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Back in January 2021 gmoney purchased the most expensive CryptoPunk at the time, Ape Punk #8219 for 140 ETH ($150,275 at the time).
The sale — a couple of months before Beeple broke the sound barrier with his $69M Everydays sale — garnered a lot of attention thanks to gmoney’s Twitter thread thesis about CryptoPunks and digital scarcity that foreshadowed the NFT craze.
But that was yet to come, and crypto plunged straight after, taking the CryptoPunk floor price with it.
Coming from a tradfi background, gmoney got into crypto in 2017 but it wasn’t until late 2020 when he started to get interested in NFTs. The New Yorker went all in on a number of high-profile collections, and is currently sitting on 271 Chromie Squiggles, multiple CryptoPunks, an Autoglyph, multiple Beeples and a Justin Aversano Twin Flame among much more.
gmoney’s first NFT in 2020 was a CryptoKitty, but playing a lot of Fortnite as the 2020 pandemic took off was the big brain unlock for digital ownership.
“I was playing Fortnite a lot at the beginning of quarantine and I saw how much all these kids were spending on skins. I just realized digital scarcity is definitely going to be a thing,” gmoney says.
“In my previous career, I was always just looking for opportunities where I thought that the market was mispricing things. That’s how I kind of stumbled upon crypto and then NFTs.”
gmoney today focuses a lot of his time on his onchain lifestyle platform and clothing brand, 9dcc but still remains a top influencer in NFTs.
1/ Why did I purchase a 24 x 24 pixel image yesterday for 140 ETH?!??! (a record in USD)
— gmoney.9dcc.eth (@gmoneyNFT) January 7, 2021
Buying ‘the top’ with the most expensive CryptoPunk… for a week
gmoney recalls thinking he may have bought the top with his Ape purchase when crypto started a big pullback.
“Crypto was rocking, Bitcoin was at $30,000 but when I bought it, I think Bitcoin pulled back to the low $20,000s and I was like ‘holy shit, I literally just bought the top’,” says gmoney.
“My cope back then was I would tell myself ‘all right, well, this is a long term trade. It was always a long term trade.’ I thought when I bought the Ape, given I bought it for $150,000 I wanted to sell it in five years at Christie’s or Sotheby’s for like $5 million, not realizing that I probably could have done that in five months.”
“There were definitely times, especially in that first week because Bitcoin pulled back so viciously that I literally thought I just bought the top. Thankfully it wasn’t, it was pretty short lived. I think it was about a week or so later that Flamingo DAO bought that Alien Punk for about 600 ETH ($750,000 at the time). That’s what got me to actually join Flamingo and then everything just started ripping again.”
FOMO after missing out on CryptoPunks at $1,500
Probably unsurprisingly FOMO was a big factor in the purchase, as gmoney had been hesitant on CryptoPunks after missing out on their run up to $1,500, a number that looks minuscule in hindsight.
In the midst of minting hundreds of Chromie Squiggles, gmoney gives credit to Snowfro, Nate Alex and Justin Trimble for convincing him.
“During my time minting Squiggles, Snowfro was a big help. It was mostly him, Nate Alex and Justin Trimble that pretty much red-pilled me on Punks because up until that point, I was like I want to find the next CryptoPunks,” said gmoney.
“The Punk floor was around $1,500 at the time and I was thinking that was way too high. I was trying to find the next version of this and then those guys red pilled me on them pretty hard.”
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CryptoPunks, Squiggly, Autoglyphs: gmoney’s NFT collector thesis
Like prolific NFT Collectors DC Investor and VonMises, gmoney has a long-term horizon on most of his portfolio.
“I would say I’m probably more of a buy-and-hold collector, especially when it comes to art. I think especially on the collections that we’ve spoken about. I think that they’re probably going to stand up over time and become historically relevant,” gmoney says.
“There’s only 10,000 Punks, 10,000 Squiggles, approximately 500 Autoglyphs so I think over time they get into museums as digital artifacts. You just can’t not include these.”
“That’s kind of why I think I slowed down a lot after the first half of 2021. There were just so many things that were coming out and the supply became so high that I’d rather hold on to something that will go up less because it’s already gone up so much, but has a higher probability of going up than something new that maybe I can make like a 10,000x on.”
“That’s why you haven’t seen me do much with my collection since then is because I’ve been really happy with the things that I did get.”
gmoney also has a soft spot for the often overlooked fully onchain Squiggly collection of 100 by Nate Alex that was launched in October 2020.
“I really like the Squiggly’s and I love Nate. I think Nate is awesome and I do think those are going to be pretty historic and stand the test of time. It’s only a small collection too.
gmoney says he honed his eye for nuance and desirable traits in collections by picking up on cues from collectors like VonMises.
“I remember after I minted one of the Hyper Squigs, VonMises DMs me and offered me something like 0.75 ETH or 1 ETH for it … I remember I said no and I didn’t need the money but by that point, I already realized that he was a really smart guy and if he wanted a Hyper, someone else probably wanted it too,” gmoney says.
“So I then kept track of all the people that would mint Hypers and I actually bought one right after somebody minted because of that interaction with VonMises. Even though I had no idea what the rarities were at that point, I was just like, ‘All right, if this guy wants it, then I probably want it.’”
Gmoney builds onchain clothing brand 9dcc
The birth of onchain clothing brand and lifestyle platform 9dcc in early 2022 was something gmoney was thinking about early on. He recalls a conversation with Pranksy that originally started out as a vision for a metaverse fashion brand, but he pivoted the idea shortly after his IRL clothing drop with Adidas.
Since, 9dcc has become popular with crypto natives and even some celebrities and athletes.
“I think the really cool stuff is that these people that wear our product aren’t wearing it for the tech, they’re wearing it for the design, which I think says a lot about the design,” he says.
“Big shot of kudos to our creative director for that because first and foremost, we have to make stuff that people want to wear. If we have this cool tech side of things, but people don’t want to wear it, then it’s just going to sit there.”
“But the fact that celebrities are wearing it and athletes are wearing it means that the design is good and then the tech unlock is the extra.”
The name 9dcc refers to the last four digits of a wallet address, and gmoney wants to turn mainstream consumers onto crypto ideas and digital ownership.
“I just say to people a lot of times if I’m wearing a hat or a shirt or whatever ‘hey, do you want a free NFT?’ Most people are curious, and I ask them to take out their phone, and then I just show them that experience. I feel like people have this preconception of NFTs being these overpriced pictures,” gmoney says.
“I just educate them that this is proof that they met me in real life. The only way you can get this NFT is by meeting me. Generally they think that’s pretty cool. and then maybe they ask more questions, maybe they don’t. Although we don’t mention them as NFTs like in any of our messaging, we lean more to a digital engagement. A digital experience everybody gets.”
“We all go on the internet, that’s a digital experience right? We go on websites, all these things. It’s just a function of that and we’ve obfuscated all of the crypto away. I always use a guiding principle or let’s say like a north star, if my mother can use it then I know it’s good, but if she can’t, we still have work to do.”
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Rapid Fire Q&A with NFT Collector gmoney
Biggest NFT sale to date?
I was gifted a Bored Ape when they were at around 0.5 ETH floor. I sold it for around 79 ETH, which I think was about $270,000 at the time. That might have been my biggest sale.
Who are your top three favorite digital artists?
1. XCOPY – Number one is XCOPY, I think my biggest regret from that last cycle is not getting XCOPY. I think I’m kind of priced out from the stuff that I want.
2. Die with the most likes
3. Grant Yun
When did you buy your first crypto?
It was in 2017. I remember I was trying to buy it around 2012. I saw a Bitcoin at $27, and I was trying to buy it, but I couldn’t figure it out. I spent four or five hours trying to figure it out and just couldn’t. I missed it but it is what it is.
If you could only name one, what would be your absolute favorite NFT owned across your combined wallets?
Have to say my CryptoPunk Ape but in terms of other favorite art pieces, I have some Justin Aversano stuff. I helped bring him into the space so his stuff always resonates with me and means a lot to me.
What’s an underappreciated NFT project right now, in your opinion, if you had to name one?
CryptoPunks.
Who else’s collection outside of your own do you admire?
Off the top of my head, I’d probably say Seedphrase. I think he has an incredible collection.
Are there any up-and-coming artists that you would encourage readers to pay attention to?
I’d say probably die with the most likes. I think he has a cult following in the space but I still sometimes look at his follower count and think this guy is still not widely known. I love his shit. I think he’s hilarious and he’s like the nicest guy if you ever meet him in person.
Who would be your top three favorite followers X for NFTs?
1. Derek Edwards
2. Chris F
3. Aaron Wright
I feel like they’re definitely here long term and they definitely see the trends way before most.
What would be your advice to someone just discovering NFTs now who has a lot of curiosity and wants to get their feet wet?
I would say take your time and be patient. The market isn’t necessarily going anywhere for the time being. Find stuff that resonates with you and don’t necessarily do it for the money, do it because you love the art.
What is some advice for someone that’s trying to survive crypto for the long run?
No leverage, no leverage. You don’t need leverage. The upside is big enough without leverage.
Links
X: @gmoneyNFT
gmoney wallet: /gmoney
gmoney vault wallet: /gmoneyvault
9dcc store: https://9dcc.xyz/
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Greg Oakford
Greg Oakford is the General Manager for Upside DAO, a leading Australian crypto & web3 co-working hub and investment fund. He is an avid NFT collector and the co-founder of NFT Fest Australia. Prior to crypto, Greg was a marketing and sponsorship specialist in the sports industry working on professional events.
