Attackers Exploit OpenSea Loophole to Snatch and Resell Rare NFTs

One attacker paid roughly $133,000 for seven NFTs before quickly flipping them for $934,000 worth of ether

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by Axel Rangel

share

key takeaways

  • Coding bug enabled attackers to buy NFTs at previous sale prices and flip them for substantial profit
  • At least three attackers exploited users, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic

A bug in the OpenSea NFT marketplace has enabled hackers to snatch up rare NFTs from owners for far below market value and resell them for hefty profits. 

At least three attackers exploited a bug on the marketplace, making away with over $1 million as of Monday, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. One of the alleged opportunists bought a Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT for $10,600 worth of ether, selling it hours later for $34,800 worth of ether.

“The exploit appears to originate from the ability to re-list an NFT at a new price, without canceling the previous listing,” Elliptic said in a report. “Those previous listings are now being used to purchase NFTs at prices specified at some point in the past — which is often well below current market prices.”

One attacker, who goes by “jpegdegenlove” online, paid roughly $133,000 for seven NFTs before quickly flipping them on the platform for $934,000 worth of ether. 

Suspicious activity picked up over the past day but the bug has been present for weeks and was flagged in a Jan. 1 tweet. The marketplace was exploited over eight times in a roughly eight-hour-span on Monday morning. A wallet address associated with multiple purchases has made a total profit of $878,288 worth of ether from the exploit, according to blockchain analytics provider Nansen

“The fact that a user could buy at previous prices and flip NFTs without any form of verification points to the centralization issue in NFTs as they stand right now,” Jenna Pilgrim, CEO of blockchain media licensing startup Streambed, told Blockworks.

“OpenSea does a great job at creating a solid user interface, but unfortunately does so at the cost of security,” she added. 

In a turn of events, “jpegdegenlove” later compensated two of their victims, transferring them a combined total of $75,000 worth of ether, according to Elliptic. 

Charles Guillemet, CTO of hardware wallet developer Ledger, said that it is currently not safe for NFT holders to have their assets listed on OpenSea. “It’s very difficult to use this platform securely right now,” he said on a Twitter space Monday. “The only thing we can do is to mitigate the risk.”

OpenSea has yet to publicly address the exploit and did not immediately respond to Blockworks’ request for comment on the matter.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Pipe Network is a decentralized content delivery network (dCDN) that replaces the sparse, capital intensive data center footprint of traditional CDNs with a permissionless mesh of independent node operators. By orchestrating under-utilized resources that already exist at the edge, rather than purchasing or leasing thousands of servers, Pipe slashes capital intensity while letting supply expand autonomously in the places where bandwidth is scarcest and most expensive.

article-image

Sponsored

Fluence is a decentralized marketplace that connects businesses requiring enterprise-grade computing power with professional infrastructure providers

article-image

What if growth goes exponential while you’re hiding in gold and bitcoin?

article-image

While Compass Point analysts downgrade its Circle price target, Jefferies initiates Galaxy coverage with ‘buy’ rating

article-image

Friday News potpourri: Here’s what’s shaping up across Bitcoin, Ethereum and beyond.

article-image

A little inside baseball about crypto news