Latest Checks - VV Edition News

Jack Butcher tweeted reveals for Opepen Set 003 and Set 004, and both are now live for opt-in.

The Deets

• 003: Full Circle is by @batzdu.
• 004: Consensus is by @visualizevalue.
• The opt-in window closes Monday at 6 p.m. ET.
• You can opt in to one set per Opepen, but not both with just one.
• Both are already significantly oversubscribed, far surpassing the 200% minimum threshold.
• Metadata will be revealed on Monday.
• As an added bonus, batz's Opepen holders will each be airdropped Bong Rip Opepe next week.

❗ Why It Matters

Opepen PFPs are on fire, and it feels like the focus is squarely back on Jack now. Jack has taken his time to get things right with the drop mechanics, utilizing a unique opt-in mechanic to allow users to "choose" which Opepen packs they are a part of.

This Opepen release also comes amidst the backdrop of the Checks Elements auctions at Christie's over the past week and on the heels of today's Meme Card #103 card drop, "Don't Trust, Check." from @jackbutcher, so there are many in the space that are paying attention to and keying in on Jack's ecosystem right now. Perhaps the recent revival in the appetite for art and the merciful end of memecoin season have been contributing factors too.

📊 By the Numbers

And the Opepen floor is surging now after the market clearly likes Releases 003 and 004.

The floor is up to 0.9 ETH, up almost 30% on the day pic.twitter.com/rnqJJS2odI

— TylerD 🧙‍♂️ (@Tyler_Did_It) May 26, 2023

🎤 Community Quotes

Trying to get GF to leave dinner so I can sweep another 30 Opepen before 1ETH and she’s just enjoying her tiramisu 😅

— Flywheel ⌐🆇-🆇 (@flywheelfund) May 26, 2023

🧠 Learn More

• Opt-In? Opepen Drops 001, 002 Coming Soon (April 28, 2023)
• Butcher Expands On Opepens Mechanics (April 18, 2023)

Jack Butcher is releasing "Checks Elements," an innovative 152-piece collection of physical monoprints paired with on-chain non-fungible token counterparts, slated to go on auction at Christie's.

The Deets

• The collection is titled "Checks Elements," based on classical elements: Earth, Fire, Water, and Air
• Six tiered releases, including Alpha, Order, Isolate, Composite, Compound, and Complete
• Initial auctions for Alpha Elements: Earth, Air, and Water commence at Christie's on 5/16
• The remainder of the collection becomes available on 5/23, Checks day 100, with successive auctions starting 5/24
• Checks, Opepen, or V/V 1:1 holders earn an Infinity Check bidders edition NFT for each auction tier they participate in

The Bulk

Checks Elements, the innovative project that pairs physical art with digital counterparts, is bringing a 152-piece collection to the public. Titled "Checks Elements," the collection revolves around the classical elements - Earth, Fire, Water, and Air - and brings them to life through stunning monoprints and their corresponding NFTs.

The collection is arranged in six tiers, all multiples of the original four elements: Alpha, Order, Isolate, Composite, Compound, and Complete. Each artwork in the collection is a generative piece on Ethereum, hand-drawn and then reproduced via a Mailander 202 lithographic printing press, following the algorithmic instructions inherent to the NFT.

The first auctions for Alpha Elements: Earth, Air, and Water will begin this week at renowned auction house Christie's, with 30 percent of the proceeds going to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. The remaining collection will be made available 24 hours after the Christie's auctions close on 5/23, marking the 100th day of Checks.

❗Why It Matters

Jack Butcher continues to innovate on top of the Checks ecosystem, this time bridging the digital and physical worlds with an on-chain NFT and physical print as well. While the ecosystem has lost some of its shine during the depths of an NFT bear market, Butcher and team continue to build out Checks and Opepen. 

📊 By the Numbers

The Checks collections, Originals and Editions, are down 22 and 32 percent respectively over the last month. The collections hold floor prices of 0.32 and 0.42 ETH. 

🎤Community Quotes

🔜What's Next?

Keep an eye out for the start of the Checks Elements auctions on 5/16 at Christie's. The remaining collection will be available for bidding starting from 5/24, Checks day 101. You can explore more here. 

🧠 Learn More

• A Comprehensive Guide to Jack Butcher's Ecosystem

Jack Butcher announced that Opepen will utilize an "opt-in" mechanism and drops 001 and 002 will take place soon. 

The Deets

• Opt-in system for drops 001 and 002
• Generous 48-hour window to participate, expected to open this weekend
• Reveal set for early next week
• Unsold art will be withheld, new pack developed

The Details

Opepens will utilize an opt-in system that allows potential buyers a generous 48-hour window to participate. This opt-in system aims to give everyone a fair chance to acquire the new NFTs.

The reveal for these drops is planned for early next week. If either pack is not sufficiently subscribed (with the percentage to be determined), the art will not be dropped and a new pack will be developed instead. This ensures that the NFTs maintain their value and exclusivity.

❗️Why It Matters

The long-awaited Opepen PFPs are just around the corner at this point. While the market seeks something new and fresh, Jack Butcher continues to push the envelopes of project delivery, utilizing a unique opt-in mechanic to allow users to "choose" which Opepen packs they are a part of. Unfortunately, sometimes the added complexity can work against a project if it's not easy for the participants to understand. 

🎬 Take Action

Stay tuned for more details on Opepen's NFT drops and be prepared to opt in during the 48-hour window starting this weekend.

🧠 Learn More

• Butcher Expands On Opepens Mechanics

Jack Butcher announced a snapshot is coming for Opepen holders tomorrow, Apr. 21 at 7:00 p.m. ET. 

❗Why It Matters

Yesterday we broke down the thread by Jack explaining the upcoming evolution of the Opepen collection and how each collection is meant to "reflect the ideas of the infrastructure on which they are built permissionless creativity and value exchange, networked art, experimentation, and a solution to the cold start/blank page problem that many experience." To kickstart that experiment, Jack will take a snapshot of holders tomorrow. 

The Deets

• Opepen packs to be released in 200 drops
• 80 Opepens revealed per drop
• Provably random algorithm
• Metadata changes on existing tokens
• Checks Originals holders prioritized

 ❓Q&A

Jack answered a few community questions in the response to his initial tweet:

• Q: If someone only holds one Opepen they can still get a 1/1?
  • A: yes
• Q: Is a lower digit serial number better or that doesn't matter?
  • A: "Serial doesn't affect assignment, but will be preserved"
• Q: Is the snapshot tomorrow for all 200 drops or just for the first one?
  • A: "all 200"

💰 Money Talks

The Opepen collection has been mostly stable over the last 30 days, up only one percent to 0.36 ETH at the time of writing. 

🧠 Learn More

• The Opepen Revolution
• A Comprehensive Guide to Checks by Jack Butcher

Jack Butcher expounded on the mechanics of Opepen's upcoming evolution as part of an expansive tweet thread 🧵 spanning yesterday and today.

❗ Why It Matters

While Jack Butcher made it clear last month that the Opepen PFP project had no official timeline, crypto Twitter's current fascination with the recently launched $PEPE token makes now an ideal time to revisit his open edition dedicated to Pepe the Frog, "the internet's most prolific memetic character."

What It Means

As far as the mechanics go, Opepen packs will be released in 200 drops, with 80 Opepens revealed at a time and then selected to undergo a metadata change (in true @jackbutcher fashion), until it achieves the supply of 16,000 (16,000/80 = 200).

Notably, there are selection multipliers in place that will prioritize Checks Originals holders, who will receive better serials and earlier reveal odds.

The Details

A summary of the takeaways, in the words of Jack Butcher:

• 200 drops ("200 collections within the collection")
• 80 Opepens revealed per drop ("as we release each pack, 80 opepens will be selected and revealed")
• Provably random ("via a provably random algorithm (will open source in the thread here shortly)")
• Metadata changes on existing tokens
• Checks Originals increase the likelihood of your Opepen being revealed in an earlier, lower number drop ("with some selection weights applied to checks originals collectors")
• $0.

🎤 Founder Feedback

🧠 Learn More

• Jack Butcher Sheds Light on Opepfps (March 16, 2023)
• Jack Butcher Sparks Conversation, Opepen Change (February 20, 2023)

Blur farming has been a hot topic ever since the exchange's token drop last month. A common criticism of this new "reward-farming" meta that Blur has brought to the forefront has been the "shitcoin-ization" of NFTs, with no premiums placed on aesthetics or rarities as collectors look to farm collection rewards. Last night, Jack Butcher responded by taking steps to protect his Checks collection from Blur reward farming.

🔎The Details

Butcher hosted a poll last night, asking his followers whether they'd like Blur bids to be enabled or disabled on the collection. The poll results showed that over 58% of Checks holders would prefer Blur bids be turned off, with only 23% voting in favor of Blur bids (18% abstained). This change will be applied to the Editions contract only, and there is another poll now live to determine whether the experiment will last for 24 hours or one week at first. On the matter of Blur bidding, Butcher himself said he has "no strong opinion, but the feedback has been very loud from people who have supported the project from the beginning."

🎤 Community Feedback

🧠Learn More

• Jack Butcher Sheds Light on Opepfps
• Checkpoint: A Collective Pursuit of the Black Check

Jack Butcher shared a detailed thread with more information on the underpinnings of the Opepen PFP. 

The Deets

Though nothing is final, Butcher did tip his hand at a few details for the upcoming PFP:

• Checks ownership will not be a requirement, but ownership will be considered where it is the case. 
• Opepens will not influence Checks supply or burn mechanics. 
• Opepens will not be rushed and there is no official timeline. 

❗Why It Matters

The upcoming PFPs resulting from Opepens could represent a really unique development in a time in which major PFP brands are flailing. Moonbirds, Clone X, and Doodles are commonly cited as brands losing a grip on web3 and prices reflect the trend of sentiment surrounding the projects. Butcher has seemingly built the opposite in the last few months with Checks and Opepens, essentially free mints that hold values rooted in permisionless systems and innovation. If done right, could Opepfps fill a void left by the former blue chips? 

🎤 Founder Feedback

Checks holders can get tickets here: tokenproof.xyz/event/gasoline-checks

The Tessera team rolled out a tool called Checkpoint, which allows collectors of Checks to work together for the black check, according to announcement made by co-founder @andy8052.

❗ Why It Matters

Jack Butcher's Checks have led the way in the "gamified open edition" meta that has dominated the NFT space over the early part of 2023. The vaunted Black Check is the top-level grail, requiring the burning of 64 single Checks or 4,096 total Checks NFTs. No single Black Check has been created yet.

Several DAOs had been rumored to be forming to try and accomplish the feat, but no solutions like Checkmate had yet materialized (until now). 

The Deets

• Checkpoint is built on top of @tessera, and any Checks collector can deposit and withdraw their Checks on the app (checkpoint.tessera.co).
• Checks of all types can be deposited, and users will be awarded a value based on the total number of Checks merged to get that one.
• Once the contract achieves the required 4,096 Checks, it will merge them into the Black Check.
• After the Black Check is generated, users will be able to redeem their Raes* and gain ownership over the Black Check in the Tessera vault (tessera.co).
  • *Rae is short for the plural form of Tessera (Tesserae) and is a type of NFT that represents collective ownership and governance of a vaulted NFT.

🎤 Founder Feedback

🎤 Community Quotes

🧠 Learn More

• checkpoint.tessera.co
• tessera.co
• A Comprehensive Guide to Checks by Jack Butcher
• Morning Minute | How Checks 300x'd in 30 Days (February 3, 2023)
• What's New With Tessera ft. @andy8052 (December 9, 2022)

• • Yuga Joining Bitcoin Ordinal Party
  • Doodles Drops Alpha
  • NFT Power Rankings: Apes Remain King

Yuga Joins the BTC Movement 😱

Question 1: Yuga Labs made a buzzy move on Monday, announcing TwelveFold, a 300-supply experimental generative art collection on the Bitcoin blockchain. Thoughts on the move, as it relates to 1. Yuga as a company and 2. BTC as an emerging NFT chain?

Logie: I personally don’t think this means much for Yuga Labs, particularly given its “we’re just going to do random stuff that we think is cool” attitude. However, I do think Yuga’s willingness to participate and experiment on Bitcoin means a lot for the NFT collections there. If Yuga, the most important ETH NFT company comes to your territory, doesn’t it sort of legitimize or validate it? I can see that argument. 

Ghost: I think it’s exciting to see Yuga experiment with new tech / emerging sectors in the space, and reminds me of Google having ‘X’, which they call a “Moonshot Factory”. It’s good to let innovative people cook on different ideas! I don’t think it means a ton for holders of other Yuga assets, other than the company further spreading its wings. 

In terms of BTC, I think it’s absolutely huge. There are still a lot of people in the NFT space that feel Ordinals are a fad, but Yuga releasing a collection there will definitely open some eyes and give some more legitimacy to the BTC NFT movement. 

Jason: Logan is spot on. This means almost nothing for Yuga Labs, but it means a lot for Bitcoin’s emerging NFT ecosystem. If Yuga Labs is willing to participate in that ecosystem, it grants it credibility, even if the participation is certainly (sorry, folks) a cash grab. 

Tyler: This move for Yuga? I really want to call it a cash grab from a company desperate for some revenue streams after their 2nd 100k land sale was cancelled and the price of $APE tanked after land sale 1. But have you seen their royalty numbers in the Blur farming era? They’re raking it in. So they prob don’t need the cash (that bad).

As for Bitcoin, I think it will be a net negative. BTC maxis still aren’t adopting the movement. No one in the crypto world even cares that Yuga is launching a project on Bitcoin. Where are the headlines and press? Literally zero awareness. What will happen is a lot more scammers launching projects on Bitcoin in the coming days and weeks to cash in on this craze, and when the dust is settled, 99% of the NFTs on Bitcoin will be worthless.

Cash Grab Concerns 💰

Question 2: Let’s stay on this Yuga news — what are your price predictions for the TwelveFold auctions? We’ve also seen some negative sentiment on the announcement, calling this a ‘cash grab.’  Are those concerns valid, or unfair?

Logie: Yuga will grab plenty of cash from this, but I don’t think this is a prototypical cash grab. The team already expressed this is purely an experiment and users shouldn’t expect anything but “art.” 

As far as prices go, I don’t see any reason why these won’t fall in the 3-5 BTC range right out of the gate. People have been waiting to spend their hard-earned BTC on something…here you go.  

Ghost: I’ve heard 3-5 BTC estimates (which is mind-blowing), so I’ll stick with that. In regards to a cash grab — I couldn’t feel more strongly against that sentiment. I am all for companies trying new things, and an auction format allows the market to set the value. If Yuga were selling these at a super-high fixed price, that would be another story — but they’ve been very explicit in saying that this is just a generative art project and has no further utility. 

If collectors still see the value and want to pay for it, I don’t see the issue. Are companies not allowed to release new products without being labeled a “cash grab”? 

Jason: I read ahead and answered ahead… this is a cash grab. Yuga Labs likely had no plans to launch a Bitcoin-based NFT prior to the Oridinal Punks run-up. This doesn’t benefit Bored Ape Yacht Club holders in any way, unless the team uses the funds to further the brand. Either way, it’s a cash grab. Usually when you hear, “users shouldn’t expect anything but art,” from a team, it’s because the project has no future plans. When that “art” is coming from a company, especially when it is associated with a new NFT trend, it’s a cash grab. Sorry. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have done it; I’m just calling a spade a spade. 

Tyler: Autoglyphs are what, 250 ETH? That’s my price target. 10-20 BTC. Load up the wagons for the auction on Friday (or whenever it happens). The whales are already loading up. But good luck selling them to someone for a higher price in the future.

As opposed to answering the cash grab question here, I want to ask Yuga a question: What is this Bitcoin NFT launch going to do for my bags? How am I going to profit from this? I don’t see my path to make a return on this trade, and that’s why I’m pissed off.

Digging into Doodles 🔎

Question 3: Doodles announced this week that all Genesis Box NFTs will contain ‘rare or exclusive items,’ with a DoodleMap also on the horizon as the team vows to ramp up communication. Floors surged briefly on the announcement before retracing back. What are your current thoughts on Doodles, and what does the project need to deliver for a successful 2023?

Logie: Doodles has reached this PROOF-like pinnacle of success at which point, nothing it does well will be “good enough” and the bad stuff will be magnified as SUPER bad. In an ecosystem so heavily driven by speculation and sentiment (with seemingly no fundamentals to rely on) – that seems like a really slippery place to be. And unfortunately, despite a successful deployment of the Dooplication and transfer of Doodles 2 wearables to Flow, sentiment is just super poor around the brand. I think success in 2023 for Doodles is delivering a usable Doodles 2 Beta and continuing to build good partnerships – but even if everything is executed appropriately, I think it’s unlikely we’ll see the floor price go up a meaningful amount. 

Ghost: I agree with Logie — certain projects (especially ones that held super high floor prices in the Bull Market) seem to have reached an inflection point where it’s extremely difficult to meet the expectations of holders that may be down significantly on their initial investment. Doodles feels like it falls in that camp — and I don’t really know how you turn that around without some sort of significant value transfer to holders, which is harder than ever to accomplish. Focusing on delivering value to the OG Doodles and letting things trickle down to the rest of the ecosystem would be my blueprint for 2023. 

Jason: How many times has the Doodles team suggested it was going to ramp up communication efforts? I feel like I hear this once every, uh, six months? Coincidentally, it seems to be every time Doodles says anything about its plans.

Tyler: Doodles is dead in the water and likely facing a Gutter Cat Gang price arc at this point. The millions of people who need to adopt Doodles 2 to make Doodles 1 and the Genesis Boxes valuable are nowhere to be found and likely years away from being here. And without Doodles 2 reaching mainstream adoption, all of their plans seem to fall apart. The art alone is probably worth a 1-2 ETH floor price so that’s my current price target.

Plant Your Flag ⛳️

Question 4: Let’s do a more open-ended question here. What NFT project, art collection, ecosystem, etc. is capturing your attention right now? Spill the alpha, or plant your flag on a conviction play!

Logie: I’ve been slowly but surely paying attention to the advancement of some web3 games. Last year was supposed to be the year of play-to-earn, and it really fizzled out. But now things might be starting to reach a tipping point. Dookey Dash was a raging success, Parallel Alpha is moving into a Closed Alpha, and now Unity is leaning into web3? I’m not a gamer - but this is a definite area of intrigue for me. 

Ghost: I’m a Jack Butcher maxi now. Checks are probably my highest conviction feel since Bored Apes — and even at these prices, I still think they are a sleeping giant. We’ve seen a ton of premium rarities like color bands and gradients getting scooped up, and all it’ll take is one or two parties going for the coveted Black Check for some serious supply shock to hit. I also love the lack of execution risk, as the art resonates with the space and has already been meme’d and derived into the canon of web3. 

Jason: This almost feels like a joke in early 2023, but I’m not kidding: Cool Cats. The new branding and direction are exactly what this project needed, and a focus on storytelling allows the team to stick its fangs into the attention economy without breaking the bank. Plus, Cool Cats is an affordable collection now. Laugh all you want, Cool Cats made plenty of mistakes, but it is finding its stride here in 2023. 

Tyler: Coinbase and Base, Introduced. I loved the move this week from the Base team to evolve the metadata in a Jack Butcher-esque move. It showed me two things: 1)they have plans for the NFT and it’s not just a POAP and 2) they’ve been paying attention to the big players in the market and what’s successful. I love it. I hope 1M of these things mint; I will still be bullish on them.

Oh and before I go - Pudgy Penguins. We are inevitable.

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).