TULIP MANIAC
Welcome to the Gordon Cheung NFT ecosystem. We are proud to present our very first NFT release on the Tezos blockchain – Tulip Maniac – a free for all gift for our lovely friends and supporters. This gift is no longer available. Thank you to everyone that took part! For those of you looking to purchase the NFT, please click here.
All you'll need is an Objkt account or a Tezos Wallet. If you don't have one, we will walk you through the process below. Post your Tulip Maniac on social media and tag #GordonCheungNFT @gordoncheung to be featured.
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From paintings, digital prints, videos, AR to NFTs – the tulip is a recurring symbol in Gordon Cheung’s works. The 2008 credit crisis led to discovering the first financial bubble in recorded history, which was Tulipmania. During the Dutch Golden Age, Tulip bulbs reached the price of a house that dramatically crashed within a year in February 1637. The tulip became an icon of this impulse; a surreal metaphor of the madness of crowds. Financial institutions that caused the credit crisis often compare Bitcoin to Tulipmania seeing it as a threat to their power.
The NFT collection, Tulip Maniac is based on a Tulipomania watercolour catalogue that was used by speculators during the Dutch Golden Age from which 3d modelling, machine learning AI and algorithms are used to create works. The tulip bulb pulsates according to Bitcoin data. It bears witness to how far we have adapted from nature into the digital world with a timeline starting from the birth of global modern capitalism to today’s mass adoption of blockchain technology epitomised by Bitcoin as a pillar of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
NO WALLET? NO PROBLEM. FOLLOW OUR 4-STEP GUIDE TO GET SET UP.
With many different buying platforms using many different blockchains, buying or receiving an NFT can seem daunting if you are new to the world of crypto. For this, we have put together a simple logistical guide to creating an account on Objkt, a "clean NFT platform" running on the Tezos blockchain. Make sure you are on your computer, and prepare a pen and paper. Let's get started!
STEP 1: Visit https://objkt.com/ and click 'sync' on the top right corner of the page.
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The system will offer you several wallet options, either as browser extensions or web/desktop versions. We use Kukai for example - click on its icon and select ‘New Wallet’.
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STEP 2: Follow the instructions to set up your wallet.
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When you create a new wallet, new Tezos seed words are generated. This seed phrase is the master key of your wallet accounts and any value they hold. We recommend writing this somewhere offline (hence the pen and paper) and keeping it somewhere secure.
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After this you will be prompted to create a new password. The password will be used to create an encrypted keystore file that you can download to your computer. You can use this keystore file as an easy way to log in your account via "Import Wallet" in the future (as opposed to having to type out the seed phrase).
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STEP 3: Sync your wallet with Objkt.
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Click 'sync' again on https://objkt.com/ in the corner and your wallet will sync automatically with the platform.
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STEP 4: Retrieve your Kukai wallet address.
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Copy your Kukai wallet address from the Kukai website (it should be a string of characters right below your account name, like tz). Paste it in the window below!
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If you have trouble setting up your wallet, don’t hesitate to send us a message or DM us on Instagram.
OUR FREE TULIP MANIAC NFTS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
A huge thank you to everyone that took part – we hope you enjoyed your NFTs!
WHAT IS AN NFT?
In the simplest terms, NFTs transform digital works of art and other collectibles into one-of-a-kind, verifiable assets that are easy to trade on the blockchain. NFTs are pieces of digital content linked to the blockchain, the digital database underpinning cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum. Unlike NFTs, those assets are fungible, meaning they can be replaced or exchanged with another identical one of the same value, much like a dollar bill.
NFTs, on the other hand, are unique and not mutually interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same.
Think of Pokémon cards, rare coins or a limited-edition pair of Jordans: NFTs create scarcity among otherwise infinitely available assets — and there's even a certificate of authenticity to prove it. NFTs are typically used to buy and sell digital artwork and can take the form of GIFs, tweets, virtual trading cards, images of physical objects, video game skins, virtual real estate and more.
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Text sourced from CNN's 'What is an NFT? Non-fungible tokens explained' by Jazmin Goodwin.
WHAT IS A CRYPTO WALLET?
A crypto wallet is an application or hardware device that allows individuals to store and transfer digital assets like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens. You’ll need one to purchase NFTs on Objkt.
Unlike a normal wallet, which can hold actual cash, crypto wallets technically don’t store your crypto. Your holdings live on the blockchain, but can only be accessed using a private key. Your keys prove your ownership of your digital money and allow you to make transactions. If you lose your private keys, you lose access to your money. That’s why it’s important to keep your hardware wallet safe, or use a trusted wallet provider.
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In the context of Gordon Cheung's Tulip Maniac, the wallet provider we recommend is Kukai.
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Text sourced from Coinbase's 'What is a crypto wallet?'
WHAT IS TEZOS?
Tezos is a decentralized, open-source Proof of Stake blockchain that consumes over two million times less energy than Proof of Work networks like Bitcoin or Ethereum. The native cryptocurrency for the Tezos blockchain is the tez which has the symbol XTZ. The recent interest in the ecological impact of NFTs has amplified a relevant and substantial advantage Tezos has against other networks: substantially lower energy consumption and a smaller ecological footprint.
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Proof of Work (POW) requires huge amounts of energy, with miners needing to sell their coins to ultimately foot the bill; Proof of Stake (PoS) gives mining power based on the percentage of coins held by a miner.
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In simple terms, it takes much less electricity to mint and sell NFTs that use a Proof of Stake blockchain. From a tweet by @Tezos: "Minting three NFTs on Ethereum produces 915 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the weight of a polar bear. On Tezos it produces .00054 lbs — about the mass of the snowflakes on this bear’s snout."
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Objkt is the largest NFT Marketplace on the Tezos blockchain. Think of it as the Amazon, eBay, or Etsy for Tezos NFTs.
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Text sourced from 'Clean NFTs on Tezos' by TQ Tezos on Medium and Investopedia.