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News that the legendary artwork “CryptoMother“, also known as the Crypto Mona Lisa, is finally going on sale is taking the NFT market by storm! After years of rejecting all offers, the current owner has decided to auction the masterpiece on the Australian NFT marketplace NFT STARS. The winning bid will receive both the NFT and the original oil on canvas painting.
The Crypto Mona Lisa was first presented at a blockchain conference in 2017. In 2018, at a similar event, the creator of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin saw the painting and autographed it, making it the only piece of art signed by a prominent programmer. The impact that this single act has on the painting’s value is considerable. “CryptoMother” has sparked huge interest from the NFT community and over the years, digital art collectors have offered as much as $6 million for it. Now that the piece is actually up for sale, the question of the CryptoMother’s price is being raised once again. Who will fight to take possession of the legendary masterpiece? Here are our top 10 guesses of who might throw their hat into the ring.
Justin Sun – a Vacant Spot in the “JUST NFT Fund” Collection
Founder of TRON Foundation and CEO of BitTorrent, Justin Sun is a perfect candidate for becoming the new owner of the Crypto Mona Lisa. Sun has a deep interest in the NFT sphere: he has established the JUST NFT Fund with a mission to NFTize the world’s top art and is building a collection of artwork that’s registered on the blockchain. The Fund has so far purchased paintings by Andy Warhol and Picasso. Sun has also acquired Beeple’s “Ocean Front” and tried his luck at bidding for “Everyday.”
To pass the requirements threshold and spark the interest of the Fund and specifically Sun, the artwork should have significance for the art industry and be worth more than $1 million. “CryptoMother” is the perfect catch in this case. The painting has already been tokenized on blockchain and was once valued at $6 million.
Eric Young – Digital Art with a Physical Touch
Eric Young is an active investor in digital art. By some estimations, his collection consists of more than 350 NFTs worth way over $1 million collectively. Young became known to the wider NFT community after acquiring “The Pixel”, a single grey pixel by the artist Pak, for $1.36 million. Maybe it’s time to invest in really valuable pieces that are worth much more than this entire collection? Another notable fact about Eric Young’s collection is that many of the pieces have physical components. “CryptoMother” would complement the existing collection perfectly – something both physical and digital.
Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile – A Collection Lacking a Centerpiece
Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile calls himself a digital art patron. This art collector is well known for buying Beeple’s “CROSSROADS” for $67,000 and then selling it for $6.6 million several months later. The entire Rodriguez-Fraile collection numbers more than 2,000 NFTs and consists of top crypto artists like Beeple and Pak. “CryptoMother” may interest the collector for its meaning. The painting symbolizes the values of DeFi and represents the mother, protecting all blocks in the network.
MetaKovan – a New Statement Piece in the Collection
MetaKovan (whose real name is Vignesh Sundaresan) is a collector, a programmer, the founder of several crypto companies, and an angel investor in blockchain projects. Many learned his name after the auction of Beeple’s “Everydays: the First 5000 Days” – it was MetaKovan who purchased “Everydays” for $69 million, setting the record for the most expensive NFT artwork ever sold. The collector explains that the artwork is playing a huge role in the ongoing shift in perception when it comes to how digital art is perceived by the general public. That’s what makes it worth every penny. MetaKovan’s collection also includes other works by Beeple, namely 20 single-edition Beeple works that he purchased earlier for more than $2.2 million.
Sundaresan may consider buying the Crypto Mona Lisa as it is a perfect example of traditional art turning digital. “CryptoMother” is a non-fungible token and oil on canvas painting that holds true value in both the traditional art and the NFT market. And it’s always better to have a couple of statement pieces than 1,000 NFTs worth $40,000 in total, at best.
WhaleShark – Time for More Artsy Pieces
WhaleShark is a pseudo-anonymous digital art collector who owns one of the richest and most expensive digital art collections in the world. At the beginning of 2021, WhaleShark’s collection included over 210,000 NFTs. The portfolio was valued at a total of $21,951,341. WhaleShark is known for having one of the largest ensembles of NBA Top Shots, alone worth as much as $53 million. Maybe it’s time to enrich the collection with more artistic creations?
Colborn Bell – What is a Crypto Art Museum without the Crypto Mona Lisa?
Colborn Bell is a blockchain and venture investor, a digital art collector, and a co-founder of the Museum of Crypto Art (MOCA), numbering more than 250 NFTs. It’s easy to become the first Museum of Crypto Art. With the legendary Crypto Mona Lisa, it would also be pretty easy to be the best. So it would make perfect sense if Colborn Bell tried his luck at bidding for “CryptoMother.”
Shalom Meckenzie – Artwork for Those Who Appreciate Exclusivity
Shalom Meckenzie is an entrepreneur, the largest shareholder in daily fantasy and sports-betting firm DraftKings and he is the founder of gambling-technology provider SBTech. Meckenzie entered the NFT world with an impressive move. He bought one of the rarest CryptoPunks from the alien collection – CryptoPunk #3100 for $11.7 million. When explaining his motives for making the purchase, Meckenzie said that it’s the only NFT wearing a mask, and that symbolized the whole of 2020. Another reason for the expensive purchase was how unique this particular CryptoPunk is.
The total supply of CryptoPunks has been recently reduced to 9,998, making CryptoPunk #3100 one of thousands. “CryptoMother”, on the other hand, is the centerpiece of the “Art of Blockchain” collection, consisting of only 5 NFTs along with their original paintings.
NFT DAOs – One “CryptoMother,” Many Crypto Enthusiasts
The idea behind an NFT DAO is similar to the principles of fractional NFT trading – one artwork owned by many investors. NFT DAOs invest in high-value digital artwork, support investments in NFT infrastructure and projects and build jointly owned collections.
There’s a high chance that one of the current NFT DAOs will purchase “CryptoMother,” since a collective may have access to more resources than an individual collector would. The acquisition of “CryptoMother” would significantly enrich any one of the following DOAs’ portfolios and give more value to that DAO. Some wild guesses on which DAO might cast the winning bid? Possibly PleasrDAO, FlamingoDAO, or JennyDAO (Jenny Metaverse DAO).
Elon Musk – Because Why Not
Elon Musk is a questionable persona in the crypto world. Some praise him for his involvement and popularization of crypto payments, others condemn his behavior and his speculations over Twitter. Nevertheless, there’s always a possibility that Musk will throw a surprise and purchase an iconic work of art. He’s not new to digital art either. Once, Musk set out to sell a techno track of his about NFT as a non-fungible token but later decided to pass on the idea, turning down a $1 million offer.
Vitalik Buterin – A Purchase That Comes Full Circle
One of the Ethereum network’s creators, Vitalik Buterin is not active enough in the NFT world to make the top of the list of candidates contending for ownership of the Crypto Mona Lisa. Still, the programmer has a history with this particular painting and has joined the NFT-based show, calling for the use of NFTs to effect social change.
In 2018, Buterin saw the “CryptoMother” painting and even left his autograph on it but that’s not the primary reason why he might be interested in the piece. Since 2017, when the painting was first presented to the public, the current owner has rejected all purchase offers. The owner deeply values the artwork and truly believes in its significance for the crypto world. That’s why after so many years, the release of “CryptoMother” is timed to coincide with Ethereum’s 6th Anniversary and the launch of the London Hard Fork. “CryptoMother” appeals to the parallels between the importance of the whole blockchain ecosystem and the role of the mother guarding over all crypto enthusiasts.
The current owner of the artwork shares Buterin’s aspirations to do social good and has promised to donate part of the proceeds from the auction to charity. If Vitalik Buterin does acquire the Crypto Mona Lisa, it would very neatly round off the history of the artwork.
These are the top 10 guesses as to who might be interested in purchasing the Crypto Mona Lisa. The list of collectors will likely exceed all expectations. With the auction lasting 72 hours, everyone has the chance to place a bid and become the owner of this legendary NFT and original artwork.