1/ I just published a new post on Why I'm Collecting Black Crypto Art

https://medium.com/@cuysheffield/why-im-collecting-black-crypto-art-c3cbba939d64

Thread below

2/ Crypto art as a new form factor and platform for Black artists, curators, and collectors is one of the most exciting avenues that could spur a Black Digital Renaissance that would create and capture billions of dollars of value for Black communities over the next decade

3/ Public blockchains like Ethereum are general purpose technologies that enable new assets to be created, have their ownership recorded, and be easily traded on exchanges. Non-fungible tokens or (NFTs) have evolved from games to artwork

4/ The collector of the NFT is purchasing a direct social connection to the artist that creates it that you don't get by screenshotting or downloading their work on your own. This creates a powerful form of social signaling and incentive alignment between collectors and artists.

5/ Fine art is a $65B market with average annualized returns of 7% a year but has been largely inaccessible to consumers and retail investors

6/ Crypto art platforms like @SuperRare and @niftygateway feel like "Instagram meets Robinhood" and lower the barrier to entry for artists to create and for consumers to buy and sell tokens representing digital artwork

7/ The recent @beeple drop that sold $3.5M in a weekend represents a turning point for the industry that has gone from only a few thousand dollars to $30M in crypto art sold in the past year according to @richardchen39 & http://cryptoart.io 

8/ Black culture and forms of creative expression communicated through mediums such as music, literature, and art have thrived and driven mainstream global culture for generations. However it has been difficult for Black creatives to own the value of culture that they produce.

9/ Crypto art has the potential to become the next mainstream art movement that democratizes the creation, ownership, and discovery of digital artwork. It offers Black artists new dimensions to incorporate into their work and a new platform to reach interested collectors.

10/ Instead of private institutions determining the value of artwork, an audience of hundreds of millions of consumers on the internet do as they have the opportunity to own the token representing the art and use it to establish a digital cultural identity.

11/ According to @xx1off, from Jan - Nov, 58 Black crypto artists have sold a combined 513 pieces of crypto artwork for 1,132 ETH (market value of $736k)

12/ Over that time, the average sales price for Black crypto art increased from $144 to $927! The value of Black crypto art is being recognized by the market and Black artists are seeing promising demand and early returns for their work

13/ In addition to helping Black artists capture value of their creativity, crypto art gives Black communities the opportunity to own a new appreciating asset

It also serves as a gateway to introduce Black consumers to crypto and new forms of digital ownership

14/ If you are interested in supporting Black crypto art, join me as a founding collector at @xx1off https://www.xx1off.art/membership 

15/ Finally, check out and follow talented Black artists like @Micah_Johnson3, @lethabohuma, @BLACKKSNEAKERS, and @Izzyalright

https://twitter.com/i/lists/1290264898413494277?s=09