Mint Gold Dust - 79Au

79AU | 7.22-29

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

MURALS ON THE CHAIN

Cryptic Gallery is a street art gallery and web3 studio based in Poughkeepsie, NY. For years, they have been hosting mural events in their backyard, but it was always a bittersweet moment to paint over older murals to make way for new ones. By documenting, animating, and minting these vibrant works on chain, they can now come alive on the walls of the metaverse.

Check out Cryptic’s first NFT collection, Murals on the Chain, available now. Preview the collection below, and be sure to check out each piece on Mint Gold Dust to see them come to life.

Want to learn more about the people behind the gallery? Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our Twitter Spaces with founder Ovid Forest.

Jungle King was painted for the May 2021 Cryptic Mural Jam and measures 12 Feet x 22 Feet. The featured character, “Fex” is Annabelle’s signature monster who has many styles and transformations. Here he is in his Jungle form with a bright spotted pelt paired with a tiki totem and fire breathing capabilities.

Fried Flights was created to harness the feeling, and freedom found in Breiner’s sketchbooks. Whereas most of his murals are thought out with a more direct narrative, Fried Flights celebrates all those lucid thoughts and dreams that inhabit Breiner’s mind when it is turned off and that rarely ever make it out of my sketchbooks.

Painted for the Cryptic Mural Fest in May 2021.

“If you wanna make it to the top you have to stay hungry and hustle hard. But the journey there is all about Balance, so always be sure to have fun and do your best to impact and inspire those around you on the way.” – BoogieREZ

“They told me just one voyage to jupiter…” – Heste Lauder

Want to get started as an artist or collector on Mint Gold Dust? Check out our Metamask start up guide to get started. Ready to start minting? Apply to talk with our curatorial team today.

Check out last week’s edition of 79Au to read about the renaissance of free minting, and stay up to date on all things Mint Gold Dust by subscribing to our newsletter.

Weekly Recap

79AU | 7.14-21

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

SphericalArt, aka Paul Petersen, is a geometric artist and poet who finds and creates his images inside of 3D polyhedral spheres. He looks for unique arrangements of polygons that hint at an emerging story. He overlays meaning onto the inherent beauty of polyhedral patterns. His artwork “Lunar Vibrations” depicts a broad vista with the moon’s tidal pulse filling the sky and landscape.

Over more than half a century, artist Dia al-Azzawi’s work has been shown in countless group and solo exhibitions worldwide, especially in Europe and across the Arab World. Freddie 1.0 is his genesis NFT collection, and was inspired by his grandson. Check out our interview with Dia here.

Matteo Succi, aka Svccy, is a digital artist and designer. His work is inspired by the Vaperwave Aesthetic, a genre that celebrates the technological nostalgia of the 80s and 90s. His work “Masks” is a commentary on the different masks we wear to survive in a modern day society.

FREE MINTING: BEAR MARKET SAVIOR OR TEMPORARY FAD?

While investors and collectors navigate the new crypto ‘normal’ caused by another “Crypto Winter”, the rise of free-to-mint NTFs has been seemingly parabolic. Many recent and prospective projects are using this model to get the ever-popular genre of PFP generative series into the hands of eager collectors. Making NFTs free to mint has lowered the barrier to entry, and spurred demand for scarce tokens that demand less monetary commitment, but can still see exponential growth and profits. As this phenomena grips the crypto community, there are lingering questions about the sustainability of essentially giving away a collection with the promise of profit, through royalties from secondary market sales.

Unlike most projects, Free-to-Mint NFT drops allow collectors to generate a piece for only the price of gas. Free launches create buzz and provide a way for collectors to obtain art and participate in a project which they might not have had the financial resources to get involved with. It’s easy to see how this format appears attractive, the pay-to-play mindset that has dominated the NFT market no longer applies and instead tight-knit communities of early adopters create their own hype around exclusive collections. As scarcity sets in during the free for all minting events, collectors interested in the resale market benefit from the increase in floor prices.

These collections, while free to mint initially, have a history of being wildly successful. One of the most prolific projects that utilized this model is CryptoPunks in 2017. CryptoPunks centered around allowing whoever was both interested and already invested in the crypto space to claim their own. This set the groundwork for other offerings down the line as CryptoPunks skyrocketed to an 11 million dollar valuation at the very apex of the NFT craze.

In more recent history, Goblintown has seen similar success. Teased during a cryptic Twitter Space, with no roadmap or existing utility, Goblintown launched a 10,000 piece free-to-mint generative collection that quickly amassed 35,000 ETH in sales. The sales volume now sits at 44,500 ETH with 4,500 individual owners, most of which participated in the initial free minting event.

Another project, For the Culture has met a different kind of success through the free-to-mint model. Artchick toyed with the idea to pay collectors .01 ETH for every NFT they minted. The setup could ensure the creator would make their money back after 2,000 ETH of sales volume at 5% royalties. Sibel, an artist in the space, ran with the idea and brought the project to life with an OpenSea tagline stating:

“If you are reading this sh*t you came for the meme and stayed for the culture. Never underestimate the power of memes fcker. Fck u all! Roadmap? Fck that too!”

The colorful, simple sketches are easily recognizable in profile pictures and memes circling social media and have since led to the creation of derivative styles.

The idea of paying collectors seems like a stretch in an already questionably sustainable minting process. And so the free-to-mint model and its variations beg the question: is this a long term option for creators and artists in the space? The pitfalls are evident. Giving away large amounts of NFT’s does not guarantee a profit, and generating hype can be a slow burn in a bear market. With this format, creators risk investing their time and effort into a project that won’t gain traction and get off the ground. In addition, smaller artists who already struggle to sell 1/1 pieces might not have the means or capability to create 10k drops which are the standard in the free-to-mint space. However, there are also notable positives associated with the free-to-mint market. The upside of gas-only projects is that they are inherently counterintuitive to those interested in securing a quick profit through flipping NFTs. Profit in these projects is determined by sales on the secondary market via royalties. If the scarcity/demand dynamic is not created during the “community hype” process, long term ROI will be unattainable. This provides a sense of security through both creator and collector accountability because of the slow set up process. In short, they typically don’t entice bad actors.

This is not to say that free minting doesn’t have its own set of safety and security risks. Risks for free-to-mint projects typically fall under the familiar categories in the crypto space of phishing, catfishing, fake airdrops, rugpulls and counterfeit projects, and a new contender to the scam list; sleep minting. In this new type of ruse, would-be scammers use another artist’s or creator’s account or wallet to generate a fake NFT. The wallet signature gives the NFT the appearance of authenticity, and collectors are none the wiser in paying for what they think is a verified work. We’ve seen these same types of malicious behavior in what have been typically known as scams in the Discord space via direct message requests and suspicious links. Smart contracts can be written to seemingly mint an NFT, but in doing so, a collector unwittingly signs a request allowing would-be unauthorized individuals access to their funds. However savvy collectors are already circumnavigating this issue by creating “burner wallets” to interact with these contracts, rather than use their main asset storage space.

With this in mind, there are precautions that every NFT Marketplace routinely advises their artists and collectors take, which also apply when participating in a free mint:

Protect your seed phrase
Choose verified creators
Avoid suspicious links
Utilize cold or burner wallets
Always verify signature requests
Revoke suspicious authorization when spotted

Want to get started as an artist or collector on Mint Gold Dust? Check out our Metamask start up guide here.

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Weekly Recap

3 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 7.11-14

The Decentralized Art World | Blockchain Provenance, Intellectual Property, and Patronage

PROVENANCE

Something we hear a lot in the web3 space is provenance. But what is it and why should you care? Before the days of Blockchain and ledgers, provenance was a way for artists, collectors and subject matter experts to track the history of an artwork or artifact. That tracking traditionally included information such as artist info, point of origin, sale history, etc. Unfortunately, human error is inevitable and often pieces aren’t cataloged properly; or records are purposefully altered to inflate price, hide ownership, etc.

Today with Blockchian and NFTs, the provenance of a smart contract cannot be altered. In the case of art NFTs, provenance not only protects an artwork’s history, it protects the artist’s intellectual property and future royalties.

In the past one way to identify an artist and authenticate a piece was through the artist’s unique signature on their artwork. However, today artists can ensure their provenance is ironclad by always minting from the same wallet. An artist or collector’s wallet can be seen as their unique signature for web3 and a way for collectors and other artists to know that the piece minted does indeed belong to them.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

When thinking about intellectual property, we envision legal battles with vulture corporations, but the truth is, software like social media platforms are a far bigger threat to creators .

In recent history, tools like Instagram have been a way for artists to share their work, but once work is posted, artists open themselves up to millions of users, making them vulnerable to imitators and copycats.

Image theft is not just a web2 problem. ‘Lazy minting’ on platforms like OpenSea give artists the ability to sell their NFTs on demand, avoiding gas fees until the point of sale. However, until that piece is minted on chain, there is nothing stopping another creator from copying the image and minting it for themselves.

CREATORS AND CUSTODY

So that’s intellectual property, but what about custody of an actual on-chain asset?

When choosing a minting platform, artists should always check to see if they are non-custodial. If they are custodial, the platform is effectively the middle-man for all transactions. It holds on to the art and any proceeds from sales and these things are only released after a certain amount of time, which is decided by the platform. Furthermore if a platform runs into financial difficulty there is no guarantee that either NFTs or funds that are custodied with that platform will be returned to their rightful owner.

However, a non-custodial platform like Mint Gold Dust will never hold artwork or funds. A non-custodial platform can be seen as a window to the blockchain, rather than a broker.

COLLECTORS AND PATRONAGE

The web3 ecosystem doesn’t start and end with artists; collectors are also an essential piece of the ecosystem. Taking a look back at the traditional art world, a collector couldn’t just walk into a blue chip gallery and buy a painting. If they were not invited to the gallery to purchase a piece or a part of the gallery’s collector list, it was almost always out of reach. Now, patronage lies in the hands of the collector, not a gatekeeper.

There is a lot of talk about the flipping economy in web3, but the NFT market is much larger than that and there are more incentives to buy than just short term ROI. Just like in the traditional art world, we see collectors buying pieces that they have an emotional connection with from artists they want to support. They are not buying to flip but are buying because of true appreciation of the art. And because of verified provenance, tracked through the Blockchain, collectors can verify prior owners and that the piece is authentic.

With new display options, collectors can hang their NFT artwork in their homes like they would a painting. These frames connect with your wallet to showcase the actual file attached to the token, not just a jpeg saved from your computer.

SECONDARY MARKET

It is important to consider the secondary market when discussing collecting. Just as there are best practices with minting NFT art, there are best practices for selling. An attractive element of NFTs for artists is the promise of royalties which can flow to the artist every time the piece is resold. However, if a piece is resold on a platform the artist did not originally sell on, there is no guarantee that these royalties will follow. This cross platform dilemma is an industry wide issue that many people are looking to solve. In the meantime, there are ways that a collector can ensure that the artist receives their proper royalties on the secondary market. The easiest way to do this is to resell on the same platform that the piece was minted on. When a collector buys a piece from an artist, they are welcomed into their community. It’s up to collectors to foster that relationship and be good stewards of the artwork they collect.

Want to get started as an artist or collector on Mint Gold Dust? Check out our Metamask start up guide here.

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Weekly Recap

3 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 7.1-8

WELCOME TO THE NEW MINT GOLD DUST

We launched our marketplace in November 2021 with a strong ecosystem surrounding us, and 8 Genesis Crypto artists, including Hackatao and Giant Swan.

We set out to create a platform for artists and collectors to transact seamlessly on-chain in a completely decentralized ecosystem.

Eight months after our launch, our mission remains the same, but things are now looking a little different. We’re pleased to re-introduce you to Mint Gold Dust with a new look to our marketplace.

TECHNOLGY

Despite our aesthetic changes, we are still fully committed to being 100% decentralized on the Ethereum blockchain.

Being fully decentralized means we are a window to the blockchain, not a custodian. Mint Gold Dust never takes custody of an artist or collector’s artwork or funds. All assets and bids are held on chain and are released to their new owners at the time of transaction through our ERC 1155 smart contracts.

Artists and Collectors can still connect with Ethereum wallets such as Metamask, or the web based wallet, Portis, enabling collectors more ways to collect.

MEET OUR ECOSYSTEM

We have worked hard to build an ecosystem that enriches the experience of our artists and collectors.

Technology from our partner Illust Space enables artists and collectors to geo-drop their NFTs into AR and VR.

Tokenframe is a seamless way for artists and collectors to showcase their artworks using their patented wallet connect technology.

Gilded Finance, our finance partner, provides a tax solution for cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

SmartSeal works with us to connect physical assets to the blockchain using NFC technology.

Our partnership with REFASHIOND for fashion on demand, connects on chain creations to the physical fashion industry.

Finally, we have built relationships with brick and mortar galleries such as West Chelsea Contemporary and artist communities like Searchlight Art to help promote digital art and NFTs to the wider art community.

KEY FEATURES

With Mint Gold Dust, artists and collectors can tell their story with our Memoir feature, allowing collaborators to be the author of their own art history for future generations.

Artists can mint with up to 1GB of file size, expanding the boundaries of their creations.

And with Curated Spaces, every artist can host their own digital gallery. And physical galleries can now have their own NFT marketplace.

Artists can also choose to mint with multiple collaborators in the Smart Contract, providing a solution for provenance and royalties for collaborative artworks.

COMMUNITY

We built our community and ecosystem with the artists and collectors in mind for them to transact seamlessly in our new web3 economy.

We believe that every NFT has a story, every story has a creator, every creator has a collector, and every collector should have an NFT.

We’re proud to have you here, and we can’t wait to see what you create and what you find to collect!

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Weekly Recap

3 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 6.20-30

NFT.NYC 2022 RECAP

AUCTION

Last week, Mint Gold Dust was a proud sponsor of NFT.NYC for the second year in a row.

Following on from our record breaking sale at NFT.NYC 2021, Mint Gold Dust hosted an NFT auction at the official VIP + Speaker Dinner on June 20, 2022.

The team auctioned 20 lots and sold several 1/1 NFTs including Flourish by Mila Sketch, A Non-Fungible Dream by FeeBee, and Black Box Collective’s Alpha Jet; an NFT that grants the holder to privileged access to a range of private jets.

We also sold a section of RAREPEPEs including HODLWOOD, GOXPEPE, and KEKTOPUS.

Mint Gold Dust partner Tokenframe, the most technically advanced and feature-rich display frame for crypto art, was also a part of the sale. Tokenframe’s patented technology connects your wallet with the frame to allow you to display your favorite NFT collection seamlessly. In addition to being a part of the auction, Tokenframe displayed the art from the sale during the event.

The VIP event saw over 3,000 guests at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square and served as the kick off to a week full of activities.

NFTs THEN AND NOW:

Later in the week, Mint Gold Dust Founder and CEO Kelly LeValley Hunt spoke at NFT.NYC about NFTs then and now. Being hailed a Blockchain Pioneer by Forbes magazine in 2018, Kelly LeValley Hunt has had a front row seat to the rise of Smart Contract Art, Crypto Art, and RARES, more colloquially now known as NFTs.

CR3ATIVE X:

Mint Gold Dust was also a proud sponsor of satellite event Cr3ative X. The 3 day long event took place at the Times Square Edition Hotel and was hosted by Searchlight Art.

Throughout the week, guests were invited to attend talks, panels, and an AR Art Walk, in conjunction with Mint Gold Dust partner Illust Space.

Cr3ativeX provided an alternative to the main event, offering a place to escape the crowds and hear from amazing artists and technologists in the space.

Check out guest writer JenJoy Roybal’s recap from Mint Gold Dust’s artist workshops during Consensus Conference in Austin, TX here.

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Weekly Recap

3 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 6.13-17

Mint Gold Dust Onboards Local Austin Artist into Web 3.0

By JenJoy Roybal | Co-Founder + CEO of Searchlight.Art

Onboarding and education is a big part of the culture in Web 3.0. Many of us artists and creatives were introduced to the merits of blockchain and were graciously shown the way by those that came before – from opening a wallet, to crypto security basics, to preparing and minting an artwork. It’s a journey, and having people to welcome and guide is essential to the ongoing growth and strengthening of the whole ecosystem. It’s not always the case that we get an introduction to the movement by an OG and a team of experts. That was the case for local Austin artists during Consensus 2022 on June 10-11, with the Mint Gold Dust team at The Cathedral, an artist and co-working space run by atxGals.

In a quiet neighborhood just outside of Downtown Austin, the former church was taken over by Mint Gold Dust and the communities that make up an important part of the local art scene. The Cathedral was home to a two-day gathering where artists where invited to discover the ins-and outs of NFTs, the blockchain and the financial responsibility that comes with adding this opportunity to an art practice.

On Friday, June 10, 2022, local artists came together to enjoy digital artworks, eat a coveted Bad Larry’s burger, and casually learn about the goings on of art on the block chain to the beats thrown down by DJ Diggy Dutch. Muck Rock made a special appearance creating an artwork on the spot. The underpainting that appeared as a few rough-sketched lines when I arrived, gradually became large, rich, red lips with stark white teeth and luscious foliage, with Spring flowers coming out of the opening of a seductive mouth that floated in a black background. The artwork, titled “The Universe,” was minted on Mint Gold Dust and put up for auction the same night. It was beautiful watching the work come to life.

The following day, on the 11th, started early with a deeper dive into what a blockchain is, a step-by-step guide to opening a wallet and to minting on the Mint Gold Dust platform. Other platforms were also discussed. Artists were given the unique perspective from Kelly LeValley Hunt, founder of Mint Gold Dust and legendary investor in some of the most prominent platforms on the Ethereum block chain. I don’t think many in the room understood the unique perspective Kelly brings to the story of the rise of art on the Ethereum blockchain, and the rise of the Ethereum blockchain itself. It was quite the treat.

Following the onboarding and educational session I had the pleasure and privilege to sit on a panel with artists Yasmin Youseff, Raina Casbon-Kelts of Gilded Finance, and the Mint Gold Dust Team: Miles Starkey, Hannah Gulledge, and Kelly LeValley Hunt. The conversation opened up with a question about the importance of local and global community building which made me think of the many artists I get to work with all over the world in a way that is close and meaningful, while at the same time being able to cultivate strong ties in my own small city of Santa Fe. This felt akin to what was possible for the local Austin artist community. I wanted to convey the opportunity to grow in both ways, local and global, and how Web 3.0 provides that unique connection to a global artists pool can enrich the local community as well.

We had a chance to learn from Raina of Gilded Finance. She provided some very grounded advice about how to get started and what to look out for as you begin to grow your crypto assets. She expressed the importance of hiring a professional accountant and described how the Gilded software can connect to quickbooks. Personally, this was music to my ears in light of how complicated tracking these things can be. Yasmin shared her journey into NFTs and described how it was being received at art fairs and with collectors. She saw it as a huge growth opportunity. We talked about the various ways in which NFTs make their way into the world, either as engaging phygitals (a digital asset attached to a physical asset), presented on large LED screens, experienced in immersive virtual environments or shared through augmented or mixed reality.

Having come into the web 3.0 environment through with many hours of listening and exchange on Clubhouse during the pandemic, it was wonderful to witness so many artists getting a condensed and concise introduction to the movement. Now that we are able to meet in person Mint Gold Dust has seized the opportunity to connect with the community and has started with a very vibrant one in Austin.

JenJoy Roybal is an artist, urbanist, writer, editor, and digital content creator. She is inspired by humanity’s oldest stories and artworks related to sacred rituals and sacred space. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Master of Urban Planning and Design from The Bernard and Anne Spritzer School of Architecture, City College New York. She is also the Co-founder and CEO of SearchLight.Art is a women-led, community-orientated crypto art organization.

Headed to NFT.NYC next week? Check out our post from last week where we announce our auction lots for the official VIP + Speaker Dinner.

Weekly Recap

3 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 6.3-6.9

NFT.NYC 2022 AUCTION PREVIEW EDITION

Mint Gold Dust Announces Auction Lots for NFT.NYC 2022

NFT Platform Mint Gold Dust returns to NFT.NYC with an exclusive collection to be sold during a live auction at the official NFT.NYC VIP and Speaker Dinner at the Marriott Marquis Times Square on Monday, June 20th, 2022 at 7:30pm.

Mint Gold Dust is auctioning off nearly 20 lots featuring unique and diverse 1/1’s from world renowned Middle Eastern artist Dia al-Azzawi, award winning Austin artist Mila Sketch, and an NFT from Black Box Collective that grants the holder private jet access.

In addition, the team has secured a large selection of RAREPEPEs, including a rare, nearly complete, collection of Series 1 RAREPEPE cards, one being the famed Satoshi Natamoto Series 1 Card. If sold, the collection sale will be a monumental event for NFT and art history.

Mint Gold Dust partner Tokenframe, the most technically advanced and feature-rich display frame for crypto art, will also be a part of the sale. Tokenframe’s patented technology connects your wallet with the frame to allow you to display your favorite NFT collection seamlessly. One of their tabletop frames, currently only available via a waiting list, will be up for grabs.

Immediately after launching the Mint Gold Dust platform in November 2021, the team hosted an auction at NFT.NYC 2021 where rare and vintage NFTs were sold, including a RAREPEPE Satoshi Nakamoto that was sold to Metapurse founder Metakovan for $500,000.

Since then, Mint Gold Dust has continued to onboard artists and collectors, host online exhibitions, and has brought another iteration of the auction to community gathering ETH Denver in February, where they sold works by Android Jones, Mr. Soul, and others.

2022 NFT.NYC VIP ticket holders can pre-register for the auction today using this link. At the dinner on June 20th, Mint Gold Dust will have a registration table where you can check-in and pick up your paddle.

Check out last week’s edition of 79Au here.

Weekly Recap

3 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 5.26-6.2

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

Mint Gold Dust Heads to Austin for Consensus 2022

NFT Marketplace and ecosystem Mint Gold Dust is headed back to Austin, TX to host a two-day event, June 10-11, 2022, during Coindesk’s Consensus Festival.

From 6:30-9:30pm on June 10th, Mint Gold Dust will take over The Cathedral, an Austin community space known for its art shows, wellness workshops, events, and daytime co-working space. The evening event will feature burger pop-up Bad Larry Burger Club, libations, and sounds by DJ Diggy Dutch. The event will also feature live painting by famed street artist Muck Rock. The art she creates that night will then be digitized and minted as an NFT on Mint Gold Dust’s marketplace.

The next day, Saturday, June 11th, Mint Gold Dust will be hosting a Brunch & Learn from 9am-1pm at The Cathedral. The drop in event will feature panels and workshops for artists and collectors interested in starting their NFT journey. Topics include setting up a crypto wallet, learning about smart contracts, and how to mint on Mint Gold Dust. The event is a great opportunity to learn more about how NFTs can support artists creatively and financially. The programming schedule will be available on the official Eventbrite page next week.

Tickets for both Mint Gold Dust events are available now via the button below. Reserve your spot today as capacity is limited. See you in Austin!

Subscribe to Mint Gold Dust’s 79Au newsletter here to be one of the first to hear about upcoming events, collaborations, and drops.

Weekly Recap

4 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 5.12-5.20

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

“In this series I use images of my body, bones and pieces I no longer have, or what has been put in its place.

As a young child, one form of treatment for my JRA was to inject gold into my body weekly…Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with a gold mixture. I like to think that is what they were trying to do for me.” – Rakkaus Art

This week, our community manager is back with Part 2 of her series, Collaboration and Competition in Web3 Communities where she addresses competition within communities. Check out Part 1 of this series here.

Collaboration and Competition in Web3 Communities: Exploring Community Competition

While the consensus agrees that the collaborative aspect of developed communities is what fosters the sense of niche inclusivity that is a defining factor of Web3 over its predecessors; that same tight-knit atmosphere contributes forward momentum by pushing competing projects to prove themselves worthy of community support by creating and embracing utility. Thus far the NFT space has largely progressed with a high focus on profits, but the potential in collectively competitive, utility-oriented communities could possibly turn the tide on what motivates projects to grow in Web3. The new buzzword “utility,” an apt replacement for 2021’s demand for a “use case” in decentralized finance, has a commanding hold on communities as they search for additional intrinsic value in their investments.

NFT’s serve utility beyond existing as digital assets in multiple sectors of what community members now consider their daily lives. There are tokens for gaming, the Metaverse, social spaces, and real estate. As these projects evolve within their respective market share, communities and project managers become the voice of what traits and perks will ultimately be rolled out to holders. Decisions about the type of community that a project should target, the size and scalability, along with the ability to provide impactful content to rally around on highly visible social media channels become driving factors of project progression. In essence, the art is your ticket, and utility is the show.

Continuing to look at the Bored Apes ecosystem as a powerhouse, OtherDeed for Otherside is an example of these principles in action. The Yuga Labs based project sold out in mere hours and quickly became one of most sought after drops in the NFT space.

Otherside, a gamified metaverse in which users can turn their NFTs into playable characters, launched with 55,000 “Otherdeeds” as virtual, tokenized land deeds required to claim space in Otherside. The team behind BAYC has expressed that this project will utilize APECOIN, the Bored Ape Yacht Club-affiliated cryptocurrency, for its circular economy and has promised to continue building the total user experience over time.

As each piece of land comes with rare and specific attributes that are highly desired by those within the community, the price is driven up with each resale and further propels the project into “blue chip” status. As the community grows and searches for return on their investment, Yuga Labs and BAYC must also grow to meet demand and maintain relevance in an over saturated market. There is an expectation that these pieces of land will generate passive income for holders by combining scarcity with utility, effectively creating an environment where third parties are willing to compete with each other financially for a coveted spot in the community.

Still in their early stages, NFT’s with utility provide more to investors than just ROI driven by a scarcity factor. Thriving communities that focus on realizing their concepts and implementing their benefits into innovative eventual daily use inadvertently create a sense of urgency for alternative projects to remain lucrative. In a space where many projects can seem incredibly similar depending on the corner of the market they’re attempting to capitalize; this earnest pace is imperative to sustainable growth.

Miss last week’s call for artists for NFT.NYC? Check out all the details on 79Au.

Weekly Recap

4 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 5.6-5.12

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

ANNOUNCING NFT.NYC AUCTION | CALL FOR ARTISTS AND COLLECTORS

This June, Mint Gold Dust returns to NFT.NYC with an exclusive IRL auction at the official NFT.NYC VIP Dinner on June 20th, 2022

Immediately after launching our platform in November, we hosted an auction at NFT.NYC 2021 where we auctioned off rare and vintage NFTs, including a RAREPEPE Satoshi Nakamoto that was sold to Metakovan for $500,000.

Since then, we have continued to onboard artists and collectors, hosted online exhibitions, and brought another iteration of our auction to ETH Denver in February where we sold works by Android Jones, Mr. Soul, and others.

For our upcoming auction in June, we are opening up the call for artists to the community. Whether you have minted with us in the past or you are looking to explore Mint Gold Dust for the first time, we want to see your art. We will be accepting submissions until May 31st, 2022. Please email your proposed work to curator@mintgolddust.io with the subject line “NFT.NYC Auction Submission” to be considered.

Additionally, we are putting out a call to our collectors. Collectors are an integral part of the ecosystem, and so often they don’t have the opportunity to share their collection with the world. As a part of our activation with NFT.NYC, we will be displaying NFTs directly from our collectors’ wallets around the venue, courtesy of our frame partner TokenFrame. Email curator@mintgolddust.io for more info on how to display your NFTs with us.

See you in June in New York!

Miss last week’s 79Au where we interviewed pioneer Arab artist Dia al-Azzawi about his genesis NFT collection, Freddie 1.0 on Mint Gold Dust? Check out our conversation here.

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