Tackling NFT Theft With the Three Address Protocol

The NFT community has long been plagued by NFT thefts, with high-profile cases often involving losses of digital assets worth hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars. These incidents illustrate the pressing need for enhanced security measures in the management of NFTs. In response, prominent NFT collector, advocate, and X personality punk6529 proffered a novel solution called The Three Address Protocol (TAP), offering a systematic approach to safeguarding these valuable digital assets. Recently another X user, Inflatablebag, extrapolated on punk6529’s initial TAP concept, positing that TAP should be adopted as an industry standard. For those unfamiliar with TAP, at its core, TAP involves the use of three distinct types of Ethereum addresses to manage NFTs: the Vault, the Transaction, and the Minting address. Each address serves a specific purpose, creating layers of security that significantly mitigate the risk of phishing and theft. TAP’s strength lies in its simplicity and adaptability to any wallet setup, including for beginners with software wallets. By segregating activities into these three addresses, users ensure that their valuable NFTs are never compromised by phishing sites or wallet drainers. Notably, TAP’s effectiveness is independent of the wallet’s type, whether it’s a software wallet or a hardware wallet.