Our Preferred Strategy: Purchase near or exactly at Drop Time, then list Days or Weeks later at a price which is a multiple of original listing price. “Roll” funds into recently published XCOPY pieces and repeat the process.
We write with purpose: we aim to provide Keyholders with objective, data-driven assessments which demonstrate a deep, intimate knowledge of Crypto Art. Our hope is that these assessments will become, with time, an integral part of their decision making process. The attitude that we should favor while making these assessments is to put our biases and preconceptions about certain artists, styles, movements and collections in brackets (in a sort of Phenomenological Epoche) – in order to let the data and the Art speak for themselves. At the very least, when it is not possible to do so, we should clearly “announce” our biases – they will bubble up to the surface anyway if we don’t – instead of pretending to speak with an objective voice. It is in this methodological spirit that we admit our incapacity to push aside our admiration and a feeling of deep deference for the artist (or artist collective) named XCOPY. Our only hope is that these feelings will not give too much color to the assessment below.
XCOPY emerged in 2010 from the dark depths of Tumblr. It was there that he first published his apocalyptic, dread filled pieces, which quickly gained a dedicated following. Tumblr’s gif file upload size limit (1mb) provided a very restrictive creative canvas and helps us understand the genetics of the artist’s fast, choppy animation style.
XCOPY released his first Non-Fungible tokens on the now defunct Ascribe.io platform (which we remember with fondness), R.A.R.E. Art Labs and Digital Objects.
XCOPY went on to release more than 140 NFTs on SuperRare, and (as per NFTNDX.IO) 1452 NFTs in total, minted on 10 separate contracts (the specific details of the contracts XCOPY has used during his career as a Crypto Artist can be found here). Hard work and stylistic consistency turned him into a legendary figure in the Crypto Art Space. According to CryptoArt.io, his Corpus is currently worth an astounding 30 Million US Dollars. In March of this year, XCOPY’s “Death Dip” (below) broke the SuperRare sales record with a price tag of 1000 ETH. His second biggest sale is “Reflection” with a price tag of 475 ETH and the static “Summer.jpg” comes in third position with a price tag of 336 ETH.
His style can be recognized instantly: his work is colorful, fun and captivating. He is a true pioneer of Crypto Art and he has inspired legions of imitators such as the team behind the Punks/Xcopy collection.
How does one approach XCOPY from an Aesthetic point of view? XCOPY provides a convincing illustration of traditional Aesthetic’s incapacity to “get” Crypto Art. The fact is that Academics and traditional aesthetics have been absolutely blindsided by the emergence of Crypto Art. The familiar criteria and methods of Aesthetics are no longer useful here (“You have no Power here”) – which is why so many critics and artists choose rejection, which is easier and definitive, rather than genuine understanding. The Aesthetic value of Crypto Art is unquestionable, although unexplainable given the state of complete disarray in which Aesthetic finds itself today: its mere existence calls for the emergence of new criteria and methods, adapted to these new objects which challenge our understanding of Art.
From a Material point of view, XCOPY’s work, deeply abstract without falling in the mercantile trap of cheap “conceptualism”, bears the weight of Crypto Art’s visual signature: Neon Colors, absurd, cartoonish silhouettes and character depictions, and nervous strokes that complement a raw sense of humour.
The more we look at his work and the more we understand why he is hailed as one of the most important Crypto Artists alive. His work reminds us of what Heidegger says about the “bringing forth” (Veranlassung) of meaning. Something genuinely dark, deranged and dystopian “becomes present”, is brought forth to our attention through presentation (Her-Vor-Bringen).
There is a very decent amount of activity associated with his work, as can be seen below. In the last 7 days, 64 XCOPY NFTs have been sold, which generated a volume of 1.5 Million US Dollars.
The prices his work fetches typically follow an exponential pattern (see charts below), from the time his work is put on the market. His “Siphon” (initial price of $0.99) and “Bottom Feeder” (initial price of $350) experienced, respectively, price increases of 2878% and 4889%.
According to CryptoArt.io, there has been a flurry of buying and selling activity this year starting from April (see below).
More granular sales data shows that August of this year (especially late August) seemed to be an extremely busy month. Sales data points to an event on August the 25th.
Our preferred Strategy: XCOPY has been publishing Non-Fungible tokens for years, and there is plenty of sales data available to help us craft an NFT strategy here. Should we hold long term or “flip” his NFTs?
Given what we now know about the exponential price trajectory of XCOPY pieces, a sound strategy would be to use tools such as NFTcalendar.io to be notified well in advance of XCOPY NFT drops.
Purchasing his pieces near or exactly at Drop time is the recommended strategy. We recommend holding for a few days or weeks, then list at a price that is a multiple of the original listing price.
This strategy, applied to XCOPY’s “Disruptor” (starting price of $750), yielded gains of 7233%: from a low of $750, this piece surged to $55 000. And again, the same strategy applied to his “Overlord” (starting price of $400) yielded gains of 6900%: from a low of $400, it surged to its current price of $27 999.
XCOPY social media presence:
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- Tumblr: https://xcopy.tumblr.com
- Discord: https://discord.com/invite/j2GpYTjV
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/XCOPYART
XCOPY can be found on the following marketplaces:
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- Rarible: https://app.rarible.com/xcopy/onsale
- Fractional Art: https://fractional.art/analysis/xcopy
- Masterpiece: https://masterpiece.so/artist/2
- SuperRare: https://superrare.com/xcopy
- KnownOrigin: https://knownorigin.io/xcopy
- Async.Art: https://async.art/u/xcopy
- Nifty Gateway: https://niftygateway.com/collections/xcopy3
- OpenSea: https://opensea.io/collection/xcopy
XCOPY in the Press:
DYOR: Not financial advice (disclaimer). If you enjoyed this post, consider becoming a keyholder for members-only exclusives.
