GM

The big news today is Worldcoin coming to scan our eyeballs for the greater good.

This is why I surgically attached a black bar to my face back in 2009. Always ahead of the game.

In today’s edition:

• Huge Reddit NFT update (new drop)

• Updated Mint and Watch Lists

• Four fresh drops

More info on Mint/Watch lists HERE.

Did you know?

We have a premium pass that gives you access to a directory of every drop we cover, complete with detailed information on how to get on every whitelist (including those underrated ones that aren’t already full).

And for those curatooors out there, you can get free NFTs just by finding drops that end up on the Mint or Watch list.

Lastly, hang with me and the MoS team in a private discord with weekly voice chats. The vibes are great.

Huge Reddit NFT update (new drop)

Context

It’s that time of year again.

Several artists recently announced that they’re releasing NFT avatars for Reddit’s upcoming Gen 4 series.

This means we’re possibly only weeks away from the drop, which is Reddit’s largest since the Gen 3 series back in April. We expect a more comprehensive announcement straight from Reddit soon.

In the meantime, you can keep up with new artist reveals by following this subreddit.

Our Take

Reddit NFTs are one of life’s great mysteries.

They’re the largest NFT ecosystem in the world (13 million wallets).

But there are dozens of niche collections that get more love on Twitter.

They have huge mints (~$3.7 million spent on Gen 3 alone).

But almost no secondary market activity.

Their drops don’t always sell out.

But many avatars are still worth way above their mint price.

Pray tell, O Dearly Beloved – what should we make of all this?

Here’s what I see: an ecosystem growing slowly but surely, a culture developing gradually without being engulfed in speculation, and some fun old-fashioned collectibles.

I find this is hard for many NFT collectors to grasp

They’re used to things exploding quickly, reaching a euphoric peak with maxxed out dopamine, and then crashing down violently just as fast when the hangover hits.

Believe it or not, that’s not sustainable.

Now if you’re a creator with a short-term mindset, maybe you don’t even care if it is. You can still earn a lot of money from this boom and bust cycle, and many founders lean into it.

But Reddit isn’t here to make a few quick bucks (at least that’s my impression).

So it makes sense for them to take a more thoughtful and deliberate approach, avoiding the eye of Sauron (the NFT flipper community) while encouraging real participants to join in.

In many ways, the Gen 3 series showed that this is working.

It wasn’t an immediate sell-out, which is what you might see if we had a bubble with people buying things they didn’t really want.

Yet at the same time, there were over 100 artists that did fully sell out, which means collectors are curating what they like – kind of exactly what you’d hope to see.

What can we expect from Gen 4?

Probably more of what we saw in Gen 3.

In other words, a seven-figure drop involving dozens of great artists selling avatars at fairly reasonable prices (the most common price has been $10).

We haven’t seen a full lineup revealed yet, but we could still see some high-profile web3 artists join in.

Lastly – and this is more of a personal hope than a prediction – it’d be great to see some more innovative minting mechanics.

Doing a straightforward mint is cool, but only scratches the surface of all the fun twists you can add with onchain experiences.

This is why I’m also interested in another upcoming Reddit drop: Level Up

So far we don’t know much about Level Up other than that it’ll be a free drop with several avatars that represent different “levels” (like Explorers, Experts, Masters) with increasing rarity in each tier.

Maybe this is a way to start tying drops to Reddit points (aka karma). Maybe it’s a way to give higher priority access to more hardcore collectors.

Or maybe, it’s nothing, and I just spent an hour following breadcrumbs in neckbeard subreddits for no reason.

C’est la vie.

✨ Mint List #8 ✨

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

Interludes of Grace by AmliArt

AmliArt, an educational AI art content creator and team member at Stability AI, is launching her debut Mirage Gallery collection, Interludes of Grace, today at 6:30 PM ET.

This 150-supply cyberpunk-inspired collection highlights the value of human connection in times of uncertainty, depicting people (and animals) embracing amidst a dystopian chaos painted in pink and yellow.

One for the emerging AI art enthusiasts.

Melt Into You by yungwknd

We’ve got two Prohibition drops happening today. The first is Melt Into You by pseudonymous generative artist yungwknd, minting at 1 PM ET.

This emerging generative artist’s work has been growing in popularity recently, highlighted by last month’s Breathe, which has been picked up by more than a couple of respected collectors and, innovatively, can be minted directly on Twitter.

In today’s Melt Into You, he showcases 420 colorful abstract animations that are meant to depict emotional responses and have quite a bit of personality.

The Distance in Between by fesg

The second of today’s Prohibition drops starts minting at 5 PM ET and features The Distance in Between by Brazilian artist fesq.

Although fesq is known for his 3D digital work (including NFTs since 2020), today’s release will be the artist’s first ever generative art collection. An appropriate transition, stylistically speaking, as the artist’s signature neon vibes from his past pieces have been ported over to this new onchain medium.

If you like neon then you’ll probably enjoy this one and the trailer for it, which is one of the most aesthetically pleasing trailers I’ve seen for a generative art release yet.

feedback loop by Pindar Van Arman

One of the biggest and most storied AI artists in web3, Pindar Van Arman, just announced an upcoming project dropping this December: feedback loop.

Nothing has been revealed apart from the project’s logo, but if you’re fan of the artist’s past work, most notably his bitGANs series (of which the last chapter, byteGANs, is currently one of the most traded AI art collections of all time), then this could be a good one to keep your eye on.

The Mint List

1. Taproot Wizards. OG Bitcoin meme inscribed as ordinals

2. Themes and Variations. Sotheby’s showcases pioneer gen artist

3. Project Animus. RTFKT's biggest launch since Clone-X

4. 10KTF PFP. Drop from a team that includes Yuga and Beeple

5. Symbiogenesis. Square Enix's upcoming gaming NFT

6. Shadow Hats. Ordinals drop from the creators of Forgotten Runes

7. Genesis SFT Pass. Digital anime collectibles from a notable team

8. Reddit Gen 4 Avatars. Fourth collection from the social media giant

9. Dimensionals - EVE. Free gaming PFP from doxxed studio

10. Memeland [TBC]. High-value treasure MVPs minting on BTC