NFT Collector – Cointelegraph Magazine

When it comes to talented NFT collectors, VonMises is in the upper echelon. His expression of “unquestionable proof and lack of scarcity” is the backbone of his belief that NFTs are a true game changer and have not even scratched the surface yet.

Coming from a traditional finance background with strong experience in a variety of collections, the von Mises name comes from the Austrian-American economist Ludwig von Mises, who wrote extensively on the social contributions of classical liberalism.

This worldview strongly resonates with Vonmises, the NFT collector, and was a major factor in the American's exploration and eventual purchase of Bitcoin in 2011.

Shortly after collecting his first NFT in October 2019, he stumbled upon CryptoPunks, an encounter that ultimately changed everything. He bought 60 punks in the first month after finding them, including his first cryptopunk #6039.

As his curiosity grew for NFTs, Vonmiss was able to get out not only Punk, but 350 Chromie Squiggles before they really exploded, and he was early enough to get many high art block drops like Fidenzas, Ringers, and Gatherers.

He also held five autoglyphs at one point, one of which (#392) will sell for a whopping 375 ETH ($1.38 million) in October 2021. There are currently two autoglyphs left.

“Gods Unchained made me interested in understanding the concept of NFTs and the marketing aspect. Once a card enters the game's meta and becomes powerful, its value changes; it's like a baseball card when a rookie player starts doing well. When people guess how he's doing, his card's value starts to increase. “When I found Gods Unchained, it was just a training ground. That's when everything clicked, and things really changed,” Vonmis says.

“When I saw CryptoPunks for the first time, I was completely aware that I was looking at something different, exciting and unique in many ways. I felt like my whole life had been preparing me for that moment, thinking that here was something that combined the things I was most passionate about.

“Having spent time in traditional finance, being very active in trading all kinds of securities, being involved in crypto since 2011 and collecting things my whole life, CryptoPunks consolidated all of these things into one, and I remember thinking. ‘Okay, this is for me.'

The birth of his daughter and the collection of punk

Vonmiss remembers the first days of his relationship with Punks; He quit his job, got hit with COVID-19, and he and his wife just had a baby. Despite his convictions and brutality in collecting a lot of punk by anyone's standards, Vonmises compares his conviction to that of his good friend Danny, aka “Seedphrase” – the only seven-character cryptopunk in the collection.

“I just had a baby, and I remember saying to my wife, ‘I know this might be a little crazy, but I'm starting to put some money into this, and I want to make sure I'm not. Very carefree as I currently have no job and we just had a baby. ‘I think this is one of the best collections I've ever seen,' I said.

“My wife said to me, ‘I don't know enough about any of this stuff, but I know you're incredibly good at it, and if that's what you need to buy, you need to buy it. He is buying it. Hearing from her was very liberating as you can imagine.

“I couldn't be aggressive with someone like Danny. Danny was single at the time with various responsibilities, and also worked a lot in crypto. He had a lot of big balls. Although I was very aggressive by anyone's standards, I wasn't as aggressive as Danny, but sadly it was still a good business.”

Vonmises heritage and mouthwatering collection

VonMises has a portfolio of mouth-watering pieces that will make any NFT enthusiast salivate. It still has 17 expensive Cryptopunks and 110 Chromie Squiggles and exposure to artists like XCOPY, Beeple, Tyler Hobbs and DEAFBEEF.

“I am someone who strongly believes in the crypto ethos. I am someone who is building a collection of historically significant and culturally relevant NFTs. I am a blockchain historian. I am mindful of my legacy in this space.”

His collection today includes the Gatherers, Twin Flames, Bored Up Yacht Club and more.

Vonmises takes his collection seriously and aims to continue building his legacy as a well-researched and well-documented historical collector of his time, faith and passion for NFTs.

I think about my daughter and how she doesn't see cryptopunk as quote-unquote ‘digital property' or digital art. It's just an art or an asset because you grow up in a world where there shouldn't be difference,” Vonmis says.

“First, I hope someone who does work or research on blockchain assets comes to my collection and realizes that I'm all over the place, that I have a little something and that I'm in the right place at the right time. I hope that I can leave a mark in such a place.”

“I take my collection very seriously and a lot of things I buy are probably never sold. Obviously there are things I buy to sell as well, but most of the collection is not meant to be sold and probably won't be sold in my lifetime. It is difficult to predict the future, but my goal is to build a collection that will hit many major collections in this first period.

Unquestionable proof and traceable scarcity – NFT game changer

As a self-proclaimed blockchain historian, Vonmises' expression of “unquestionable provenance and proven scarcity” illustrates what he believes to be the game-changing value of NFTs.

Boasting extensive experience in the collectibles market, including baseball cards and coins, Vonmiss highlights how NFTs can solve physical art and collectibles issues such as durability, counterfeiting and counterfeiting, and the often-deluded reliance on experts.

“Being involved in baseball cards and coins and many other collections that depend on insurance, decency and expert opinion, things can change and things can be rigged and cheated. With NFTs, you don't have to worry about that. It's not something people really appreciate now, but something they appreciate more down the line.” It is,” he said.

“I like to say 100 years from now, a 15-year-old kid with a laptop can look at cryptopunk and say with 100% authority that this is real cryptopunk, and how is that different? All other crowdfunding markets work now. It's expert opinion; sometimes there are contradictions; some Opinions change over time, and sometimes people who imitate him are doing a good job so they know how to fool the experts.

Already thinking about the future, the idea of ​​unquestionable certainty and perceived scarcity increases in importance, Vonmis says.

I think what people don't really understand is that it becomes more valuable over time, meaning that in a very new industry like NFTs, having a perfect provenance that goes back three to four years is probably not a big deal because you need to have three or four years of provenance from any collection.

“It's really most valuable when you're 50 or 100 years in the future. Because who knows who messed with things in such a time frame. For example, there are fake paintings of Warhol and Masters hanging in people's homes and hanging in museums. There are stories coming out all the time.”

“People are not going to wake up one day and unquestionable realism and perceived scarcity are not the most desirable qualities, especially in the collectibles and art markets. So, NFTs are not going away.”

As each decade goes by, nostalgia and NFTs are up and to the right.

Acknowledging that NFTs are still in their infancy, Vonmiss believes that similar nostalgia will undoubtedly increase as the years and decades go by. He mentions his own story of buying many of his first punks after his daughter was born, and how he feels connected to that time.

“Every decade, the value of unquestionable proof increases. Speaking of nostalgia, like I said, I started buying my first cryptopunk after my daughter was born, so there were many nights when I had to get up at three or four in the morning to take care of it. Something for her or my wife. Help me check them out.” “And I'm looking at the CryptoPunks market and I've bought a lot of punks in the first 30 days because of that,” Vonmis says.

“When we talk about nostalgia, people often long for things from when they were young or when things were simpler in their lives. People collect baseball cards because when they were kids they collected baseball cards or Pokemon cards, or whatever. Then they become adults and pay a lot of money for this.”

“I think the digital asset landscape right now is really very small and very small. But it's definitely a reason down the line. 20 years from now, the person who was 20 years old and couldn't buy cryptopunk or bore monkey or buy a lot of NFTs they want is going to be chasing these assets.” They may be the ones to bid on.”

Thesis as a collector and tapping into the background of TradFi

Based on his deep understanding of the markets in general, Vonmiss talks about his writing as a collector, admitting that he puts his more traditional financial lens on the crypto and NFT markets.

Despite his emotional connection to many NFTs, he still likes to sell on strength when opportunities arise.

“There's an old adage that applies tenfold to crypto and NFTs in traditional finance, and it's ‘sell when you can – not when you want to.' That's the rule I live by,” he said.

“I've been selling when I can. I've been selling strong. I sold a little in 2021. I sold a little in 2022. I've actually compounded what I've sold now because we've gotten to a point where I think things are a little cheap and people have had enough. We're probably not close to the bottom.” .”

“Now, I'm willing to grab a few things and fill a few holes that I want to fill. I want to buy when everyone hates it and sell when everyone loves it. . . . I have no problem selling the strength and while I'm attached to the few things in my collection, when the market warrants it, I can sell it without a problem.” I have shown.

VonMiss highlights that the psychological aspects of markets can be brutal and make many participants angry, leading to buying and selling at the wrong time.

“The market, especially in the crypto space, is very prone to big crashes and big swings. I don't think this is a flaw; This is how markets work. Markets, in general, are designed to cause a lot of pain and make people question their motives,” Vonmis says.

“When I was in traditional finance, I said to the guy sitting next to me, you're shaking the tree so that the markets weigh you down. People want to sell low and buy high. Market psychology is used. If you don't believe in why you own something, people will do that – the markets are going to shake you out of those positions.

Quick fire question and answer

Your favorite 1-in-1 art piece?

“Probably the 1-in-1 beep I picked up recently. I would also like to mention Fillswater in Dungeness. If you go to my X (Twitter) profile it's a banner piece. Flyswater is probably my favorite 1-of-1 because it's so reminiscent of summer 2021. I'm sitting at my desk in front of my computer, and this crazy world is happening around me, and I'm small. He was afraid. My gun is on the table, but I'm in a very interesting place.”

Who are your top three favorite digital artists?

“XCOPY, Beeple and Tyler Hobbs.

If you could name just one, what would be your absolute favorite NFT across all your combo wallets?

“Maybe I'm going to be a cop-out here. I call my profile CryptoPunk #1111 because I am. It is my digital representation. When I am in this world, I am Vonmises.

Whose collection do you admire besides your own?

“Punk6529, I think he's done a lot with his personal collection. Cosomo de' Medici obviously had a very impressive collection. I love that both of those guys play multiple positions. They are not just a vintage art collector or a 1-of-1 collector. They are very wide in both places. I also feel like I had an influence with both; We collect a lot of the same things.

Are there any up and coming artists you encourage readers to pay attention to?

“It's a guy called James Bloom, kind of like Matt Cain. I think he's doing a lot of very interesting things. It is a combination of dynamic and creative art.

I think all his projects are very interesting, and they pull data from the blockchain. That information changes art in a dynamic way. It's not just artists who are using blockchain provenance. It's using data from the blockchain to change the way art is viewed.”

Who would be your top three followers for NFTs on X?

“1 DC Investor. I'm a big fan of DC Investor. DC is a very similar person to how I see the world. He has a strong understanding of the markets and has the same long-term vision.

2 Punk6529. Of course, it should be easy to follow.

3 Cosomo de' Medici. I would say Kozomo because it gives great information and great calls.

What advice would you give to someone who is just curious and wants to get their feet wet with NFTs?

“Do a lot of research. I think the biggest mistake people make is, like, ‘Oh well, I really like CryptoPunks, but I can't afford it, so I'm going to buy these five other non-CryptoPunks projects.' You can get into art blocks; you can get into a lot of things, but the market at a high level, the real collections, is where you want to focus in six months if someone saves, waits and gets a punk, to get out and get the same amount of money. Within six months he spends and shows very little.

If you want to get involved in generative art, I always recommend, I say, you want to check out Fidenza or Ring. Or the Chromie Squiggle if you really want to get in at a slightly lower entry point, but I don't like buying anything because it's art blocks and you can't buy better stuff. This could be wrong. If you can't buy something better, maybe you should wait.”

Any advice for someone trying to survive in crypto for the long term?

“Don't under any circumstances use leverage in any way, shape or form. If you can't handle an 80% drop on what you're buying, don't buy it because 80% spot drops happen all the time. You can't buy something in crypt and say, ‘Oh, I didn't think it could be 80% off.' Because you just ignore it, but you know it could happen because it happens all the time.”

Links

X: @VonMises14

deca.art: /VonMises

oncyber art blocks: /vmabvault

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Greg Oxford

Greg Oakford is the CEO of Upside DAO, Australia's leading crypto and web3 collaboration hub and investment fund. He is an avid NFT collector and founder of NFT Fest Australia. Prior to crypto, Greg was a marketing and sponsorship specialist in the sports industry working on professional events.

Follow the author @GregOakford