On May 10, Elon Musk grabbed the attention of the crypto community by sharing a meme created with Milady nonfungible tokens (NFTs). This move had an immediate impact on the market, causing the floor price of Milady NFTs to soar from 3.8 Ether (ETH) to as high as 7.3 ETH within a short period, and eventually stabilizing at 5.69 ETH.
Milady NFTs were established in 2021 by a digital arts collective called Remilia, consisting of 10,000 anime profile picture NFTs inspired by street style tribes. Artist Charlotte Fang founded the Remilia decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and played an essential role in designing the series. The term “Milady” is a playful twist on the expression “my lady” used historically for noblewomen, later gaining satirical connotations associated with “nice guys” on online forums. Interestingly, Elon Musk himself referenced the Milady namesake four years prior.
Despite their popularity, the Milady NFTs have not been without controversy. In May 2022, the floor price of the NFTs plunged by over 50% when allegations surfaced that creator Charlotte Fang had been involved in controversial fringe ideologies on 4chan, an anonymous imageboard site. Fang seemed to confirm the authenticity of the alleged screenshots, stating that trolling was juvenile and that she had never harmed anyone. Consequently, she stepped down from the Remilia team.
However, the Milady NFT collection has retained its appeal within Web 3 communities, even receiving promotions from influential figures like Elon Musk and Su Zhu, the co-founder of bankrupt Singaporean hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. Zhu is an avid Milady collector and often promotes the collection to his followers. At present, the collection’s cumulative trading volume on OpenSea is 39,659 ETH.
Despite the skepticism caused by the controversy surrounding its creator, Milady NFTs continue to generate interest in the market, as evidenced by the price spike following Musk’s recent tweet. One could argue that the popularity and trading volume of the collection are testaments to the resilience of the NFT market and the influence prominent figures hold within it. On the other hand, it raises questions about whether the value of NFTs is primarily driven by hype and celebrity endorsement, rather than its intrinsic artistic or cultural merit.
As the market continues to mature and the narrative around NFTs evolves, only time will tell what factors truly define the worth of digital collectibles in the eyes of enthusiasts and investors alike.
Source: Cointelegraph
