American rapper and entrepreneur Tyga has joined the CryptoPhunks community. In a recent tweet, the rapper proudly announced his purchase of CryptoPhunk and used the opportunity to diss the original collection.
CryptoPhunks is a copycat collection modeled after NFT hit CryptoPunks. While stylistically there are no significant differences between the two collections, CryptoPhunks face left, unlike the original Punks. Notably, another important difference is the underlying contract design of the tokens. While CryptoPunks are ERC-20 tokens, the Phunks were issued as the now more commonly used ERC-721 contract.
The whole idea behind the CryptoPhunks collection is to disrupt the validity of CryptoPunks as a blue-chip project. The Phunks collection was launched by a team of devs who are no longer associated with the project. This essentially means that the community now runs Phunks without any form of DAO or other governance structure.
Despite being a blatant copycat, the Phunks movement has gained traction. The cheapest Phunks now sell for at least 1.5 ETH or $6500.
Why did Tyga choose Phunks?
Tyga’s decision to ape into Phunks is somewhat surprising, judging by the investment decisions of fellow musicians and celebrities who have entered the NFT space. However, the key to his decision might lay just there – aping into Phunks is an attention-grabbing move on his part. Aside from his recent Phunk purchase, Tyga is heavily betting on DeHorizon, with six NFTs currently in his portfolio.
According to DappRadar data and tracking, most of the verified celebrity wallets on our list own Punks from the original collection. However, Tyga has chosen to go with the copycat, and this is a statement on its own. When announcing his new Phunk on Twitter, Tyga referenced flipping a Punk for more Phunk; an apparent diss for the original collection.
On one hand, being part of the CryptoPunks community inevitably brings NFT street credit to the owners. However, being a part of the Phunks community is the complete opposite statement, which in turn brings bonus points in front of a whole different community of NFT enthusiasts. In this sense, Tyga has decided to side with the Phunks and show his support for their principles and understanding of the NFT space.
What’s more, the latest Phunk Tyga purchased is the copycat of a CryptoPunk that is currently in Jay Z’s wallet. This is the second layer of importance here, as the two rappers are competitors in the music business.
Punks vs. Phunks
The Punks vs. Phunks battle is a long-standing one in the crypto community. Both collections have attracted significant community support. Punks remain the first major NFT collection to draw the attention of the masses, hence the exorbitant prices. On the other hand, Phunks try to battle the idea of super expensive NFTs, showing that people can own the same NFT turned in the opposite direction for a fraction of the cost of the original.
While there is some solid reasoning behind the CryptoPhunks collection, one glaring fact cannot be dismissed. This is a complete copy-paste of an already existing project. Copyright is not something to mess with. Especially in the NFT space, where authenticity and originality are two of the fundamental principles.
Considering the level of similarity between the two collections, secondary marketplace OPENSEA has delisted CryptoPhunks. This happened following a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice from Larva Labs, the creators of the original CryptoPunks collection.
DappRadar will continue monitoring this fiery conflict. Now that celebrities are starting to take sides, the arena is heating up. If you want to check out Tyga’s complete NFT portfolios, you can do so with the DappRadar Portfolio Tracker tool – this is his DeHorizon wallet, and this is his Phunks wallet. Alternatively, you can browse through the list of other verified celebrity wallets here.
