How the CryptoPunks launched an NFT revolution

PLUS: More of WIRED's best longreads from this week.

View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions  11.14.21 What drives a person to spend $11.75 million on a tiny JPEG drawing of an alien in a surgical mask? What makes a fine-art specialist invoke Andy Warhol? What reshapes the lives of two Canadian programmers, a tile salesman from Houston, and a disabled artist from the Midwest? What conjures a vibrant community from nothing and helps turn "non-fungible token" into a household term? The CryptoPunks do. In her latest feature for WIRED, senior editor Sandra Upson traces the fevered history of these digital collectibles, the 10,000 algorithmically generated faces that sparked a cultural craze. As she follows them from their quiet appearance on the Ethereum blockchain in 2017 to their breakout pandemic moment, she ponders some of the questions that the Punks raise—on the meaning of art, ownership, personal identity, and, Upson writes, "how a group of people came to believe that a bunch of images and a rough-edged technology could be worth such staggering sums." Anthony Lydgate | Senior Editor, WIRED   SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE    The 10,000 Faces That Launched an NFT Revolution BY SANDRA UPSON | 26-MINUTE READ When two Canadian coders started an online project called CryptoPunks, they had no idea they'd spark a hyped-up, blockchain-fueled cultural juggernaut.     Big Tech's Psychedelics Grift BY KELSEY OSGOOD | 12-MINUTE READ There's no need for expensive clinics with woo accoutrements—real transformation means access for all.     More Software Isn't Better Software BY NOAM COHEN | 6-MINUTE READ The battle between Mastodon and Trump's Truth Social is a reminder that while the internet has changed, the ideals of free software haven't. That's a problem.     When Databases Get to Define Family BY RIDA QADRI | 9-MINUTE READ Pakistan's national database encodes social expectations—like that every citizen has two married parents—and raises important questions about digital IDs.     The Turing Test Is Bad For Business BY WIRED IDEAS | 5-MINUTE READ Technology should focus on the complementarity game, not the imitation game.     The Man, the Myth, and the Metaverse BY LISA MESSERI | 6-MINUTE READ Mark Zuckerberg wants you to believe his metaverse is the final frontier. The misconception comes with over a century of warnings. GET WIRED A helicopter on Mars. What to expect post-Covid. The next electrifying/terrifying leap in A.I. explained. Get 1 year of unlimited access to WIRED for less than $1 per month. That includes Steven Levy's exclusive newsletter and a free tote! Subscribe now.         This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or manage your newsletter subscriptions