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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.

Protoglyph
Protoglyph by Larva Labs from Season 1 Grails. (OpenSea)

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.

Her by Josie Bellini (Source: OpenSea)
Her by Josie Bellini (OpenSea)

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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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.

Creation by Alpha Centauri Kid
Creation by Alpha Centauri Kid sold for 23.69 ETH ($44,400). (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.”

NFT Value Accrual Funnel
NFT value accrual funnel laid out by Luca Netz (X (Twitter))

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.

Comic Con
Pudgy Penguins at Comic Con (X)

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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Greg Oakford

Greg Oakford

Greg Oakford is the co-founder of NFT Fest Australia. A former marketing and communications specialist in the sports world, Greg now focuses his time on running events, creating content and consulting in web3. He is an avid NFT collector and hosts a weekly podcast covering all things NFTs.

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Nvidia boss defends AI against claims of bubble by ‘Big Short’ investor

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Nvidia boss defends AI against claims of bubble by 'Big Short' investor

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang has told Sky News the AI sector is a “long, long way” from a Big Short-style collapse.

Speaking outside Downing Street following a roundtable with government and other industry figures, the head of the world’s first $5tn company defended his sector from criticism by investor Michael Burry.

Mr Burry and his firm, Scion Capital, gained notoriety for “shorting” – betting against – the US housing market ahead of the 2008 financial crash.

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He was portrayed by Christian Bale in the 2015 film The Big Short, which also starred Steve Carell, Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling.

Earlier this week, filings revealed Mr Burry has now bet against Nvidia and on social media, he has suggested there is a bubble in the sector.

Some $500bn was wiped off technology stocks overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, Bloomberg reported.

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Speaking to Sky News, Mr Huang said: “I would say that we’re in the beginning of a very long build out of artificial intelligence.”

Christian Bale portrayed Michael Burry in the 2015 hit film. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Christian Bale portrayed Michael Burry in the 2015 hit film. Pic: Reuters

Defending his company and investment, Mr Huang said AI is the first technology that requires “infrastructure to be built” and that Nvidia has seen “great returns” from AI, and that is why it is expanding.

Mr Huang said better training of AI has led to much “better” and “useful” answers, and that means “the AIs have become profitable”.

“When something is profitable, the suppliers want to make more of it, and that’s the reason the infrastructure build out is accelerating,” he added.

Pushed on whether he was worried about a situation like the Big Short, Mr Huang said: “We are long, long away from that.”

The UK government is betting big on AI in the hopes that it can save money by using it and generate growth by building the infrastructure to back it up.

Asked if she was worried about the market, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told Sky News: “I have no doubts that AI is going to transfer all parts of our economy and our public services.”

Mr Burry and his firm, Scion Capital’s bets against Nvidia and other companies were revealed by regulatory filings earlier this week.

The investor also posted on social media for the first time in more than two years, warning of a bubble.

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Concerns have been raised about the market surrounding AI, and the growth many companies are experiencing.

Nvidia is the largest producer of the specialist computer chips that are used to train and use AI models.

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‘Hope won’: London mayor Sadiq Khan compares newly-elected New York mayor to his leadership

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'Hope won': London mayor Sadiq Khan compares newly-elected New York mayor to his leadership

New York has followed London by choosing hope over fear in electing Democrat Zohran Mamdani as its new mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan said.

Mr Mamdani, 34, defeated former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa to become the city’s first Muslim mayor and the first of South Asian heritage.

London mayor Sir Sadiq drew comparisons to his own 2016 victory as he congratulated Mr Mamdani, who will become New York’s youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on 1 January.

Sir Sadiq Khan. Pic: PA
Image:
Sir Sadiq Khan. Pic: PA

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Sir Sadiq called it a “historic campaign”, adding on X: “New Yorkers faced a clear choice – between hope and fear – and just like we’ve seen in London – hope won.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson also congratulated Mr Mamdani, telling Sky News: “I wish him well.

“It’s a wonderful job to have secured.”

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Green Party leader Zack Polanski said Mr Mamdani’s success “will resonate throughout the world” as he called it a “story where no one is left behind”.

“It’s time to write that story across England and Wales too,” he added.

Zohran Mamdani with his wife, Rama Duwaji. Pic Reuters
Image:
Zohran Mamdani with his wife, Rama Duwaji. Pic Reuters

Mr Mamdani’s victory was a setback for Donald Trump, who had thrown his weight behind Andrew Cuomo, a former Democrat running as an independent.

The mayor-elect described himself as “Trump’s worst nightmare” and said New York had shown “a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him”.

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The US president had threatened to cut federal funding to New York if Mr Mamdani won.

In his victory speech, Mr Mamdani said: “New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and as of tonight, led by an immigrant.

“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.”

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Badenoch calls for government to ‘get Britain drilling again’ as Starmer flies to COP30

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Badenoch calls for government to 'get Britain drilling again' as Starmer flies to COP30

Kemi Badenoch is calling for the government to “get Britain drilling again” – as Sir Keir Starmer heads to COP30.

The Tory leader has launched a joint campaign with the Scottish Conservatives to demand the moratorium on new oil and gas licences is lifted.

They are also calling on the chancellor to scrap the energy profits levy – an extra 38% tax on North Sea oil and gas profits – at the upcoming budget on 26 November.

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The Conservatives want the government to recognise that it believes gas will be a key part of the future energy mix to secure energy and lower bills to “deliver a stronger economy”.

They have launched the call to “get Britain drilling again” as the prime minister flies to Brazil for the COP30 summit after he reiterated the government’s dedication to clean energy goals and the UK’s role as a global climate leader on Tuesday.

He admitted COP30 would present a “challenge” due to slow global progress in cutting emissions, but said: “I’ve thought climate change has been our biggest challenge as a species for a very long number of years now.”

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Trump’s ambassador tells UK to drill for oil

Speaking on a visit to Aberdeen, Ms Badenoch said the UK, in particular northeast Scotland, is facing an oil and gas “emergency due to the anti-growth policies of the Labour government in Westminster and the SNP in Holyrood”.

She warned the offshore oil and gas sector “risks disappearing altogether”, which she said would mean job losses in Scotland and the rest of the UK, and leave the country more reliant on overseas energy imports.

Ms Badenoch said: “Scotland, and the whole United Kingdom, faces a growing oil and gas emergency thanks to Labour’s inability to put our national interest first.

“By the end of Labour’s first term in office, it’s not inconceivable that Scotland’s oil and gas sector will be at serious risk, with domestic production currently set to half by 2030.

“That would be a shocking indictment of Labour’s energy policy, and a dangerous act of economic self-sabotage.

“Enough is enough. Keir Starmer must find the backbone to ditch Ed Miliband’s Net Zero fanaticism, which is forcing up bills and driving away industry.

“Instead, the prime minister should do what our economy needs, scrap the energy profits levy and end the moratorium on new licences in the North Sea.

“If the Labour government fails to act, we could be witness to the end of our domestic energy security as we know it.”

North Sea oil exploration platforms lie in the Cromerty Firth in northern Scotland in 2003. Pic: AP
Image:
North Sea oil exploration platforms lie in the Cromerty Firth in northern Scotland in 2003. Pic: AP

A Labour Party spokesperson accused Ms Badenoch of “doubling down on the same failed Tory energy policy that caused the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation”.

“The Conservatives’ anti-growth, anti-jobs, anti-investment position on clean energy would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, leave Britain reliant on insecure expensive fossil fuels and lock families into higher bills for generations to come,” she added.

“It’s the same old Tories, with the same old policies. It didn’t work then and it won’t work now.”

There have been a series of oil and gas closures this year.

Grangemouth, Scotland’s only oil refinery, stopped processing crude oil after a century of operations in April, with 430 job losses.

The union Unite said political leaders had “utterly failed” the workers and would face “electoral wrath”, while the area’s Labour MP, Brian Leishman, said he was “disgusted” by the broken promises.

Harbour Energy, the UK’s largest oil and gas producer, cut 250 jobs in Aberdeen in May, blaming the government’s fiscal rules and regulations.

The Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire ended production in August, with 125 job losses, after the group went into administration and the government was unable to find a buyer.

In October, oil and gas contractor Petrofac, which employs about 2,000 people in Scotland, filed for administration, but its core operating subsidiaries and North Sea business have continued to trade as normal while it looks at restructuring or selling.

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