Thread by @deepbluesteeve

#NewNFTProfilePic Hey check out my new hex profile pic! Is it really true that #apefollowape? You can tell I ACTUALLY own this NFT because Twitter’s hex says so!!

Or... do I? Look closely. Yep - it's a hex. Not a cropped picture like the infamous scammer @NateAlexNFT. It's a bona-fide @TwitterBlue #NFT profile pic!

But wait - click or tap on it. Double check. Yep, #6. Collection logo matches. "View NFT details" shows the metadata. Tweed suit, Bored mouth, Cream fur... all there.

Look closer. The collection name is ACTUALLY "BAYC - Boredd Ape Yat C1ub." Ah, it's fake. The real collection by @BoredApeYC is named "Bored Ape Yacht Club", of course.

So, how'd I get the legit hex? I have an old contract on the mainnet I don't use because I sucked at writing solidity 6 months ago. I updated its tokenURI to match the one for @BoredApeYC - anyone can do this.

Then, I went to @opensea, since that's where @Twitter is getting the metadata, collection name, etc. Kudos to them for being the SINGLE obstacle between me making my collection IDENTICAL to the real @BoredApeYC. They run a check to make sure the collection names aren't too close.

But still - could you really tell? And do you think someone who doesn't actually know much about NFTs could spot the difference between my spoof'd pfp and the real deal? Hell no.

So why'd I do it? This demonstrates that the power of actually verifying authenticity is still left to centralized entities, like Twitter and OpenSea. We need a decentralized way for the COMMUNITY to verify collections - not centralized entities.

This could be a DAO of verified collections, and the owners of those tokens have the collective voting power to let new collections in. They could then provide an API that @opensea, @Twitter, @rarible, @LooksRareNFT can check to see if a collection is verified.

@opensea @Twitter @rarible @LooksRareNFT LOL there will probably be a $VRFD token tomorrow for everyone to claim, right after I get banned.

@opensea @Twitter @rarible @LooksRareNFT PS this was done out of love. I pointed out what many bad actors will try and do and offered a solution :)