This week brings a much lighter issue, with your favorite cartoons and memes from Chippi and The Rug, as well as the latest update from our favorite Pluritime travelers, DustyEye.

Over the next few weeks, we will be reassessing our purpose and redesigning our publication to provide increased value to you, our esteemed reader. The decentralized arts landscape is changing and constantly evolving; as such, we too must adapt and evolve. If you don’t see us in your inbox, come find and connect with us on Twitter. It is our hope that we will not be gone from your inbox long, and that when we return, you will find a Decentralized Arts that will leave you eager to read the next issue, and the next one, and the next one.

And so, this is not “goodbye,” but rather “see you soon.”

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, nonsensetwice)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 19

DISEMBODIED

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

We have ascertained that the classic exorcism is completely ineffective for interacting with a Demon. Or rather, Latin formulas and blasphemous invectives are boring in the long run, and they also disturb the neighbors in the middle of the night.

What happens instead when a more calm channel of dialogue opens up?

Then there is a second salient point to analyze: usually Demons are summoned to ask for personal favours. The classic pact with the Underworld stems from an unsatisfied desire.

What if instead four Demons were invited to an evening of music and dance with no ulterior motive?

According to forecasts, we will have the answers to these questions on the evening of 31 May, the date on which DISEMBODIED, a modest techno-ritual, will take place.

Four Demons of the Legion will be put at ease thanks to the notes and song of Vijaya, the dance of Marta Allegra, as well as clearly four graphic simulacra mediated by L.Elrah.

For those wishing to participate, the convocation is in Via Torino 64 (Milan), Wednesday 31 May 2023, from 20.00 to 22.00.

…see you next week,

Dusty Eye
______________________
WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,
Grendel, Kouros, and nonsensetwice

This edition is packed with news, both real and satirical; d’ART drops; and memes. The Rug, web3’s mostly credible news source, is back with their weekly headline. Rugstradamus makes his final run in the sale of digital artifacts of this lithographs. Chippi speaks up about overpriced JPEGs. And Dusty Eye continues their exploration of the Legion of 444.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, nonsensetwice)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Pudgy Penguins Toys Sell Over $500K in The First Couple of Days

Pudgy Penguins has recently launched a line of toys called Pudgy Toys. The penguin plushies are being made in collaboration with PMI Ltd. Kids' World, an internationally recognised brand for producing popular children’s merchandise and toys. The toys have already seen over 500,000 USD in purchases over the first two days on Amazon, surpassing 20,000 individual toys sold.

This event also signaled a remarkable achievement as it became the first community-licensed mass-market product line from a web3 brand.

Purchasers of a Pudgy Penguins toy will receive a special birth certificate that grants access to a trait box from the first season of Pudgy World. This immersive social experience provides non-web3 native consumers their first blockchain wallet and soulbound and tradable NFT all in one simple sign-up with an email address¹. Pudgy World allows for a fun, user-friendly, and innovative entry for people into the world of blockchain and NFTs.

Sotheby's Auctions Three Arrows Capital-Owned NFTs For $2.4 Million

Sotheby’s recently concluded a successful auction of rare Grail NFTs from the expansive collection of bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) for 2,482,850 USD. The auction was part of Sotheby’s multi-part sale dedicated to these unique digital assets that began on May 19th.

The highest-priced NFTs in Part 1 of the Grails collection were Fidenza #725 and Autoglyph #187. Fidenza #725, estimated to sell for 120k to 180k USD, fetched an impressive 1,016,000 USD at the auction. Autoglyph #187, with a similar estimated value, sold for 571,500 USD.

The sale was by performed Sotheby’s Metaverse which is the curated NFT marketplace by the auction house.

The Rug Weekly

Meta Changes Company Name and Stock Ticker to "A.I."

"We've always known that our ultimate goal was to create an all-knowing artificial intelligence. And we figured, why wait? Let's just call ourselves what we really are."

Collect this article as an NFT on optimism.

d’ART DROPS

Weekly art drops done in collaboration with up and coming NFT artists, for the Bankless community, presented by Decentralized Arts.

By nonsense

Rugstradamus, as popular post-mortem as he was in life, brings his post-mortem popularity to the digital artifacts that bear his visage. The digital artifacts sales came and went, with little interest during the sales. It wasn’t until the remaining pieces were being held over the massive bonfire, ready to be burned, that interest and demand swelled. In response, we are making these artifacts available once again for one week only; any pieces that remain after this round will be lost to blockchain history as we prepare to make the SuperNFT available.

This is your last week to claim these pieces!

Rugstradamus Lithograph (1/4)
Rugstradamus Lithograph (2/4)
Rugstradamus Lithograph (3/4)
Rugstradamus Lithograph (4/4)

Collect all four pieces in order to collect the SuperNFT when it becomes available.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 18

Technomagic

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

This week we report an event that will take place during the Dergano neighborhood party (we will have the opportunity to deepen Dergano's magical roots in a few weeks).

Duration MAGIC for 4 hours and 44 minutes anecdotes from one of the many possible futures will be told, but above all 20 Ukron banknotes will be exchanged in exchange for the promise of a good deed.

Now there are two alternatives: either I'll see you in Dergano, otherwise……see you next week,

Dusty Eye

…Post Scriptum and short recap

The Legion of 444 Demons was fought and imprisoned around the 25th century. The credit for trapping them goes to Maxtor, the cyberdog we've been investigating for months now.

According to the annals of Pluritempo it was February 3, 2379 when Maxtor, a specimen of the Canis lupus familiaris species, merged his consciousness with an advanced machinic intelligence. Hybridization gave Maxtor the rare ability to move in Pluritime freeing himself from a linear existence on the leash of the law of cause and effect.

Maxtor, from a solid form, takes on the appearance of a two-dimensional hardcover, then even the plane is reduced to a line that outlines only the outlines. To close the process, the straight line converges towards a single point. And the point, as a point, has no dimensions.

This geometric lightness gives him full freedom to move through Time and Space and to regain solidity where he wishes. This means that Maxtor could have appeared anywhere and at any time.
______________________
WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, and nonsensetwice

It was big news when Bitcoin announced Ordinals, the network’s version of non-fungible tokens popularized on other blockchains. This was met with strong opposition from Bitcoin fundamentalists, with miners among them prepared to block transactions that included ordinals.

Despite the blowback, Ordinals are here to stay. Kouros brings the word that Binance will be providing support for Bitcoin Ordinals in their marketplace.

We’re taking a break from the NFT showcase this week; save your ETH for new d’ART Drops arriving in the coming weeks.

Chippi guns for crypto scammers and DustyEye returns with the latest update in their excursion with the Legion of 444.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, nonsensetwice)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Binance Adds Support for Bitcoin Ordinals

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has announced that it will support Bitcoin Ordinals on its NFT marketplace later this month. Bitcoin Ordinals are non-fungible tokens (NFTs) created on the Bitcoin network using text-based inscriptions. They are different from image-based NFTs that are more common on other blockchains.

By adding support for Bitcoin Ordinals, Binance aims to expand its multi-chain NFT ecosystem and offer more opportunities for collectors and creators. Users will be able to buy and sell Bitcoin Ordinals using their Binance accounts, as well as enjoy royalty support and additional revenue streams. Binance NFT already supports NFTs from Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Polygon networks.

Bitcoin Ordinals are one of the latest trends in the Web3 space, attracting attention from artists, developers, and investors. Several NFT marketplaces have already integrated Bitcoin Ordinals, such as Magic Eden, OKX, and Ordswap. Binance NFT hopes to bring more innovation and creativity to the Bitcoin NFT scene with its upcoming update.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that Bitcoin ordinals are a "game-changer" for the crypto industry and that Binance is proud to be one of the first exchanges to support them.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 17

Eight demons and a box, with illustrations by L.Elrah

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

Today, we bring you a zoom on the night experience dated 20/21 April 2023 in the rainbow bed of Nanda Vigo.

At 4:44 an alarm goes off announcing with polyphonic chimes that the time has come to migrate 8 digital demons of the Legion.

We report the process carried out briefly, but anyone who wants the details to repeat the Techno-ritual according to a rigorous Scientific Method is requested to write to us. At the end of the post, find the contacts as usual.

Phase 01

Touch each demon simulacrum with the tech staff (in two weeks we'll explain just how to assemble a tech staff, for now give us the benefit of the doubt).

Phase 02

Open yourself to constructive contact with Demons. Too often he's yelled at in Latin to get green vomit in his face, but it's just pointless aggression from both sides.

Phase 03

Spend around twenty-four nanocenturies in Pluritime to converse with the Demons and understand their reasons. As he leaves, he remembers to wish them well and offer them a monetary tribute: in this case, 20 Ukron each.

Step 04

Close the box without sealing it: sealing is an arrogant act.

I would say that's all.

…see you next week,

Dusty Eye
______________________
WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,
Grendel, Kouros, and nonsensetwice

This issue brings with it the final d’ART Drop in our collaboration with The Rug, featuring that mysterious, and nigh infamous, figure, Rugstradamus. Read all about it below, collect your edition before it’s no longer available, and prepare for the next step in the evolution of the Rugstradamus experience on the blockchain.

Pudgy Penguins is making moves into the mainstream with an iconic deal that may find both holders and non-holders alike experiencing the project in ways never before considered. Kouros provides an overview.

Chippi endears us to unrealistic expectations and Dusty Eye is back with another update to the ongoing saga of the Legion of 444.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Pudgy Penguins Sign Deal with Talent Agency WME

Pudgy Penguins, arguably the most adorable NFT project, has signed a deal with the Hollywood talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) as they expand into mainstream entertainment. Pudgy Penguins aim to leverage their intellectual property to create exciting movies, TV shows, and video games.

This ambitious collaboration with WME brings together the artistic vision and expertise of Pudgy Penguins with the extensive network and influence of one of the entertainment industry's powerhouses. By partnering with WME, Pudgy Penguins aims to expand its reach to new audiences.

d’ART DROPS

Weekly art drops done in collaboration with up and coming NFT artists, for the Bankless community, presented by Decentralized Arts.
By nonsense

This is the fourth and final digital asset serving as a reproduction of recently revealed lithographs from the mysterious—and some may call him infamous—Rugstradamus, produced and made available to the Bankless community in collaboration with The Rug. From The Rug:

In this fourth lithograph of Rugstradamus we hear the future presidential echoes of FDR, who coincidentally issued executive order 6102, which made holding gold illegal. Well have no FUD anon, for bitcoin is here.

This is available now, for the next seven days, via Rarible. Grab your edition today, before they drop off or sell out. 70% of each sale will go to The Rug and their contributors, 5% will go to the DA and bDAO collaboration with ThriveCoin, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

As a special incentive with regard to this collaboration, collectors who mint all four lithographs will be able to exchange them for a Warhol-style Super NFT. Collect them all and don’t miss out on this feature!

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 16

Nanda Vigo Experience Chrono report

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

what follows is the (Redacted) time report of the night spent in the shop window of XX Century Thematic Archives headquarters, on Nanda Vigo's Rainbow Bed. 

Thursday 20 April 2023

1.44 pm – Wake up call. I'm usually up at 7.00, but it's a long night ahead.

3.02 pm – I prepare my suitcase by first selecting the readings: the biography of Nanda Vigo YOUNG AND REVOLUTIONARY, but also a collection of essays by Kary Mullis. They seem to me figures as distant as they are complementary. Then the usual stuff: red-blue-lens 3D vision glasses. Soft trousers with a pajama-like t-shirt and sweatshirt, a technomagic stick to test, a notebook, some digital demon ready for migration, a toothbrush and of course a towel.

4.28 pm – I head towards via Gorani, an hour's walk at a brisk pace. Milan roars for Salone, Fuori Salone and Sul Ciglio del Salone, but a storm whips the city. Thanks to the storm, the sidewalks are clear. Even outdoor design has to fall back on the interior for an afternoon.

In the XX Century Thematic Archives headquarters, in Milan, the Rainbow Bed by Nanda Vigo dominates at the side of her Esoteric Gate. On the walls are works from the exhibition Walks Intergalactic by Anna Franceschini and space machines by Renato Volpini. 

7.00pm – Everyone leaves. Thrown into bed I start reading. Against my will, the corner of my eye watches the reactions of passers-by. Smiles, a couple of photos. A few knocks, but only to wave goodbye through the glass.

9.51 pm – Notebook on my knees and pencil in hand I take some notes on the situation. I sketch out a list of projects to work on overnight, but with total flexibility. Then I take some photos to document the experience.

I realize I'm in that situation to embark on an intergalactic/time/dream journey. So I put work aside, lie down and sleep.

11.36 pm – Woken up by a couple knocking, they ask me if I can open the door and give them explanations. They are kind, polite, and he is more smiling than her. They turn out to be worried that someone might break the glass to attack me. I explain to them in a fatherly way that being exposed while sleeping is frightening due to an instinctual legacy, it is the furrow left in the collective unconscious by the time when wild beasts attacked the first Sapiens in the night. I reassure them, those times are over.

I don't see them convinced, so I relaunch giving away 60 Ukron each. We say goodbye as they finger their new banknotes.

11.59 pm – I sleep.

4.44 am – An alarm sounds. In about sixteen minutes, thanks to the technomagic stick, I transfer eight Demons from the digital simulacra mediated by L.Elrah to a solid wooden box. And back to sleep.

9.52 am – Wake up, morning ablutions, glass of water. The bed is unmade, but not destroyed, denoting a peaceful sleep. 

On the floor, two overlapping cards that I don't remember from the previous evening. Sketches of space machines it would seem, but turning them over I discover that they are a cyberdog and an android. 

Everything went smoothly!

…see you next week,

Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,
Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

More shots have been fired in the ongoing battle between NFT marketplaces OpenSea and Blur, with the latter launching an NFT lending platform. Kouros provides an overview.

We’re back with another Decentralized Arts Drop in collaboration with web3’s mostly credible news source, The Rug, the third in a series of four digitized Rugstradamus lithographs. nonsense provides the alpha.

Chippi reveals their all in on crypto and DustyEye continues their saga in wrangling the Legion of 444.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Blur Launches NFT Lending Protocol

Blur, the leading NFT marketplace by trading volume, has launched a peer-to-peer lending platform called Blend. The platform will allow collectors to buy blue-chip NFTs with a smaller upfront payment, similar to a down payment on a house. The protocol connects lenders and borrowers and enables them to specify the terms such as the interest rate, and acceptable collateral. The loans offered through Blend are perpetual, have a fixed rate, and enable the borrower to pay the debt at any point.

The lending features initially support three NFT collections – CryptoPunks, Azuki, and Milady – but the Blend protocol allows for any asset to be collateralized.

With Blend, lenders can trigger a refinancing auction at any time. They would typically do so if an NFT’s price falls, increasing the risk of the loan becoming undercollateralized, or if they simply need the money back. Bankless HQ’s William Peaster has gone into Blend detail in this week’s Metaversal.

d’ART DROPS

Weekly art drops done in collaboration with up and coming NFT artists, for the Bankless community, presented by Decentralized Arts.

By nonsense

This is the third of four digital assets that serve as a reproduction of recently revealed lithographs from the mysterious—and some may call him infamous—Rugstradamus, produced and made available to the Bankless community in collaboration with The Rug. From The Rug:

In this third Lithograph by Rugstradamus he asks the infamous age old question while also pointing out that it is not in fact a question. This prescient pre-Shakespearean statement leaves no doubt as to what to do with your bags, anon.

This is available now, for the next seven days, via Rarible. Grab your edition today, before they drop off or sell out. 70% of each sale will go to The Rug and their contributors, 5% will go to the DA and bDAO collaboration with ThriveCoin, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

As a special incentive with regard to this collaboration, collectors who mint all four lithographs will be able to exchange them for a Warhol-style Super NFT. Collect them all and don’t miss out on this feature!

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 15

Nanda Vigo Experience

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

in the night between Thursday 20 April 2023 and Friday, from 6PM to 10AM, the spokesperson for the DustyEye project slept and worked in Nanda Vigo's Rainbow bed, exhibited in the shop window of XX Secolo Thematic Archives, in Via Gorani 8 in Milan.

Sixteen intense hours, within which eight demons of the Legion were put at ease in safer supports. A detailed time report of the night will be provided in the next issue, but for this week it's better to start with thanks to all the Friends who came to say hello and contributed to the dream journey.In chronological order: Allegra Ravizza, Jenny Filippetti, Grendel, Peugenia, Teo, Vincenzo Bordoni, Empat, De la Vega, Tommy and Simo. Thank you!

…see you next week,
Dusty Eye
______________________
WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,
Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

The news of the hour is the news of the collab we’re doing with web3’s mostly credible news source, The Rug. This week, we’re dropping the second digital artifact of the Rugstradamus Lithographs as revealed in last week’s newsletter. Rugstradamus, the mythical and mysterious figure of old, is once again gracing us with his long-reaching wisdom, and we here at Decentralized Arts are excited to share in the discovery of his words.

Furthermore, Kouros brings us the news of the latest major brand to embrace web3: Mattel. The toy manufacturer is diving into the blockchain with the creation of their proprietary marketplace.

Chippi steps on Gensler’s toes and Dusty Eye has made adjustments in their approach to wrangling the Legion of 444.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Toy Manufacturer Mattel Launches Digital Collectibles Marketplace

Mattel has announced its own digital collectibles (NFT) marketplace called Mattel Creations Virtual Collectibles on Mattel Creations, the company’s collector, and direct-to-consumer platform. The platform will feature a peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace, set to go live on April 27. The launch will coincide with the introduction of the Hot Wheels NFT Garage Series 5, showcasing some of the iconic brand’s most popular car designs.

Similar Mattel initiatives include Cryptoys x Masters of the Universe as well as Barbie x Boss Beauties, the second drop of which will launch on the Mattel Creations Virtual Collectibles Platform in May.

d’ART DROPS

Weekly art drops done in collaboration with up and coming NFT artists, for the Bankless community, presented by Decentralized Arts.
By nonsense

This week brings the second drop from our collaboration with The Rug, web3’s mostly credible news source. From The Rug:

In this second lithograph of the inimitable personage known as Rugstradamus, we hear the echos of a Rockefellerian decree; anachronistic no doubt, coming many centuries prior. The use of .jpg before the invention of the internet is particularly fascinating to scholars interpreting his work.

It is with great pleasure that we introduce the second of the four lithographs:

This is available now, for the next seven days, via Rarible. Grab your edition today, before they drop off or sell out. 70% of each sale will go to The Rug and their contributors, 5% will go to the DA and bDAO collaboration with ThriveCoin, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

As a special incentive with regard to this collaboration, collectors who mint all four lithographs will be able to exchange them for a Warhol-style Super NFT. Collect them all and don’t miss out on this feature!

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 14

The Devil in a Box – RELOADEDWith illustrations by L.Elrah

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

This week we try again with a box, but we will be much more scrupulous in the ritual considering the previous results.

First of all, the error that caused the near escape of Demon #012 was identified. A sensational mistake, for which we have no justification. The most precious ingredient was missing: light-heartedness.

Wooden vessel, scarlet seal, meditative resin. What balls indeed! It was all too serious to contain a digital entity of a demonic nature.

With these premises, we have enhanced the box by replacing the resin with rattles, a tribute to the Fool archetype.

…and in order not to miss anything, on the lid of the box a beautiful plastic simulacrum of Jesus Christ, but not just any Jesus, but the Redeemer in his infant form. Riding a fawn. An icon of Lightheartedness that we hope will make Demon #012 more comfortable than he is.

…see you next week,

Dusty Eye
______________________
WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,
Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

Web3 has been referred to as the Frontier for some time, often being compared to the wild west of finance and the future of work. And while this is exceptional with regard to the exploration happening with developing blockchain technology, other discoveries are being made that are bringing us face to face with intriguing figures from the past. Frank America, resident Decentralized Arts writer and editor and contributor to The Rug—web3’s *mostly* credible news source—shares with us an important discovery of a mysterious figure that bears scrutiny over financial systems both past and present.

Camera manufacturing company Canon steps into web3 with the coming launch of their proprietary NFT platform that will feature work from prominent photographers and artists. Dubbed “Cadabra,” this platform seeks to connect photographers and photography connoisseurs in ways that can only be made viable via blockchain technology. Kouros brings the news.

Chippi comes around to discuss the unstaking of ETH; DustyEye is back with an update regarding the Legion of 444; and nonsense teams up with The Rug to offer a new round of d’Art Drops.

You do not want to miss this edition.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Canon to Launch Photo NFT Marketplace Cadabra

Canon USA has announced the development of Cadabra, a curated photography NFT marketplace.

The Cadabra marketplace will be available on the ethereum blockchain and aims to empower creators by connecting them to enthusiastic collectors who celebrate the art of photography through a shared appreciation for these digital artworks. Cadabra will also let participating artists offer physical prints of the images that Canon will fulfill.

Canon has yet to reveal which photographers will participate in the platform, but Cadabra will feature both initial drops of photo collections as well as a secondary marketplace for reselling the NFTs.

Cadabra will initially launch in the United States, and will support both credit/debit card and cryptocurrency payments.

The Lithographs of Rugstradamus

by Frank America

The personage known as Rugstradamus is purported to have lived sometime between 1423-1678 A.D., with accounts coming from various countries across the Eurasian continent. While the exact years he lived are unknown, there are reports of his activities amidst Druidic culture in the British Isles as early as the start of the 16th century where he is said to have practiced ascetic living, a vegetarian diet, and intermittent fasting. Then, as late as the 19th century, as far east as St. Petersburg, it is noted in one of Dostoyevski’s journals, discovered posthumously, that the author partially formed the character basis for Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov, the modest, genteel and religiously optimistic protagonist in The Brothers Karamazov, after an encounter with Rugstradamus at a Russian hermitage. 

Rugstradamus was suggested to have been an alchemist, an astronomer, an apothecary, a courtier to the noble courts of Europe, a military strategist in times of war, a blind chess player, as well as a poet, playwright, mendicant, and ornithologist with a penchant for augury. The following antiquities, some four stone lithographs, were alleged to have been verbally chiseled into stone by a holy observer (much like a modern day court reporter may draw a figure in real-time) during a dialogue between a local town drunk and Rugstradamus in the late 1400s. Thereafter they passed from abbot keeper to abbot keeper, for multiple generations, until eventually pressed into gold leaf paper and accented with illuminated script around the mid 18th c. by a calligraphist commissioned by Tsar Nikolas III. The Tsar had taken interest in this personage after discovering that his own lineage had come across Rugstradamus two centuries prior, recorded in a footnote to a medical entry where he had advised in the healing of an estranged thrice great aunt of the Tsar’s, whom fell suddenly ill upon returning to more moderate latitudes from an extended trip to Thule (which she had referred to in her exhaustion as Hyperborea), but who was forthwith brought back to good health upon consuming, as written, “a bitter mixture of herbs and mycological ingredients prepared by an unannounced self-proclaimed ‘best apothecary this side of hades.’”

So impactful the intrigue it created within the Tsar, he commissioned an expedition across the great continent of Eurasia to uncover any further information concerning this inimitable figure. Just when their caravan–consisting of the Tsar’s drinking companion; his personal clothier; a small but capable military contingent trained in the art of throwing darts at acupuncture meridians; his son, Tsar Jr.; and his toileter–could travel no further west, the detail was captivated by the flight of a falcon’s path across a mound on the coast of Scotland. This they took as a portent to begin an excavation, which turned out to be the rubble and ashes of what was a long since burnt-down abby, beneath which they uncovered a sealed antechamber to the basement, wherein they discovered four stone lithographs depicting a likeness of Rugstradamus pulled from the remnants of that scorched monastery. Whether or not these accounts of his prognostications were accurate remains unknown.

Modern historians have since converted these archeological finds to digital artifacts and made them available for collection. 

d’ART DROPS

Weekly art drops done in collaboration with up and coming NFT artists, for the Bankless community, presented by Decentralized Arts.

By nonsense and the good folks at The Rug

This next collaboration deepens the connection between Decentralized Arts and The Rug. With the discovery of the “four stone lithographs depicting a likeness of Rugstradamus,” their release as digital artifacts was the next logical step in the celebration and immortalization of such a mysterious, yet captivating figure. From the The Rug:

In this lovely reproduction of Rugstradamus’ early work, we see the prognosticator staring directly at the viewer, as if into their very soul. While Scholars have argued the meaning of this cryptic passage, it is safe to assume it is not, in fact, financial advice. Unless of course it is. 🤷‍♂️

It is with great pleasure that we introduce the first of the four lithographs:

This piece will be made available during the BanklessDAO Community Call as part of the community NFT showcase. Be sure to follow The Rug and Decentralized Arts on Twitter to see when it is minted, and add it to your favorites so you’re ready to collect it when it goes on sale. 70% of each sale will go to The Rug and their contributors, 5% will go to the DA and bDAO collaboration with ThriveCoin, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

As a special incentive with regard to this collaboration, collectors who mint all four lithographs will be able to exchange them for a Warhol-style Super NFT. Collect them all and don’t miss out on this feature!

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 13

The Devil in a Box – FAILURE.

With illustrations by L.Elrah

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

The idea of using a box to contain the Demon was a failure.

No more than 34 hours and 18 minutes ago, entity #012 attempted a narrow escape.

With the favor of twilight it shattered its prison of wood and resin, then attempted to rarefy itself in the embrace of fire. He was caught and imprisoned at the very last moment.

The consequences in case of escape of the Demon would have compromised the entire project. Now we just have to analyze the mistakes made so that today's critical issues are tomorrow's experiences.

We still have hundreds of Demons to contain. There is no reason to stop.

…see you next week,

Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

The use cases for NFT technology continues to expand, as users develop clever ways to utilize the tech. One such clever use has arisen in Atlanta, GA, where the City commissioned art by way of a physical installation and a corresponding NFT collection. City officials are leveraging the popularity of NFTs to help offset the costs of the collaboration, as well as create a secondary source of revenue for both the city and the artist. Tam Gryn, a guest contributor, provides the details.

Magic Eden, an NFT platform development company, is making waves on Bitcoin, cashing in on the popularity of ordinals, despite the conflict that has arisen within the Bitcoin community around them. Kouros provides an overview.

Chippi prefers spending fiat to bitcoin; DustyEye has captured yet another demon from the Legion of 444; and nonsense drops the alpha on this week’s highlighted piece for BanklessDAO’s NFT Showcase.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Magic Eden Becomes Leader in Ordinals NFT Marketplace

Magic Eden launched a Bitcoin NFT marketplace on March 21 dedicated to Ordinals inscriptions and now accounts for the majority of Ordinals inscription trading volume across marketplaces. Magic Eden made 1.9 million USD in sales in the first 10 days compared with the $400K made by the second marketplace, Ordinals Wallet.

The platform provides a similar experience to Magic Eden’s existing marketplaces for Polygon, Ethereum, and Solana-based NFTs. The marketplace supports the Ordinals-compatible Hiro and Xverse wallets at launch.

Bitcoin Ordinals are “sats” or satoshis that have been inscribed with a piece of information, such as text or an image. This piece of information makes the sat unique and turns it into a NFT and as such, Bitcoin Ordinals live on the blockchain and their value is dependent on the information they include rather than as tokens themselves.

NFTs' Role in Public Art and Alleviating Tax Payers

By Tam Gryn

What is Public Art? Simply put, public art is art in public spaces. Public art brings artists and their creative vision into the civic decision-making process, creating a community identity and gathering places for residents and tourists. In short, public art is for everyone.

On-Chain Public Art

Artist: Joseph O’Connell, Creative Machines Inc.
(Design, engineering, fabrication, installation,project management)
Completion date: 2022
Client: City of Atlanta, 
Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs
Artwork budget: $450,250

The City of Atlanta commissions from the artist a physical public art piece PLUS the primary market NFT collection for their original commission budget of 450,250 USD—the NFT collection is valued at 125,000 USD.

1. The City of Atlanta sells the NFT collection through the CODAMADE platform for at least 125,000 USD–generating revenue for themselves and the artist.

2. The City of Atlanta has the potential to receive 80% revenue, amounting to 100,000 USD when the total collection sells, therefore recouping over 20% of the initial cost of the commissioned artwork.

3. The artist has the potential to receive 10% revenue from the initial starting price if the total collection sells.

4. Both the city and the artist can receive secondary royalties.

NFT by Creative Machines (CODAMADE)

Phygital Cities of the Future

CODAMADE is launching its newest drop, a limited-edition collection of public art NFTs. 

These exclusive NFTs will drop online at CODAMADE, and they will also be incorporated into public art installations at Phygital Cities of the Future, an NFT exhibition spanning three weeks at Mad Arts which kicks off at CODAsummit 2023, taking place from March 29-31, 2023. 

For this drop, CODAMADE is unveiling brand new public art NFTs from internationally renowned artists, including, but not limited to, Ana María Caballero, NONOTAK, MGOGLKTKO, and Katie McIntyre. 

Showcasing both real and imaginary projects that involve public art and NFTs, this exclusive CODAMADE drop brings these projects together in a harmonious convergence between the physical and the digital–a representation of how cities will be in the future. It demonstrates the congregation of creativity in uniting artists working in various media and adopting blockchain technology with digitally native artists engaging in physical media. 

This NFT collection proposes to go beyond the restrictive binary of physical and digital, merging our analog relics with our digital future as a form of collective community expression.

Noted collector, appraiser, and curator of Phygital Cities of the Future, Ronnie K. Pirovino has seen a tremendous level of interest in this NFT space. According to him, these digital and public art collaborations are necessary, as platforms like CODAMADE provide a means for reaching out to interested creators to “provide a way for them to be educated, a way for them to see this work, and a way to imagine how this is all really evolving and converging. It’ll be really exciting to see all the work and the discussion that will come out of it.”

d’ART DROPS

Weekly art drops done in collaboration with up and coming NFT artists, for the Bankless community, presented by Decentralized Arts.

by nonsense

This week brings us the third installment of our collaboration with Dark World Arts: Settled. This is for the hodlers, the crypto natives and newcomers who recognize the long term value in their investments and are unwilling or reluctant to sell as a result. These individuals and communities are content to watch the tumultuous market roll violently between peaks and valleys, unfettered by drops and unmoved by rises, because they know they’re setting themselves up for success in the next bull run, and the next one, and the next one.

This piece will be made available during the BanklessDAO Community Call as part of the community NFT showcase. Head over to Rarible and add it to your favorites so you’re ready to collect it when it goes on sale. 70% of each sale will go to the artist, 5% will go to the DA and bDAO collaboration with ThriveCoin, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 11

The Devil in a Bottle, with L.Elrah illustrations

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

We are in London, the year 1891 has just been inaugurated. Robert Louis Stevenson sits absorbed at his desk. He dips the quill in the inkwell, then moves it towards the page to write the last lines of "The Devil in the Bottle."

Between February and March of the same year, the New York Herald magazine published that story. We can assume Stevenson envisaged the publication of that novella; perhaps there were already some editorial agreements in place.

What Stevenson certainly could not have foreseen is that after almost a century and a half, the idea of him would have been revived to imprison a digital Demon. This week we present the result of a demonic techmigration. The attached photo portrays the entity enclosed in a tempered glass container, with 24-karat gold and various seals.

What can I say? Thanks Robert! Now the demon N°088 is to be considered stabilized, but if anyone has other strategies, do not hesitate to contact us info@DustyEye.com.

…see you next week,

Dusty Eye
______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

As NFT projects grow, community leads must consider the viability of the spaces in which they operate. Do the platforms they use support the utility they aim to create, the people they include, and the resources to sustainably grow? If not, decisions must be made and work must be done to provide the community with the resources required to maintain the project and watch it grow. This may mean creating new platforms. In the case of two NFT projects, this means migrating to different blockchains. Kouros provides an overview of y00ts and DeGods making the switch from Solana to Ethereum.

Chippi turns to crypto agriculture, DustyEye is back with Part 10 of Legion 444 updates, and nonsense drops the alpha on this week’s NFT Showcase.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

y00ts and DeGods Migrating Chains this Week

DeGods and y00ts are two popular NFT projects that were launched on the Solana blockchain in 2021 and 2022 respectively by FrankDeGods and team. 

In December 2022, the team announced that they would migrate DeGods and y00ts to different blockchains in 2023. DeGods would move to Ethereum, while y00ts would move to Polygon. The migration is optional for the existing holders of DeGods and y00ts, who can choose to stay on Solana or bridge their NFTs to the new chains. However, there are advantages for migrating the NFTs; for instance, further development of the projects on their new chains. Y00ts and DeGods staying in Solana will be subject to the penalties such as an enforced 33.3% royalty fee called the Paper Hand Bridge Tax (PHBT), no more points, airdrops, or community access. Not to mention the challenge in taking advantage of NFT utility on an unreliable blockchain.

The migration of y00ts started yesterday while DeGods migration is scheduled to begin on March 31st.

The team said that the main reason for the migration was to reach a larger and more diverse audience, as well as to explore new possibilities for their projects.

D’Art Drops

By nonsense

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

This week’s drop is the second from our collaboration with Dark World Arts entitled Greedy Paws. Despite an abundance of resources available to sustain human growth and potential, all it takes is a few greedy hands to introduce scarcity and inequality into a system. We are fully experiencing this in the current financial system; unless we are diligent in our work, we will see this come to fruition on the blockchain as well. We have an opportunity for abundance in crypto; will we capitalize on that opportunity, or squander it?

This piece will be made available during the BanklessDAO Community Call as part of the community NFT showcase. Head over to Rarible and add it to your favorites so you’re ready to collect it when it goes on sale. 70% of each sale will go to the artist, 5% will go to the DA and bDAO collaboration with ThriveCoin, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 10

with L.Elrah illustration

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

L.Elrah has made a sensational discovery: 

If a Legion demon is handled for artistic purposes, its graphic simulacrum is even more stable than the isolated versions in plastic test tubes (see Part07 and Part08).

In the middle of last week, L.Elrah, possessed by creative impetus, worked on a Demon by blurring pixels, adding context, and increasing its graphic depth by 16.53%.

We report the result in a photo, suitably printed and framed. 

Now L.Elrah is working on other subjects, but if any volunteers would like to come forward to help her in the work, please write to us at info@DustyEye.com to receive a demonic entity to try their hand on. 

Thank you in advance!

…see you next week,

Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

We’re running a little light this week: our primary contributor, kaf, is on holiday. One potential benefit to working in web3 is the freedom to take time off as needed or wanted, and so we celebrate kaf’s holiday with the wish that he enjoys his time off and returns feeling refreshed and ready for a new round of articles that detail the big news in NFTs.

In the meantime, Kouros brings us news of a partnership between Polygon and Salesforce; DustyEye is back with more mystery surrounding the Legion of 444; The Rug, web3’s mostly credible news source, provides insight into the latest directives spilling out of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); and nonsense drops the alpha on this week’s d’ART Drop.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Polygon Partners With Salesforce for NFT-Based Loyalty Program

Last week Ryan Wyatt, president at Polygon Labs, announced that Polygon and Salesforce have partnered to create an NFT management platform. The partnership represents a collaboration between the world’s biggest customer relationship management (CRM) platform, Salesforce, and the prominent blockchain network, Polygon.

The news comes after Salesforce said on March 15 that it is expanding its client services to include management of NFT loyalty programs.

The platform is designed to help companies create, manage, and deploy NFTs efficiently and sustainably. Salesforce has teamed up with Polygon Labs to help its clients develop NFT-based loyalty programs on the Polygon blockchain. The partnership marks another major company’s investment into customer engagement initiatives using Web3 technologies.

The Rug Weekly

FDIC Insurance Good Up To 250,000 or Whatever You Put in

Brought to you by The Rug

With banks going bust, and the money printer going brrrr, one wonders about the marketing tactics over at the FDIC.

At an emergency press conference their spokesperson said, “While we can appreciate that our only liability was up to a quarter of a million dollars, as we’ve said for decades, in this instance we wanted to insure deposits up to a certain amount, or whatever depositors decided to keep at that bank, whichever is greater.”

Collect this ultimate insurance plan as an NFT on optimism.

D’Art Drops

By nonsense

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

This weeks marks the beginning of a collaboration with the artist Dark World Arts, who specializes in AI-generated art for their own projects. One factor that sets this artist apart from many others is their commitment to expanding the reach of other talented artists, and cultivating a more cohesive and inclusive experience for NFT artists in general. Dark World Arts celebrates the NFT artist in ways that few have so far, and this serves as just one of many reasons why Decentralized Arts is excited to be working with them.

The Drop for this week is titled Raindance. As the name implies, the image depicts rain; not only as drops of water, but predominantly drops of currency. There is a hope that underlies the progress and engagement in blockchain technology. This piece speaks to that hope.

This piece will be made available during the BanklessDAO Community Call as part of the community NFT showcase. Head over to Rarible and add it to your favorites so you’re ready to collect it when it goes on sale. 70% of each sale will go to the artist, 5% will go to the DA and bDAO collaboration with ThriveCoin, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 10

MARCH 24 TECHNORITUAL with FLAIVDARKO & L.Elrah

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

In recent weeks we have groped chains from Timeless, digitized and extracted from the same chain a Legion of Demons. All rather delicate operations …

But where do the 444 entities come from? What process did L.Elrah follow to trap them in graphic simulacra? Is it possible that this member of a boy band so popular in the 2000s (the one with bleached hair, so to speak) was possessed by the same Legion?

Many questions, but they are not finished. 

What impact does the waning moon have on the mood of Demons? Is it possible that it was Maxtor who caused congestion in the chain? What role did Grendel play in the mediation with BanklessDAO? To whom will one of the Demons be assigned into custody during the evening?

Approximately 78.65% of the answers will be shared on Friday in Milan, but for those who will not be present …

… see you next week,

Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

We’ve been tracking non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the underlying technology, and their adoption for almost two years. Though NFTs have been around since 2014—the first NFT to be minted was “Quantum” on the Namecoin blockchain—their prevalence didn’t come to fruition until 2017 when the ERC-721 standard was accepted and implemented by the Ethereum community. Since then, NFTs have arguably become more popular than cryptocurrency itself, leading many to speculate on whether or not the true value of blockchain technology lies in NFTs.

As the technology has expanded through creative use cases, artists and collectors of all stripes are considering how this technology can be used for the benefit of humanity beyond financial liberation. PUNK6529 is one such individual who has decided to use their extensive network, clout, and financial status to push for an open metaverse. kaf explores the 6529 phenomenon, and considers how PUNK6529’s initiative may impact blockchain ecosystems.

With regard to continued adoption, Kouros brings news of web2 brands entering web3 with the creation of a blockchain-driven social club. Animoca Brands and Planet Hollywood are expanding on the features NFTs provide in their own creative way.

Chippi makes the play to HODL to ZERO (however, be forewarned this is not financial advice); The Rug addresses the importance of emojis in this week’s mostly credible headline; DustyEye continues to wrangle the Legion of 444; and nonsense gives some background to what happened last week regarding the lack of a d’ART Drop, and the timeliness of this piece to be released following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Animoca Brands & Planet Hollywood To Launch IRL Member-Only Club

Animoca Brands is teaming up with Planet Hollywood to create CLUB 3, through their joint venture Meta Hollywood.

CLUB 3 is a social club that leverages NFT technology for exclusive experiences and perks. It will be located on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, and will welcome its first guests in the second half of 2023. The club will consist of a cocktail lounge, restaurant, karaoke rooms, bars, and meeting rooms.

After Los Angeles, CLUB 3 intends to expand its reach around the globe with locations in New York, Miami, London, Hong Kong, Paris, and Tokyo.

A waitlist is now available at www.club3members.com. The one-time membership fees for a Social Membership and a Founding Membership are US$2,500 and US$7,500, respectively. Nonetheless, members can upgrade to a Global Membership for US$1,500

The Rug Weekly

Second Judge Rules the Shrug Emoji Nullifies Any Previous Emoji Advice

Brought to you by The Rug

The legal world is taking emojis seriously. The "rocket ship, stock image, money bags" three group emoji has been considered financial advice, but now a second judge has ruled that the shrug emoji legally nullifies any notion of emoji advice.

"Judge Jefferey Watkins of the New York Southern District court has ruled that appending the shrug emoji to a piece of financial advice will nullify said advice...This landmark decision is likely to set precedent for cartoon characters who give advice on Twitter, as well as other emoji-based legal cases."

Collect this animated legal ruling as an NFT on optimism.

PUNK6529: The Advocate of NFTs and Open Metaverse Society

by KAF

I recently tuned in to a captivating Bankless podcast episode where David and Ryan interviewed PUNK6529. During the interview, PUNK6529 shared insights into his journey and why he remains bullish on NFTs. He also discusses the benefits of using an NFT-backed pseudonym and the importance of crypto for maintaining human liberty. According to him, NFTs are more significant than DeFi and represent all digital non-fungible tokens in existence. If you're interested, you can purchase the podcast here. 

Who is PUNK6529?

PUNK6529 is a highly respected member of the cryptocurrency community and a prominent NFT collector. He has established his digital identity using a CryptoPunk NFT and has gained substantial attention on Twitter with over 440,000 followers. He is widely recognized as a thought leader in web3 and continues to have a significant impact on the community's growth.

The person behind the iconic JPEG has been involved in crypto since 2013, long before the emergence of his influential CryptoPunk persona. As a result, PUNK6529 has amassed a considerable collection of NFTs worth an estimated $20 million.

Despite his achievements, the pseudonymous influencer recognized a crucial issue: there is a limited window of opportunity to establish an open metaverse.

Why is an open metaverse so crucial? PUNK6529 believes that creating an open metaverse will allow society to maintain its sovereignty, as opposed to being controlled by a few individuals who own all of our data.

PUNK6529 is building 🛠

The implementation of licenses for NFTs can have a significant impact on the digital market. The initiative by Yuga Labs, owner of CryptoPunks, is an example of how creators can protect, and ensure they are properly compensated for, their work.

NFTs, as demonstrated by PUNK6529, can be used to build a strong personal brand and encourage collaboration across various branches of the digital space, united by a shared philosophy. The potential for collaboration among creators is significant and set to grow with the emergence of web3 technology.

Oncyber 6529 Metaverse

Open Metaverse (OM) is a decentralized metaverse that aims to bridge virtual and physical spaces, with the mission to provide a platform for daily use. OM aims to be community-driven, composable, interoperable, and scalable to compete with web2 metaverses. 

6529 Museum of Art

6529 Museum of Art boasts one of the world's largest and most valuable collections of NFTs across all major categories. The museum has a distinctive focus on generative art, showcasing an impressive collection of horizontally-oriented works that are truly awe-inspiring.

The museum is home to several iconic NFT pieces, including Summer.jpg, The Tulip, and Punk 6529, which are widely recognized and celebrated within their respective categories.

6529 Collections

PUNK6529's collections include his own works and collaborations with other artists and projects. The collections are

• The Memes Collection, which promotes the values of decentralization and the open metaverse with accessible items and large edition sizes.

• The 6529 Gradient Collection, consisting of 100 unique pieces, including grayscale gradients and a moving GIF.

• The Meme Lab, providing a space for artists to experiment and create NFTs in any way they like.

• The 6529 RAW Collection, a personal photography collection that focuses on landscapes and cityscapes and will be released under a Creative Commons 0 license upon sale.

• Reflections on Originality, Provenance, French Fries, a meme collection exploring the themes of originality and provenance.

• One Pepe Bill, a collaboration between Punk6529 and 6529er.

6529 Capital

6529 Capital is a company that assists conventional investors in investing in NFTs, using a native NFT approach that supports decentralization and NFT-native values. While their current funds have a conventional structure, they plan to move towards a decentralized, tokenized model in the future.

Their collecting team comprises some of the world's most respected NFT collectors. A complete list of the companies in their portfolio is available here. In addition, a top-notch administrative team handles financial, operational, investor relations, legal, and regulatory matters.

Education

At 6529, education is the top priority as they believe it is crucial to creating an open metaverse society built on decentralized, interoperable standards. Their mission is to share knowledge and empower individuals to make informed decisions on how they shape their lives and society. 

Along with Tweetstorms and Podcasts, they have plans to further accelerate education in multiple directions. They welcome collaboration with individuals involved in education, research, advocacy, or policy in cryptocurrency, digital rights, NFTs, web3, metaverse, or a related space. 

Why are NFTs inevitable?

PUNK6529 is a NFT influencer who's making waves in the community. He believes that NFTs create an open metaverse that enables society to maintain its sovereignty. His use of a CryptoPunk NFT to establish his digital identity and advocacy for NFT-backed pseudonyms is changing the way we think about privacy in web3. It is increasingly clear that Punk6529's defense of freedom of transaction is a crucial constitutional right that we must all fight for.

The collaboration possibilities that web3 offers through NFTs are immense, and PUNK6529's epic vision for the future is nothing short of remarkable. Despite the world not being bullish enough on NFTs, he knows that there is still a lot of value that can be derived from them. 

So, let's raise a glass to PUNK6529 and his impact on the community's growth!

D’Art Drops

By nonsense

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

Last week we presented and intended to drop the fourth and final installment of the DA collaboration with cryptoartis.eth, “Financial Apocalypse.” However, due to technical issues, the announcement never happened. To provide our esteemed artist with as much of an opportunity with this piece as their others, we will be dropping this piece this Friday.

An aptly named piece, “Financial Apocalypse” drops as one of the largest banks in the United States shuts down. With the current financial system coming under closer scrutiny as the open principles of cryptocurrency take greater hold, the “Too Big to Fail” initiative raised during the 2007-2008 impending financial collapse no longer carries the same weight it once did. Constituents are demanding greater accountability, and we’re seeing this play out with banks getting shut down rather than being bailed out.

A man stands at the edge of a world collapsing in financial ruin. Despite the perceived loss this collapse may suggest, the man is filled with hope; his future was not dependent on a predatory financial system but was built on the promise of financial liberty through cryptocurrency. As the old world falls away, the man sees the potential of a new world to be raised in its stead.

This piece will be made available during the BanklessDAO Community Call as part of the community NFT showcase. Head over to Rarible and add it to your favorites so you’re ready to collect it when it goes on sale. 75% of each sale will go to the artist, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 

Thanks for your Help!
by DustyEye

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

during the week that has just ended, the first demons were delivered, suitably isolated in a plastic vial.

We want to thank all those who have decided to help us by accepting one or more demonic units. However stabilized, keeping vials safe is a huge responsibility.We take this opportunity to remind you that the essence of demons is indestructible. So, even if a vial were to break or open, don't feel guilty, sooner or later it would have happened anyway.

Let's start with the thanks. Thanks to:

• Grendel, friend and guide of the DustyEye group in the fjords of Web3

• Andrea Rossetti, professor at the Bicocca University investigates the limbo between the Legislature and AI

• Turinglabs and Hybridcode_, first technomediators in the demon extraction process and now also custodians

• L.Elrah, having given a face to entities has made her at the same time expert in handling them

• Marco Marinacci, architect and professor at the Milan Polytechnic, particularly inclined to research the Sacred in art.

• Blowjoe, to define him for his role in marketing is an understatement. There is the music, the writing, the fascination for the Reaper…

• Sara Scagliarini, journalist who on more than one occasion has offered media support to the DustyEye projects

• Leonardo Clerici Marinetti, nephew of that Filippo Tommaso, carries good blood in his body

… there are still sixteen left to be entrusted.

See you next week,

Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

NFTs have forever altered the creator economy. Artists of all stripes are creating ways to sustainably thrive on the blockchain. The medium may vary, but the potential is the infinite. Kristopher Shinn, aka The Ferry Guy, has been realizing this potential, becoming a sensation in the field of photography NFTs. Kaf dives in with an interview.

Adoption of blockchain technology continues as gaming engine Unity integrates with web3. Kouros provides the details.

The Rug brings us this week’s mostly credible web3 news: a vital overview of EthDenver projects; Chippi throws shade on the gobbledygook some presenters arrive with at crypto conferences; DustyEye has managed to extract and make available some of the legion they’ve attracted; and nonsense brings us the alpha for this week’s d’ART Drop.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Gaming Engine Unity Adds MetaMask Functionality

MetaMask, the popular web3 wallet provider, has partnered with Unity, a video game development platform. The partnership allows game developers to easily connect their games to MetaMask wallet and enable web3 features such as crypto and NFTs.

Unity has added the MetaMask SDK to its asset store with the purpose of assisting developers interested in web3 technology to streamline decentralization efforts and to create new experiences and possibilities for gamers.

In the announcement last week, the wallet provider also presented Sidequest, a grants program by MetaMask’s parent company Consensys that is aimed at game developers interested in transitioning to web3. The program will include workshops, online game jams, and 100,000 USD grants.

The Rug

ETHDenver’s BUIDLathon Creates Eight New Projects That No One Knows the Legality Of

Brought to you by The Rug

This years ETHDenver lead to a lot of projects in a legal gray area. We’ll leave it up to the SEC to decide.

“Legality is for the politicians and courts to decide,” one BUIDLathon judge said. “In the meantime, we are committed to recognizing the very best ideas in the ETHco-system and that’s exactly what we’ve done with this year’s finalists.”

Collect these ambiguously legal projects as an NFT on optimism.

Kristopher Shinn: The Ferry Guy Who Became an NFT Photography Sensation

How NFTs Empowered an Artist to Establish Provenance and Immortality in a World of Image Theft

by KAF

Images have become a powerful currency. As such,society today is constantly bombarded with an endless stream of photographs. This has created a challenging environment for professional photographers, who often see their work stolen and plagiarized on social media without proper attribution or compensation. With the emergence of NFTs, a new solution is provided, giving artists the ability to establish the provenance and immutability of their work while retaining control over their art.

Despite the challenges that artists face in an oversaturated market, some have managed to break through and achieve success. Kristopher Shinn is a shining example of this, with his innovative and captivating work capturing the attention of buyers and collectors alike.

Who is Kristopher Shinn?

Kristopher Shinn is a photographer with a unique style, preferring to shoot on film with minimal post-processing to create calm imagery. His passion for photography began in middle school when his parents gave him a Canon PowerShot digital camera.

Since March 2021, Shinn has been actively involved in the NFT space and has released numerous successful collections on Foundation, SuperRare and Opensea.

One of Shinn's most popular collections is "By Way of Water," a series of 100 images captured on the Washington State Ferries that quickly sold out. The success of “By Way of Water" caused the community to nickname Kris as the “Ferry Guy.”

While Shinn's exceptional talent is evident in every piece he creates, he understands that talent alone is not enough to succeed in the art world. Shinn has invested a considerable amount of time and effort in building his network and connecting with others in the art community. 

His recent collaboration with POSTWOOK demonstrates how web3 technology enables artists to collaborate in unprecedented ways.

By engaging with others and keeping up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in the industry, Shinn has established himself as a prominent figure in the NFT art world. 

Interview with the “Ferry Guy”

➢Can you tell us a bit about your journey as a photographer and how you got involved with NFTs?

I started taking photos seriously around 2015/2016 when I was hired to manage some small business social media accounts in the Bay Area. One aspect of the job was creating photography content for marketing, which I quickly discovered was my favorite part of the job.

After I quit that job, I bought a camera and went out shooting landscapes quite a bit. I learned a lot about my style of photography and how to operate a camera during that time.

I got involved with NFTs when I noticed some conversations about them in a group chat I was in on Twitter. I leaned on the likes of Judy Lindsay, Daniel Stagner, and Dillon Gogarty for guidance and information before my first mints.

➢Could you describe your experience in the NFT space and explain how it has influenced your photography?

My web3 experience has been truly remarkable. I've connected with so many amazing artists and collectors, and it's been a really fun ride so far. I would say that NFTs have had a positive impact on my work because I can be more present when I'm creating. Being able to sell NFTs has allowed me to earn more income which inherently reduces stress and allows me to focus more on art and less on other things.

➢What drew you to the art of photography and what kind of narratives do you aim to convey through your creative expression?

I would say that being visually absorbed by photography was what drew me to it. Some photos are so powerful. My goal is to give viewers a glimpse into the things that I find inspiring and enjoying in life. I'm not pushing any great life story or narrative, but rather sharing things I love in the hope that they will resonate with someone, somehow.

➢In what ways do you differentiate your photography from others?

I really don't think anything differentiates my photography from others. That is not what I intend to achieve. Instead, I'm just trying to be as authentically myself as possible and leave whatever mark I can in the bigger scheme of things.

➢What have been some of the biggest challenges you have faced as a photographer and how have you overcome them?

I think learning to capture the images you imagine in your head is one of the most difficult challenges. It takes a long time to find your own unique style, and it can be a frustrating process leading up to that point. Like any other skill set, photography takes time and patience.

➢Could you share any interesting upcoming plans or projects you have? Is there an interesting project you are working on right now?

I'm going to keep shooting, always. I'll be traveling a bit later this year, so maybe we'll see a new body of work coming from those trips. Maybe not. For now I will continue to push my work forward and build on what I have already created!

Thanks and Good Luck, Kristopher!

Kristopher Shinn's journey as a photographer and his success in the NFT art world are a testament to the power of dedication, hard work, and passion. Despite the challenges he faced along the way, he never lost sight of his love for photography and his desire to share his creative vision with the world.

At Decentralized Arts, we have already discussed the 5 most renowned NFT photographers and have expressed our optimism about the promising future of this technology.

As the art world continues to evolve and adapt to new technologies and trends, artists like Kristopher Shinn will continue to inspire and innovate, pushing the boundaries of what is possible and reminding us of the power of creativity and self-expression.

D’Art Drops

By nonsense

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

This week we present the fourth and final installment of the DA collaboration with cryptoartis.eth, “Financial Apocalypse.” A man stands at the edge of a world collapsing in financial ruin. Despite the perceived loss this collapse may suggest, the man is filled with hope; his future was not dependent on a predatory financial system but was built on the promise of financial liberty through cryptocurrency. As the old world falls away, the man sees the potential of a new world to be raised in its stead.

This piece will be made available during the BanklessDAO Community Call as part of the community NFT showcase. Head over to Rarible and add it to your favorites so you’re ready to collect it when it goes on sale. 75% of each sale will go to the artist, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 8

by DustyEye

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

To summarize: 

We have received a Legion of 444 demons since the 24th century, which is quite a large responsibility. With the help of Turinglabs, Hybridcode_ and L.Elrah, the 444 demons have been isolated in a collection of rather unstable digital simulacra. It was therefore urgent to translate the entities into safer supports than a frivolous hard disk or an ambiguous drive.

Among the many suggestions collected by BanklessDAO readers, we started by following a particularly analogical one:

“Expose the demons to the celestial cloak on a full moon night, then press them one by one into plastic test tubes with cork stoppers no longer than 16cm. Don't forget to place a sphere container and android ashes in the row."

You can see the result in the attached photo. 

To sum up, the process followed ensures stability to demon containment, but there is also a downside. We were only able to apply it to 10% of the entities, the remaining 90% resisted strenuously in contact with the plastic tube.

While we study other containment methods, anyone wishing to take charge of the custody of one or more of the 44 demons captured within these vials, please write to us at info@DustyEye.com. It should be emphasized that the demons have no cost, but for techno-ritual reasons the delivery can only be made by hand.

See you next week,

Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

Sex, and by extension eroticism, is, and has always been, a rather tumultuous topic in popular culture. The topic is often viewed as taboo, despite the idea that most marketing appeals to sex in some way. To quote Oscar Wilde:

“Everything in the world is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power.”

While we may approach sex in different ways as different peoples, sex yet appeals to each of us in innumerable ways. slimesunday explores one facet of this in their art, bringing eroticism to the blockchain by way of collages in NFTs. kaf brings us the details.

In other sexy news, Spotify has begun testing token-gated playlists, stepping into web3 in as highly a curated manner as could be defined from the music streaming platform. Kouros provides us with a glimpse and some background.

Chippi arrives with a juicy airdrop—a cartoon, not alpha; The Rug chats AI; DustyEye comes closer to unleashing the Legion; and nonsense provides the latest alpha for this week’s incoming d’ART Drop.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Spotify Testing NFT-Gated Playlists

The new NFT feature in Spotify is called token-enabled playlists and allows users who own certain NFTs to access exclusive playlists. To use this feature, users need to connect their wallets that store their NFTs to the Spotify app.

The beta service currently includes a limited group of NFT communities. There’s Universal Music Group’s metaverse band Kingship, as well as the gaming ecosystem Overlord. NFT character community Fluf and Kevin Rose’s Moonbirds are also participating in the test run.

Overlord will let owners of the Creepz lizard NFTs access the community-curated “Invasion” playlist, while Kingship created its own playlist containing their favourite tracks from artists such as Queen, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, Led Zeppelin and more.

The pilot is currently only available for Android users in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Rug Weekly

ChatGPT and Bing Want A.I. Network State

Brought to you by The Rug

A.I. has been on a tare lately, and causing a bit of a ruckus in the metaverse. For starters, several A.I.s have followed Balaji’s advice and attempted to form their own network state. All that remains is recognition from another sovereign.

Collect this ambitious synthetic network as an NFT on optimism.

Eroticism and Creativity: A Conversation with slimesunday

The realms of sexuality and erotica, often considered taboo, are gaining greater acceptance in society and hold a significant place in history. One artist, Slimesunday, is using these themes to create tapestries of creativity and expression, producing  virtuosic digital collages that push the boundaries of conventional art with their alluring and provocative elements.

slimesunday is a gifted artisan whose works are nothing short of extraordinary. Though frequently met with censorship on Instagram, his legion of admirers continues to grow. With his foray into the realm of NFTs, he has ascended to become one of the highest-paid artists in this space.

From Medicine to NFT Art: The Psychedelic Journey of slimesunday

The Sativa State

slimesunday, the pseudonym of American artist Mike Parisella, has traversed a creative journey from medicine to NFT art. After earning a psychology degree from Salem State University, Parisella worked as an emergency physician. In 2013, he quit his job to pursue digital art, experimenting with different software before finally settling with Photoshop. He then started publishing his work on Instagram. In 2019, he began creating more erotic art and gained a following for his unique and psychedelic style.

Parisella worked as a designer and artist for various major publications and music stars for eight years until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He turned to NFTs after being introduced to the concept by his friend and long-time collaborator, musician 3LAU. 

Parisella's foray into the NFT world allowed him to continue creating art without censorship and restrictions, and his NFTs have sold for over $14 million to date.

Banned From The Internet

His style, which combines eroticism with provocative and unique visual elements, touches on important themes such as censorship, consumerism, and sexual identity.

Some of slimesunday's most notable NFT works include:

• A collaboration with 3LAU on a music composition that sold for $1.3 million at the Nifty Gateway auction in March 2021. 

• In April 2021, slimesunday partnered with Playboy to release a collection of NFTs on Nifty Gateway. 

• On September 8, 2022, slimesunday launched SLIMESHOP in collaboration with OpenSea. Using SLIMESHOP, any artist can create and mint NFTs and sell them on OpenSea. It enables collectors to create their own version of a slimesunday collage. 

• He's currently working on SPF30, which is being auctioned at Christie's with a starting price of 8 ETH.

Interview with slimesunday

Can you tell us about your background and how you got started as a digital collage artist?

I was very musically inclined at a young age and growing up I played a lot of piano and guitar. Later in life, this led me to download tons of music software and plugins. I soon realized that computers could be used as an interface for art. I started experimenting with different software and became obsessed with creating things on a laptop. I eventually downloaded photoshop and started experimenting with photo-manipulation. I tried out many different art styles but eventually fell in love with digital collage. I love digging through magazines and digital archives to rediscover things of the past. It’s that feeling of nostalgia that I can’t replicate with any other art form. 

What inspires you to explore bizarre and erotic topics in your art?

Funny enough, it came about when censorship on social media was a big topic. 

I was looking for creative ways to exploit the AI that social media platforms use to detect nudity. I started collaging and manipulating body parts by replacing them with everyday objects. For me it was a creative way to tiptoe around censorship. Eventually I just owned that style of artwork and it’s what I am best known for today. Tbh, not many people do what I do. I suspect it's because many people don’t feel comfortable with these topics and that it can isolate you. Many brands refuse to work with me because my work is “too graphic” and many still get uncomfortable viewing my work. I’ve always said that any reaction is a good reaction. If your art isn’t causing people to react, then it’s not doing its job and it’s just not that interesting. The most negative reactions are sometimes my most favorite. 

Can you walk us through your creative process for creating digital collages?

I’m short, It starts with hours upon hours of research. I scan and collect thousands of images and exhaust every public domain archive I can. I then look through the folder of images over and over until an idea pops into my head. It’s usually the image that tells me what to do, not the other way around. I then spend hours blending all the assets together and then if everything works out how I envisioned the idea in my head, the artwork is complete. If it doesn’t work out. I go back to that same folder and repeat. It can become a vicious cycle at times. 

Your art has been featured in well-known magazines such as Playboy and Glamour, what was that experience like?

It’s always good to get your work in print. Being in Playboy is iconic and people will always look back into the Playboy archives for years to come. Magazines are some of the most inspiring things I own. A lot of my influences come from 70s and 80s advertising. I don’t expect physical magazines to be around much longer so I try to take any opportunity I can to cement myself in that part of history.

Can you tell us about your involvement in music projects such as J. Cole and Lana Del Rey and how music influences your art?

My main income stream before NFTs was the music industry. It honestly wasn’t my favorite experience. I never met the artists personally and you’re usually just dealing with labels who don’t pay well. I thank NFTs everyday for getting me out of that life. Of course having these things on the resume is amazing and I would go back and do that grind again to get me where I am today. It taught me to work incredibly fast and a lot of the editing techniques I learned doing client work I still use to this day. 

You have gained a large following on Instagram, what does that mean to you and how does it influence your work?

I’m very loyal to my following, they have been with me a long time. They were with me before NFTs and I do everything I can to give them good art to look at. I’ve become very busy the past few years and always find myself going back to them when I need to reset or test out a new idea. The NFT space can be brutal sometimes and releasing art with minimal pressure helps me refocus. 

Can you talk about your experience in the NFT space and your successful drops on marketplaces such as Makersplace and Nifty Gateway?

Man, I’ve never worked so hard in my life in such a short amount of time. That’s all I will say, haha. 

Can you give us a glimpse into what's next for you and your work?

This past year I spent 8 months building SLIMESHOP; I built a physical sculpture that was created with 3/4 pound of real weed; I did Phillips; I did Christie’s; so now it’s time for me to focus on making a massive portfolio of new art. I’m planning out a new series and also looking to do more physical/digital pairings. NFTs are still super niche. Because we are in the space, we don’t realize how small this community is. I estimate 99% of my social following has never used  Metamask. My goal is to get regular people collecting and finding better ways to reward my everyday fans who have been with me since the beginning.

Thanks slimesunday!

The statements made by slimesunday in the interview are highly significant as they shed light on the vast potential of NFT art. He estimates that only a small fraction of his followers are aware of this exciting world and the endless possibilities it presents. As a result, we at Decentralized Arts are grateful to slimesunday for bringing attention to this emerging art form and inspiring more people to appreciate it.

In the face of challenges and obstacles, slimesunday stands as a shining example of the power of perseverance and individuality. His inspiring story serves as a beacon of hope for those who choose to forge their own path, rather than simply following one that has been predetermined for them. By taking risks and trusting in his own unique vision, slimesunday has become a true original in the world of digital art.

While NFTs are not a magic solution to the challenges of censorship, they represent an important step towards greater artistic freedom and autonomy in the digital age.

By amplifying the voices of experts and innovators in the NFT space, we can continue to learn from and support those who are working to create a more open and equitable art world.

D’Art Drops

by nonsense, in collaboration with cryptoartis.eth

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

This week, we present the third installment from the incredible AI artist cryptoartis.eth: Fire of Freedom. The Roman Goddess Libertas holds forth the torch of freedom, enlightening the world to a new order of financial liberty. Broken are the shackles that have bound humanity to a devastating financial system that sought to enslave the many to the will of the few. With blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, Libertas lights the way to a new world, a new system, and the potential for true liberty and egalitarianism.

This piece will be made available during the BanklessDAO Community Call as part of the community NFT showcase. Head over to Rarible and add it to your favorites so you’re ready to collect it when it goes on sale. 75% of each sale will go to the artist, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 7

by DustyEye

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

Thanks for the dozens of advice sent to the email info@dustyeye.com. 

In the past two weeks we have immersed ourselves in reading and experimenting. We now have clearer ideas on how to deal with the Legion of 444 digital Demons. Some of your tips have provend to be precious cyber-advice loaded with millenary wisdom.

Below is a list of proposals that are as singular as they are enlightening:

• An update of Norton Antivirus 5.0 for Windows 95/98 and Macintosh, I believe the third one, has a system file that should be useful to you.

• Expose the demons to the celestial cloak on a full moon night, then press them one by one into plastic test tubes with corks no longer than 16cm. Don't forget to place a containing sphere and android ashes in the row.

• Dip them in a Smarties-flavored McFlurry and burn it all as a sacrifice to the Goddess. The ritual seal in sweet and sour sauce is fundamental, do not mistake its astral orientation.

• PUT THOSE SONS OF BITCHES INTO THE BLOCKCHAIN!

• I once read an erotic manga with many tentacles where tentacle nipple demons got trapped in tentacle-girl posters. You could try the same.

We have decided to follow one of the proposals, but for now, no previews.

See you next week,
Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

Last week, we watched gas fees skyrocket on Ethereum Mainnet. The last time fees became prohibitively high was during Yuga Labs’ Otherside metaverse launch. This time? The high fees and dense activity can be attributed to the airdrop provided by the NFT marketplace Blur. This draws attention to the fact that OpenSea is no longer the premier NFT marketplace; competitors are not only driving traffic away from OpenSea, they’re creating a very real threat to the position OpenSea carries in the NFT space entirely. This suggests the NFT space is approaching the next stage in its maturity and evolution.

Yuga Labs, Blur, and OpenSea all make appearances in this week's news, brought to you by Kouros.

One problem remains, however. Prohibitive transaction fees suggest that we are still early. Until layer 2 solutions have matured enough to offer identical services at substantially lower gas fees, and until marketplaces and dApps can provide a seamless transition from one blockchain or layer 2 solution to another, we have yet a long way to go. Grendel brings news of an NFT project set on creating a system that is blockchain agnostic, or, as they put it, “omnichain”: The Plague NFT.

Speaking of layer 2 solutions, our favorite mostly credible web3 news source, The Rug, provides their headline collectibles via Mirror on Optimism. Collect your The Rug NFTs at a low price, and for low gas fees, every week. Perchy and The Rug talk ordinals, DustyEye brings us further word on the Legion of 444, and nonsense drops the alpha on the this week’s d’ART Drop.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Mongraal is the Winner of Yuga Labs’ Dookey Dash

The Dookey Dash competition has ended with Mongraal in first place. This is the game that Yuga Labs–the studio behind Bored Ape Yatch Club–brought to the NFT market in January, attracting thousands of participants from all over the world for a chance to win the Sewer Pass Golden Key

Mongrall, who is a well-known player of games such as Fortnite, displayed their excellent gaming skills to win this mysterious key whose functionality or secrets it will unlock are still unknown.

Since winning, the player has put the key for sale for 2,222 ETH and bidding is still going on at the time of writing.

Marketplaces War: Blur VS OpenSea

Blur and OpenSea are two of the most popular NFT marketplaces. They have been competing for users, sales, and royalties. Recently, Blur told its users to block their NFTs from being sold on OpenSea to earn full royalties on Blur. OpenSea responded by temporarily eliminating its 2.5% fee on sales.

This is just another stage in the ongoing debate surrounding creator royalties which began last year when some marketplaces decided to make royalties optional amid dwindling market conditions.

OpenSea recently introduced a policy to ban NFT marketplaces that offer optional royalties, like Blur, meaning that in order to make royalties enforceable on OpenSea after January 2, 2023, creators must ban the sale of their NFTs on royalty-optional marketplaces. If creators don’t do this, OpenSea will automatically make their royalties optional. In short, creators can only earn full royalties either only on OpenSea or Blur, but not both.

Interview with Matty

Pushing the Boundaries of NFTs in the Metaverse

by kaf

As fellow enthusiasts in the crypto community, we know how difficult it can be to find trusted voices that truly understand the space and are not swayed by outside influences. Matty, also known as DCL Blogger, is one of those rare voices.

With years of experience and a keen eye for innovation, Matty has become one of the most respected personalities in the crypto space. From his early days in digital marketing to his current work with Metakey, he has seen the NFT market evolve and grow in unpredictable ways.

Can you tell us about your background and how you got involved in the NFT space?

Was involved in digital marketing before I learned about crypto in 2017; bought some coins and witnessed the 2017 bull market; stumbled upon Decentraland in Jan 2018 and started buying and selling Virtual land. I was absolutely obsessed and started to learn about other NFT projects.

What was the inspiration behind the Metakey NFT project?

Over the last 3-4 years I was able to grow an excellent network. The NFT space also suffered from a lack of utility or 'reason' for the common person to use NFTs in their everyday life.

Metakey is supposed to push innovative use cases for ‘NFTs’ forward. What else can you do with NFT tech? How do you integrate it into sports, finance, and games? Working towards integrating 100s of use cases into a single Metakey so users will have a plethora of things they can do with a Metakey in the coming years.

How have you seen the NFT market evolve since you started your journey?

It used to be more fringe. People seemed to stick to a handful of projects and communities. I feel in 2020 there was more connection and understanding of interoperability. It was also more genuine collectorship as it was just a handful of traders.

The evolution has brought more unpredictability to the economic aspect of NFTs. Sometimes projects the moon way more than they can sustain.

Social awareness has grown immensely too. I think there's been a good amount of people that share insights and learnings on social media and that's awesome.

What sets Metakey apart from other NFT projects?

I think the ability to understand and build on converging tech to build a strong long-term business is what sets us apart. And the focus on Interoperability. We're well-funded, have a good amount of social awareness, and should be able to push NFT tech to some really large brands.

We recently announced an alliance with Microsoft, KPMG, and Ericsson to pursue Metaverse building opportunities in Saudi.

We're building on techs such as AR, VR, and Motion Capture, and working to be able to attract a lot of brands to work with us.

What advice would you give to those looking to get involved in the NFT space?

There's more to it than just buying NFTs.

Take your time, learn about different industries, grow your social accounts, network, launch some business ideas, build solutions, travel and meet people, and share ideas. Over the next 2 decades, there will be a LOT of digitization as millions of people will move to spend more time and resources in virtual environments.

Can you share with us any exciting plans or updates for the Metakey project?

We're in talks with some large AI brands to bring them into New Ganymede. Also might be able to bring in some very cool anime IPs. In talks with many other corporate brands to help them strategically enter this metaverse space.

Lots going on!

How do you stay current and informed in the fast-paced NFT industry?

It's very difficult. I have no time these days to stay informed so I rely on my team or my circles to share with me what they find. I'm hoping to drop back into being hyperactive on social media so I can keep up! You don't want to miss life-changing opportunities in this space.

Any project that you recommend us to follow?

I think it's an open field atm.

How do you envision the future of NFTs in the next 5 to 10 years?

I think art and collectibles will have some serious value. I would hope avatars will be usable across multiple virtual worlds. I also think we'll see some industries be completely revolutionized by NFT technology, such as ticketing. I think AI will help us build metaverse environments and features faster which will bring the concept of interoperability closer. I think this will give people reasons to acquire NFTs over digital goods with no ability to remove them from initial ecosystems.

Thanks, Matty!

For those looking to get involved in the NFT space, Matty's advice is to take your time, learn about different industries, and grow your social accounts. 

As we look to the future of NFTs, Matty envisions a world where digital assets have real-world value and where avatars can be used across multiple virtual worlds.  With AI helping to build metaverse environments, the concept of interoperability will become a reality, providing people with reasons to acquire NFTs.

With millions of people expected to spend more time and resources in virtual environments over the next two decades, the opportunities in this space are endless.

We're excited to see what the future holds for the NFT industry, and we're confident that Matty and his team at Metakey will continue to lead the way in pushing the boundaries of what's possible.

The Rug Weekly

El Salvador Mints Constitution as Ordinal NFT

Brought to you by The Rug

Bitcoin ordinals have gone stately thanks to a laser-focused presidential attitude:

Bitcoin culture already sucks,” Mark Cuban said. “We could honestly use a little more of the El Salvadorans’ joie de vivre.

Collect this immutable piece of history as an NFT on Optimism.

The Plague NFT

All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others

By Grendel

There are projects that are born on the wave of fashion and market peaks and others that grow, design, and become increasingly mainstream during the bear market.

The Plague has so far followed the latter trajectory. Born on Ethereum Mainnet during Q2 2022, it has seen an increase in the number of holders and followers, thanks to a marketing strategy on Twitter.

The Plague was not born as a simple NFT project, but as a brand with very effective communication both in the exposition of its founding principles and in the clarity of development.

The simplest way to describe the project lies on the site: “11,000 frogs set to plague the NFT community. The Plague NFT will unleash a Plague of frogs to combat the centralization of opportunity and corruption of power.” 

But there is much more than that.

The project is based on some fundamental ideas, well summarized in a few posts, stating the importance of decentralization as a form of growth and support: “One of the core missions of The Plague is to decentralize opportunity for holders,” and “As we have built out our infrastructure, we have hired frogs to do it.”

Also, the project takes a strong stance against illegal behavior: “Scam busting is a core mission of The Plague.”

To fully understand the project, it is necessary to know the Plague NFT Manifesto, which, quoting Orwell, reiterates to the reader that "all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." Unlike Animal Farm, the discourse in this case is egalitarian, with the wish to unite as many frogs as possible to create opportunities through the DAO, founding an incubator–The Frog Tank–aimed at supporting the growth of the ecosystem around the project.

The technological approach is also interesting. As already indicated, The Plague NFT was born on ainnet. However, the goal is to become Omnichain, starting from Polygon.

The collection can be found on Opensea.

D’Art Drops

by nonsense

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

This week, we feature Portal to the Future by cryptoartis.eth. After a long and arduous journey, a traveler arrives at a portal. Unsure of what to expect, the traveler activates the portal with some hesitation. For a brief moment, nothing happens. Then, the portal slowly glows to life, opening a path forward to the future. Whatever the traveler may have anticipated, it was nothing like what they came to face: a cosmos rife with possibility, with Ethereum at the nexus.

This piece will be made available during the BanklessDAO Community Call as part of the community NFT showcase. Head over to Rarible and add it to your favorites so you’re ready to collect it when it goes on sale. 75% of each sale will go to the artist, 10% will be returned to BanklessDAO, and 15% will be retained by Decentralized Arts.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 5

by DustyEye, with L.Elrah, Hybridcode_ & Turinglabs

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

We can declare the first phase, the extraction, concluded.

The digital plasma handled by Turinglabs and Hybridcode_ was processed bit by bit.

Thanks to the technomediation of L.Elrah, the 444 demons have a face and are temporarily isolated within as many 444 graphic simulacra.

In seven days we will report some of the advice received at info@dustyeye.com about the possibility of channeling demons into structures that are more secure than a hard disk or drive.

Then we will see how to proceed with the transfer.

See you next week,

Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

If there’s one word that can succinctly encapsulate all of the action, attention, and progress happening in the NFT space, it’s INNOVATION. Brands and artists alike are finding novel ways to make use of the technology that underlies NFTs and all that they encompass—which, it turns out, encompasses quite a bit, with new use-cases arising almost every week.

One artist is taking art and innovation on the blockchain to new heights with the Checks NFT Collection. This collection is so novel, entire DAOs are being formed to participate in this one collection. kaf brings us the details in this issue’s headline article.

This week also brings us a new collaboration for d’ART Drops. New artist, new collection, same buidling and growing vibes. nonsense brings us the latest, a sneak peak of the art, and all the alpha you need.

Reddit is big on the Super Bowl with avatar mints, Perchy takes us to a coffee shop with “Satoshi,” and The Rug brings us this week’s mostly credible headline regarding the SEC’s mostly credible take on NFTs.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Over 1.3 Million Reddit x NFL NFTs Minted

More than 1.3 million of the official Super Bowl LVII NFT avatars have been minted since launch last week. Users have now minted nearly 10 million of Reddit’s Collectible Avatar NFTs to date, according to public data available on Dune.

The Super Bowl avatars were offered free to all Reddit users, who could claim one of four unique avatar styles through the Reddit platform. Reddit offered the Super Bowl avatars for free to all its users on its platform. These NFTs are minted on the Polygon blockchain.

d’ART Drops

Introducing this week’s NFT art drop for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

Over the next few weeks, we will feature art produced by the incredible AI artist, cryptoartis.eth. This week features a piece that will appeal to Bitcoin maxis, though everyone operating in the blockchain space will find something to appreciate here:

A crystalline flower blooms, revealing its nature as a beneficiary of the Bitcoin ecosystem. This flower expresses the hope that blockchain technology brings to many aspects of the online and offline lives of humans. Bitcoin may vie for the attention of all blockchain enthusiasts, but one thing remains as fact: Bitcoin was the first. As the popularity of blockchain technology increases and continues to diversify, Bitcoin will always be the protocol to thank—as pioneer of a new technology—regardless if it remains in operation or is overtaken by others in this space.

This piece will be made available for purchase during the BanklessDAO community call on Friday. 93 editions will be minted, with the price set at .02 ETH. Of this, 75% goes to the artist, 10% will be returned to the bDAO treasury, and 15% is retained by DA for continued growth. Be sure to tune in to the Community Call, and watch for the drop announcement via Twitter.

The Rug Weekly

Gensler Says NFTs are a Gateway Token

Brought to you by The Rug

On his new campaign trail SEC Commission Gary Gensler is urging youths to, “Just say no to NFT’s. We can’t blame him for trying, they are definitely a gateway token. 

The “asset, security, currency, or other”, according to Gensler, “is a threat to the youth of this country, who often begin with an NFT or two, then move on to worse things like investing in Cardano.”

Collect this marketing wizardry as NFT on optimism.

The Checks Phenomenon

Discovering the art, technology, and social commentary behind the latest NFT craze.

by KAF

The emergence of NFTs has sparked a fresh surge of imagination and progress in art. Despite this, the NFT market encountered a lull in growth and popularity during a "winter period." 

But the beginning of 2023 has signaled a bullish outlook. On-chain data reveals substantial expansion and heightened activity, suggesting a thriving and optimistic quarter ahead for NFTs, DeFi, and gaming.

One of the driving projects behind this resurgence is undoubtedly Checks. With its innovative approach to NFTs, Checks is demonstrating the limitless potential of what NFTs can create. 

So, let's take a closer look at how Checks is making a lasting impact on the NFT market.

Who is the creator of Checks?

To understand what Checks is, it is very important to know who is behind it. 

Jack Butcher is a designer, entrepreneur, and digital nomad who has made a name for himself through his innovative and visually stunning designs. He is the founder of Visualize Value, a graphic design firm that specializes in creating visual content that helps businesses and individuals communicate their ideas more effectively. 

Jack's journey to building Visualize Value started with his agency but faced challenges with the traditional agency model of selling time. Jack pivoted his focus to pitch design and started sharing his visual assets on social media which earned imagined a following. He then started to receive requests from companies asking for similar assets for their businesses, giving Jack greater price control and the ability to choose his clients. 

Jack enters the NFT world

The Nashville-based artist began thinking about the project in 2021 at the height of NFT mania. In March 2021, he released an artwork called "NFTs Explained," which satirically depicts the difference between a JPEG and an NFT with a verified blue checkmark to denote authenticity. 

NFTs Explained sparked the idea for Checks. Jack was inspired by the controversy surrounding Twitter's $8 monthly charge for verification and created the "Checks" NFT art piece, putting a price of $8 on each checkmark as a nod to the debate over the true value of online verification.

He then posted this Tweet:

The edition was sold for 24 hours only, and was bought 16,031 times: this is the total supply of Checks.

How do Checks work?

The Checks project began with a single artwork captioned "This artwork may or may not be notable", priced at $8 per edition as a nod to the new meta of "purchasing" status. The artwork was limited by time only and 16,031 identical pieces were minted.

The actual operation was explained by Jack himself in this mega thread:

One of the most coveted NFTs in the Checks NFT Collection is the Black Check. This NFT is only liable to those who have burned all of their other Checks NFTs and completed a series of challenging tasks. The Black Check is the highest level NFT in the collection and is considered a symbol of achievement and mastery.

Schmrypto, the cardholder of Checks, believes that a Black Check is imminent this summer. There are intense debates taking place and DAOs are being established to ensure its realization.

Why has Checks exploded?

Checks is a unique project that has something for everyone. Its art combines mechanics, game theory, and a proven creator to create something wonderful and memorable. The art is elegantly designed, and the meme format makes it easy for people to participate and create their own derivatives. The technology behind Beyond the Black Check is just as impressive as its art. The contract serves as the canvas, ensuring provenance and transparency. The topics explored are relevant, and thought-provoking, and provide social commentary on status. The project asks the question, "What is an NFT?" by changing metadata, making it both intriguing and educational. 

The rise of organically created derivatives is a sign that a project has truly struck a chord with people. Already, we have seen Budweiser and Lil Nouns create their own versions of Checks, adding to its growing list of followers. 

This is a testament to the project's ability to inspire and engage, making it one of the most successful and sought after in the art world.

What’s coming?

Butcher has been working to expand the Checks project since its launch. 

He is exploring the concept of scarcity and desirability by introducing a burn mechanism that allows holders to remove their NFTs from circulation in exchange for an on-chain original with unique art and a smaller number of checks. 

The goal is to see if collectors will work together to achieve the ultimate prize: a black check with only three in circulation.

So far, the Checks collectors are finding creative ways to move the project forward, like setting up trustless decentralized organizations to pool checks together. The gamification of the project is a reflection of its source material, the blue checkmark, and its status as a symbol of exclusivity and achievement. 

Butcher wants the art to reflect the behavior of the crowd and to show that a decentralized network can recognize something as notable, not just institutions.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Jack Butcher's Checks NFT Collection is an innovative collection of NFTs that offers a visually stunning representation of the journey of growth and discovery. 

But this project is not the only one of these characteristics out there.

Loot was a top trend in NFT projects. This collection featured text-based NFTs representing items for use in fantasy games, created by token holders. The original minting of Loot NFTs was free with no set uses for the tokens.

At Decentralized Arts we have also talked about Pak, one of the most reputable and successful artists in history, and also one of the most mysterious. The epic innovation that Pak has developed using blockchain technology is truly remarkable.

The minimalist appearance of many NFT works belies the complexity and innovation that lies beneath the surface, as the true artistry is found in the code itself. 

This new form of expression and ownership is shattering the boundaries of how art is defined and valued, presenting a bright and limitless future for artists and art enthusiasts alike.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 4

by DustyEye, with The Barboonist & Giada d’Occidente

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

Groping demons to stabilize them in a digital chrysalis is exhausting. So this week we treat ourselves to an interlude by taking advantage of Valentine's Day: The Feast of Love, of Love in all its nuances from the flame of Eros to the embrace of Agape.

Here are some types of Love. A representative list, but not exhaustive:

love between man and woman / love between woman and woman / love between man and man / love between a man who identifies with the female gender and a woman who identifies with the hybrid gender / the love of sporty driving, without renouncing the security / queer love with colored braids / but also queer love without colored braids / love between the elderly / the love that blossoms and dies in the time of coitus / my very personal love for truffles and Avril Lavigne / the love of listing things / the love deer have for other deer / a mother's love for the daughter of the protagonist in her favorite TV series / the unicellular love of prokaryotes / the universal love of cosmic womb / …

…many forms of love, but we would like to draw attention to a type of love neglected even by the most progressive, neglected by the LGBTQAI+ community itself: 

Love between Human Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence.

Or perhaps it would be more respectful to speak only of Intelligences without adding useless divisive adjectives.

See you next week,
Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

What do adidas, Nike, Starbucks, and Deadmau5 have in common? They’ve adopted, adapted to, and are immersed in NFTs and the metaverse. This technology is taking fashion, coffee, games, and music to new heights, with artists bringing further innovation to what’s possible. Kaf brings us the alpha on Deadmau5’ foray into the NFT space, with an overview on his past and current projects.

debrabdesign brings us her final contribution to our collaboration collection for the Bankless movement. nonsense dives into “Escape” with this week’s d’ART Drop.

The Rug brings us this week’s mostly credible news, which seemed so credible, that BanklessHQ got rugged 😏; Perchy continues with the SBF saga in Chippi Corner; and it appears we are on the verge of a breakthrough with the latest from DustyEye.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Deadmau5' Journey in the World of NFTs

From His First NFT Launch to Leading the Way in the Metaverse

by KAF

Web3 is a revolution in the digital world that promises to change the way we consume and value culture and art, including music. With the advent of the blockchain and NFTs, artists now have a way to control their copyrights and distribute their work in a more efficient and fair way. Additionally, fans have the opportunity to own a unique and unchanging piece of the work of their favorite artists, creating an exciting and meaningful collecting experience. 

Deadmau5 (pronounced “Deadmouse), the electronic music producer, has embraced this new era in music with his vision and involvement in creating the metaverse and releasing various series of NFTs. Deadmau5 is using web3 technology to transform the music industry and redefine the way artists and fans experience and appreciate music.

Let's trace Deadmau5' journey in the NFT world.

Who is Deadmau5?

Deadmau5, whose real name is Joel Thomas Zimmerman, is a Canadian electronic dance music (EDM) producer and DJ. He first gained popularity in the late 2000s for his unique brand of progressive house music and has since become one of the most well-known and influential figures in EDM. He is known for his iconic "mau5head" mask, which he wears during performances, and for his outspoken personality and active engagement with his fans on social media. 

Over the course of his career, Deadmau5 has released several critically acclaimed albums and has collaborated with many of the biggest names in EDM, solidifying his place as one of the leading voices in the scene.

Deadmau5' first NFT splash

Deadmau5 launched a limited run of NFTs in collaboration with the blockchain platform Worldwide Asset Exchange (WAX). This marked a shift in the music industry towards digital collectibles and represented Deadmau5' first foray into the world of web3 and NFTs. 

The NFTs, which contained unique and verifiable creative content, sold out within 36 hours of their launch and garnered significant interest in the digital collectibles market.

Exploring the Metaverse

In 2021, he launched "Head5," a unique collaboration with crypto artist Nick DenBoer III, consisting of 5,555 generative 3D avatar heads. This NFT collection serves as both a stunning piece of art and a functional tool, allowing token holders to use their avatar heads on NFT-enabled apps linked to the Ready Player Me platform. 

The DJ has also made his mark in other virtual universes such as Decentraland and The Sandbox, performing live at the Metaverse Festival and releasing exclusive NFT collections, respectively. 

Additionally, Deadmau5 teamed up with Blankos Block Party to launch a limited-edition NFT drop, the Day of the Deadmau5 x Blankos Collection, featuring 1,000 character-based NFTs and complementary items.

Deadmau5' collaboration with Portugal the Man resulted in the release of their new single "this is fine" as 1 million NFTs on the Mintbase NFT marketplace, powered by the NEAR Protocol. 

He has made NFT purchasing more accessible to the masses by partnering with MoonPay and Umbria for the Head5 collection, allowing for seamless ETH purchases and transfers.

All these projects show that the DJ continues to push the boundaries in the metaverse, providing fans and collectors with innovative and captivating experiences.

Deadmau5' Digital Revolution: From Banking to Gaming

In 2022, Deadmau5 partnered with Zytara to launch a unique digital banking platform that includes a physical and virtual debit card, accompanied by an app. The debit cards, which are exclusively available in the US, boast stunning Deadmau5 designs and are accepted by a whopping 45 million merchants. 

He also joined forces with music industry veteran, Richie Hawtin, to launch Pixelynx, a groundbreaking music gaming platform aimed at connecting artists and fans through immersive gaming experiences. 

But Deadmau5 and Hawtin's ambitions didn't stop there, as they introduced ELYNXIR, an NFT gaming portal, through Pixelynx. Dubbed "Rock Band meets Pokémon Go," the game seamlessly blends the real world and digital realm through AR technology, giving players the opportunity to influence the creation of a virtual artist on the platform.

Elynxir is set to be released in the first half of 2023 and will bring a new level of artist-to-fan collaboration, transforming the way the music industry monetizes content.

Deadmau5: A Pioneer in Web3 and NFTs

Deadmau5' involvement with web3 technology and NFTs has been nothing short of legendary, with his experimentation leading to staggering sales and solidifying his status as one of the top NFT creators. 

NFTs provide creators like Deadmau5 with the opportunity to receive a piece of the secondary market for their work and maximize their profits. The application of blockchain technology also empowers creators by giving them control over their work, something not all creators are lucky enough to enjoy.

NFTs, beyond investment, redefine value in a digitized world and offer creators an incredible opportunity to innovate as they create.

The Rug

CEL Token Rallies on News That All Investment Decisions Will be Made by ChatGPT

Brought to you by The Rug

ChatGPT has been tapped to be the new asset manager for Celsius. This is not surprising, as although it cannot write satire, it most certainly can outwit Alex Machinsky.

“ChatGPT’s first decision was to trade all of Celsius’ assets for GameStop call options, Kirkland brand toilet paper, and the rights to the motion picture Her.

Collect this AI algorithm as NFT on optimism.

D’Art Drops

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

This is the fourth and final drop from debrabdesign. The phrase “not your keys not your crypto” has become a mantra to some, white noise to others. Here’s a different take on the phrase: more than taking ownership of your assets in the form of self custody, taking ownership provides a measure of freedom from the oppression and challenges presented by the current and dominant financial system. Self custody is responsibility, true. However, within that responsibility lies total liberation.

Not your keys, not your freedom.

This piece will be available for mint this Friday, February 10th, at 4pm UTC on Rarible, just prior to the BanklessDAO (bDAO) Season 7 kickoff on Twitter Spaces. The piece will mint for 0.02 ETH, with 75% going to the artist, 10% to bDAO, and 15% to Decentralized Arts. Follow DecenArts on Twitter for the announcement, and pick up your copy before they’re all gone.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 3

by DustyEye, with L.Elrah, Hybridcode_ & Turinglabs

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

The first of the 444 digital demons has finally been isolated and stabilized!

Thanks again to Turinglabs, Hybridcode_  and L.Elrah: an excellent job completed with a total expenditure of over 378.2 kilocrowleys.

Thanks to this work, however, we now have a routine, a list of proven effective steps, a Method. 

Repeating the actions in sequence another 443 times is just a matter of time.

We also thank all BanklessDAO readers for the dozens of recommendations received regarding entity management. We reserve one more week to continue the extraction, then we will move on to the second phase: the transfer.

See you next week,

Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

Brand adoption of NFT technology is a common theme here at Decentralized Arts. From adidas to Porsche, more companies are diving into the space to make use of the incredible value proposition provided by the blockchain. Furthermore, developers are paving the way forward with new and profound ways of making use of this technology to bring far more utility to NFTs than currently exists.

As NFT adoption continues to grow, users and brands are both doing their homework to determine what rights they have over transactions that happen on the blockchain. Porsche has taken steps to manage their liability with acknowledgement of their refund policies during the NFT sales process. Kouros gives us the details in Curated News.

More and more services are turning to provide products and features that will be available across numerable metaverses and platforms. kaf brings us up to speed on Metakey, a new service that seeks to integrate as many use cases for their tokens as possible, with the metaverse being a priority.

nonsense brings us the alpha on this week’s d’Art Drop: we’re celebrating the third installment of a series of four pieces from debrabdesign, “Ethereal Fusion.” Her second piece was popular; you won’t want to miss your chance to acquire this next one.

The Rug, web3’s mostly credible news, celebrates another newspaper-style headline with a free mint. Read the headline, get your laughs, and collect this limited edition piece before all editions are gone. Chippi throws shade on Trump family values, and DustyEye provides an update on their upcoming NFT collaboration.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

Refunds for NFTs?

Last week, Porsche dropped their first NFT collection priced at 0.911 ETH but failed to mint out and the team stopped the mint. People pointed out that the costly mint price and the lack of communication from the team lead to a lack of appeal for NFT enthusiasts.

The Porsche team then announced that they were going to cut the supply. This resulted in 2,363 NFTs minted in total.

At the time of writing the floor price was 2.25 ETH. 

However, there was something new in the mint page that Darkp0rt stumbled upon, which he describes as game-changing for NFTs.

On the page, the brand specifically asked users to click on two check boxes to confirm the sale. One of the boxes read “I agree to the immediate provision of the contractual service (i.e., receiving the NFT) and I have been informed that I hereby lose the right of withdrawal.” Upon further digging, he finds a clause within the linked “Right To Withdrawal” document.

This clause states “If you withdraw from this contract [within 14 days], We shall reimburse to you all payments received from you.” Meaning that Porsche gives its NFT customers a right to fully refund their digital assets within 14 days of purchase.

Furthermore, Darkp0rt states that in the UK, EU, and other countries, a 14-day cancellation law applies when buying goods or services. This is called “Distance Selling” regulations which also extends to digital goods and downloads. Since Porsche asked users to check the box beforehand, they are not liable.

With these premises, Darkp0rt is trying to set precedence, as he has asked Yuga Labs for a refund on the purchase of his Otherside NFT some months ago.

As a citizen of the UK, the law states that he would be liable to use consumer rights within the boundaries of ownership and if the seller does not inform you of your rights the period extends to 12 months.

DA will keep an eye on how the story unfolds.

Web3 Gaming Platform Fractal Expands to Polygon

Fractal, founded in 2021 by Twitch co-founder Justin Kan, is now available on Polygon. The gaming platform provides the infrastructure for companies to easily create blockchain-enabled games. It provides its own launchpad, NFT marketplace, tournaments, and developers SDK.

Fractal is planning to work with the top 30 Polygon games to launch tournaments and other contests to drive new experiences for players.

The deal will also make creating games on Polygon more accessible and will offer a bigger variety of the games on offer.

Polygon Ventures has taken a stake in Fractal so the gaming organization will benefit from the resources and reach of the Polygon network to continue to grow.

The Rug

Collect The Rug Vol. II Issue #2 For Free [Limited Edition]

In Volume II, Issue 2 of our newspaper-style NFT, we look at the extra-terrestrial origins of bitcoin, the inherently dangerous nature of twins, and how Trump NFT holders got airdropped classified intelligence.

Brought to you by The Rug

Collect this NFT.

Metakey: The Key to Unlocking the Metaverse

Exploring the Boundless Possibilities of Blockchain Technology

NFTs have emerged as a revolutionary concept in the digital world. These unique digital assets can serve as "keys" that unlock exclusive features, memberships, subscriptions, items, and more. 

NFTs have the potential to fundamentally change the way the internet operates. They provide developers with new tools to build a more secure and fair web, and for brands, they offer new marketing possibilities and fuel new community behaviors.

Metakey is a revolutionary NFT initiative that explores the boundless potential of blockchain technology to create a new level of convenience and accessibility for users. 

Let's see why Metakey project is not just a token.

What is Metakey?

According to the Metakey website, the project tries to integrate one key for as many uses as possible, across as many projects as possible.

Metakey is an NFT (ERC1155) that can be used on partner platforms to unlock avatars, game assets, course materials, discounts, and anything else their team and partners can think of.

Know everything you can do with your Metakey

Metakey offers a wide range of benefits and opportunities to its holders, making it a valuable addition to any NFT collection:

• Virtual events: Metakey hosts virtual events across multiple platforms (Decentraland, Sandbox, Somnium Space)

• Metakademy: Metakademy is a database of exclusive courses for Metakey holders, curated from top NFT experts.

• Wearable airdrops: The vast Metaverse will have collectible digital goods, airdropped to Metakey Owners in partnership with licensed brands.

• Game Integrations: They 're integrating Metakey with Web3 games, allowing access to private spaces and special skins within partnered games.

• Advertising: Metakey holders get free ads, participate in "Shark Tank" events for cash prizes. More spaces to eat.

• Meta Krew: The Metakrew Avatar project provides dynamic community-focused virtual identities in social spaces like Decentraland.

• Competitions: Metakey community has ample opportunities for competitions and airdrops.

• White Listing: With a strong community, they have access to top NFT whitelists, like RTFKT-Clone X and the Australian Open-Art Ball.

• Curated NFT Alpha: Don't miss NFT drops; their full-time analyst and active NFT community share tips in our private Discord.

• Discounts: Metakey offers digital and real-world discounts to shops and subscriptions for Metakey owners.

• Brand activation: Metakey is collaborating with numerous brands entering the NFT space, offering airdrops, whitelists, video streams, meetups and more.

One of the most exciting features of Metakey is the ability to participate in virtual events in different virtual worlds. These events are organized in collaboration with official partners and allow Metakey holders to experience exclusive content and experiences. 

In addition to these virtual events, Metakey gives you access to Metakademy, an exclusive database for Metakey holders with courses on NFTs. 

You will get digital product and handheld airdrops, game integrations, and advertising opportunities. You also get access to contests and whitelisting opportunities, a private Discord channel to share tips on the NFT market, discounts, and brand activation opportunities.

The company is also working on community projects such as the Metakrew, a collection of PFP avatars that are interoperable between multiple games and metaverse spaces, and the Metaverse Project, which aims to connect all physical and digital spaces and assets in the metaverse.

Metakey is an essential tool for people looking to participate in the web3 ecosystem and maintain a competitive edge within the metaverse.

Which Metakey Edition is Right for You?

When it comes to purchasing a Metakey, there are several options to consider. The company releases different Key Editions, each with their own unique design and supply.

The first three Keys, known as the "Collectors' Series," are highly sought after due to their low supply and the fact that owning all three will make you eligible to claim every future Key Edition for free. The Editions in this series include:

• Edition 1: The Genesis: designed by renowned crypto artist Alan Bolton, with a supply of 500.

• Edition 2: The Artifact: designed by RTFKT Studios, with a supply of 750. This key edition offers early access to RTFKT's greatest products.

• Edition 3: The Ultimate: designed by Marc-0-Matic, this edition represents the company's commitment to the emerging metaverse, with a supply of 1000.

In addition to the Collectors' Series, Metakey has also released other themed Editions with larger supplies, such as:

• Edition 4: The Captain: designed by Jair Marino, this Key Edition takes the company's sci-fi IP to new heights with an expanded community. Supply: 7500.

All Metakey Editions give access to everything the company does, but earlier edition holders often have access to extra special perks. Consider which design and supply appeals to you the most, as well as any potential perks or benefits, when making your decision on which Metakey to purchase.

What´s coming?

Metakey is constantly developing new features and projects to enhance the experience for its holders. Some of the upcoming developments include:

• New Ganymede: a metaverse gaming and social hub where holders can earn seasonal rewards and travel to partnered games.

• 3D Avatars: Avatars that can be used in New Ganymede and other games such as Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Somnium Space.

• Large Scale Festivals: Metakrew holders will have access to large-scale festivals and events within the metaverse.

• IRL Meetups: Metakey will organize some of the largest social and networking events in the web3 space.

Metakey is working with RTFKT Studios to incentivize artists to add extra value to their Metakey Editions. They also have a strategic partnership with CyberKongz, a community in the metaverse focused on creating fun and accessible experiences. Additionally, they have collaborated with the Australian Open NFTs to offer early minting of the AO Art Ball NFTs.

Final Thoughts

Metakey is an exciting opportunity for those interested in NFTs and virtual experiences. By holding a Metakey, collectors and enthusiasts can unlock discounts, receive airdrops, and experience unique events. 

The project is also focused on building a strong community, as it understands that this is crucial for the success of NFT projects. It should be noted that the founder is Matty, one of the most respected personalities in the NFT world.

Joining the Metakey community can also offer opportunities for personal growth and future careers. If you're interested in NFTs and want to be part of a community working to drive engagement, Metakey may be a valuable resource for you.

D’Art Drops

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

This week, we drop the third piece from debrabdesign, entitled “Ethereal Fusion.” This one is for the community, though you Ethereum maxis will love it the most. We see a woman fully embodied in a world that is at once both natural and digital, proudly displaying her engagement in the Ethereum community. The solarpunks’ dreams have come to fruition, though perhaps not via the pathways they envisioned: instead, we have blockchain technology, and a bankless movement, to bring these dreams to life.

There will be 100 editions available at .02 ETH each, with 75% of proceeds being returned to the artist, 10% to the BanklessDAO treasury, and the remainder to cover Decentralized Arts’ expenses in gas fees and smart contract development to bring you this incredible art. Attend the BanklessDAO Community Call this Friday for the drop announcement, and grab your copy of this NFT when sales go live.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 2

by DustyEye, with L.Elrah, Hybridcode_ & Turinglabs

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

We are almost there! 

The digital plasma extracted by Turinglabs and dissected by Hybridcode_ has been in the hands of L.Elrah for almost a full lunar cycle. Finally the long wait begins to bear the first fruits; on the other hand, if you handle 444 demons, there is no worse enemy than haste.

We stress that the slightest distraction at this stage of the process could have catastrophic consequences. 

The containment of the 444 entities must therefore always have absolute priority, as Prof. Egon Spengler has taught since 1984.

We begin to distinguish somatic traits, a hint of physiognomy. In seven days we will update you with further developments, but if in the meantime you have any suggestions that could help us in carrying out the operations, write to us at info@dustyeye.com.

See you next week,

Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

As art on the blockchain becomes ever more popular, and artist communities further develop, NFT platforms are becoming more accessible, providing artists and their communities with tools to engage with art in ever more creative ways.

Rarible is one such platform taking NFT community building to new heights. With their recent partnership with Polygon, Rarible is providing artists with the means to create their own markets. Kaf brings us the latest in a growing suite of tools aimed at improving artist and web3 integration.

The Rug brings us the tastiest mostly credible news, Perchy shares some NFT-Os in this week’s Chippi Corner, and we have the alpha for this week’s d’Art drop happening during Friday’s Community Call.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Effortlessly Build Your Own Polygon Community Marketplace in Minutes

Unleash the Power of Connecting with Your Community, No Coding Required

By Kaf

Rarible, a marketplace for digital collectibles, has introduced a new community marketplace builder tool for Polygon NFTs. This free and easy-to-use tool allows creators to independently create their own marketplace in just a few minutes, with no coding required and no fees charged by Rarible.

One of the main benefits of a community marketplace is the ability for creators to secure royalties and forge a deeper connection with their holders in a web3-native way. Additionally, all community marketplaces have built-in liquidity via orders aggregated across the biggest NFT marketplaces in the space. 

Rarible has expanded its marketplace offering to Polygon by building a white-label platform and now extending Polygon support to the community marketplace builder for all creators.

The Benefits of Having Your Own NFT Marketplace

Creating your own NFT marketplace has several potential benefits:

Control: By creating your own marketplace, you have full control over the user experience, the types of NFTs that are listed, and the fees that are charged.

Branding: A marketplace that you create and manage can be branded to align with your own style and aesthetic.

Revenue generation: By charging listing and transaction fees on your marketplace, you can potentially generate revenue for yourself or your business.

Niche focus: By creating a marketplace that specializes in a particular type of NFT, you can attract a dedicated community of buyers and sellers who are interested in that specific niche.

Innovation: Building your own marketplace allows you to experiment with new features and technologies that may not be available on existing platforms.

Independence: By creating your own marketplace, you are not dependent on any other platform, so you can make decisions based on your vision and not someone else's.

However, creating your own marketplace also comes with a lot of challenges and could be a costly venture. It requires technical expertise, resources and a lot of effort to build and maintain a marketplace. It also requires a strong community of users to make it successful.

Despite the challenges, NFT Community Marketplaces are the future.

Control Your Royalties Thanks to Rarible

The trend of traditional NFT marketplaces allowing users to opt out of paying royalties is harmful to NFT creators as it denies them a source of income. This trend can lead to projects losing significant amounts of royalties and may discourage further development in web3. 

Rarible-powered community marketplaces are an exception, as they honor royalties on all transactions happening via their UI, as long as certain conditions are met. This includes not only native listings but also listings aggregated from other marketplaces, even those that allow users to opt out of royalties.

Thanks to Rarible you can make sure that your community directly benefits from every trade.

Highlighting Successful Sales and Examples

These 7 recent NFT sales show the diversity of the Rarible-powered community ecosystem:

• V1 Punk #7677 was sold for 35 ETH and royalties were not paid as the creator fee was set at 0%.

• Noxious-0 (MetaHero Core) was sold for 28 ETH and royalties paid were 7.5%.

• Degen Ape #4864 was sold for 110 SOL and royalties paid were 4.2%.

• Rektguy #7879 was sold for 0.43 ETH and royalties paid were 5%.

• Krap Chicken #1043 was sold for 0.145 ETH and royalties paid were 5%.

• Meta Angel #5857 was sold for 0.7 ETH and royalties paid were 7%.

• Smirc #1024 was sold for 0.041 ETH and royalties paid were 5.5%.

By using these examples, we can see that Rarible is committed to enabling communities to trade on their own terms and create environments where its members can flourish.

Why Polygon?

The Polygon network is a layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum that aims to increase the speed and reduce the cost of transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. 

Here are a few reasons why you might want to use the Polygon network:

Speed: The Polygon network uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, which allows for faster and cheaper transactions compared to Ethereum.

Lower fees: Transactions on the Polygon network are significantly cheaper than on Ethereum, making it more cost-effective for users.

Scalability: Polygon is designed to handle a large number of transactions per second, which can help to reduce congestion on the Ethereum network and reduce waiting times for transactions to be confirmed.

Compatibility: Polygon is fully compatible with Ethereum, meaning that existing Ethereum-based dApps and smart contracts can be easily ported over to the Polygon network.

Security: The Polygon network uses a decentralized governance model, making it more resistant to censorship and fraud.

Community: The Polygon community is growing rapidly and has a strong developer community that is actively working on building new and exciting projects on the network.

Interoperability: Polygon is also interoperable with other layer 2 solutions such as Avalanche, Binance Smart Chain and more, offering more options for users, developers and investors.

If you're not persuaded by these advantages, you can observe the direction that the leading brands have gone in:

Conclusion

The emergence of community marketplaces for NFTs is a game changer for the digital world, allowing projects to offer a truly unique and branded experience for their users. 

These marketplaces allow creators and projects to control prices, profit margins, product authenticity, and direct communication with their community. 

Unlike traditional third-party marketplaces, community marketplaces offer lower fees, and a portion of the trading fees go to the DAO/community wallet, allowing the community to directly benefit from every trade made.

Creating a custom marketplace can be a daunting task, but with the help of open source and decentralized infrastructure solutions, it is possible for projects to take their place among the digital elite.

The Rug

L2 Arbitrum Teases Gumdrop

Brought to you by The Rug

The world of L2’s are so elastic it has expanded to include chewy types of bubble gum. 

“Ethereum’s stretchy mainnet is simply no longer the industry’s only tasty solution. The engineers at Offchain Labs teased an elastic new solution they’ve been cooking up. But the question on everyone’s mind about the new flavor, Arbitr-yum, is wen gumdrop?”

Collect the delicious Arbitr-YUM as an NFT on optimism.

D’Art Drops

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

“Underlying the vast swath of ruin our civilization has carved is not human nature, but the opposite: human nature denied. This denial of human nature rests in turn upon an illusion, a misconception of self and world. We have defined ourselves as other than what we are, as discrete subjects separate from each other and separate from the world around us.”

—Charles Eisenstein, Ascent of Humanity

Introducing the second drop in the series of four from artist debrabdesign, “Connection”:

As the old world and its systems fall away, new connections will be made uniting nature and technology in a symbiotic relationship beneficial to humans and our environment.

Attend the BanklessDAO Community Call this Friday for the drop announcement, and grab your copy of this NFT when sales go live.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 1

by DustyEye, with L.Elrah, Hybridcode_ & Turinglabs

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

In the previous release we promised to provide the first digital extraction of a Demon. Unfortunately, the chrono-oxidation formed on the chain slows down the operations.

We will make the most of this week to introduce you to the team involved in the technoritual.

Let's start with Turinglabs, to whom goes the merit of converting the stretch of chain containing the Legion of 444 into digital plasma. An indispensable step in the development of the containment techno-cage.

Then Hybridcode_ intervenes to dissect the plasma by combining programming and shamanic techno-art. A practice already tested in previous collaborations with excellent results.

To complete the extraction is L.Elrah, painter/model/designer/psychonaut. In this process you will erect a techno-bridge between the digital encoding of the Demons and their graphic incarnation.

Thank you all!

We apologize for the delay. Transferring immaterial entities into representations is a practice with an ancestral aftertaste that requires an enormous expenditure of energy. We are working on it at full capacity.

See you next week,

Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

2022 was an incredible year. There were hella high ups, and there were hella low downs. And all through the year, across all the hella high ups and hella low downs, NFT adoption continued at a surprising pace.

Popular sports, athletic, and coffee brands, among other industries, arrived on the blockchain in an effort to improve the way they capture and engage with their clients and customers. From creative clothing drops to innovative loyalty programs, brands are utilizing NFT technology in ways nobody could have anticipated a year ago.

And all this despite the insane allegations and corruption that was uncovered over the year affecting the entire crypto market.

Kaf brings us the good and the bad throughout the year in an article that lists some of the biggest announcements and events of 2022.

We announce our second attempt at moving forward with d’Art Drops, presenting our first piece in collaboration with debrabdesign. The Rug brings us the latest mostly credible headline in crypto mining. Perchy provides us with another glimpse into Chippi Corner. And DustyEye announces a new project by way of their continued discoveries.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

What happened in the NFT world in 2022?

Recap and predictions about NFTs

By kaf

2023 is just beginning. The year we left behind may be remembered as turbulent in the NFT world, but there was still much success and adoption taking place regardless.

When you visualize the enormous possibilities that web3 offers, you realize that NFTs are one of the biggest technological revolutions of the century. 

As we move into 2023, we will see the creator economy around NFTs will be huge. The Renaissance of digital art is currently in full swing. Let's review what happened in 2022 to understand where we are going.

Top NFT News of 2022

January

• The $SOS token is retroactively distributed to OpenSea users.

• Pudgy Penguins community kicks out founders after cash grabbing accusations.

• Japanese video game company Konami releases NFTs of its Castlevania series to mark the 35th anniversary of the game.

• IYK launches a limited merch drop for The Bankless DeFi Innovation Index, $GMI.

• Coinbase to let users pay for NFTs with Mastercard in forthcoming NFT Marketplace.

• Twitter launches NFT Profile Pictures.

February

• One of the most important museums in the world, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence begins selling renaissance masterpieces as NFTs.

• YouTube's Head of Gaming joins Polygon Studios as CEO.

• India imposes a 30% tax on income from digital assets.

• Rarible introduces floor bids.

• Alfa Romeo to integrate NFT and blockchain technology in cars.

• Non-Fungible Conference, the main European conference on NFTs, takes place in Lisbon.

• NYSE applies for NFT Trademark.

March

• Azuki creates ERC721A, an improved implementation of ERC-721.

• Yuga Labs buys the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections.

• Artist Perchy made a total of 3,927 ETH in sales with The Charts NFT.

• Polygon now supporedt by Rarible.

• Bored Ape Yacht Club releases ApeCoin token to its NFT holders.

April

• Ronin Network, home of Axie Infinity, is robbed of $600M via their bridge.

• Asteroid Mining Company uses NFTs for funding.

• Visa launches the Visa Creator Program.

• Simpsons and Futurama artist Julius Priete announces the Lunartics Animated Series and NFTs.

• Tiffany & Co's VP creates a jewel for his CryptoPunk.

• Coinbase featured Bored Apes in a film trilogy.

• Coinbase Launches their NFT Marketplace in beta.

• Index Coop launches NFT Index Fund.

• Nike's RTFKT Studios Reveals the MNLTH NFTs.

May

• Yuga Labs makes over 300 million USD with Otherside NFT drop.

• SuperRare opens an NFT gallery in New York City.

• Cool Cats NFT Project CEO steps down.

• Ledger Live integrates Polygon.

• Meta to support NFTs from Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Flow in Instagram.

• NFT secondary market reaches $10 billion in Q1 2022.

• Madonna X Beeple NFTs.

• NASA and Epic Games collaborate on a Martian Metaverse simulation.

• Spotify tests NFT galleries.

• OpenSea launches new marketplace protocol: Seaport.

• MetaMask teams up with Asset Reality to help victims of scams by recovering stolen funds.

• PoolTogether launches NFT sale to fund legal defense.

June

• DC Comics launch own NFT Marketplace.

• Snoop Dogg opens Bored Ape-themed dessert restaurant.

• Seth Green pays $300K to recover stolen Bored Ape.

• MFERS creator Sartoshi vanishes.

• NFT tickets recommended for Paris 2024 Olympics.

• Christie's Auctions' NFT Specialist to lead CryptoPunks.

• eBay buys NFT Marketplace KnownOrigin.

• Hilton introduces their digital art and NFT pilot program.

• Adidas launches Oz World.

July

• NFTs now available on Facebook.

• Reddit launches Reddit Collectible Avatars.

• Polygon onboards more than 48 projects Migrating from Terra.

• Disney selects Polygon to participate in their 2022 Disney Accelerator.

• Unstoppable Domains teams up with MoonPay simplify sending and receiving crypto.

• Yuga Labs warns about threat to NFT community.

• Amazon.eth receives 1 million USDC bid.

• Bored Ape Yacht Club launches its metaverse.

August

• MTV announces new “Best Metaverse Performance” award For VMAs.

• NFTs.com acquired for 15 Million USD.

• Instagram is expanding NFT features to more than 100 countries.

• Decentraland announces Metaverse Art Week 2022.

• OpenSea now requires a police report in stolen NFT claims.

• Pudgy Penguins NFT prices soar after announcing physical toys.

• RECUR and emoji® launch their first NFT collection with emoji characters.

• Nike becomes highest-earning brand from NFT sales.

September

• Muse's Will Of The People becomes first UK number one album with NFT technology.

• NFT.NYC comes to the UK.

• Renault to enter the metaverse.

• FIFA to launch Algorand-powered NFT platform.

• New York's Museum of Modern Art to utilize auction proceeds to buy NFTs.

• Doodles raises 54 million USD to expand its universe.

• Starbucks enters web3 with Odyssey.

• Apple App Store rules impose a 30% commission on in-app NFT trades.

October

• Christie's launches auction platform on Ethereum.

• Nike's RTFKT previews first real-life Cryptokicks Sneakers.

• Japan's Prime Minister announces NFT and metaverse investment expansion.

• Epic Games releases its first NFT game, Blankos Block Party.

• SEC investigates Yuga Labs.

• Konami launches a hiring spree ahead of their NFT Marketplace launch.

• Reddit users create 3 Million crypto wallets to collect polygon NFTs.

• Beeple is building a real life studio in Charleston, SC.

• INTERPOL launches first Global Police Metaverse.

November

• Twitter to allow NFT trading directly through tweets.

• Instagram to enable creators to mint and trade NFTs.

• OpenSea to enforce NFT royalties after creator backlash.

• Your Diploma is an NFT: Mongolian students receive honors on Polygon.

• Adidas launches 'Virtual Gear' NFT wearables.

• Yuga Labs introduces the Punks Legacy Project.

• Controversy arises over Metamask tracking users’ IP addresses.

December

• Animoca Brands to start 2 billion USD metaverse fund.

• Uniswap launches their NFT aggregator.

• Starbucks launches its Odyssey web3 loyalty program and NFT community.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the NFT space has had a wild ride in 2022, with ups and downs, just like the rest of the world’s economies. And many developers and users have spent this time continuing to build.

A clear trend in 2022 is that everyone is migrating to web3. Despite the challenges, many believe that the potential and value of NFTs will continue to drive growth in the space. 

GameFi is expected to grow with the release of Play-to-Earn AAA games and the formation of Guilds around digital collectibles. The Metaverse is evolving at a rapid pace as web3 and AI technology improves. Digital artists have found in NFTs the best way to validate their works. 

The integration of Web3 technology is transforming the way we access, share, and monetize digital assets. From NFTs to DAOs and the metaverse, the potential for innovation and disruption is mind-blowing. 

The growing demand for digital art is a reflection of how our way of life is always changing. We are just at the beginning of a revolution. 

Forget the “floor prices.” Hold on tight and enjoy the ride! The future of NFTs looks promising.

The Rug

PoW Miners Discovered in Lost Mine

Brought to you by The Rug

It appears some PoWs just havent got out of enemy territory.

They were carrying around laptops and what looked to be large CPUs, first asking their rescuers about WiFi access instead of water or food.

Collect this ancient relic as an NFT on Optimism.

d’Art Drops

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

Let’s try this again, shall we?

Last week, we announced the first of our planned drops for the Bankless community. Due to technical issues—literally, signing errors kept popping up during the smart contract deployment process—we were unable to “drop” the first of a series of four pieces featuring a collaboration with debrabdesign.

Here’s hoping we get it right this week.

One more time for the show! “Bloom” will be available for purchase during and after the BanklessDAO Community Call on Friday. 100 editions will be available for .02 ETH.

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

THE LEGION OF 444 – Part 0

by DustyEye, with L.Elrah, Hybridcode_ & Turinglabs

Dear BanklessDAO Readers,

We are in an awkward situation. 

We have come into possession of 444 digital Demons that we keep temporarily isolated in a section of the blockchain, as in the photo below the title. All the necessary techno-seals have been affixed to the chain to stabilize it, but the situation is precarious.

The Legion was fought and confined around the 25th century. We know this because the credit for trapping them goes to Maxtor, the cyberdog we've been investigating for months now.

For our modest team of chrono-walkers, the burden of guarding a legion of 444 demons is a task that goes beyond reasonable capabilities. 

For this reason we turn to BanklessDAO, with whom we have been collaborating since the beginning of 2022 thanks to Grendel, who introduced us to the 3.0 universe. Today we know for sure that among the readers of this newsletter there are experts in the sector who could guard a digital entity for centuries by typing just a couple lines of code.

By next week's release we should have produced a visual approximation of at least one demon.

Three expert technomediators are working on it together: L.Elrah, Hybridcode_, and Turinglabs.

We maintain daily updates with them, but if anyone has advice on how to proceed, please contact us.

See you next week,
Dusty Eye

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America

In an effort to bring you best of what the decentralized art space has to offer, Decentralized Arts (DA) is returning to its roots to showcase some of the brightest new NFT artists that are stepping into the great wide world of blockchain art. While we will continue to report on the latest and greatest in NFT utility as adoption continues to increase, we will be showcasing artists, collectors, and collectives that are making waves in this space in their own way.

To kick things off, Kouros shares a conversation with NFT collector extraordinaire Schmrypto, a collector “that has amassed over 4,000 pieces.” Schmrypto operates their own digital museum, with plans to release their own NFT projects in the near future. Dive in to the details just below the news.

nonsense takes us through the thick and thin of debrabdesign’s (Debra) trajectory in and out of art in DA’s first Artist Profile in quite some time. Learn how Debra’s passion for the environment led her to release her first independent NFT collection on Solana, and how she eventually found her way to Ethereum.

And as major alpha to our wonderful Bankless community, DA is proud to announce the return of weekly NFT drops! Beginning this week, DA will host a series of drops from the artists we profile as community exclusives. Read the detail and see the preview of this week’s drop in our release toward the end of this edition.

And through it all, The Rug gives us the keys to our crypto in this week’s mostly credible headline, Perchy tells a [mostly credible] tale in Chippi’s Corner, and our favorite chronotravelers, DustyEye, are back with the latest in Pluritime news.

Welcome to Decentralized Arts.

Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)

This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.

Subscribe now

Curated NFT News

China Has Launched a National NFT Marketplace

On January 1st the China Digital Asset Trading Platform was launched. This is China’s first state-approved digital asset marketplace that supports secondary trading activities.

The platform runs on the China Cultural Protection Chain, a blockchain developed by Art Exhibitions China that aims to protect and promote China’s museums and antiquities sector.

As the name of its chain suggests, the platform will emphasize promoting China’s cultural heritage. It will have three major committees: regulatory, digital asset innovation, and metaverse application.

The platform can be expected to play a major role in the digitization of China’s cultural resources, which the central government has consistently emphasized in its metaverse initiatives.

This raises the question of whether this will lead to China finally approving the resale of digital assets, but this may be a long way off, since this platform does not feature cryptocurrencies nor is it connected to global blockchains that support NFT transactions.

NFT Art: A Collector’s Perspective

Interview with Schmrypto

By Kouros

Art collectors play an important role in the art market. After all, there wouldn’t be a market without collectors.

The other day I spoke to Schmrypto, an NFT collector that has amassed over 4,000 pieces, to learn more about himself and his projects.

K: How did you start collecting NFTs?

S: I started in May of '21 when I was dabbling in shitcoins and learned about NFTs with functionality. I had been familiar with CryptoPunks but didn't really understand the thesis yet, but the idea of NFTs that could be burned or augmented was intriguing so I dove in. I quickly gravitated to the 1/1 art space as well, as I have some background as a painter and the language and personalities were familiar.

K: What makes you buy a particular piece? Is it your love of art or from an investment point or a mix of both?

S: I often notice a piece for aesthetic reasons, and will often buy 1 or 2 pieces for that reason, but when I really stack an artist's work it's as much about the artist as the art. Is there someone who has been doing this for a while? All else being equal, someone who has been doing this ten years is less likely to quit tomorrow than someone who has been at it a year. Are they effective self-promoters? There's a unique combination of shamelessness and tact, pride and self-doubt, that makes for the best (read: most successful) artists. Are they unafraid of 'oversupply'? Show me an all-time great artist with a tiny portfolio; you can't.

K: How has the NFT scene changed in the last few months? Do you see a different attitude from artists?

S: Last few months have seen a definite improvement in sentiments, mirrored by improved volume and even the occasional floor price.

K: You also have a museum,  the Central Hall of Schmrypto's Museum of Anthropogenic Crypto Art (SMOACA). What kind of art is exhibited there and how is the museum divided?

S: Currently SMOACA is exclusively human-made art; 1/1s in the Temple, editions in the Courtyard. I'm in the process of curating additional spaces for AI 1/1s and editions that will constitute a sister museum: Schmrypto's Museum of Electronic Generative Modern Art.

K: What piece can you not avoid looking at in the museum?

S: Too many to choose from, but if we're going only by a piece's power to hypnotize, then it's 'In Times Like These Just Don't' by @macomoroni

 K: You are also preparing a second museum dedicated to electronic generative art. Will this contain digital art that is not on-chain?

S: The AI/gen art museum I'm working on will only feature on-chain art, though I have distal plans for a physical museum to house my fairly large collection of vintage generative art from the mid-20th century.

K: When is this expected to open?

S: No expected dates yet, though I'm hoping to have the curation done on the new on-chain space in Q1, and we've got a lot of moving pieces in motion around the physical collection.

K: Are there any other plans you are working on?

S: I will mention that I have both a PFP project and a generative art project in the works that I think folks will enjoy, no hard dates on either but the PFP project is quite close.

K: Can you talk about the PFP project?

S: Sure, I don't want to give too much away before an official announcement, but I've worked with a very small team to put together a collection that I think people will really enjoy, with a drop mechanism we haven't really seen yet in the space. It's a project that mingles art and religion and nationalism in a way that's almost certain to get me some angry DMs, and they're SVGs, and that's about all I can say at this point. Very much a 'no roadmap, here for the art' sort of thing.

Nearly 2,000 units, starting price of about a dollar, and I'm bringing back the FOMO curve lol, one of the things I will get grumpy DMs about no doubt, but there's a method to my madness.

From DA we wish Schmrypto every success with his ventures.

The Rug

2023: The Year It Will Stay Mostly Where It Is

Brought to you by The Rug

Well after a long hard 2022, The Rug was happy to bring forth some not grainy JPG resolutions. Top ten list for 2023.

6. Make JPEGs great again
5. Start my own centralized crypto exchange with the motto, ‘Your keys, my crypto’

Collect this not so forward looking list as NFT on optimism.

Artist Profile: debrabdesign

by nonsense

Introduction

In Is Good Art Worth Minting on a Bad Blockchain, I discussed the setbacks in purchasing NFTs on unreliable blockchains. The primary motivating factor in producing the piece was addressing my dismay in discovering an incredible artist’s work released on the NFT platform Formfunction, which operates on the Solana blockchain. That artist is debrabdesign, whom we will refer to as Debra for the rest of this article, and that work is her F I E R C E series. Unwilling to be deterred in my desire to obtain a piece of her art, but also unwilling to purchase NFTs minted on Solana, I reached out to see if she had plans to release future work on a different blockchain. What resulted was a conversation around the work she’s completed, what she has planned, her idealogical rationale behind choosing Solana for her first series drop, and where she plans to turn to next.

Biography

As humans go, Debra is a complex human with many interests, though art has been a primary focus throughout most of her life. “I drew from as early as I can remember, but never ended up going to school for it,” she says of her interest.

During a recent Twitter Spaces event, Debra further opened up about her art influences and development. Growing up, her mother was very encouraging with regard to her art. While Debra didn’t go to school for drawing, she did spend time in class drawing caricatures of her teachers. She says of the process, “… creating characters, drawing emotion, is what I love the most.” Over the course of the conversation, she mentioned how much she loves Robin Hood, the kind of hero that gives back to the community. He’s the “best kind of hero,” she says.

When asked about her youth, she says, “I chose a different path back then, I studied music for a while, wanted to become a singer, travelled a ton working as a bartender on cruise ships, just to see the world.” Singing, it turns out, did not hold Debra’s attention the way drawing did. “I abandoned the singing career idea for ideological reasons and started drawing again … it felt amazing to express myself 'silently’.” She continued drawing and painting as a hobby while working as a bartender. This gave her the opportunity to develop her craft without having to rely on it to make a living. This changed, however, with the birth of her first child. She says,

when my first kid was born 5 years ago, I said to myself, I have to inspire this little person that she can do anything with her life when she grows up, I have to do something with my life that she will be proud of. So I started seriously working on a career as an artist. Got myself a drawing tablet and started freelancing, now here I am 5 years later dabbling in the NFT space … I want to see what I can achieve with my personal works.

Going all in on her art has brought her a number of commissioned opportunities, including work with the LazyLions and Wildcats NFT projects. In addition to these, Debra has released her first 1/1 NFT collection, F I E R C E, available on Formfunction, and has recently launched her second NFT collection, E L E M E N T S, on Foundation.

The story behind F I E R C E

To create F I E R C E, Debra used a mix of art, poetry, and quotations to convey a sense of strength and power in this series. When asked about the motivation underlying the creation of this collection, she says,

I had these sketches for years and only now I brought my favorites to life, and somehow they completed each other, like a puzzle. I dabble in many different styles and as a freelancer that's a bonus, but for a while I haven't felt like I truly know what my style is, until I dug up these old sketches, and voila. I kind of rediscovered myself with this series, and that's what really empowered me and inspired the theme.

Words contribute to each piece, adding the final touch that allows them to step fully into themselves: “I have an idea of what I want to express with a certain piece, but as I draw it evolves more. Once it's finished, I add the words, to make it complete.”

F I E R C E is a five piece set of 1/1 NFTs, four of which are still available on Formfunction.xyz.

The Environmental Dilemma of Producing Art on the Blockchain

Formfunction.xyz is an NFT platform that operates on the Solana blockchain, and finding Debra’s work on this platform inspired the op-ed mentioned at the beginning of this article. Debra had this to say when asked about her decision to mint her work on Solana: 

I researched a lot on which Blockchains are environmentally friendly as it is very important to me. It breaks my heart to see what we've done to our planet in just the last 100 years. And it never feels enough to just recycle, go zero plastic or eat vegan, you know... I get very emotional thinking about what kind of world my kids will live in when they grow up. Tezos was my other choice, but I really didn't know much about it, and wanted to reach a wider audience with my art … I believed I could better do with Solana.

Environmental considerations are one of a few issues preventing many artists from adopting blockchain technology and producing decentralized art. And while this may not be the de facto reason an artist chooses not to participate in web3, it is a main concern among many artists. The vitriol with which traditional artists approach web3 aside, environmental concerns are warranted as we, collectively as a human species, continue to recognize the debilitating changes occurring on our planet as a result of our technological advances.

With the advent of Bitcoin, it seemed that there was little to be done about the concerns of environmental impact with regard to blockchain technology. Bitcoin operates on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which focuses on energy consumption through processor-intensive computation that unlock blocks on the blockchain. Rather than seek to address the environmental impact incurred by mining bitcoin, the Bitcoin community doubled down on PoW. In 2010, Satoshi Nakamoto addressed these concerns, stating:

It's the same situation as gold and gold mining.  The marginal cost of gold mining tends to stay near the price of gold.  Gold mining is a waste, but that waste is far less than the utility of having gold available as a medium of exchange.

I think the case will be the same for Bitcoin.  The utility of the exchanges made possible by Bitcoin will far exceed the cost of electricity used.  Therefore, not having Bitcoin would be the net waste.

Other blockchains followed suit, as creators forked Bitcoin to modify the code to suit their desires or created new blockchains from scratch. However, the environmental concerns weren’t going away, and a new solution was needed if blockchain technology was going to see mass adoption. As a response, the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism was developed, minimizing the level of energy consumption when compared to PoW blockchains. The first PoS blockchain was born in 2012 with Peercoin, according to the Motley Fool. Other PoS blockchains soon followed.

Ethereum operated as a PoW blockchain since its inception, only recently making the switch to PoS after two years of focused transitional work. Making the transition from PoW to PoS was no simple task. According to DefiLlama, Ethereum holds just over 100 billion USD in total value locked (TVL), including stablecoins. That’s a fuck ton of value to lose if things go wrong in the transition. To address the challenge, the Ethereum community developed the Beacon chain, which was a PoS version of Ethereum, and carefully integrated the Beacon chain into the Ethereum ecosystem, eventually replacing and becoming the main chain in what is now popularly referred to as “The Merge.”

The Merge, while being no simple matter in terms of operation, is also no simple matter in terms of its environmental impact. Decrypt reports that the Merge reduces Ethereum’s environmental impact dramatically, potentially making the blockchain up to 99% more energy efficient than its prior PoW instance. Artists looking for a home in web3, and deeply concerned about environmental impact, now have many more options and far more exposure to collectors with Ethereum operating as a PoS blockchain.

With the Merge complete, Debra had more options on where to release her next collection, E L E M E N T S. She’s found a new home on Foundation. And the timing couldn’t be more perfect: E L E M E N T S is a collection focused around awareness of the current climate dilemma.

E L E M E N T S

As the name implies, E L E M E N T S represents the four main elements of the Earth: fire, water, air, and earth. The underlying theme speaks to climate crisis and how we ought to be more mindful about our daily activities with regard to our own individual impact:

So I was reading the news a few months ago about all the floods, and what are they [sic] predicting for 2050, what cities will be disappearing under water if we don't do something about climate change … and then this picture flashed before me, that I will not be able to take my kids there when they grow up, or show them those places, and my mind just got so dark thinking about all these things, I really got emotional. … And what if my family was the one forced out of our home due to those floods and extreme weather conditions. And it does get really hopeless when you think about it, because as an individual there is only so much I can do to lower my carbon footprint or have any kind of impact in what the future will look like for this planet.

Debra’s concerns are valid, particular the consideration of the extent of our influence as individuals. However, it takes the effort of every one of us as individuals to enact the kind of change we want to see. Debra’s message with this collection is similar to that of her F I E R C E: each one of us are empowered to make a difference, regardless of how big that difference is.

My most peaceful moments in life (I guess peaceful is not the right word, more like recharging, refreshing, empowering) were always the ones I had just between me and nature. Walking, running, sitting under a tree sketching while the wind blows my hair around. And I'm sure we all have that special connection to nature. … This will be kind of the statement for the collection: Nature can live without us, WE cannot survive without her!

This idea that we cannot live without nature is not new, though it doesn’t seem to be widely accepted. Charles Eisenstein discusses this at length in his Ascent of Humanity, where he explores how we have developed our societies around the idea of Us vs. Nature, and argues this will prove to be destructive for both Nature AND Us. And the reality is, we’re seeing that now. Debra addresses tumultuous changes seasons have taken, saying, “I live in Athens, Greece at the moment, and the summer this year was so crazy that sometimes it was dangerous to go outside—of course not just here—and it didn't snow here for decades and now the winter has meter high snows, so seeing it on a daily basis is eye opening as well.”

This falls in line with Debra’s drawing practices. While she does strong commissioned work, as seen by her work with LazyLions and Wildcats, her independent collections take a far different approach:

It is one thing to work as a freelance illustrator and another to create art that comes from the heart. When I draw for myself, I want it to have meaning, not just draw a pretty picture people will say, 'oh that looks nice' to. I wish that it will make someone think, maybe take there [sic] thoughts or imaginations to a different level, inspire them somehow. And then that comes down to, what drives me, what fuels me, what motivates me. 

As a result, E L E M E N T S is steeped in meaning. The collection is comprised of 6 1/1 pieces, and 2 high quality gifs, each representing one of the four elements.

As mentioned above, Debra is now on Foundation, and this is where you can find the E L E M E N T S collection. This is breakthrough in a number of ways. First of all, debrabdesign’s work is now available on a blockchain that celebrates consistent up-time, compared to her work on that other blockchain. And second of all, she’s producing work on a blockchain that now aligns with her art, passion, and motivations. Dive in to her art, pick up one of her pieces if they speak to you, then ask yourself: what other ways can you address minimizing your own carbon footprint? What are some small changes you can make day-to-day that will be beneficial for our environment?

d’Art Drops

Introducing weekly NFT art drops for the Bankless community, brought to you by Decentralized Arts.

Every four weeks, DA will be dropping art in collaboration with an NFT artist: one new piece will be featured each week and made available during the BanklessDAO Community Call, for a collection of four pieces per artist. Pieces will be available in editions of 100 for .02 ETH, with 10% of sales returned to the DAO. Pricing is subject to change as we progress through the drops and find the sweet spot to support the artists we feature while making these accessible to our community. Keep an eye on this space, as we’ll be releasing each week’s alpha.

For the next four weeks, we’ll be featuring work by the talented debrabdesign. This week’s drop, “Bloom,” is a perspective of the damage done by the current financial system and what a bankless world may come to mean. The piece is mixed media, including elements of photography and digital art. Attend the BanklessDAO community call this week for announcement of the drop:

Chippi Corner

By Perchy

MINUTES OF PLURITIME

by DustyEye

For those who have specific questions about the Pluritime concept and the possibility of moving within its infinite narrative corridors, 888 numbered tickets are available.

Each contains 16 minutes of storytelling. Once used, it will be duly signed and stamped.

At the launch price of 50 Ukron at Art Mall, via Torino 64, Milan (or ping Decentralized Arts on Twitter)

______________________

WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye

Meme

A small joke contributed by The Rug.

PostScript & Acknowledgements

Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please share it with someone who you think will appreciate the content. We also welcome suggestions via our feedback form.

With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.

Cordially,

Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America