WTF Are Moonbirds & Recasting NFTs
A new, super popular NFT collection, and putting digital art into art history
Cultured is a newsletter that gets readers up to speed on the most interesting things going on at the intersection of finance, art, collectibles, NFTs, and more. Cultured is produced by Otis, an alternative investment platform that was recently acquired by Public.com.
Love Cultured? Spread the word and share this newsletter with a friend!
🗞 STORIES OF THE DAY
Why investors are paying $281 million for NFT owls
Moonbirds, a character-based NFT collection featuring 10,000 owls, sold out in a fixed-price drop. Then resales skyrocketed, hitting a sales volume of $281 million in just 2 days. That made Moonbirds the top NFT collection, beating out BAYC and Azuki.
The collection’s success comes at a moment when new NFT projects are struggling to make a dent in the market. But Moonbirds has the power of the Proof Collective, a collective whose members include Gary Vee and Beeple.
However, the launch was clouded by news that crypto scammers were taking advantage of the Moonbirds hype. Hackers took over blue-check Twitter accounts and rebranded them as Moonbirds accounts, encouraging users to join fake “raffles.”
Our Take: It’s still possible for new projects to break through the tight NFT market.
The NFT market may be slowing down and maturing, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for new projects to make it. However, the process of development is likely to change. While earlier collections like BAYC or CryptoPunks came from smaller, relatively unknown creators, projects that survive in the developed NFT market will likely come from more established sources with celebrity backing.
A new auction is putting NFTs in an art historical context
An upcoming auction at Sotheby’s is trying to attract collectors by putting NFTs in their historical context. The Natively Digital NFT sale will put works from early computer art practitioners in conversation with contemporary crypto works.
The works included are some of the earliest examples of generative art, which were precursors to contemporary NFT projects. These include works by Vera Molnar and Chuck Csuri, which are paired with digital works by Tyler Hobbs and Anna Ridler.
The opposite approach is working, too. Sotheby’s recently sold an invisible Yves Klein work for $1.2 million after touting the project as the first example of tokenization.
Our Take: NFTs are reshaping art history.
When NFTs first went mainstream, they were couched as a major pivot and a diversion from the traditional ways of making and selling art. But as the market develops and NFTs get more expensive, collectors want to know that these works aren’t just ephemeral. By shaping a historical narrative around the development of NFTs, auction houses are reassuring collectors that digital works are here to stay.
✨ AROUND THE INTERNET
RBG’s collectibles and art collection is going up for auction. Proceeds will go to a host of nonprofits.
A “shill” price list leak reveals how much it costs to get crypto influencers to hawk your NFT project.
A new Web3 company is looking to bring NFTs to Dungeons & Dragons. That’s gotten fans in quite a tizzy.
Sotheby’s is courting the hypebeasts once again with an auction dedicated to Nike Skateboarding.
In perhaps the greatest collab ever, Wawa is now selling Topps cards.
