Moonbirds is a collection of 10,000 NFT bird profile pictures (PFPs) that include a unique pool of rarity-powered traits released on April 16th, 2022, by PROOF Collective.
Notably, the collection reached over $200 million in sales in the first 48 hours.
Since its release, the collection has generated $500 million in sales, with 2,000 NFTs reserved for Proof Collective members and 7,875 NFTs released to the general public via a whitelist.
Moonbirds has been compared to projects like Cryptopunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club, but does it have the utility to live up to the hype?
In this article, we’ll cover what the Moonbirds basics, how Moonbirds work, the collection’s founding team, how you can buy, and whether or not Moonbirds are worth the price tag.
What Is Moonbirds?
Moonbirds is an NFT collection with pixelated owl PFPs, each of which comes with its own unique traits. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Moonbirds give holders access to a private club and several additional benefits the longer they hold the NFT.
Each NFT has several unique features, including beak size, hair, eye color, and accessories such as eye patches, headbands, and monocles. Each PROOF NFT holder was gifted two Moonbird NFTs, which left 7,875 for the public.
The initial Moonbirds mint price was 2.5 ETH (around $7,000 in April 2022), which sparked some criticism amongst the NFT community as buyers believed they were being priced out before the project had started. Despite this criticism, Moonbirds sold out in two days, and the floor price dramatically increased. As of November 2022, the floor price is 8.44 ETH, which currently equates to around $12,529.
How Do Moonbirds Work?
One of the reasons behind Moonbird’s initial success is the project’s utility. Alongside unique owl profile pictures, Moonbird holders are granted a range of benefits as a holder.
All holders are given access to PROOF’s exclusive Discord community, which gives members regular rewards. They also have priority access to PROOF’s new metaverse project, Project Highrise.
Holders are also granted additional rewards based on how long they hold their NFT through a process called “Nesting.” Nesting works like traditional cryptocurrency staking, in which holders can lock up their assets, in this case, their NFTs, and earn passive crypto income and other DeFi benefits.
If a Moonbird is nesting, it can’t be sold on another market. While nesting, Moonbirds level up and, in the process, upgrade their “nest.” Each new upgrade grants additional drops and rewards, though these rewards have yet to be officially announced.
What makes nesting different from traditional staking is that it doesn’t need to be transferred to another vault or wallet for safekeeping. Instead, it can remain in the holder’s wallet, though it remains untradeable.
Another benefit of Moonbirds is that holders own all commercial rights to the NFTs they own. This means they can use their NFT in any way they want, including T-shirt prints, marketing videos, and more.
Who Founded Moonbirds?
Moonbirds was founded by Kevin Rose, a popular American internet entrepreneur and the founder of PROOF Collective. PROOF is a private members-only group of 1,000 NFT collectors and artists.
Though known for his work in the Web 3 space, Rose was formerly known as a podcaster, investor, and entrepreneurial celebrity in some circles. He founded Digg, a social media platform that covers the latest internet trends. Â
Rose worked alongside several developers and PROOF members to build the project, such as Justin Mezzell. Mezzell is the co-founder and chief product officer of the Proof platform. He also created the art for each design alongside an in-house art team, inspired by the pixelated designs of CryptoPunks and CryptoSkulls.
How To Buy Moonbirds
You can buy and sell Moonbirds through most NFT trading platforms, including OpenSea, LooksRare, and Rarible. The current floor price is 8.44 ETH, which is significantly lower than the project’s all-time high of 30 ETH in April 2022.
To buy a Moonbird, search for Moonbirds in the search bar of your chosen platform. Make sure you choose the official Moonbirds project (the real project has a blue tick next to it) to avoid any scam replicas. Connect your wallet (MetaMask is the most popular), and you’re ready to get started.
From here, you can choose from currently listed Moonbirds, which are ranked on rarity and price. If you want a Moonbird straight away, you can choose “Buy Now” for a fast transaction, or alternatively, you can place a bid to try and bag a bargain.
Final Thoughts: Are Moonbirds Going To The Moon?
Moonbirds experienced significant hype almost immediately upon release, pushing the resale price to highs of 30 ETH. This hype has since died down and decreased the floor price in the process, bringing the floor within range for many people.
The Moonbirds team is still investing in the project. They announced via YouTube that the collection will be used to launch a new media company. At the same time, 100% of all revenue from the project is being used to hire more experts and launch additional products.Â
For the time being, Moonbirds are a good investment for NFT holders who want to generate a passive cryptocurrency income, with lucrative reward options and upgradable nests for those who are happy to keep their Moonbirds in a nesting phase.
With the project being well funded and plans in place for additional products and team members, it would appear that the project certainly has long-term potential if the team can implement its plans effectively.
