What Is Opepen NFT and Why Is It Making Waves in the Web 3.0 World?

NFTs have been making waves in the Web 3.0 world lately. In fact, web 3.0 experts suggest that the revenue in the NFT market is projected to reach US$1,601.00m in 2023.

Of late, we’ve seen several experiments in the NFTs:

EA and Nike have recently unveiled a collaboration that will introduce specific virtual items produced by. Swoosh, Nike's Web3 marketplace platform, into upcoming EA Sports video games.

- Jack Dorsey, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of Twitter, who proudly displays his enthusiasm for Bitcoin in his Twitter bio, is attempting to sell his inaugural tweet as a non-fungible token (NFT).

- Starbucks released its inaugural collection of paid NFTs, consisting of 2,000 digital "stamps," each priced at $100. The stamps sold out within 20 minutes of its release.

This is only the beginning. According to Nansen, a blockchain analytics platform, about 4% of the US population owns an NFT.

And this number will only increase, especially within the creative arts community. With the advent of Opepen NFT, collectors can now shape and influence the evolution of art pieces within the collection.

Opepen NFT has created a unique art community with different types of art. The best part? It encourages everyone to get involved in making art. It's a fun reference to the famous Pepe the Frog internet meme. Opepen has become well-known in digital art and has been used to trade digital art pieces worth more than $113 million by June 26th. Wow, that's so cool!

What is Opepen?

Opepen is an NFT art collection with a whopping 16000 pieces. It was created in January 2023 and has become a force to reckon with in the generative art industry.

The Opepen NFT project brings an open and collector-engaged approach and invites community members to bring their ideas to life. It leads to a democratic and inclusive art creation process where all creators, big and small, are invited to shape their artistic narrative.

This approach also made Opepen a considerable success. As of August 15, the NFT collection has accumulated an impressive $123.48 million (over 69,000 ETH) in trading volume, underscoring the market’s recognition.

Despite the project’s significant volume, Opepen isn’t just another digital art NFT collection; it’s also a community-driven experiment exploring uniqueness, scarcity, and abundance in Web3.

The best part? Opepen isn’t just another NFT collection for creative people. It is a community-driven experiment that plays around with the idea of Web 3’s uniqueness, scarcity, and abundance.

Who started Opepen NFT?

Jack Butcher is a versatile artist, designer, and writer who is the creative force behind Opepen. Additionally, he founded Visualize Value (VV), an agency dedicated to exploring the dynamic relationship between visual design and the internet.

Opepen debuted on January 8, 2023, following an unconventional approach to open-edition NFT releases. Unlike typical open editions, Opepen introduced a unique system where NFTs were unveiled gradually through periodic drops, with the specific timing being determined randomly by Butcher.

Opepen drew inspiration from Pepe meme culture and the geometric artistry of the digital artist Batz. Batz's collection of artworks, made up solely of squares and circles, piqued Butcher's interest earlier this spring. Motivated by this, Butcher began his artistic endeavor, adopting Batz's distinctive style using only rectangles and ellipses. He aptly named this project Opepen, a fusion of "open," representing open edition NFTs, and "Pepe," the contentious frog meme widely recognized in Web3.

In each drop, 80 Opepens from 16,000 (comprising 200 sets in the entire project) were available. The Opepen owners were required to express their interest in particular artwork previews by signing a message in their cryptocurrency wallet. Only when these previews garnered a 200 percent opt-in rate would the full NFT be revealed.

These drops exhibit a variety of characteristics. Some mimic traditional art print editions, ensuring that everyone in the set receives the same artwork. Others introduced slight variations or even unique 1/1 creations. However, the art allocation remained subject to random selection even after opting in.

To achieve the 200 percent opt-in rate, the 80-NFT drop necessitates a minimum of 160 opt-ins. The demand for these drops has consistently exceeded this threshold, occasionally surging well beyond 10,000 percent.

Butcher's intention in devising this system was to explore the notion of uniqueness in the digital domain, a recurring theme in his Web3 projects. Unlike his previous project, Checks, which emphasized scarcity and rarity, Butcher opted to experiment with the concept of abundance in art and how it shapes the decisions made by his collectors. With Opepen, he also aimed to nurture a sense of community among his collector base by enabling them to engage in the unveiling process and influence the outcome of each drop.

The Rise Of Opepen NFTs

The Opepen NFTs you see have remarkable distinctions from their initial iterations. This is due to the inherent capacity of NFTs in the Opepen collection to undergo evolution over time. In particular, this unique feature enables the creation of numerous distinctive sub-collections while maintaining the overall count of Opepen NFTs.

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The current mechanism allows the generation of 200 diverse sub-collections, each comprising 80 unique NFTs. Notably, this adds layers of depth and richness to the artworks themselves and gamifies the overall experience for collectors. So, collector participation is an integral part of this mechanism. It invites holders to actively engage with the evolution of their NFTs through an opt-in system. Within a 48-hour window, holders need to decide whether to participate in the ongoing evolution. Currently, the collection has evolved eleven times, showcasing eleven captivating sub-collections through collaborations with various artists and projects. The latest addition, Opepen Set 011, is a collaboration between Opepen and Pudgy Penguins.

Opepen’s rise to prominence

Opepen's achievement can be attributed to several factors. To start, Opepen is the brainchild of Butcher, who is widely recognized and esteemed for his collections.

Secondly, Opepen distinguishes itself through its innovative drop mechanics, which challenge the conventions of NFT collections. Unlike traditional approaches, Opepen doesn't unveil all its artwork at once and doesn't solely rely on rarity traits to establish value. Instead, Opepen fosters diversity by generating a wealth of art options and granting collectors the freedom to participate in various drops, where they receive random pieces from different artists. This approach creates a sense of excitement and involvement that sets Opepen apart from other collections. Additionally, Opepen incentivizes collectors to hold Checks NFTs, enhancing the purchasing utility for both of Butcher's projects. Notably, one of the scarcest Opepens minted to date is the "Black Opepen Check," a fusion of Butcher's innovative ventures.

How is Opepen NFTs Useful?

Opepen NFTs encompass both artistic expression and tradable assets. Their value is twofold: they offer a unique visual experience as a form of artistic expression, and they can be traded in various marketplaces, permitting holders to exchange them for monetary value, contingent on market demand.

Within the context of Opepen's evolution, the ownership of an original Opepen NFT is a prerequisite for engaging in its ongoing transformative narrative. Once an NFT has undergone an evolution, it reaches its final state and cannot undergo further changes.

Nevertheless, there's potential for future developments that could enable NFT holders to extend their evolutionary journey, thereby enhancing the rarity of their NFTs.

Opepen and Its Future

All of Jack Butcher’s projects, including Opepen, demonstrate a remarkable phenomenon where the artist no longer relies on active pursuit in approaching the audience. Instead, his users are drawn to the project through the resonance they have with the project.

This paradigm shift showcases the inherent power of consensus, where a shared vision becomes the driving force that unites individuals in their quest for artistic expression and, in some cases, financial gain.

With this newfound understanding, Opepen is ready to inspire creativity and art exploration further.