⚓️ the meme machine
and what to expect from NFTs in 2023
gm. and welcome to 2023.
every new year comes with resolutions, aspirations, and after a few months…realizations.
yes, that six-pack you swear you were going to have is not coming in. that million dollars you said you were going to earn is not in your checking account. that girlfriend you were going to get is in someone else’s DMs.
but you know who will *continue* being in your inbox? me.
I’m working on becoming a *bigger* help to you this year….so if want in early to the ride of your life…please do become a paid subscriber of BivNFT. it’s $5/month or $30/year…both the minimum that Substack will allow.
(I swear this isn’t prostitution)
ALPHA ⚓️
prediction #1: NFTs will be burned in 2023
I might as well start off the New Year with some heat: I’m predicting that 2023 will be the year of the ‘burn’ 🔥
we’re already seeing it with Zeneca…who is launching a PFP project this year. a chest can be “burned” in order to redeem one (very similar to y00ts and their t00bs).
burning (for those that don’t know) is the term used for sending certain coins and NFTs to the trash bin…but the blockchain version. it’s a mechanism that has been used a lot in crypto…but recently NFTs have been innovating and gamifying with the concept.
and let’s be honest…there is a lot of NFT supply out there (some would say too much).
at the height of the bull market in 2021 and early 2022, many projects were adding sometimes 20K new NFTs to their collections…in hopes of raising money and expanding the brand.
unfortunately, that leaves this market oversupplied…as NFTs buyers are on the decline. so I think it only makes sense that *some* burning will be necessary for 2023.
just look at Cool Pets, RoboPets, Alien Frenz Evolution, and my favorite failure of 2022…Coolman Babies. the list runs long and their price floors run low…like *really* low sometimes.
so my prediction is that burning will be a widespread tactic in 2023. it makes collections deflationary (suddenly increasing demand) and then gives these projects another crack at it should they choose to do so.
the “burn” can be redeemable for another type of token.
just hopefully, they won’t mess this one up.
BETA ⚓️
prediction #2: (CMOs) chief meme officers will be the most important hires
Sappy Seals is a community full of memers. so it only makes sense that Wab and the crew are only doubling down on that base(d).
soon, there will be a meme machine…an AI-powered tool that can help you create a meme tailored to your online identity.
yes…you won’t need photo editing skills to make a banger for much longer. you can simply generate the perfect meme featuring your Sappy Seal with a few clicks.
the idea is genius…one of those “it’s so obvious why didn’t anyone think of it sooner” ones. and it gives me my next prediction for 2023:
if you aren’t meme’ing you will be left behind.
GAMMA ⚓️
prediction #3: bad actors will *still* be a problem
which leads me to my next talking point…
speaking of memes and being funny on NFT Twitter…is it me or are sartoshi’s new memes not hitting like they used to?
so far he’s tweeting about cryptoadz (🆗) and has produced some other unremarkable (aka mid) memes.
which leads me to wonder…did I outgrow sartoshi or are they losing their fastball?
I’ll let them warm up a little, but my suspicions are *officially* on high alert now…especially since that open edition is now pumping and has gone back up to .1 ETH as I write this.
(remember that it was almost at 0 and sartoshi revived the project amid rumors that he had fallen on hard times in the crypto winter)
was coming back just about getting royalties again?
DELTA ⚓️
prediction #4: artist-run projects will continue to thrive
every year I say I’m going to be more data-driven…and every year I (mostly) fail at that.
will this change in 2023? I mean…the data suggests otherwise, but I’m hoping for a reversal and an eventual “break-out”.
(how am I doing with all this trading talk?)
but regardless if I stick to using data (see chart courtesy of curio.tools above), I think it’s *still* important to buy into projects where the artist is *at the very least* a cofounder.
that’s what attracted me to The Pals Universe by Sean Webster. it’s a project of 4444 Pals who were all drawn by Sean himself. even better, he’s active on Twitter and seems to be the whole motor behind the project.
while the Pals had fallen to less than $5/each before Christmas, he has kept grinding and since a nice little rebound in 2023. they are now almost at a .04 ETH floor as I write this.
(of course, I own none because once again I didn’t follow my instincts)
but when the artist, the story, and (partly) their legacy are tied to an NFT project…how could you fade it? here’s to projects in 2023 where *artists* are the stars and the reason you’re bullish 🍻
see you on Thursday.