The NFT community has been eagerly awaiting Pak’s next drop and how much the NFT world has changed since The Fungible x Sotheby’s in mid-April! Art Blocks made generative or algorithmically generated art mainstream, and there is, more than ever, a genuine appreciation for NFTs that utilize the digital medium of smart contracts and software. Exciting generative works sold on artist websites like Mutant Garden Seeder, Brotchain, and Salt V4 have seen floors rise to 10-30 eth due to enormous demand and not enough supply (mints were sub 1 or sub 0.5 eth).
Generative, AI, algorithmic, and smart contract NFT art have gone into the portfolios of venture capital investors and high net worth individuals who have paid seemingly absurd prices in the hundreds if not low 4 digit eth. Crypto and defi native collectors understand generative art, especially as they are familiar with programming and smart contracts.
NFT art has never been just about an image:
Which brings us back to Pak (Aug 26, 2021)
What I learned over the past two days:
1) There will be THREE drops: the first drop will not be ASH exclusive (but likely will accept ASH or have some form of interaction* with ASH), and the second and third drops are ASH exclusive. The drops will be far more inclusive as the current number of unique ASH wallets is approximately in the 500-600 range. By bringing more owners of Pak pieces (and other artists/creators) into the Pak/ASH economy, the table is being set for much bigger things to come.
2) The drop will not require holding previous Pak pieces: cubes/multi-cubes won’t have utility on this drop but they will for sure in future ones. ASH will likely be accepted and those who hold ASH will benefit. The number of unique ASH wallets should rapidly increase and will help ASH become listed on places like Coinmarketcap.com.
3) Something much, much more significant is being built: Pak has been planning ASH/this economy for +6 years. Pak referenced the ASH symbol in tweets as far back as 2015 so it’s probably not a good idea to sell.
All of this is another reason to Hodl ASH and Pak pieces because you won’t be able to time the news, and Pak has always favored collectors over flippers.
4) One of the drops will involve prominent creators in the space: NFT artists who will likely have their works high-tiered for burning. It is not clear whether this will be the first or second drop. Fvckrender and HOXID have already auctioned (or received bids) on 1/1 pieces in ASH.
Fvckrender received bids in ASH, and it all quickly escalated.
5) Next Pak drop will likely be generative, as Pak favors designing/creating programs that create. The drop will be unlike any other collections or drops created as each piece will be unique (unlike The Fungible) and possibly have a “reference” to the whole collection set. What that is exactly will be truly delightful to watch.
Does that remind you of…Fidenza or any other wildly successful NFT collections?
6) Pak’s drop will be on a drop-specific website, not existing platforms: Using one’s project website has been the case for many recent artists entering the space and 10k collectible projects as well, and it helps drive the narrative towards potential community involvement (and not burning, which Burn.art does).
7) Whatever form Pak’s drops are in, it will be EPIC
All of this gets us back to how all of this started, with The Fungible. Here is the current status of the burns (source):
The dead address now has more cube NFTs than in Nifty Gateway:
The only way to mint ASH is by burning NFTs (especially Pak NFTs, for now). It is still incredibly early, but the demand for ASH has driven the burning of The Fungible NFTs, the first and most historic NFT drop with a major auction house.
In perspective, Damien Hirst’s The Currency, which consisted of 10k pieces, sold for $20 million and has a floor of $35,000 (vs. original price of $2000). That is a market cap of $350 million for this collection, vastly greater than The Fungible, which has significantly fewer editions and which continues to decrease as cubes are burned (more than half of A Cube NFTs have been burned!). ASH’s current market cap is ONLY around $25 million.
It’s almost Mid June.
Great summary on the current state of Pak's next drop!!