What is BasePunk?

Image Source: Basepunk’s Website

The BasePunk NFT project is a collection of 2222 digital artworks designed to empower holders through ownership and voting rights. The BasePunk ecosystem aims to create a global NFT brand that rewards participants in its ecosystem.

The BasePunk NFT project is built on the Base blockchain, a secure and scalable platform for decentralized applications. Upon owning a BasePunk NFT, users can participate in the ecosystem through holding, staking, and trading NFTs on the BasePunk marketplace. According to the official website, BasePunk is not just an NFT project; it’s a rebellion against the ordinary.

This article will look into the project, its team, and how it works, providing the needed information for potential participants of the BasePunk ecosystem.

History of the BasePunk Project

The project launched in 2023 with a focus on building a vibrant community through social media content and engaging conversations. Around the same time, the project launched its Guaranteed WL Badge mint event, which gave successful event participants early access to the NFTs and exclusive benefits.

In August 2023, the project announced its flagship NFT collection of 2222 unique digital artworks on Medium and other social media, with the full launch projected for 2024. Subsequently, the project introduced its native token, BPUNK, and plans to create an NFT marketplace on the Base blockchain to introduce NFT staking, allowing users to earn rewards by holding and staking their BasePunk NFTs.

Later, in 2024, the project aims to unveil its Lady Punk NFT collection to introduce new digital art perspectives to the ecosystem. That would be the first among additional collections, features, and integrations to expand the project’s reach and the collaborating artists.

The BasePunk Team

Image Source: Basepunk’s Website

The BasePunk team is made up of Mark Clue, the founder. Sahajahan Ali, the co-founder. Ice Cube, the head of business development. Allengibbs, the social media manager, and Ranny Kidd, the Advisor.

There is little information on the team’s expertise, except that they are a fast-paced group of blockchain network specialists, developers, and designers from various backgrounds who share a common vision of creating a global NFT brand and a reward-based ecosystem.

How Does BasePunk Work? Base Blockchain, NFT Unique Identifier and InterPlanetary File System

Base Blockchain

The Base blockchain is a layer-two network developed by Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange and platform. The blockchain is built on Ethereum to leverage its security while solving its scalability and cost problems. The Base blockchain was built to make it easier for developers to build applications while accessing Coinbases’ products.

BasePunk, in turn, is leveraging the Base blockchain to build its NFT products and ecosystem. Each of the 2222 BasePunk NFT is minted on Base Chain, which means that it benefits from the security, scalability, and interoperability of the Ethereum layer-one network, as well as the low fees and fast transactions of the layer-two solution.

NFT Unique Identifier

An NFT identifier is a string of alphanumeric characters generated by a hashing algorithm to store digital data on the blockchain. The hashing algorithm takes the input digital data and converts it into an output that makes it unique from every other existing data. This is called a hash or a digest.

The hashing process is irreversible, and any slight change in the data would result in a completely different hash output. This serves as a digital fingerprint that cannot be altered, and it is currently impossible to reverse engineer the original input data from the hash output.

The NFT unique identity for the BasePunk NFT is created by applying a hashing algorithm to the meta-data of the BasePunk NFT, which contains such information as the name, creator, date, content, attributes, and properties. This is then referenced by a meta-data URL or IPFS address that is recorded on the blockchain, providing an immutable record of the NFT that is immune to tampering.

InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)

The InterPlanetary File System is a peer-to-peer network for storing, sharing, and accessing files in a decentralized way. The system uses the cryptographic hash content address of the file instead of its name or location, allowing it to be more efficient and secure than traditional filing systems.

The decentralized data network used by the BasePunk project, built on IPFS, is Ceramics. The Ceramics protocol is a general-purpose protocol created for processing data, which are stored on decentralized network nodes instead of a centralized database.

Since IPFS allows users to create and join network nodes for replicating and sharing files, Ceramic can create nodes, allowing users to communicate and share information in the BasePunk ecosystem.

Features of The BasePunk Ecosystem: Governance, BasePunk Chat and NFT Launchpad

Image Source: Basepunk’s Website

Governance

Image Source: Basepunk’s Website

The governance model of the BasePunk project is based on the principles of empowering holders, being community-centric, and participating through voting.

The community-centric principle is focused on collaborating closely with the BasePunk community members to make decisions. This is achieved by using the communication, input, and feedback of its community to create a transparent, inclusive environment. The governance model also rewards participants for contributing to the community through events and challenges that promote the project’s vision.

The BasePunk decentralized model empowers holders through its BasePunk DAO. By owning a BasePunk NFT, users can access the underlying smart contracts to propose changes, vote, and execute decisions on new features, integrations, and partnerships.

BasePunk Chat

The BasePunk chat feature is a social network powered by Orbis SDK and the Ceramic Network, designed for decentralized identity and data management.

The chat feature allows users to create unique identities, join groups, participate in events, and collaborate with other users in a decentralized network. The usernames are minted and stored on the blockchain with the aid of a BasePunk extension, and it can be used across compatible applications.

Users can link their social media profiles like Twitter, Instagram, and Discord to their minted username, and they can turn their posts into unique digital assets like NFTs that can be traded through the BasePunk NFT marketplace.

NFT Launchpad

Image Source: Basepunk’s Website

The BasePunk NFT launchpad is a feature that allows users to create NFT collections. The feature is designed to be easy to use since it removes the technical complexities that could intimidate creators and artists.

Beyond creating NFTs, the platform uses a dynamic pricing feature that responds to and adjusts the price of NFTs based on the assets’ demand. The smart pricing, coupled with the integrated marketplace, allows users to trade their NFTs directly within the smart contract, resulting in a stress-free trade.

Through Gate.io’s Web3 startup, users can participate in the project’s whitelist and receive the BasePunk airdrop when the project goes live. Subscription is free, but participants need to have a minimum wallet balance of $1 to stand a chance to earn BasePunk NFTs. To learn more about the requirements for the Gate.io Web3 Startup for BasePunk, check the project’s details.

What is the BPUNK Token?

The native token for the BasePunk NFT project is BPUNK. The token is used to conduct transactions such as buying, holding, and selling BasePunk NFTs. BPUNK holders can participate in governance community events and earn rewards through staking.

According to the BasePunk roadmap, the BPUNK token is set to be launched in the second quarter of 2024 with a total supply of 1 billion tokens. The projected tokenomics is 5% for presale, 9% allocated to the community for airdrops, 4% as initial liquidity, 10% designated for the development and marketing of the project, 25% for staking and farming, 10% for stake drops, 35% of supply allocated to be burnt, and 2% allocated for the BasePunk team.

Is the BPUNK Token a Good Investment?

The BPUNK token is yet to be launched as the native token for the BasePunk project. The project aims to be the global NFT brand with the BPUNK token as the backbone of its ecosystem.

The BPUNK token allows users to buy, sell, and bid on BasePunk NFTs, as well as stake them for additional benefits. The BPUNK token also offers its holders governance participation, allowing them to have a say in the project’s direction for its long-term success.

Risk analysis

Advantages

According to a research paper by Schaar and Kampakis (2022) that explores NFTs from an economic point of view, NFTs can be an attractive investment with the potential to provide reasonable returns on investment while diversifying the investor’s portfolio.

The paper also identified that the attributes and rarity traits of NFTs could be a positive factor in maintaining the pricing structure of older NFT projects like BAYC and CryptoPunks. This presents the BasePunk NFT project in a positive light to prospective investors.

Disadvantages

A significant disadvantage of NFT projects is the high volatility and uncertainty surrounding the supply and demand pricing of the projects. Added to that is the regulatory uncertainty that the NFT space is subjected to, as it is a relatively newer and less developed market. Thus, investments in the BasePunk would require risk management and due diligence.

Challenges

The BasePunk project, like any NFT project, has the challenge of engagement and retention. The BasePunk community is the core of the project’s vision, which would require a loyal and passionate fanbase that can actively participate in the NFT minting, governance, rewards, and social aspects of the ecosystem.

This challenge, coupled with the volatility of the NFT space, would make it difficult for the project to differentiate itself from other NFT projects in terms of trends, quality, and innovation.

Competitive analysis

Many NFT projects could be considered competitors for the BasePunk project, but the one project closest to it is the CryptoPunks project. As one of the oldest NFT projects, the CryptoPunk collection of 10,000-pixel art characters represents the same rebellious and innovative spirit as the BasePunk project.

Although the CryptoPunk project has a well-established community, its NFTs have limited utility compared to BasePunk’s. The BasePunk NFT offers a variety of utilities such as access to exclusive communities, events, platforms, royalties and revenue sharing, airdrops and rewards, virtual identity and avatars, gaming and virtual worlds, staking, and governance.

Additionally, the BasePunk project is built on the Base chain, a scalability solution, resulting in faster, cheaper transactions. In contrast, the CryptoPunks project is built on the Ethereum network. Notably, trading NFTs on the Ethereum network cost more than on the Base chain.

How Can You Own BPUNK?

To own BPUNK tokens and become a part of the BasePunk ecosystem, users can follow a simple process:

Setup a Wallet

One way to own BPUNK tokens is to purchase them through an exchange. For this, the user must create a Gate.io account, complete the KYC process, and add funds to the account to buy the token.

Utilize the BPUNK Tokens

Once users have acquired BPUNK tokens, they can explore the wide range of functionalities in the BasePunk ecosystem, such as staking, NFT trading, and governance.

Take action on BasePunk

Check out BasePunk today, and start trading your favorite currency pairs.