CryptoNovo<\/a> was posing for hundreds of photos, taking meetings with top tech companies and attending scores of invitation-only parties across New York City.<\/strong><\/p>\nToday, the former-schoolteacher-turned-Metaverse-mascot is raking leaves in his suburban Illinois front yard.<\/p>\n
\u201cDude,\u201d Novo remarks excitedly as he works, \u201cThat just happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
That<\/i> would be NFT.NYC, the early November conference\/gathering\/bacchanal that represented a coming-out party of sorts for the nonfungible token community.<\/p>\n
While NFT.NYC 2021 was the third event in what will almost certainly become a series of (at least) annual affairs, it represented an explosion in popularity over the 2020 offering. Ticket sales jumped. Additional days were added. NFT.NYC ballooned to a four-day extravaganza at which Quentin Tarantino, Chris Rock and The Strokes, among others, made appearances.<\/p>\n
Among the big names, NFT enthusiasts and curious passersby crisscrossing Times Square that week, CryptoNovo stood out. Many NFT initiates knew who he was, and while NFT novices had no idea who he was, they seemed to instinctively understand that even at this event, this guy stood out.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0<\/p>\nNovo holding a rake outside his home in the Chicago suburbs. Source: John Lacombe (<\/em>Full disclosure: Novo does not, in fact, typically rake leaves while wearing his mask.)<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n
CryptoNovo holds a collection of NFTs that is currently valued at $4 million. Meebits. Bored Ape Yacht Club. Adam Bomb Squad. World of Women. Many others. And, of course, CryptoPunks.<\/p>\n
Novo owns nearly $2.5 million worth of CryptoPunks alone. One of them, however \u2014 CryptoPunk #3706 \u2014 stands out from the others.<\/p>\n
Not because of its monetary value, but because Novo actually uses it as his face, <\/i>strapping an LED digital mask to his head that completely covers his actual features.<\/p>\n
For Novo, NFT.NYC was yet another leg in what has become the ride of his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had friends come out to New York with me who didn\u2019t even have any NFTs,\u201d Novo recounts. \u201cThey figured they\u2019d sleep on pull-out couches in my hotel room and maybe come around with me and see New York. Suddenly, they\u2019re on this million-dollar ride, this Entourage-<\/i>type situation. We\u2019re getting into clubs without paying a dollar. All of the access is based on NFTs in my collection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re rubbing shoulders with famous and semi-famous people who love us for the stake of value that we put into the community. When it was finally time to take off the mask and get on the plane home, it was weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
We may live in a world in which Elon Musk named his child \u201cX \u00c6 A-Xii,\u201d but CryptoNovo is not, in fact, Novo\u2019s real name. What began as an online handle has evolved into, well, a full-blown persona.<\/p>\n
The story behind that persona begins with Novo\u2019s journey to the world of NFTs, which he considers to be a typical one.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt goes back to toys for me. When I was a kid, I didn\u2019t get toys all the time. Birthdays, holidays \u2014 that was it. For me, toys were something to keep track of and protect. As I got older, that evolved into collectibles.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u00a0<\/p>\nCollage of photos from NFT.NYC. Source: Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The collector<\/h4>\n Novo collected rare comics, unopened Star Wars Lego sets and everything in between. Like many collectors, he viewed the emergence of cryptocurrency with less skepticism than most: Here was something that, in addition to its intrinsic value, could be valued, bought and sold the same way a baseball card could be. One day, during a cryptocurrency conversation in 2019, a co-worker mentioned NFTs. That was all it took to get Novo hooked. \u201cI realized that we were looking at a new frontier, not just of currency but of collectibles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Novo threw himself into the NFT space with fervor, becoming a fixture on NFT Discord and surrounding himself with, as he puts it, \u201cthe smartest people in the space.\u201d Noted ground-floor NFT collector Tony Herrera taught Novo NFT basics such as getting a MetaMask wallet, transferring ETH into it, getting an ENS name, and actually buying NFTs and posting them for sale. Novo met NFT creators such as the influential artist and collector Pranksy. Novo asked questions, took notes, and offered help and input whenever he felt that he could.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Novo arrived at the moment that he is perhaps most well-known for in the NFT world: his rags-to-riches purchase of an NFT known as the \u201cPranksy Hoodie.\u201d<\/p>\nNovo\u2019s collection of CryptoPunks. Source: OpenSea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cI was a teacher,\u201d Novo begins. \u201cI didn\u2019t have money to be dumping into NFTs left and right. I set aside one paycheck to invest, and I couldn\u2019t really go over that. I couldn\u2019t afford an Alien, an Ape or a Zombie [three of the most elite, rare CryptoPunks], <\/i>I couldn\u2019t afford a Beanie, etc. So, I started looking at another class [of CryptoPunks]: the Hoodie. There were more of that class, but they were statistically still pretty rare. But I wasn\u2019t interested because of that. Art is in the eye of the beholder, and I liked the Hoodies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I have been building since the beginning,\u201d Novo continues, \u201cis friends<\/i>. I contacted Pranksy directly. I offered him 1.24 Ethereum for a Hoodie he owned. He countered with a slightly higher amount. I basically had to come back and say, \u2018Look\u20261.24 is literally all I can afford.\u2019 He was able to see my wallet on the public blockchain and know that I was telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was not, Novo stresses, a good deal for Pranksy \u2014 but Pranksy agreed to the sale, largely because of what Novo believes to be Pranksy\u2019s faith in Novo\u2019s desire to promote the NFT movement itself. It was almost, Novo says, as if he was buying the NFT not just with 1.24 ETH but with himself<\/i>.<\/p>\n
In any case, the transaction was made. The cost to Novo equated to roughly $400 at the time.<\/p>\n
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Savings and wise investments<\/h4>\n \u201cThen, I held on to it. I watched it become a primer and primer asset. It was known as \u2018The Albino Hoodie.\u2019 It had a certain look. People wanted it. Honestly, I wasn\u2019t as focused on that. I\u2019m busy trying to do right by Pranksy, for believing in me. I ended up helping him give away 150 CryptoPunks in a raffle that turned into a major event for him in terms of publicity and just for all of us in terms of growing NFTs.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u00a0<\/p>\nNovo drops the mic at the end of the talk he gave at NFT.NYC 2021 after stating, \u201cI\u2019m CryptoNovo! I\u2019m here to help! Peace! Stay positive, and love life!\u201d Source: Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
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As Novo interacted with more and more digital artists, his view of NFTs transformed. Initially, he had thought of NFTs as assets \u2014 the right Bored Ape avatar could become his equivalent of a Mickey Mantle rookie card. Today, though, his explanation of NFTs starts not with collectors but with creators.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cThink about just how many times the poop emoji has been used since it was created. Someone made<\/i> that emoji, the same way someone makes any piece of art. But who has made the real money off of that emoji? Big corporations? Was the person who created that simple piece of art the one who profited?\u201d<\/p>\n
He cites elements in video games that make hundreds of millions of dollars and points out that famed NFT creator Rare Diamond Hands works at a massive game company as a digital-hand designer for first-person shooters. Novo believes Rare Diamond Hands is probably not being properly compensated for his skills at his job, but he now creates NFT images of hands holding diamonds \u2014 a nod to the Metaverse\u2019s respect for \u201cdiamond-handed\u201d collectors who never sell their NFTs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone who purchases one of those images knows that they have exclusive rights to a hand designed by one of the elite video game artists.\u201d The point, Novo emphasizes, is that regardless of what someone is willing to pay for a Rare Diamond Hand or a Bored Ape, that money is money that the artist who created the NFT deserves<\/i>. For Novo, NFTs represent opportunities \u2014 for creators, for collectors, for businesses, for everyone.<\/i><\/p>\n
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\u00a0<\/p>\nNovo has a great face for NFTs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mindset of a cheerleader<\/h4>\n This mindset had crystallized for Novo by mid-2020, and it changed his life. He became one of the biggest cheerleaders in the NFT space. He hosted online video interviews with NFT creators using Restream. He tweeted constantly about every piece of NFT news. He offered help and information to every new acolyte in the Metaverse, even dubbing his own specific corner of that world the \u201cNovoverse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a grind. I\u2019ve been producing content in some capacity every single day for over a year. Can I introduce this person to this person, knowing that they have a common understanding and can accomplish something bigger together?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Novo can\u2019t resist using the kind of on-the-nose reference that one might expect from an NFT loyalist: \u201cCan I open the door for more Neos in this Matrix?\u201d<\/p>\n
In The Matrix<\/i>, Neo\u2019s mentor, Morpheus, is known for his iconic sunglasses.<\/p>\n
In the land of NFTs, Novo has his mask.<\/p>\n
For as long as he has been a figure in the NFT world, Novo has been using digital photos and \u201cAR filters\u201d \u2014 augmented reality images that superimpose over real-life video \u2014 to replace his actual human face with a projection of CryptoPunk #3706.<\/p>\n
As Novo became more and more involved in the NFT community, in-person interactions \u2014 both business and personal \u2014 became a reality. Novo\u2019s response was to bring part of the Metaverse into reality. He purchased a face-worn digital mask that could display CryptoPunk #3706. He had a friend\u2019s mom knit him a hat identical to the one worn by his avatar. He bought a suit that would look very much at home on a 1960s Batman villain.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0<\/p>\nOne of Novo\u2019s Restream live shows with digital artists and NFT creators. Source: Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Suddenly, a physical education teacher from Illinois effectively became a Daft Punk robot for the NFT space.<\/p>\n
New York<\/h4>\n In New York, Novo was constantly approached by excited friends \u2014 \u201cMy Aliens, Apes and Zombies,\u201d as Novo calls them \u2014 who had only interacted with him online. A New York Times reporter interviewed him for 45 minutes (though he was cited in the resulting article simply as \u201cthe owner of CryptoPunk #3706.\u201d) Novo gave a raucous speech at an NFT.NYC town hall that ended with him dropping the mic and high-fiving his way out through the crowd toward the exit.<\/p>\n
Everyone wanted a photo. Whether they knew him as CryptoNovo or simply as \u201cthat goofy-looking robot-man on the sidewalk,\u201d New Yorkers seemed to see Novo as a \u201cpiece\u201d of the event. A banner, a mascot, an indicator: Something different is happening here.<\/i> All of this was fine with Novo, though he does worry about anything that could contribute to negative stereotypes of either the event or the NFT movement itself,\u00a0including a simplistic \u201crobot mascot.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cOn one hand,\u201d Novo offers, \u201cAny kind of discussion is going to onboard more people, and having a discussion \u2014 negative or positive \u2014 will drive conversation and allow people to come to their own conclusions. Ninety-eight percent of the people who read an article about NFTs have no clue what an NFT is. If my glass is always half full, their glass is empty. I want to fill it. So, I\u2019m always happy people are talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Novo explains, he chafes at two conceptions: that the NFT movement is composed of \u201ca bunch of crypto bros\u201d and that it is about making a quick buck.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I showed up in New York for NFT.NYC, I had hundreds of people I was expecting to interact with who I\u2019d never seen<\/i> before. Maybe I had tweeted with them, or had them on my Restream show where they had an AR filter on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\u201cHonestly, I was stunned by the diversity. I\u2019m posing for all of these pictures, and it\u2019s such a mix of gender, of ages, of cultures. And I\u2019m realizing, \u2018This community is everyone now, and everyone is bringing their unique aspect to it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Crypto millionaire<\/h4>\n The second conception is a little more tricky for Novo to tackle. After all, he is near the head of the line of NFT \u201cearly adopters\u201d who have <\/i>made real money.<\/p>\n
One day, someone contacted Novo on Discord, asking if he\u2019d be willing to sell the Pranksy Hoodie. Novo keeps the buyer anonymous, but not the offer: 350 Ether.<\/p>\n
Both NFTs and cryptocurrency had recently skyrocketed in value.<\/p>\n
Novo was being offered the equivalent of $1.07 million for his Hoodie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had already realized I was going to have to sell some of my NFTs just to cover taxes,\u201d Novo admits. \u201cAnd, um\u2026 that\u2019s a lot of money there.\u201d He made the sale.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s what I don\u2019t like,\u201d Novo quickly continues. \u201cAny time I tell this story to anyone who isn\u2019t already in on NFTs, at this point I feel like I\u2019m damned if I do, damned if I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Novo is referring to what he did, or rather, what he didn\u2019t<\/i> do with his million-dollar windfall in cryptocurrency. He didn\u2019t cash out \u2014 not most of it, anyway. He almost immediately reinvested in another<\/i> Hoodie of lesser value that he felt he could get at a bargain price.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, let\u2019s think about this,\u201d Novo levels. \u201cIf I put my money back into our community because I see value, but mainly because I believe in the power of this movement, then I\u2019m an idiot because this is all a big bubble that is going to collapse, according to people who aren\u2019t actually a part of this. But if I do<\/i> cash out, then I\u2019m just another bro who\u2019s only in it for the money. I\u2019m going to be stereotyped either way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just have to believe,\u201d Novo finishes. \u201cStories like this are going to make more people really see what\u2019s going on, and those people are going to get it, and that\u2019s going to grow our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Explaining what\u2019s going on, by the way, is now effectively Novo\u2019s full-time job.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Novo finally reached a crossroads. He had received offers to work full-time in the NFT space, and he sat down with his wife to discuss a career change. Fortunately, his wife \u2014 an advertising executive \u2014 believes in the power of NFTs as a new force in both technology and the marketplace. She encouraged him to make the switch.<\/p>\n
Today, Novo is, for lack of a better term, an \u201cideas man.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s calls,\u201d he laughs. \u201cLots and lots of calls \u2014 but fun <\/i>calls!\u201d<\/p>\nThe business of NFTs<\/h4>\n
NFTs, Novo explains, are a space that the business world wants in on but doesn\u2019t fully understand. Novo often helps businesses find pathways to meaningful NFT involvement. One day, he might be connecting a blue-blood corporation with a promising digital artist. Another day, he might help a major hotel chain understand just what is possible in terms of a Metaverse-themed resort.<\/p>\n
Novo believes that anyone \u2014 from a major corporation to a struggling artist \u2014 who treats NFTs not as a novelty but as a vehicle to truly add something to the NFT community will be rewarded with brand loyalty. Some producers or collectors will strike it rich, but the space itself will be transformational \u2014 an entirely new landscape in which all people can interact, gather and, yes, profit.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0<\/p>\nNovo at a party during NFT.NYC. Source: Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
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This, of course, is the kind of rose-colored premonition you might expect from someone who regularly sits in boardrooms while wearing an NFT on his face.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Novo admits. \u201cI\u2019m a true believer. But I don\u2019t think it\u2019s just me. I think the evidence is right there for anyone who actually looks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Novo mentions a podcast he listened to recently. \u201cThe same reporter who interviewed me at NFT.NYC was on it. He said that NFT.NYC was celebrities, scene people, hackers, artists, venture capitalists, libertarians and more, all mixing together. He said it was really weird. Sorry, but that doesn\u2019t sound like \u2018weird\u2019 to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds,\u201d Novo opines with typical optimism, \u201clike everyone.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just recently, NFT collector CryptoNovo was posing for hundreds of photos, taking meetings with top tech companies and attending scores of invitation-only parties across New York City. Today, the former-schoolteacher-turned-Metaverse-mascot is raking leaves in his suburban Illinois front yard. \u201cDude,\u201d Novo remarks excitedly as he works, \u201cThat just happened.\u201d That would be NFT.NYC, the early […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[38],"tags":[68,1681,1678,106,69,1680,502,1682,1679],"class_list":["post-1659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blockchain","tag-cointelegraph","tag-cryptopunks","tag-daft","tag-faces","tag-magazine","tag-meets","tag-nfts","tag-novo","tag-punk"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/magazine-CryptoNova-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1659"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1661,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1659\/revisions\/1661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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