The secret behind CloneX is Takashi Murakami and the RTFKT team, that’s the short answer. NFT is the product of a once-secret collaboration between legendary Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and experts in virtual shoes. Steven Vasilev, Chris Le, and Benoit Pagotto founded RTFKT, which reads “Artifact,” in 2020. CloneX’s public sale was held in November 2021. These are people who work hard.
CloneX, an Ethereum-based CloneX collection has one goal: to be avatars in this metaverse. These NFTs aren’t merely PFPS AKA profile pictures. Through the upcoming Clone vault, the CloneX holders will have access to the avatar’s 3D files. These figures are expected to work in every metaverse. RTFKT also has metaverse aspirations.
In any case, RTFKT Studios co-founder Benoit Pagotto told Forbes:
“We envision a new kind of relationship forming between owners and 3D creators who will create bespoke content for the avatars, replicating what we’ve seen with Fortnite 3D models ripped by blender creators, creating content for Twitch streamers and YouTubers. It’s a full ecosystem, being built live, and the avatars are just the tip of the iceberg.”
Very nice, but let’s focus on the avatars for now.
CloneX and Takashi murakami
It project’s official site describes them as, “CloneX is our most ambitious project yet, the beginning of a whole ecosystem for our community, quality-focused, high-end avatars, ready for the metaverse.” Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami designed all of the CloneX traits, from their eyes and their mouths to their clothes and their helmets. Murakami worked alongside Kanye West and Pharrell, as well as brands such Vogue and Louis Vuitton, Supreme and Vans and the Billionaire Boys Club.
Total CloneXs number 20K, which are then divided between eight DNA types.
- Half of them are human.
- 30 % are robotics.
- Angels 8.75%
- Demons 8.75%
- Reptiles make up 1.25%.
- 1.6% of the population is not affected.
- Murakamis make up 0.5%.
- Aliens are 0.15%
Source: USD/ETH on TradingView.com| Source: ETH/USD on TradingView.com
Concerning the Controversial First Sale
CloneX was scheduled to sell on Nov 29th. After selling 13K units out of 20K, RTFKT decided to cancel the sale. They were attacked on their website. According to to themselves, “Due to our website still being attacked and unusable, we’re pausing the minting till when we’ll have all fixed and upgraded.”
Last 7K CloneXs were issued on the 30th. Some suspect that there was something else going on. At this point, it was not clear what the rarity of CloneXs meant, but all NFTs could be considered theoretically equal. Public sale was to take place in the Netherlands at 3 ETH. The 7K were sold flat for 2ETH each in round 2.
Consider the fact that, at the time this was written CloneX floor price is 12.9 ETH, participating in any of the two rounds would’ve been extremely profitable.
Some Curious Facts About the CloneX Collection
- The initial code name was Akira.
- CloneX holders were all emailed a Space Pod. You can check out this Twitter account for “an ongoing thread of all the items being made for RTFKT Space Pods & Loot Pods by the CloneX community.”
- This NFT collection has a high secondary market royalty of 5%.
- The IP is owned by holders who can then sell the avatar for as high as $1M.
- The avatar’s 3D files will be available in the following formats: Unreal Engine, Daz3D, .blend, .obj, .fbx, .MA, and glb.
- RTFKT will host “Forging Events,” where CloneX holders can forge real-life physical items based on your NFT.
- Clonex Wearables will allow holders to dress their virtual avatars. There will be different clothing for RTFKT as well as independent creators.
- The avatars are currently only available on the secondary marketplace. They’re available on OpenSea.
- There are four CloneX white gold CloneX chain. Crown Collection, Murakami and RTFKT created them.
And that’s everything you need to know about CloneX at the moment. RTFKT has many other aspects that you can learn. You should do some research on this. And, while you’re at it, read “Blue Chip NFTs 101’s” other guides: MoonbirdsAnd Proof CollectiveIn Ethereum: DeGodsSolana. There are more to come.
Murakami featured image from the official website | Charts by TradingView