Thread by @sxtvik

A LONG thread about Punks, Phunks, Zunks:

When I joined the #NFT space, I saw pixel art and thought it was really dumb. Then I learnt how much some of it cost and I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe someone would pay so much for a tiny pixel head.

As I spent some more time in the space, I started seeing the value. Most “influencers” at the time, & some people I was inspired by and aspired to be like (example: @3LAU), were rocking a Crypto Punk. I went from not understanding it to wanting 1 so I could be part of this club.

Obviously, for someone like me who had to really scrape thru my account to find $500 to get started in NFTs, Punks were an elusive dream, and so while I respected Punks, I moved onto other projects and adorned many pfps for the next few months.

Then one day I came across a post of someone making fun of @CryptoPhunksV2. This was my first time seeing them, and I laughed it off as a cash grab that spoke highly of the state of the bubble moment it seemed we were collectively experiencing.

Then, to my surprise I started seeing Phunks pop up more and more on my feed. People I knew were buying in, the Punks I followed were mocking it. Some even saying “if you have a Phunk pfp I’ll block you.” It seemed like a strange social experiment.

But since I loved the original punks so much, I decided to stay away simply for the fear of being banished by the people I was idolizing. The Phunks army grew stronger and I tuned into a few spaces hosted by @loafgren & @Pauly0x, it seemed like the community was strong behind it.

Then came the DMCA. My whole timeline was talking about OpenSea rugging the Phunks, everyone was shit talking Larva Labs, & I joined a Spaces with Pauly, Loaf, and 3LAU where they were discussing the DMCA and talking about their response which was minted as an NFT. I enjoyed it.

While I thought their points of the DMCA were valid and this aspect of centralizing control for decentralized goods wasn’t the right step for the space, I was glad I didn’t buy a Phunk with my limited budget because it seemed dead.

Somewhere around this time, @CryptoZunks were announced. The whole Phunks community collectively banded against them, and I joined Zunks’ discord and it was a dumpster fire of people asking questions and people getting banned. @0xPauly was angry about their “cash grab” on Spaces.

I thought Pauly’s opinion was absolutely valid and even people like @karsendaily joined the conversation to very clearly protect people from losing money on what at the time seemed like a rug waiting to happen. It convinced me to stay away from Zunks too.

Soon after, conversations around Phunks and Zunks disappeared from my timeline and all I saw again were the Punks. There were other parody projects like @LowEffortPunks with an amazing community (featuring people I LOVE), but nothing that carried the same regality of the OGs.

Then recently, @NotLarvaLabs released the Phunks marketplace, and my entire timeline, every influencer, even the ones who hated Phunks back in the day were hopping on board to support this brave commentary on decentralization and autonomy.

The Phunks price soared from 0.1 to 1 ETH. Seeing posts from @ElectionDayMad1, @Pauly0x, @mikethreezy, etc. highlighted the powerful community that this valuable commentary project was establishing around it. Now I understood the message & wanted a Phunk, but couldn’t afford it.

Then, last week I saw people I respect like @themonarch00, @vitoTK, etc. tweet about @CryptoZunks. I saw the floor of 0.03 & ignored it. The anon team, paid trait re-roll, rude discord that I saw months ago had turned me off this project.

I saw some people tweet about it the next day, so I hopped into discord out of curiosity - turns out the project had found fresh life and a new team that wanted to focus on community and creation. I aped in at a floor of 0.12.

Zunks are now run by an engaged team that cares about building cool things like their background color and Halloween trait editor on the website, they’re a project that was generated fully on-chain, they stand for diversity and representation, and the community is there.

https://twitter.com/CryptoZunks/status/1463958309598375940

The reason I bought a Zunk is because after months of idolizing Punks, I have finally found a digital identity that I can make my own and that lets me feel the same sense of regality and joy that I’d hoped a Punk would provide. The social identity aspect is satisfying.

The other reason I bought a Zunk is affordability. People have loved the Punks, but they were priced out. People loved the Phunks, but they were priced out, the Zunks are “affordable” today, maybe tomorrow there’ll be another version that’s cheaper and even more accessible. Good.

I think if the future is inclusive then we shouldn’t police what social identity people are allowed to use and find joy in. Each “copycat” or “parody” project is nothing but an homage that makes the original more accessible to the masses.

The Punks are the original and will always have value in their historical significance and the reputation of the iconic community members who adorn them.

The Phunks bolstered by @NotLarvaLabs & @Pauly0x will always have immense value as the first big fuck you to NFT corpos who challenged the ethos of decentralization. The community led movement to regain control and utilize ownership cannot be understated. They are very powerful.

The Zunks have shown that if the community is willing to band together in pursuit, value can be created for all. And by building on Punks visually, they also allow owners to feel that same feel good factor when you see these pixel images as your pfp, I know I do.

A shoutout again to @LowEffortPunks and their fantastic community, Twitter Spaces and Metaverse events. And to the future of Punk derivatives which I’m sure there’ll be more, as long as you’re building and focusing on community, don’t let anyone stop you.

Thank you to @ohhshiny and @ElectionDayMad1 for inspiring this thread. Thank you sincerely to @Pauly0x for emphasizing the importance of decentralization. Thank you @themonarch00 & @vitoTK for introducing me to Zunks.

Let’s all sip on mimosas in the Metaverse together.

Friends?