There’s a new website the crypto community has been discussing called The NFT Bay, a web portal that operates in a similar fashion to The Pirate Bay (TPB), because the platform hosts a huge selection of NFTs stemming from various blockchain platforms for free. On Thursday, the web portal’s creator revealed a file called “The Billion Dollar Torrent,” which claims to hold all the NFTs from Ethereum and Solana.
‘The Massive NFT Heist:’ Pirate Bay Clone The NFT Bay Sparks Heated Discussions
Non-fungible token (NFT), collectibles, have enjoyed huge popularity over the past year. Billions of dollars have been spent buying these digital goods. Many people within the crypto industry believe NFTs have no value and that anyone can click on the NFT image to own it without having to pay. It’s been a heated discussion ever since NFTs were introduced. After a March NFT-immutability debate, which saw crypto advocates highlight how NFTs are being deleted and images replaced, the debate got even hotter.
This individual posted about The NFT Bay, a web portal that was interesting months after NFTs continued to gain in popularity and value. “OMG who right clicked all of the #NFTs?” the individual tweetedOn Thursday. The individual named Geoff also left a torrent link hosted on The NFT Bay (thenftbay.org) called “The Billion Dollar Torrent,” which hosts all the non-fungible token assets stemming from Solana and Ethereum. Geoff left behind some press statements after the tweet was liked and retweeted thousands upon thousands.
The NFT Bay functions in the same way as The Pirate Bay (TPB) because it hosts an enormous number of NFTs derived from blockchain platforms. The link leads to the torrent, where torrenting platforms can be used to access the downloaded files. The NFT Bay actually looks like a clone of TPB and has the same website color arrangements and uses TPB’s logo too. There are a number of filters available for NFTs that can be found in collections like Cryptopunks or Bored Ape Yacht Club on the main page.
It is art. https://t.co/eKrqtrkMga
— Sos Sosowski (@Sosowski) November 18, 2021
The file Geoff tweeted about called “The Billion Dollar Torrent,” has a file for Ethereum-based and Solana-based NFTs. The description also says: “If you like these NFTs, please buy it. The artists participating in fraud deserve support.”
The party is over 😂 https://t.co/FGgAblfI38
— Sp3cPT (@PtSp3c) November 18, 2021
In Geoff’s press statements, it asks why he decided to do this and the reason given is “Art.” Moreover, after discussing his background, Geoff explained a little more about the fundamental reason behind thenftbay.org. Github’s press releases are:
Fundamentally, I want people to be able to see what they are purchasing when buying NFT art. [than]Instructions on downloading or accessing the files [an] image. The image is not stored on the blockchain and the majority of images I’ve seen are hosted on web2.0 storage which is likely to end up as 404 meaning the NFT has even less value.
‘Underlying Technology Is Amazing, Greed and Scamming Is Sickening’
Geoff spoke out about the motivations behind the portal and also his overall view on NFTs. Geoff feels that NFTs are best utilized and valued through social media.
Ok, the one thing I will begrudgingly enjoy about NFTs is a massive NFT heist https://t.co/99CHemfngB
— Yell in a War (@jelenawoehr) November 18, 2021
“For many digital representations is > physical representation and (if/when) Twitter/TikTok (discord backed away from it) roll out the ability to display flair on a social media profile that will be a turning point,” the press statements explain. Geoff further said that the excitement over Twitter’s blue verified checkmark is a perfect example of why verifiable proof of membership could be key. “All of this, however,” Geoff stressed. “Could be achieved without blockchain.”
“What people dream to build with ‘web3’ is quite amazing,” The NFT Bay creator concluded. ”The underlying technology, not so much and the greed/scamming going on is sickening. My memories are of the early 1990s internet, with its visions for a better future. What’s fascinating here is the communities are very strong and can self-fund the discovery phase. Where it goes pear shape is when ‘we gotta get new blood in to [a] pump/dump.’”
The question is how much value will people put into this so-called “NFT heist,” as people may simply disregard the torrented files as not being ‘the true’ and verifiable NFTs. Since long, the controversy over who owns a file and whether it can be verified by right-clicking on a JPG/PNG file remains unresolved. The truth is that it may be difficult to judge the authenticity of NFTs, and also their value, over time.
What do you think about The NFT Bay and Geoff’s press statements about the project? Comment below and let us know how you feel about the subject.
Images CreditsShutterstock. Pixabay. Wiki Commons. NFT Bay Website.
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