Bitcoin + NFTs = NEW ERA

GM Readers!📪 It's BitDegree Insider, and it's time to cook that web3 ramen.

⭐️Today's selection:

• 🖼Say 'Hello' To Bitcoin NFTs
• 😵Unique Crypto Fraud
• 🧩️Thursday Quiz
• 👌Selected Meme of The Day
• 📰Bite-Sized News

NEW BITCOIN ERA

So, Bitcoin and NFTs walk into a bar...

And end up in turning a new page in the NFT book. But seriously. It looks like we're entering an e new era. Say 'hello' to Bitcoin NFTs.

Not long ago, a new protocol has been created and has taken the NFT world by storm by offering a revolutionary way to create NFTs in the Bitcoin blockchain.

This is not your average NFT, and here's why.

Unlike most NFTs in other blockchains, where metadata is stored on centralized servers outside of the blockchain, Bitcoin NFTs are 100% stored in the blockchain.

It's been made possible thanks to the SegWit(2017) and Taproot(2021) updates of the Bitcoin network.

In just three weeks, people have already created more than 35,000 Bitcoin NFTs, and the possibilities are endless.

Bitcoin NFTs can include not only images, but also PDFs, videos, and audio files, and can be stored, transferred, and sold like any other NFT.

But not everyone's hyped.

The emergence of Bitcoin NFTs has split the community into two camps - Bitcoin maximalists and those who see this technology as a fantastic innovation for BTC.

Some Bitcoin maximalists envision Bitcoin as digital gold and for finance only and believe that the creation of Bitcoin NFTs hinders this vision by taking up valuable block space.

Others see the positive impact this technology could have on the security and popularity of BTC.

Bitcoin NFTs could attract new audiences, increase revenue for miners, and provide a more secure and durable solution than regular NFTs.

However, getting these revolutionary NFTs is not an easy task.

Currently, there is no full-fledged marketplace, and all transactions are peer-to-peer on Discord, making it a risky process.

While this technology is still being used primarily for entertainment, who knows what the future holds?

The Ordinals protocol has the potential to create something truly extraordinary.

P.S. The term NFT does not quite apply to this technology, because NFTs are tokens and Bitcoin NFTs are not really a token.

Bitcoin NFTs are stored in the Bitcoin blockchain and are transmitted through regular transactions, which is why it would be more proper to call them "Digital Artifacts."

In conclusion, a new trend is emerging, and it's something you better don't sleep on!

Bitcoin-NFTs have the potential to attract big money, and we'll be keeping an eye on how this new era in the world of NFTs unfolds.

TL;DR: Thanks to a newly-unveiled protocol, Bitcoin NFTs are now a thing. They're fully stored in the Bitcoin blockchain, and have already created a storm within the BTC community. Some think this will revolutionise the industry, while others think this is just a distraction from what BTC is supposed to achieve.

A VERY DIFFERENT CRYPTO FRAUD

Ahad Shams, the co-founder of the Web3 game engine "Webaverse," became a victim of crypto-fraudsters and lost a staggering $4 million!

The incident was unlike any other crypto-related crime that we've seen so far.

The particularly strange and interesting part of this story is that the robbery took place in the lobby of a random hotel in Rome, Italy.

During a meeting, the scammers took a picture of the victim's wallet's balance... and once the meeting was over... The money was no longer there.

Here's how it all went down:

In November 2022, Shams was approached by a supposed-to-be investor who asked to meet him at a hotel in Rome.

During the meeting, the individual asked Shams to confirm the company's digital assets, which led to the transfer of 4 million USDC stablecoins to a newly created Trust Wallet.

The alleged investor asked to take a photo of the balance on Shams' phone. Shams agreed. It looked safe, since there was no way of taking a pic of the seed phase.

Eventually, the 'businessman' left for a 'meeting' with his colleagues, while Shams was instructed to wait till he comes back. He never did.

The Webaverse creator got in touch with the Italian authorities, but nothing has come out of it so far.

Trust Wallet investigated the incident independently. And it turned out to be a carefully preplanned robbery.

Trust Wallet claims that a well-organized, Rome-based gang that's responsible for the crime.

The modus operandi of the gang is simple yet sophisticated. They pretend to be crypto investors and offer highly profitable projects to their victims.

After having agreed on further cooperation, criminals would ask their 'potential partners' to open up a separate Trust Wallet account.

Then the victim would receive an NDA - a non-disclosure agreement. But... It would only look like one. Actually, it would be a malicious file under the guise of an NDA.

Shams signed it. And that's when the 'black magic' happened.

This story was shrouded in a mist of misunderstanding. People were talking that some kind of a photo virus-hack-thing has been created. But that's nothing but FUD.

So... Yeah. Now you know. Even signing documents could result in your wallet being emptied. We're living in strange times.

Trust Wallet was quick to emphasize that the theft had nothing to do with their app and that even owners of hardware wallets had fallen victim to the gang's actions.

To keep yourself safe, we suggest being cautious when downloading files, using only trusted internet channels, and implementing reliable network protection.

TL;DR: Ahad Shams, the creator of the Web3 game engine 'Webaverse', was tricked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which was actually a malicious file. This ended up in him losing $4m worth of crypto.

THURSDAY QUIZ

It's Thursday, it's time to check your knowledge about things. Today we've got a simple question.

SELECTED MEME OF THE DAY

BITE-SIZED NEWS

• Luxury Brand Hermès Wins a Lawsuit Against MetaBirkins Creator Mason Rothschild. Metaverse's metaproblems resulted in a $133,000 non-meta money fine.
• Robinhood to Buy Back $578M Stake Purchased by Emergent Fidelity Technologies. No fidelity between them.
• US SEC Reportedly Launched an Investigation into Crypto Exchange Kraken. Will this crack the Kraken?