Bruce Lee Enters Web3, Starting With Open Edition NFT From Pplpleasr

The Bruce Lee Foundation will establish a Web3 presence for the late, legendary martial artist and actor thanks to a new partnership with Shibuya, an $NFT-driven video platform.

The plans were teased on social media Tuesday with a classic video interview clip of Lee, in which he transforms from live footage into an anime-style rendition. At 11 am ET today, Shibuya will release an open edition Ethereum $NFT—which means that an unlimited number can be purchased before the mint ends—for 0.008 ETH each, or about $15.

The “House of Lee: Genesis” $NFT features artwork of Lee that was hand-drawn by Emily “pplpleasr” Yang and designed in collaboration with Shannon Lee—the late icon’s daughter, and founder and President of the Bruce Lee Foundation.

My last name is Lee. Bruce Lee. pic.twitter.com/hc678dzRgO

— Bruce Lee (@brucelee) April 11, 2023

The $NFT is billed as “your ticket to the House of Lee,” according to the Manifold mint page, although future utility or plans around the $NFT have yet to be announced.

A Shibuya representative told Decrypt that the $NFT mint (which ends Friday) serves as the first stage in an ongoing Web3 collaboration with the Bruce Lee Foundation, but wouldn’t share further details.

Open edition NFTs have been popular in recent months, thanks in part to their typically affordable prices—but also the use of gamification techniques to entice collectors to buy and even burn (or permanently destroy) multiple editions in exchange for rewards.

Shannon Lee (left) and Emily "pplpleasr" Yang with the $NFT artwork. Image: Shibuya

Shibuya’s focus to date, however, has been on creating original video series that let $NFT holders have a say in the production process. In Shibuya’s first project, the anime-style White Rabbit animated series, $NFT holders can choose the next narrative path at the end of each segment.

With the recent “Dominion X: Level 2” series created by musician Steve Aoki and actor Seth Green’s Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, $NFT owners could vote on the conclusion to each new stop-motion animated segment produced on a weekly basis. Shibuya announced a $6.9 million seed round in December co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Variant Fund.

Whether Shibuya plans to create Bruce Lee video content within a similar model remains to be seen, but the teaser clip already shows that they’re working on Bruce Lee animation. The clip will also be shown on a Times Square video billboard this week in New York City amid the $NFT.NYC conference.