [on Earth] does one make this mistake</blockquote><blockquote>Should we call this a mistake or ignorant?</blockquote>

== Ultimate Outcome ==
Ether Rock continue to be a popular NFT<ref name="btcdotcom-10669" />. apez1lla's Twitter account has since been suspended<ref>[https://twitter.com/apez1lla apez1lla's Suspended Account - Twitter] (Apr 6, 2023)</ref>.

== Total Amount Recovered ==
There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

== Ongoing Developments ==
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?
== Individual Prevention Policies ==
A high degree of care and understanding is required when using the blockchain.

{{Prevention:Individual:Double Check Transactions}}

{{Prevention:Individuals:End}}

== Platform Prevention Policies ==
It is believed that this transaction happened privately. {{Prevention:Platforms:No Platform Funds Lost}} Platform could reduce the risk through increased user education, adding additional validation confirmations on their interface, or requiring a multi-signature approval.

{{Prevention:Platforms:Cryptocurrency Safety Quiz}}

{{Prevention:Platforms:Establish Industry Insurance Fund}}

{{Prevention:Platforms:End}}

== Regulatory Prevention Policies ==
This situation is unique as all aspects of the transaction were signed legitimately. Greater education could have brought about more awareness of the risks and more double checking on transactions. Better education and regulation could contribute to more users using platforms with security.

{{Prevention:Regulators:Cryptocurrency Education Mandate}}

While in this case, it is unlikely that any reimbursement could be made for a user error, having an insurance fund organization set up stands a greater chance of negotiating a return or reimbursement as compared to most other models.

{{Prevention:Regulators:Establish Industry Insurance Fund}}

{{Prevention:Regulators:End}}

== References ==
<references>
<ref name="redditold-10666">[https://old.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/th4sww/nft_collector_accidentally_sells_12m_rock_for/ pyritejetHarambe - "NFT Collector Accidentally Sells $1.2M Rock for $0.0012" - Reddit] (Sep 20, 2022)</ref>
<ref name="coinmarketcap-10667">[https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/nft-collector-accidentally-sells-1-2m-rock-for-0-0012 NFT Collector Accidentally Sells $1.2M Rock for $0.0012 - CoinMarketCap] (Apr 5, 2023)</ref>
<ref name="etherrock-10668">[https://www.etherrock.com/ Ether Rock Homepage] (Apr 5, 2023)</ref>
<ref name="btcdotcom-10669">[https://www.newsbtc.com/nft/picture-of-a-rock-just-sold-for-235000-on-ethereum/ Picture Of A Rock Just Sold For $235,000 On Ethereum] (Apr 5, 2023)</ref>
</references>