Accused Bitfinex Launderer’s Rap Album Cover NFTs Vanish from OpenSea

The crypto-rapper accused of laundering billions of dollars from the 2016 Bitfinex hack created NFTs of her album artwork. Now their owner claims they’ve vanished from NFT marketplace OpenSea.

Earlier this week, Heather Morgan and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein were charged with conspiracy to launder cryptocurrency related to the 2016 Bitfinex hack; the Department of Justice announced that $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin linked to the hack had been seized.

Per VICE News, two NFTs created by Morgan featuring her rap alter ego Razzlekhan are no longer visible on the NFT marketplace OpenSea, and their buyer—an OpenSea user with the address cancelopensea.eth—is less than pleased. 

“The two token IDs of the NFTs she minted with the OpenSea contract were effectively gone. Just token IDs with no metadata or image,” the NFT buyer told VICE, adding that, “Without question there is cause of action for a tort. No way to determine future value of something created by someone now infamous in this way.”

The buyer took aim at OpenSea’s ability to “delete an artist’s collection at whim based on the person’s actions outside of anything to do with OpenSea, effectively making the NFT purchased by the buyer worthless.”

The two NFTs in question were album covers for some of Morgan’s many rap videos as Razzlekhan, “Versace Bedouin” and “Social Distance.” 

Both Morgan and Lichtenstein’s OpenSea profiles are no longer visible. However, blockchain records indicate that the NFTs in question were transacted by an Ethereum address linked to Heather Morgan, to the address linked to cancelopensea.eth. 

In the DOJ’s criminal complaint, the pair were described as having engaged in a “diverse array” of virtual currency, including the purchase of NFTs.” No NFT marketplace was named in the document.

This is not the first time OpenSea has removed NFTs from its platform. In August last year, Pepe the Frog Meme NFTs were removed amid a copyright dispute. 

What happened to Morgan’s NFTs?

Morgan’s NFTs were minted on OpenSea and purchased by the buyer on Tuesday 8, 2022, the same day Morgan and her husband were arrested. 

The two NFTs were purchased for .10 ETH, which is currently worth approximately $300. 

The buyer’s OpenSea profile—where the NFTs typically would appear—are no longer visible.

 

After the news broke about Morgan’s arrest, the NFT buyer reportedly said he was “just looking” through her OpenSea profile. 

“At first was just curious on her ETH transactions…but then saw the two ‘album cover’ NFTs she had minted about a month ago. Figured it was a piece of crypto history. So I bought them,” they said.

Decrypt has reached out to OpenSea and cancelopensea.eth for comment, and will update this article should we receive a response.

https://decrypt.co/92703/accused-bitfinex-launderers-rap-album-cover-nfts-vanish-from-opensea

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Drake bets $1.3M in Bitcoin on Bengals vs Rams Super Bowl match

Drake spends his time betting more than a million in Bitcoin (BTC) on Super Bowl matches when he’s not running through the six with his woes.

The award-winning rapper recently shared that he placed BTC bets worth a total of $1.26 million on the upcoming Superbowl match between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams. 

Through the crypto sports betting platform Stake, the rapper bet over $471,000 for the Rams to be the winner, including overtime. Drake also expressed his confidence in the Rams’ wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The musician placed around $392,000 on Beckham having more than 62.5 receiving yards and another $392,000 on the wide receiver having over 0.5 anytime touchdown.

Drake wrote, “All bets are in on the family.” Beckham replied to the post saying, “it’s time.” This triggered a response from Bengals fan and football veteran Charles James. “Yep, you just confirmed it! I’m Cincinnati! Burrow for the win. Call a reasonable number.”

Related: Crypto exchange FTX.US to give away Bitcoin as part of Super Bowl ad

A few months back, the football star Odell Beckham Jr. partnered with Cash App and announced that he will take his NFL salary in BTC while promising to give back $1 million in BTC to his fans. The player’s 2021 season earnings are estimated to go up to $4.25 million. However, a sports analyst argued that Beckham faced losses because of the recent market crash and hefty taxes.

Meanwhile, the National Football League will be giving away limited-edition nonfungible tokens to fans who will be present in Super Bowl’s return to Los Angeles on February 13. The NFT will commemorate the game day by giving a customized digital keepsake that features the unique section and row of the attendee.