Nifty Gateway Studio
| Founded | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster |
Area served | Internet, Worldwide |
Key people | |
| Products | NFT marketplace |
| Owner | Winklevoss twins |
| Parent | Gemini[1] |
| Website | niftygateway |
Nifty Gateway is a digital art online auction platform for non-fungible token (NFT) art founded by Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster,[2] and has since been acquired by the Winklevoss twins.[3] Nifty Gateway has sold NFTs by Beeple, Pak, Refik Anadol, Sam Spratt, XCOPY, Skygolpe and other widely followed NFT artists.[3][4]
History
[edit]Nifty Gateway was founded by Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster in November 2018 as a platform to buy NFTs. In the summer of 2019, it was acquired by the Winklevoss twins and became an auction platform.[3][2] The company has partnered with Christie's for their first NFT auction[3] and Sotheby's.[5]
In March 2021, some users of the platform were hacked. A common theme across all the users that were hacked was that they all did not have 2-factor authentication activated. It is speculated that the hack was a result of cracking or otherwise acquiring their individual passwords. Nifty Gateway released a statement saying its initial investigation had found “no evidence” the platform itself was breached.[4] Nifty Gateway was able to reverse all transactions made via stolen credit card information, although it raised questions regarding new users understanding of cryptocurrency's decentralization.[6]
One user planned to file a police report and contact their insurance company, but did not, stating “there’s nothing I can do per the Nifty terms of service.”[6][7]
In 2021, Amir Soleymani sued Nifty Gateway over an auction for a Beeple artwork titled "Abundance." Soleymani had bid on the artwork but was ultimately outbid. The auction was a ranked auction, a format Soleymani claims he had not encountered before. He was expected to pay $650,000 for a lower-valued edition of the work, which led to a series of legal disputes. Soleymani filed a suit in the U.K. High Court, questioning the fairness and enforceability of Nifty Gateway's terms. Described by The Daily Telegraph as having "huge repercussions for the UK consumer", the UK's Competition and Markets Authority joined Soleymani in the lawsuit.[8] The case has also seen a countersuit filed in New York.[9][10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Gemini Acquires Nifty Gateway" (Press release). November 19, 2019.
- ^ a b "The Twin Blockchain Entrepreneurs Who Dream of "Digital Air Jordans"". New York Magazine. March 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c d del Castillo, Michael; Adams, Susan; Gara, Antoine (2021-04-05). "Revenge Of The Winklevii". Forbes.
- ^ a b "The Gray Market: Why the Hack of Nifty Gateway Raises Far-Reaching Questions About the Entire NFT Market (and Other Insights)". Artnet News. March 22, 2021.
- ^ Villa, Angelica (April 6, 2021). "In a First, Sotheby's Collaborates with Major NFT Player for Pak Sale".
- ^ a b "Lessons From the Nifty Gateway NFT Heist: Not Your Keys, Not Your Art". Yahoo! Finance. March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Nifty Gateway NFT Marketplace Review | The Ascent by Motley Fool". The Motley Fool. 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
- ^ Mendick, Robert (2022-11-12). "Liverpool art dealer's David and Goliath fight with US billionaire twins to win his money back". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
- ^ "NFT Platform Nifty Gateway, Collector Caught in Legal Battle over Beeple Auction". 4 October 2021.
- ^ "An Irate Collector is Suing the NFT Platform Nifty Gateway over the Terms of a Very Weird Beeple Auction". 4 October 2021.