GM

yet another email where i pontificate about the future of jpegs and computer coins

Links for the Top 25 drops are HERE.

If you can’t beat them…

NFT founders are launching memecoins now. 

Just in the last few days, we’ve had: 

• $MFER by Sartoshi

• $ANIME by Capsule House

• $POOP by the Doodles team 

• And hints of a Deadfellaz token

It’s worth reviewing how we got here: 

1. Memecoins blew up this year

2. Until now, these mostly came from nameless creators (or factories)

3. $BOME by Darkfarms was a recent success and proof of concept for artist coins

4. Now the floodgates have opened for more artists/founders

On one hand, you could view this as a local top: creators capitulating to the idea of the Memecoin Supercycle right before attention inevitably shifts again. 

But it’s also a classic progression that we’ve seen a lot in this space. 

First, a new meta develops, but there are no “well-known” creators yet so it’s mostly scams and Fiverr farms. Then the creators eventually arrive and everyone pivots to buying quality. 

(See: Ordinals, which evolved from ruggy CryptoPunk derivatives to fine art in about 12 months.)

So maybe the future of memecoins (aka culture coins) looks more like $MFER, $CRYPTOADZ, $MILADY, $PUPPETS, and $CDB. 

Makes sense to me.

And most degens will choose an artist/founder who brings their own audience over a no-name creator all else being equal (the meme still has to hit, obvi).

What does this mean for NFT collectors? 

It means that quality creators will still be a driving force.

For a while, it seemed as if memecoins would evolve without them. But now I’m confident that they’ll coexist and intertwine. 

Consider that artists have always had different tiers in their ecosystem. 

At the top, you have 1/1s: dense, sacred objects that connoisseurs desire. 

Toward the bottom, this widens to more affordable items that help the artist assemble a much larger community. 

And over time this tier keeps widening: from 10k collections, to open editions, and now coins (the ultimate liquid asset). 

But Monsieur, what if the coin crashes? Won’t that hurt my sacred 1/1? 

Maybe, but that’s no different from large NFT collections. When an artist launches a 10k collection that flops, it diminishes their whole body of work. 

As for me, I still seek creative artists who look like stars – attracting growing attention with many digital objets d’Art revolving around their gravitational cores.

And I’ll continue to focus on individual objects because I’m a collector at heart and like the idea of owning unique pieces. 

But if I believe in the artist, think they’re putting out a memecoin in good faith, and that the market is underrating them, then why not play along? 

Plus, artist coins often benefit 1/1 collectors the most, as seen with $POOP and $MFER, which gave larger airdrops to those holders. 

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

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

CONTROL by BrutalEth

If you often ponder the significance of being perceived by society (or perhaps the ensuing existential dread), then you might find the apple of your eye in this collection by Marco Bonafè, a.k.a. BrutalEth.

Colorful, abstract eyeballs are the main subject here, which represent the power and control that human perception exerts in our daily lives.

This marks Bonafè’s first Solana collection since February’s sellout abstract pAInting. Holders of that release get free mints so there’s a limited supply for the priced portion of the mint.

Masters of the Metaverse by Mr. Richi

Pseudonymous artist Mr. Richi continues to chronicle crypto culture in his genesis Solana release Masters of the Metaverse.

The art mixes and mashes a ton of influences, from iconic paintings and historical posters to memes and shitposts, engraining popular crypto references in the process.

Existing collectors know this style, and it suits the evergreen, self-referential section of the crypto art market.

Kintsugi by Resaang

Artist/trader Resaang is following up on her last Ordinals sellout with this upcoming release.

Like last June’s Chromatica Ordinals, Kintsugi is physically-made, abstract art that’s stored digitally.

In this case, the digitals are tied to colorful, almost glistening physicals that symbolize the weathering of life’s storms (much like Kintsugi pottery weathers a fall or two).

Here’s to more IRL NFTs 🥂