“Art is not a thing, it is a way”, said the American writer Elbert Hubbard. For Bitcoin (BTC) artists, the path is inspired by Bitcoin, its code, its philosophy and its imagery. In some cases, he even draws inspiration from memes. For some bitcoin artists, bitcoin has become a “lifestyle,” fueling the way they do business, accept payments and interact with customers.
Cointelegraph asked Bitcoin artists what inspires them about the 13-year-old invention of Satoshi Nakamoto, and whether minting a non-mungible token (NFT) would complement their “way” of making art. After all, an NFT is a unique digital receipt that proves ownership of a purchase and resides on a blockchain. Wouldn’t artists want to prove that the work they are working on is theirs?
Lena, a bitcoin artist who recently moved from Germany to the crypto-friendly city of Dubai, started creating, painting and printing bitcoin artwork after immersing herself in bitcoin in 2018. She says she was very skeptical originally on cryptocurrencies, but bitcoin changed it. to him and eventually he took over. It now operates a “maxi-style” bitcoin wallet:
“My mindset changed and I started working on myself, thinking about what I should do with my life because of bitcoin. Bitcoin has become like a lifestyle, so I should put all my savings in bitcoin. »
When speaking to people in the crypto community, she explains that she is a bitcoin artist, and these people ask him, “Oh, so you make NFTs?”. And her answer, she told Cointelegraph, is usually: “No! Physical art!”.
“OpenSea is full of this weird art that doesn’t look like art – I mean, art always depends on the person, but that was too much for me.”
However, countless artists make their living by creating AI artworks and selling or mining them as NFTs on platforms like OpenSea. The biggest stories of 2021 were about “cartoon chimpanzees” – Yacht Club’s Bored Ape – and CryptoPunks, images or other digitally created works of art.
In the bear market of 2022, the hype around NFTs would have evaporated. But big brands such as Starbucks are jumping on the bandwagon, while luxury jeweler Tiffany sparked a 1,700% rise in transaction volume following the NFT move in August.
When asked if FractalEncrypt (an anonymous bitcoin artist) would release an NFT for his art in the future, they told Cointelegraph, “Absolutely not.” FractalEncrypt sculpts a large, tall and time-consuming Bitcoin full-node structure that it has hidden in locations around the world:
The Complete Bitcoin Node Sculpture, A Cypherpunk Chronometer.
Delivered #5 of 10 yesterday & wanted to compile a GIGA-THREAD with photos, videos, explainers and podcasts all in one place
Let’s go back in time and down the rabbit hole and see #1 -4 pic.twitter.com/8IcGnl0tyE
— FractalEncrypt ∞/21M (@FractalEncrypt) March 29, 2021
The statue Bitcoin Full Node, Stopwatch cypherpunk. Issue 5 was hand delivered yesterday and I wanted to compile a GIGA-THREAD of photos, videos, explanations and podcasts in one place. Let’s go back in time and down the rabbit hole to see questions 1-4 pic.twitter.com/8IcGnl0tyE — FractalEncrypt ∞/21M (@FractalEncrypt) March 29, 2021.
“I created NFTs in 2017/18 and the deeper I investigated, the more uneasy I became. They seemed inherently fraudulent to me, and continuing down that path would make me a crook in my eyes. »
FractalEncrypt explained that the connection between the art and the sign was “persistent at best and outright misrepresentation/fraud at worst”. They compare the issuance of NFTs to the issuance of tokens by centralized companies, which can be problematic, even controversial.
But that doesn’t mean that FractalEncrypt has given up on NFT technology from the start. Like Lena, both artists were curious about Ethereum-based technology when it first appeared:
“An artist who issues an NFT token and sells it to others in the hope that he will eventually appreciate in value is able to issue securities. »
In fact, Wikipedia explains that “an NFT is a financial security composed of digital data stored in a blockchain. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is targeting certain cryptocurrency projects during the bear market. At the same time, the case between the SEC and Ripple (XRP) regarding the latter’s XRP token is raging.
BitcoinArt, who chose to remain anonymous, is among the few bitcoin artists Cointelegraph spoke to who have also dipped their toes into the world of NFTs. He told Cointelegraph that he had successfully sold a few NFTs of his bitcoin-related works, but he didn’t like the medium or the concept:
“I made some amazing bitcoin images and wasn’t sure how to hit them and someone told me to make a mint on OpenSea unfortunately they use ETH … the middle man. I hate ETH.”
A recurring theme at this point, BitcoinArt prefers to have one-on-one interactions with potential customers; he enjoys the back and forth that comes with discussing pieces of art.
Lena also prefers the personal approach; she engages with her clients and spends hours sketching, painting and perfecting the clients’ visions. According to Lena, the time spent on her art is a reflection of proof of work, the consensus mechanism underlying the Bitcoin protocol. She told Cointelegraph that the process of creating a work of art is unique and limited – just like bitcoin – so there is no need for NFTs. Here, Lena makes a statement with one of her pieces:
FractalEncrypt poked fun at the “strong time priority culture” that is very present in NFTs. In fact, many of CryptoPunks biggest supporters were quick to pledge their allegiance to BAYC before jumping on the first shiny new collection.
Also read: NFT Art Galleries: The Future of Digital Artwork or Another Cryptocurrency Fad?
Bitcoin, on the other hand, is a movement. Lena said, “Bitcoin changed my thinking, Bitcoin changed me, [… apprendre à connaître Bitcoin] It was a very meaningful chapter in my life. »
Interestingly, a search for “Bitcoin NFT” on OpenSea yields more than 70,000 articles. For Lena, the door is still open: “There could be use cases for NFTs in the future, but the way NFTs are now, it doesn’t seem right,” she admitted. OpenSea is a victim of hacks and laundering, but pixel images are selling for seven figures. “We feel like we’re in a bubble,” says Lena.
Conversely, bitcoin is down more than 50% from the highs of $69,000, and the “tourists” are gone. In addition, bitcoins received as payment for artwork will probably not be hacked or “emptied” from a wallet.
