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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The heist of the Chiptopunks began with one of the most anticipated generative art drops in recent memory. Last Friday afternoon, Chiptopunks was poised to reveal their remarkably unique 3D animated NFTs for a frantic fanbase of anxious collectors.

 

On its official site, the countdown clock to start minting Chiptopunks expired without incident. That’s when chaos erupted, and within that very minute, an angry mob of crypto town-criers descended upon the Discord group. With their tiki torches ablaze and their knives out, they stormed the ChiptoStage, hurling insults and accusations at a pair of disoriented developers.

 

Even accidents can become art on the blockchain. The Chiptopunks Discord prophesied controversy before the drop ever happened. Unlike most generative art projects touting 10,000 collectibles, only 512 Chiptopunks NFTs were minted, with at least 8 Chiptopunks spoken for before the drop went live. Bored Apes and Cryptopunks accounts were tweeting about the Chiptopunks at least a week beforehand, while the Chiptopunks Discord grew 4x more members than the number of NFTs minted. This didn’t discourage countless collectors who were ready to chip in, knowing they had little or no chance of getting one. Everyone in the drop party was ready and waiting to rush the secondary market before the floor rose too high.

 

“How many people are pissed when they’re standing outside a Supreme store waiting for a t-shirt drop?” LordNefty ranted. “It doesn’t matter if it’s an inside job—it’s not, and I know that for a fact,” he emphasized. Although LordNefty claims to have exploited a weakness in the Solidity contract and absconded 150 Chiptopunks by “accident,” proof he owns the transacting wallet has yet to be provided. 

 

So what really happened? How is it that so few collectors managed to secure a Chiptopunk? And how did a single wallet bag 150 NFTs when a single transaction limit was set for 3-mint max?

 

 

 

“I can say without a doubt they made an error in their code,” says Ryan Satterfield, owner of Planet Zuda, a cyber-security company specializing in information security and hacking the internet of things (IoT). “I would love to applaud them on the work they put into security, but, in this space, every character matters,” Satterfield emphasized. “I would not make such a statement without having fully reviewed their contract that’s publicly available.”

 

A Solidity contract is a collection of code (its functions) and data (its state) that resides at a specific address on the Ethereum blockchain. You can think of it as single slots in a database that can be queried and altered by calling functions of the code that manages the database. “Solidity looks deceptively simple, but it’s much much harder than it looks,” says Dimitrios Kouzis-Loukas, Fintech Senior Engineer/Architect at Bloomberg LP. Kouzis-Loukas is responsible for leading teams of engineers that develop tools and infrastructure to ensure that Bloomberg’s systems are up and stable. “Don’t get me wrong,” he continued. “People do an excellent job, but still. Smart contracts and solidity are so new, and people are still trying to figure them out.”

 

 

“The NFT contract for Chiptopunks was published 6 hours before the drop, and someone was able to write a custom contract,” says 0xFloop. “The way the Ethereum blockchain works is when you’re calling internal functions from a contract, you don’t have to wait for each one to go through. Someone did 33 buys of 3 each, and that goes through in one transaction. That’s what knowing how to code and actually understanding Solidity allows you to do.”

 

“The contract is vanilla,” claims LordNefty. “They copied and pasted their contract, and filled in the blanks,” he asserts. “This project has been on my radar for some time, knowing I was going to use the contract to buy more than 3,” he claims. Yet and still, there’s no proof that LordNefty actually did the ‘bundling’. “One by one, I’m going to send them to the burn wallet,” he said.

 

Burning them all doesn’t affect the current market as it exists; there would be no market dump or supply-side disruption. It was suggested that LordNefty raffle them all at a set price. He could also make a contract that allows a re-drop of 150 NFTs and set the mid-price like an auction, but that could result in thousands of people attempting to buy 150 NFTs, with no guarantee the same thing wouldn’t happen again. However it is yet to be verified that LordNefty is in fact the owner of 150 Chiptopunks, so all of this may still be speculative by the time this article is published.

“GaperArt could potentially use the Ethereum self-destruct function to dynamically update the code, or use it to make the current contract non-operable in the future while transferring everything to another contract,” Satterfield suggests. “The opcode SelfDestruct can be used to update contracts already on the blockchain or redirect the contract to a new contract. However, SelfDestruct in itself is also dangerous to most contracts on the blockchain because anyone can update or delete the code of any project if it isn’t protected against SelfDestruct.” This is because the opcode doesn’t require consent to be used against a contract. However, you can use SelfDestruct to update patching contracts from being exploited by SelfDestruct, as long as that function hasn’t been removed from the Ethereum version you’re using. “Vitalik” Buterin, the Russian-Canadian programmer and co-founder of Ethereum, wants to remove this opcode.

 

 

“I’m an artist at heart,” Cam Taylor professed. “Gaper.eth wrote the code. Our intention was to provide something unique and special, something different from a lot of the stuff that’s out there right now and we’re fucking bummed,” he apologizes. We didn’t want it to go this way. All the comments saying we know it’s a scam like we’re in on it couldn’t be further from the truth. We care deeply about this project. Honestly, I just wanted to create the most badass fucking 3D punk heads possible for y’all, and we’re fucking pissed that this happened,” Taylor said.

 

“This is not how we intended the drop to go,” says gaper.eth. “All we wanted was to build community and to have a solid drop. We had no intention of one whale buying 150 of the supply.” 

 

“This isn’t even how you build community, though,” ab7#5635 lamented on Discord. “Building a community would start at a really low price to give people the opportunity to get into your project. The art is really fucking good. Chances are they’re gonna hold. It really sucks there’s a lot of people that were priced out, to begin with,” she regrets. 

 

Adding insult to injury, OpenSea initially verified the wrong contract, leading some collectors, including myself, to purchase illegitimate NFTs. One such collector purchased at least 5 of them. So when you search for Chiptopunks NFT on OpenSea, be sure it’s the collection with 512 items. Some of them are available on the secondary market, and despite everything that went wrong, there’s always an upside.

 

“We haven’t settled on the exact percentage or amount yet, but we are going to take a portion of the profits, and we are going to be purchasing iPads with Procreate, or possibly laptops. We’re giving them to underprivileged children who would like to be able to make art,” Taylor promised. “We’re gonna figure out the right organization to work with, and we want to make it transparent to show that we believe in art and technology. We want to give back in some way.”

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WTF is a Fluf? Bad-ass 3D bunnies on the blockchain are positioning themselves organically to become one of the top NFT projects in the space. As soon as I saw this super cool 3d rabbit bobbing his head on Fluf.world, I immediately knew something special was being made with this project.  I knew nothing about the team, or the project, only that what I saw was intuitively many levels above what I have seen so far in the space. So I have personally been waiting patiently for this project to drop.

 

Initially, they were set to launch on Aug 5th, on the same day as the EIP1559 update to the Ethereum blockchain, and due to some issues with gas spikes on the network, the team let the community vote on whether to delay the launch for 2 days or not- and the community voted in discord to delay the drop. Much to my frustration because I just wanted my damn rabbits. 

 

Fluf World Bunny Rabbit NFT
Photo Credit: The Cheetah Cowboy King @MetaverseWorld

 

The Fluf world project has set a new bar when it comes to avatar collectible projects in every aspect of what great execution looks like. The team handled challenges and issues that came up during the launch with transparency and a level of care for their community that was impressive to me as an observer.   I spent my Saturday night on Clubhouse with the team and some other excited future Fluf owners waiting for technical smart contract issues to be worked out.  They spoke about the issues in real-time and were very transparent during the entire drop.

Within 40 minutes of the public launch, they were completely sold out. And the project immediately climbed in value as the eyes on this project understood something was special about Fluf World in fact, before public minting was initiated, some of the limited presales for early supporters were being sold on the secondary market for nearly .5 ETH, this was another indicator of what was to come.

 

Within just a few hours of the project launch, there was a 25 ETH sale on the secondary market for the single rarest fluff which, at the time, was nearly $75,000 USD. This was yet another indicator for me that there was some serious energy behind this project. 

 

 

Alex and the team over at Fluf world have built something incredible. The next level for avatar-themed projects has arrived. There is much more than meets the eye with this project and the road map is absolutely insane: from breeding, NFT staking, full access to 3d files, music, and multiple metaverse file formats; there is so much to be excited about.   It is important to note that anyone can write a good roadmap, and many teams can create some super dope art. But the combination of all the right elements has come together with this project in a particular and very organic manner.  

 

Within 24 hours, the floor price of Flufs jumped up to 1.78 ETH at one point on the Sunday after launch at a mint cost of .09 ETH.  They have blown past nearly every other project on the charts in just 2 days and the momentum does not seem to be letting up. While this is not financial advice It would not be a bad idea to take a deeper look at this project, as I personally believe there is something special going on here.

You can see everything transparently on the blockchain using Etherscan where I was able to see in realtime during the launch what commands the team was sending to the smart contract, how many flufs were being minted during the presale, and even tracked how many till they were sold out after the public launch. You can also see how many wallets have over 100 flufs, which at the time of this article’s release is only 4. Learning how to read Etherscan is a highly underrated skill for looking at what’s really going on with a project. Another good resource is Opensea’s Stats page where Fluf has climbed into the top 5 projects in record time selling over 6.8K ETH in volume in just a few days. 

 

Photo Credit: Oncyber.io/fluf

 

The project is led by a superstar team out of New Zealand and if you check the bottom of the website you will see, Nonfungible labs, Centrality, Universe, and ASM.

It’s important to pay attention to different aspects of a project, like how they respond to their community and handle unforeseen issues, from my observations I have a high level of confidence that this team can continue to execute and do what they say they will do though this is always subject to change- so remaining involved in the community as a collector is always a good idea.

Aside from the massive success of this launch that has many whispering, that this is the next Bored Apes level moment in the NFT space, I absolutely love the artwork, the animations, the music, the energy, and the community.  I am admitting my complete bias here and my support for this project, however, I do believe there is much to be learned from this launch and this project in general.  

 

Fluf World Bunny Rabbit NFT
Photo Credit @NFTYFARM

There is a new standard for how to execute, what the community wants, and how to treat that community for other creatives in this space.  For collectors, you now also have a record of what kind of things can signal or indicate that a project will potentially be successful after a launch.

In my opinion, nine times out of ten it boils down to the community.  If I have learned anything about successful NFT projects, I believe that creators who can shift from acquiring customers to creating community will win in the long term. The bonds being formed human to human are very real and this level of connection to the various NFT project communities is one of my favorite aspects of NFTs in general, outside of the game-changing societal shifts non-fungible tokens will power into the near and long term future.

Show me your Fluf!

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I often wonder about the vast possibilities of this emerging digital evolution and how it can positively impact humanity. I’ve found things like Akili Interactive’s EndeavorRX prescription videogame to the Be Another Lab using VR to play with empathy and perspective. I’ve discovered people visiting digital worlds for pain relief, mental wellness, and eating disorders. Even simulations to help a parent see things from the eyes of their autistic child to inspire compassion and understanding. And I found Krista Kim, mother of the Techism movement and two talented kids. Also, the therapeutic Mars House architect, political activist, healer, real estate and AR community developer, Superworld ambassador, artist, and the list goes on. 

 

 “I was always interested in power dynamics and how the world works. There’s so much suffering and injustice and environmental degradation. Why does it have to be perpetuated, even though the world knows better, and we want to do better?” -KK

 

 Talking with Krista, we discussed a vision of cities embedded with healing. When you walk into your home or enter a vehicle, there could be biodata collected by an auditory device like Nuheara. This could detect health status and align settings for an ideal immersive experience that impacts at a cellular level. Let’s go a step further and embed those settings with healing light, sound frequencies, or even something like Dopavision that aims to heal children’s myopia.  

 

Let’s say you had a neurodivergent child that was hypersensitive. When the child enters a space, they could be guided gently into a relaxing, immersive environment conducive for comfort and keeping them calm or focused. When you wake up in the morning, you could set your home to produce an environment that would keep you in the meditative theta state longer and gently ease you through the alpha state into productive beta. Your biodata could be analyzed instantly to suggest ideal parameters for ultimate health and detect abnormalities or early signs of disease. You could set your vehicle to create an environment where you can mentally prepare for a big presentation or relax and unwind after a long day. 

 

Projects like Homeforest use biophilia to bring nature indoors and enhance comfort. There’s a playground of possibilities for our imaginations to explore, and a tremendous need for healing from toxicity we’ve created/endured as a species over time. 

 

https://vimeo.com/416558553

 

Have you seen Krista’s Mars House project? The digital property was born from understanding the value of consistent meditation practice, aligned with her desire to use tech and art to elevate humanity. She made a digital home and designed a complete healing oasis easily accessed in the digital space. The lighting and colours are designed to inspire a meditative state of being, all within the therapeutic world of the metaverse and soon too in the physical world. No wonder it sold for a staggering $500,000.00 USD in ETH! How much will the physical real estate go for, and just how far can this tech go? Office buildings? Transit Systems? 

 

“It’s not all about creating art and selling it; it’s about changing the world, changing how people think, and helping platforms develop in a way that’s humane,” Kim explains. “Surveillance capitalist companies that treat humans as products will have to pivot or die. Data is a human right, and decentralization and the crypto revolution are going to save us.”

 

Speaking of humanity, that leads me into some of her upcoming projects. This fall, she has an exciting show with Institut taking place at Unit London that will surely catch your attention, having physical components aligned with digital objects within the metaverse. In addition, Kim is involved with 888 The New World, a platform dedicated to empowering artists and creators worldwide by providing tech and resources to previously neglected areas. They also plan on giving them 100% of the profits from the art they sell. The creators involved include 3Lau, Paris Hilton, Fewocious, RTFKT Studios, and several others. Finally, she and an undisclosed hip-hop artist are even reshaping a NY neighborhood using AR/XR and meditation. (Details coming soon)

 

Continuum, her upcoming Toronto installation, is a healing vessel that will address and give space to Canadians of indigenous communities and all Canadians impacted by the discovery of unmarked mass graves of thousands of indigenous children who were brutally forced to attend Catholic residential schools to erase their heritage.  Elders from indigenous communities in the area will lead a time of reconciliation and healing from the tragedy. Additionally, Beirut is seeing her efforts with initiatives alongside Unesco and Vasconi architects to host a conference to rebuild the city after a devastating explosion with the help of DigitalTwinXR, Spatial.io and Superworld app.

 

 

Kim imagines a revolution of education in the metaverse. “I want the world to be a better place for our kids,” she states, having already bought her daughter’s (Blender created) digital art and seeing her son at 13 showing talents as a prolific computer engineer. As she looks ahead at what needs to be accomplished to set them up for success, she describes her vision. “Imagine if kids had a couple of lessons a day in the metaverse to learn about wildlife or history and actually visit the places in real-time… They could visit Egypt and even interact and make friends with children there.”  With a mom like Krista, there’s no doubt her children will be adding so much value to our future. She’s paving the way for them to have a sound foundation to build and create in the new digital frontier.

 

“Every human being has the right to live in beauty and dignity. In the metaverse, if we can show people future possibilities, then perhaps they will be inspired to rise above their current circumstances and create just that.”  

The digital frontier is an exciting and evolving space. With advocates like Krista setting the standard and integrity level, I have high hopes. We will design a community that will not harm or toxify but complement and benefits our species at a cellular level. Kim didn’t ask to be a leader in this space, but with her warmth, awareness, and courage to take action, she’s a superior model of what I’d hope and envision our leaders of the future will be. Stay up to date with her projects at kristakimstudios.com to track the evolution.

 

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On July 8th, avatars from around the world gathered in Decentraland (DCL) for ten days of art and music. With numerous galleries already in DCL (Sotheby’s & MOCDA ), this art week welcomed new collections from top NFT platforms and crypto artists as well.

💯xARt and NFTs.tips closed the week with a full day of events curated by David Cash, Glassy Music, and Pilar Côté. In addition, Nix Crypto moderated live discussions throughout the afternoon. 

 

Here are the best events from DCL Art Week:

 

DAY 1

VEGAS CITY BLOCK PARTY & LOBSTEROPOLIS by Philip Colbert x B52’s x DEVO

 

With 100 artist-built galleries, the Vegas Arts District was shining bright! Avatars showed off their dance moves in the main square with live music and new art installations. Visit the ongoing exhibitions here.

 

Philip Colbert worked with the renowned B52’s and DEVO to bring Lobsteropolis to life. A large-scale interactive installation featuring his signature lobster characters. Visit the lobster city here. 

 

DAY 2

BACK TO AMY: PHOTO EXHIBIT

(Photo by Charles Moriarty)

 

In the Festival District, Casa Azul displayed an intimate photo series featuring Amy Winehouse. Photographer Charles Moriarty recalls his time with the profound artist before her untimely death.

 

(Photo courtesy of Festival Land VR)

 

The event was a mixture of tears and smiles as avatars viewed Moriarty’s work. In addition, unique DCL wearables are available, giving users exclusive access to a live stream of the Back to Amy Benefit Concert on July 23rd. View the exhibition at Casa Azul.

PORTION AUCTION HOUSE: MUSEUM GRAND OPENING

The latest addition to the Voltaire Art District, Portion Auction House exhibits collections of photography, comics, digital arts, and physical arts. There are even a few iconic memes as well. Visit their new gallery here.

 

DAY 3

MIAMI BEACH ART COLLECTION by PLAYBOY x SUPERRARE

 

It was a wild Playboy party in Crypto Valley. Celebrating their Miami Beach Art Collection, Playboy and SuperRare auctioned several exclusive collaborations and exhibited past iconic cover issues.

 

See the collection at the Crypto Valley Art Gallery.

 

DAY 4

TO THE MOON! MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL

 

KnownOrigin hosted a 3-hour music festival and art showcase. With a new dancefloor and live-stream DJs from around the world, it was one of the most popular events of DCL Art Week.

Visit the KnownOrigin Gallery here.

 

DAY 5

BRYAN BRINKMAN ART INSTALLATION

 

(Image by Bryan Brinkman)

 

Hosted in the 100xARt district, Bryan Brinkman deployed his latest digital sculpture of a whale suspended overhead.

 

See the installation here before it’s gone!

 

DAY 6

CRYPTO ART WEEK ASIA: DJ LOS CAT & QUEEN VENOM

 

DJ Los Cat and the mysterious avatar Queen Venom wowed Crypto Art Week Asia guests celebrating their first anniversary in Dragon City.

 

See the impressive Sky City Venue here.

 

DAY 7

INSIDE BOXHEAD: INSTALLATION & EXHIBIT

Celebrated artist, Begoña Toledo (aka  Boxhead), presents a large-scale installation of her iconic character featuring three of her latest NFTs on Foundation. 

See the installation here before it’s gone!

 

DAY 8

BRAZILIAN ARTISTS: SUPERRARE

 

SuperRare is featuring ten Brazilian artists in their expansive gallery in Voltaire Art District.

 

Visit the ongoing exhibition here.

 

DAY 9

MOCA SCULPTURE GARDEN OPENING: HACKATAO’S “HACK OF A BEAR”

 

The Museum of Crypto Art (M○C△) opens its metaverse sculpture garden and hedge maze. Within the winding garden, paths reside ten 3D surrealist objects with Hackatao’s famous ‘Hack of a Bear’ in its center.

Try navigating the hedge maze here.

 

DAY 10 

100XART x NFTS.WTF COMMUNITY OPEN

 

NFTs.WTF partners with 💯xARt Community to bring a full day of music, art, panel discussions, and fashion! Be sure to visit the new 100xARt gallery now open.

 

Here are the community day  highlights:

Architecture Panel

Krista Kim of Mars House discussed the ‘future of spaces’ in architecture and design. Virtual and augmented reality experiences dissolve the limitation of physics. With new metaverse platforms emerging rapidly, it’s clear there will be no shortage of creativity in spatial design.

 

Panellists:

Krista Kim – Mars House

Eddie Gangland – Artist

Anressa Furletti – Artist

Mark Panckhurst – Artist

Ryan Roybal – Artist, NFT Collective

 

Evolving Humanity with Tech

As we explore new possibilities with blockchain technologies, how can they be utilized for social good? Nahid Shahalimi of We the Women & Stand up for Unity held a panel to discuss humanitarian efforts in the crypto space.

 

Panellists:

Nahid Shahalimi – We the Women & Stand up for Unity

Dr. Michael Steffens – European Union

Jeremy Dela Rosa – Leyline

Jon O’Sullivan – Project Ark

 

Digital Fashion w/ Industry Leaders

David Cash held a panel of the top trailblazers in digital fashion. Wearables in the metaverse have been on the rise. Digital fashion drops are selling out in seconds, with many items worth more than physical luxury brands. As the industry grows, how will fashion and identity evolve with it?

 

Panellists:

David Cash –  Editor in Chief, NFTs.Tips

Amber Jae Slooten – The Fabricant

Emma-Jane McKinnon-Lee – Digitalax

Dr. Alex Box – Future Beauty Future Body

Alissa Aulbekova – Auroboros

Paula Sello – Auroboros

Natalia Modenova – DressX

 

Future of Music & NFTs

Glassy Music and Low Sleazy discuss how NFTs can empower musicians and artists. Intellectual property (IP), decentralized finance (DeFi), and collaborations all play a vital part in rewarding creativity in this new territory for music. 

 

Panellists:

Glassy – Co-founder NFTs.Tips

Low Sleazy – Section Editor NFTs.tips

Pilar Côté – Section Editor NFTs.tips

Omar Vargas – Manager, GusGus

Terra Naomi – Artist/Producer/Songwriter

 

Film Industry Fireside Chat

Award-winning filmmaker, Jonny Caplan, speaks with NFTs.tips about how blockchain tech can be utilized for film creatives. His latest project, NFTme, is a complete documentary series covering critical developments in the NFT industry. Due for release in late 2021. 

 

Jonny Caplan – Filmmaker, CEO, Tech Talk Media & Impossible Media

Nahid Shahalimi – Section Editor NFTs.tips

David Cash – Editor in Chief, NFTs.tips

Alberto Polanco –  Project Manager NFTs.tips

Glassy – Co-founder NFTs.Tips

 

DJ’s & VJ’s in Decentraland

 

Avatars showed their best moves while special guests blew everyone away with epic audio/visuals on the VR dance floor. 

Audio Visual Sets:

Tom LaRoc

Lisa Leggz

Pilar Côté

DJ Mika Kitten

ORIGINSTØRY

DJ Orly Gal x Chris Parks

QUAZR

 

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“Be The House.” That’s the motto and key strategy for Decentral Games founder and project lead, Miles Anthony, aka “Baus.” With a capital raise of $5 Million USD, Baus and his team are ready to expand their impressive metaverse casinos.

 

Decentral Games (DG) is the first metaverse casino business on the Ethereum blockchain. They operate virtually in Decentraland (not affiliated), an open-world metaverse platform with a rapidly growing community. What sets DG apart is their decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), which allows the company’s future to be voted on by holders of their $DG token.  

 

These tokens give users a say in company policies as well as an attractive return on investment when staked. These tokens can be bought and exchanged like most cryptocurrencies, but many choose to ‘mine’ the token through DG’s unique play-to-earn model. By betting cryptocurrencies on blackjack, roulette, and in the near future, poker: users earn $DG tokens. The more users play, the more $DG they earn. This model has led to a very active and loyal community, making these casinos high-roller hotspots. 

 

This unconventional structure proved attractive to investors like Metaverse Ventures (Digital Currency Group) and the AU21 Capital, companies well-versed in blockchain opportunities. 

 

“Decentral Games offers players both the novelty of avatars gambling in a virtual world and the great user experience that gamers demand. We’re excited to back Scott, Miles and the team as they continue to bring the massive opportunity in blockchain-enabled gaming to life.”

     – Casey Taylor, VP of Development at Digital Currency Group. (Source)

 

With a successful capital raise from strategic partners, DG is ready to continue its trailblaze through the metaverse.

 

I spoke with Miles Anthony about how DG has evolved since its founding and the exciting plans his team has in store:

 

Baus
Miles as his avatar, ‘Baus’, in Tominoya Casino

 

Has your vision stayed the same for DG or has it changed now that you’ve been in the space for a year?

It’s similar but our vision kind of shifted when we introduced our token [$DG]. I didn’t write the white paper until, I think it was around August, September of 2020. So when we raised the original equity round, run by Digital Currency Group, we were thinking it more along the lines of just having a traditional casino structure where it’s basically just run by the shareholders and the company would make money from the proceeds of the casino. I think I’ve touched upon this in other pieces, but basically, I kind of felt with the whole narrative growing around DeFi and these community governed treasuries that projects are based around, we would be in the position to grow a bit faster because we include our players and our community on the upside of the growth of the project. I think it was good to kind of couple that with this whole narrative around play-to-earn and DeFi where you give tokens away to the people who are using the product. It creates this interesting fly-wheel where every one of your users kind of turns into an evangelist because they obviously have a vested interest in the project growing.

 

I feel like that is the most unique aspect, being able to empower the players.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. I think there are a few other projects that are trying to do something but not entirely along the same lines as us with our DAO-governed casino and then distributing the tokens, dropping them out to people that are playing the games with real money. So yeah, I’m really glad that we introduced that because I don’t think we would be where we are today without that aspect. […] The people that were early on mining DG back when it was $15 or $20 a token, I know a few of them. The ones that held and mined a bunch early, they’re sitting on pretty big bags of $DG so their expected value is actually pretty positive.

DG Roundtable
DG Roundtable

 

I can’t imagine that happening in a real-life casino. To be able to profit on the side that’s not directly related to gambling.

Exactly. I mean, we do kind of take some things from the playbooks of traditional casinos in the sense that they’re focused on entertainment and usually, they have a hotel, they run shows like Cirque du Soleil and concerts.

 

We have all these types of artists that want to do shows, even stand-up comedians. Stuff that gets people excited about being in the metaverse that will add entertainment for a bunch of these virtual events, because we feel like the virtual events are really what the whole metaverse is about. The games are really, from a user experience standpoint, almost secondary — like they are something to do while socializing.

 

With this recent capital raise of five million, do you feel like a lot of that is going towards those entertainment efforts? I don’t think too much. We’re going to put up the site and have a featured section where we can show our artists’ information and the ability to buy their NFTs. But I would say the majority of development funds are really around games. I feel like we’ve expanded the team considerably over the last 2 months. I would say we’ve made eight to ten hires mainly in just the technical areas.

Atari Casino
Atari Casino

 

What do you feel was so attractive for investors to put forth large sums of capital towards DG?

It was really tough raising our round last year. I spent months talking to people and we’re raising like 300K. It was like pulling teeth to get people to invest in equity of a gambling company that’s a gaming start-up, so that versus this last raise we did is like night and day. But I would say, just from a product standpoint, I think a lot of investors just realize that the metaverse is going to be big. Obviously, we’re very early. We still have performance issues with ‘X’ amount of users and Decentraland is working on these issues. 

 

We’re basically one of the only projects that are built in the metaverse that generates real volume and real cash flow other than NFT projects. Axie is another great example of a project that’s blowing up right now in this metaverse space, but the main volume is around the kind of trading NFTs and a marketplace. 

 

The fact that people keep coming back and it is generating dollars that are profitable from the games, I think was really attractive to [investors]. They say, “a rising tide raises all the ships.” So I think us being early, it’s definitely helped us in a lot of ways, like for example, getting LAND cheap that’s obviously gone up a lot in value. But I think they’re making a big bet on the metaverse.

 

Do you feel that having DG be a DAO-governed entity is a benefit or does it raise a potential risk for incorrect decisions? 

That’s a good question. I mean, it’s interesting, over the last several months there have been people that bundle up a lot of tokens and become pretty influential in the community. I feel like that aspect has a lot of value and ultimately, you know, even though I’m the founder and project leader of the project, what really motivates me to go to build this is this idea that what I’m building is not for me, it’s for the community of people that are holding $DG. At the end of the day, if $DG holders want something that’s not necessarily aligned, it’s really about what they want because the product is used by and is owned by the community ultimately, and I think that’s exciting from a lot of different standpoints. 

——-

 

As Decentral Games continues to expand its vision for the metaverse, it is clear the strategic use of play-to-earn and decentralized governance can lead to amazing experiences. 

 

You can visit Decentral Games’ casinos in Decentraland:

Tominoya: Japanese-themed casino

Chateau Satoshi: Art deco inspired casino, theater and nightclub

Atari Casino: The official casino of Atari Games

Decentral Games Twitter

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Letter from the Editor #3

 

A Weekly Roundup: 

This is the first letter from the editor of which we’re going to publish, in part, as an article.

 

In lieu of this, I’d like to introduce myself and the upcoming direction that the editorial team and myself have in mind for this outlet in the coming months.  My name is David Cash, and I’ve been the active Editor-in-Chief of this exciting new publication for the past month.  Alongside our Managing Director Glassy Music and Web Editor Albert Polanco, we have managed to take this platform from an NFT blog to a functioning news outlet harnessing the power of some of the most incredible writers in the NFTfi space.  

 

I entered the NFT space back in 2019 when I didn’t even call the images I was minting “NFTs.”  A few years later, and after writing a master’s thesis on the subject, I feel incredibly fortunate to be an active part of this NFTfi world.  This publication has given me the outlet to share many thoughts that, only several months ago, people would have thought that I was crazy to have.  NFTS.wtf is for the early adopters, those who like to be well informed, and those interested in unbiased opinions from key thought leaders in the community.  

 

We don’t spread FUD just because other news sources pick up on gossip.  Our writers and executive staff extensively research every piece we put out, often going above and beyond to seek the opinions of key community leaders in the process. We are a decentralized community, and in the coming months, we hope to scale our current offerings and introduce some exciting new features, with the ultimate goal to be your voice of truth in NFTs.  

 

So what’s the plan?  If you are receiving this as an email, you’ll notice the cover image for this newsletter.  Every week we’re releasing a digital cover to accompany our Newsletter, and in the coming months, each of these covers will be made available as NFT collectibles of varying rarity.  This will be facilitated by the launch of a dedicated storefront which will allow our readers to collect the most newsworthy moments happening in the NFT space.  Collectors of multiple covers will eventually unlock access which will allow them first access to our genesis DZine (digital magazine) which will be launching this fall. More information on that is coming soon.

 

To read the rest of this letter discussing generative art and the current state of NFTS…

 

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Strawberry.wtf is a series of collectible NFTs that were freshly mutated by the strawberry supermoon, which wasn’t fully visible in North America until last Thursday evening when the sunset and the large golden moon ascended into view. That’s when 10,000 mutant generative strawberries overwhelmed an unsuspecting rural town, which in reality could happen almost anywhere because strawberries are the most widely grown fruit in home gardens.

Similar in scope and generative process to other well-crafted NFT collections like CryptoPunks and the Bored Ape Yacht Club, there’s an endearing narrative backstory to inform, entertain, and engage a community of collectors. Yet unlike those sizable projects produced by corporate teams, Strawberry.wtf was masterfully launched by two talented and ambitious independent visionaries with the enduring support of an NFT crypto art hivemind. What makes Strawberry’s NFTs remarkable is their unique utility: an 8-bit nod of nostalgia in the form of a platform game that was literally built to the limitations of a 1989 Gameboy; a throwback to his notoriety as a world-class retro gamer.

 

“It’s devilishly fun, and evil, and all of the spirit of vintage gaming,” Strawberry said. Loosely based on his own life, each level of the game is a bit more challenging than the last. “It starts out hard, and it’s just hard the whole time,” Strawberry admits. There isn’t a physical cartridge yet, but NFT HODLers will have access to this 6-level game by connecting their wallet in a browser that confirms each verifiably unique ERC-721 token. Strawberry hasn’t beaten his own game, yet he says it is definitely beatable. In fact, you can go from the front to the back, and then play your way back through all 6 levels to the front if you want, because different things may or may not happen each time you play. “You’re not rewarded for playing, but it feels fun, and it feels good when you beat it,” Strawberry said.

 

Strawberry WTF
Strawberry.WTF

 

Strawberry.wtf NFTs are meant to be tradeable, giftable, and fun to make derivatives from—so expect to see Strawberry jam sessions. If you collect at least 20 NFTs and hold them until at least July 9th (1 week after the reveal) you’ll be rewarded with a golden strawberry AirDrop, if you’re also among the top 100 collectors on the leaderboard. “That’s when you automatically become a Big Farmer,” says CryptoSpaces1. “But if you sell one on the secondary market and drop below 20 NFTs in your wallet, you lose your status,” he cautions. A leaderboard will keep collectors competitive, and an active Strawberry Discord includes “Strawberry Preserve,” a space to talk and trade vintage video games. There’s already a limited collection of 6th generation strawberry floppy disk collectibles from taylor.wtf that grants 100 collectors access to an external hard drive of digital assets on discord.art. “I’m gonna have a ton of strawberries on the hard drive available for all the disk collectors to make derivatives of,” taylor.wtf said.

 

Taylor.wtf

 

The first 100 Strawberry.wtf NFTs are reserved; 0-4 are for auction; 5-99 are for DeFi friends and giveaways; 100-9,999 will be made available to the public on OpenSea. Up to twenty NFTs can be minted at a time with a flat cost of 0.025 ETH each; the cost of a Gameboy in 1989. Strawberry.wtf allows its community to make iterations to the game until the Gameboy cartridge is full. By sharing its pipeline sprites, assets, and maps, the community can make changes by editing and even adding new characters for everyone with a Strawberry token to experience. 

“I met Strawberry the other night at the NFT event in Venice, and I was so impressed,” says FinkeLand, who discovered Strawberry.wtf NFTs on CryptoVoxels’ homepage. “He showed me the game he developed and it was way over my head,” she laughs. “But he took the time to explain everything.”

 

Metabit Broker CryptoVoxels

MetaBit Broker CryptoVoxels

The derivative market is sure to be teeming with wildly creative Strawberry patches. Derivatives galvanize the NFT artist community around fellowship, FOMO, flipping, and artist collaborations to create more NFTs. cryptowizard77 wants to 3D-print a strawberry pie. fiyahmarshall wants to add his original music. NFT_ish wants a feminine-looking derivative with a cigarette. Almost anything these collectibles inspire is possible because they’re CC licensed. “With projects like this, when you’re allowed to take the entity that you own, and create new works based on derivative works, and then actually sell them for commercial use, that’s kind of a big deal,” AaronHaber said. 

Designing a 10,000-piece art collection of fruitful abominations is no small feat. Each verifiably different NFT has been generated at random, except for the first 100 NFTs, which are reserved for auction, DeFi friends, and giveaways. CryptoSpaces1 assures us that no more strawberries were cherry-picked; they all go through the same pipeline that will randomize each visual element.

 

The process began with Strawberry, who created 20 different characters. Each of the characters has 8 different pixel parts: visual elements that were handed off to CryptoSpaces1, who created the script to mix and match the visual elements based on different levels of predetermined rarity. The script auto generates Strawberry.wtf NFTs; mixing and matching 8-pixel parts like a delicious strawberry smash cocktail of backgrounds, bodies, berries, eyes, noses, mouths, stems (hair), and an extra category. The first 100 tokens also have a special quality to them that’s specific to each DeFi friend; a trait each grateful recipient may consider rare and valuable in this regard. 

 

“Earlier this week, we’ve been making sure that everything aligns; the assets align, and we actually got some really fun, good, happy accidents,” says CryptoSpaces1. Each smart contract will have a seed hash and a base to the provenance hash so the system is transparent. Strawberry has no interest in seeing his NFTs until they’re actually created. He thinks everyone should just enjoy the surprise. 

“I definitely got some feedback from foodmasku,” Strawberry said. “I put some strawberries in their discord and they offered some suggestions. And I was able to create a better distinction between the more feminine and masculine traits.” While some of them will be burly masculine, there’s no real gender to them, and there are some nice feminine qualities,” he mentioned. “I was trying to aim in a direction where they’re gender fluid in a lot of ways. It doesn’t have to be, you can be whatever strawberry,” he added. “You made a big point to make it inclusive,” CryptoSpaces1 recalls.

Darko R

Darko R

You can’t be mad at a strawberry—hence his moniker—as both a world-class retrogamer and now NFT crypto venture capitalist. Strawberry has been a well-known figure in gaming circles and especially World of Warcraft for more than a decade, and in recent years he’s been extremely competitive. Aggressive gaming is like a day job, and “Strawberry” has always been his avatar handle. When he downloaded Clubhouse and met people like snack_man and steviewilliams_, he was all-in with @rarepizzas and the promise of a collaborative NFT artist community. That’s when the gaming Discord groups he’d been part of for years collided with the world of NFTs like a celestial event; his own Strawberry moon was like a cosmic shift. “I will keep the name Strawberry forever. I love the name,” Strawberry says, despite the rumour that if all 10,000 NFTs sell out, he’ll change his legal name to “Straw Berry.”

While Strawberry.wtf NFTs started minting last week, the visual reveal for each unique NFT in the collection, as well as the platform game, happens on July 2nd.

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We knew the moment would come when jewelry would enter the NFT space. It was only a matter of time, and that time is upon us, my friends! I just had a lovely conversation with fashion editor turned NFT jewelry connoisseur Francine Ballard aka MetaGolden. After trying to pay an artist in Belarus and failing, she was able to see the immense value of crypto. She realized that the artist had no access to Paypal or even a bank account and was unable to receive funds at all. That’s when she decided to use Instagram to walk them through obtaining their first crypto wallet and paid them in Ethereum! She confesses that even she was new to the crypto space, but had to do something to help.

 “I’m just enamored with this space because there’s so much human potential there.” The mother of two explains, “to me, it’s about empowerment, and it’s empowering people and groups that didn’t have power before. It’s levelling the playing field and making everyone connected to each other.”

The human connection is a beautiful aspect indeed, not to mention the whole “women being badasses with NFTs” tangent I could take us down. Wonderful topics to elaborate on later, but I brought you here today for the BLING. MetaGolden drops on Opensea TODAY and part of their collection is already spoken for by the celebrity friends of artist Ashley Longshore.

Francine Ballard
Francine Ballard

 

Glowing digital art accompanied by its physical counterpart of 18k tangible gold moulded into gorgeous jewelry. On its own, that’s pretty friggin awesome, but don’t drop the mic yet. She announced that she already has “Blockchains” in production. Modelled with a super cool coding design that every tech head will love, and soon to be embedded with a crypto cold storage wallet and NFT display (as soon as I get her a collab with Apple)!! Seriously though… I was thinking about mentioning it to Wiz and his Taylor Gang too since they are interested in NFTs, but I’m bringing it to you all first!! Get these while you can, because the sellout game is as real as the gold they’re made of. When asked about collaborating with Taylor Gang, Francine was delighted at the thought: Hmmm….I think we’re onto something guys… Taylor Tokens on the GangChain? Lol ok, It’s a work in progress, but you catch my drift.

 

Ashley Longshore
Ashley Longshore

 

Back to our girl Francine. She spent years at publications like In Style, so she knows a thing or two about fashion, which is clearly conveyed in her curated designs. She’s no rookie to the jewelry realm either, with exclusive connections to flawless stones and metals. Her business savvy mentality and philanthropic heart are as beautiful as her wearable art, if not more so. I will leave you with this for now, so you can hurry up and go buy yours, but I assure you this won’t be the last you hear of the MetaGolden Legacy.

Metagolden
MetaGolden

 

Code Ring
Code Ring

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What’s the value of an NFT? As more people become curious about this emerging market, creatives worldwide are turning to DIY projects to help bridge the gap between the traditional and the unknown. Two weeks ago in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, La Casa Art House presented BK’s first NFT art exhibition, complete with live performance, DJs, and of course, NFT art. But in the NFT space, two weeks is more like six months. Since the La Casa Arthouse premiere, there have been many first exhibitions, new NFT gallery spaces, and record-breaking auctions. There’s now even an NFT wellness app powered by Enjin.

It makes sense that artists in New York, one of the cultural hubs of punk rock, are already experimenting with ways to incorporate NFTs into IRL experiences. From NFT rugs to a movie theatre showing NFTs on loop, La Casa Arthouse showcased a diverse roster of fresh artists from Brooklyn. A standout of the show was artist Charles Bentley, who turns his digital works into physical paintings.

While some artists in the showcase chose not to mint their work, others were trying out the NFT minting process for the very first time. Some were even testing more underground minting platforms. Ksenia, whose work emphasizes the urgency of climate change, chose to mint her pieces on HicEtNunc, an eco-friendly platform that runs on the Tezos network.

 

New York’s favorite pop-punk act, LPX, fronted by Neon Gold founder Lizzy Plapinger is one such artist entering the NFT space for the first time. Plapinger has always been a pioneer of new opportunities that allow for a deeper connection with fans. With all live shows canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, this was not only LPX’s first live show in over a year but also their first foray into this future technology. The band’s set was filmed with live projection mapping, which will later be turned into an audio/visual NFT. Lizzy chatted with us about her experience with NFT’s and why they’re important for musicians.

In a cloud photographed by Sasha Bianca

 

Can you remember who the first person you talked to about NFTs was?

“Absolutely, it was my friend Ryan Rabin of Captain Cuts. After that, it was my business partner Derek (who’s had an interest and foot in this world for some time) while also doing a deep dive into whatever I could find online, glean from clubhouse, or gather from my friend Verite about her experience.”

 

What was it that drew you to La Casa Art House?

“I’m a huge fan of a local NYC artist named Rachael Tarravechia, who was showing her work at La Casa Art House. When I went to check it out, I immediately clicked with Gonzo, who runs the space, and we bonded over our mutual love and appreciation for the NYC art scene, as well as their passion for community, their taste, and their enthusiasm to share it. I started regularly coming by, and the same week I learned about NFTs, I stopped by to talk to Gonzo about it. We’re both really hyped on the possibilities that come with such an intersectional medium. And his interest in educating other artists on the crypto world and inclusiveness/desire to bring more people into the space is really inspiring. We knew we’d love to collaborate on something together down the line, so when he proposed LPX playing this show, it felt like all the pieces were finally coming together. It’s meaningful to me that this collab has come from a really genuine connection and that the piece itself authentically merges IRL and metaverse in a unique way that speaks to both of our interests and spaces.”

 

In a cloud photographed by Sasha Bianca

 

Why is this technology exciting for the music space? Are you working on other ways of incorporating them?

“I’ve always felt like a more holistic artist than just a musician, so this technology to me is a really exciting invitation and creative prompt to create something that can represent that multidimensionality. From a music and technology perspective, it has the potential to better service and pay artists, writers, producers, and the visual artists attached to a project continuously and fairly for their work. I’m especially interested in the artists who use it as an opportunity to think outside the box. Art and music have always gone so hand in hand, but this feels like another way to really honor and explore new levels of collaboration and interplay.”

 

You’ve always had a strong connection with your fan base. Are you exploring POAP (proof of attendance protocol badges) or unlockables?

“I’m not currently, but it’s something I might consider for the future. There’s still a barrier to entry on the tech + NFT side, be it financial or education/understanding/familiarity, etc., but it has the potential to be a really special (and financially beneficial) way to honor and give back to the fans who are there from the start.”

 

 

What’s one of your favorite songs that came out through the coronavirus pandemic?

“The Divine Chord” by The Avalanches. It’s been a bright light on all my best and worst moments of the past year.”

At Bitcoin Conference this past week in Miami, it was clear that the hype surrounding the NFT market is not fading soon. There are a myriad of use cases for NFT technology, and art happens to be one of the most accessible examples. Clubhouse group turned powerhouse community NFTs.tips organized a week of programming around this technology, hoping to educate the curious while also showcasing top-notch art from 116 artists from 6 continents. The power of community in NFTs is also evident by the collaboration between NFTs.tips and La Casa Arthouse at BTC 20201, with the Brooklyn-based gallery designing light forms for the “Out of the Dark, Into the Light” exhibition.

In a cloud photographed by Sasha Bianca

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I recently had a zoom chat with Johan of Meme.com wherein we discussed his upcoming launch, how memes fit into blockchain and much more:

D: You’ve recently raised over 5 million in VC backing for this new meme blockchain project.  So, speaking about memes, what makes them so valuable in our society today?

J: I think they are the most fun way to tell stories.  They’re also very effective in getting the story told, and there’s also a really strong internal recognition as in “oh, I understand what this means.” This meme understands, and so do you.  It’s like this connection between people and it’s a lot of fun!  So that’s why I think it’s so powerful.  And that people can relate to it as well is a big part of it.  

So I’ve almost turned into when I talk I find myself more and more referring to memes. “It’s like that meme.”  You know? 

D: It’s become part of our vocabulary at this point, it’s not so foreign. 

J: Yeah exactly!

D: So for you, what’s the connection between memes and blockchain?

J: I think it’s the way to measure the value of the memes.  I think we are moving towards a trend where more and more things become financialized.  And the line between entertainment and speculation is blurring.  And so there I think that memes, and trying to determine the value of memes is a great way for people to speculate on the popularity of things, and try to ascribe value to them.  And that’s where crypto comes in.  

Meme.com

 

D: Excellent, and perfect transition. The first “meme currency” that gained popularity was Dogecoin. How do you feel about Dogecoin?

J: It’s definitely an inspiration, it’s the first time a token’s value came from a meme.  And it kind of opened the door to the notion that anything can be valuable as long as people agree that it is valuable.  So I think that it opened the door to much of our thinking, both around Marvel Cards but also around meme.com as well.  

D: Awesome.  The universal value, or ability to use technology to measure value has been discussed as being one of the most important elements of this whole space.  The certification aspects of NFTs or tokens.  So when you start to see different coins popping up, it makes sense that the ones that are the most popular are the ones that have the most pop-culture value.  So to me, it makes sense.  I’m also someone who has done a lot of research in this space – I did my master’s thesis on NFTs and DeFi. So this next question isn’t coming from a place of criticism – but more so just to get your opinion:

Hearing people use the term “Shitcoin” to describe something like Doge – how does that make you feel – or what is your response to those that tout similar projects as less than valid?

J: I think that people use “Shitcoin” because that’s just what they’ve always said when describing something that’s not Bitcoin.  In most cases, it is just used to describe something as a “non-Bitcoin-coin.” That being said, I can totally understand why people think that Dogecoin is a joke and we look at some of the other meme coins that have popped up recently and many of them are definitely not here for the long term.  But I think that the trend where people speculate on things where the value comes from the name of the coin for example. I think that it’s an interesting trend that will, moving forwards, be refined.  And we will see more interesting use cases pop up that tap into this speculation on trends.  

 

Verify Gems

 

 

D: And I think it also does tap into a little bit of the reality of all kinds of investments within this ecosystem.  A lot is, to a degree, speculation.  You can do your research, you can have 10-year projections; but they’re projections, right?  And I think something really interesting that a lot of companies have done is to just go to “Shitcoin” conferences – like the one that just happened in Miami.  And projects like Cardano were even there, projects that are new but really respected in the space.  And they’re almost embracing the term “shitcoin” as in – call us what you want.  How do you feel about that?  Do you see a future in almost “memefying” the response to these meme coins?

J: Sure – that’s marketing.  If they can get a result from that, then sure, why not.  I do think that the memetic layer of things – take something like Gamestop for example – where people bought into it just because it was a meme on Reddit. I think potentially more companies and coins will try to embrace that and capitalize on that somehow.  So we’ll probably see more and more weird attempts at getting this meme thing running. It will be interesting to see as I’m sure some will come up with interesting ways to achieve that.  So it will be interesting to follow.  

Earn Rewards at Meme.com

 

D: Absolutely, and again – perfect segue – thinking about some of these larger meme coin projects (like Doge or Shiba). A lot of the early adopters are trying to find more and more use cases for those currencies. Even being as simple as accepting them at their local businesses etc. How do you feel about that response from the community?  Do you see a future in people trying to find more use-cases for these coins?

J: I think the value of the coins comes from the value of their memes. And so, if I have a local business that accepts it, I don’t think it has much impact on the actual value of that coin. So I think for a meme coin to be successful, it simply has to have a very strong meme.  Which Dogecoin has, for example.  I think when it comes to meme.com – the coins are means to an end.  The goal of the platform is to try to quantify the value of the memes.  To see what is trending at the moment, what people believe in.  And so the platform itself can give value to the coins.  But I think that for standalone meme coins, the meme is everything.  So for it to be valuable it has to have strong marketing basically.  

D: That makes a lot of sense.  It sounds like something that you’re going to provide which doesn’t exist right now is the quantifiable data about specific memes and their popularity.  Maybe they can go on other sites and databases to see some information about the history, but they can’t really get stats, which people who are investing on any level really want.  So maybe with that in mind – to people who want to make the argument that this is investing and not gambling – what is your response to naysayers? 

J: So we like to describe ourselves as: if Wikipedia and Dogecoin had a baby.  And what we mean by that is – you have sites like Wikipedia, Knowyourmeme, etc. Where you can go to get the history, and maybe some extra links and content. But where it gets interesting is where we can actually get ‘skin in the game data.’ Where we can actually see that people are believing in this meme and putting money behind it.  Or people are creating NFTs around this meme which are selling for X amount. So I think it adds another layer of analytics or data when you add financial mechanics to it.  

D: Perfect. And I think that’s really what people need in the space right now to ease a lot of speculation.  And also just to have some specific projections in the space, so that’s awesome. So just wrapping things up, with this venture in mind – what’s the future of memes in crypto – is there anything in particular with this project that you’re particularly excited about at the moment? 

J: We’re launching the first version of the meme market in July.  Before we were Meme, we were Marvel Cards which is an NFT platform that has been around since 2018.  So we’ve been building that, and now we’re finally ready to start launching big sites that people can “Marvel” from.  So we just launched Spotify, our biggest launch yet. And we’re planning on launching Twitter and Instagram and YouTube in the coming two months. So we’ll correlate with the launch of meme.com hopefully and get a lot of people to engage.

Marble Panel Doge

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The Shitcoin conference was just held in Miami on June 3rd and 4th, just down the road from this year’s largest crypto event, the Bitcoin conference. According to the Shitcoin conference website, “Shitcoin 2021 is dedicated to all the companies that got turned away from participating in one of the largest crypto events.” the event slogan is “because F*ck Maximalism,” and I agree!

 

The event was masterminded by Kenn Bosak, a Bitcoiner since 2015. Bosak has traveled around the world attending over 200 Blockchain conferences, also happens to be one of the most well known NFT creators and influencers in the Wax blockchain ecosystem.  Kenn is great at creating an engaged and loyal community. I have seen first hand his generosity and commitment to his community and in helping others get into the NFT space. He was actually one of the influencers who made me fall in love with what I saw going on in the Wax NFT community.

 

Kenn Bosak NFT

See More Kenn Bosak NFTs Here 

 

One of the key takeaways I received from Kenn was that there is a shift taking place right now. Especially within the creative spaces wherein NFT creators and companies need to transition from acquiring customers to creating communities. This is all made more possible via the use of non-fungible tokens.

The wild, free and open vibe of the Shitcoin conference was evident as soon as you walked in the door. While I did not attend the Bitcoin conference for several reasons, the main one being that I am not a maximalist and personally believe that attitude to be completely anti-innovation, I did run into some incredible characters that I connected with who did attend the Bitcoin conference. One of them goes by the name @hyperspek who had this to say about the Bitcoin conference:

“The Bitcoin maxis really seemed to have blinders to the future of blockchain innovation.  Understandable for some who still have PTSD from getting rekt last cycle.  As they try to adapt an “old” technology not really designed for these applications, they will get left for dead by what is happening on ETH and other platforms.”

Hyperspek is an investor and NFT collector who also happens to be a virtual gallery builder. He showed me his gallery in Crypto Voxels and it was amazing, he likes to make art with other art and is quite good at doing so! His attention to details and his creativity was impressive. You can check out his awesome collection and gallery here

Hyperspek.io
Hyperspek.io

 

To me personally, being a Bitcoin maximalist is like saying “I like airplanes and what they allow, but not helicopters, planes without props or jet engines.

This kind of thinking is nonsensical and will not pass muster in the grand scheme of technological innovation. There will be many protocols, many will fail, but innovation and experimentation will dictate what survives.

The stark contrast of the Shitcoin conference and crowd was much more open to new ideas, fun, and was largely centered around NFTS. The atmosphere was younger, less refined, more tolerant, and brimming with excitement for the future of NFTs and blockchain technology.  It seems quite evident that there will be another event next year because the demand from the community is definitely there. Next year’s event will almost certainly be a few blocks away from the next Bitcoin conference as a statement against the very term “Shitcoin.”  Meant to encompass everything that is not Bitcoin, to include non-fungible tokens, and create something which the community can embrace and own.

 

Photos by Dynamic Eye Studios
Photo by Dynamic Eye Studios

 

The lineup of speakers at this year’s Shitcoin conference can be seen here, and I am sure next year’s event will improve on this.  Some interesting concepts that were discussed while I attended were: the fractionalized ownership of assets by blockcities, regenerative farming, and how blockchain can play a role during the Blockchain for Impact panel. In this particular talk,  Irina Litchfield, founder of Blockchain -Cubed, a blockchain technology consulting firm and adviser for Prochain Capital, discussed some innovative solutions.  

 

From Crypto hedge fund managers to NFT artists, defi protocol developers to musicians, comedians to filmmakers. The diversity represented within this year’s Shitcoin conference is more reflective in my opinion of what the future of NFTs and blockchain looks like. In all fairness, I do believe that an overwhelming majority of the crypto community are not in the cult of Bitcoin maximalist and do support innovation and advancement within this space.

 

Photo by Dynamic Eye Studios
Photo by Dynamic Eye Studios

 

 

Photo by Albert Polanco
Photo by Albert Polanco

 

 

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