The platform’s creator and co-CEO said that he did not want its users to change their PFPs to promote the business.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) designed to be used as people’s online profile pictures are the main building blocks of the most popular Web3 communities of today. But Rug Radio delayed the start of its own set on purpose.
Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, and Cool Cats, to name a few, have used the PFP format to become instantly recognizable icons of the digital assets industry.
Most of the time, these NFTs have a unique combination of randomly-generated features, such as a background, clothing, or accessories. But their underlying art style is what makes a project different, easy to spot, and part of something bigger.
Rug Radio’s founder and co-CEO Farokh Sarmad said on a recent episode of Decrypt’s gm podcast that they didn’t want their decentralized entertainment platform to be all about their own brand. Instead, they wanted it to be a place where people with PFPs from different collections could meet.
Rug Radio’s founder and co-CEO Farokh Sarmad said that they didn’t want their decentralized entertainment platform to be all about their own brand. Instead, they wanted it to be a place where people with PFPs from different collections could meet.
Farokh said, in reference to the aforementioned NFT initiatives, “I didn’t want people to change their PFPs for Rug Radio because Rug Radio is the house of everyone, whether you’re an ape, a punk, [or] a cat,” said Farokh, referencing the aforementioned NFT projects. “I wasn’t trying to divide people.”
Also, the entrepreneur said he didn’t want to release a line of PFPs without a plan for how they would fit into Rug Radio’s ecosystem, which was set in motion when the platform was created a year ago.
After many months of planning, Rug Radio will release its own PFPs tomorrow. Farokh said that the tokens, which were made by NFT artist Corey Van Lew as a “fun project,” will make supporters of Rug Radio more visible.
“It’s giving our community a face,” said Farokh.
Because Rug Radio is open to other NFT projects, the PFP project is called “Faces of Web3,” and it was introduced at the international art fair Art Basel in early December.
The name of the startup comes from the phrase “rug pulled,” which is used in the cryptocurrency industry to describe when projects go wrong without warning, usually to the detriment of those involved. Rug Radio wants to grow far beyond its current status as a podcast platform where Farokh’s voice is the main draw.
Before, Rug Radio gave out 20,000 Genesis NFTs that give RUG tokens to people who have pictures of crypto-themed rugs. RUG tokens are the network’s currency and are given to active listeners and watchers on the Rug Radio platform.
The tokens will be a key part of Rug Radio’s next mint, where owners of a Rug Radio Genesis NFT will be able to mint one of the new PFPs if they also own at least 690 RUG (about $0.06 per token as of this writing) or certain NFTs by Van Lew.
“We’re not charging [people] for the PFP, they just have to have a certain amount of RUG tokens,” Farokh said, drawing a distinction between “Faces of Web3” and other PFP launches.
In August of last year, Farokh contacted Van Lew about the project and told him that he was the only artist he wanted to work with. Also, he said that Van Lew will “get his due part” of the project for what he did.
A recent tweet from Rug Radio’s Twitter account said that Farokh will share the link to the mint in an upcoming tweet, along with a warning about possible misrepresentations.
Your daily reminder that you will get the mint link directly from Farokh live during a Twitter space. So please be safe and DO NOT click links that pop up in your timeline, DMs, or mentions.
Again, you will hear his voice as he shares the mint link. This is the only mint link.Content Source: decrypt.co
— Rug Radioᵍᵐ(@RugRadio) February 4, 2023