MetaVault #0: The Origin Story

How I got tangled in GFunk's game theory madness.

SpaceWalk

Oct 21, 2021

This is MetaVault, a weekly newsletter that tries to make sense of the Pixel Vault universe: PUNKS Comic, MetaHero, United Planets, DAOs within DAOs within DAOs.

Origins

May 10. PUNKS Comic #1 was released. ETH hit $4,000 for the first time in history. Each Issue #1, priced at .2 ETH, effectively cost $1,000+ with crazy gas fees.

May 15. PV announced that the first 5000 collectors of Comic #1 receive #2 for free.

May 18. 0xBEW wrote a killer introduction to the tokenomics and game theory at play. The analysis got me thinking: why choose a single path? Better to get one comic to stake and one to burn.

Up to this point I’d never bought an NFT. Zero. I’d heard Kevin Rose’s pod with DCInvestor on March 16th and got super intrigued. I started scouring Art Blocks, OpenSea. I bookmarked a few Ringers and thought to myself: Can I justify paying 5 ETH for a piece of art (man, did I miss out!). I remember watching the Apparitions mints flowing out of Discord. But I just couldn’t ape in. There was a disconnect between fiat, ETH, and art.

May 19. Ethereum crashed more than 50% from its all-time high the week before, dipping below $2,000. The economics of the PUNKS Comic investment changed. Despite having ETH on an exchange, I bought .5 ETH for about $1,000. It was as if I had to tell myself: that ETH is for long-term investments, this ETH is to buy two comic books.

May 20. I had ETH dedicated for the buy, I figured out how to setup my wallet and transferred funds. I jumped onto the site. And… I froze. “If I hit this mint button, my ETH will disappear and the NFT will magically appear in my wallet? Am I really ready to pay $1,000 for digital comic books?” I think people forget how foreign the process can be to actually participate in the NFT world.

See, as a kid, I never got into comics. I had huge plastic storage boxes of sports cards. Mostly football. Barry, Deion. Nothing serious. Then it became video games, hip hop, the NBA, and the general rabble rousing of teenage years. But never comic books.

After about 10 minutes of back and forth, I hit the mint button. After a few nervous refreshes in my wallet, two beautiful comics appeared in all of their glory.

I was officially a Pixel Vault collector.

Skip Forward

Do I burn my only comic for the Moon DAO token? It’s the only chance I have at completing the full United Planet Set. But if I do, I’m breaking up my Core Set, which I know can directly lead to a good chance at getting an Earth DAO token and a future play for the PV DAO token… right? Didn’t someone say something like that in a Twitter Spaces?

I have .65 ETH sitting in my wallet… should I buy another Uranus (Ouranus, tbh) to get the bonus Jupiter and Sidekick? Or should I buy three for the price of one on the secondary?

Five tiers of sidekicks… Is there a certain number of Mint Passes #2 that I should aim for? 10? 15? 20? Why do I think PV will find a way to reward both those who burn their Sidekicks to level-up and those who hold the individuals?

GFunk’s endless game theory is the game. It’s been this way since the very, very beginning. Lots of paths to choose. Willy Wonka’s Tunnel of Terror: There’s no earthly way of knowing, which direction we are going. And I’m here for it.

What to Expect

Analysis, Hot Takes, and Random Thoughts: The PV ecosystem is constantly evolving with new releases, game theory, partnerships, and affiliations. Oh, and I heard there was a game platform being built, too! Trying to lay it out in clear terms and provide some understanding of what it all means is what I’m hoping to achieve here.
Weekly Alpha: Updates on any news announced or hinted at that week.
Roadmap: Plan to do a monthly check-in on the roadmap to see where we are, what’s coming up next, what’s fallen off, and what’s gone quiet. GFunk and team have talked about a huge November. Newsletter #1 will dive into some key upcoming pieces in the roadmap.
By the Numbers: Update some key numbers in the community: PV Unique Owners, PV Complete Set Counts, UP Planet Set Counts, etc…
MH Highlight: The MH art by Chris Wahl and Odious is mind-blowing. Combine that with the generative mint functionality and surprises abound. We’ll call attention to unique or odd MH characters, sets of characters, and hidden traits. Can’t wait to see the gnarly Sidekick mints in a few months.
Beanie of the Week (BOTW): Oh how we love us some Beanie! From “corporate cog” to irascible founder of gm capital (loving that toadz logo!), Beanie’s Twitter feed is full of bickering, alpha, and pride in the PV team. I’ll highlight a Beanie Tweet every week.

What not to expect is a weekly Floor analysis. This isn’t a flip for me. While I love to see gains, I’m investing time, money, and attention in a smart company building next gen technology with awesome art direction and the patience to do it right.

Some Disclaimers: None of this is financial advice. DYOR. And yes, I’m obviously a PV collector and long-term hodlr. Not a whale by any measure (maybe a squid?), but want to be transparent on what I’m hodling:

Punks Comic #1: 1 (Token ID 3954)
PV Founders DAO: 1 (Token ID 4521)
Mint Pass #1: 1
MetaHero Generative: 1 (Token ID 644)
Planet DAO Tokens: Earth 1, Mars 1, Jupiter 1, Saturn 1, Uranus 1, Neptune 3