Ethereum MicroStrategy clone has shaky start, sends 165 ETH to wrong address

An Ethereum-based “on-chain” clone of Michael Saylor’s $86 billion bitcoin (BTC) bet MicroStrategy has informed users of a “misconfigured” UI, which mistakenly sent 165 ether (ETH) of deposits to an unverified contract.

Ether Strategy reassured users via X that the misplaced funds have since been transferred to the correct deposit contract. One of the project’s developers, ex-SushiSwap CTO Joseph Delong, replied, linking to a transaction of the funds being recovered.

During the testing phase of the protocol and before the announcement of the launch, the UI was misconfigured, allowing users to deposit to the wrong address. In this short amount of time, 165 ETH was deposited by users to the incorrect address. The UI was fixed immediately.

We…
— Ether Strategy (@ethstrateg) January 30, 2025

Ether Strategy aims to replicate MicroStrategy’s leveraged BTC play directly on the blockchain, with users receiving ETHSR tokens in return for ETH deposits. The underlying pool of ETH will later be controlled by ETHSR token holders via a decentralized autonomous organization model.

The post informing users of the mishap came just over an hour after the announcement that deposits had opened. So far, the project’s website shows just 268 of its 10,000 ETH cap has been filled, despite Delong’s claims to have received “over 40,000 ETH in precommitments” before launch.

Whitelist is now closed!

We've received over 40,000 ETH in precommitments and are well over the 10,000 ETH cap.

Please make sure to turn on notifications for @ethstrateg, as deposits will be honored on a first come, first served basis.

Deposits. Open. Tomorrow.
— joseph.eth (@josephdelong) January 26, 2025

Some users suspected that the problem lay with the use of a deposit address created in the “testnet” phase, before deployment of the project on Ethereum’s “mainnet.” Some even replied with a potential solution.

Delong snapped back at another user’s concerns around the rushed nature of the launch, saying the issue “has nothing to do with audits retard.”

To the moon?

The rush appears to have come about due to multiple similar projects (MegaStrategy and ETH Strategy) recently announcing their intentions to rebuild Saylor’s system.

The projects come amid a wider movement to breathe new life into the Ethereum community, as ETH holders have recently become increasingly vocal about the asset’s underperformance.

Criticism of the Ethereum Foundation’s focus on non-financial aspects of the network’s potential culminated in tensions between co-founder Vitalik Buterin and community members.

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