Ethereum’s recently introduced smart wallet feature, EIP-7702, is under scrutiny after blockchain security researchers uncovered cybercriminals’ misuse of it. Following the Pectra upgrade, several wallet providers have begun integrating EIP-7702 features.
Analysts at Wintermute, a crypto trading firm, noted that attackers used 97% of EIP-7702 wallet delegations to deploy contracts designed to drain funds from unsuspecting users.
Hackers Use Ethereum’s EIP-7702 to Automate Mass Wallet Drainings
EIP-7702 temporarily allows externally owned accounts (EOAs) to operate as smart contract wallets. The upgrade enables features like transaction batching, spending limits, passkey integration, and wallet recovery—all without changing wallet addresses.
Instead of moving ETH manually from each compromised wallet, attackers now authorize contracts that automatically forward any received ETH to their own addresses.
“No doubt attackers are one of the early adopters of new capabilities. 7702 was never meant to be a silver bullet and it does have great use cases,” Rahul Rumalla, Chief Product Officer at Safe, said.
Wintermute’s analysis shows that most of these wallet delegations point to identical codebases designed to “sweep” ETH from compromised wallets.
These sweepers automatically transfer any incoming funds to attacker-controlled addresses. Out of nearly 190,000 delegated contracts examined, more than 105,000 were linked to illicit activity.
Koffi, a senior data analyst at Base Network, explained that over a million wallets interacted with suspicious contracts last weekend.
He clarified that attackers didn’t use EIP-7702 to hack the wallets but to streamline theft from wallets with already exposed private keys
In case it wasn’t clear:
These wallets were not hacked using 7702. The hacker obtained the private keys without doing anything related to 7702.
And, since they have the keys, they could transfer money out of these wallets by making regular transactions from each one.…
The analyst furthered that one standout implementation includes a receive function that triggers ETH transfers the moment funds land in the wallet, eliminating the need for manual withdrawal.
“The new mechanism EIP-7702 is used most by coin stealing groups (not phishing groups) to automatically transfer funds from wallet addresses with leaked private keys/mnemonics,” he stated.
Despite the scale of the operation, there are no confirmed profits so far.
A researcher at Wintermute noted that attackers have spent about 2.88 ETH authorizing over 79,000 addresses. One address alone executed nearly 52,000 authorizations, yet the target address has not received any funds.
The non-fungible token (NFT) sector experienced explosive growth in 2021. Artists, investors, and collectors were all swept up in the frenzy. Yet, its meteoric rise was followed by a downturn, prompting questions about the sector’s sustainability.
Alexander Salnikov, co-founder of Rarible, believes the market is not facing a collapse but rather a shift. In an exclusive interview with BeInCrypto, Salnikov offered his perspective on the state of NFTs in 2025 and their role moving forward.
Are NFTs Still Relevant in 2025, or Have They Run Their Course?
The rise of NFTs, fueled by excitement and speculation, was inevitable for a market experiencing such rapid innovation. Nonetheless, like many emerging technologies, this early surge was followed by a correction. The hype gave way to the realities of market maturation and sustainability.
According to the latest report by DappRadar, the art NFT market saw an impressive surge in 2021, with trading volumes reaching $2.9 billion. However, by the first quarter of 2025, the trading volume was recorded at just $23.8 million, marking a 93% decline.
NFTs Trading Volume Over the Years. Source: DappRadar
Similarly, the number of active traders peaked at a record high of 529,101 in 2022. Yet, this figure sharply declined by 96%, with just 19,575 active traders remaining by Q1 2025.
A previous industry report from DappRadar revealed that the underwhelming performance wasn’t just a trend in 2025. In fact, 2024 was one of the worst-performing years for the NFT market since 2020. In addition, BeInCrypto also reported on a study that revealed 98% of NFT projects launched in 2024 were essentially “dead.”
Despite the decline, Rarible’s Salnikov has maintained a positive outlook for the sector. He emphasized the importance of a clear purpose when it comes to NFTs.
“Once upon a time, after the .com burst, the headlines rang that the internet was only a fad. But as more companies integrated the technology into everyday use cases, it became ingrained as a part of life,” he told BeInCrypto.
“The speculative phase had its moment, but now we’re watching NFTs evolve into actual infrastructure—tools creators use to build communities, products, and new digital economies,” he said.
NFTs Beyond the Hype: Unlocking Real-World Utility
Salnikov stressed that utility in the NFT space is no longer a distant concept—it is happening right now. Creators are using NFTs for membership, brands for loyalty programs, and games for player identity.
He pointed to a growing convergence between the digital and physical worlds, with NFTs being tied to merchandise, events, and even real-world assets. Binance Research’s April 2025 report further corroborates this trend.
The report spotlighted several real-world partnerships, indicating interest in NFTs. Examples include Azuki’s physical-backed NFT with Michael Lau, The Sandbox’s Jurassic World collaboration, EGGRYPTO’s anime characters with Eparida, and Sony’s Soneium platform partnering with LINE to create Web3 mini-apps.
“The next wave of growth isn’t about chasing a trend—it’s about unlocking new types of ownership and access that feel native to the internet generation,” noted Salnikov.
While this perspective offers optimism, the reality for many companies is quite different. Due to low trading volumes, major platforms like Bybit, X2Y2, and Kraken have resorted to discontinuing their NFT services.
Those that didn’t shut down explored alternative avenues. For instance, Magic Eden expanded beyond NFTs with the acquisition of Slingshot. Nevertheless, Salnikov dismissed this strategy, commenting,
“We’re not trying to bolt on non-NFT features just to stay busy—we’re building NFT commerce that actually fits the communities using it.”
He explained that this approach uses modular, customizable on-chain marketplaces. Creators can tailor them to fit their specific audiences, whether it’s a gaming project, an L3, or a legacy brand.
“NFTs are the feature—they just need the right framing,” the Rarible co-founder stated.
When Fame Fades: The Diminishing Returns of Celebrity-Backed NFTs
In January 2022, Bieber spent 500 ETH (approximately $1.3 million at the time) on Bored Ape #3001. This NFT is from Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection.
However, according to the latest data, the NFT is worth only 13.51 WETH (around $24,174), a decline of 98.1%. Although the singer hasn’t sold his NFT, it has received little attention lately, with no promotional efforts or notable discussions around it.
Thus, while celebrities can bring attention to NFTs, this highlights the need for substance beyond the name itself. As Salnikov pointed out, celebrity involvement in the sector is fleeting.
According to him, a celebrity name alone can’t replace genuine creative direction or a strong community.
“Celebrity drops will come and go—it’s the culture behind them that determines if they stick,” he remarked.
He argued that celebrities treating NFTs as mere merchandise deters audiences. Nevertheless, when an NFT drop is intentional and truly taps into something meaningful like music, fashion, or fandom, that’s where the lasting value is found.
“We’re way more interested in working with creators who are building for the long haul than just chasing headlines,” Salnikov disclosed to BeInCrypto.
The executive also outlined the need for a more accessible and user-friendly approach for attracting interested users. He detailed that onboarding users should not feel “like a tech demo.” Salnikov pointed to Rarible as an example.
According to him, Rarible focuses on ensuring that each marketplace built on its platform is a product people genuinely want to use. This involves features such as fiat onramps, low-cost mints, a clean user interface, and, most importantly, content that resonates with users.
“We’re not selling NFTs—we’re powering experiences that just happen to be onchain,” Salnikov concluded.
While the NFT market faces ongoing challenges, it remains to be seen whether the industry is entering a new phase of growth or if further obstacles lie ahead in its evolution.
Galaxy Digital’s Head of Research, Alex Thorn, has raised the alarm over the looming threat of quantum computing to Bitcoin (BTC). He has warned that the danger is greater than many realize.
Thorn emphasized that while a quantum attack would affect all forms of public key cryptography and, by extension, all cryptocurrencies, the potential solutions to safeguard Bitcoin are not the best, yet.
While quantum-resistant cryptography is being developed, the timeline for a fully secure solution remains uncertain. Despite this, not everyone is convinced of the effectiveness of solutions to protect Bitcoin.
“Quantum is a bigger threat than people realize, and the options to fix it for Bitcoin specifically are worse than people realize,” Thorn posted.
When asked about a potential timeline for the emergence of this threat, Thorn acknowledged that no one truly knows, making it one of the most challenging questions in the field.
“This is a ‘national security’ level question,” he claimed.
Thorn suggested that by the time it happens, it will already be too late to respond. His latest concerns resonated with many.
“There’s a non-zero chance Bitcoin could be hacked. If it can be created, it can be destroyed,” Geraci added.
Furthermore, some have taken a stronger stance, forecasting that quantum computing could lead to Bitcoin’s eventual decline.
“Right time to invest in Bitcoin was before 2020. I am heavily researching on the next Bitcoin-like asset,” analyst Nishant Bhardwaj remarked.
Meanwhile, these worries have intensified due to recent developments in quantum technology. Chirag Jetani, Founder and COO at Diamante, recently highlighted that Google’s quantum computers now operate 241 million times faster than conventional computers.
“A quantum computer with just 4,000 qubits could crack Bitcoin’s encryption in 10 minutes. By 2030, they’ll crack Bitcoin’s encryption in seconds,” he said.
Jetani also suggests that, despite quantum computing’s risks, it offers tremendous opportunities. He outlined five ways it will transform blockchain by 2030.
Quantum-Resistant Cryptography: This involves developing encryption that is secure against quantum computers. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working on this.
Quantum-Enhanced Smart Contracts: Quantum computing could enable smarter, real-time adapting contracts for faster, autonomous decisions.
Quantum Random Number Generation: Blockchain could use quantum randomness for secure voting, fair gambling, and tamper-proof processes.
Quantum-Secure Identity Systems: Quantum computing could ensure unhackable digital identities, protecting personal data and privacy.
Quantum-Powered DeFi: Quantum computing could improve DeFi with instant payments, advanced financial modeling, and real-time risk assessment.
“You need to start moving your assets to quantum-resistant systems now. Because by 2030, it’ll be too late,” Jetani cautioned.
Will Bitcoin Survive Quantum Computing?
Despite the warnings, some remain hopeful. Previously, Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, predicted that quantum computing isn’t likely to pose a meaningful threat to Bitcoin’s cryptography anytime soon. He believes that quantum-resistant addresses will be added to Bitcoin in time, well before any serious risk arises.
Project 11, a quantum computing research firm, also stressed that quantum computers posing an actual threat to proof of work is not expected for at least 10 years. According to the firm, while Bitcoin is vulnerable to future quantum computing advances, it has the potential to evolve and survive through technological upgrades and adaptations.
“BTC can absolutely survive quantum computing. It will be difficult, controversial, and debated, but the network can be upgraded in time. The last significant fork was Taproot – post-quantum cryptography is next,” the firm explained.
In their X thread, Project 11 pointed to the development of quantum-resistant algorithms to protect against attacks. It highlighted that the NIST has drafted several standards, including lattice and hash-based ones.
The firm also clarified that while quantum computers may not instantly steal Bitcoin, the first capable systems could still be enough to compromise private keys over time.
“Bitcoin’s security and validity rests on current cryptography, which Shor’s algorithm breaks. Even a slow QC can stockpile private keys, and its existence alone could spark an exodus,” the post read.
As time passes, Bitcoin’s survival hinges on its ability to evolve swiftly in response to quantum advancements. It needs to balance innovation while preserving its decentralized ethos.
