November 10, 2022
By Anjali Kochaar
Michael Joseph Winkelmann, known professionally as Beeple, an American digital artist, graphic designer, and animator known for selling NFTs, is coming to Solana.
Stephen Hess, CEO of Metaplex Studios—the creator of Solana’s NFT standard—broke the news at Solana’s Breakpoint conference in Lisbon, Portugal.
“In partnership with the Render Network, we’re excited to welcome Beeple to Metaplex and Solana,” Hess announced, adding that Beeple would be “debuting the future of streaming and immersive 3D NFTs.”
Details of the collaboration were thin on the ground, with a further announcement to come on Monday. But a slide accompanying Hess’s announcement provided some clues; users will be invited to “create your own unique NFT with a Beeple Everyday,” using a “randomized set of objects and time to create with.”
Beeple is also closely involved with Render Network, having served as an advisor to the platform, which provides creators with a decentralized, peer-to-peer network that lets users tap into remote rendering power.
In December, Render Network raised $30 million in a funding round with participants including the Solana Foundation and Alameda Research.
Since his headline-grabbing $69 million NFT sale last year, Beeple has branched out into tokenized physical artwork with a “kinetic video sculpture” paired with an NFT, and begun work on a digital art studio to host work by himself and other creators.
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over three years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.
