Working on something new. Prev. co-founder of @niftygateway, sold to @gemini. Occasional investor
- Tweets 3,224
- Following 2,999
- Followers 13,901
- Likes 31,630
Pinned Tweet
The truest form of privilege is to be born with a desire for constant change.
Most people find change uncomfortable. But in the modern world, becoming wealthy and happy depends on embracing constant change and growth.
If you naturally enjoy change, count your blessings!
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🚨 Art Emergency!! 🚨
There is a debate happening rn on @Wikipedia that has the potential to * officially categorize NFTs as ‘not art’ on all of Wikipedia. *
Wikipedia is a global source of truth. Having NFTs categorized as ‘not art’ would be a disaster!
🧵:
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I got depressed about crypto, NFTs & how full of scams ponzis etc everything has become. Then my girlfriend reminded me of how many artists have had their lives changed by @niftygateway & web3 & it cheered me up
So many artists can support themselves doing what they love
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Some news — after almost 4 years, @gcockfoster and I are departing @gemini and are passing the baton at @niftygateway.
This journey has been an incredible ride, but Griffin and I are founders at heart and we want to start another company.
🧵 w/ some thoughts below:
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For Valentine’s Day this year, my girlfriend Ashley got me custom M&Ms with my @doodles printed on them, all the same color as my Doodle
I am so lucky to have someone who understands my love of NFTs!
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Ah yes - ‘MaxcoinUSA2014’ - this is certainly the twitter handle of a real American. Definitely not a crypto bot account also co-opted to do online racism.
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The NFT market goes in cycles. PFP projects are the hot thing right now, but a rotation back to traditional crypto art is a matter of when, not if
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During the @niftygateway w2w madness event, I'm planning to scoop up some @poetslost by @muratpak.
I sincerely believe that @muratpak is one of the most influential & consequential artists of our era. When the history of crypto art is written, they will feature prominently in it
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Big product announcement coming at 9am tomorrow @niftygateway 👀👀👀
Can't wait to show everyone what we've been building!
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Feels to me like the NFT market is starting to shift back towards art and away from PFP projects.
The nice thing about art having no roadmap is that you can’t overpromise and underdeliver. What you see is what you get
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I refused to believe @antoniogm tweet about San Francisco Goodwill not accepting donations because of Marie Kondo because it was too far fetched.
So I went to drop off some stuff - got rejected and told that Marie Kondo had overwhelmed them
Can confirm this is happening 🤷♂️🤷♂️
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That is absurd. In NYC, the rich actually build things for everyone to enjoy. Barry Diller just paid a beautiful new public park!
In SF, the rich don't fund the arts, don't build public monuments
NYC is a much healthier societal example of how to be rich
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I got my punk for $200 and it’s worth $80,000 today. NFTs are down a lot, but still worth way, way more then they were 4 years ago!
And NFTs are still a transformative technology for artists. The company I founded paid out> $500 million to digital artists - more then Substack
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Almost 9 months ago, we set out to transform @niftygateway from a platform that only offered a custody experience into a platform for everyone.
Yesterday we finally achieved that vision.
You want custody? ✅
Want to trade from your wallet? ✅
Next up: total payment flexibility
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To be crystal clear, I am not saying all NFTs are art - just saying that art NFTs are Art and should be treated as such
This tweet explains it well:
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The @niftygateway Publisher tool has been an incredible way for me to discover art.
I don't have time to find many new artists - so I simply follow Publishers on Nifty Gateway and learn about artists from what they publish!
🧵 w/ great Publishers I think you should follow:
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NFTs have taken the world by storm these past few years.
For the first time, digital artists are getting the recognition they deserve. Galleries and the legacy art world never recognized that digital art was a true artistic medium, but the NFT world did!
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Big announcement/update coming out next Monday about our @niftygateway wallet to wallet product
Prepare for a marketplace that is cheaper, safer and easier to use than any other option!
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One year ago today, @niftygateway had just 7 full time employees, and I was the only solidity dev. Now, we have a group of experts who are capable of pulling off an absolutely historic NFT drop.
So amazingly proud of the team ♥️ and I am totally amazed by the vision of @muratpak
Congratulations to @muratpak, who just achieved the largest ever art sale by a living creator with 'The Merge.'
The entire team at NG is honored to have worked with you on this and incredibly proud of what you achieved!
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By the end of March the @niftygateway platform will be completely transformed. Buckle up 🚀
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20 years ago teenage hackers were hacking around on web2 stuff like Napster.
Today teenage hackers are launching DAOs, investing in DeFi and becoming famous NFT artists.
This more then anything makes me bullish on web3 and crypto 🚀
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Crypto Twitter has become basically unusable due to the spam reply bots. We can’t tweet anymore @niftygateway . How is a $50 billion company tolerating this massive product regression? @jack @elonmusk @TwitterSupport
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And they will talk endlessly about how much they love immigrants and the poor, while denying those very same people a chance at a decent life!
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Expecting everything to always be 'up only' is just crazy. Nothing is every up only. In the long term, quality and innovation wins, and no one does it better then Pak
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One of the most talented creatives of our generation. If you don't know Yatreda yet, start paying attention now
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. @niftygateway has always been focused on bringing new collectors into the NFT space.
Tomorrow we're unveiling a new initiative that will help bridge the gap even further between regular people and NFTs. Stay tuned!
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I'm eternally grateful to live in a country governed by the rule of law where you can sue the government and win if you are right 🫡 gg Gary
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. @Micah_Johnson3 will always have my full support. He is unstoppable.
Everyone hits bumps in the road and it’s all about how you respond.
Onwards 👏
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Huge congratulations to @cameron & @tyler on the IPO. People often ask me what the number 1 thing I learned working for them was. My answer is that I learned how powerful courage is.
Time and time again, I witnessed C&T place high conviction bets with enormous courage and then not waiver on them. It took enormous courage to buy so much bitcoin in the early 2013, it took courage to fight through the peaks and valleys of startup life and get to this point.
Many congratulations to the visionaries who saw how the world could be different before everyone else did 🫡. So excited for the future of $GEMI!
Crypto is moving mainstream.
This milestone is more than a headline. It’s proof of years of building, believing, and pushing the industry forward.
To every Gemini user and employee who made this possible, thank you.
🧡
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Fancy hotels in Europe are basically only patronized by Americans at this point. If we’re going off of vibes and not data, it’s hard to travel to Europe and not get the vibe that America is way, way richer.
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You can see the discussion takin place on this page:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:L…
So far, there are 6 votes opposing the inclusion of NFT sales as art and 0 votes in favor of including NFT sales as art!
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In order to prevent this from happening, the NFT community has to rally and let the Wikipedia editors know that NFTs are, in fact, art!
Digital artists have been fighting for legitimacy their whole lives. We can't let the Wikipedia editors set them back!
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Wikipedia works off of precedent. If NFTs are classified as 'not art' on this page, then they will be classified as 'not art' on the rest of Wikipedia.
Wikipedia is the global source of truth for many around the world. The stakes couldn't be higher!
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.@niftygateway is the ONLY marketplace where you can place a global offer for the specific collection traits!
For example, I can place an offer to buy any @AwkwardAstros with a TV set head. Not possible anywhere else!
Shop your favorite traits here! 👉
niftygateway.com/marketplace…
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In honor of the @grimemonday anniversary drop on @niftygateway today, I’ve updated my Twitter cover photo to Last Stand.
Such an iconic piece that will live in crypto art history forever #lsotns
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Extremely pumped to announce what @niftygateway has been building for the past many months
Wallet to wallet NFT purchasing
Directly in ETH
With up to 75% lower gas fees then other marketplaces!
We’re proud to announce that starting Jan. 2022 you will be able to buy and sell NFTs directly from your Ethereum wallet, in ETH, on Nifty Gateway!
This will make it easier for anyone to become a nifty collector and save on gas fees 🤝
Learn more here 👇
nfty.pub/NG-wallettowallet
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Extremely proud that today's @sixnfive drop on @niftygateway includes a 1/1 that was pre-sold to a museum.
2 years ago, I would not have believed that museums would be acquiring NFTs straight from @niftygateway!
Everything is crazy rn but we're steadily pushing things forward
Dropping today on #NiftyGateway 🟠
The Circle by @sixnfive
Drawings 👉 nfty.pub/the-circle-sixnfive
Opening at 6:30PM ET!
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Such an insane stat that the net worth of black Americans exceeds the net worth of all the black people in Africa! I did not know that
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The best way to do this is too educate an experienced Wikipedia editor about this topic.
You can edit the page yourself, but Wikipedia works off of reputation, so we need editors with a history of editing to enter the debate
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However, this created a debate on Wikipedia.
Many Wikipedia editors entered the debate, and argued that these NFT sales should not be included on the list.
The reason: they 'do not think NFTs count as art' and so shouldn't be included on the list of highest art sales!
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Man, this is such an amazing secondary marketplace UI on @niftygateway . This is the exact opposite of the Blur UI being designed to encourage flipping and treating NFTs like stocks
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Fun fact - I was on the @Kalshi YC hackathon team in 2018 (minute 12:20).
There is now debate about if @Kalshi is truly 'crypto'. It definitely is - they've been immersed in crypto since day 1!
Congrats to @mansourtarek_ & @luanalopeslara on creating a generational company!
NEW POD: The real Kalshi story
@mansourtarek_ covered everything:
- origin story
- 2024 election
- the susquehanna deal
- why PMs will eat all markets
- crypto strategy
- robinhood partnership
- trad media deals
- perps
- polymarket
Enjoy my friends.
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Art Basel this year feels like an NFT/crypto event that also just happens to feature some physical art.
I predict this will be the norm going forward, and in 10 years people will be shocked to learn that this week started off as a event dedicated to physical art
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Security is incredibly hard for every company.
If you don’t invest in building secure products, you can flourish for a while, but it always comes back to bite you in the end.
I’m extremely happy that we have invested heavily in security from Day 1 at @niftygateway
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful then this @surrealistshay piece I picked up on @niftygateway yesterday displayed oh my @atomicform
It is simply stunning ….
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Thank you for reading. Make sure to share, RT and help get the word out about this! The more public awareness of what is happening, the better!
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As a #GeminiEmployee, I got early access to the Gemini Credit Card, and I have started using it as my main credit card for most of my purchases
Earning rewards in *any crypto currency traded on the @Gemini exchange* is an unbelievably cool feature
Waitlist rollout has begun! 🚀
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I’ve made 3 small life changes that have radically increased my daily energy levels
1. Always look at sunlight before my phone after I wake up
2. Submerging my neck/head in cold water in the morning
3. Waiting 1 hour to drink coffee after waking up
Couldn’t recommend more
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The new profile we just shipped on @niftygateway allows you to:
-Connect as many wallets as you want, then use * any connected wallet * to log in
-Navigate between NFTs held in all of your wallets in one simple to use interface
Managing > 1 wallet used to be a pain. No more!
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Spent Thanksgiving explaining NFTs to my cousins. Today they made their first purchase - @AkuDreams Chapter VI by @Micah_Johnson3 on @niftygateway . They’re #gmi
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We really don't know what will come next for us! But we are excited for what the future will bring and excited to cheer on Nifty Gatewa’s growth.
We're also not leaving immediately — we don't know when our last day at Gemini will be right now.
Onwards and Upwards!
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In case it isn't obvious, I'm a pretty big @Micah_Johnson3 fan 🔥🔥🔥
Congrats on another epic @niftygateway drop today!
niftygateway.com/profile/dun…
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My writing debut for @nftnow !!
Based on data and analysis from other collectibles industries, I lay out my case for why the NFT space would be better off if we stopped focused on building for speculators
Read it and let me know what you think!
In this exclusive op-ed, @dccockfoster, co-founder of Nifty Gateway, explains how the NFT industry could be much larger if it focused on selling luxury goods instead of speculative assets.
nftnow.com/features/op-ed-th…
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It's impossible to understand the rise of crypto without understanding the rise of the individual.
The world is run by large institutions, but more and more each day it is starting to be run by networks of individuals.
Crypto is the tool that allows this to happen
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A piece of history. @TokedoNFT managed to create the first ever w2w listing on @niftygateway , and appropriately it was an @AwkwardAstros !!
What a day!
niftygateway.com/marketplace…
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Slow and steady wins the race my friend, your work has consistently gone up in value over time and each new release is more skillful and beautiful than the last. Many artists would kill to be in your situation!
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I have a feeling that everyone selling @AkuDreams chapters right now is going to regret it. Never bet against @Micah_Johnson3
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. @niftygateway is no longer a ‘custodial’ NFT platform.
We now view ourselves as a web3 native platform that has a custody *option* in order to more easily onboard new users
The game has changed!
Your keys, your #NFTs.
Now on Nifty Gateway.
You can now connect #ETH wallets to your profile - show off your NFTs and use them as entry criteria in drops on Nifty Gateway!
Learn more 👉nfty.pub/NG-ETHwall
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Just imagine how much more liquid the NFT market will be when users save $90 per purchase!
NG w2w launches NEXT WEEK! LFG!
At current gas prices, purchasing a @niftygateway wallet to wallet listing will save you 0.0270 ETH (~$90.62) compared to purchasing a listing from another marketplace.
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Some of the things we're most proud of from our time at NG are:
-Paying out >$500 million to artists
-Onboarding artists and collectors through our accessible tech
-Pioneering new ways to sell NFTs (OE's, RA's & more)
-Partnering with big co's like Starbucks to power NFT apps
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NFT drops are becoming movies - laborious and expensive to develop events that aim to capture the attention of everyone and use the NFT medium to create something can’t be created in any other artistic medium
And of course, killer trailers!
Sam is a pioneer
LUCI: Chapter 5
The Monument Game
-One 1/1
-Edition of 256
-A game of art and observation
-And for those few who play to win, a reward
August 21-24
Sound on 🔊
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.@gcockfoster and I don't have a plan for what's next. Our first step will be to take a sabbatical, digest what has happened over the 5 years since we started @niftygateway, and start brainstorming new startup ideas.
I'm also going to learn how to surf if anyone has tips.
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What work of crypto art is likely to be remembered in 100 years as the piece that embodies the crypto movement?
Imo, the answer is Last Stand of the Nation State by @slimesunday
Crypto isn't just a technology, it's a revolution. This artwork captures the revolution
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The @robotosNFT community is incredibly positive & welcoming. Thank you so much for hosting us today!
Thank you @pablostanley !! We can't wait to launch the marketplace and give Robotos owners a place to trade with 70% lower gas fees !!
Gm gm gm!
Join us for GM Botos in less than 2 hours! We'll be talking about all things beep boop with our special guests @gcockfoster & @DCCockFoster from @niftygateway.
See you there, botos. 🤖nitter.app/i/spaces/1zqJVBWQeOMJB
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If you own NFTs that have held up well during the bear market, just imagine what will happen once market sentiment turns positive again
An artist that survived 2022 can literally survive anything
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Ser, @Gemini has listed it! And we’re working on accepting it as a payment method
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If you are looking for an example of a team executing well during the bear market, look no further then @nftnow
They intuitively understand NFTs in a way that no other media outlet does, and they continuously produce the type of high quality content that the NFT space deserves
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Whenever someone reaches out and says they are trying to start an NFT project, the first thing I ask is ‘how many NFTs do you own?’
If the answer is 0, I immediately become skeptical
The best way to understand NFTs is to just start collecting!
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Today is a big day - we've taken our first step towards becoming the worlds first hybrid custodial/non custodial NFT platform.
The perfect platform for onboarding people to NFTs and then turning them into web3 native degens!
Your keys, your #NFTs.
Now on Nifty Gateway.
You can now connect #ETH wallets to your profile - show off your NFTs and use them as entry criteria in drops on Nifty Gateway!
Learn more 👉nfty.pub/NG-ETHwall
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Tonight I am bidding on this drop. I am not expecting it to increase in value, I am not expecting any utility.
I just think this is beautiful art and want to put it up on my display device for all to see once I have bought it
Imo, this is product market fit for art NFTs
Dropping tomorrow on #NiftyGateway 🗣️👂🖐️❤️👁️
Tragic Pop by @bryanbrinkman
tomorrow a Nifty OG returns, dropping at 6:30 pm et ✨
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Extremely sad to hear that @money_alotta has passed away. I always loved his whimsical, absurd style and I am honored that we had the privilege to release some of his work.
He was an incredible crypto art pioneer and will be remembered as such 🙏
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Bear market, bull market, doesn't matter. The NFT medium moves forward because of visionary artists like Sam pushing the boundaries
So many in crypto can only think about price, but what is most exciting is the compounding effect of people figuring out how to create magic
What is Sam Spratt's The Monument Game?
The largest artist collaboration we have ever undertaken.
We visited Sam in his NYC Studio for an in-depth look at the creation of The Monument Game, and what it means to win this communal game of art & observation.
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Among other things, royalties were an undeniable point for web3 to the outside world, a clear demonstration of how web3 tech concretely made the world better for creators
Removing them was a victory for greed and a manifestation of how speculators rule crypto (for now)
Removing royalties has been one of the biggest mistakes in the NFT ecosystem and is extremely shortsighted by newcomers/tourists.
I feel pretty confident the way back to a thriving digital art market is through enforced royalties and it’ll end up happening one way or another.
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Music industry pioneer @DistroKid has created an incredible collection of 9,999 NFTs each featuring a different musician. The drop goes live tomorrow and is a 24 hour drawing. Very excited for this!
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Art is a slower compounding process then other things in crypto.
You can grow quickly with high yields, etc, but it won’t last over the long term.
Meanwhile the quality & # of artists creating in the NFT medium is growing slowly and steadily YoY. Art will win in the long term
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Even though we know that when we sold Nifty Gateway, we would want to start another company at some point, I am still very sad that this time has come.
Griffin and I want to extend the sincerest thank you to the NFT community and everyone reading this.
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Extremely proud to be a part of @gemini. I’ve witnessed the exceptional company @cameron & @tyler have built up close and I have been impressed at every step of the way. Here is to the next big milestone!
1/ gm. Today marks a new beginning for @Gemini.
We have raised $400 million dollars at a $7 billion valuation.
This round was led by Morgan Creek (@sjaitly & @MarkYusko) and included @10TFund, @paraficapital, @NewflowPartnrs, Marcy Venture Partners, @commbank, and others.
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for me, thats what its all about at the end of the day.
Is this technology actually helping people?
If you look at digital artists, the answer is an unequivocal yes - digital artists have had their lives transformed
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Got COVID early last week and I haven’t really been online or checked the news as a result. Anything happen in crypto while I was gone?
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First up is @exlawyernft . Known for his incredibly threads on all topics (most often, topics related to art and the law), he has curated some incredible drops by @kingxerox5 & @A_Mashiro_nft . Next up is @mindzeye this week!
Follow him here: niftygateway.com/publishers/…
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I have yet to hear a single criticism of NFTs from folks online that made me rethink anything about NFTs.
The critiques are all uniformed, irrational and almost always factually incorrect.
With critics like these, it’s impossible to not be bullish on NFTs 🚀
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. @Kingofmidtown1 is one of the OG publishers on NG. He was publishing before we even had the publishing tool launched!
He has a drop with @perry__cooper via @crypt_gallery coming up!
niftygateway.com/publishers/…
niftygateway.com/publishers/…
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When @Gemini acquired NG in 2019, Griffin and I said if everything went amazing and we loved it, we would stay for 4 years before starting another company.
We ended up staying the max amount of time we originally thought possible, which shows how great this experience was!
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I don’t know how others feel, but personally I would rather have NFTs grow at a slower but more sustainable pace, rather then experience the crazy boom and bust cycles we’ve seen in the past 2 years.
This level of volatility is rough!
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The liquidity for pfp/10k projects on @niftygateway is growing daily. A good example - right now the lowest ask for a @doodles is a listing on NG. Very exciting to see the progress we are making 🚀🚀🚀
niftygateway.com/marketplace…
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The reputation of crypto art has taken a beating bc NFTs are seen by so many as speculative and pump & dumpy
But fundamentally crypto art is a new medium that enables beauty and expression not possible anywhere else
We have work to do to get the wider world to understand this!
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We know that transitions can create uncertainty around the future. To that end, in the coming weeks, we will publicly outline a roadmap and a plan for the future of Nifty.
After we depart we will stay connected to the mission in an advisory role to ensure continuity.
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Tough call for @niftygateway , but imo the right one. Nifty always thrived bc of curation, and many artists we picked to work with early on ended up becoming huge. I'm convinced that web3 won't work without curation
Glad to see an emphasis on quality front and center at Nifty!
GM. We’d like to share some changes that we’ve made to our Publisher program. NG Publishers was launched to empower creators with simple and accessible tools to curate and release NFT collections.
While we are committed to the power of this tool and its future evolution 👀 it has become abundantly clear that we need to implement the proper guardrails to help sustain the quality, curation, and long-term health of the Nifty Gateway ecosystem.
Nifty Gateway is laser-focused on the long game. For us, that means bringing to market high-quality artwork that people can trust and feel confident in collecting. Not only is this something we believe in, but it is something that our community has been overwhelmingly vocal about as well.
We hear you. And it is with this in mind that we have decided to part ways with some of our Publishers today - we understand that this is difficult news for some members of our community. Please know that a great deal of deliberation and careful thought went into this decision.
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This was a difficult decision for us and we feel incredibly attached to the @niftygateway team, community, and mission.
We're very proud of the lives Nifty Gateway has changed - the artists, the collectors, the curators, and everyone else who is involved in our mission.
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The master digital sculptor @rafagrassetti returns to @niftygateway tonight with another stunning collection. Really pumped to own a piece from an earlier collection of his 👏
Tonight's drop: Core by @rafagrassetti
"The central and most important part of something is always not what it seems, we all look for a sense of purpose, and if you can find that within you, you will find meaning the meaning in everything"
View Core 👉 nfty.pub/raf-core
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Maybe China? They clearly stand to gain if the U.S. and India dislike each other
To me it just feels like the level of twitter vitriol against Indians is very disconnected from what you see IRL.
Per ChatGPT, hate crimes against India are not on the rise in the US
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Another is @rocketgirlNFT . She has done two drops so far , featuring a collection of OE's from a wide variety of artists. Every time I see a new collection from her I must take a look!
niftygateway.com/publishers/…
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Eddie Ma (@xlma1508) will take over as technical leader for Nifty, and Tara Harris (@tara_harris__) will be the leader for non-tech.
When we got acquired, NG was just Griffin and I, and it is a great feeling to be leaving a large robust team in place to continue our efforts.
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Introducing Nifty Gateway
We allow you to send a nifty to anyone - ANYONE - with only their email address.
niftygateway.com
medium.com/@duncancockfoster…
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. @bryanbrinkman has epitomized what an artist/curator can do. I'm constantly amazed at how prolific he is - between publishing and releasing his own great artwork I don't know how he has time to sleep!
niftygateway.com/publishers/…
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Next, @saucebook . He has claimed a day of the week with Saucebook Sundays, offering new and exciting artists. He loves to experiment with different styles and add themes to his drops!
Follow him here: niftygateway.com/publishers/…
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