Bored Ape Owner Files $1M Lawsuit Against OpenSea Over ‘Stolen’ NFT

A Texas man who unwittingly sold his Bored Ape NFT for 0.01 ETH—the equivalent of around $26—is suing OpenSea, alleging the platform knew about a bug that allowed hackers to buy NFTs for far below market price.

In a complaint filed in Texas federal court, Timothy McKimmy claims he is the rightful owner of Bored Ape #3475—one of a set of 10,000 highly coveted primate NFTs known as the Bored Ape Yacht Club. He claims that he did not list his Bored Ape for sale and that the NFT was “stolen”—and that the “buyer” promptly resold it for 99 ETH ($250,000 at today’s prices).

According to McKimmy, the ape in question is in the top 14th percentile when it comes to rarity, and is significantly more rare than the Bored Ape NFT Justin Bieber recently purchased for $1.3 million.

He is seeking “the return of the Bored Ape [..] and/or damages over $1 million.”

McKimmy—whose LinkedIn profile lists him as the CEO of a Texas iron ore firm—claims that OpenSea knew about the bug, which was widely reported in the media, but refused to halt trading in the interest of profits.

“Instead of shutting down its platform to address and rectify these security issues, Defendant continued to operate. Defendant risked the security of its users’ NFTs and digital vaults to continue collecting 2.5% of every transaction uninterrupted,” the complaint alleges in accusing OpenSea of negligence and breach of contract.

McKimmy further alleges that he has repeatedly tried to resolved the issue with OpenSea. The company, he says, told him it is “actively investigating” the incident but has failed to do anything more.

OpenSea is the world’s biggest NFT marketplace. However, the platform has been the subject of many controversies. Over the weekend, 32 OpenSea users were targeted in an elaborate phishing attack that saw a hacker steal millions of dollars worth of NFTs. The marketplace has also faced criticism for weighing plans to go public over releasing a token for the community. It also faced embarrassment last year when one of its key team members was caught using insider information to profit off NFTs. Several competitors have since emerged in hopes of grabbing some of OpenSea’s market share, though none have come close claiming its throne. Last month alone, OpenSea recorded over $5 billion of trading volume.

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