🎨 Metaproof Art

Hey friends, this is Sophia from 🎨 Metaproof Art, the weekly newsletter where we keep you informed on how the metaverse and web3 are changing the art industry.

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📲 By the numbers

NFTs as unique digital assets continue to revolutionize the art world (Source):

• Kevin McCoy's "Quantum" became the first-ever NFT to be created and was sold for $1.47M at a Sotheby's auction.

• Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of 10,000 unique NFT primates, has garnered an impressive total sales volume of $2.7B.

• CryptoPunks, a 24x24 pixel-art image NFT collection, has sold over $2B in lifetime sales.

• Dapper Labs' collaboration with the NBA on NBA Top Shot has generated an impressive total sales volume of nearly $982M to date.

• Axie Infinity has gained a reputation as the most widely-played NFT game, with over 1.5 million active users logging in daily to enjoy its offerings.

📫 News & trends

🤩 The next Bicasso: Binance NFT releases AI-powered NFT generator

In generative art’s continued push into web3, the users of Binance's NFT marketplace can now access a new AI-powered NFT generator called Bicasso, a new tool that allows them to create computer-generated images and mint them as NFTs. Released in beta on March 1, Bicasso isn’t a far cry from other AI art platforms like DALL-E and Midjourney, letting users input a creative prompt or upload an image to create a unique image, which they can then mint as an NFT on Binance's BNB chain.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao encouraged users to try Bicasso and share their creations, tweeting: “You can turn your creative visions into NFTs with AI. Give it a try and show me what you make with it.” Binance NFT users quickly hopped on the new feature, early mint data showing nearly 3,300 users have minted at least one Bicasso NFT. The initial free mint is limited to 10,000 NFTs.

🤝 Tom Sachs and Monaverse join forces to create immersive intergalactic metaverse

With his The Final Frontier art installation exploring the intersection between art, technology, and the metaverse at the NFT Paris event, American artist Tom Sachs collaborated with 3D world-building platform Monaverse to bring the installation to life. The Final Frontier is part of Sachs' Rocket Factory, a gamified experience centered around space exploration and inviting visitors to enter a space capsule complete with control panels and other equipment as they embark on a journey to the final frontier.

As an immersive experience, The Final Frontier offers the following:

• Users obtain a “Rocket Factory ID,” which are physically printed in front of them, providing access to the allowlist for both planets and apartments.

• Minters have the chance to buy an apartment in space stations, some of them based on Le Crobusier’s housing unit or a planet.

• Once they had subscribed, participants become citizens of the intergalactic metaverse, their ID appearing on a large LED screen (powered by Mona) to signal this citizenship.

✨ CoinDesk and Art Blocks release Microcosms to supercharge IRL events with NFTs

In a move to foster stronger ties between its readers and attendees of its yearly Consensus event, crypto media powerhouse CoinDesk is launching three-year NFT ticket offering Microcosms, a decentralized reward system powered by generative art platform Art Blocks and an alternative to conventional ticketing models enabling users to be compensated or earn profits for their loyalty.

Rather than just providing entry to an event, CoinDesk's Microcosms reward system offers on-the-ground rewards to enhance attendees' experiences, with users receiving DESK tokens that can be used for food, drink, merchandise, or experiences at the event, and additional rewards such as speaking slots, booth access, and hotel stays being distributed based on an algorithm. These can be sold on the open market and will continue for the next three years, with all rewards received also being air-dropped as NFTs for redemption or sale and demonstrating the value-add approach that aligns with the ethos of blockchain technology.

💵 3AC to liquidate NFT portfolio purportedly excluding ‘Starry Night portfolio’

​​The now-defunct cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) has announced the liquidation of its assets, including a collection of fine art NFTs and meme-centric tokens (to be sold within 28 days as of writing), with funds raised going toward paying back the firm's 27 creditors. The sale will include works from renowned artists such as Tyler Hobbs, Dmitri Cherniak, Snowfro, Matt Furie, XCOPY, and Grant Yun, representing artistic styles and themes ranging from abstract art to pop culture references.

The NFT sale does not relate to the list of NFTs informally referred to as the “Starry Night Portfolio,” although a large number of works from the above artists included in the “green table” are slated to be sold. At any rate, it is a significant development in the crypto art world, demonstrating the potential for NFTs to function as a legitimate asset class with real-world value and highlighting the importance of responsible management of crypto assets amid volatility.

💄 The NFT lipstick effect: The future of art in the metaverse

The emergence of NFTs has made the "lipstick effect" relevant in the digital age, giving rise to accessible luxury goods that are unique and unchangeable and transformative of the art world by offering access without intermediaries. A few choice details:

• NFT art exchange volume rose from 2019 to 2020 due to the pandemic-induced recession, resulting in a trading volume of $4.8B in 2021. However, the value of renowned collections decreased during the Ukraine war, indicating that art tied to NFTs is no longer a “safe haven” but a “consolation” good.

• The act of buying goods contributes to the feeling of power and pleasure, and owning unique and unchangeable art-related NFTs provides a sense of power as it allows individuals to own something exclusive and decide whether or not to display it to others.

• NFTs have the potential to commoditize art, resulting in an aesthetic crisis where art is created solely for the sake of gratification rather than conveying significant concepts.

• Initiatives like Reasoned Art and Boson Protocol aim to merge digital and physical worlds using curatorial content to protect the quality of artworks, where curators must have specialized knowledge in the metaverse as well as the cultural references and the work of its creator.

🙈 Hide and seek in the metaverse

Delhi-based artists Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra's art exhibit Arboretum explores concerns over technological overreach and the implications of AI advancements, brought on by the launch of AI software ChatGPT and its imitators. They use their artwork to reflect on the effects of the pandemic and the gap between those who could escape to the digital realm and those on the COVID-19 frontline. The exhibit also raises questions about the implications of AI and the possibility of a bleak future, envisioning a world in which humans grow increasingly reliant on technology and give rise to potentially catastrophic consequences. By exploring the division between technology and nature, Arboretum encourages viewers to contemplate the role of technology in our lives and the importance of preserving a balance between the digital and physical realms.

😱 Whale sells 1,010 NFTs in 48 hours in ‘largest NFT dump ever‘

In the course of two days, Jeffrey Hwang, a well-known NFT whale a.k.a. Machi Big Brother, sold 1,010 tokens for 11,680 Ether or $18.6M. Among the tokens sold were 90 BAYC NFTs, 191 Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFTs, and 308 Otherdeed NFTs. Shortly after, Machi Big Brother repurchased 991 NFTs, believed to be a means to book profits while also conducting "one big wash trade to generate huge Blur airdrop profits" or "a pretty naked market manipulation."

Machi Big Brother is reportedly among the top recipients of the Blur (BLUR) token airdrop from NFT marketplace Blur, which recently overtook OpenSea as the top-ranked NFT platform in trading volume. Machi received 1.8 million BLUR on February 17th, which was worth $1.3M when cashed out. This suggests that Machi could obtain more BLUR tokens in the next round by increasing NFT trading activity, as other whales might do the same. The prices of BAYC, MAYC, and Otherdeed NFTs dropped by 7.77%, 9.2%, and 8.16% in a 24-hour period, according to NFT Price Floor data, which could be attributed to the initial dumping by Machi Big Brother.

🏃‍♂️ Quick hits

• Multidisciplinary Artist Mika Tajima launches her debut solo NFT project Archive of Feelings (January 1, 2023, United States of America) via Pace Gallery web3 hub’s Pace Verso, bringing her Human Synth series into the web3 world.

• Big Four accounting firm EY, through the EY Metaverse Lab, will celebrate Black leaders via an AI-enabled metaverse art installation - in collaboration with NEW INC, Ancestral Archives by artist Josie Williams - at the annual SXSW Art Program from March 10-17 in Austin, Texas.

• China’s first metaverse theater festival, the mythology-inspired Sphinx Meta Theater Festival, has been announced by renowned theater director Meng Jinghui, debuting in April in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

• [Video] Conceptual artist Tom Sachs never before felt part of an art movement despite his work being displayed in museums all over the world - here’s how community and identity draw him to NFTs and web3.

• At Art Dubai, auction house Christie’s launched the Art+Tech summit to tackle the intersection of art and technology, while the fair itself ran for the second time its Digital section and presented NFTs and video art by artists from around the world.

• [Podcast] German filmmaker Hito Steyerl - whose most recent exhibition is on view at the Portland Museum of Art through June 18 - talks about what AI, the metaverse, crypto, and an increasingly imperiled natural world might mean for us.

💸 Finance buzz

• Deodato.Gallery Spa unveiled a EUR250,000 investment over the next two years to enter the web3 and NFT market, with its new e-commerce platform deodato.io coming online and engaging in NFT and digital art sale. (Source)

• Saudi entertainment company Manga Productions signed a memorandum of understanding (MOA) with digital entertainment firm Animoca Brands for a strategic partnership to develop web3 initiatives showcasing Manga Productions content and characters. (Source)

🗣️ Quote of the week

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse art news every Monday.