Grails’ lucky dip of famous NFT artists, new hope for PFP holders: NFT Collector
Grails by PROOF Season IV
Collecting art is historically not just about the art itself but who the artist is and the story behind the piece. The emergence of NFTs as a way to attribute provenance to digital objects has seen an explosion of interest in the past few years, even if that’s currently seeing something of a lull.
The work of artists like Alotta Money, Josie Bellini, Trevor Jones, Coldie, Snowfro, Beeple, and collections such as Fidenzas and Ringers, show that digital art is here to stay, even as many pockets of the NFT space are reportedly down 95% from all-time highs.
But with the artists playing such an important role in the market, it’s been intriguing to see Grails by PROOF flip this paradigm on its head by abstracting away who the artist is. A gamification mechanic reveals between 20–25 pieces of art to 1,000 whitelisted collectors prior to a minting window — but the catch is no one knows who the artists are behind each respective piece.
This creates a special dynamic that introduces a different type of speculation about who the artist could be behind each work. Some collectors mint a piece they like purely based on their assessment of the art itself, while others take a punt on their ability to guess who the artist might be behind.
Grails was the brainchild of PROOF co-founder Kevin Rose, with the inaugural season launched in February 2022 and the first-ever reveal on March 6, 2022. Eli Scheinman, head of art at PROOF, explains the concept aims:
“To engage collectors in a way that abstracted away some of the financialization of collecting NFTs that was, and still is, in many ways so rampant. By taking away an artist’s name, it really demanded or challenged all of the collectors to really go deep and spend a lot of time with each of these artworks.”
The three seasons so far have attracted some of the biggest names in NFT land, including Snowfro, Larva Labs, Tyler Hobbs, Claire Silver, Dmitri Cherniak, Deafbeef, Emily Xie, Justin Aversano, Alpha Centauri Kid, Josie Bellini and Matt Kane. Plus, names that are lesser known for their art but have celebrity status and are involved with the NFT space, like Gary Vaynerchuk, Alexis Ohanian and Tim Ferriss.
Curtain coming up on Season IV
Season IV (4) of Grails is set for reveal on Aug. 11, with Scheinman continuing to experiment with the mechanics and double down on the storytelling and production value of the reveal.
“We try to maintain that sense of it being special and unique, so that means we’re constantly trying to iterate and improve the experience in new ways,” Scheinman says, explaining that season three had introduced the notion of a series, enabling a single artist to contribute multiple unique pieces as part of a collection.
“In season four, we’re taking that a step further in that three of the five series that are in this exhibition are true long-form generative projects using the Art Blocks engine. Those outputs, when minted, are really generated live in that moment. Whereas in the past, these were pre-curated outputs, meaning an artist would provide us with the files ahead of time, and then we would distribute those on mint.”
“I think storytelling is fundamental to connecting through a piece of artwork, and the way that we do Grails, for example, is really this fun way of playing with that notion in that you go from zero context to 100% context.”
Watch previous Grails reveals: Season 1 / Season 2 / Season 3
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What’s hot in NFT art markets
Notable sales came from Autoglyphs, Alpha Centauri Kid and Drifter Shoots.
We also saw Chinese contemporary artist Yue Minjun release his first NFT collection titled ‘Kingdom of the Laughing Man. The 999 pieces minted for between 0.35–0.39 ETH and now sit at a 0.55 ETH floor on OpenSea.
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Luca Netz claps back at idea PFP holders are doomed
Deep into an NFT bear market where volumes have tested new 12-month lows, the question that persistently gets asked by PFP collections holders is, “How does this drive value back to holders?”
Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins, clapped back at a tweet suggesting PFP holders have no stake in the enterprise and outlined why he believes PFP holders are not doomed if they pick the right project. Netz explained that “building a globally recognized brand is the best path to accruing value for the NFT holder.”
Brands that are striving to build household IP, such as Pudgy Penguins, VeeFriends and Doodles, all are diversifying their brand offerings, including real-world offerings, ensuring their IP has many more touch points outside of the NFT ecosystem.
From VeeFriends physical collector cards and multiple collaborations, including their recent announcement with Reebok for physical sneakers, to Doodles last week announcing its partnership with Crocs, to Pudgy Penguins showing up at Comic Con in San Diego in July.
Having holders to appease can be both a gift and a curse, but some founders are navigating this terrain better than others; Netz is one of those. The serial entrepreneur, who has done over $500 million in consumer packaged goods sales, took over the Pudgy project after issues with the original founding team and has arguably threaded the needle better than others.
It still remains to be seen how Netz’s masterplan plays out, but this well-thought-out thread articulates a future that many NFT collectors could get behind, validated by the 1,000+ bookmarks the thread already has.
Amazon Prime dips its toe into the Web3 gaming waters with Mojo Melee
In a small preview of what is to come, Amazon Prime has partnered with Mojo Melee to give away NFTs for its Prime subscribers.
The auto battler game is built on Polygon and played via web browsers and Android devices. The offer for Prime subscribers is set to expire in just under three weeks.
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Michael Selig, who serves as chief counsel for the crypto task force at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, faced questions from lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture Committee for his nomination to be the next chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
On Wednesday, Selig appeared before the committee and addressed questions and concerns from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle regarding his potential conflicts of interest, policy views and experience as the next CFTC chair, succeeding Caroline Pham.
In his opening statement, Selig said he had advised a wide range of market participants, including digital asset companies, and warned against the agency taking a regulation-by-enforcement approach, stating that it would drive companies offshore.
“We’re at a unique moment in the history of our financial markets,” said Selig. “A wide range of new technologies, products, and platforms are emerging […] the digital asset economy alone has grown from a mere curiosity to a nearly $4 trillion market.”
The confirmation of Selig, whom US President Donald Trump nominated to chair the CFTC following the removal of his first pick, Brian Quintenz, is expected to head for a vote soon. According to the Senate calendar, the Agriculture Committee is scheduled to discuss his nomination on Thursday.
Addressing DeFi, crypto enforcement, roles of agency
The prospective CFTC chair responded to questions from the committee chair, Senator John Boozman, who advocated for the agency to take a leading role in regulating spot digital commodity markets. The senator’s remarks came as the committee is expected to consider a market structure bill that would give the CFTC more authority to regulate crypto.
“The CFTC, and only the CFTC, should regulate the trading of digital commodities,” said Boozman.
Related: SEC’s ‘future-proofing’ push to shape how much freedom crypto enjoys after Trump
The Arkansas senator questioned Selig about his potential approach to decentralized finance if he were to be confirmed, an issue that reportedly divided many lawmakers on the market structure bill.
“When we’re thinking about DeFi, it’s something of a buzzword, but really we should be looking to onchain markets and onchain applications and thinking about the features of these applications as well as where there’s an actual intermediary involved […]” said Selig.
He added that it was “vitally important that we have a cop on the beat” in response to a question on regulating crypto, specifically spot digital asset commodity markets.
Democratic concerns about CFTC leadership
Senator Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, pressed Selig and other lawmakers on the leadership at the CFTC. Since September, acting Chair Caroline Pham has been the sole commissioner at the agency, which usually has five members. Pham is expected to resign should the Senate confirm Selig.
“The CFTC has operated much of the last year without a full complement of bipartisan commissioners, and has been operating for months with only an acting chairman,” said Klobuchar. “This uncertainty surrounding the leadership at the CFTC has only created more chaos for people who rely on the CFTC.”
Selig said it was “very valuable to have a diversity of viewpoints,” and would “work with whoever the president chooses to appoint.” As of Wednesday, Trump had not announced any additional nominations for the CFTC commissioners, leaving four open seats if Selig were to be confirmed and Pham were to leave.
Magazine: 2026 is the year of pragmatic privacy in crypto: Canton, Zcash and more
New Hampshire has approved the issuance of a $100 million municipal bond backed by Bitcoin, in what appears to be the first structure of its kind at the US state level.
Minutes from a Nov. 17 meeting of the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority (BFA), the state’s business financing agency, show the board planned “to consider approving a resolution authorizing up to $100,000,000 bonds for a project to acquire and hold digital currency.”
Minutes from the following day record that directors voted to “approve the preliminary official intent, with no reservation, to issue a taxable conduit revenue bond for WaveRose Depositor, LLC of up to $100,000,000.”
According to a Wednesday Crypto in America report, the bond is backed by Bitcoin (BTC) and would let companies borrow against overcollateralized BTC held by a private custodian. The state or taxpayers do not back the bond; instead, BFA approves and oversees a private deal, while Bitcoin — reportedly held in custody by BitGo — covers investors.
According to the report, asset manager Wave Digital Assets and bond specialist Rosemawr Management designed the bond to utilize Bitcoin as collateral under the same rules that govern municipal and corporate bonds. Wave co-founder Les Borsai said the goal is to “bridge traditional fixed income with digital assets” for institutional investors.
Related: New Hampshire, North Dakota introduce bills for Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
“We believe this structure shows how public and private sectors can collaborate to responsibly unlock the value of digital assets and digital asset reserves,” he added.
The borrower is expected to post approximately 160% of the bond’s value in Bitcoin as collateral, and if the price of BTC drops below roughly 130%, a liquidation would ensure that bondholders stay whole. According to BFA Executive Director James Key-Wallace, fees from the transaction will fund the local innovation and entrepreneurship program, the Bitcoin Economic Development Fund.
New Hampshire dives headfirst into crypto
The news follows New Hampshire becoming the first US state to allow its government to invest in cryptocurrencies in May after Governor Kelly Ayotte signed a bill allowing the municipality to “invest in cryptocurrency and precious metals.”
Related: US won’t start Bitcoin reserve until other countries do: Mike Alfred
New Hampshire is also working on a bill to deregulate local cryptocurrency mining operations. In late October, a committee voted 4–2 to send the measure for further review in an interim study after it had been deadlocked in the State Senate twice.
The local administration is viewed as particularly welcoming to the cryptocurrency industry. In early February, Brendan Cochrane, an Anti-Money Laundering specialist at YK Law in New York City, argued that it could become an alternative for crypto companies relocating to the Bahamas.
The latest moves build on a longer history of crypto engagement. Back in 2015, New Hampshire was already working on a bill that would have allowed the state government to accept tax and fee payments in Bitcoin.
The bill ultimately failed in 2016, but it shows how early the local administration began to show interest in this asset class. Additionally, as early as 2016, some advocates were already arguing that New Hampshire was among the world’s most Bitcoin-friendly communities.
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