NFT Evening NFT Evening

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    Artist Matt Gondek To Launch NFTs of Custom Painted Baseball Bats

    August 13, 2022

    UK Rapper Aitch Drops NFT Music on Limewire Marketplace

    August 13, 2022

    Jadu Announce Partnership with Michael Bay To Release AR Avatars

    August 13, 2022
    Facebook Twitter Instagram Reddit
    NFT Evening NFT Evening
    • Home
    • News
    • Crypto Art
    • Collectibles
    • Blockchain games
    • Interviews
    • Guides
    • NFT Calendar
    • NFT Conferences
    NFT Evening NFT Evening
    Guides

    What is Doxxing? Why You Should Know What It Means To Be Doxxed

    By OlaJuly 1, 2022Updated:July 25, 20224 Mins Read

    Doxxing is a term you’ve probably heard a lot, whether you’re in the NFT space or just on the internet. Needless to say, doxxing someone is a big deal online. As a matter of fact, many view it as an act of cyberbullying. On the other hand, doxxing in the NFT and crypto space has become an important tool in the effort to stamp out scammers.

    So is it sometimes ok to doxx someone or is it always taboo? Is doxxing viewed differently in the NFT space than on the rest of the internet? And why do people call it doxxing in the first place?

    A person wears a mask associated with anonymous, who popularized the term doxxing
    The word “doxxed” gets thrown around a lot in the NFT space. But what does it mean really? Credit: Johnny Silvercloud

    What does doxxing a person mean?

    To put it simply, doxxing (or doxing) is the act of publicizing the identity and/or personal details of a person. Of course, this means putting out information that was not already available. According to many, doxxing is a form of cyberbullying. As a result, people very much look down on the practice in internet culture.

    Why is it called doxxing?

    The terms “doxxing” and “doxxed” comes from the word documents. To explain, hacker culture in the early days of Web 1.0 shortened documents to “docs”, and then to “dox. Thus the act of doxxing is “dropping docs” on someone. The documents in question would usually be things like addresses, telephone numbers, or financial records.

    Interestingly, the iconic hacker collective Anonymous gets credit for popularizing the term. The collective is infamous for doxxing major figures, generally in the stated interest of exposing wrongdoing.

    Betty in a leopard printed dress and knitted jacket
    Betty, co-founder of the Deadfellaz NFT collection, revealed her identity in an exclusive interview with NFTevening.

    What does it mean to be doxxed in the NFT space?

    As with many internet subcultures, anonymity is a major facet of today’s NFT culture, and in crypto at large. Although there is an argument that this has begun to change.

    In essence, some people in the NFT space choose to communicate online without ever showing their faces or using their real names. For some, this is for safety reasons, for example, so that they are not an easier target for hackers and other criminals. For others, it is simply a part of the culture and a nod to a future where people create new identities for themselves in the metaverse.

    However, there has been more of a push for certain people in the NFT space to doxx themselves rather than stay anonymous. In particular, this is due to the massive number of scams and rug pulls that we have seen in the NFT space over the past few months.

    Unfortunately, bad actors acting under anonymous personas have had too easy of a time scamming people and facing no consequences. Whether it be through online phishing or as anonymous NFT project founders, people have a harder and harder time trusting anons in the NFT space. This has led to more people doxxing themselves (often simply by showing their face), particularly project founders.

    Bored Ape Yacht Club Founders
    A BuzzFeed reporter doxxed two of the BAYC’s founders earlier this year.

    Do people get involuntarily doxxed in NFTs?

    The short answer is yes. Doxxing happens a lot in NFTs. Although it tends to involve just publicizing an anonymous person’s name and/or face. Rarely have we seen people’s personal addresses or other information posted on Twitter as far as anons in NFTs go.

    The most notorious instance of which might be the very founders of the Bored Ape Yacht Club. To explain, a BuzzFeed reporter doxxed Yuga Labs co-founders Gordon Goner and Gargamel back in February. To be sure, the absurdly rapid growth of the BAYC makes it extremely unlikely that the men would’ve stayed anonymous for much longer.

    Regardless, the reporter took a considerable amount of flack from the NFT space at large at the time. Especially given that she did not assign any wrongdoing to either man and thus, had no obvious reason to reveal their names.

    With that said, doxxing happens much more regularly to people connected to malicious activity on the blockchain. Popular blockchain detectives like ZachXBT will occasionally doxx people when their identities come up as part of an investigation into potential crimes.

    In contrast, the much more controversial account NFT Ethics also revealed the identities of suspected bad actors regularly. However, the account also received heavy criticism for many of those instances, when people felt that NFT Ethics had done so unnecessarily. This just goes to show how taboo doxxing someone is in the NFT space.

     


    All investment/financial opinions expressed by NFTevening.com are not recommendations.

    This article is educational material.

    As always, make your own research prior to making any kind of investment.

    featured
    Ola

      Ola is a US-based writer and digital nomad. He loves thinking, learning, and writing about all things Web3, particularly its impact on major creative industries.

      More great NFT Evening content:

      Alpha Aliens Club: The NFT Project That Is Out Of This World!

      August 11, 2022 Sponsored Content

      10 Best WAX NFT Games in 2022

      August 9, 2022 Guides

      What Is A cc0 NFT?

      August 5, 2022 Guides

      How to Create A DAO: The Ultimate Guide

      August 3, 2022 Guides
      Latests NFT News

      Artist Matt Gondek To Launch NFTs of Custom Painted Baseball Bats

      August 13, 2022

      UK Rapper Aitch Drops NFT Music on Limewire Marketplace

      August 13, 2022

      Jadu Announce Partnership with Michael Bay To Release AR Avatars

      August 13, 2022

      FrankyNines Airdrops 10k Pixel Ducks To SupDucks NFT Holders

      August 13, 2022


      By signing up, you agree to the our terms and our Privacy Policy agreement

      NFTevening is the biggest website for NFT news. We cover; breaking news, upcoming mints, plus, interviews with top NFT artists and projects. Put simply, we are the best place for new and experienced non-fungible token fans — making content fun & accessible

      Article Categories
      • Blockchain games
      • Collectibles
      • Crypto Art
      • Guides
      • Interviews
      • Metaverse
      • News
      • Sponsored Content
      NFT Calendar
      • Today’s NFT Drops
      • Upcoming NFT Drops
      • Solana NFT Drops
      • NFT Calendar
      • NFT Calendar : Add Your NFT Event
      Get In Touch
      • Advertise (Media Kit)
      • Collaboration and Press Releases
      • Job Opportunities
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      NFT Beginners Guides
      • How to Sell NFT Art
      • How to Create NFT Art
      • How to Display NFT Art
      • How To Make Passive Income With NFTs
      • Best Crypto Wallet
      • Best NFT Coins
      • Best NFT Rarity Tools
      • What is a DAO ?
      • What Are Crypto Gas Fees ?

      Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.