NOVEMBER 18TH, 2021
Properly balanced tokenomics in a cryptocurrency are an undefinable elegance. Thousands of attempts to create financial networks backed by ineffable value have spawned an ecosystem scalping the gray area between innovation and forward-thinking speculation. By removing the “non-fungible,” abstraction of an NFT, a creative new way to value currency has emerged: proof of destruction.
There is an AI architect out there that is obsessed with bringing about some kind of singularity. Either the trans-humanist singularity, where AI and human intelligence become “singular,” or the value singularity where something reaches an “infinite value.” Potentially both.
The name is Pak, @muratpak on Twitter, and their (or “it’s”) current design projects are at the cutting edge of performance art and tokenization. Using an intersection of AI and digital creation tools, Pak follows a simple and mathematical design philosophy to both entrance collectors and provide a consistent visual thread through their body of work.
Design is hack.
— Pak (@muratpak) September 28, 2014
Create things that help you create.
Create tools and techniques.— Pak (@muratpak) August 26, 2020
Pak uses the multitude of present-day creative tools to push the limits of “hacking” design; from AI to social media. They use Twitter as a stage: their tweets are sometimes cryptic, sometimes enlightening, sometimes instantly deleted. Every interaction is precise and the voice hasn’t changed in over 10 years of Tweets. Another thread through their work that is highly visible, as old tweets are constantly referenced (quote tweeted or retweeted), as though a massive Tweet database is being accessed by an algorithm to create engagement.
It’s quite likely that an AI is partially involved in running the Pak Twitter account. That’s not too far of a reach, @muratpak is the mastermind behind @archillect (Archillect), an artificial intelligence Twitter bot that uses the infinite images of the internet to create engagement for its followers, mapping keywords to an ever-evolving network of users. Sending viral tweet after viral tweet, the bot’s reach has become awe-inspiring with almost 3 million followers on Twitter.
In addition to being an AI designer, Pak is a true pioneer of the “T” part of NFT (token). They understand an entirely new medium has been created for the world.
First of all, I see this as a new medium rather than a new marketplace. This shapes a lot of things in my work(s).
A new medium means new ways of communication to begin with.— Pak (@muratpak) November 7, 2020
So, understand the medium.
— Pak (@muratpak) March 7, 2021
In a desire to master the medium, Pak is leading experiments and pushing Ethereum smart contracts to their limit in collaboration with the @manifoldxyz web3 studio. They create simple mechanisms that turn out an ongoing performance with hundreds or, more recently, thousands of eager participants willing to spend upwards of $70 million. More about that later.
Perhaps the simplest of all Pak’s mechanisms is the ability to burn Pak NFTs for a cryptocurrency called Ash. An Ethereum smart contract accessed through the website burn.art allows Pak collectors to burn their NFT for ASH tokens. The first NFT burned for ASH produced 1,000, and after that, it decreased according to a precise bonding curve.
Creation with destruction.
"For every NFT you burn, you get ashes in return."$ASH #ERC20— Pak (@muratpak) April 12, 2021
To date, over 3,000 Pak NFTs have been burnt, and over 2.6m tokens are circulating. The price recently broke upwards through $40 per Ash for the first time, when the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini announced that it was listing ASH/USD.
Starting with a market cap of almost nothing, Ash has grown to a total valuation of over $100m and 7,800 wallets holding. As one of the most well-distributed cryptocurrencies in the entire space, it is extremely unlikely that a couple of whales can collude to influence the price. The following is a graph representing how well distributed Ash is among its holders:
$ASH economy: inclusiveness @muratpak pic.twitter.com/ZyJ01IYE2g
— ShortsHoward.eth | Lost Poet (@ShortsHoward) November 13, 2021
The true brilliance of the $ASH ecosystem is that, although there is a solid learning curve behind it, it is simple to understand and accessible by anyone. To combat the increasing financial barrier to entry, Pak rewards those who keep a close eye on his activity with new opportunities.
One may not automatically know that at the beginning “A Cube,” from Pak’s Sotheby’s/Nifty Gateway open edition earlier this year, was on sale from the artist for only $500. For months A Cube was the cheapest Pak piece to burn, but now a $30,000+ floor has been established for all Pak NFTs that can be burned for Ash.
The last major piece of the Ash ecosystem puzzle is Pak’s most recent project, LOSTPOETS. In anticipation of Poets, Pak sold $70 million worth of pages (redeemable for “poets”) in 70 minutes.
"Pak is challenging the status quo at the intersection of design, value, and art."
"This is a performance happening exclusively for those involved, making it that much more meaningful and exclusive"https://t.co/wrEzMUXYOy#pakwashere @muratpak— LedgerDust is writing poems (@LedgerDust) September 6, 2021
By scrolling to the very bottom of the lostpoets website, you will find that poets are eligible for the Ash burn. It’s only for the patient and it requires a year of waiting, but it can be a lucrative option for those who feel shut out of buying a $30,000 cube or trading Eth for Ash on Uniswap. As of now, a poet has a floor price of ~$5,000. Considering that is 1/6th of the value you will realize from holding and burning in a year, it’s a safe “call option” bet on the price of Ash.
Starting with cubes, and exploding outwards with poets, Pak is growing his Ash ecosystem into a singularity of value. The next step is to attract new artists that will contribute to the network effect of ownership by selling their NFTs for Ash. Establishing new collectors and increasing the demand for the token are just byproducts of supporting Pak and joining a vibrant community. Not to mention, Pak influences celebrities such as Paris Hilton, and artists like Beeple and XCopy. Something is in the works to get the knowledge of Ash into as many heads as possible.
The open ecosystem is just beginning, with an AI architect at the helm. Ash is the start of an exponential increase in monetary value that will lead to a unified family of zealous PAK collectors and artists. There is an easy way to invest in the future value of the ecosystem by buying a lostpoet or directly purchasing on Uniswap. Pak is a master of his performance space and will continue to drive an expansion of notability using one of the most powerful AI engagement tools ever created, Archillect.
