Rare Club Nifty Newsletter #15
A colossal CryptoPunk sale, more big names join the NFT party and some tips to keep your assets safe
Welcome to the ‘Rare Club Nifty Newsletter’, a curated snapshot of what matters most. We provide informative and easily digestible content about the NFT space, with one publication a week. Subscribe for free at the bottom of the article.
Includes NFT news, trending narratives, educational info, tips, projects to watch, occasional deep dives and more.
HEADLINER - ‘CryptoPunk #5822 sells for almost $24million dollars’
Amidst the murky waters of controversy surrounding the V1Punks situation, this CryptoPunk sale seems to have provided a welcome distraction.
CryptoPunk #5822 sold for 8,000ETH. Yes, EIGHT THOUSAND ETHEREUM. It’s an incredible sale that doubled the previous record of $11.8 million dollars.
Some sceptics have suggested it’s a PR stunt in order to re-establish the collections importance in light of recent interest in the V1Punks. However, there’s little evidence to suggest there’s any truth in this.
The V1Punks are from the original Larva Labs contract, launched several weeks prior to the official CryptoPunks contract. It was “shelved” due to a glitch in the contract. But renewed interest in this blockchain relic led to a rush on the collection, seeing it reach a floor price of 28ETH, before Larva Labs issued a DCMA notice which saw it removed from OpenSea.
Whatever your opinion on the differing contracts, it’s undeniable this recent sale is colossal and represents the enormous value people attribute to this blue chip collection.
For a full rundown on the history of the CryptoPunk variations, see this fantastic article by Sean Bonner, published three days ago: ‘EXPLAINING CRYPTOPUNKS VARIATIONS’
BUZZFEED - Curated news. Click to read
Rainbow Eth wallet completes raise with Reddit co-founder as investor
Crypto.com announced as official partner of Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix
Super Bowl LVI Attendees Will Receive an NFT Version of Their Ticket
McDonalds filed several trademarks pertaining to Metaverse intentions
YouTube sees ‘incredible potential’ in NFT video sales despite backlash threat
MAYBE SOMETHING - Upcoming drops or projects that interest us
The Other Side mint sold out and is performing well comparatively
Invisible Friends released launch info on their highly anticipated drop
FREE NFT from the Parallel team this weekend 19th Feb. Gas only
Meta Angels NFT seem to be making the right moves. Watching closely
PunyCode - A recently rediscovered project from 2011. Buzzing community
TALKING POINT - ‘What makes NFTs so popular?’
Having recently had another bull run and in light of the $23 million dollar sale of a CryptoPunk, i thought we’d step back, and explore why NFTs are gaining so much traction.
Fundamentally, it’s the perfect combination of several key elements. Let’s explore three of them below.
Reliable Authenticity - NFTs provide us with assets that are readily identifiable as rare or unique, and these attributes can be easily verified using popular tools and the blockchains themselves. Not to mention the fact that huge social media powerhouses such as Twitter are now offering visually impactful verification options within your public profile. In short, if you tell me you own something, I can fact check your claim pretty quickly and easily.
Social Identity - This is an extremely powerful part of NFT appeal. It can’t be overstated. People have always spent money on buying things that communicate who they are, what they’re interested in and how wealthy they are. NFTs facilitate all these desires, and do so in a very public manner. As we spend more time in the digital domain, the desire to compose our digital selves becomes stronger. We want the world to know who we are. And NFTs allow us to communicate this perfectly.
Share-ability - This is absolutely key. The fact that people can so readily share their NFTs is another core part of their success. If i own a rare LP collection, a Banksy original and a classic car, these possessions, with which i readily identify, are only seen by a select few people in my life. Maybe only my closest friends ever see my Banksy. But when we transition into the digital realm and the collectibles within it, it’s a completely different landscape. I can easily showcase my collectibles to the world. I can use them as representations of myself in different online environments, customized for the setting. And I can share my whole digital DNA with one click, by sharing my wallet address.
These factors are representative of the fundamental concepts behind why NFTs will continue to gain popularity.
A separate discussion is why specific NFTs and collections are successful. This is related to different parameters such as community strength, project ambitions, the team and NFT utility.
NFT utility is a really important one with lots of room for innovation, and it’s something we’ll be looking at frequently as the space evolves. We’ll open the discussion next week when we explore the potential within Music NFTs.
BIG MOVERS - Collections with impressive stats from the past week
CryptoPunks - The blue chip project momentarily reclaimed the top spot in the rankings due to its record-breaking 8,000ETH sale, but has since been overturned by Karafuru.
Psychedelics Anonymous Genesis - The biggest mover in the top 20, with sales volumes up 350% in a week.
Chromie Squiggle - This highly regarded collection was also up around 280% in weekly sales with several large wallets sweeping the floor.
Meta Angels NFT - This project seems to be doing the right thing, with good communication and innovative community participation efforts. Up around 450% on weekly volume.
Cool Pets NFT - This collection has seen strong sales, and a nice 45% uptick in volume over the past week.
THE WATCHLIST - Projects we believe have long-term potential. DYOR
Mutant Ape Yacht Club (same as above, extension of BAYC, well established)
V1 Cryptopunks (original Cryptopunks contract, historically significant)
Meebits (same team as CryptoPunks, mass appeal, early 3D avatars)
Cool Cats NFT (very strong community, respected collection, mass appeal)
Lost Poets (created by famous artist ‘Pak’, strong community)
Parallel (gaming, TCG, strong team, incredible backers, big ambitions)
My Curio Cards (historical significance, early ETH NFT)
Spells Of Genesis (First TCG on the XCP blockchain, 2015, huge significance)
Prime Ape Planet (outstanding artwork, experienced team, good roadmap)
CryptoMories (unique artwork, good community, lowish entry price)
DeadFellaz (very strong community, established)
World Of Women (celebrity endorsed, one of 1st female avatar collections)
Boss Beauties (impressive marketing and immense IRL collabs)
TIP OF THE WEEK - Revoke Permissions to prevent vulnerabilities
When we visit websites, sign wallet permissions and initiate transactions, we often unknowingly leave our assets vulnerable.
We can unwittingly give permissions to protocols which if they were to come under attack, could clean out our wallets.
This thread documents one such instance relating to 6 crypto assets on the MultiChain protocol: Important Notice for MultiChain Users
However, there are some tools we can use to help us out. They let us know where our vulnerabilities lie, and can help remove them. These are:
debank.com - this platform allows you to see the exact value at risk within your wallet through permissions given to third parties. (You can revoke permissions by using the ‘Decline’ button)
revoke.cash - this platform enables you to spot vulnerabilities and revoke permissions easily
Go and connect your wallet/s and make sure you’re not at risk.
RARE.NEWS - Updates regarding the Rare.club NFT DAO fund
This coming month will be big for Rare Club. Watch this space!
Discord is set up and you’re welcome to join
New website coming WITHIN 2 WEEKS!
Next fundraise will happen THIS MONTH!
Three projects lined up for incubation: a Solana project, a launchpad and a generative art platform
Links to our socials and website coming soon,
Thanks for reading, and see you next time
Always DYOR (do your own research). Nothing in this or any other article in this series should be construed as financial or investment advice. We do our very best to provide useful information for our readers. What you do with that information is up to you.
Remember to exercise caution within the NFT space. The community is full of amazing people, but there are unscrupulous ones too. Keep your wits about you, and act responsibly. As always, good luck.