‘Less interest than anticipated’ — PROOF cancels NFT eventKevin Rose, the co-founder of the nonfungible token (NFT) collection Moonbirds has confirmed
‘Less interest than anticipated’ — PROOF cancels NFT event
Kevin Rose, the co-founder of the nonfungible token (NFT) collection Moonbirds has confirmed that their flagship conference “Proof of Conference” scheduled for May has been canceled, citing “less interest than anticipated.”
We made a tough decision today, I want to apologize to everyone that planned on making the trip out. Full ETH refunds have been processed, hotels are refundable, and contact us about flights. (details below) https://t.co/tV4ba85648
— KΞVIN R◎SE (,) (@kevinrose) February 20, 2023
The conference was first announced in early November. It was scheduled to run on May. 11 to May. 13 in Los Angeles.
However, Rose explained in a Feb. 20 letter to ticket holders that it wasn’t “the right time” for the conference:
“As you know, in the world of NFTs, timing is everything. And today, it’s time for us to recognize that right now isn’t the right time for the PROOF of Conference.”
Rose explained that he and his PROOF team considered alternatives, such as opting for a new location to Los Angeles — where it was set to be held — a smaller venue, reducing the scope of the event and lowering ticket prices.
But ultimately, it was best to cancel the whole event, he said.
“After several weeks of sales data, speaking with potential sponsors, and talking to community members, it’s clear that there is considerably less interest than anticipated for an event like this right now.”
Rose confirmed that Ether (ETH) refunds are being processed right now and that PROOF has a claim page for people to submit non-refundable flight cancellations.
The event was going to feature Michael “Beeple” Winkelmann — the artist behind the famous NFT that sold for $69 million in March, 2021 — Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Greg Solano and Wylie Aronow of Yuga Labs and NFT entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, among others.
The announcement comes despite the NFT market soaring in recent months, with the month of January in particular seeing an eight-month high in monthly NFT trading volumes above $1 billion.
Artist paid $150K for Bitcoin wizard meme on Ordinals
The emergence of NFT-like “Ordinals” on Bitcoin over the last month has brought a series of meme images to the network of late, including a famous Bitcoin wizard meme that first made rounds on the Bitcoin subreddit in 2013.
Thanks to Ordinals, the artist of said meme, known as “Mavensbot” has just received 6 Bitcoin (BTC) — worth $150,000 at current prices for his iconic work.
This was made possible after blockchain research analyst Udi Wertheimer and meme-inspired Bitcoin community Taproot Wizard inscribe the wizard meme on Bitcoin to not only “celebrate the 10 year anniversary of his art,” but reel in some cash for the creator of the meme, “Mavensbot,” according to Wertheimer:
Short story about how we got NFT mfers to support a historic bitcoin artist with $150,000 via lightning payments, and how bitcoin maxis HATE us for it.
(I know it’s a long tweet but it’s a good story)
Mavensbot (on top in the screenshot below) is the creator of the famous 2013… https://t.co/kPd9IlCaWs pic.twitter.com/wGTegIiDM4
— Udi Wertheimer ♂️ (@udiWertheimer) February 21, 2023
Within the first three hours alone, 6 Bitcoin (BTC) was were sent from “NFT enjoyers” to Mavensbot via the Lightning network.
“Watching this made me really happy. The NFT community that I admire, using the bitcoin asset and lightning network that I believe in, to support an artist whose work means so much to me.”
“You love to see it,” he added.
Taproot Wizards is part of a movement that wants to “make bitcoin magical again” with magic internet JPEGs inscribed forever on the Bitcoin blockchain.
However, Wertheimer highlighted that not everyone is on board with the whole Ordinals concept — particularly the “Bitcoin maximialists.”
But Wertheimer doubled down, demanding Bitcoin maximalists to not take everything seriously:
“It’s time to go back to the spirit of the 2013 bitcoin wizard. Playfulness, experimentation, innovation. Not taking ourselves so god damn seriously all the time. HAVING FUN, for Satoshi’s sake. I truly believe that with ordinals we finally have a chance to do this.”
Australian cocktail bar launches NFT membership program
Australian cocktail and NFT connoisseurs have been given a new venue in Sydney to haunt — one that allows holders of its nonfungible tokens (NFTs) access to additional privileges at the bar.
The Sydney-based cocktail bar, Bar Lulu, launched on Feb. 21 local time, along with an NFT Members Club Bar named Cryptolulu.
Based in Sydney and overlooking the city’s harbor, patrons will need to buy the NFT Member Club Bar on NFT marketplace OpenSea on the Ethereum network in order to access certain privileges.
cointelegraph.com