The NFT Community Reacts To The Rise Of Open Editions – Nft Now
So far, the defining Web3 conversation of 2023 has been about open editions (OE). 3D animator and crypto artist NessGraphics broke records when they dropped Money Printer Go BRRRRRR and raised over 1,404 ETH ($2 million) in one hour. Likewise, Victor Mosquera’s January 29 OE drop for The Collector raised 224 ETH (nearly $400,000) in the span of 90 minutes.
These exceptional sales volumes, coupled with a clear statistical uptick in the number of OEs being minted in the last month, opened up a passionate debate in the NFT community about the supply, value, and utility of an artist’s body of work. That debate is now reaching a fever pitch.
At this point, nearly all of the world’s most prominent NFT artists, collectors, and builders have voiced their opinions on the rise of open editions — addressing everything from the benefit or harm it might be causing in the ecosystem to what it means for artists and collectors going forward. Here’s what they’re saying and doing.
A single open edition just made more ETH off mint than Doodles or Bored Ape Yacht Club made off their original mints.
— NFTstatistics.eth (@punk9059) January 29, 2023
Open editions can do wonders for artists and collectors
Several artists have responded to the open edition trend with optimism. Like so many other things in Web3, advocates say that they are a tool for artists to utilize at their discretion and choosing — like any other drop mechanic. Moreover, they argue that much of the activity in the Web3 world comes from expensive and often unaffordable 1-of-1 or limited edition NFT drops. As such, OEs let an artist generate revenue while both expanding their community and allowing a greater range of people to participate in the NFT ecosystem.
Beyond that, advocates note that, if executed thoughtfully, open edition drops can serve as a kind of subscription plan that allows collectors access to an artist’s future body of work.
Vector artist and Western aesthetic lover Jeremy Booth recently rolled out an open edition that functions in just this way, with Booth writing on Twitter recently that his latest OE “will be the key to purchasing all my personal (non-collaborative) limited editions moving forward.” In a sense, this type of open edition dynamic allows artists to implement their art as a kind of currency in the NFT ecosystem. How artists choose to play with that potential is yet to be seen, but the possibilities are tantalizing.
Thoughts on OE: I think there’s a time & a place that makes sense for them, which is when the artist decides. They offer accessible prices to works from artists that might be otherwise inaccessible, they shift the focus from the fp to the act of actually owning the art.
— BETTY (@betty_nft) January 28, 2023
— charlesai.eth | SR💎 (@HODLFrance) January 29, 2023OEs are like prints, time has already shown us that this meta is viable both for artists and collectors. It allows artists to earn money from their art, drives value to 1/1 and LEs for serious collectors and you get cool art at low prices.
It’s a win-win-win situation.
Collectors: Don’t get ahead of yourselves
Others in the community urge caution when approaching OEs, especially as a collector. Drawing comparisons to physical prints or posters of famous artwork, OE skeptics advise people to mint OEs for the love of the art, without expectations of utility or the potential to flip them later on for a profit.
Some commenters who view open editions as potentially problematic have also pointed to the fact that several mints released in this way in recent weeks are now trading below the initial mint price (though the opposite can be said of plenty of other OE collections).
Ultimately, there will always
