The Ordinals protocol allowed creators to embed NFT-like digital media and meme tokens onto the Bitcoin blockchain, but with its growth came the rise of scams and exploits similar to those found on other platforms. Recently, the Ordinals community faced its largest attack yet.
Last Friday, a new meme token project named ORNG was introduced, offering users the opportunity to mint a BRC-20 fungible token through the Ordinals protocol. The token launch took place on what seemed to be the official Ordinals launchpad site, Luminex, but it turned out to be a fake website called “Luminux” (notice the subtle vowel change). As a result, many Twitter users complained about their Bitcoin wallets being emptied after they thought they had initiated a transaction to mint the new meme token.
This is a common narrative in the domain of Ethereum NFTs and token releases, and there are multiple types of “wallet drainer” scams. These scams can be in the form of a phishing attack, where a fraudulent website is created to mimic an authentic marketplace or official website. Alternatively, they may spread through a prominent creator or brand’s Twitter account that has been hacked.
The exact amount stolen in this particular attack remains unclear, but the wallet associated with the scam received approximately 2.37 Bitcoin, equivalent to roughly $63,000. The majority of the transactions occurred on Friday, with fewer recorded over the weekend.
Following the launch on Friday, the Twitter account linked to the scam has undergone a rebranding effort to promote a new token mint via the same fraudulent “Luminux” landing page. The individuals responsible for the scam mints have yet to be identified.
Luminex and Xverse, the creator of the Bitcoin wallet, were among the firms that cautioned users about the scam and shared information on how to avoid being caught up in comparable schemes. A representative for Luminex informed Decrypt that they alerted their community of the scam launch “within minutes” of its occurrence.