NFT Roundtable | Elon's Meme Monday
Welcome to the Weekly NFT Roundtable, where members of the Lucky Trader team weigh in on some of the most pressing questions, news, and events in the web3 space.
The commentary below is purely opinion —not financial advice!
Recommended Reading:
- Morning Minute: Elon Seizes the Memes
- Gucci, Otherside Team Up on KodaPendants
- DotPigeon Taking Break From NFTs
Elon's Memes š
Question 1: Elon Musk sent the crypto and NFT world into a frenzy on Monday, for two separate reasons. The billionaire started by changing the Twitter logo in the top right corner of the app to a Doge image, sending the coin surging. He later tweeted a meme — which just happened to be the ‘Seize the Memes of Production’ jpeg from Punk 6529’s Meme Cards.
He also later deleted the tweet. What did you think of Elon’s antics on Monday? Does he even know about Meme Cards / pay attention to the NFT space?
Jason: It’s rather clear he knows of NFTs and pays attention to crypto and crypto-adjacent spaces. But he likely doesn’t know what Seize the Memes of Production is. And what he did yesterday is in a rather grey legal area, so it isn’t shocking that he deleted it (perhaps suggested by his lawyers).
The Doge image though, that’s a different story. He knows what Doge is, and he is committed, whether because he actually sees value (unlikely) or because he looks like an idiot or is in horrible legally ambiguous waters if he doesn’t commit (likely), to its success. Due to crypto’s composability, this creates a massive amount of upside for Dogecoin. It’s still a memecoin, but one with the world’s richest and possibly most powerful man in its corner.
As far as what I think about his antics on Monday, he should probs chill.
Ghost: Elon gonna Elon! Monday reminded me of some of the craziness we saw around DOGE in the bull market, with his memes or random antics pumping the coin dramatically. I also remember when there was all the speculation around whether Elon was secretly in the NFT space (and was seen at a party with Guy Oseary).
While I think changing the Twitter top logo to a Doge is very on-brand for the ridiculousness of the Elon era of the app, I think the ‘Seize the Memes’ post was strictly a case of him Googling the phrase and grabbing one of the first things that caught his eye - which happened to be the 6529 one. Although, I think this is exactly what 6529 wanted from the beginning — for the memes to spread as sticky/memorable art and commentary, not just another speculative NFT.
Tyler: I believe Elon is actively being sued in a class-action lawsuit regarding his tweets and commentary around $DOGE and him effectively p&d’ing it. He clearly doesn’t care.
As for NFTs, I agree with Jason that he pays attention to this space, clearly. Does he know about 6529’s specific Memes project? Probably not. And I think that’s what was so bullish about his tweet - Elon spread the message of 6529’s Memes organically without knowing about the NFT. The memes are working (though not from an investment standpoint, RIP my bags).
Logie: Elon is definitely medium-bored on web3. With that being said, I think the odds of him knowing the tweet was pulling from a Meme Card from Punk6529’s collection are pretty low. The guy is just hyper-online and loves Memes. I don’t really know what to say about his antics. He just does not give a shit and does whatever he wants. I fully expect I’ll be writing another news blurb about some similar event in six months.
Yuga's New Chain š
Question 2: Gucci and Yuga announced a collaboration on Monday for KodaPendants, 3,333 limited edition silver necklaces for Koda and Vessel owners. These are selling on Thursday, with a price of 450 $APE (roughly $2,000). What do you think of this collab, and would you be interested in buying one if you owned a Koda/Vessel?
Jason: This is exactly what Yuga Labs needs to do to stay relevant. As a company, it must remain culturally significant or the entire house of cards collapses. The attention economy machine can’t stop. Pairing with brands that rely on the same cultural relevance is smart. What is Gucci without branding? The same thing Yuga Labs is, plus some real-world metal and animal skin.
Would I buy them? Personally, no, but they’re cool for Yuga Labs aficionados, and that’s the target. Associating Yuga with Gucci is a positive net outcome for Bored Apes and their ecosystem.
Ghost: I am not a buyer, but I do think these will have high demand and sell out quickly. Just like we saw with the CryptoPunks x Tiffany collab, people love to flex expensive stuff — and Gucci is the face of much of that world. I also think that people underestimate how easy it is for BAYC owners to spend $APE vs the sticker price in USD — for those who have been staking or received the airdrop, 450 doesn’t feel like nearly as much as walking into an IRL jewelry store.
Tyler: Collabing with Gucci to make necklaces is badass. Love this move for Yuga, and it stands to be a huge raise for them. If this sells out, it will be a 1.5M $APE sink for Yuga and a $6.45M sale. I don’t think it would have sold out just with Koda owners, but opening it to all of Otherdeed holders via Vessels was smart and guarantees a sell-out.
As for these specific KodaPendants - it’s not a coincidence that the name is effectively “co-dependents.” Because anyone who buys this is clearly co-dependent on Yuga at this point and wants the world to know it.
Logie: Gucci’s willingness to collab with Yuga Labs (despite its frequent potty humor) is a huge win for Web3, albeit an odd collab in my mind as a non-Gucci person. I fully expect these to sell out quickly, but I personally would not be a buyer. I have no interest in wearing it, and no interest in trying to sell the physical pendant on the secondary market, though BAYC merch and physical products still seem to move semi-frequently on eBay. I did far too much research into resales and was very surprised to find that BAYC hoodies are still occasionally selling for $500. People are wild.
Honorary or Contrary šø
Question 3: Nakamigos have been the talk of the space over the past week — and we saw some controversy on Monday, with several of the honorary Nakamigos (given to influencers/notable people in the space) selling for over 10 ETH. What are your thoughts on selling honoraries? Who is buying these? Should anyone care?
Jason: My thoughts on selling honoraries: get that bag. My thoughts on buying honoraries: wtf? The honoraries didn’t ask for these. If they don’t want to be part of the ecosystem, they can and should leave. If someone is willing to pay 10 ETH for something you don’t want… sell it. I just don’t understand why anyone is buying them.
Ghost: I have no problem with the honorary recipients selling — they were basically used as an engagement farm/marketing ploy, so get rewarded for it. That being said, I don’t know who is possibly buying these — I guess someone might look at these as a 1/1, but they are in a completely separate collection.
I also think this ‘drama’ should have zero impact on project sentiment — though it undoubtedly does. I hated to see the sell-shaming / toxic conversations pop up around these sales — just let people do what they want with their money and NFTs. And to see OhShinyy burn his honorary seems both stupid and pointless — but whatever. As a fan of Nakamigos, I encourage everyone to just vibe more and be less dramatic.
Tyler: I have no problem with the holders selling of course. I think the more interesting story here is that there is demand for these honoraries at 10 ETH. How many other collections could field 10 ETH sales for honoraries right now? Bullish Nakamigos.
I don’t personally understand why one would buy these, as I don’t think there is much of a market for these at all, vs just buying the high-end grails of the true set. But to each their own - these buyers now have Nakamigo 1/1s.
Logie: My response is boring and like the others. Why would you want to buy someone else’s honorary? That’s like buying someone else’s personalized watch or bracelet. It was literally intended for a specific person.
At the same time, I think basically no one should care if someone sells an honorary or not and I have no specific takes on the horde of Web3 personalities that have cashed in on their personalized Nakamigo fame.
Nevertheless, I can appreciate the honorary marketing route and it seems to have generated quite the conversation equity for Nakamigos.
Depart From Art š§³
Question 4: Artist DotPigeon announced this week that he is taking a break from NFTs, expressing concern over the focus on trends and market dynamics in the NFT space, detracting from the art itself. The move brought up a larger conversation after community members pointed out the artist’s previous drops included Open Edition/burn mechanics that seem to lean into the issues they highlighted.
What are your thoughts on the balance between art and financialization that we see in the NFT space? Are moves like this sour grapes over constantly changing markets and metas, or justified issues artists must grapple with?
Jason: If we were to define the entire NFT space in one sentence, then sure, there is a legitimate gripe to be had here. But it can’t be defined in one sentence. It’s just a technology to be used toward whatever end you want to use it for. The NFT space is and should be multifaceted. Stop complaining and just do your thing. Otherwise, it sounds like you’re salty that you’re not making enough money doing the thing you chose to do.
As far as the financialization of art is concerned, isn’t that like sort of the point of NFTs? And whether or not current emerging trends and market dynamics suit your idealized perspective of what the “NFT space” should look like, it’s not up to you. It’s up to communities and markets. It’s similar to getting upset that, say, UFC is getting more popular because you prefer to watch baseball. Just watch baseball and let other people do what they want to do, it’s fine.
Ghost: I think that there are definitely struggles in the space over how to balance the line between art/financialization and that discussion has probably been elevated with Blur creating a ‘shitcoin’ type trading environment for most NFTs. However, I also feel like this particular case with DotPigeon is not the poster child for that debate. The artist clearly leaned into a lot of the degen/broader NFT metas, and it didn’t work out for them. But for others, NFTs have clearly had an incalculable positive impact on their art careers. If DotPigeon had put his art out there and it had been a top project, I doubt we see this sentiment.
I have no problem with leaving the space if you don’t feel like it’s your lane — but to blame the tech or market seems pretty weak.
Tyler: One of the coolest and most important aspects of NFTs and art specifically is the tremendous ease of access to artists and their art. Artists using burns, open editions, etc., are all a part of that and, when done well, can be great ways to build community (i.e. ACK’s “Great Color Study” open edition and burn).
I think artists need to be very smart and calculated about how to use those functions though, because it can greatly damage their reputation if not done well. And DotPigeon has certainly hurt his rep with this move. Bearish DotPigeon, bullish on art and NFTs. This is just a part of the game.
Logie: This will certainly sound like an “easier said than done” or heavily critical response, but I think artists that aren’t equipped to deal with the financialization of assets in Web3, are best served elsewhere. You can’t be simultaneously excited about the new market in which you can sell your art, and mad that the market is so keenly focused on its ability to trade it. Is it exhausting for artists that seemingly “everything is about floor price?” I’m sure. But is there a group of Web3 participants that don’t care about floor price? Yes. Seek out the types of people you want to be around and I’m certain you’ll find them here.
Meet the Roundtable:
Ghost: Ghost is an NFT analyst at Lucky Trader. He has been in crypto since 2017, and entered the NFT space via NBA Top Shot in January of 2021 before minting Bored Apes and degenning into the broader market.
Tyler: Tyler is a high-volume NFT trader, having reached the top 100 in NFT sales revenue using NFTBank’s rankings, a Pengu maxi (in Luca we trust), and a writer for Lucky Trader. Tyler’s writing spans market analysis, news breakdowns, project ecosystem overviews, and Web3 opinion pieces.
Logie: Logan is a content lead at Lucky Trader and is best known for selling every good NFT far too early. He also maintains an irrational exuberance for clay-based NFTs.
Jason: Jason is an NFT lead at Lucky Trader. He has been involved in the NFT space since CryptoKitties in late 2017, and, like most, he lost a lot of money on Top Shot in early 2021. But nevertheless, he persists (with his Series 1 Legendary From The Top LeBron James Block).
