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Berachain airdrop hunters have minted more than 1.7 million NFTs as the yet-to-launch project involved speculators in tasks that could generate free tokens.
Berachain is a proof-of-liquidity powered Layer 1 network built on Cosmos SDK, a framework for creating decentralized applications or dapps written in the Go programming language. The protocol also considers itself an L1 equivalent to the ethereum virtual machine.
The blockchain claims to fully implement the EVM code enshrined in the ethereum Yellow Paper, a white paper that explains the design and architecture of the ethereum blockchain. An EVM equivalent protocol is also fully compatible with ethereum, allowing any dapp running on the ethereum mainnet to be supported.
Berachain was in its testnet phase at the time of this publication and had attracted chatter on social media from airdrop hunters looking for the next batch of free tokens.
The protocol launched its so-called “Berachain Farming Vol.1 nft”, stimulating trading activity linked to digital collectibles called “Bit Bears” on the popular nft marketplace Opensea. It is not clear if both devices are connected.
Bit Bears has seen a 236% increase in volume in the last 30 days and has recorded over 5,831 Ether (eth) worth approximately $14.9 million in all-time transactions.
X ads scammers also sought to capitalize on the hype surrounding the Cosmos SDK-backed protocol, equivalent to EVM. An user pointed to an advertisement on Elon Musk's social media giant targeting unsuspecting users hoping to take advantage of the airdrop, which the Berachain team has neither confirmed nor debunked.
These ads are common on X and scammers are constantly trying to trick web3 users into granting wallet transaction authorization. Once approved, the fraudster can sign transactions and empty the wallet of value before diverting the funds to a cryptocurrency mixer for laundering.
This phishing scam is seen on social platforms as global cryptocurrency adoption increases. SlowMist reported that 80% of X comments were related to phishing software and scammers, while a handful of high-profile entities like Trezor and Ripple have been targeted by these campaigns.
