Bitcoin’s Ordinals Experience Resurgence
Sniping Ordinals for Profit
Ordibots Organizers Apologize
Front-running “Sniping” Attacks
The world of NFTs on Bitcoin, known as Ordinals, has seen a recent resurgence, with a peak on May 7 that quickly subsided. However, the rally in Bitcoin’s value in November has reignited interest in Ordinals, attracting the attention of quant traders looking to profit.
Quant traders saw an opportunity to profit at Magic Eden on Bitcoin, an NFT marketplace, and sniped millions from the most highly anticipated Ordinals project of the season, Ordibots.
The Attack on Ordibots
Ordibots had announced its minting ceremony on Magic Eden, with a highly publicized timeline and extensive requirements for whitelisting. The collection’s potential capitalization was estimated to be worth millions of dollars.
However, the project fell victim to a sophisticated front-running attack, making it the first major Ordinals collection to experience such a breach. Both the founders of Ordibots and the NFT marketplace Magic Eden have issued apologies to those affected.
How the Sniping Occurred
Whitelisted fans of Ordibots submitted their minting transactions, only to have them intercepted by quant traders utilizing a front-running attack. This tactic involves scanning Bitcoin’s mempools for valuable Ordinal transactions and outbidding the original transaction to claim the NFT for themselves, all while leaving the original fan with an unconfirmed transaction.
Ordibots’ Response
Following the attack, Ordibots collected information on affected addresses, apologized, and promised to airdrop custom Ordibots to those addresses. Additionally, they announced their intention to burn the “parent” used to generate the affected NFTs in order to ensure immutability.
Magic Eden on Bitcoin also issued an apology to buyers affected by the front-running attack and is working on deploying solutions to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Front-running “Sniping” Attacks
The attack on Ordibots is just one example of mempool sniping, a form of front-running. This tactic is used to profit from privileged information and is a common practice in traditional finance. Despite efforts to mitigate this issue, it is expected to persist.
The Future of Ordinals
Following the attack on Ordibots, the Ordinals community has been warned to become more sophisticated quickly, as this incident may just be the beginning. While snipers cannot steal existing Ordinal inscriptions, front-running attacks are a real threat to the growing market of Bitcoin Ordinals.
In conclusion, the resurgence of interest in Bitcoin’s Ordinals has attracted not only legitimate collectors but also savvy quant traders looking to profit through front-running attacks. Despite apologies and promises of improvement, the future of Ordinals remains uncertain in the face of increasingly sophisticated attacks.
I have been writing about crypto for over two years. I have a vast amount of experience in the industry and my work has been featured on some of the biggest publications in the space.
