"Historical NFT" is a term to describe NFT projects from an earlier period that are "obsolete" or the evolution of the NFT ecosystem.
"Internet archaeology" is the study of the history and evolution of the Internet and its various platforms and technologies. It involves examining and documenting the various products that shaped the internet as we know it today and their development. This may include early chat forums, social media platforms, websites, and other internet products.
Now, the term "NFT Archeology" also appears in the NFT community, and "NFT archaeologists" are studying the history and evolution of NFTs, sorting out those ancient NFT projects. This involves researching the early experimentation and development of NFTs, as well as the various platforms and communities that have emerged around them.
In this article, I will try to collate the history of the NFT market (January 2014 - December 2022).
Launched in January 2014, Counterparty aims to be a platform for Bitcoin users to create derivative financial assets and instruments. It became the birthplace of some of the earliest NFTs, such as Spells of Genesis, Rare Pepes, and Sarutobi Island. Counterparty's native currency, XCP, was created through a mechanism known as "proof of burn" – BTC was burned to create XCP. Counterparty's built-in decentralized exchange (DEX) was innovative at the time, predating many of the DEXs commonly found in the blockchain industry today. Counterparty wasn't known for a long time, but in recent years, especially during the NFT craze in 2021, it started to catch on. Today, it has a thriving ecosystem, including XCP Dispensers, Emblem Vault, and Scarce City.
Dogeparty is a fork of Counterparty, launched in late 2014 by Adam B. Levine and others. It uses the same "proof of burn" mechanism as Counterparty to create its native token, XDP, which requires users to burn Dogecoin in order to receive XDP. Dogecoin's unlimited inflation protocol made Dogeparty the go-to choice for some users at the time who wanted to offset the increased supply of Dogecoin. Dogeparty was active for about a year before fading out of sight in 2015. In 2021, the Dogeparty Foundation was founded and the project was revived. Project assets are currently available for purchase through XDP Dispensers and Emblem Vault.
Ascribe is an NFT platform based on the Bitcoin network that operated from 2014 to 2018. It hosts 13,500 tokens for 31,900 users. However, in early 2018, the Ethereum blockchain introduced the ERC-721 standard for NFTs, allowing artists to create their artwork directly on Ethereum. This led most users to migrate from Ascribe to Ethereum, and eventually, Ascribe decided to shut down its platform. When it went down, all NFTs on the platform were lost and no one could claim them. One of Ascribe's founders said there may be hope for the restoration of these "retro" NFTs in the future.
EtherID is an identity protocol that was introduced on November 29, 2015. It is somewhat similar to Namecoin Identities, launched in 2012, and Ethereum Name Service (ENS), launched in 2017. A distinguishing feature of EtherID is that it has a built-in marketplace that allows users to buy, sell, and transfer identity records to each other. This could be the first NFT marketplace on Ethereum. EtherID is currently available for purchase on OpenSea.
Spells of Genesis (SOG) is the first known blockchain game incorporated into NFTs, developed by Shaban Shaame and EverdreamSoft and launched in 2017. It is a mobile game that combines elements of trading cards (TCG), arcade, and fantasy adventure. SOG cards are issued through Counterparty and cannot be created once the card issuance is locked. In this way, the authenticity and rarity of the cards can be ensured. SOG assets can currently be purchased through XCP Dispensers or Emblem Vault.
PixelMap is an NFT project created by Ken Erwin in 2016. It was launched before the first "department store" NFT marketplace, OpenSea, and a year after the ERC-20 (fungible token) standard. During this period, many pre-ERC-721 NFT projects like PixelMap had to have their own trading marketplaces, which may not be as typical as the markets we see today, however, this played an important role in the development of the early NFT industry. Wrapped PixelMap is currently available for purchase on OpenSea.
RarePepe is often considered the "birth of crypto art" because their origins are decentralized. They started as a joke in a Telegram group and later grew into a collection of over 300 artists and 1774 NFTs. After RarePepe was released on Counterparty in September 2016, the community realized they needed a place to store and trade these assets. In response, Joe Looney launched the RarePepe wallet, which has gone live and has become a popular destination for RarePepe collectors. Currently, RarePepe is available for purchase at pepe.wtf, Scarce City, XCP Dispensers, and Emblem Vault.
Curio Cards was launched in May 2017 and is considered the first "art NFT collection on Ethereum." Unlike RarePepe, which is curated by a group of artists, artists anonymously submit their work to the Curio Cards team, which then sends the submission to the community for a vote before it is used. Curio Cards distributes their NFTs using "vending machines" on their website, and each "vending machine" features a card supply set by the artist. However, at the time, the project only issued a total of 31 cards, and it was not completely sold out until 2021, when the broader NFT community rediscovered the project. Wrapped Curio Cards are currently available for purchase on Opensea.
CryptoPunks are widely credited with inspiring many developments in the NFT world, including profile picture (PFP) projects, ERC-721 standards, and a standard supply of 10,000. In addition to these innovations, the CryptoPunks market was groundbreaking and continues to be used today, in part because it is embedded in V2 code. However, the market evolves over time. Developer Larva Labs has made a series of improvements to the market, forming the iconic brand of CryptoPunks today. Wrapped CryptoPunks V1 is currently available for purchase on OpenSea and CryptoPunks V2 is available for purchase on CryptoPunks.app.
MoonCatRescue was one of the first generative NFT projects, launched by Ponderware in 2017. It allows users to randomly generate more than 4 billion cat patterns. MoonCatRescue's marketplace functionality is similar to CryptoPunks, where bidders need to deposit ETH into a market contract to quote MoonCat. Cat owners can sell their cats through the "Request" function, accepting bids. Domesticated MoonCats are currently available for purchase on OpenSea.
Dada launched their first NFT project, Creeps & Weirdos (CW), in 2017, along with a built-in marketplace. This marketplace is known for being the first known marketplace to offer creator royalties. Prior to The CW, built-in marketplaces such as CryptoPunks and MoonCatRescue did not offer royalties to creators. However, OpenSea, launched a few months later, became the current leader in protecting creator royalties. Dada's introduction of creator royalties on the CW marketplace could have had a lasting impact on the early NFT industry. Wrapped Creeps and Weirdos are currently available for purchase on Opensea.
A fork of the Counterparty platform, Monaparty was launched in late 2017 on the Bitcoin sidechain Monacoin for creating tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain. On January 8, 2018, Monaparty's most popular NFT collection, MonaCard, went live. Like RarePepes, MonaCard is curated by the community and has sold more than 6,000 copies in the past four years. MonaCards are currently available for purchase on Monapallete and Emblem Vault.
CryptoKitties is an NFT-based blockchain game launched by Dapper Labs on November 23, 2017. Recognized as a pioneer in the NFT industry, it gained immense popularity in 2017 and nearly clogged the Ethereum network with a large number of cats breeding, buying, selling, and trading volume. Despite facing competition from other games, CryptoKitties remained popular for a long time and are still widely known today. In addition to innovation, CryptoKitties' built-in marketplace stands out for its user-friendly interface and appearance, with features like sorting, categories, and more, which has been emulated by many other NFT marketplaces. CryptoKitties are currently available on CryptoKitties' built-in marketplace and on Opensea.
Opensea is a comprehensive NFT marketplace that was launched in December 2017 and is the first known marketplace to bring together NFTs from multiple projects. It launched a few months after its launch with NFTs from over 30 different projects. At the time, most NFT projects were hybrids of ERC-20 tokens, and it wasn't until March 2018 that the first ERC-721 fully standardized project, Su Squares, appeared. It was only later that OpenSea established itself as an ERC-721-compliant market. In the five years since its launch, OpenSea has become the leading NFT marketplace on Ethereum and has expanded to other blockchains such as Solana, Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche.
Super Rare is a curated NFT marketplace for artists that was launched in April 2018. It was one of the first platforms to implement a whitelist application process for artists. To become a Super Rare artist, individuals must apply and get approval from the platform before they can post their work to a "storefront" of their own design. Super Rare has a standard artist royalty of 10% and has launched an ERC-20 token called RARE (2021) and RarePass (2022).
KnownOrigin is an NFT marketplace that was launched in April 2018 as a platform for artists to identify, display, and sell their artworks. This "artist-first" marketplace is similar to Super Rare and competes with it for artists' attention. KnownOrigin was acquired by eBay in June 2022 and continues to keep running.
Launched in 2018, Nifty Gateway brings a new feature to the NFT marketplace: NFTs can be purchased with US dollars. This was a significant development, as no other NFT marketplace offered this payment option at the time. In 2019, Nifty Gateway emerged from the NFT market competition through an NFT auction system and caught the attention of crypto entrepreneurs Winklevoss twins, who acquired the platform later that year and integrated it into cryptocurrency trading platform Gemini. Despite facing competition from other markets, Nifty Gateway remains the preferred platform for auctioning and issuing NFTs for now.
Rarible is an NFT marketplace that launched in the winter of 2019. Just six months later, it launched its first-ever native governance token, RARI. RARI aims to reward collectors and creators and envisions a future where Rarible becomes a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). However, the token is mainly used for "laundered transactions", where users can make "left-handed-right-handed" NFT transactions on the platform and then receive RARI rewards. Since then, Rarible has shifted to zero fees for users who lock up their RARI tokens and added support for other blockchains, including Tezos, Solana, and Immutable X.
Foundation is an NFT distribution platform that launched in May 2020. It opened its NFT marketplace to the public in February 2021 and offers a unique "invitation-only" system for NFT creators. To create NFTs on the platform, creators must have an invitation code that can only be sent by other creators who have already sold at least one NFT on the platform. Collectors can participate in the auction without any restrictions. Foundation is an "artist-centric" platform focused on protecting creator royalties while providing creators with a range of tools and utilities, including an auction system, minting portal, and more.
NBA Top Shot is an NFT project released on the Flow blockchain in 2020 by Dapper Labs, the creator of CryptoKitties. The marketplace has categories such as player, team, combo, challenge, and more. NBA Top Shot is similar to a traditional basketball card, but replaces static images with moving video. The collection became popular in early 2021, with some NFTs selling for over $100,000 and helping thousands of people enter the world of NFTs. Many believe that NBA Top Shot played a major role in the NFT craze in 2021.
NFTX is an NFT protocol launched by developer Alex Gausman in January 2021. This is the first protocol to launch an NFT index fund, bringing traditional financial attributes into the NFT world and becoming a true DeFi x NFT product. NFTs allow users to create NFT pools backed by ERC-20 tokens that represent the amount of immediate liquidity in the pool. This is an innovation in the NFT marketplace as it allows users to purchase "partial shares" of NFTs using ERC-20 tokens.
Royal is an NFT marketplace dedicated to music NFTs. It was founded by well-known music artist and early NFT pioneer DJ 3LAU and launched in early 2021. In just a few months, Royal secured more than $16 million in investment from the Founders Fund and Paradigm. It is the second category-specific NFT marketplace (after art NFT marketplaces like Super Rare, KnownOrigin, and Foundation) to focus on music NFTs. Royal aims to transform the music industry through the use of NFTs.
OBJKT is an NFT marketplace that was launched on the Tezos blockchain in July 2021. It is currently the largest NFT marketplace on Tezos, focusing on art NFTs. OBJKT was originally just a platform to provide tools for another Tezos NFT marketplace, Hicetnunc (HEN). But after HEN faced challenges, OBJKT took over to become the leading NFT marketplace on the Tezos blockchain.
Magic Eden (ME) was launched in September 2021 with the aim of becoming the top NFT marketplace on the Solana blockchain. At the time, the Solana ecosystem was booming and the NFT space had matured. In June 2022, Magic Eden raised $130 million and integrated the platform onto the Polygon blockchain. The company plans to become the industry's leading multi-chain NFT marketplace in the future.
Although a platform launched in late 2020, Scarce.City has a unique history, originally as a marketplace to trade physical artworks and physical assets with BTC, leveraging the Bitcoin Lightning Network for low-cost and fast payments. In the summer of 2021, it launched an NFT marketplace.
Binance NFT was launched in June 2021 as a way for the Binance ecosystem to support NFTs. The platform has been successful because of its low fees and user-friendly interface on BNB Chain (formerly BSC). However, it has also been criticized for the proliferation of scams on the platform and the centralization surrounding cryptocurrency trading platform Binace. Despite these challenges, Binance NFTs remain a hot market in Binance's NFT ecosystem.
Launched in October 2021 by renowned NFT photography artist Justin Aversano, Quantum is an NFT marketplace focused on photographic NFTs. It aims to attract artists to curate and publish NFT collectibles, making NFT photography more accessible to collectors. Since its launch, Quantum has expanded to open a physical storefront in Los Angeles and has also added digital art to the platform.
Sudoswap was launched in October 2021 as a fully on-chain AMM protocol for NFT trading. It gained popularity in mid-2022 for offering 0% creator royalties and 0.5% low market fees. During the difficult times of the cryptocurrency market, many traders are looking for ways to preserve their funds, and Sudoswap receives their attention. As Sudoswap gained market share, it created some confusion in the industry, and some markets followed suit, offering 0% royalties for creators to follow suit. Nowadays, Sudoswap is a popular choice for a large number of NFT traders.
Looks Rare popped up in January 2022 to conduct a "vampire attack" on OpenSea, airdropping LOOKS tokens to users based on their OpenSea transaction history. This decentralized marketplace provides 100% of transaction fees to buyers, sellers, and stakeholders on the platform. In the first 30 days of launch, users cleaned transactions in an attempt to get more LOOKS airdrops. This completely anonymous team of 40 employees recently announced that Looks Rare V2 will be deployed in the first quarter of 2023, including an app version, NFT aggregator, and more.
X2Y2 was launched in a similar manner in February 2022, shortly after Looks Rare. They launched an ILO (Initial Liquidity Offering) in February, attracting thousands of investors, and subsequently airdropped X2Y2 tokens to users based on NFT transaction records. The platform experienced some turmoil when announcing the cancellation of creator royalties and was forced to roll back the decision a few months later. Today, the platform has ventured into the NFT lending business and gained some market share in the space.
Coinbase NFTs are probably considered the most disappointing NFT marketplace launches ever. The platform was announced in October 2021, but was not publicly available until April 2022. In the first three months of its launch, Coinbase NFTs failed to surpass $1 million in sales and only 1,200 people signed up. Its "Social NFT Marketplace" allows users to make friends with other customers and comment on NFTs, similar to social media platforms. Despite this, by the end of 2022, Coinbase NFTs still did not make the slightest wave in the NFT field.
ENS Vision was launched in March 2022 as a tool to help ENS enthusiasts search for ENS names. In the months that followed, ENS experienced a frenzy. For integrated NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, the number and demand for ENS transactions has become too much, and ENS Vision saw and capitalized on the opportunity. ENS Vision is now the leading ENS marketplace with lower market fees and additional tools not available in other markets.
Top decentralized exchange Uniswap acquired NFT Aggregator and Floor Sweeper Genie in June 2022, indicating its intention to enter the NFT market. With its experience developing decentralized trading platforms, Uniswap is expected to become a top NFT marketplace over time. There are indications that Uniswap will allow the purchase of NFTs using multiple ERC-20 tokens, which could give it a significant advantage in the market.
Blur raised $11 million in seed funding in early 2022 led by Paradigm. It wasn't until October 2022 that Blur launched the NFT Marketplace, a platform built for professional traders with a data-driven user interface. It is the first NFT marketplace to offer both an NFT aggregator and a marketplace. With a 0% marketplace fee and an optional creator "tip," as well as the January 2023 BLUR token airdrop incentive, Blur has quickly become a top NFT marketplace. However, it remains to be seen whether the platform will be sustainable beyond the initial token incentive.
That's a brief history of the NFT market!
More than a decade has passed since the first non-fungible asset "bitcoin.bit" was created to the Namecoin blockchain on April 21, 2011. It's been a crazy history, and it's clear that interest in the history of NFTs is only going to grow over time. As we move forward, it will be interesting to see how the NFT market evolves and what new stories will emerge.
Overall, how exciting it is to be a part of the NFT space and witness the growth and evolution of the industry!
Risk Warning:
According to the Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Speculation Risk of Virtual Currency Trading issued by the central bank and other departments, the content of this article is only for information sharing, and does not promote and endorse any business and investment behavior, and readers are requested to strictly abide by the laws and regulations of the region where they are located and do not participate in any illegal financial behavior.
Author | jakegallen.eth
Compile the | Shirasawa Research Institute
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