Pixel Vault — the creators of Punks Comic — is a web3 entertainment group, embracing decentralization of crypto assets to advance storytelling. It was founded in May 2021 and has been on a rocket ship growth trajectory since its first project Punks Comic #1 sold out, continuing to build out a media empire through NFTs.
Pixel Vault has been said by many to be the “Marvel of NFTs” as they are building characters, stories, and a massive ecosystem around their Punks Comics, MetaHeroes, and more. And to back it up, The Punks Comic and MetaHero Universe art is created by Chris Wahl, formerly an artist for Marvel Studios and DC Comics.
Pixel Vaults partnership with Adidas and recent $100 million funding round put the spotlight even more on the one-year-old company. Their “blue-chip” status is largely solidified in the NFT space,
What is Punks Comic and Pixel Vault?
The company was founded by GFunk and Beanie, two well-known people in the NFT space. They had a vision of launching a Web3 brand as a large media company, with community-owned assets and decentralized governance.
GFunk grew up collecting sports cards, which transitioned into a love of NFTs. To launch the project, he partnered up with Beanie, who contributed 13 of the 16 CryptoPunks that Punks Comic #1 tells the story of.
The incredible art is done by Marvel and DC Comics artist Chris Wahl, and chief storyteller Josh Blaylock is the creative force behind the stories from Pixel Vault. The goal of Pixel Vault is to ultimately release a video game centered around the MetaHero Universe, in addition to telling stories of the digital assets in the comics.
The Pixel Vault Universe: All NFTs by Pixel Vault
Punks Comic #1
On May 10, 2021, 10,000 Punks Comic #1 NFTs went on sale for a price of 0.2 Ethereum each. It took about five weeks to sell out. This is the genesis NFT of Pixel Vault.
The story in this comic is how Beanie went from a humble busboy to a kingpin in the NFT space. The game theory involved in Punks Comics is that you are able to either hold, stake, or burn them. Holders could also claim a special physical copy labeled with a unique serial number.
Staking the comics earns $PUNKS tokens, which represent fractional ownership of the 16 CryptoPunks used in the story. If you burned it, you earn a Founder’s DAO NFT, which represents partial ownership of the works held in the Founder’s DAO. The burning window is currently closed.
$PUNKS token holders receive other benefits, like profits from merch sales, SuperRare sales, and 30 percent of the initial MetaHero revenue. Punks Comic #1 is unique, because it is the only asset in the Pixel Vault ecosystem which is tied to fractional ownership of the 16 CryptoPunks or partnership in the Founder’s DAO. The floor is currently 2.2 Ethereum for Issue #1.
Punks Comic #2
Punks Comic #2 went on sale in December 2021 for 0.1 Ethereum each. A one-hour access window was available for Founder’s DAO token holders before public sale. Unfortunately, all 10,000 comics sold out in the presale, so the public sale never happened.
The story of the second comic takes off from where the first comic ended. The Punks must work alongside eight Bored Ape Yacht Club characters to defeat the enemy and gain a bounty. The floor for Punks Comic #2 is currently 0.08 Ethereum.
The comic #2 launch followed the announcement of Pixel Vault partnering with Adidas, Gmoney, and Bored Ape Yacht Club for their streetwear NFT release — Adidas: Into the Metaverse. The floor for that NFT is currently 1.45 Ethereum.
Elite Ape Entry Coins
The eight Bored Ape Yacht Club characters featured in Punks Comic #2 were voted on in July 2021 by the Punks Comic community. These ape holders were to have special edition comic NFTs created with their Ape’s custom art on the covers.
In order to mint these special edition comics during a certain window, you had to burn an Elite Ape Entry Coin. These coins could be claimed by holders of Pixel Vault NFTs, Bored Ape Yacht Club holders, and Mutant Ape Yacht Club Holders.
Holding an unburned Entry Coin may have future utility for Pixel Vault that is not yet announced. The floor is currently 0.05 Ethereum.
Punks Comic #2: Elite Ape Collectors’ Editions
After the initial Punks Comic #2 sale, there was a sale of 6,000 Elite Ape Collectors’ Edition comics. These were claimable by burning Elite Ape Entry Coins. Each of the eight Elite Apes sold 750 NFTs, including Tropo Farmer, King BlackBored, Kiki, Gold-Rilla and other apes. The floors for each collector edition currently vary based on the Elite Ape.
These apes can choose to reward holders of their ape’s comic covers in many ways. For example, Elite Ape “Kiki” (@topshotswickie) holds raffles and allowlist giveaways often for Kiki comic collectors.
Pixel Vault Founder’s DAO
The Founder’s DAO token was only possible to get if you burned a Punks Comic #1 during the burning window, which is now close.
This NFT you proportional ownership to the DAO and a part in deciding what to do with its assets. Members also get access to a private Discord channel. The DAO currently holds over 130 NFTs, with many being very high-end. These include Pixel Vault NFTs, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Art Blocks, and more.
The Founder’s DAO members also get 10 percent token ownership of the UPDAO (United Planets DAO), which — to put it simply — owns the future gaming platform and the MetaHero Universe for Pixel Vault. The floor for the Founder’s DAO NFT is currently 2.15 Ethereum and there are about 5,900 that exist.
MetaHero MintPass #1
MintPass #1 was given to Punks Comic #1 holders via a claim in July 2021. There were a lot of choices to make when it came to this mint pass, which now has a floor of 6.45 Ethereum.
When burned, it creates a generative MetaHero Identities NFT (3.99 Ethereum floor) and the associated Planet DAO token. Holding it gave holders a chance to get a core MetaHero Identities NFT, which are much rarer than others and have additional benefits to Pixel Vault — only 146 exist in total.
Economist wrote a thorough post how to make the decision to burn or hold the MintPass.
MetaHero Identities and $POW
MetaHero Identities make up the foundation of the MetaHero Universe. There are two types: generative and core. The Generative Identities can be claimed by those burning a Mintpass #1. Core MetaHeroes were given randomly over to those who chose to held their Mintpass #1. The rare Core heroes offer increased benefits including profit sharing, future free mints, and better in-game performance.
A maximum of 9,678 generative MetaHeroes can exist, and 146 core MetaHeroes. There are villain, hero, and mutant MetaHeroes. Holders of MetaHeroes can stake their NFTs to earn the MetaHeroes currency, $POW. Each staked one currently earns about 9,600 $POW per month, which can add up fast — $POW token value is currently $0.11.
Generative MetaHero floor is 4 Ethereum and Core MetaHero floor is currently 87 Ethereum.
Planet DAO Tokens
Planet DAO tokens were claimable by burning a Mintpass #1, randomly sent to Pixel Vault NFT holders, or through the large public sale. Some planets are rarer than others, and they had a wide range of mint prices. Their availability is relative to each planet’s mass.
Each of the nine Planet DAOs represents a home planet of the MetaHero Identities — Mercury, Pluto, Earth, Venus, Mars, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter. There is also a Moon DAO, which is only available to Punks Comic #1 burners. This makes up ten total Planet DAO tokens. The floor is currently 0.1 Ethereum.
Mintpass #2 — MetaHero Sidekicks
Mintpass #2 was available to claim for Planet DAO token holders. Each Planet generated a mint pass that will be used to mint a future Pixel Vault NFT, called MetaHero Sidekicks. The floor is currently 0.176 Ethereum. There are 93,000 mint passes in total.
Pixel Vault Company Leadership
Beanie infamously departed from the company in January 2022. There have been numerous allegations of shady dealings with NFT influencer Beanie, brought forward by the NFT Ethics Twitter account and other community members.
Acknowledging the need for increased communication from the project, Pixel Vault hired well-known NFT Twitter personality @economist as Director of Communications. Since then, there has been a Pixel Vault support handle on Twitter, consistent Town Hall Twitter Spaces, and clear communication about what is coming up in the Pixel Vault world.
In February 2022, Pixel Vault raised $100 million in funding to build a “decentralized Disney.” They are also signed with an WME, a top Hollywood agency, to grow its IP. This enabled them to further hire and formalize their team structure.
TL;DR — Punks Comic and Pixel Vault
Pixel Vault’s goal is to be the Marvel of NFTs, building on the IP of digital assets, and they are well on their way — starting with Punks Comic. Their complex ecosystem of comics and characters are bringing compelling storytelling to Web3, focusing on decentralization and community ownership.
In its short lifespan, the company has already gone through many twists and turns, all while consistently delivering value for its community. The intricate game theory about what to do with your assets makes it even more fun, with burning and staking mechanisms, as people work together to figure out the best way forward.
Pixel Vault and Punks Comic are poised to continue their growth well into the future and potentially usher in the future for benefitting from NFT IP rights.