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What Are CryptoPunks: A quick overview

What Are CryptoPunks A quick overview

Punks are an unfathomably valuable asset, a symbol of status, and a chunk of web history. Maybe they are the most significant NFT initiative ever. There is nothing as Punk in NFTs as owning a CryptoPunk.

The CryptoPunks’ journey to a non-fungible domain is intertwined with the history of NFTs and the Ethereum blockchain. The well-known epitome project, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), is directly relevant to the CryptoPunk mold. However, the mainstream media industry is still far away from roping in NFT benefits. 

CryptoPunks: An Introduction

The CryptoPunks is a collection of unique, casually drawn 10,000 characters algorithmically created in 24×24 pixel art graphics. Most CryptoPunks are digital images of boys and girls, with images of zombies, apes, and the odd alien recently blended in. 

Every Punk owns a profile page displaying their attributes and present status. In addition, specific individuals formally own the CryptoPunks on the Ethereum blockchain. 

The initial visualization was to allow anyone with an Ethereum wallet to claim CryptoPunks for free; however, it only took flash seconds to grab all the 10,000. As a result, they are now available on a blockchain-enabled marketplace for purchase. Such a marketplace allows you to bid and trade punks. 

What is happening?

Bitcoin made cryptocurrency trading famous, although creating Bitcoin was solely to transact and store Bitcoin ownership. Larva Labs uses Ethereum, a Bitcoin successor that allows random computer code to be run on the blockchain and saves the outcomes forever. This is fantastic! 

Normally, code is run on a server, and you must trust the person in charge of that server. Everyone may run the code, display the results to each other, and verify that it was proper and fair.

The existing written codes on the blockchain, by blockchain developers allow the trading of Punks with anyone in the world. The fact that nobody can control the code executing Crytopunks is an interesting part of the system. 

It is indefinitely embedded on the blockchain platform after its release, and no one can alter the codes. However, this is concerning the developers since detecting bugs is also important. But doesn’t this make the system more secure and less vulnerable to threats?

It allows the users to cross-check and ensure that only 10,000 punks exist, that stealing them is beyond imagination and that everything claimed about the code is accurate. 

Birth Of CryptoPunks

CryptoPunks, which was launched in June 2017 by-product studio Larva Labs, is one of the first NFT collections on the Ethereum blockchain, with 10,000 unique 24×24 pixel art images featuring people (male and female), apes, zombies, and aliens. Each Punk can have a unique combination of 87 attributes or traits as they are commonly known. Some punks can have no traits at all, but the most a single punk can have is seven.

“What makes CryptoPunks significant is that an organic community evolved around them. They have left their footprints as one of the inaugural NFT projects on Ethereum – and they were free to claim from the start,” according to GMoney. 

Punks slowly began, assembling a group of collectors trusting in the technological capabilities that the Ethereum blockchain had to offer, while the NFT field was far from the bustling market that it is now. 

They were first handed away for free to anyone who wanted them. Because you needed an Ethereum wallet to get one, it was only available to individuals who had already engaged in cryptocurrency.

Since 2017, CryptoPunks has evolved from a small, niche online craze to the be-all and end-all of NFT initiatives. While it was not the first NFT project on Ethereum, it is without a doubt the most influential. 

Many of those who have been strong enough to hold are now multi-millionaires, and those who were fortunate enough to buy in before the 2021 mania are some of the most forward-thinking people in the NFT industry.

Bear or Bull: The Punk market projection

CryptoPunks will surely encounter those new to the NFT space sooner or later. And when they do, they’ll realize one thing: punks are a precious commodity.

For example, Alien Punk #3100 was sold for 8 ETH ($2,127) on July 6th, 2017. This would have looked like an exorbitant fee to pay for a JPEG at the time. However, on March 11th, 2021, that same Punk sold for a whopping 4,200 ETH ($7.58M) almost four years later.

Although this is the largest Punk sale to date (for the time being), 100x flips were far from rare during the CryptoPunk bull-run of 2021. Throughout the year, Punks sold for as little as 7 ETH in the NFT community, only to skyrocket in the fall, with even the lowest accessible Punks costing over 100 ETH.

Christie’s, the auction house, deserves a lot of credit for helping to create the Punk market by introducing Punks to those who work in more traditional art locations. Christie’s organized an event for displaying a collection of nine CrytoPunks in May 2021 that sold for a jaw dropping amount of $16.9 million. This event was a follow-up to the $69 million Beeple sales in March 2021 by the auction house. 

Worth of Punks: A Status Symbol

Punks are valuable for reasons other than their price. CryptoPunks have evolved into not simply works of art but also investments and status symbols.

Owning a Punk, some believe, is like betting on the relevance of NFTs and the Ethereum blockchain, considering their history of progress and expansion alongside the Ethereum network. The majority of Punks’ early supporters didn’t come upon the initiative by chance. “You had to be there in crypto earlier on to get involved with CryptoPunks,” GMoney said.

Punks Portrayal

Punks are frequently portrayed as innovators and pioneers on social media, assuming trust and prestige. As a result, collectors have created entire acts, projects, groups, and brands based on just one Punk.

Public figures, investment firms, and even hedge funds have been flocking to the CryptoPunks race in full force, regardless of the social-to-financial value ratio. So it’s difficult to dismiss an initiative that turned collectors into millionaires in a matter of weeks.

Process for getting a Punk

If you are planning to purchase a CryptoPunk but don’t know how to start, then just follow these steps: 

  • Firstly, you need to download and install Metamask, a Chrome browser addon. This grants access to your Ethereum account to websites that you authorize. 
  • Secondly, purchase some Ether if you have recently created a new account. A built-in Metamask button allows you to purchase Ether from Coinbase.
  • Once you’ve installed the plugin, this website will detect it and add buttons to the interface that allow you to bid on, purchase, and sell punks. Punk #2524, for example, may be purchased for 67.98 ETH ($262,552.35 USD).

CryptoPunks in the Long – term

CryptoPunks is already a landmark project in the NFT sector, despite being only a few years old. For a long time, all necessary information regarding the project has been available to the public. Punks were born on the Ethereum blockchain and will continue to live there perpetually, so it’s reasonable to believe they won’t change.

Punks will always be a landmark project, which is excellent for both its founders and collectors, given the rapid growth of the NFT area. “CryptoPunks will continue to be a major pillar of the NFT community,” GMoney says. They don’t need to change or experience anything in order to seal their place in history.”

Yet, within the Punks environment, creativity is still a novel concept. GMoney, Beanie, and Punk4156, all well-known community members, have built their own distinct identities around their Punks. While these three have used their Punk personalities to gain prominence, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to monetizing a CryptoPunk.

The application of copyright law to non-profit organizations is yet uncharted ground. Creators can easily define their own collector usage thresholds based on where and how they mint an NFT, and most – including Larva Labs – choose to get an NFT license.

Furthermore, Punk owners can sell their Punk products and earn up to $100,000 every year. The drawback to this agreement is that owners are not allowed to change the art of the 24 x 24 Punk or sell third-party items with it.

Conclusion

The most intriguing aspect of the CryptoPunks quest is that it is too early in the game to properly understand the ecosystem, leave aside the applications that are yet to be envisioned. NFTs have stirred the world’s thought process about media, art, community, and consumer rights.

Given that NFTs are sometimes seen as a marginal and transient movement, it seems only natural that the space’s mascot is a punk. And if crypto degenerates govern the world in the future, branding a Punk could just be the best praise you can get.

If you are still wondering about the NFT and the whole concept, you can always look out for expert advice. However, creating self-awareness is very beneficial in the long run. Depending upon your requirements you can filter out some cryptocurrency courses and enrol in the best one. 

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Disclosing The Secrets About Metaverse Real Estate

Disclosing The Secrets About Metaverse Real Estate

“Metaverse users sold Non-existent digital land of 100’s of millions of dollars in a week.”

“Digital, real estate prices, surpass even those of the most affluent places of the world.”

You might have come across news headlines like this in the last few months. Even more, after Facebook changed its name to Meta. Now, you must be wondering what the hell is a metaverse?

Why is metaverse real estate sold at such an enormous price than most famous places on the planet?

Trust me. I was even wondering the same few months back. So, in this article, you will know more about metaverse real estate and its future.

Metaverse and its origin

Metaverse is a virtual reality space shared over the internet. You can access them from any part of the world and interact with them over the metaverse. The internet brought people from all over the world together; the metaverse will bring us closer. Many deem the Metaverse the successor of mobile internet, and now we know why.

Metaverse is not a new concept, and a 1992 science fiction novel by Neal Stephenson put the idea forward. Since then, most of us have interacted with the concept of Metaverse, be it in games like Minecraft, GTA V: online or through movies like Ready player one and The Matrix.

Within Metaverse, we can roam around, meet new people, explore new places, go to a bar, do the shopping, and even dress up as our favorite avatars, all while sitting at our desks. 

Metaverse is still an evolving concept and truth to be told. We are far from understanding its full potential as of now. But this has not stopped big corporations, like Facebook, from joining the Metaverse. 

There are multiple iterations of Metaverse, each having its metaverse cryptocurrency. All Metaverse can coexist like different countries, where users can jump from one country to the next and experience their unique benefits.

The most prominent one is Decentraland, built on the Ethereum blockchain, where you can buy land and trade NFTs using its metaverse crypto coins, called MANA. Users can hold the MANA like a stock to increase its value or purchase Avatars and other experiences on the metaverse. As of writing this article, each land packet is worth millions of MANA.

How does a land obtain value if it is existing virtually?

The Internet can be infinite, but a metaverse is not. There are several virtual 3D worlds but of defined sizes. Thus the supply of real estate and land is limited. However, more can be added later.

The underlying concept of limited supply is similar to Blockchain. Say 20 million bitcoins are issued for distribution. Once the amount is accomplished, there will be no extra addition. Hence due to its supply scarcity, it continues to drive its value.

Decentraland, built on top of a metaverse blockchain, has only 90,000 plots of land, with each plot measuring 2704 sq. ft. They auctioned all the properties between 2017-2018. But increased interest in the metaverse has opened up a new secondary auction for the plots of land and has pushed the prices to new highs.

What is driving the Metaverse real estate price?

Similarly, all metaverses have seen a jump in the plots price tags and a big jump in the daily active users. So, let us see the seven factors that are driving up the Metaverse Real estate prices.

The prices of plots work on the concept of rarity. You can increase the number of metaverses, but the number of plots of each metaverse will remain the same. The idea is like an NFT or Bitcoin. Unlike regular currency, there can be only 21 million bitcoins that we can mine. So, this scarcity in numbers helps in increasing its value.

The prices of our physical real estate depend on the location. The same goes for virtual reality plots. Big corporations are jumping to build malls, tourist attractions, concerts, and other social gathering venues like the shopping district. The gathering of many virtual users increases the traffic of the places and helps drive the price even more.

For example, I can buy a plot of land and build a shopping mall to display my NFT artworks. It will increase my plot’s traffic and improve its overall value.

As humans, we all have a significant Fear Of Missing Out. News of each land sale fetching millions of dollars has made people jump on the bandwagon. Undoubtedly, it also increased the secondary market value of the plots in the virtual reality space as first buyers are selling their plots more than their initial price.

With the emergence of Covid-19 and the restrictions, people worldwide are having virtual interactions. Metaverse allows us to have real-life interactions with others in real-time using technologies like VR headsets and 5G connections. We can hang out with our friends in our NFT avatars, shop, and even attend music concerts. 

  • No Regulations

When you buy a plot of land as NFT, you have the right to build any property, rent it, give and deny access or even charge an entrance fee. You can even sell the land without even going to the land office. Just list the ground in a marketplace, and you can digitally swap it with cryptocurrency, which the blockchain will deposit in your metaverse wallet.


You can even build a skyscraper in your land without going through a land regulation office, and none of the physical limitations apply to it. The possibility is endless of what you can do on a metaverse.

  • Investment by big corporations

Recently multiple big corporations are jumping into the metaverse. Atari, a video game company, partnered with Decentraland to open its first virtual casino. Republic Realm, a metaverse real estate investment firm, bought the largest-ever land purchase on the metaverse for nearly $1 million to build a virtual mall. 

Recently, Travis Scott’s concert was hosted on the virtual reality game Fortnite and saw 12 million players attending it. Since then, there have been such concerts and events in the metaverse. All of these are creating hype around land prices.

  • Immersive experience

Metaverse is best experienced when we combine it with commerce. Companies can set up virtual stores for their brands, and people can interact and have an immersive 3D experience of the product before purchasing. Without a doubt, it will eliminate the hesitation people feel while buying products online.

Industry leaders like Facebook, Apple, and even Microsoft have joined the race to be a part of the metaverse. The prices of metaverse real estate will keep rising as long as people use it for the creative interaction, purchase, and sale of NFTs.

How to get a piece of the pie?

Imagine you bought a piece of land in the 1900s in Times square. Now guess the current market price of that piece of land. The price is invaluable. The same will happen to the plots of land on the metaverse.



Before buying a piece of land follow these steps:-

  • First, you need to select the metaverse. 
  • Go through the underlining blockchain technology and the market caps of the metaverse crypto. 
  • From here, the task is simple. You can use real-life currency to buy into the metaverse crypto coin for the blockchain and then go through the auctions to buy your first plot of digital land.
  • These plots of land are like a combination of currency and stocks. You can exchange them for the metaverse crypto coin or hold on to them to increase their value.

Can metaverse real estate be utilized for some other purposes?

Transferring the ownership of assets has become a safe and secure process due to the invention of blockchain technology. Here is what owners of virtual real estate can do with it:

  • Construct malls, restaurants, etc – either yourself or by leasing virtual land developers
  • Organize professional or cultural gatherings
  • Run companies or rent the estate to other businesses
  • Mortgage land for an alternative source of revenue
  • Re-sell the territory for a profit
  • Design adventure parks and go on journeys.

Conclusion

By now, the clues are evident that the metaverse is here to stay, and it is the next big thing after the mobile internet. The community controls the metaverse and gets incentives to participate in the decision-making process. Clearly, it leaves the metaverse free from the clutches of big corporations and governments.

But all of this comes the massive energy consumption, as one transaction over Ethereum can use the energy of five US household uses in a day. There is the risk of hacking and money laundering, which can be solved by using cryptocurrency security. As the metaverse is evolving every day, we hope to see all of these concerns will be looked after as it will encourage more and more people to be a part of it.

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