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.
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.
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!
On July 8, fine artist photographer Karen Jerzyk (@KJerzykPhoto Twitter, @karen.jerzyk.photo Instagram) went through a range of powerful emotions when her mother suffered from a stroke. This tragic moment came on the heels of the death of Karen’s dear friend earlier the same week. In 2011, Karen’s father had succumbed to a massive stroke which had a significant impact on Karen’s personal and professional lives. Karen is an only child and her craft has always been influenced and supported by her parents. Karen’s mom has been recovering in hospital, going through rehab, and is destined to return home in the coming days. Having a loved one come home after a stroke is a struggle. Knowing what health insurance will pay for, when they will pay for it, and when equipment can arrive is a disconcerting situation.
Still, Karen has the need to create as all true artists do. She commented on Thursday that she needed to get back out shooting photos. Looking at her work, one might think it is rendered or heavily Photoshopped. But Karen creates her scenes meticulously in a studio or uses real locations often with a model in an astronaut suit. But the photos are the photos. Her images are like a vision of the future trapped in a memory of the past.
Karen is a master at finding interesting locations to shoot photographs. A significant amount of research goes into finding these spots. For example, there is an area in Virginia with large statues of former US Presidents. In Karen’s artful eye, the vision is apocalyptic. In a collaboration with musician and video director Don Tyler (@yodontyler), this vision comes into full relief with the burning embers and haunting score.
The NFT Community is sometimes fractured — collectibles like cryptopunks, rats, apes, and mooncats vs fine artists vs photographers vs scammers vs collectors and so on. This community is as diverse as it is far-flung. Every walk of life from every corner of the world is represented. Yes, there are silos. Underrepresented people. Though sometimes the community can unify in a way not comparable to real life.
The NFT Community has set up many events and features so Karen can earn money to support her mother through sales of her art. Some movements are very public like Eddie Gangland and Stephanie Dillon are featuring Karen’s work in one of their CryptoVoxels galleries (see featured image). Art-Jedi held a two hour Clubhouse room last week to catch up with Karen and hear her story first hand. Behind the scenes, many have given or purchased silently with no fanfare.
While NFT artists continue to find their way in this newfound creative environment, there are many challenges: inequality, heated criticisms about form, invasions from celebrities seeking to make their mark, battles over platforms, gas fees. But more than most, the NFT community has room for everyone. Yes there are flaws. Bad actors. Theft. The digital world is not immune from the real world. But it seems a slightly higher form of community. One without a governance structure, and very little policing. It is almost a peaceful anarchy comprising Twitter, Clubhouse, Instagram, and the dozens of NFT platforms — and there is a sense of accountability that exists amongst artists and collectors. It isn’t perfect. Sexual harassment exists. Scams are prevalent. Incredible artists are being discovered. Not perfect, but a work in progress.
Artists supporting artists is a thing. And the NFT Community has that going for it.
Karen is scheduled to appear as a speaker at NFT.NYC November 1-3 in Times Square.
Republic Realm, a metaverse real estate development and investment company, announced the grand opening of Metajuku, a shopping district in the Decentraland metaverse, with DRESSX becoming one of the first digital-only companies to open a store inside the district. In addition to the digital fashion outfits displayed in the store, there are 3 NFT artworks inspired by DRESSX collections dedicated to SpaceX launches and created by the digital artist Hanne Zaruma.
Metajuku is a 16,000 sf (256 m2) project built with a pedestrian-friendly open space at its center. The district is located at the coordinates 94, 21 in Decentraland (and I highly suggest that you check it out). Metajuku takes its roots in Harajuku, a district in Tokyo known as the center of Japanese street fashion.
“Real-world shopping malls are sitting half-empty as stores move more business online,” said Janine Yorio, co-head of Republic Real Estate, “meanwhile, elaborate virtual malls are being built in the metaverse, a nascent industry called ‘de-commerce.’”
DressX is the largest fashion store for digital-only collections from well-known brands and 3D designers. Through the use of digital clothing, users can simply layer fashion items on top of photos that they have taken in order to create whole new outfits. As a solution to the negative environmental footprint produced by the fashion industry, DressX was created by Daria Shapovalova and Natalia Modenova in July 2020 as the first-ever platform for digital garments that generate zero waste, carbon footprints, and chemicals during their production.
“We are very excited to create a virtual shopping experience accessible to anyone, anytime, and anywhere in the world. At DressX we see it as our mission to drive the development of the digital fashion industry and provide more opportunities for people to leverage available technologies, immersing themselves into the new virtual reality or connection in social media. The shopping mall built from the ground up in Decentraland and offering digital-only clothes from DressX cosmic collection is our joint next step aimed at merging the traditional fashion experience with the world of tech and innovation.”
Daria Shapovalova and Natalia Modenova, co-founders of DressX.
Today, nearly 9% of all fashion is acquired for content creation (Instagram posts, photoshoots and the like), and the fashion industry is considered to be one of the world’s largest polluters. Digital garment production provides the fashion for content with 97% less CO2 emissions. Moreover, virtual real estate does not have the same physical constraints as real-world real estate development, therefore the DRESSX virtual store was designed with zero-gravity features, in which digital clothing is displayed floating in zero-gravity balls in the air.
Although the digital wearables market is still in its infancy, glimmers of its potential are apparent from the video game industry where gamers have paid more than $40 million for wearables in the game Fortnite alone. Digital real estate prices have exploded in recent months. For example, parcel price in Decentraland has doubled over the past two months, from roughly $1800 per parcel to $7,000+ today, which represents a 4x return in just two months.
Republic Realm is a digital real estate NFT investment vehicle that acquires and develops digital real estate NFTs in decentralized, blockchain-based virtual worlds, including Decentraland, The Sandbox, Cryptovoxels, and other new emerging metaverses. Republic Realm is professionally managed by a cross-disciplinary investment team at Republic from both the cryptocurrency/tokenization and traditional real estate groups. Republic Realm is co-sponsored by Republic, the private investment technology platform with over 1 million worldwide users.
If you want to see the store for yourself, DRESSX digital collections are now available for purchase in DRESSX virtual flagship store at coordinates 94, 21 in Decentraland.
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.
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.
Share this article:
[addtoany]
Who would have thought Jackie and Kelso from That 70s Show would be early adopters in pioneering an animated NFT show called Stoner Cats? Although the name does fit the roles they both played as actors back in 1998.
Despite Ashton’s involvement with cryptocurrencies for nearly a decade, it was Mila Kunis who originated the idea to create the animated NFT show Stoner Cats. Mila explains on their YouTube channel that while stuck in the same house with Ashton during covid, she overheard what others were saying about how digital art was being sold as NFTs. Mila finally asked her husband if she could create an animated show as an NFT, to which Kutcher replied “Well, yes you could!” Fast forward to yesterday’s complete sell-out of Stoner Cats NFTs in 35 minutes.
Stoner Cats Teaser:
Low-effort Celebrity NFT Cash Grab?
While some in the NFT community would view this as yet another celebrity cash grab, there is much more nuance to be understood here. First of all, the project has an absolutely insane lineup of all-star talent voicing the characters of this adult cartoon including Jane Fonda, Seth MacFarlane, Chris Rock, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, and Vitalik Buterin himself. The all-star lineup doesn’t end with the celebrity cast, former CryptoKitties creative director Mack Flavelle is leading the effort along with the animation team of Chris Cartagena, Sarah Cole, and Ash Brannon. This breaks the low-effort celebrity cash grab narrative that in my opinion is really just rooted in a disguised form of jealousy amongst some of the louder voices in the space. There is already a mockery NFT project looking to capitalize on all the buzz Stoner Cats is generating that I won’t even mention here. In my own view, I choose to celebrate the success of others instead of criticizing it, regardless of how successful they were previously. The last time I checked, it takes quite a bit of effort and work to become an accomplished celebrity and to deal with all the haters that inevitably come with it. I spoke with a few other prominent NFT community members within the WTF Dao to get their opinions. Bryan Brinkman had some insightful nuggets he shared with me. “I may be an optimist, but as an animator who has worked in the industry, I’ve seen how hard it is to get a network to approve an idea that doesn’t fit into the mold they are looking for. This space is all about decentralizing and removing gatekeeping and this could prove to be a way for creators to do that.”
“I see this project as a rough roadmap for how creators can bankroll and build a community around their ideas in the same way Kickstarter and Patreon have. The difference here is that as an investor, you hold the value you invested in the Non-Fungible Token. As a supporter, you can help the project grow in value and increase the return on your investment. It’ll be interesting to see how the next wave of projects learn from what did and did not work in this one. I see future examples as having more utility and ownership of the content.”
“This project signals a new wave of “Celebrity NFTs”, prior to this we had some musicians, athletes, and actors joining the space, but none of them had the star power that this project brings. We are now going to see celebrities and influencers that have access to major networks late night and daytime talk shows being able to promote their NFT projects and that is going to onboard a massive wave of new interested collectors that I think will rival the boom we saw at the beginning of 2021.” Bryan’s comments really just confirmed my own observations about what this project was really about. If you are a builder or creator in this space, the selling out of this Stoner Cats NFT project is likely to inject an enormous amount of interest in NFTs, which is a net positive for creators in this space over the long term.
This project was not without its own set of challenges and problems, I was in the Stoner Cats discord when its failure to launch on the original drop date prompted a flurry of anger and frustration along with an overwhelming amount of keyboard warriors with no manners saying things they would not dare say to another human face to face.
The very next day after the team worked tirelessly to fix the issues with the smart contract, they launched on time, however, there was so much demand for these Stoner Cats that gas prices on the Etherum blockchain skyrocketed north of 500 Gwei from less than 30 prior to the launch.
I myself had a transaction that failed after 40 minutes of waiting. According to data from Dune Analytics over $700,000 USD was lost in failed transactions.
I also got to speak with another WTF Dao member, Kai Turner, founder of the Meebits Dao, Experience Designer at Netflix, and Product Content Innovation lead and Advisor to NFT42. This is what he had to say:
“Funnily enough, I pitched a similar idea to the now-Dapper Labs CTO when I was at Sony Pictures Entertainment suggesting that CryptoKitties should do something exactly like this in 2017. So it’s notable that the former CryptoKitties Creative Director is leading the effort because maybe he saw similar potential in the space.”
“In terms of the creative concept, I think they could have set a higher bar. It does feel like someone has asked: What does the crypto community like? Cats and Weed! However, even though these are hackneyed themes within our niche, they might be slightly novel to the broader adult animation audience– so given the names, especially Seth McFarlane, attached — there is still a lot of potential for this to become a quality piece of entertainment.”
“Finally, with the NFT release, lots of complaints about the launch, but for us who have been in the space for a while, we’re used to the gas spikes. Although I think we do need a better model for oversubscribed drops than just pushing the contract and website live – Top Shot is pioneering models here out of necessity. So if it’s queues or tickets or waitlists
– just telling the community to pay a 200% premium on gas is not good enough anymore.
Gas isn’t my main concern though – I think the drop could have provided more variation than the same characters, the characters associated with characters in the show could have been the rarest ones, but why not build out a Stoner Cats universe of all the cats in the world? Even if they don’t make an appearance in the show in season 1 — there is future potential for them to! — maybe as a community reward/competition.”
“Overall, I’m enthusiastic about the project and the hope that it will set a new model for funding content – but like Kickstarter projects in the past, I’ll believe it when I see it … the execution of the final product is what matters most.” – Kai Turner
Photo credit: Stonercats.com
Key Takeaway
For me, the general takeaway is that despite all of the problems with the initial launch, the gas wars, lost funds, and the hate being hurled at celebrities for “daring” to use this nascent NFT technology; this project looks to be a major success in proving NFT’s are a better way forward for creatives in the entertainment industry. The idea that celebrities and all of Hollywood would not eventually be beating down the door to enter into this space is a short-sighted sentiment. There is a tremendous opportunity for those who are open to seeing the importance of this very moment in history as the future infrastructure for nearly all forms of entertainment media, is being built now. NFTs will continue to empower more creators and break down some of the very entrenched middlemen in the entertainment industry. Studios and publishers have carved predominantly predatory relationships with creators, but this new model of funding creative works via NFTs will force them to innovate and alter the way they interact with the true creators of value behind all types of intellectual property. I see a future world where the consumers of entertainment experiences will also be the stakeholders, contributors, and even the co-creators themselves, where the fans can have a more intimate connection and even ownership of the stories they love without all the bureaucratic bullshit, all brought to you by Non-fungible Tokens.
Photo credits: Stonercats.com
Featured image credit: Stonercats.com
Share this article:
[addtoany]
The last minutes of the Ethereum Community conference ended in some fast & furious token-swapping in the lobby of the Maison de la Mutualite. The excitement was courtesy of Hermez, a decentralized ZK (zero-knowledge) rollup specializing in low-cost token transfers. In cryptography, a zero-knowledge proof is when one party can prove to another that a specific mathematical statement is true without revealing any additional information. The concept helps with the transfer of sensitive information and allows blockchain transactions to remain private.
But back to EthCC [4]. Hermez hosted a conference-wide token exchange, which included tokens with quirky names such as the Future of France, Lambo, Elon Musk Muted, and Corgi. This “conference trading” served as a casual ice breaker for attendees, although the atmosphere throughout the venue was already very social. Additional gamification elements were also present throughout the week (including a POAP raffle for volunteers and SushiSwap’s NFT giveaway), making EthCC a nice balance between networking, community building, and educational initiatives. Before we pull the curtain on this year’s Paris conference, let’s look at some of the highlights from day three:
CRYPTO LAWYERS ON THE LOOSE
While building futures is exciting – at some point, the incoming regulations on Cryptocurrency and tokenization will likely put a slight damper on the Web 3.0 party. Luckily lawyers @silkenoa and @fatalmeh provided some insight on how to start thinking about these inevitable changes and incoming amendments to the law. Although they presented views rather than legal advice, the duo did cover a lot of important points that all holders of crypto and incoming DAOs should consider. In addition to clarifying that there is always a legal risk when holding crypto, there were some great jokes about the exodus from Berlin to Portugal due to the lack of elevators. For anyone looking for more insight into the legal side of tokenomics, they put together this handy (and collaborative) Crypto Legal Risk Checklist.
As announced today by @silkenoa and I in our talk at #EthCC4, here is the v.1 of the checklist to assess the situation of your project from a crypto legal risk point of view. https://t.co/uWns4r0aVG
The concept of Proof of Personhood has been around since 2017 (and Vitalik Buterin proposed an identity system in 2014). However, Proof of Humanity (PoH) was only announced this past March by Kleros. POH is a social verification system that can help to throttle evil bots and provide resistance against Sybil attacks. One use case being explored by the decentralized arbitration service include a Universal Basic Income Token.
Humanity is a hot topic, especially as we enter a future filled with AI, IoT, and robots. As discussions around humanity increase, it’s also opened up the conversation about extending human rights to animals and natural resources. Many initiatives are utilizing NFT technology for environmental and social good to tackle this, including Project Ark. Today, however, we’re discussing tress.
On the main stage of EthCC, James Beck (Director of Communication at ConsenSys) discussed environmental personhood and how rights can be referred to natural resources on the Ethereum network. The concept of assigning human rights to non-humans is gaining traction, and Beck believes that the Ethereum blockchain can play a vital role in protecting and sustaining natural resources.
The example used by Beck was street trees, highlighting the need to protect them from damage and destruction. Utilizing the New York City Street Tree Map of 700,000 street trees, Beck explained the unique benefits of street trees: they absorb carbon, prevent erosion, and cool cities in the summer. He highlighted initiatives such as terra0, based in Berlin, that aims to provide automated ecosystem resilience frameworks.” In 2018, terra0used censors on a bonsai tree to determine its various needs (more water, more light, etc.). Essentially, the tree is managed by a DAO, and when Ethereum is sent to the tree’s smart contract, humans provide the required upkeep.
Citing this example, Beck seeks to expand on this concept by creating an NYC Street Tree Dao. Using the platform, he is crowdfunding for a specific Japanese Zelkova tree in Brooklyn. Beck’s case for tree DAO’s is further explored in a collectible NFT piece on Mirror.
LEGALITY IN NFTS & EU REGULATION ON CRYPTO
Yes, there was a lot of legal talk happening on day three of EthCC. Primavera De Filippi (legal researcher at the National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris) made it clear that current Intellectual Property (IP) and copyright laws do not necessarily protect works that are copied or re-sold on the blockchain. Not the best news, but at least there’s going to be a party on the Moon!
And finally, we got an update on the EU regulation, Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), from Dea Markova, Senior Director at the EU division of FTI consulting. While it appears these regulations might not come into effect until 2024, Markova hinted that the EU is far ahead of the U.S. and other major financial markets on regulation. Furthermore, the EU is more focused on providing solutions to problems rather than just presenting the problems themselves. In Brussels, the INATBA task force has been established to help lawmakers create regulations that don’t stifle innovation and development. One insight Markova provided is that tokens will likely be regulated based on the utility and purpose they provide (stablecoins will have different regulations than altcoins, for instance).
It’s too early to tell how this will all play out, but more governments and financial institutions are entering the DeFi space as these laws are being created.
What a whirlwind week in Paris! Of course, this is just a small amount of the information shared at EthCC. Check out this fascinating talk about MetaFi and the Open Metaverse by Outlier Venture’s Jamie Burke, as well as other talks from the EthCC [4] main stage.
Au revoir, and see you at the next Ethereum Conference!
Share this article:
[addtoany]
David: In your eyes, what are some of your favourite accomplishments?
WhaleShark: So I think so accomplishment-wise, I mean from an investment perspective, I’ve done extremely well in the space. While I want to take credit for everything, I do think it’s always a tiny bit of luck, right? Or quite a bit of luck. So, I guess my very first accomplishment in the crypto space would actually be buying Bitcoin in 2012 and then selling it all for Ethereum in 2015. I bought Bitcoin at 200 and sold Bitcoin at 1000, bought Ethereum at $8 and then sold at 1,400 and then got into NFTs in 2019.
Because, you know, when I entered into the space at that point in time, there was a lot of ambiguity regarding the future of crypto as a whole, as well as the ups and downs of the rollercoaster. That is, that is the value of crypto in, you know, just being able to buy and hold and to continue to accumulate.
It probably took every fiber of my being because, again, the pricing rollercoaster can really take an emotional toll on a lot of people. I think I’ve done relatively well by, I guess, being very thoughtful about the way that I’ve invested money, about the way that I’ve grown this empire of crypto, as well as investing in a lot of leading projects within the crypto space as well.
So I think that would probably be one of the achievements that I’m very grateful for. Over the past couple of years, the second achievement or accomplishment that I’m very proud of is the relationships that I’ve built up with artists in the crypto community. So again, I know everybody has a lot of different preferences for the type of NFTs that they buy. It’s no secret that I made it very public that I’m a huge fan of crypto art and a huge fan of the digital art scene in general. One of the most enjoyable things and one of the largest accomplishments that I feel that I’ve made is the ability to forge these very positive and very beneficial relationships, particularly for artists within the space.
And to see them grow from selling their art pieces for hundreds of dollars to many who are actually in the whale portfolio now what we sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. So I think that’s another accomplishment in itself.
The last accomplishment probably that is most near and dear to me was actually creating the whale community, right? So basically taking the entire NFT collection, sharing it with an NFT community and seeing that community grow from 500 people to the world’s largest general collector and creator Discord community with over 20,000 members. And you know, that’s been a wonderful journey. It’s a lifelong pursuit of mine and the whale community is going to last for as long as my lifetime and beyond. So I’d say it would be those three.
David: You’ve excelled at being able to select projects very specifically. Ignoring a lot of the fud that’s come out around this space, especially when you started getting into NFTs in 2019, I think it was all fud, more or less in terms of the press around the space. You’ve mentioned in the past that 99.9% of projects fail – what differentiates the valuable projects from the rest?
WhaleShark: So in my previous professional life, I did a lot of market analysis, company analysis, opportunity analysis. Whether that be within categories or whether that be within certain categories of products or whether that be in categories of companies.
I think it was very serendipitous when I entered the space. You had a lot of collectors who didn’t have that background, so I was actually able to develop and apply an investment matrix to really understand which projects I want to hold for the long term. Now, given that you say that, it’s very kind of you to say that, you know, my, my journey through crypto has been very much a playbook. There’s a lot of money to be made both from, as a long-term investor, as well as a short-term trader.
For me, I just don’t have the ability to trade on the short term. So my investment thesis is always based on a longer term horizon. Now, you know what differentiates the 1% or the 0.01% from the 99.99%. It’s really the stability and the pedigree of a project. So what I do as you will see any VC or any investment manager do when they look at a project is the first thing I get to know the team extremely well. Right. I get to know their background. I get to know their expertise. I get to know their wealth of knowledge and really understand how adequate and how adept they are in terms of being able to run a business.
It’s a little bit difficult in the crypto space because we do have a lot of first-time entrepreneurs. But among those, there are some that are extremely talented. And as an investor, what I can bring to the table usually is that business discipline and knowledge that they might not have been able to accumulate over the course of their experience.
So I looked at the team one thing that is extremely important to me, and again, it sometimes does preclude or exclude some opportunities that are extremely innovative. I actually like to look at things that have escalated in value in the traditional and the physical world. And it’s very easy to draw a parallel into the digital and really understand. So, for example, if basketball cards escalated in value in the physical world, it’s very likely that its digital equivalent is going to increase as well. So looking at the product, just making sure that there is a previous case whereby there was a successful case study and it could apply in a digital manner.
The third, most important thing that I look at is the financial health of these projects. You want to make sure that a project can run through the cycles and we’ve seen NFT cycles in terms of bull and bear runs run roughly anywhere between three to four months, each time you don’t want to invest in a project that’s going to go bankrupt in three months, right? Due to poor money management or due to lack of capital. So what’s very important to me is looking at these projects, understanding how long of a runway they have, and understanding how disciplined they are in terms of managing that cash flow. So I look at a lot of different points. I probably look at about six to seven points for each project, but those are the three main points for financial viability that I looked at before investing in anything.
David: Thinking of some of the projects that you’ve invested in and maybe some of your favorites in your thought process. What’s a recent piece, or just a general piece of unlockable content or access that has been granted to you by an NFT purchase that either surprised you or impressed you?
WhaleShark: So I actually bought a couple of locked access NFTs over the course of my career. I would say that the very first one that I bought was actually by DAO records, who continue to be very active in the space. And I believe it was really one of the first unlockable content Ntfs that was ever created. Essentially, Vandal and the team did that I could buy this limited edition gold record, a gold record from Dao records. And essentially, it allowed me to unlock the content prior to the launch as well as receive some additional benefits from actually buying the NFT. So this is really early in the space. And I remember when I did it, I believe the song was called Got Skills. It was done by two Malaysian award-winning rappers. And I really enjoyed the process. I think one of probably the most impressive unlockable content that I’ve ever purchased is actually the auction by Justin Blau.
Once again, it was a record-breaking auction. I was there up against some of the largest collectors; unfortunately, I could only take second place, but it was a wonderful experience. And what Justin did was that he tokenized an entire album, and within tokenizing that album, he had. The drop was very smooth. And instantly, after that auction, I was actually able to log in and unlock all of that audio and visual content actually on that platform itself. So that was an extremely interesting experience and probably one of the smoothest experiences with unlockable content.
David: Amazing. Thank you for that. Thinking about your massive collection at this point- I’m wondering – Do you only buy on ETH? Or do you have any thoughts about projects on MATIC, TEZ, WAX, etc.?
WhaleShark: So I am blockchain agnostic. I mean, you have people who call themselves Bitcoin maxis, you’ve got Ethereum maxis, I’m a use-case maximalist. So essentially I move to the place or I move to the blockchain that shows me that they have the most use case or the best use. If I were a maximalist, you know, again, I wouldn’t have been able to transfer out a Bitcoin all the way into Ethereum.
So I do believe in keeping an open mind and prefacing, my additional comments with that, I actually not only buy on ETH, I also buy on Flow quite a bit. And I’m very excited to see some of the blockchains that are growing native NFTs for the time being. What I really enjoy is: all of the NFTs on Ethereum, all of the NFTs on Flow. I really enjoy what I’m seeing from the two side chains, or layer two. So enjoying what I’m seeing on Matic with the, reduction in gas, ease as well and instant transactions. Also really enjoying being the largest holder of Gods Unchained, which recently unleashed “immutable ex,” which again is another component that will allow people to have instant and low fee transactions.
So I think as the future moves forward, I will go where the best products and where the best creations are, and I’m definitely not closed-minded and just stick to one sort of blockchain.
David: So, after building your $WHALE community and token to such success, what advice do you have for other community leaders in the space looking to add utility to their communities through tokenomics?
WhaleShark: So I’m going to preface my answer by saying that: a lot of social tokens and a lot of communities powered by social tokens have sprouted up over the last six months, right? I do adamantly believe that after NFTs, a very good use case of crypto is for community managers, influencers, and creators to incentivize and drive their community by giving them something of tangible value.
So I think that social tokens are the next wave of innovation that will go into the mainstream. And I’ve actually spent a significant amount of time investing in the space as well. However, many community managers or creators, and influencers don’t realize that you can’t just spend days creating the social token, expecting it to fly. When you create a social token, it’s very much a multi-disciplinary effort. In, economics, in-game theory, and monetary policy, in marketing, and branding, and event management. And in community management, right? So I think there are about seven to ten different disciplines that you need to have. And on top of that, you also need to be extremely active.
I can tell you that within the Whale community itself, our total team is about twelve people. And they are online every single day for 24 hours a day because we’re in different timezones. But over that course of time, we are continually having events, continually having discussions, creating new experiences so that the community feels engaged all the time.
And it is very, very labor-intensive. So I think that’s something that a lot of people who are entering the space really do need to consider as they’re going through this. In addition to that, from a tokenomics perspective, make sure that you have a very solid plan in terms of how the tokens flow, how they’re given away, what people can do with them. But at the same time, you also have to have a very flexible mindset in terms of understanding that you can try things, but you will need adjustments.
I can’t even tell you the number of adjustments that we’ve made to the tokenomics to fine-tune it to where we are today. A lot of trial and error. My friend, I wish I could tell you that we got it. We got it perfect from day one, but it’s been a lot of analysis, a lot of trial, a trial and failure, and you know, again, yeah. Try fast, fail fast, right? And then after that, you succeed. So it’s a continuing project. And again, $WHALE for me is my final project for my lifetime.
So I hopefully will have a very long time to be able to fine-tune it. And it should be a very interesting journey.
Read more about Whale Shark and his ventures into virtual fashion and beyond in part two coming up next week and in the meantime, keep up with him on socials:
Ever wanted to visit the moon? Well now you can with the recreation of the Apollo 11 moon landing in Decentraland for the 52nd anniversary taking place this week. And with the release of the first-ever NASA-themed wearables collection, you can walk around just like an astronaut in the metaverse, too!
In 1969, the world watched in grainy black and white as Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Louis Armstrong descended the ladder of the Apollo 11 and first stepped foot on the moon with Armstrong saying those famous words, “That’s one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind”.
In a series of firsts on what happens to be the 52nd Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, Decentraland’s DappCraft Studios together with Banquet Labs, iconic fashion designer Nick Graham, and the Aldrin Family Foundation have teamed up to bring us the first-ever recreation of this incredible moment in history in the Decentraland metaverse.
Planting of the American Flag on the Moon in Decentraland
Photo Credits: Astrid Pilla, July 24, 2021
Nick Graham, known for his often playful, space-inspired themes, designed the first-ever NASA-themed collection of digital wearables featuring the Apollo 11 Mission Patch exclusively for the Decentraland event. This fun space-themed collection makes you want to run around exploring the metaverse like this guy:
Photo Credits: Matt Bond, Founder of Banquet Labs, July 24, 2021
The exclusive collection includes a Spacesuit, White AirSpace Bomber jacket, Space Legs, Space Helmet and Space Boots (Legendary editions, Series of 100), a Silver AirSpace Bomber (Mythic edition, Series of 10), and a Unique 1 of 1 edition AirSpace Gold Bomber.
Photo Credits: Matt Bond, Founder of Banquet Labs, July 24, 2021
The entire collection is available now through the Marketplace of Decentraland. Fun fact: the founder of the famous meme Nyan Cat scooped up the first edition of Graham’s Silver Bomber jacket (pictured above).
Behind the creatively thought-out event was a man by the name of Matt Bond, Founder of Banquet Labs which acted as Mission Control, if you will, specializing in bringing people together in order to create iconic moments such as this one in the Metaverse. With the incredible technical and design knowledge of DappCraft Studios, they were able to create a look and feel that was authentic and awe-inspiring. “We wanted to make people feel like they were there on the moon”, says Bond. Decentraland’s DappCraft Studios carefully re-created the moon setting, complete with the sun shining down upon the moon, engulfing all attendees in the vastness of space. The Apollo 11 came down from above as we all stood on the “moon” watching, and we listened as we heard the broadcast between an astronaut and mission control, just like in 1969. And then we watched as first Armstrong and then Aldrin came out of the shuttle and planted the American Flag on the moon’s surface. To everyone’s delight, Graham’s wearable collection appeared from an explosion of asteroids and most attendees flew around the moon and tried to climb into the space shuttle. Some took photo ops with the astronauts. The goal was to give the feeling that you were actually on the moon right there experiencing the landing, and together with the space-themed music and location of the shuttle above us, they really nailed it.
“Working with a huge entity like NASA and given the importance of the event, we really didn’t want it to feel gimmicky”, says Bond. Mission accomplished. It was a sophisticated and fun as well as awe-inspiring event for everyone. DCL Curations respectfully earned the nickname of “CapCom” after the critical role he played in seamless communication with everyone on the project, just like the Capsule Communicator on a genuine space mission.
Nick Graham checking out the Apollo 11 in Decentraland. Photo Credits: Astrid Pilla, July 24, 2021
Any space-loving collectors out there will be thrilled to learn that Banquet has a few more events coming up centered around other NASA Missions, as well as other sub-based themes. “Our goal is to bring well-known designers and creators into the Metaverse with these projects,” says Bond. In the works also are plans to bring Decentraland-specific creators into the Fashion and Creative industries in the real world, and I’m personally here for it. Imagine the possibilities of such a historic full-circle moment between the Metaverse and the Real World.
A donation to the Aldrin Family Foundation non-profit will be made from the proceeds of this iconic event, supporting their mission to provide STEAM-based education tools in support of future space travelers.
In case you missed it, you can still experience the Apollo 11 event in Decentraland by clicking here.
Watch a recap of the event from DappCraft Studios:
Featured Image Credit: Matt Bond, Founder of Banquet Labs, July 24, 2021
Share this article:
[addtoany]
Axie Infinity, the wildly popular virtual world NFT game, recently hit a series of landmarks that revealed just how successful of a force the game has become and how much more may lie ahead. The virtual world game, which features appealingly designed “pets,” or “Axies”, offers a variety of ways to earn money, from breeding to battling. Steadily building since late 2017, Axie‘s recent explosive growth is now catching attention across NFT and crypto demographics as both a business and community success.
“Axie Infinity Community!”
Axie Infinity, or Axie, for short, at first appears to be a fairly simple concept that reveals its complexity as one digs deeper. In the Axie Infinity Whitepaper, the game is described as a:
“Pokémon-inspired universe where anyone can earn tokens through skilled gameplay and contributions to the ecosystem. Players can battle, collect, raise, and build a land-based kingdom for their pets. It’s also taken on characteristics of a social network and jobs platform due to the strong community and play to earn opportunities that have come from its early success.”
The play-to-earn concept is key to Axie‘s popularity. Axie has multiple ways to earn in the game with more on the way. Just as the “play” side evolves, so too does the “earn” side.
According to its timeline, Axie Infinity‘s development began in 2017 with its first Axie presale in February of 2018. Parent company Sky Mavis was officially launched in early 2018 with headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam where it is led by CEO Trung Thanh Nguyen. More importantly, the timeline reveals the systematic development of Axie which laid the foundation for its recent explosive growth.
Growth highlights include:
“Axie Infinity has generated over $39 million worth of total revenue between July 10th and July 17th, 2021…To put into perspective just how astonishing that figure is, in the same span Ethereum and Bitcoin generated $37.9 million and $4.7 million in total revenues respectively.” (William M. Peaster)
“Over the past 24 hours, 7 days, and 30 days, Axie Infinity has done more volume than any other NFT Marketplace, including open ones like OpenSea, Foundation, and Rarible, and asset-specific ones like CryptoPunks, NBA TopShot, and SoRare. It’s now third all-time by volume, and amazingly, its past 30-day volume alone would rank third all-time!” (Packy McCormick)
“Today they’re getting ready to surpass Fortnite as the largest discord community in the world.” (Ryan Sean Adams)
Many factors have played into Axie‘s success, from consistent development to great art to the opportunity to play-to-earn. Axie‘s overall set of features already feels quite complete with more to come. However, Axie‘s deeper appeal and perhaps, one day, its historical significance derives from the overlap of community and play-to-earn heightened during the Covid pandemic. A recent documentary explores this element:
“‘PLAY-TO-EARN’ | Trailer”
“PLAY-TO-EARN” is a documentary by Coindesk columnist Leah Callon-Butler. Callon-Butler first wrote about a community in the Philippines, Cabanatuan City, where seemingly everyone played Axie Infinity. Callon-Butler then went on to create the “PLAY-TO-EARN” documentary about the village’s relationship to Axie. Both the documentary and Cabanatuan City are now symbolic of the potentially life-changing economic power of Axie and the community forces that have become part of the game’s power.
As she notes in her follow-up article, the earnings from Axie enabled whole families to play and to earn the money they needed to get through the Covid crisis when so many lost their jobs. While the Philippines is not the only nation where Axie Infinity is popular, it has been the strongest example of widespread uptake fueled by stories of gaming success such as the man who bought two houses with his winnings.
As Yield Guild co-founder and NFTS WTF DAO member Gabby Dizon states:
The most important thing to understand about #PlayToEarn is that we're arming people with hope. Once they understand that their gaming skills can give them a better life, it gives them agency to take control of their own lives and make it better. How many games can do that?
The unique ability of the Axie Infinity team to grow a virtual world game over years and successfully connect to players in a meaningful way is in itself a huge accomplishment. To have an effect on the economic well-being of whole communities reveals Axie Infinity as an example of the potential for NFTs to become a tool for creating a better world.
On July 23, 2020, Jose Delbo released his soon-to-be iconic NFT comic book “Death …. No Escape”. One year later, in collaboration with his grandson’s Apollo NFT Studios, they are celebrating the first anniversary of his now-legendary drop with a new collection of unique offerings entitled “Death …. Reanimated.” Spread out over two separate dates, the first drop comes on July 23, 2021, via Makersplace. The collection consists of six limited edition pieces with hand-signed limited edition prints that incorporate augmented reality. They will release a seventh piece, “Death …Reanimated,” an edition of 250 NFTs reimagining his groundbreaking “Death …No Escape” book as animated comic short films. The final edition will be released as a one-of-one consisting of the inked art used to create the original “Death … No Escape” cover. Also included in the drop will be various perks and rewards for past Jose Delbo collectors.
This drop, and its historical predecessor, result from the recent discovery by Delbo of blockchain technology and all that it can do for artists like himself. He was already an accomplished professional artist who started his illustrious career at the age of 16 and has worked on projects that span generations. From an illustrated tale of Dwight Eisenhower, the famed Yellow Submarine comic for the Beatles, and the Disney classic 101 Dalmations in the late 1960s. His later work for Marvel and DC included the Justice League’s holy trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and comic book adaptations of 80’s Cartoons like the Transformers and Thundercats. Still, after all his time in comics, Delbo had never been one to self publish and found the prospect of pushing his unique story that is image-driven with very little text to be daunting. So, in true comic book fashion, Satoshi the Creator and his new technology came to the rescue.
Death No Escape Cover by Jose Delbo
After his grandson sat him down and explained the intricacies of blockchain technology, and NFTs in particular, Delbo rapidly progressed from novice to expert. Then, releasing what may very well be the first completely original comic book available only as an NFT on the blockchain, they sold in small batches with the final allotment of 20 selling out in one day and fetching the attractive price of 1ETH each.
The success of his NFT comic led to a surge of interest in comic book art, just as the NFT market was exploding, and found Delbo occupying space as one of the most well-known artists in the crypto-art market. With a string of releases and collaborations with some of the top artists in the space, such as Pr1mal Cypher, Mark McKenna, Vuho Studios, and Anna Zhilyaeva. Delbo has crafted a compelling vision with his Death character, enabling him to become the staple in the NFT Community that he is today. Recently Delbo working in conjunction with his grandson’s company, Apollo NFT Studios, has gathered a team of the top 3D modelers and animators to reimagine the Death comic in a new way that he believes may well be the future of comic art on the blockchain.
The drop goes live on July 23, 2021, on Makersplace.com. Marking the first anniversary of the Argentinian-born comic artist transformation of not only himself but digital comics, NFT’s and the blockchain itself.
“At first, he didn’t fully understand the concept of selling art digitally as he had always been a physical artist. But then I explained the basic features of the technology to him, namely, that the blockchain would allow people to know that the digital art was actually coming from him and that it would allow him to create limited numbers of the art; he was pretty happy to just dive in and was excited at the potential of a whole new group of fans. No one had any idea what would happen next.”
Nick Frontera. Founder of Apollo NFT. Grandson to Jose Delbo.
Share this article:
[addtoany]
You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you that 70 years ago, your government rounded up homeless kids and then started using them for scientific experiments before blasting them off into space. Of course, this never happened, yet it did happen to man’s best friend. Exactly 70 years ago today, the first attempted flight to space carrying two such dogs returned them both safely back to earth, while other launches resulted in canine deaths. Nearly 100 dogs have been to space from different programs, and in 1957, Laika (nicknamed a “Muttnik” in reference to her being mixed-breed and the first spacecraft, Sputnik) became the first living being to die orbiting the earth. Laika’s involuntary act of courage is commemorated today with Cosmic Paws, a generative art collection of NFTs celebrating the illustrious history of dogs in space.
“This is all about the love of two things, art, and space,” says Mike Mongo, astronaut teacher and author of the children’s book, The Astronaut Instruction Manual. “The Muttniks led us to space. They get to be part of our future as well as our past,” Mongo emphasized. An official ambassador of ULA-supported Johnny Appleseed in Space and founder of The Humannaires Initiative, Mongo has owned and trained dogs since he was a child and loves space as a source of inspiration. “Creators are collectors,” he said. “We don’t get to generative NFTs and collectibles without comic books and trading cards,” Mongo reminded us. “I collected comic books and Garbage Pail Kids. I will always collect street art and stickers,” he said.
If randomly generated collectible NFTs were rated by their visual aesthetics alone, Cosmic Paws would certainly vie for Best in Show. Noteworthy differences that separate this project aesthetically from many of the other randomly generated NFT projects are that Muttniks aren’t 8-bit designs; they’re also female. “This is something I haven’t seen much of, which is a very female point of view,” says Kyle Schember. “I think it’s really fun. Let’s hope the art speaks for itself.” Each Muttnik will cost .06Ξ each, and none of them will be gifted or given away; this is an entirely random collection that affords anyone a fair and equal shot at something rare, even if it takes a year to sell all 10,000 of them.
cosmicpaws.io
Another interesting aspect of this sales process is that each potential collector can perform a REgeneration to discover what their Muttnik will look like in advance of minting the NFT to the blockchain. Until now, collectors typically purchase randomly generated NFT collectibles sight-unseen at the point of minting, or they’re forced to patiently await the NFT reveal date. For Cosmic Paws, you can generate a different Muttnik over and over until you like something. You might generate a Muttnik you love—spin again anyway, and get a Leika you don’t like very much. “When a Muttnik is REgenerated and not claimed, there is practically zero chance that version will be seen again,” Mike Mongo emphasized. You may really like your Leika even if it doesn’t look rare, yet nobody will know if it’s rare until the entire project is revealed. This strategy can captivate collectors as they continue to calculate the supply of rare based on the scarcity of Muttnik attributes that have already been minted. Unknown possibilities present an intriguing gaming aspect for crypto art flippers to become collectible art REgenerators.
But wait—where’s the utility? “What we do know, is how to write on the blockchain, and we figured out the random generator, which was really, really tough,” says subtractive. To reward its community and cultivate a creative arthouse of space dogs, the first 5,000 Muttnik token holders will begin a voting process to select a remix artist from the community while a “Paws in Space” selection committee of top collectors considers the next project from a list of dog space heroes. The winning community artist is announced and onboarded to use the Muttnik regeneration platform for a Laika V2 Muttnik remix. “We will onboard them to do their own collection, through our platform, then wash, rinse, and repeat again,” says subtractive. “ We can work with artists who don’t know how to do this so artists in our community can be the next in line to produce the next round,” he said. “You have full permission to print, do t-shirts, do whatever you want with it.”
cosmicpaws.io
Share this article:
[addtoany]
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.
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.
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.
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.
Celebrated artist, Begoña Toledo (aka Boxhead), presents a large-scale installation of her iconic character featuring three of her latest NFTs on Foundation.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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
