It has been a rough start to the new year for Luke Dashjr, one of the original core developers behind Bitcoin (BTC). In a Jan. 1 post on Twitter, the programmer revealed that his PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) key had been compromised and that the incident had cost him “basically” all of his BTC. The news of the hack has provoked an intense debate around self-custody which has been thrust into the spotlight following the collapse of FTX.
However, this was not the first time that Dashjr’s name has been used without his consent in an attempt to make a quick buck. In a Feb. 27 post on Twitter, the developer revealed that a non-fungible token (NFT) featuring a picture of code he wrote, was recently sold at auction site for 0.41 Bitcoin (BTC), or roughly $9,500 at the time of writing. According to Dashjr, “it was advertised as my code in the listing and presented to the public for sale and profit.”
The Bitcoin developer further revealed that the seller or auction site had offered him “a donation of 90% of the auction proceeds,” which he declined. Dashjr argued that this was a “clear attempt to: (1) bribe me into silence; and/or (2) obtain my consent after the fact.”
Dashjr believes the public should be aware that such practices are occurring and has encouraged other Bitcoin core developers who have been placed in similar situations to speak out. He explained that some have been offered “considerable” donations in return for their cooperation but did not provide further details.
In order to get justice Dashjr stressed the importance of refunding “100% of the auction proceeds to the buyer” and asked the public to “stop using my name to mislead the public so you can make a quick buck. It’s wrong. I do not consent to the use of my name or code for this grift. I want the public to be aware of where I stand.”
This story has cast a harsh light on the issue of NFTs, particularly after decentralized marketplace OpenSea reported that over 80% of NFTs minted using its minting tool were “plagiarized works, fake collections, and spam.”
The incident has also caught the attention of Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao who offered his condolences and support. CZ noted that he had asked his security team to monitor the situation and if necessary freeze the stolen BTC.
The news of Dashjr’s hack and the associated self-custody debate has provoked various comments from the crypto community. On one hand some have speculated that lax security might be to blame while others, such as Udi Wertheimer, have suggested that one “shouldn’t manage your own keys.”
Overall, the sad events of the last few weeks have clearly demonstrated that not only is self-custody a riskier option than the alternative, but that without proper care and attention your BTC can be stolen without your even knowing. Therefore, while Dashjr’s situation is a tragic one, it serves as an important reminder to us all as to the need to take security seriously if we want to protect our digital riches.
So let us take a moment to stand with Dashjr and echo his cry for justice: no consent for misleading NFT auction and hacks that cost him “basically all” his BTC.
