The Proof Is In the Pudding
In our note yesterday (“Phishing for NFT’s”) we mentioned some of the potential risks facing those who participate in the NFT ‘Art’ market, particularly in China where government warnings and likely intervention seem to have little effect on NFT enthusiasm. Proof of how ‘enthusiastic’ NFT investors are in China comes today with buyers on OpenSea (pvt) snapping up an entire collection (1,000) of what were obviously crudely drawn facial sketches posted by the “Domestically Made Conscience NFT Project”, that were listed as ‘specifically prepared for Chinese people’ with the assurance that the team behind the project ‘will not scam their fellow countrymen’, despite the project’s sole purpose being to ‘sell pictures’.
It seems that the items are now trading on OpenSea at a value of ~$537,000, while the developers have warned that they are thinking of taking the money they made and closing the project. It seems that the whole concept was to satirize the idea that almost anything can have value in the virtual world given that the sketches could be drawn by almost anyone with a few hours of art class or cartooning instruction, which went a bit more viral than expected, and while those who bought the original collection will still need to sell them before they can actually receive value for their speculation, after paying fees and conversion costs, it does point to how the virtual world is akin to 3 Card Monte, a popular NYC con around the 1980’s where the dealer used shills to excite marks into a game that was rigged and impossible to win. While NFT related headlines and endorsements from influencers and celebrities are acting as NFT shills, there is a point at which either the cops come and break up the game or somebody points to the fact that the emperor has no clothes.
It seems that the items are now trading on OpenSea at a value of ~$537,000, while the developers have warned that they are thinking of taking the money they made and closing the project. It seems that the whole concept was to satirize the idea that almost anything can have value in the virtual world given that the sketches could be drawn by almost anyone with a few hours of art class or cartooning instruction, which went a bit more viral than expected, and while those who bought the original collection will still need to sell them before they can actually receive value for their speculation, after paying fees and conversion costs, it does point to how the virtual world is akin to 3 Card Monte, a popular NYC con around the 1980’s where the dealer used shills to excite marks into a game that was rigged and impossible to win. While NFT related headlines and endorsements from influencers and celebrities are acting as NFT shills, there is a point at which either the cops come and break up the game or somebody points to the fact that the emperor has no clothes.
Partial Sketch Collection - The Domestically Made Conscience NFT Project - Source: SCMP.com
The Emperor has No Clothes - Source: The Art of Misunderstanding.org
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