I'm a t-shirt guy. Today while wearing one of my wonderful t-shirts, it occurred to me they’re a metaphor for my NFT journey.
I’m literally in search of a drawer of t-shirts that for me, are jewels - t-shirt nirvana.
It starts with my t-shirt drawer, the chest that holds the treasures. I only have room in my drawer for 12-15 t-shirts. I could fit more but then the drawer would be hard to open - the drawer can’t be hard to open.
When I open the drawer I imagine a treasure chest of sparkling colors - gold, ruby, and sapphire. When I’m gone maybe our son would open my drawer, his eyes light up and he’d say to himself, “These were my dad’s favorite t-shirts”.
To get to t-shirt nirvana, I’ve bought a couple hundred t-shirts. It had to be this way. Because I never know if a t-shirt is perfect or not until it’s on. Until I’ve worn it a few times, it’s been in the drawer a while.
Are the t-shirts I bought but don’t wear mistakes? Mistakes sounds harsh, throws too much shade. Some I really like, but they’re not it. The drawer can only contain it ones. The not it ones still have meaning - I’ll sell or gift them
Others I bought feel like sandpaper on. They weren’t as advertised, or something else caused me to change how I feel.
Just like NFTs, I’ve learned what not to buy along the way. Now I’m careful. I only buy a t-shirt that meets my eccentric standard. If it isn’t advertised as soft, and organic, I rarely buy it. No more impulse buys.
And even then, it still might not stay in my drawer. Because as I say, a t-shirt isn’t great until its stood the test of time.
You might be thinking - “this guy is a t-shirt freak. He’s a weirdo”. You’d be right - on both accounts. My only defense is that a great t-shirt is a thing. Indescribably great. Feels good on, I feel good when it’s on.
NFTs are like great t-shirts. I’ve found a few that are gems.
To get here I had to buy a bunch of NFTs — I don’t wear now. They’re in storage, in a wallet I don’t look at. Mistakes? Last week my answer was yes. Today “journey” works better.
If I juxtapose NFTs onto my t-shirt’s, there’s gems and those that didn’t work out. I’d probably have trouble giving most away! Doesn’t matter. They’re a keepsake, they mark the steps of my journey
The rest? They’re part of the journey too. But feel like sandpaper on! They might have value one day. But since they don’t feel good, or I bought them for all the wrong reasons, now they’re tax deductions. C’est la vie.
Just like my t-shirts, I don’t believe I’d have found my NFT gems any other way. They’ll stay in my drawer, my wallet, for years. Because they’re treasures - financially and otherwise. I’ll pass them down to our son.
I have 3 NFTs I see this way - BAYC (Bored Ape Yacht Club), TBAC (The Boring Ape Chronicles), and Currency from Damian Hirst. They’re great investments with wonderful stories. I love looking at them.
In Feb. 021 when I started in NFTs it was ready, fire, aim. I paid a lot of attention to Twitter hype. That’s over.
I don't believe Twitter hype, which heretofore has buoyed NFTs, can do that now. From here on out there has to be more - value.
I don’t want to get into the weeds about value. But I think I know what isn’t value - swag, airdrops with no resale runway, donations, and tokens (except those that can bank liquidity).
The early ones always end up with arrows in their backs. If I’m right greater than 9/10 of today's NFT projects won’t increase in price - their price will decrease.
I also see NFTs as being analogous to the 3 tech platforms; Microsoft, Apple, and Android. So far in NFT we’ve seen 2 “platforms” - punks and apes (BAYC). I believe they’ll be a 3rd, an Android if you will.
Seymour Fortner once told me, “It’s not the opportunity. It’s recognizing you’re there”.
Each day I’m “putting in the work”, as Super says. So that hopefully when the Android of NFT does come along (I don’t believe it’s pak), I’ll recognize it. I’ll know I’m there.
My t-shirt drawer will be complete.
