Gmoney Is Dropping a Surprise for His Fashion NFT Holders – WWD

The closest thing the crypto world has to a crystal ball is an NFT collector, entrepreneur and futurist known simply as Gmoney. No one knows his real name or face, only the CryptoPunks avatar he famously bought for roughly $170,000 last year. But investors, gamers, blockchain enthusiasts and a growing segment of fashion technologists know the former finance pro-turned-Adidas collaborator who foresaw crypto as a cultural revolution.

“G,” as his friends call him, also sees how the role of luxury fashion should play out in a Web 3.0 world — and he’s on a mission to prove the model.

In this WWD exclusive, he disclosed new details on the latest phase of this master plan: Following the July debut of 9dcc, his crypto-native luxury fashion brand, and the August release of NFTs for his Iteration 01 luxury T-shirts — a public minting of more than 1,000 that sold out in 113 seconds — he has a surprise in store for his NFT holders: The brand is releasing a wave of vouchers on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET that will be redeemable for the physical versions of the NFT wearables, which will ship this week, and that’s just for starters.

“The voucher gets airdropped to the owners, the holders of the NFT. They will receive the physical voucher, which is then redeemable at the vault,” he told WWD, referring to a 4K vault that acts like a storage or holding tank for physically backed NFTs of high value.

“I think the really interesting thing about the vault — and I think this is a huge and a massive unlock for both the sneaker industry and the retail goods industry, especially at the luxury end — is that you have all this inventory that sits in people’s closets that might go unworn for years,” he continued. From sneakers to couture gowns, certain pieces may never be worn because of their historical or cultural relevance or resonance. “And so, instead of having that sit in your closet, why not have it sit in a centralized vault…almost like a free port?”

This scenario is similar to dedicated, secure facilities for high art, where new owners often don’t take literal hold of a purchased item, but rather arrange to transfer it from one lot to another. The framework matters because it opens up other possibilities.

“This begins to unlock a really immature market, making it more mature. Because you now have the ability, if you want to post that article as collateral, like a pair of Yeezy sneakers that’s worth $1,000,” he continued. “If I know I’m never going to wear that, and instead store that in a centralized vault, I can then take that certificate, that receipt, that voucher, and I can then use it as collateral to get a loan against it.’

That’s where G’s previous life as an equities trader peeks through. But the potential finance implications are only one part of the puzzle for what he calls his “networked product.”

Owners who do take home and wear the physical garment will notice that each one is embedded with an NFC tag, which is the same tech that lets smartphones tap to pay in stores. Here, a quick scan with the owner’s smartphone unlocks a bevy of features.

Think POAPs, short for proof of attendance protocol, which is essentially digital swag that’s usually free but sometimes has value, given bragging rights. Here they play a dual role. Each 9dcc shirt will be able to issue its own uniquely serialized POAP, which will let owners create their own network. Essentially, it gives owners a way to connect with each other and build a broader community around the 9dcc brand, or even create their own dedicated sub-community, among other things.

According to a draft seen by WWD of 9dcc’s announcement, “The pillars for Iteration-01 include: POAP issuance, where owners will be able to create their own networks within the 9dcc ecosystem; SMS brand communication directly from 9dcc, and digital wearability, which allows wearers to stunt both IRL and digitally by dressing their Webaverse & Ready Player Me [metaverse] avatars in the T-shirt in 3,000-plus apps and digital spaces; networked experiences that connect to IRL experiences,” with the shirt itself acting as the access pass to exclusive real-life events.

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Ready Player Me’s partnership took another creative turn when it reinterpreted the 9dcc lookbook. The shoot featured human models, but the tech partner recast the image with digital avatars to offer people a better sense of the digital fashion.

The lookbook wound up being source material for NFTs as well, with six of the photos in different sizes minted as collectibles to “give consumers as much optionality in how they want to interact within the ecosystem,” the crypto expert said. People could see and buy their own personal size, opt for one likely to be in demand for a future resale or, if seen as a collectible, simply forego the concern, given that it was shot by well-known NFT photographer Justin Aversano.

That may not mean anything to the mainstream consumer, but that’s not Gmoney’s target customer. He’s going after the crypto-natives, he said, and while it’s easy for the fashion industry to see it as a niche audience, these consumers may be more central to fashion than they seem.

“I want this brand, when people see it a few years from now to say, ‘Oh, that 9dcc person is successful. They can afford nice things. They dress well, and they’re also a crypto native.’ But I also understand that collaborations are one of the best ways to introduce brands to my audience, and introduce my brand to their audience,” he explained. “We’ve seen that over the last decade where collaborations have done really, really well, because you’re opening up each brand to the other brands’ audience, right? I think that that’s where the magic happens.”

In other words, where retail often considers the sale as the ultimate destination or goal, Gmoney sees it as a means to another end — new communities, with fans empowered to act as a brand’s emissaries and a whole new Web 3.0 network of fashion.

“You’re going to have some people that buy something for the long-term appreciation, and also some that buy it because they want to wear it,” elaborated G. “But I’m going to try to make it very, very apparent very early on that I want to incentivize people to wear it in the real world. As true ambassadors of the brand, they will then have opportunities that those who might be holding it for long-term appreciation…won’t have access to.”

It’s a far cry from the old Web 2.0 way of building communities, bogging down interactions with annoying prompts to sign up for newsletter or loyalty clubs. It’s an evolution for Gmoney as well. Previously there was only one way to be part of his Admit One community, and that was by meeting him personally. Now people have a direct bridge to Admit One through the POAPs and NFC tags, while the brand facilitates their connections to each other.

As for the future, at least in the near term, Gmoney and 9dcc are focusing on Art Basel Miami, with a pop-up to mark a new collaboration. He didn’t disclose details on that, though. Like the vouchers, apparently he’s leaving that as another surprise.