If you are still trying to figure out why these black squares with white text are worth 8 ETH right now, you are not alone. Many have been confused by the Loot Project and its various spin-off derivatives Bloot, Sloot, Ploot, etc. 

This is probably because the Loot project is the first of its kind. Taking a bottom-up approach and integrating complete decentralization from its genesis.  There is no art, no team, no road map, no centralized authority to determine the specifics of this NFT project.  It is totally up to the community to build on top of a barebones set of words that can be interpreted in any way the community sees fit.  This is the ultimate decentralized community social experiment. It teases at one of the underlying secrets being uncovered by NFTs in general: that the most valuable aspect to NFTs is the community itself that forms around and gives value to projects.

 

Image Credit: From the Real Loot Project

 

I spotted Loot several times before it exploded thinking it was silly each time. Not one of those times that it came up on my radar did I fully dig into understanding what was really going on here. It was my flashbacks of not buying into Cryptopunks, and then years later the Bored Ape Yacht Club, that made me say wait a minute let me understand this before I dismiss it once and for all.

I spent some time digging into the Loot Project website and several aspects caught my eye, reminding me of the early days of NFTs. They even started a forum; something you don’t see very much of anymore. Their activation felt very organic, the community forming around this was growing really fast and utilities for this project were being built in a matter of days after the project’s release. 

You can find a list of resources on the official website

 

Bag #0001 Parody WTF (For Loot) Collection on an OpenSea Shared Contract

 

I think some of the confusion stems from the phrase “build on top of Loot”  I think most people hear that and think WTF does that even mean? It’s a black square topped with white text…  How do you build on that? 

As far as I can tell, there are a few separate camps to this Loot craze. There are those who don’t care about the project; for them, it’s pure speculation, as long as there is market value in this NFT project, they are happy to participate.  Then there are the builders; the coders, the nerds, the ones who are taking a hold of this new concept and just experimenting with the idea by building useful or creative applications and layers for the community forming around Loot. They too are speculating, but in a different manner, investing time and brain capacity to building applications for the Loot ecosystem.

And then there’s the rest of us who, for the most part, are standing on the outside looking in like, “WTF is going on over there?”  

 

Parody WTF (For Loot) Collection on an OpenSea Shared Contract

 

I will put this in a different way that I was able to understand: 

Imagine that instead of the Star Wars universe being crafted and created by George Lucas, that the essential building blocks of the Star Wars universe existed in the form of just words outlined as a framework or starting point, and that those individuals who would one day become known as “Star Wars nerds” could have the opportunity to take that starting point and built out meaning, art, interpretations, stories, characters, quests, games, and more.

It all begins with a basic starting point- and the community that forms around a project could cause it to succeed or fail based on the contributions of the collective community. What are the possibilities for this “Star Wars universe without George Lucas” controlling major decisions? That is essentially the experiment of the Loot Project at its core. 

While Loot being the first of its kind is likely to continue to hold some sort of value, there is no guaranteed success here. Though the concept is novel and one we can all learn something from.

Vitalik made a comment on the Loot Project:

 

I think he’s right, 

 

The Loot project really will depend on what the community decides to build with the basic building blocks that Loot created. I will share my speculative guess at the possibilities.

I know there are a lot of big creative brains in the NFT space. And while the market frenzy may come and go, there will almost certainly be a smaller group of builders who put their heads down and build, despite the price of Loot and its many derivatives. And out of this incubation could very well be some next-level projects that utilize the Loot architecture and ecosystem. 

 

In my opinion, it would be well worth understanding this instead of dismissing the project because it doesn’t make sense yet. I have learned this from the experience of being wrong on NFTs so many times before starting with Crypto Kitties and Crypto Punks, then more recently not hitting the Mint button on the Bored Ape Yacht Club. I am learning to question my initial reactions, especially when I do not fully understand a project.

 

Bag #0011 Parody WTF (For Loot) Collection on an OpenSea Shared Contract

 

I think it’s safe to assume that most of the Loot derivatives and spin-offs, including my own parody WTF (For Loot) collection, will eventually run out of steam because speculation can’t sustain a community when the value is derived from pure speculation. Additional use-cases will need to be built with those projects for the valuations to be justified. I think it’s important to be careful apeing into Loot derivative projects. Consider who your peers are in that community, what are their intentions? If it’s pure “wen Lambo” and “wen moon,” then I think the greater fools theory applies. However, if you can see genuine efforts at creative, useful, ideas being worked then the possibilities may be just as numerous as the minds involved.

If you would like some additional explainers for Loot because it still doesn’t make sense there are a few other detailed and informative articles like this Loot Explained piece. I never intended this to be the go-to guide breaking every single detail down.



One last sidenote I would like to highlight is that EVERY single Ethereum address that will ever exist has what is called Synthetic Loot which can also be used to build upon.

You can check your own synthetic loot character by putting in your address here and hitting enter (No need to connect wallet).

You see, this loot character below was built on “synthetic loot” which is part of the Loot project that everyone who has an Ethereum wallet has free access to.

 

 

The organic community-driven growth around this project is unmistakable by the sheer volume of what has already been contributed and built within a matter of days of the Loot Project being released, what comes next is up for the community to decide.

 

Parody WTF (For Loot) Collection on an OpenSea Shared Contract

 

Parody WTF (For Loot) Collection on an OpenSea Shared Contract

 

Parody WTF (For Loot) Collection on an OpenSea Shared Contract

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Imagine you’re preparing for the biggest event of your life. You’re traveling out of town, and you’ve made specific wardrobe choices to compliment your groundbreaking moment. While packing for your trip, you had to choose between an additional outfit or an extra pair of shoes because your luggage is too small, and you had to decide which outerwear to bring because there wasn’t enough room in your carry-on for more than one jacket. After nearly missing your flight, you land at your destination only to discover the airline has misplaced your luggage. This happens all the time.

Now imagine how convenient it would be if your whole outfit, including your accessories, were instantly emailed to you. Everything you’re wearing, from head to toe, is created digitally, with your designer’s imagination being the only structural limitation. She receives your body measurements through an app and styles your unique, custom-made garments using computer-aided design software without ever meeting you in person. You can save your design, backup your entire wardrobe closet on a hard drive, and print your clothing locally. You can choose which materials to use based on the weather, season, or style preferences, and you can even change colors to suit a special occasion the next time you print. The materials you’re wearing are completely re-usable, so you’re making environmental sustainability a fashion statement. This may sound futuristic because only 1% of the market’s textiles are being recycled, yet forward-thinking fashion designers like Danit Peleg are hard at work; innovating the wearable future of fashion, today.

Peleg has always been curious about the relationship between fashion and technology. Before her studies at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, Peleg was experimenting with knitting machines, laser cutting, and digital printing. The focus of her studies landed her a prestigious internship at an Avante Garde fashion house in New York, where Peleg had a firsthand look at 3D wearable objects for the first time. Although the materials she worked with were stiff and breakable, Peleg was inspired by the waste-free simulation process and began to explore the design potential for eco-friendly wearables of her own making.

“When I started to learn about the current situation with the global fashion industry and production, I was really, really depressed,” Peleg recalls. “I started to research and learn how fashion design became the second most polluting industry. Being a participating member, I didn’t want to be part of it. We’re using the same technology we used 100 years ago. But now you don’t have to go through tons of inventory and you can see the digital design and even try on the garment with augmented reality.”

 

With the opportunity to learn an industrial process that rendered 3D printed wearables unaffordable for the everyday consumer, Peleg was determined to find a cost-effective solution to achieve her brand ambitions. The printers being used were massive, so she needed to scale her process to smaller machines in order to work alone or with a core collaborative team. A chance encounter at Burning Man became the galvanizing gift; a 3D-printed necklace that had been created using a commercially available desktop 3D printer. With her design modeling experience and several 3D printers within arm’s reach, Peleg designed her first 3D-printed wearable fashion collection called Liberty Leading the People, which she launched from home while in her graduating year at Shenker. Her collection of five outfits were made entirely of 3D printed materials—including shoes and accessories. Peleg produced her collection on six 3D printers running 24 hours a day; waking up in the middle of the night to change the ink colors, assemble garments, and try them on her models. Peleg’s innovative spirit drove the success of her collection and propelled her career to the forefront of technological research and development in the fashion industry.

With sophisticated printers now at her disposal, Peleg is dedicated to improving upon 3D print materials that are currently available to the public. The focus of her research involves the combination of flexible structures with flexible materials to create softer fabrics. Most of the materials she’s currently using look and behave like rubber; they’re soft, yet nothing like cotton, silk, or leather. Her collaboration with Moon Creative Lab develops sustainable materials for 3D printers that behave like fabrics and are still 100% reusable and recyclable. The traditional process to create a fashion collection results in tremendous waste, leftover fabric, and raw materials that are either buried or burned.

“I imagine all of our clothes can be recycled,” Peleg muses. “You just go to the store, give back your old t-shirt, and get a refund or credit for your next purchase based on the weight—or you can simply reuse your own material,” she emphasized. “You can do something else with it. You’ll have a spool of similar material to wool or cotton or silk, and you’ll be able to choose and reuse your materials over and over.”

 

 

Design manufacturing is now so fast that the latest trends can be released every day, which isn’t entirely unlike NFTs on the blockchain. When combined, you can produce an NFT garment with zero inventory, and sell as many pieces as you want. Peleg’s NFTs come with an unlockable folder containing the 3D printable files and a document explaining how to print and assemble your clothing. A virtual file is also included for your avatar to wear the very same garment in the metaverse. An augmented reality filter on Peleg’s Instagram offers the convenience of viewing her clothing in your own home, and if you don’t have access to a 3D printer, Peleg will print your garment in pieces and ship them to you. You also have the option to order the entire garment printed in her studio.

“I believe the proof of provenance and ownership that NFTs offer will help revolutionize fashion, specifically digital and 3D-printable fashion,” Peleg says. “This will enable designers to sell their work directly to customers who will not only want to wear and promote their fashion in the metaverse, but will also print and wear them in the physical world. If you want to prove you own the Gucci bag with its NFT twin, you need to own both the digital and physical piece.”

 

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Tomorrow, on June 17th, Unstoppable domains will be launching the next phase of their incredible crypto-centric domain offerings.  The team is “excited to announce the upcoming launch of 8 NEW blockchain domain registries which will be made available for pre-sale starting” tomorrow! These include: .x, .wallet, .nft, .blockchain, .bitcoin, .888, .dao, and .coin. 

Unstoppable Domains Airdrop
Unstoppable Domains Airdrop

 

Being an owner of more than one unstoppable domain, this is very exciting news for me! Imagine the possibility of replacing your wallet’s public key with simply “yourname.wallet” – how easy would that be! Not to mention all of the industry-specific alternative options which seem to perfectly cater to the current framework of the space. Allocating specific URLs for DAOs, NFT creators, Bitcoin Maximalists, 888 (for those who believe in luck), and more! 

At the moment the site only offers two domain types: .crypto and .zil – which have become extremely popular in the space.  Their biggest selling feature is the fact that, unlike traditional domains, once you purchase an unstoppable domain you own it for life.  According to the unstoppable team: “Blockchain domains are owned not rented.”  When someone buys “the domain with a one time registration fee” they never have to “worry about renewals again.”  For those of us who own several domains through industry leaders like GoDaddy and NameCheap, and pay increasing annual fees – this is extremely attractive.  Furthermore, once purchased your “domain is stored in your wallet, just like a cryptocurrency.” And cannot be manipulated or forwarded by anyone but its owner.  

Many folks in the space have stopped sending out their confusing long string wallet ID, opting instead to use their easy to remember .crypto unstoppable domain that they connected to route assets to their crypto wallets. This feature is what makes these new domain options attractive; users can buy multiple types and choose to connect each one to a different wallet designated for specific web 3 activities.  Having a .nft for your NFTs, a .bitcoin for your bitcoin wallet, and a .wallet for your Metamask could be what the future might look like for some of us.  

Furthermore, to make their launch even more exciting, Unstoppable domains is also initiating a $100 Million Airdrop giveaway incentive in tandem with the launch of their eight new domains.  According to their team, as a reward for early adopters of their domains, they “will be Airdropping over $100+ Million worth of promo credits to customers at launch – giving $3 in promo credits for every $1 spent on domain purchases at unstoppabledomains.com including past purchases.”  For anyone familiar with this site, I have good news for you.  If you have ever bought a $40 domain through Unstoppable: “congratulations you will receive $120 in promo credits.”  Furthermore, those who took the plunge and purchased premium domains for $100k, are now eligible for up to $300k in free domains!

Feeling the FOMO yet?  Well you’re in luck.  If you happen to be reading this article on the day of it’s release (Wednesday, June 16th) then you are still eligible to buy a domain here and participate in this historic airdrop!  I for one will be purchasing several domains with my free cash and can’t wait to start allocating and simplifying my crypto keys and websites.

Find out more at https://unstoppabledomains.com/

 

This article is NOT sponsored content. 

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For many of us, NFTs are a side hustle. But there’s a growing number of people who now work full-time in NFTs. Many of the artists and musicians who have hit the headlines are household names, but this series digs deep to find some of the lesser-known faces building out the ecosystem behind the scenes.

Today we’re talking to NFT collector Holly Atkinson, Head of Metaverse Technology at Boson Protocol, an organization that recently raised $36 million to create an open tokenized economy for commerce by automating digital-to-physical redemptions using NFTs encoded with game theory.

Holly Atkinson

 

What do you do every day, Holly?

I’m Head of Metaverse Technology at Boson, where I lead a team of developers focused on NFT art & gaming integrations, as well as pilot programs and partnerships. Right now we’re focused on delivering Boson’s flagship project – MetaMall – demonstrating our core protocol and its underlying mechanism backed by game theory, enabling trust-minimized digital-to-physical redemptions.

How did you get into programming cool stuff like this?

I have a background in science and commercial roles but decided to pivot into tech in 2018, so I joined a coding boot camp and did a lot of self-teaching about blockchain. I was in London at the time so I was able to immerse myself in the Ethereum space, where I met a lot of amazing, wonderful and kind people through workshops, meetups and blockchain groups. I landed my first official full-time developer job in 2019, at a blockchain company, and from there became a Blockchain Developer at The Sandbox. I started consulting for Boson Protocol in late 2020 and subsequently joined the team on a permanent basis in April this year.

You joined The Sandbox in early 2020. By today’s standards, you’re almost an NFT OG. What excites you about the space? 

NFTs are currently underutilized in terms of their functionality, so there is huge energy and innovation in the space. Boson is a great example of doing something new in terms of linking NFTs to transfers of physical assets using game theory and behavioral economics, so this opens up a whole new world of possibilities in the context of digital-to-physical transactions. I love that I have the opportunity now to work with pioneers in crypto, including people whom I’ve admired for a long time!

Linking physical items with DeFi is an area that I think we in the NFT space have yet to explore fully, and this composability is an area that I would love to delve further into. The whole decentralized stack, especially in relation to eCommerce, is so exciting because there are so many things that we don’t know about how the space will evolve.

I really enjoy experimenting: my colleagues Ludo, Nassar and I recently teamed up to enter ETHGlobal’s NFTHack hackathon, and our idea for gifting NFTs linked to physical items (which we called BosonPool) was one of the final Top 10.

So give us an example in the real world of where this could be useful?

Imagine you are in a virtual world like Decentraland or The Sandbox and you are wandering around shops and art galleries, window-shopping. By using Boson’s “commitment tokens”, you would be able to buy physical items in the game itself, having a high level of confidence that you would receive the item’s physical counterpart in excellent condition, with no need for a central intermediary.

Overall, one of the things I’m most excited about is the way that these virtual worlds and new companies are creating new functionality and new business models that are truly empowering creators and users by inventing new revenue streams.

Eat the Rich by Cryptonatrix
Click to View NFT on OpenSea

 

Are you a collector yourself?

Absolutely! I love the art side. I spend a lot of time on KnownOrigin, where I follow a really cool group of women crypto-artists (Women of crypto art), among others. I’ve purchased a number of NFTs through KnownOrigin, as well as on Rarible, OpenSea and The Sandbox, of course. 

One of the artists I really like is Cryptonatrix, who created the awesome artwork shown above. She recently wrote an opinion piece in The Defiant called “Destigmatizing the Blockchain: Sex Workers in NFT CryptoArt” which raised some very interesting and nuanced points about freedom and boundaries in crypto art and tokenization.

I bought one of her NFTs, called Eat The Rich, which you can see here. Encouraging women to enter the ecosystem and investing in projects led by women are things that I’m really passionate about: I’m a member of a DAO called Meta Gamma Delta, a community which funds and champions women-led initiatives.

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