Virginia Valenzuela

PICKING THROUGH GARBAGE: THE EVOLUTION OF ROBNESS

What do frogs, trash cans, and Punks have in common? They’ve all been burned and elevated by one artist so committed to the social and cultural power of art that he’s influenced the very meaning of what it means to be infamous. One of the most wide-ranging and influential artists in the world of crypto art, ROBNESS has been a part of this ever-growing community since its early days and has made significant contributions that have shaped the scene into what it is today. From his experimental digital art pieces to his infamous ’64 gallon toter’ that challenged artistic boundaries in a decentralized network, ROBNESS has been at the forefront of defining what art can accomplish when paired with blockchain technology.

But one of the biggest challenges for artists, especially those that approach or achieve critical acclaim, is balancing reputation with experimentation. For “The Golden Age” exhibition, ROBNESS revealed a new style of art that bridges the tactile and the digital. Using digital tools to add creases, rips, and fade, his artwork “MA’MORTE AND CHILD” looks like one that has been crumpled up, perhaps thrown into the garbage bin, and found anew by a lucky passerby.

In this interview, we dive deep into his journey as an artist in the crypto world and gain insight into his creative process and experiences creating art in a new and untested terrain.

VIRGINIA VALENZUELA: A lot of people are familiar with your digital artworks, from Pepes to toters to glitch. What kind of work were you making before you got into digital art?

ROBNESS: AS FAR AS PHYSICAL WORK? MOSTLY IT WAS ATTACKING CANVASES AND DOING ABSTRACT TYPE OF WORKS IN BETWEEN BAND PRACTICES IN A STUDIO I USED TO RENT OUT. I HAVE BEEN DOING DIGITAL ART OFF/ON SINCE I WAS 7 YEARS AND UP. I ALWAYS JOKE THAT MY FIRST FORAY INTO DIGITAL ART WAS USING AN ANCIENT MICROTEK SCANNER AND TRYING TO EDIT MAGIC CARDS TO SEE IF I COULD COUNTERFEIT THEM. I DIDN’T GET INTO CANVAS STYLE WORK UNTIL MUCH LATER, EVEN ACTUALLY AFTER I GOT INTO MUSIC AS WELL.

VIRGINIA VALENZUELA: I know that music, and specifically album covers, were an entry point for you as a young person getting interested in art. How does music fit into your artistic practice today?

ROBNESS: MUSIC GOES COMPLETELY HAND IN HAND IN MY PROCESS. MAINLY, IT’S ALWAYS ON WHEN I’M WORKING. I HAVE A WEIRD CONNECTION WHERE I ALMOST PICK CERTAIN GENRES OF MUSIC I FEEL AT THE TIME FIT THE VIBE I’M GOING FOR. FEEL LIKE IT GIVES ME A RHYTHM IN THE WORKFLOW. SOMETIMES I’LL PUT ON SOME 90’S ELECTRONICA, BEBOP JAZZ, VAPORWAVE, CLASSIC ROCK, FUNK…..ANYTHING THAT AESTHETICALLY FITS THE OVERALL FEELING AT THE MOMENT WHILE I’M WORKING VISUALLY.

VIRGINIA VALENZUELA: There is a lot of humor in your work, both in the feelings you conjure up for the viewer and the titles you play with for the pieces. Yet, some of the topics of your work are extremely serious, like censorship and the financial system. How do you strike a balance between making statements with your work and at the same time keeping it rather joyful?

ROBNESS: IT’S FUNNY YOU MENTION THE HILARITY ASPECT. PERHAPS IT’S MY INNER SKEPTIC OF MOST THINGS AND I NATURALLY HAVE TO POINT OUT THE ABSURDITY OF WHAT I PERCEIVE. IT’S ALSO A COMPLIMENT AS WELL, PRIMARILY BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE IT’S A TRADITION OF ALL ARTISTS FROM THE PAST TO IMBUE THE WORK WITH COMEDIC ELEMENTS, ENSURING THAT WE DON’T TAKE LIFE TOO SERIOUSLY. MAYBE THAT’S PERHAPS WHY THAT PENCHANT EXISTS FOR MANY? AS FAR AS BALANCE IS CONCERNED IT’S ALWAYS A CHALLENGE, REALLY DEPENDS ON THE CONTEXT OF THE WORK. SOMETIMES YOU CAN BE ABSOLUTELY AND GROTESQUELY BLATANT, OTHER TIMES YOU MIGHT HAVE TO REALLY BURY IT INSIDE THE WORK FOR IT TO NOT TURN YOUR PIECE INTO SOME FUTURE ROTTEN MAC & CHEESE, YOU KNOW….THE PIECES THAT ARE JUST TOO ‘ON THE NOSE.’

VIRGINIA VALENZUELA: Everyone knows about the SR/Toter chapter of your career, so I won’t bore you with an easy question on that. Something I’d love to know is: Why was it so important to you to stress test the NFT community at that time?

ROBNESS: TRUTH BE TOLD, I WASN’T REALLY LOOKING FOR IT. PERHAPS MY PENCHANT FOR A FREE AND OPEN PLACE TO CREATE ART BEYOND ANY CENSORSHIP BOUNDARIES SLIPPED INTO DOING LITERALLY EVERYTHING WRONG ON THE SUPERRARE PLATFORM. HOWEVER, WHEN THE IDEOLOGICAL ROADBLOCKS BEGAN AND JUDGEMENTS FROM THE COMMUNITY ON MY SPECIFIC STYLE OF ART EMERGED, MY INNER JOHN LYDON I GUESS CAME OUT AND JUST SAID ‘F IT, I’M GONNA TRASH THIS PLACE.’ AT FIRST THE JOKE DIDN’T GET ACROSS….OR MAYBE IT DID I DON’T KNOW. BUT I MADE SURE MY STATEMENT WAS MADE WITH THE 64 GALLON TOTER BEING A BLUNT DIGITAL MESSAGE. SO YEAH, IT WASN’T REALLY INTENTIONAL….NOW THAT I LOOK BACK ON IT IT FEELS LIKE A NATURAL COURSE OF EVENTS FOR THE SPACE TO GROW.

VIRGINIA VALENZUELA: You have been called a “disrupter” by many writers both inside and outside the NFT art space. I think of you as being more open-ended, like a question with an infinite amount of answers. How would you describe yourself?

ROBNESS: MERCURIAL. I REALLY DON’T CONSIDER MYSELF A ‘DISRUPTER,’ PRIMARILY BECAUSE IT SETS ME ON A COURSE WHERE I’LL HAVE TO KEEP DELIVERING THAT SET OF EXPECTATIONS THROUGH MY FUTURE WORKS. IF I FEEL I HAVE TO MAKE SOME WORK IN A CONCEPTUAL/DISRUPTIVE WAY I’LL DO IT, SOMETIMES I JUST WANT TO CREATE BEAUTY OR PERHAPS A ZEN ELEMENT TO THE WORK. AS OF LATE I’VE REALLY BEEN GRAPPLING WITH THIS AND NOT TRYING TO BE A BROKEN RECORD, ALWAYS TRYING TO STRIVE FOR SOMETHING NEW. IF PEOPLE EXPECT ME TO BURN AN NFT FOR INSTANCE, I PROBABLY WON’T DO IT JUST BECAUSE I’LL FEEL IT’S JUST TOO PREDICTABLE.

VIRGINIA VALENZUELA: I can tell from previous interviews that you have some fond memories of the earlier days of cryptoart, like finding the Fake Rare community or artworks minted on Rarible circa 2018-2020. What did you like about that time?

ROBNESS: QUITE SIMPLY, THE SLOW GROWTH OF FRIENDS I’VE MADE OVER THE ENTIRE PLANET. SOMETIMES I’LL BE WORKING AND I JUST THINK THERE’S NO TIME IN ART HISTORY WHERE REALLY THIS TYPE OF MOVEMENT COULD GROW LIKE THIS. THE SPEED OF INFORMATION TRANSMISSION, COMBINED WITH CRYPTOART JUST CREATED THIS VAPOROUS SCENE ACROSS THE WORLD AND IT’S PROBABLY ONE OF THE GREATEST HIGHLIGHTS OF MY LIFE.

VIRGINIA VALENZUELA: A lot of people are leaving the NFT community now that there are fewer eye-popping sales and less money in the space overall. Do you think that this shift will affect the way people create? If so, how?

ROBNESS: IT’LL SHIFT FOR THOSE WHO WEREN’T REALLY IN HERE FOR THE RIGHT REASONS, AND I CAN SEE IT CLEAR RIGHT NOW. A LOT OF ARTISTS THAT ARE REALLY IN THIS THING HAVEN’T FALTERED AND REMAIN CONSISTENT. SOME OF THE MORE SUCCESSFUL ONES (DISAPPOINTINGLY ENOUGH) HAVE SLOWED THEIR PRODUCTION. IT SEEMS LIKE THEY MIGHT BE AFRAID TO REDUCE THEIR PRICE POINTS ON THEIR ART DURING THE BEAR MARKET PHASE, WHICH I THINK IS KIND OF LAME BUT TO EACH ITS OWN.

VIRGINIA VALENZUELA: I read that you were actually living in your car before you got into crypto, and long before you found a way to make your art a source of sustainable income. What did you learn from that experience that you hold on to to this day?

ROBNESS: FAITH. FAITH, AND MORE FAITH. IN MY DARKEST PERIODS OF HOPELESSNESS, I’D DRAG MYSELF OUT OF THE CAR, GRAB MY RUNNING SHOES IN THE TRUNK AND GO RUNNING ON THE BEACH BEFORE EVERYONE ELSE AROUND WOULD WAKE UP. I’M A GOD FEARING MAN BUT NEVER WENT THE ROUTE OF THE CHURCH AND ALL THAT. I WOULD PUT ON GOSPEL CHOIRS AS I RAN IN THAT 5:30-6:00 AM MORNING, TO THIS DAY I’M NOT SURE WHY. IT GAVE ME STRENGTH, TRULY DID. THE SMELL OF THE OCEAN AIR CLEARED MY LUNGS, AND THE MUSIC CLEANED MY SOUL, IN A WAY. AN ODD BONUS WAS I GOT TO FINALLY SEE WHAT GAVE ELVIS THAT SPECIAL GIFT OF ROCK N ROLL. IT ALL STARTED FROM GOSPEL MUSIC….

Art

Light in the Darkness: Illuminations of Color with Nacho Frades

When I first entered the NFT space in July of 2021, I hadn’t fully grasped why anyone would buy a work of digital art. Even if blockchain technology could authenticate the original, what kind of person would spend tens of thousands of dollars on something you couldn’t even hold in your hands? Flashing GIFs, strange 3D beings, and photography made without realism in mind seemed far out of reach, especially for those prices.

But one day, while scrolling through the pages of the curated NFT platform that had hired me to help build their art magazine, I came across something colorful, personable, and strange. The artwork, titled “CAUTION,” featured sharp angles brought to life by playfully contorted lines. There was a ladder melting in the corner, a cardboard box in the foreground, and out through the doorway, the whisper of an alley. The style reminded me of the great surrealist painter Giorgio de Chirico, who famously wrote “What is especially needed is great sensitivity: to look upon everything in the world as enigma.” This painting, and the following 100 or so that I looked at on this artist’s profile, are indeed within the realm of enigma.

The artist that captured my interest, and who truly helped me understand why anyone would buy a JPEG, is Nacho Frades.

“En realidad, la escena que pinto es una excusa para iluminarla.”

Nacho was born in Madrid in 1967 and quickly found expression through art. His talent eventually led him to animation; one of the few ways for artists to make a living at that time. “La animación fue lo que más se parecía a pintar,” he told me on a video call. Animation was the thing most similar to painting. “La parte mía fundamental era lighting, o sea, iluminación.” The part that was most fundamental to him was lighting, or rather, illumination.

The way Nacho uses light is one of the reasons I was so drawn to the work. Not only the mastery of it, but the playfulness. In the same way Nacho invited wavering lines and enigmatic versions of ordinary objects, he also gave light permission to operate a bit differently in the scenes he creates.

“En realidad, la escena que pinto es una excusa para iluminarla,” he said. “Puedo pintar cualquier cosa porque lo que me importa es cómo funciona la luz ahí.” For Nacho, the scene he paints is an excuse to create a space which he can illuminate. For this reason, he can paint anything, because the thing that interests him most is how the light functions there in the space he has created.

It comes as no surprise then, that so much of Nacho’s work explores shadowy nighttime scenes brought to life with neon signs, street lights, lamps, and occasionally, stars. In works like “Turtle” and “Content,” the artist adds on layers of color to find out what lies beneath the surface of the canvas. Much like the American novelist Flannery O’Connor who wrote “in order to find out what [she] knew,” Nacho uses light to reveal unexpected characters, like a rat drunk and slumped over a bar, or a chair sitting all by itself looking up at a screen. The light bulb illuminates, and he captures what he sees.

“La luz y el color no son lo mismo,” he interjected. “Con el color se puede conseguir luz, pero el color no es luz. En el iPad y todo eso si es luz, pero no se pinta con luz. Se pinta con color. Lo único que tienes es la paleta de colores, no tienes más.”

The artist quickly points out that light and color are not the same. With color one can get light, but color is not light. On the iPad and all those other tools, yes, it [this creation] is quite literally made of light, but it is not painted with light. It is painted with color. The only thing you have is the color palette. You don’t have anything else.

Nacho creates much of his work at night, when the world is dark and quiet. He is nocturnal, and oftentimes remains awake, and his painting takes the place of sleep. “Yo soy muy nocturno,” he told me. “Entonces, muchas noches me quedo pintando en vez de dormir, me quedo pintando y con la casa en silencio, en la cama con el iPad, la música, y tal no puedo pedir más, no puedo estar más a gusto. Y que más quiere, digo nada, porque yo lo tengo todo.”

With the house encased in silence, in bed with the iPad, music, he couldn’t be more comfortable, he couldn’t ask for more. What more could you want? He says nothing, because in these moments, he has everything. Darkness and light, brought together by music, color, and the stillness of a Spanish night.

Art

2 months ago Art by : Virginia Valenzuela

We are the Revolution: an Introspective on Street Art, Crypto Art, and Our Place in History with Mr Richi

What is crypto art? Everyone has their own definition. Which is funny, because there are some who say that crypto art is whatever the f*ck you want it to be. Not unlike street art–and here I’m including everyone from the teenagers in the Bronx in the 1970s to the Mexican muralists of the early 20th century to the degens who leave their names in bar bathrooms with Sharpie–it is an alternative to the way things “should” be done. With gatekeepers, refinery, and fancy napkins, I mean.

If you spend as much time on crypto twitter as I do (you’re reading this, so I assume you do), then you have no doubt encountered beautiful, historical masterpieces tagged up and born anew by the hand of Mr Richi. His iconic street art style combines vibrant colors, cheeky social commentary, and never ending layers of stories embedded in each corner of his art. With one hand, he reaches back into the past to help us reimagine the creations of the great masters. With his other hand, he pushes us forward into the future, each step immortalized on the Ethereum blockchain.

But taking a moment to enjoy the now, Mr Richi spent some time talking to 79Au about his work, his vision, and his optimism for the crypto art space, and beyond.

Virginia Valenzuela: Your work has a lot of imagery packed within it. Any artwork feels more like a collage of many individual artworks sewn together into a tapestry that one can stare at forever and still find little surprises. Can you tell me a bit about your signature style and how it came to be?

Mr Richi: It’s a bit difficult for me to define my style precisely because of the various influences. It is essentially a fusion of things I love and things that have made a strong impact on me and my art – a splash of street art, a dash of punk, pop art aesthetic, all wrapped up in the spirit of crypto art. Simple stories do not exist, you can find as many layers as you like in a story if you are willing to dig deep enough and interpret them to your liking, and that is what I am trying to show through each artwork and the use of numerous elements.

Fun fact is that some people actually do think that I use collage as a technique and are honestly surprised when I explain to them that it’s not my creative process.

Virginia Valenzuela: I can tell from your art that you love color. What is your relationship with color and what draws you to use the vivid colors that illuminate so many of your works?

Mr Richi: Thank you for noticing that, love. I did a lot of graphic design prior to my blockchain era and learned to appreciate the importance of colors. Picking up a right color combination has the power to transform creation in most extraordinary ways. Bold, vivid colors somehow work best with the messages I want to tell and in my vision crypto art should be exactly that, a strong, raw, vivid art message that you can’t ignore. The choice also probably has to do something with personality as well, as I am not exactly what you would call the calmest person in the room.

"Today people don’t want to go to the streets so we are bringing art to the screens to which all of us are attached so digital art can no longer be ignored."

Virginia Valenzuela: You have described yourself as an artist who brings street art to the blockchain. There are many obvious ways in which your art hearkens to street art, including the pop culture references, the combination of imagery and text in classic graffiti fonts, and the layers of pen marks and stickers that one might see on an advertisement. What are some of the not so obvious relationships between street art and digital art in the NFT world that you aim to explore through your art?

Mr Richi: Really glad you asked that. Street art and digital art on blockchain have a much stronger connection than people think. They both, in their nature, disrupt the traditional art paradigms and old ways. Being open and essentially limitless in ways you can share your art with the world, they are a challenge to traditional exclusivity. They represent empowerment of the artists and redefine how we perceive art today. I like to play with that rebellious aspect that both have and put it to the spotlight through my artworks.

People didn’t want to go to museums so artists brought art to streets where it couldn’t be avoided or ignored. Today people don’t want to go to the streets so we are bringing art to the screens to which all of us are attached so digital art can no longer be ignored.

Virginia Valenzuela: Much of your art draws on famous paintings from centuries past, like the “Mona Lisa” or “Venus on the Half-Shell.” What about historical paintings interests you, and what is your main aim in recreating them in your iconic street art style?

Mr Richi: I have always been fascinated by the mastery and depth in those pieces as they are as close to the craft perfection as it gets and represent imagery and symbols that you have seen so many times that they are imprinted somewhere deep in your brain. Art and this world constantly evolve so it’s like a playful challenge for me to take something that is created with such excellence and transform it into a rebellious artwork, imagery of today, a message that will entertain you and make you think about reconsidering traditional concepts about art and life.

Virginia Valenzuela: Something I love about your work is your ability to create unique standalone pieces as well as series. I’m thinking of “The Gamblers” series on SuperRare or the “All-Star Supper” on Async. Can you tell me about how you come up with ideas for projects and what gets you excited to create?

Mr Richi: I spend a lot of my time with our beautiful and weird crypto art community so the inspiration comes from the struggles, wins and events we experience on this crazy journey. “Money Laundering” and “The Gamblers” were references to the well-known stereotypes about NFTs – that they are nothing but money laundering and gambling. “All-Star Supper” was a hat tip to important figures in the space.

The collection that I will be dropping this October, “Venus de Crypto: Defender of the Metaverse” is a comic book-style collection of 120 different art stories inspired by the crypto art world and NFTs and is something I am really excited for because it will also include a way for the collectors to take the stories further through inscriptions. I jokingly like to say that I chose 120 as the number of artworks because that is how many people are left here and each of them deserves to have a personal story turned into art.

Virginia Valenzuela: Finally, I’d love to hear about your piece that you are exhibiting with us in “The Golden Age” at Superchief. We gave you permission to try something totally different from what you usually create, to ignore the demands of collectors and to listen to your heart. What did you end up doing and what choices are you most proud of in creating this piece?

Mr Richi: I was genuinely excited when we started talking about it, thank you for gathering this amazing lineup of artists. Every artist loves and needs freedom in creation, we thrive on that. I wanted to go with something iconic and make it extra raw and trashy, give it a true voice of crypto art as I see it.

The piece is called “Just Hodl It” and it’s a sort of an electric battle cry in the fight for an open metaverse and crypto art’s place in it, a big, sincere and vivid message to keep us going where we are headed to.

We are here, we are the revolution and nothing can stop this.

Editorial

4 months ago Editorial by : Virginia Valenzuela

The Art of the Work in Progress

In an age where digital creativity is flourishing, showing your work in progress has taken on a whole new meaning, especially in the realm of NFTs. These distinct digital footprints have created a thoughtful conversation for artists and collectors alike. But why should you be interested in sharing your work in progress, and how can this benefit both artists and collectors?

What is a Work in Progress?

Throughout the history of art, artists often shared their works in progress with close friends, patrons, or fellow artists to gather feedback or showcase their skills. Seeing an idea transform through multiple sketches has been a draw to art lovers for centuries, which is why exhibitions have sometimes featured an artist’s final works alongside the initial drafts.

With social media’s dawn, this process has become increasingly social, allowing artists to share their evolving pieces with a global audience of friends, patrons, and strangers alike. Platforms like Instagram and Twitter have created opportunities for visual artists to engage with their followers by showing incremental progress of their work. They can also talk through their concepts and provide context and inspiration that adds even more value to the final works.

The Role of the WIP in NFTs

In the NFT world, as in the traditional art world, most of our attention goes to the final artwork. The journey from concept to completion is often lost. However, a work in progress can often be just as powerful and meaningful as the completed piece.

And it is not always the end product that conveys the artist’s vision and creative process. Sometimes it is the steps taken along the way. “It’s a temporary oddity that the NFT world treats process like a secret formula while it’s a common discussion in contemporary arts,” Patrick Amadon, a painter and glitch artist wrote on Twitter. “Feel free to ask artists, it’s important information.”

With NFTs revolutionizing digital art, the work in progress has become even more relevant. We can’t see brushstrokes, layers of paint, and other discernible details of craft. It takes time and effort to understand the difficulties that digital, generative, and AI artists overcome in the process of making art.

The work in progress can help bridge this gap, giving us a better understanding of the creative process and bringing us the full story behind an NFT. It helps strengthen trust between collectors and artists, with both sides seeing how much thought, research, and skill went into each piece. Showing artworks in progress allows us to appreciate how an artwork has evolved, giving insight into what inspired it and why certain decisions were made.

The artist duo MABLAB also expressed on Twitter the importance of sharing “your work process and how the medium plays a role in delivering your message, the ideas and influences behind your work, some of the technical and intellectual aspects that construct the concept of your work,” as an important part of being an artist.

And for many digital art creators, the WIP serves as an opportunity to engage with their audience. Some artists use polls to ask their communities for input on which version of a work they should mint.

Sharing Value with Collectors

A WIP provides artists with an opportunity to not only monetize their creative journey but also to create a sense of closeness with collectors. They can watch the art evolve and feel that they’re a part of it. It makes the artwork and artist more memorable, creating a greater emotional attachment with the collector.

At the same time, collectors can feel that they are receiving something of value in return for their purchase. They get to be part of the creative process, sharing in its success or failure as it develops. This provides them with a sense of ownership and helps build trust between creator and collector.

It Pays to do the Work

The life of an artist is one filled with challenges, achievements, and lots of work. When a collector acquires a final artwork, they are buying years, decades of trial and error, of experimentation, of mixing colors and pushing through the trenches. The WIP not only acknowledges this work, but also brings it to life in illuminating detail.

Many successful artists share their processes, whether in diaries or in social settings. It’s this self-reflection that helped them to become so successful. So don’t be afraid to share. Embrace it, post it, and find that sweet spot between working and sharing that pushes you to be the most inspired artist you can be.

Ready to get started as an artist or collector on Mint Gold Dust? Check out our Metamask start up guide to get started. Ready to start minting? Apply to talk with our curatorial team today.

Editorial

5 months ago Editorial by : Virginia Valenzuela

The Way to Regulation is Through Exchanges, Not Currencies

When governments talk about regulation, many people in the crypto industry get worried. While I think most of us want to see intelligent and thoughtful laws put into place to make the industry less susceptible to fraud, we also want to know that these laws are being written in good faith. When it comes to crypto — an industry whose intricacies are as exciting to those who understand them as they are enigmatic and contentious to those who don’t — regulation will not be easy.

Just last week, a judge concluded that XRP did not meet all of the criteria to be considered a security, giving the crypto market a much-needed confidence boost. Even so, this ruling does little to clear up the status of other crypto assets (PEPE coin anyone?). And with Alex Mashinsky’s arrest earlier this month, the memory of Celsius’ potentially fraudulent activity and SBF’s incredible flight from justice serve as painful reminders that the crypto industry needs to change.

Because the current state of government moves so slowly, blockchain has escaped any major regulation since Bitcoin was first launched in January of 2009, which has led to major innovations occurring in a relatively small amount of time. However, the lack of regulation has also resulted in major losses, namely widespread theft, scams, and fraud. Not only have businesses and individuals been hurt, but crypto’s bad press might lead to a possible slowing down of crypto adoption as fear, uncertainty, and doubt overshadow all of crypto’s potential.

The Future of Regulation

In general, wherever cryptocurrencies are legal, they are subject to anti-money laundering regulations and taxes. But in light of recent events, many regulators are beginning to take an even more aggressive approach to crypto.

This Monday, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) issued a report sharing its recommendations to provide a more cohesive and consistent regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies worldwide. They want to protect investors and individuals, promote responsible innovation, and perhaps most of all, safeguard the integrity of the financial systems that underpin our society.

In 2022, 3 Arrows Capital went bankrupt after Luna and Terra collapsed, Celsius went bankrupt after a possible pump and dump scheme initiated by rumors that Sam Bankman Fried would be buying out its assets, and the crash of FTX became one of the most eventful scandals in crypto history.

Then in 2023, we witnessed widespread bank failure, especially those associated with the crypto industry. With regulators picking through the rubble under the collapses of Signature, Silvergate, and Silicon Valley Bank, and UBS rescuing Credit Suisse, the ghost of the 2008 Great Financial Crisis is weighing heavily on many industry experts’ minds. While one cannot ascribe cause and effect to the events of 2022 and 2023, it is clear that the financial institutions of the world, both crypto and traditional, are intertwined.

Indeed, the legitimacy of the banking sector—and moreover, the legitimacy of crypto exchanges—is coming under fire, leading many to wonder what steps world governments will take to make the pain go away, both in the short and long term.

The Current Problems in Regulating Cryptocurrencies

Many crypto industry professionals have argued that not all digital assets fall under the definition of a security, and that the SEC should instead write new rules to tackle issues in the crypto sector. The biggest conflicts at present are, firstly, that there is no consensus on what to label these assets, and secondly, how existing regulation for securities, commodities, and property tries to force cryptocurrencies into a narrow definition that does not fully reflect the asset’s complexity.

Kelly LeValley Hunt, founder of Mint Gold Dust and investor in all things web3 since 2014, told me over the phone that tackling cryptocurrency regulation is an insurmountable task that looks at the situation from the wrong angle. “Each currency has its own flavor, so it’s difficult to put them all in the same group,” she said. “The different currencies are going to be used for different things, and they’ll be used differently in different parts of the world. We need to start to adjust to that.”

“We don’t need regulation for crypto, but for the people who handle crypto. The exchanges should be regulated not dissimilar to how we regulate banks.”

Kelly LeValley Hunt

The use cases of cryptocurrency are much more diverse than fiat, or traditional paper currency. Not only can it function as a store of value, a unit of account, or a medium of exchange—though these uses will likely come later as volatility lessens—but it can also represent membership in a group, enact voting rights, or unlock future airdrops of digital assets. And that doesn’t even begin to take into account the differences between fungible assets (like bitcoin and ETH) and non-fungible assets (like NFTs), the latter of which does function, at times, as digital property.

Furthermore, we already have examples of how countries regulate fiat currencies across borders, and that is through the exchanges. “We don’t need regulation for crypto,” LeValley Hunt added, “but for the people who handle crypto. The exchanges should be regulated not dissimilar to how we regulate banks.”

Regulation: Rules and Realities

There are several features of bank regulation that are attractive to the crypto industry, namely, community investment, insuring a certain amount of funds, and other consumer protections. However, some are antithetical to how blockchain works.

Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that has offered us a new way of conducting business and viewing the world. Bitcoin, the first and perhaps most well-known cryptocurrency, was launched right after the Great Financial Crisis, and its pseudonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto clearly stated in the genesis block that Bitcoin was intended to be in direct opposition with traditional finance.

Not only would it require all transactions to be transparent, accessible, and immutable, it would also allow users to access the network trustlessly, or without disclosing any personal information. For this reason, any attempt to enforce KYC requirements, for example, could in effect stifle the progress of blockchain-based marketplaces, as people who value privacy will likely leave the marketplace entirely.

But another element of compliance would be for crypto exchanges to set up data centers that maintain all of the information of the network. “Right now, when you regulate a bank, the bank has to be up and running, their data center has to be up and running 5 9’s,” LeValley Hunt said. “That means, 99.999% of the time. This is what the regulators dictate in the United States.”

According to the C&C Technology Group, a data center will consume 1,000 kWh per square meter in order to maintain their servers. Multiply that by the area of a single data center, then consider the fact that most banks have at least two “hot,” or physical data centers (a primary and a backup), and one “cold” one on the cloud, and you can imagine the amount of energy needed to power just a single bank or exchange.

Which is not to say that this should not happen. In fact, blockchain technology has become a driving force in the adoption of green energy, as it is often cheaper and thus better for crypto industry players’ bottom line. It is entirely possible that this move could bear fruit for both regulating crypto exchanges and lowering harmful energy consumption.

Moving Crypto, and the World, Forward

Without meaningful and tailored regulation, the crypto industry will continue to be a breeding ground for bad actors, scams, and avoidable financial catastrophes. Privacy, sovereignty, mobility, and decentralization are the foundational tenets of blockchain technology.

Therefore, any actions made in the pursuit of regulating crypto must keep these ideals in mind if they are to succeed, because compromising these ideals could in fact lead to the destruction of the industry itself. It would leave us with a shallow imposter whose characteristics are all too similar to the traditional finance world that blockchain aims to leave behind.

Blockchain is not necessarily a panacea to the problems we are witnessing in the banking sector, but many of its features certainly lend themselves to improving how we secure our assets in a way that has never been seen before. Namely, transparency would allow for an open conversation about what assets exchanges are investing in and what activities they are engaging in.

“In 20 years, the exchanges will be our banks,” LeValley Hunt said. And if that is indeed the way forward, then more exchanges might have to take Coinbase’s lead and bite the bullet now, before it is too late to build the trust and consumer loyalty they need to survive.

Ready to get started as an artist or collector on Mint Gold Dust? Check out our Metamask start up guide to get started. Ready to start minting? Apply to talk with our curatorial team today.

Editorial

7 months ago Editorial by : Virginia Valenzuela

The Amazing Tale of Pepe: From Meme to Cryptocurrency

Anyone who has heard of the recent Pepe Coin bull run is either dancing in their insane profits or kicking themselves in the butt for not getting in sooner. The latest meme coin launched two weeks ago. Amazingly, it has already landed itself into the top 100 cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of $540 million.

This development has pushed meme coin darlings Doge and Shiba Inu to the side. Perhaps it’s the novelty of something shiny and new. Or perhaps it is the culmination of 2 decades of cultural capital.

Who is Pepe the Frog?

Pepe the Frog is a cartoon character created by artist Matt Furie. He became one of the most well-known memes on the internet in the 2000s. The green frog wearing a mischievous expression became a symbol for internet subculture, referenced across a range of social platforms and forums including MySpace and 4chan.

After a hard turn to the alt right, Pepe took on new life when Rare Pepe scientists reclaimed the famous amphibian as a crypto degen. In 2016, artists mined the first Rare Pepe NFTs onto the Bitcoin protocol via Counterparty. And thus, another subculture was born and solidified on-chain.

Pepe means a lot of things to a lot of people, but as far as crypto goes, Pepe is as intrinsic to the culture of the space as a white paper is to a blockchain protocol.

What is a Rare Pepe?

Rare Pepes are digital trading cards depicting Pepe the Frog in various scenarios. Some combine Pepe with other icons of popular culture like Homer Simpson or Pokemon. Others feature Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin, and other crypto-related symbols and references. The scarcity of these unique digital assets contributes to their value as well. Each Pepe card has specific qualities that one can see directly on the artwork. Artists can also decide how many editions of the artwork to mint.

Collectors traded these early NFTs on a Rare Pepe Wallet in exchange for Pepe Cash. Both the wallet and the cryptocurrency were developments from the Pepe market, or Pepesphere.

Soon, Rare Pepe NFTs attracted wider attention from the cryptocurrency community. Some artists began to create their own versions of Rare Pepes to trade amongst themselves.

Rare Pepe Scientists wanted only verified artworks to be shared with their community on Telegram. This felt stifling to some artists, especially since the blockchain ethos included individual sovereignty. Pepe Scientist J Scrilla revolted, posting his unverified Rare Pepes until the community kicked him out. Scrilla then created his own Rare Pepe channel, and invited other artists to do the same.

The concept of a Fake Rare emerged, and naturally, the Fake Rares became a huge phenomenon all its own. Artists would post Fake Rares in the Pepe Scientist channel, get kicked out, and join Skrilla’s community of Fake Rares.

Pepe Cash

As interest in Rare Pepe NFTs grew, so did speculation about their future value, with some in the community even debating whether the assets could become a form of digital currency. In this context, the Pepe Cash coin was created as a cryptocurrency utilizing Pepe the Frog as its mascot. Pepe Cash runs on Counterparty and is required to transact Rare Pepes.

Pepe Cash has consistently been one of the most traded digital currencies on Counterparty. Plus, the value of Pepe Cash has increased significantly in recent years. Some attribute this growth to social media attention surrounding the Rare Pepe phenomenon.

Auctions on Mint Gold Dust

Mint Gold Dust has sold many Rare Pepes over the years. Most notably, they placed a $500,000 Rare Pepe Nakamoto Card with Metakovan at the NFT.NYC 2021 happy hour. He is also the buyer of Beeple’s, Everydays: The First 5000 Days.

Their live auctions at ETH Denver and NFT.NYC in 2022 featured even more Pepes. Artists included Gus Grillasca, Veto Grillasca, Mr. Hansel, J Scrilla, and several anonymous creators. Furthermore, Mint Gold Dust has featured Rare Pepes at every single live auction they’ve hosted since their inception.

The Rise of PEPE

PEPE coin, which is different from Pepe Cash, launched in mid-April, and has already risen like a green and grinning meteor. The price has been extremely volatile, and some are saying it’s arrived at a stage of correction. However, for the people who have already made hundreds of thousands of dollars on a meme, it illustrates an interesting shift in the crypto world. Many critics of NFTs say that they are made for speculative purposes and nothing more. This meme coin surge could actually direct speculators over to the altcoin market, leaving NFTs for more serious collectors. Or maybe not.

The connection between Pepe the Frog and the cryptocurrency world has ignited the imagination of collectors and traders alike. It has revealed the potential for memes to take on a life of their own in the digital world. Whether or not PEPE coin, Pepe Cash and Rare Pepe NFTs will continue to rise in value remains to be seen. But it is clear that Pepe the Frog has cemented its place in both internet culture and the world of digital assets.

Ready to get started as an artist or collector on Mint Gold Dust? Check out our Metamask start up guide to get started. Ready to start minting? Apply to talk with our curatorial team today.