Rampant scams within the NFT space have inspired the small shapes founder of the project to carry out a social experiment to expose NFT botnets and their influence on the market. Over a one-year period, the founder, who goes by Atto, studied how Twitter botnets combined with various influencers to garner more than $200 million from unsuspecting investors. The findings are detailed in a 158 page document.
To achieve his intended goal, Atto started the Little Shapes NFT project and started using his Twitter account to post sensational messages that would gain attention. Speaking to a popular media outlet, he points out that “People don’t pay attention unless you give them a reason to.” therefore he “I needed a story that would sell to make sure no one would ignore a story that hurts.”
For example, in one post, he reveals that he just woke up from a five-month coma only to find out that his wife was cheating on him, and to make matters worse, he had assets locked up on FTX. He then took advantage of NFT botnets like “Dmister,” a botnet that sells social media engagement, to promote the project. Details about how the process works are also outlined in the document.
Hello Little Shapes family this may sound crazy but I was in a car accident 5 months ago and just came out of a massive coma. I don’t know what’s been going on since then, but we’re coming back stronger than ever.
You are only at the beginning of the Little Shapes journey <3 pic.twitter.com/rOEEHq0kVN
— Little Shapes NFT (BALLZ) (@LittleShapesNFT) December 28, 2022
The botnet charges NFT projects just $100 per 1,000 likes, retweets, and replies. Once a project generates enough publicity to attract real investors, “Getting thrown off the rug or screwed over, usually within a few months.” The people behind the scam project end up making $3 to $4 million.
Over 274 scam projects have used NFT botnets to create hype and attract investors
During the span of his research, he was able to uncover around 274 projects that defrauded more than $200 million from investors. What bothered him the most was the fact that “It feels like we are in a space classified entirely by Twitter social capital and false engagement where nothing is real.”
Although Little Shapes as an NFT project was fake, the exposure is real. in a cheep Made on February 2, Atto thanks his 30,800 followers and shares a link to the document. Also, he launched BALLZNFT, which seems to be a genuine project, with its first minting one day after the exhibition. It features symbolic artwork depicting references to Little Shapes’ performance.
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*All investment/financial opinions expressed by NFT Plazas come from the personal research and experience of our site moderators and are intended for educational purposes only. People are required to fully research any product before making any type of investment.
Basil is an avid fan of blockchain technology and all its innovations, and he is passionate about sharing this narrative with his audience. He has spent over five years in the crypto space, specializing in research and creating Web3 content for various media outlets around the world.
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