Update : 2/22 : I am no longer apart of the Entities.wtf team.
INFO IN THIS ARTICLE IS OUT-OF-DATE, keeping article here as an archive ❤Update 9/22 : Just a reminder that I am apart of the Entities.wtf team now and a lot of this information is OUT-DATED.
I’ve written up-to-date content on their medium page Entities.Medium.com
Update 9/1 : Today I have the privilege of joining the Entities.wtf team.
I’d like to emphasize that this opportunity was not planned or pre-determined, but grew organically after the article was published. Any editing on the article from today on will be accompanied by an edit timestamp. This is an attempt to assist the reader in distinguishing the content written before I joined the team from any updates added after I joined the team.
I’m leaving the outdated disclaimer below as is to provide context for how this article was originally written.
I will continue striving to stay as transparent and unbiased as possible.
Disclaimer : These thoughts are my own. I am not sponsored or associated with the Entities team. Just a strange quasi-monkey-thing sharing his thesis with other quasi-monkey-things on a magical glass slab.
There is limited information at this time — I will regularly update the post as new information arises.
Summary :
Entities is a generative art platform with a simplified UI for artists to focus on designing and implementing their art instead of spending the tedious time and money necessary to build a smart contract and front-end from scratch.
Like the curated Artblocks.io section, all collections must be approved — different from Artblocks.io, is that all approvals take place via DAO governance. This gives stakeholders strong influence over the platform’s quality which lets the community dictate what they deem appropriate for the Entities brand.
Update 9/22 : The below MultiPass information is out-dated now as Entities has shifted to a different tokenomics option detailed in this infographic.
MultiPass :
This was originally called MinePass with a supply of 500 but has since changed to MultiPass with a supply of 10,000.
The MultiPass is a unique ERC721 token of 10,000 that gives the purchaser two options.
Hold the pass — and receive a MetaGecko NFT.
MetaGecko holders receive early access to future Entities drops and exclusive collections launched via the Entities platform.
Holders enjoy exclusive access to a MetaGeckos Lounge, Limited edition merchandise, IRL Entities events, and any added roadmap items.
Burn the pass — and receive a Founder’s DAO NFT.
Founder’s NFT holders have the privilege of voting on new collection proposals and participating in Entities governance.
DAO holders receive a proportional share of Founder’s DAO $NTTZ allocation and $NTTZ token staking.
More information will be released regarding $NTTZ token a few weeks before the burning window opens.
Creation & Launching of Generative Art :
Entities have structured the art UI in 3 steps.
Assemble – Import layers, assign names to traits, define variation naming formulas, and configure rarity settings.
Experiment — Generate randomized variations and visualize potential mint possibilities off-chain. Adjust and repeat until renders are desired result.
Deploy — Submit collection to EntitiesDAO (governance protocol). Once approved deploy button is unlocked. This will instantly deploy generative minting contract to Mainnet.
Anyone can participate in the art UI and submit collections.
Future Developments :
Via their roadmap we can see really interesting planned features. I find the following the most exciting / valuable :
Generative artwork — 3D, Animated, and Voxels.
Reducing the technological hurtle so artists can focus on art.
Smart contracts — Gamification: Breeding, Gamification: Battle, Bonding curve.
Easily gamified NFT projects is incredible, I absolutely applaud the team for this foresight.
If applied to a project, the bonding curve would enable early adopters to purchase the items cheaper than late adopters. (The price increases after every subsequent minting)
Team :
Update 9/10: The team has been shuffled around.
Update 9/1 : The team has added a lean about us section on the Entities homepage.
I struggled to find anything really quantitative regarding the team, so a lot of this is speculation based on impressions and a few fortunate DMs with the team.
Co-founder MetaFox — Lead developer, active Twitter account since 2008, solo father — very wholesome vibes. His Twitter shows serious activity in the crypto space around 2020. Followed on Twitter by Beanie (do with this what you will lol).
Investor? Justin — Possibly the biggest credibility to the project. Owns a cryptopunk and a bored ape. Profile says he invests with VentureDAO and Seedclub, curates at FingerpringsDAO, and is associated with the social token FWB space. My assumption is Justin is an advisor / investor but this is pure speculation.
Important note : I was only able to corroborate that the crypto punk and bored ape are actually associated with his twitter .eth address. Take the above information with a grain of salt.
I’ve been informed that further information regarding the team is in the works. Will update when its available.
Risks :
Its always important to consider the risks for every project.
Bugs / Hacks — An ever present threat in the crypto space. The team had an early NFT drop that encountered a few bugs that led them to pausing the drop. They fixed the error and plan to compensate the early users (I believe 19 in all) with two NFTs. I actually think this is bullish — I’d take a team that is capable of fixing / righting wrongs than a team that rarely makes mistakes but never fixes them or compensates the affected parties.
Project might fail to capture interest — With the saturation of so many projects in the NFT space a lack of interest is surely a concern.
Developers cease supporting project — As with any platform if the developers drop out then its typically the nail in the coffin.
NFT market could pop — As with all speculative markets a crash is inevitable, never look so micro that you forget the macro.
Rewards :
If we consider the success of other generative art platforms — namely Artblocks.io — there is clearly a market for art that’s uniquely randomized.
Artblocks.io alone has enjoyed $562 million in total sale volume to date (Cryptoslam). However, the success of Artblocks.io has priced out many users, and the waiting list for curated artists is now sitting at 2+ years for consideration.
Entities could bridge the gap between eager artists attempting to ride the NFT wave, the ravenous demand for NFTs, and the lack of developers / technical knowledge to execute a project from scratch. The reduction in startup obstacles could on-ramp intriguing and innovative projects.
A high volume of collections seems likely given the low barrier to entry, the ease of use, and the profitable nature of the current NFT space.
The bullish case is that high volume passes through the Entities platform and early access via MultiPass holding grants users lucrative entry points to new and promising projects.
If Entities only clears 1/100th the volume that Artblocks.io has, exclusive access to NFTs launched on the platform can be quite profitable.
I see the bullish scenario through this perspective : If Artblocks.io had a pass for early entry into projects — wouldn’t you want to own one? Imagine the value an item like that would command.
I can’t speak to the upside on the $NTTZ token yet as there is insufficient information to construct a thesis.
Closing Remarks :
I see this project as an asynchronous play — the upside greatly overshadows the downside.
The project takes a successful idea -generative art- and innovates it -user friendly generative art and gamification.
There are a few question marks surrounding the team and the project, I suspect these information gaps will be bridged soon.
In closing, I’ll reiterate the upside : If Artblocks.io had a pass for early entry into projects — wouldn’t you want to own one?
I sure would.
Not financial advice.
