NFT Trader Burned CryptoPunk: What to do in such a situation
- NFT Trader Brandon Riley accidentally burned CryptoPunk #6851
- A burned NFT is irretrievably destroyed and cannot be replaced or accessed again.
One of the first and most famous non-fungible token (NFT) initiatives on the Ethereum network is CryptoPunks. Each CryptoPunk is a distinct 8-bit image of a pixelated character with a unique hairstyle, accessories, and sometimes even unusual traits like being an alien or a zombie.
If the CryptoPunk was burned, the owner intentionally destroyed the token by sending it to a public Ethereum address, making it permanently inaccessible. A burned CryptoPunk can never be recovered or traded again.
Burnt Cryptopunk by accident?
NFT was permanently destroyed on March 24th when NFT trader Brandon Riley, aka @vitalitygrowth on Twitter, “accidentally” burned CryptoPunk #685.
To effectively remove a digital asset from circulation, it must be sent to a wallet address from which it can never be reclaimed.
Burn addresses, unencrypted digital wallets, are one-way gateways that can only accept digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs. As a result, the NFT was never exchanged or held again, and it was permanently withdrawn from circulation.
Brandon Riley, who bought CryptoPunk #685 two weeks ago, said on Twitter that he made a mistake trying to wrap NFT to secure a loan against it. He informed Decrypt that he intended to publish CryptoPunk #685 on NFTfi.com to provide a dividend of around 7% annually.
He further stated, “I didn’t package this punk to sell it to Blur, it was supposed to be my eternal punk.” This particular statement describes how the burning of the cryptopunk was an unfortunate accident and that he ended it because he needed to buy some liquidity from it.
What led to the unfortunate incident?
Riley appears to have followed instructions from an online tutorial on how to wrap NFT as an ERC-721 token and make it work with NFTfi, a liquidity mechanism for NFTs.
This was necessary because some marketplaces and defi applications do not support CryptoPunk’s NFT collection. After all, it was developed before ERC-721 became the accepted industry standard for NFTs.
Riley ended up entering the wrong wallet address by mistake and the NFT was immediately and irretrievably lost.
Riley’s unfortunate circumstance is representative of problems many in digital assets have due to the often intricate and irreversible nature of transactions. Riley referred to this as “both the beauty and the curse of self-storage” because there are no financial intermediaries and nothing Riley can do will bring back his lost CryptoPunk.
NFToga, a Twitter user, noted that Riley’s reference material has since been amended with the text directly warning readers not to send CryptoPunks to wallets configured as burn addresses.
Riley replied that he did the first thing with his address, but when he got to step 5, the burn address was listed under “9.porxyinfo” His only regret was doing this independently instead of doing it with an expert’s help or guidance .
What should you do if you accidentally burn CryptoPunk?
Unfortunately, there is no way to reverse the transaction or retrieve the token if you accidentally burn a CryptoPunk or other NFT. An NFT that has been burned is irretrievably destroyed and cannot be replaced or accessed again.
While burning a valuable NFT can be a costly mistake, it does not necessarily mean the end of your NFT trading journey. It is important to remember that the market determines an NFT’s value. If you add to your collection and buy new NFTs, you can still participate in the NFT market.
It is crucial to take care if you have a priceless NFT collection to avoid future mishaps like burning tokens. This involves exercising caution while conducting transactions, verifying information and storing your NFTs in private, secure wallets.
When trading NFTs, it is a good idea to do your research and only deal with reliable platforms and people with a history of reliable transactions. You can reduce the possibility of mishaps and secure your NFT investments by adopting these safety measures.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while graduating. A keen observer of detail, he shares his passion for writing alongside being a developer. His backend knowledge of blockchain helps him bring a unique perspective to his writing
