Open editions have dominated discussions on Web3 in 2023. (OE). NessGraphics, a 3D animator and crypto artist, raised over 1,404 ETH ($2 million) in just one hour. In 90 minutes, Victor Mosquera’s OE drop for The Collector on January 29 brought in 224 ETH, which is almost $400,000.
The NFT community got into a heated discussion about the supply, value, and use of an artist’s work because of the high number of sales and the rise in the number of OEs made in the last month. That debate is raging.
Nearly all of the world’s most famous NFT artists, collectors, and builders have shared their thoughts on open editions, including whether they are good or bad for the ecosystem and what they mean for artists and collectors. They talk and act like this.
A single open edition just made more ETH off mint than Doodles or Bored Ape Yacht Club made off their original mints.
— NFTstatistics.eth (@punk9059) January 29, 2023
Collectors and artists both benefit from open editions
Open editions make artists feel good. Like other drop mechanisms in Web3, they are a tool for artists to use. They also say that most Web3 activity comes from expensive, often unaffordable 1-of-1 or limited edition NFT drops. OEs let artists make money while growing their communities and getting more people involved in the NFT ecosystem.
If done right, open edition drops can give collectors access to an artist’s future work.
Jeremy Booth, a vector artist who likes Western style, just put out an open edition, which he said on Twitter “will be the key to buying all my personal (non-collaborative) limited editions going forward.” Because this is an open edition, artists can use their art as NFT currency. It’s exciting to see how artists use that potential.
Thoughts on OE: I think there’s a time & a place that makes sense for them, which is when the artist decides. They offer accessible prices to works from artists that might be otherwise inaccessible, they shift the focus from the fp to the act of actually owning the art.
— BETTY (@betty_nft) January 28, 2023
OEs are like prints, time has already shown us that this meta is viable both for artists and collectors. It allows artists to earn money from their art, drives value to 1/1 and LEs for serious collectors and you get cool art at low prices.
— charlesai.eth | SR
It’s a win-win-win situation.(@HODLFrance) January 29, 2023
Don’t rush, collectors!
Collectors are told to be careful when approaching OEs. Skeptics of OEs say that they should be made for the art, not for use or profit.
People have said that open editions are bad because several mints that were released this way in the past few weeks are now selling for less than their original mint price (though the opposite can be said of plenty of other OE collections).
Some Web3 users have said that profit-chasing will always be a part of NFT. Collectors often mint multiple OEs in a drop in preparation for a burn event or to resell them. Like everything else in NFT, open editions are not always “about the art.”
A $20 open edition (which ends up limited but high count in the end) is the same cost as buying a poster on Anazon.
— 6529 (@punk6529) January 29, 2023
If you buy on primary or secondary with same expectations as a poster, it is fine.
The Terrell OE is below mint
— cool matt (@coolmatteth) January 29, 2023
The Ness OE is below mint
The Danguiz OE is below mint
The Etienne OE is below mint
The Jake degen OE is below mint
The Gxng OE is below mint
The Turf OE is below mint
The Jeremy Fall OE is below mint
The 0010 OE is below mint
But nah, OEs are fine.
Open-edition to 1-of-1 sales
Some artists have used the OE’s popularity and controversy to explore an idea and sell a 1-of-1. Grant Riven Yun, who warns people to be careful with the open edition, joked on Twitter on January 29 about a 70 ETH open edition mint set.
Later that day, a collector paid 70 ETH for Laundry, a new illustration on AOTM. It was the best thing the artist ever did.
Then, Oxdgb put up an open edition of Rejected Idea on Manifold as a performance piece for 69 ETH. Oxdgb minted a 1-of-1 Foundation card after no one else had done so. 8.40 ETH sold.
Open editions are neutral
Some people say that open editions are impartial. They are another tool used by NFT. Artists can use OE however they want, and collectors can interact with them or not.
When a new tool is added to Web3 or an existing one becomes more popular, there is always a lively discussion about the pros and cons of collecting/investing in art and its value. This has been talked about in NFT before.
OE SEASON GO BRRRR pic.twitter.com/gQdlRvZhc2
— beeple (@beeple) January 31, 2023
The discussion about open edition is a lot like the discussion about utility in the summer of 2022.
Proponents of Web3 praise the blockchain’s ability to help artists make a living because the NFT space has always been about money. The space should not look up to or look down on OE rushers. Most people at Web3 are here for both money and fun. No one should criticize the choices of others.
Even though it’s important to keep an eye on how money affects the NFT space, Web3 debates shouldn’t focus on open editions. NessGraphics and Victor Mosquera’s recent OE successes and the many smaller sales made by up-and-coming artists who use Manifold and other platforms to release their OE drops are worth celebrating. Web3 depends on democratization. This philosophy could also be supported by open editions.
