NFT Briefing: QQL Unpacked

QQL drops on Archipelago on September 28.

Tyler Hobbs and Dandelion Unveil QQL

Generative art attracted a wave of new fans during the 2021 NFT boom, helped in no small part by the emergence of platforms like Art Blocks. Conjured from intricate lines of code and immutably minted on the blockchain, thousands of bewildering outputs that appeared on Art Blocks did the rounds among crypto’s art-inclined contingent and traded at eye-watering prices. Of all the Art Blocks collections that gained popularity during the generative art explosion, Fidenza remains the best-loved.

Life has moved fast for Fidenza creator Tyler Hobbs since his iconic collection dropped in June 2021. Fidenzas minted at around $400 and quickly sold out on launch, but a bustle of activity on the secondary market and 7.5% creator fee soon made Hobbs a multimillionaire. In fact, if you were subscribed to the NFT Briefing dispatch in July 2021, you’ll have received a newsletter from me tipping Fidenza when the NFTs traded at $22,000; they topped $600,000 a few weeks later and are currently worth closer to $117,000. It’s one of most traded collections on OpenSea with over 50,000 ETH in lifetime volume.

NFT critics often decry the speculative nature of the market, and it would be easy to write off the staggering gains the most sought-after collections have seen as the product of mere gambling. But there’s a reason Fidenza is so valuable and so many other generative collections aren’t: its algorithm is incredibly detailed, making for a diverse collection of beautiful works.

Most people were priced out of Fidenza and Hobbs’ other works a long time ago, but the good news is that he’s back with another drop. QQL, created alongside generative art expert Dandelion, will mint in a Dutch auction next Wednesday, and there’s already a huge buzz for it across the community. Part of that is because Hobbs is already the space’s biggest star, but the main factor is QQL’s unique design. 

Unlike every other generative art collection before it, QQL invites the minter to become the creator. Hobbs and Dandelion launched a website for the algorithm this week, which allows hopeful collectors and onlookers alike to play with the algorithm to create their own outputs ahead of the mint event. Check out this one I just knocked up.

Those who enter the drop will receive a mint pass, which will never expire. In theory, this means people could still be creating QQLs 100 years from now. Aside from the collaborative aspect of the collection, I think QQL’s outputs are easily as rich as Fidenza’s, which makes this drop incredibly attractive. 

Now don’t get me wrong: I don’t know if it will ever reach the dizzying heights that Hobbs’ magnum opus did, and it won’t be a cheap entry fee (the auction will open at 50 ETH and incrementally drop until it sells out, but everyone will pay the floor price). But I do know that generative art is only going to grow, and Hobbs is currently the most likely contender to become the niche’s most legendary figure. Plus, I haven’t seen the community get as excited about a drop since Moonbirds, a hyped avatar collection that did a 15x within days of launching. If you’re feeling creative, by the way, enter
the competition Hobbs and Dandelion are running for three mint passes —but be aware this will get a lot of entries over the next few days.

As a member, you’ll get the alpha on all of the most promising developments in the digital collectibles world courtesy of our resident NFT expert Ant. We also have a Discord community and dedicated NFT channel where you’ll be able to keep track of all of the hot drops and chat with other smart investors. Subscribe to learn more and try it for yourself. 

Good luck if you’re hoping to get in on QQL, but please remember to leave one for me if you do. 

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned ETH and several other fungible and non-fungible cryptocurrencies.