I feel straight foolish writing about NFTs right now and was considering pushing this back to next week when things have, hopefully, cooled off a bit. But I’ve been away for a few weeks even before the FTX saga started and thought that maybe some would find refuge in a bit of normalcy. Plus it was already written, albeit not exactly my highest quality work. But its a Friday night and anyone sitting in front of their screens right now probably doesn’t care about jpegs too much at the moment, so we publish anyway.
This week has been absolute hell for many and the hits seem to keep coming. I hope all of you are doing as well as possible. I won’t ramble on too long here (because I believe we’ll be writing an article talking about everything pretty soon), but appreciate you all more than I can say. P1 should hopefully be returning to a more normal schedule in the next week or so - we aren’t going anywhere.
Thanks for reading, custody your coins, keep your head up and fuck SBF.
TLDR:
Art Blocks collections climb across the board
Art Gobblers rise, then fall amidst controversy
Azuki announces clothing collaboration with Ambush
The Beacon prepares to launch Settlements on the 25th
Broadside brings CC0 collections together on November 15
DigiDaigaku announces partnerships ahead of Villains mint
Friendship Bracelets are a free claim for Art Blocks holders\
KPR sees +2,000Ξ of volume on reveal day
The LP is an experiment in bootstrapping NFT liquidity
Memeland announces more details as Piratez mint nears
Pirate Nation is an RPG from former Zynga designers
RENGA teases their next chapter
y00ts are finally here and so are their subDAOs
News and Notes:
Art Blocks Curated collections climb across the board
While there have been few winners in recent weeks, a number of Art Blocks Curated collections have continued to climb as collectors look for assets with more plausible long-term value. As of writing, three AB collections are in the weekly top volume charts on Flip.xyz - Chromie Squiggles, Memories of Qilin and Friendship Bracelets (more on those below). It’s difficult to imagine many collections seeing bullish action any time soon, but Art Blocks often seems to be immune to greater trends.
Archipelago | Twitter | Discord | Website
Azuki announces clothing collaboration with Ambush
Fresh off the Golden Skateboard auction, Azuki has introduced their first (rather) accessible PBT-integrated items. Their collaboration with fashion brand AMBUSH includes a PBT-enabled hoodie in white or black for 0.55Ξ and gold and silver dragon pendants for 0.35Ξ. Anyone could enter the raffle for a chance to purchase the limited-supply merch, with Azuki holders receiving priority over the general public. Given the ever-ongoing debate surrounding royalties, alternative revenue methods are more and more important and Azuki is certainly ahead of the pack.
DigiDaigaku announces partnerships ahead of Villains mint
After airdropping Dark Spirits and Heroes to holders at the end of October, LimitBreak CEO Gabriel Lleydon announced their upcoming Villains collection will include 10,000 new tokens, 6,000 of which will be given out to individuals and groups outside the Digi ecosystem. They’ve also announced partnerships with more NFT projects, including My Pet Hooligan and EtherOrcs, who will receive Digi avatars that are usable in EtherOrcs dungeons. Love him or hate him, Gabe has had his foot on the gas for months now and shows no sign of stopping. Look out for more opportunities to get on the Villains whitelist on his Twitter.
RENGA teases their next chapter
After capturing the spotlight in October and running as high as 3Ξ, RENGA has started prepping holders for what comes next. A picture tweeted on November 7th shows a whirling ball of color underneath a single word, “Origin.” The project from artist DirtyRobot is notoriously tight-lipped, announcing news once it is already finished and live (such as the surprise airdrop to TAOS holders in June). They have been rather quiet since revealing in September, but it may be time to pay attention again soon.
Tales of Elleria gains attention as $ELM hits all-time high
Tales of Elleria is a role-playing GameFi project that may look a bit familiar to those who played DefiKingdoms last year. Heroes can be sent on quests or given assignments to earn rewards in the form of $ELM, their native token, and other in-game assets. Despite opening their mint in March, they didn’t sell out for over six months. The project saw an influx of volume starting around November 4th, with their $ELM token peaking at over $6 on the 6th. Read a bit more about the project in this thread.
y00ts are finally here and so are their subDAOs
On November 4th, holders could finally open their t00bs and reveal their y00ts. The collection of colorful, furry avatars contains cultural references like Noun glasses but brings many new and creative traits to the table, such as the Gold Shoey Guzzler and a variety of color-block glasses inspired by famous artworks. Notably, the collection uses a very balanced trait distribution, leaving the market to determine which traits are most sought after. Since reveal, a multitude of trait-based subDAO have already spun up operations, including n00unsDAO, Orange Club, HoodieDAO and many more.
After the FTX saga began on the 8th, Frank openly questioned bridging the Dust Labs collections to Ethereum. He deleted the tweet shortly after but continued to address the possibility and was incredibly open about it, including the community in many of the discussions. For now, it appears they will be staying put on Solana. While many were angered by so much as the idea, Frank simply wants to do what’s best for his holders, which I admire personally. Stay strong solbros.
65◎ floor | 15,000 supply | 375 DUST mint | minted 9-5-22
Hyperspace | Twitter | Discord | Website
Recent Launches:
Art Gobblers rise, then fall amidst controversy
After minting on Halloween, Art Gobblers saw sales around 12Ξ out of the gate. Trading volume quickly surpassed 10,000Ξ as Gobblers rose to a peak above 20Ξ in the week that followed. Their fall came just as quickly as their rise, though, as Twitter was aflame with controversy surrounding the project for days - something that now seems like a distant memory.
Observers took issue with their seemingly influencer-focused distribution method, the strange and suggestive artwork and dug up some of Justin Roiland’s previous works filled with offensive and inappropriate themes. While the project is far from over - it could take over 10 years to mint all 10,000 Gobblers - it might feel like it to some given the tremendous drop in floor price and its failure (so far) to permeate NFT culture, something which was essential to its “flywheel” of artists creating art for Gobblers to gobble. Where they go from here is anyone’s guess.
Friendship Bracelets are a free claim for Art Blocks holders
Created by Alexis André in collaboration with Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon (a.k.a. Snowfro), Friendship Bracelets are an open edition claimable by anyone who held an Art Blocks token on 10/26/22. It is a token of appreciation for Art Blocks supporters and is the first collection in the new Art Blocks Exploration series. The collection saw over 2,500Ξ in volume in the past week and reached a floor of ~0.35Ξ on the 7th. Eligible wallets can mint two Friendship Bracelets any time before the claim window closes on 1/10/23. Read more details about the project here.
KPR sees +2,000Ξ of volume on reveal day
Despite revealing yesterday in the midst of one of the worst weeks in the history of crypto, KPR has done quite well. The collection has received praise from a number of notable collectors for its refreshing art style and overall quality from top to bottom. Only Bored Apes sit ahead of KPRs on weekly volume charts, with over 2,000Ξ in volume coming after the reveal yesterday. While we don’t yet know what to expect next, it was refreshing to see a project deliver such quality while there is so much to be negative about in the market.
The LP is an experiment in bootstrapping NFT liquidity
Many are in search of a solution to the royalties debate and The LP has proposed an experimental one. The project has created “a new model to empower NFT creators” while solving NFT liquidity issues. Using their CC0 contracts, creators can set up a mint that holds funds in trustless escrow, provides instant liquidity by withholding 1,000 tokens for liquidity pools and paying fees to token holders and creators. They are currently running a Dutch auction will reach a lower limit of 0.0111Ξ on the 17th. While it’s unclear whether the project will sell out, this is exactly the type of experimentation and innovation needed to find new revenue streams for creators.
Pirate Nation is an RPG from former Zynga designers
Pirate Nation will see players sending their Pirates on quests, obtaining new items and XP and building their own personalized islands. The game is being developed by Proof of Play, a blockchain gaming company with a team that hails from a variety of industry including game design, social media and fintech. CEO Amitt Mahajan has a lengthy resume that includes co-founding Farmville during his time at Zynga. Their game, which will be on Polygon, will have a playable beta within the next few weeks.
Upcoming Launches:
The Beacon prepares to launch Settlements on the 25th
The social roguelite RPG will launch an early version of their Settlements on November 25th. During this time, players can earn some NFTs, become a founding member by purchasing a Founder’s Pack and test the single-player PVE mode. The Beacon will be launching on Arbitrum and partnering with TreasureDAO, who talked to the team about various aspects on the game including homestead customization, the tavern dialog system and how they structure dungeon drops - read their thread here. Their distribution method and timeline is a bit unconventional, so if you are interested in the game, I’d recommend diving into their docs and joining the Discord for more info. Read their full post on the Settlements launch and Pets mint here.
Broadside brings CC0 collections together on November 15
A CC0 collection with traits contributed and inspired by projects including Rekt Guy, Cryptoadz, Moonbirds and more, Broadside is a decentralized story that puts your character at the center. After minting their avatar collection, holders will receive 11 episodic NFTs telling the story of their specific character, which can then be merged into a 1/1 book. The collection mints on OpenSea on November 15th and those who claimed their open edition Foreword last week will have priority.
Memeland announces more details as Piratez mint nears
After announcing the collection what seems like forever ago, 9GAGCEO and the Memeland team have begun releasing more details around the mint for their main collection, Piratez. Potatoz holders can mint one Pirate for each of their Potatoz, detailed in this tweet. They have also been sharing teasers for the full reveal of Potatoz, which have gone through various stages of growth since minting in July. Look out for more info, as it seems Memeland may be coming soon.
NFT Market Overview:
A lot has happened since I last posted a few weeks ago - Blur has become a dominant force and a real competitor for OpenSea’s marketshare, royalty debates have raged on and listing incentives on various marketplaces have shifted market dynamics a bit. Yet it doesn’t particularly feel like the time to dive into all of it given the week’s events. Certainly some discounts out there if you’re crazy enough to take them, but who knows if they’ll look like discounts by next week. Stay safe.
Other Stuff Happened/ing
NFTs:
AI League is an officially-licensed collab between FIFA and ASM
Game of Thrones is launching digital collectibles
MightyNet Genesis Pass kicks off the Mighty Action Heroes ecosystem
General News:
Instagram launching an NFT marketplace powered by Polygon
LooksRare is launching an NFT aggregator soon
OpenSea gets rid of royalties, then brings them back
OpenSea launches copymint detection system, trait offers
Wooooof, FINALLY!!!!
I've been waiting for it for so long!
Thanks guys, amazing job))