“OpenSea” and related queries are trending on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) after a “data issue” left some users in a cold sweat. OpenSea is the largest peer-to-peer marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the world. As such, it oversees the exchange of millions of NFTs every month, and hosts many traders’ entire collections. At least, it’s supposed to.
Today, some users were distraught to find they were unable to access their NFT collections. Many took to Twitter to voice their fear that they had lost potentially thousands of dollars (or more) worth of digital items.
One Twitter user succinctly summarized the problem:
@opensea, a multibillion dollar business running with totally inadequate infrastructure. For more than a year. How many heart attacks today for users thinking their entire NFT collection is gone?
— Dustin Moon – Crypto Genius (@DustinMoon16) November 30, 2021
OpenSea News Raises Concerns About NFT Safety
According to the @opensea Twitter account, the data issue plaguing users has been resolved as of 2:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. Data outages are no new phenomenon — even Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) went down for three days at the end of October. But when outages happen on marketplaces like OpenSea, they force users to question the security of their digital assets.
And the OpenSea news today raises a great point: NFTs are functionally in their infancy. And while it may be easy to keep an eye on a valuable physical painting, it can be hard to track your NFTs. That means keeping your NFTs safe requires a solid set of secure online habits, including:
- Choosing a secure wallet
- Using a complex password
- Backing up your wallet regularly
- Using a secure internet connection
Like artwork, NFTs are conceptually one-of-one. Even if multiple NFTs are made of a particular design, each one is its own independent store of value and is tracked independently. As such, issues of theft, or copyright concerns, are not uncommon in the world of NFTs.
Taking steps to ensure the safety of your digital wallet should be of utmost concern to even a casual NFT owner, and after this latest mishap, assuredly to OpenSea.
On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
