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I feel like this is the only song that could possibly pair with today's featured story

Links for the Top 25 drops are HERE.

Buying all the memes

This old meme was purchased a couple of days ago for 1 ETH: 

A few days before that, this iconic Keyboard Cat meme sold for 36 ETH:

And a couple of weeks before that, the original WIF photo was acquired for an astonishing 1,150 ETH (over $4 million): 

O Dearly Beloved, you are now glimpsing the modern world of Meme Hunting, which is showing a level of interest not seen since the 2021 bull run. 

Why?

Meme buyers believe that provenance will matter more in the future. And authentic pieces of internet culture, minted onchain by the original creator, will be at the center of it all.  

There’s an altruistic angle as well. Rewarding meme creators for the first time just feels right, and it shows the positive side of NFTs (which continue to suffer from terrible PR). 

Of course, this isn’t fashionable at the moment. Today, attention continues flowing into the memecoin casino, where provenance is ignored. 

But the bet is that this will change.

Consider what AI will do to memecoins in the coming years. An unfiltered, neverending spigot of memes with micro-variations being pumped out 24/7. 

I heard you like $BODEN, so I made 2.6 million $BODEN variations in the last 3 hours for you, Dave.

Faced with this onslaught, people might prefer something more durable, with an underlying story or human element. 

We’re already seeing memecoins draw closer and closer to existing objects. For example, the fastest growing memecoin on Bitcoin, $PUPS, is a derivative of the Bitcoin Puppets collection.

In this case, the creator didn’t directly launch the coin, maybe because memecoins are still taboo for them, but it’s not hard to envision a world where all digital assets from the same meme come from the original creator.

And meme collectors are betting that outsiders (e.g. non-crypto-native normies) will be drawn to familiar images if that happens.

Yes, many of these 2000s millennial Reddit memes feel cringe today (no argument there), but they’ve already been accepted by the masses and can draw attention. At least, that’s the idea.

I wrote more about this here. 

NOTE: These drops are lightly curated. Our only requirement is that they have recognizable founders. As usual, DYOR. To learn more go here.

REORG by Billy Restey

Another celebration in anticipation of the Holy BTC Halving comes through with this creation from Billy Restey, one of the most prolific artists on Ordinals who also just sold a 1/1 at Sotheby’s.

REORG’s title and modular art style refer to the increased potential for onchain shenanigans come Bitcoin block #840,000 (the scheduled halving block) which could result in a chain reorganization.

Let us pray that Lord Michael Saylor keeps us safe from that fate.

Memories of an Exhibition by Benjamin Bardou

AI video art continues gaining traction, and Memories of an Exhibition may be one of the most aesthetically pleasing drops we’ve seen in the category.

Drop details are scant, but you can go here to check out some sneak peeks. They showcase vibrant animations traversing worlds of color as if you were inside a painting.

Bardou has been honing this style for a while, and it feels like a true evolution in abstract web3 art. Dope.

✨ Added to Top 25 ✨