The JN Silva Interview, Wicked Craniums & More
📸 JN Silva on How NFTs Are Redefining Photography
On our latest podcast episode, acclaimed photographer JN Silva dives into the world of photography NFTs and explores how the technology could help establish a new economic model for the field. As the first photographer to release on Nifty Gateway, Silva recounts his journey from building a following on Instagram to collaborating with fine artist ThankYouX and helping shepherd DJ Premier into the NFT space.
“Everything comes in waves and every medium has its moment,” he says. “I’ve been seeing a ton of amazing collectors make that push to collect more photography… I think now that more photographers are coming into the space and we’re creating our own unified voice, we’re going to see more and more of it.”
Silva also discusses the vision behind the Animus artist collective and the evolution of the Clubhouse community, where he has been an active voice from the beginning.
Be sure to hit subscribe and watch the full episode here.
💀 Wicked Craniums and the Generative Avatar Craze
Following the recent success of Bored Ape Yacht Club, generative avatar projects are dominating the digital collectibles market. From Gutter Cat Gang and Super Yeti to the controversial My Fucking Pickle, newly launched NFT collections have been selling out their primary sales left and right. While flippers have found some short-term success during the accompanying hype cycles, the longterm viability of these secondary markets remains anything but a sure bet.
This week’s most notable success story is Wicked Craniums, a series of 10,762 generative skeletons that has moved more than $6 million in sales volume since its launch on Sunday. Amid buzz from artists, collectors and influencers, the project is second only to Bored Apes on OpenSea this week, and the average price has now exceeded 0.4 ETH (up 666% from the minting price of 0.06 ETH).
Will Wicked Craniums emerge as the next Bored Apes? It’s too soon to say, but there are encouraging signs from the development team, who just announced an exclusive social media platform called “The Cradle.” The community Discord appears to be active and one Cranium holder already got a tattoo. As Bored Apes has shown through Bored Ape Kennel Club (more below), rewarding loyal holders and continuing to create value for the community is key to sustainably growing a project’s market cap.
💥 Quick Hits
Fewocious’ Christie’s auction officially opened yesterday and promptly crashed the auction house’s website. Bidding will now re-open on Friday at 10 am ET.
Bonhams and SuperRare announced an exclusive NFT sale entitled, CryptOGs: The Pioneers of NFT Art, running from June 21-30. Billed as the “world's first curated collaboration between a digital art platform and an auction house,” the collection features Coldie, XCOPY, Alotta Money, Matt Kane, Osinachi, Sarah Zucker, Mattia Cuttini, Miss Al Simpson, and Janne Limited.
Bored Ape Yacht Club announced Bored Ape Kennel Club, which allows each Ape holder to mint a canine companion NFT for free (plus gas cost). The dogs won’t be revealed until 6 pm ET on Friday, June 25, but that hasn’t stopped the project from moving more than $3 million in sales volume in anticipation. All proceeds from the 2.5% royalty fee for secondary sales on OpenSea will be donated to no-kill animal shelters.
Toy giant Mattel announced its entry to the space with the sale of three one-of-one NFTs showcasing the original debut designs of classic Hot Wheels cars (The Twin Mill, Deora II and Bone Shaker). The company is also planning upcoming NFT auctions for its other brands, which include Barbie, Polly Pocket, American Girl, and more.
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This newsletter is purely for educational purposes and is not financial advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any investment decisions. Please do your own research!