A token accidentally created by well-known onchain analyst ZachXBT on the Base network has reached a staggering market cap of $3.4 million. The unexpected development traces back to ZachXBT’s use of the Zora protocol in August to mint an open-edition NFT titled “243M Theft” — a free collectible tied to his investigation of a $243 million theft involving a Genesis creditor. Unbeknownst to him, Zora’s system automatically converted these NFTs into ERC-20 tokens, allowing them to trade as memecoins on decentralized exchanges.
ZachXBT clarified that he had intended the NFT solely as a blockchain-archived investigation, similar to his articles on Mirror.
However, Zora’s interface didn’t make it clear that issuing an NFT would also create a tradable ERC-20 token. “The Zora UI currently does not give any indication to creators that an ERC-20 token will also be launched at the conclusion of an open edition NFT mint,” he stated, providing screenshots to support his point.
The NFT had been minted using Zora’s ERC20z token standard, which enables automatic liquidity through a wrapped ERC-20 token, making assets tradeable on Uniswap. As the token became available on secondary markets, its market cap rose sharply, reaching $970 per token.
Reacting to the surge in speculation, ZachXBT voiced his frustration: “If people continue tagging me on posts, I am going to dilute the piece with more mints and possibly replace artwork with a blank image.” Zora has not yet responded to comments on this situation.
