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Leveraged Bitcoin positions got liquidated. Then it's back up, business as usual.

RT @Halko500k: The usual peak retardation and denial from the Ukrainian govt. A serious, mature country shouldn't have issues with stateme…

so I'm casually working on a piece to share my personal thoughts on the current NFT PFP market + a beginner’s guide to enjoying the "nft community)" although it's been repeatedly delayed due to extreme workload at work (lol) but here's the rough outline should this interest anyone (plz plz): tl;dr: - The NFT PFP market is almost equal to the luxury watch market (h/t @MINHxDYNASTY for the fundamental idea as usual) - Should there ever be an alt szn, demand for PFPs naturally will rise and high chance through the previous ath (I mean btc is ath right - although no one believed) - They also function as a form of leveraged investment on L1 tokens like $ETH, $SOL, and $HYPE (while it WILL go the other way around too lol) - So if you believe in the alt season, it's certainly worth looking into the old and the new Web3 IP's and how the leading mindshares are flowing around onchain (prob @KaitoAI will be also important in this cycle) - 1. Recent Trends - It seems like even crypto newcomers are willing to spend up to around 1 ETH now. - For example, @GoodVibesssClub is apparently leading this trend (will it ever "flip @doodles" now? ;)) - Of course on the lower end, there are second-tier brands of major IPs like @Azuki Elementals around 0.2 ETH. These certainly become good entry points for the newcomers in particular. - But my humble thought is that the cheaper the PFP, the less emotional attachment people tend to have to it… 😅 (again, like how you feel about your favorite watch or your luxury bags) 2. The Next Step Up - Once you're in, your standards tend to rise quickly to something like Azuki (~2 ETH) or even @HypioHL from @HyperliquidX. - I guess once your crypto portfolio passes the $10k range, you start rationalizing some of these purchases as a kind of staking - “just locking it in.” - And once you're this, you can never go back (the addiction starts lol) - For instance the @Solana lovers might pick up something like @MadLads just as a flex after making a big bag in the bull run - Especially if you’re attending a Solana event, you will see so many fire @Backpack merch too - naturally you may find yourself on @MagicEden back at home 3. At the Top - There’s @BoredApeYC, often brushed off easily, but it still has a floor price of 13 ETH (never fade the best club) - As mid-range PFPs gain popularity, the "OGs" who forgot they had these and may start looking for new ways to differentiate themselves. - But again, when you’re not interested, you’re never interested.. again just like the luxury market. (didn't mention @cryptopunksnfts because it's in the realm of the fine art history.. 👑 if you're rich enough) 4. At This Point in the Cycle... - When the market gets to this level, we’ll see a flood of knockoffs and derivatives of popular PFPs (the "weak tech" that @cdixon would say imho 😁) - You will see the cool collab managers getting extremely busy and they will probably stop replying to your dm's - This will probably be above the "shoulder" in the good ol' Tulip cycle (if it ever comes.. lol) - now for an anti-thesis: Cases where people can differentiate themselves without NFT PFPs: 1. The top KOL's and well-known figures already have instantly recognizable @x pfp's like @blknoiz06 @0xWenMoon @simonkim_nft (they don't need the NFT PFPs to boost their reputation): → Plus it's easy to make the actual custom high quality PFPs with the smart autonomous bots now 2. Info-fi projects like @KaitoAI and @cookiedotfun are already very widespread (just being ranked in one of these is enough to show off social status): → We’re already in a perfect competition era of Status-as-a-Service. 3. Even low-floor, meme coin-based communities may rise without needing expensive PFPs. - When $HYPE first surged + naturally there are symbols created for their religious activities - Also (not a long time ago but..), new meme coin ATHs like @zerebro or @itsafwog gave people effectively more fun and status boost with their new PFPs minted versus the already popular ones - Wrapping up with some other minor thoughts: - The actual image of a PFP actually matters: See Yapybara by @KaitoAI. nuff said - But of course you need some fundamental values like their actual product + robust and sustainable internal/external marketing fees based airdrop scheme - Then over the long run, at the end of the day, it really comes down to...: the people behind the PFPs. ending with a not very much verifiable and accurate point but it's really the people behind the PFP's that either make the people buy or not buy the expensive jpegs → If the leading figures in either Web3 or Web2 industries are not liking/leveraging the NFT PFPs, who will? → And if there is no demand to the NFT PFPs' 1. status-as-a-servce 2. monetary leverage points, what's the existential meanining of them? (versus just creating dope shit fine arts offline or making cool 1/1 digital arts) In other words..: - Will wee see robust & scalable tech + community + business + art (?) integration like @pudgypenguins ? - Or will more look like @KaitoAI 's dashboard-first growth playbook (and make people buy more Yapybara? lol jk) - Also, as more Web2 companies explore crypto, will they prefer to collaborate with existing Web3 IPs, or will they simply create/use their own brand IPs? - Or, even maybe moves like the @moonbirds IP sale, will we see more robust M&A etc in the seemingly "good" Web3 IP's? (would love to know what's criminally underrated if this would be the case... asking for a fren) Anyway, it become very clear again... that we're still so early. so much room for growth in the market in the industry, and... I just hope I'll be at least a foot into one when the world wants our jpegs again see you on the other side! ;)

Rudy is spot on here as usual. Bitcoin not shitcoin.

RT @petercharaf: Great insight as usual and great community as well. Glad to be part of it. Team work makes the dream work! 👍