It is not just Pokemon that can evolve, now your digital artwork can transform into something else too.
Kuala Lumpur-based artist/illustrator Katun (Abdul Hafiz Abdul Rahman) kicked off his NFT journey with a bang on Aug 18, with two of his "evolving" NFT collections sold for a total of over RM1.6mil in 24 hours.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, a form of crypto asset which uses blockchain (a digital public ledger of transactions) to record ownership details and provide proof of authenticity.
All kinds of digital objects – images, videos, music, text and even tweets – can be turned into an NFT.
NFTs are typically held on the Ethereum blockchain (cryptocurrency Ether or ETH), but there are other blockchains that support them as well. The blockchain keeps record of transactions.
In contrast with many other digital creations, which are often infinite in supply, NFTs have unique identifying codes, which makes them one-of-a-kind. This means that its provenance can be traced, thus differentiating the original from all subsequent copies.
In the context of NFTs in the digital art world, this makes it possible to now truly own and sell digital works.
The Beeple effect
In March this year, art auction house Christie's sold a digital collage work by the US artist known as Beeple for almost US$70mil (RM297mil).
That game-shifting sale by Christie's marked the first time a major auction house put out a digital-only artwork with a non-fungible token as a guarantee of its authenticity, as well as the first time cryptocurrency was used as payment for an artwork at auction.
In Malaysia, the NFT scene is steadily gaining momentum and disrupting the system, with the old world art scene scrambling to understand NFTs, its relevance, benefits and its potential futures.
It has been the younger generation artists taking the NFT lead here.
On July 11, contemporary artist Red Hong Yi sold her first NFT – Doge To The Moon – in an online auction for RM325,000 (or 36.3 ETH).
Red Hong Yi's NFT was dropped on Binance (a cryptocurrency exchange) as part of the platform's inaugural 100 Creators programme to launch the Binance NFT Marketplace.
Other Malaysian artists have also shown interest in the potential of NFTs, and the emergence of this new economy saw the arrival of the inaugural Crypto Art Week Malaysia 2021 in July. A selection of digital works by 29 Malaysian crypto artists were exhibited.
Like the rest of the world, Malaysian enthusiasts and digital art collectors are beginning to see NFTs as the future of ownership.
For local artists, designers and illustrators, NFTs might solve the issue of how they can monetise digital artworks. On the balance, artists can receive more income from NFTs, as they can get a royalty each time the NFT changes hands after the initial sale.
A whole new world
More than a month since Red Hong Yi's high-profile (NFT) auction sale, the NFT landscape here continues to shift goalposts.
Katun, in his mid-30s, is the first artist to launch an NFT on cryptocurrency platform SuperFarm.
In Malaysia, Katun is better known in the street art scene, where he has done commercial work and mural commissions bearing his "tag" for more than 10 years. His art has been featured on branded apparel, while in 2019, American R&B star Chris Brown used Katun's work for his single Undecided.
In the global world of graffiti and digital art, Katun is a more recognised name. But Malaysians are now waking up to this trailblazing artist.
SuperFarm, which launched in March this year, is a platform designed to make NFTs more accessible.
According to a statement from South-East Asian art collective 4 Stages, which Katun set up last year, SuperFarm is a cross-chain decentralised finance (DeFi) protocol built to facilitate the launching of new NFTs without the need for programming.
(DeFi is a blockchain-based form of finance that cuts out traditional financial institutions and intermediaries, and is conducted over the blockchain.)
SuperFarm is designed to bring utility to any token by turning it into an NFT farm with no coding required. It is co-founded by American crypto trader and influencer Elliot Wainman (aka Elliotrades), who also serves as SuperFarm’s chief executive officer.
"SuperFarm is a comprehensive NFT marketplace that allows users to create their own NFTs, farm coins for NFTs, bind NFTs to video game items and create ERC-20 tokens (one of Ethereum’s most significant tokens, these are blockchain-based assets that have value, and can be sent and received). It can also act as a link between crypto ecosystems and the gaming industry,” reads a statement.
On SuperFarm, Katun’s NFT series Apes Stand Strong, which comes in a limited edition of 50 mints (“pieces”), sold out in under 30 minutes for 1ETH each last week. (ETH is Ether, the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network.)
1ETH is approximately equivalent to RM13,600, bringing the total sales for Apes Stand Strong to approximately RM680,000.
In addition to owning this Apes Stand Strong NFT, all purchasers will receive a physical and numbered Giclee print of the artwork.
There is an "evolutionary" NFT version of Apes Stand Strong called Inferno, which will be "dropped" to one of the purchasers on Oct 18. This purchaser will be randomly selected from the 50 holders.
Katun also released an open edition of his NFT Mystical Fruits for 0.10ETH (approximately RM1,360) each. In a span of 24 hours, he sold 776 pieces for a total of just over RM1mil.
Like the other NFT, Mystical Fruits has an evolutionary component. On the same day as the Inferno drop, 20% of all Mystical Fruits will transform into a special edition called Garden Of Bloom.
"NFTs have been a whole different game for me. This platform (SuperFarm) has helped me expand my reach and receive huge results with a lot of effort put in from their team, and our 4 Stages team. My artwork being out on the platform has reached thousands globally," says Katun.
"I was advised that there were over 1,000 people on the waitlist. The overall feedback has definitely boosted my energy and motivation into creating more unique and meaningful artworks. I am very grateful to everyone and super proud to be 'repping' Malaysia!” he adds.
To him, the best thing about NFTs is the supportive community.
“They share information about everything in the crypto world, even down to celebrating those who sell their artworks. There is a lot of positive energy here and it feels so good to be part of this community,” he says.
Katun’s total earnings for his first NFT release is over RM1.6mil, the most expensive batch of NFTs sold in one release within a 24 hour period by a Malaysian artist to date.
A statement from 4 Stages adds: "The majority of buyers are NFT enthusiasts, crypto art collectors and supporters/fans of Katun.
“Many people have been waiting for Katun to enter into the NFT space and the reception has been amazing. We definitely hope to see more South-East Asian artists becoming part of this new era of NFTs and digital art.”
Buyers for Katun's NFT series came from a few countries, with United States, Malaysia and Indonesia the topping the list.
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