The world of Web3 moves at lighting pace. Few outside the tech world knew what an NFT was last year, and even fewer could have predicted the meteoric rise of the Monkey Kingdom NFT project that launched last November.
A collection of 2,222 randomly generated 32x32 pixel NFTs, Monkey Kingdom has captured the hearts of many Asians, taking inspiration from the mythical creature Sun Wukong, also known as Monkey King, based on the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en.
The legendary creature, known for his strength and capacity for mass destruction, is a favourite among millennials, including Alice Wong, lead developer and CEO of Monkey Kingdom. “It’s a treasured story for me. The story of Sun Wukong is so beloved in Asia, and I think that’s what drew a lot of people in [to our project]. People loved the fact we were a uniquely Asian NFT project,” she says.
When Monkey Kingdom’s first collection was released on November 27, it sold out in less than two minutes and garnered mainstream success days after mint. In December, the project sold an NFT for a record 660 Solana (US$148,000) and, in March 2022, it became the first Asian NFT project to be auctioned by Sotheby’s, cementing its right to be considered alongside more traditional contemporary art.
This story is from the July 2022 edition of Tatler Malaysia.
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This story is from the July 2022 edition of Tatler Malaysia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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