B.20 Through the Looking Glass

While we prepare to cut the umbilical cord, we remember that B.20 has always been one composite idea. It is neither a protocol nor a bundle. It is Metapurse’s genesis NFT.

“What is an NFT?” is probably the most viral crypto-related question today. We get asked all the time. In search of the answer, we began an experiment called B.20. In the four months that followed since that exploratory conversation with Metakovan, we didn’t quite find the answer, but we did find another endlessly fascinating question - “What can an NFT be?”

We are on the threshold of opening a door to the Big B.20 Buyout. The mechanics of the buyout are in great hands with WhaleStreet. Watch out for their tech breakdown. To us, whether the buyout will happen, how, and for how much, is not cause for any concern. The starting price of the auction, the palpable interest from players, such as 0xb1, smart contracts fully audited by Quantstamp, are all excellent validations for how the idea, the economics, and the tech are structured. What does this all mean for us, the ones who crafted this experiment?

B.20 is Chemistry 

As an idea, B.20 is not incremental. It has always been complete. The artist, the high octane auction, the virtual land, the build, the 20 iconic pieces, the original soundscape, the coming together of 27 incredible people, Metapalooza, the B20 token - every aspect was deliberate and purposefully executed. We knew what we wanted to do. 

You can fractionalize ownership of B.20 into 10 million tokens, but remove any element - land, build, or art - and it is no longer B.20. It is, as Metakovan likes to call it, a production.  

Metapurse’s Genesis NFT

B.20 is not the sum of a bunch of assets like land, music, builds, and art, but an amalgamation of them all. The assets are valuable in themselves but come together as one grand idea, manifesting as an original metaverse experience. In other words, the answer to “What can an NFT be?”

This is why Metapurse has always looked at B.20 as one finite, complete idea. As an NFT. 

The B.20 Master Key

This is not narrative hot air. It is baked into our attitude about the project and into lines of code. When the buyout is triggered, you are bidding not for a bundle, but for the B.20 Master Key - potentially the most valuable NFT in the metaverse. 

Buyout of the B.20 Master Key 

It gives the holder the right to unlock the entire B.20 bundle - vast virtual estates and monuments across Cryptovoxels, Somnium Space, and Decentraland; the 20 iconic single edition pieces of BEEPLE: EVERYDAYS - THE 2020 COLLECTION; and an original soundscape by 3LAU. 

Only the owner of the B.20 Master Key can access and unlock the bundle. At a starting bid of $58 mn, the value of this NFT is not to be underestimated.  

It is important to understand that the buyout is not a yard sale. It is a battle to acquire one single NFT that unlocks the biggest Metaverse experiment to date.  

But then, to make a key is to lock yourself out. 

Can We Let Go?

The network effects that B.20 triggered have been unexpected, to put it mildly. A passionate, vibrant community spontaneously came to life. It cemented important relationships and opened doors to new ones. Objectively, it nudged the NFT space as a whole into barely charted waters on a scale not seen before. We threw a party to prove it. B.20 helped us understand NFTs, and ourselves. 

A big part of that understanding is that we can stake our claim over this in perpetuity. Value lasts only when you lock it in and when you open up the possibility of someone else being able to own it. All this is to say Metapurse won’t be vetoing a bid, should it come in. 

On the eve of the Big B.20 Buyout going live, this is a reminiscence of a poignant journey on a personal level and an important metaverse experiment. While it is a wrench to realise that our part in it might be coming to a close, we're reassured in the fact that the B.20 story will continue even after we pass the baton to whoever the new project steward may be.

I guess this is what it means to be part of the metaverse renaissance.