OpenSea Sees Explosive Demand for ‘Vitalik’ NFT Collection Tied to Ethereum Co-Founder – Here’s What You Need to Know

Since its association with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin was revealed, the “Gitcoin Presents” NFT collection has surged to the top spot on OpenSea.

Created by Metalabel in collaboration with Web3 funding platform Gitcoin, the collection is based on Quadratic Funding, a funding model designed by Vitalik Buterin, Harvard economist Zoë Hitzig, and RadicalxChange founder Glen Weyl. 

The drop includes the project’s 2018 whitepaper, a poem, and even physical prints signed by the three founders. 

While the open edition mint launched on March 1, the collection found momentum just recently after some NFT traders spotted its connection with Buterin. 

Yeah… an official NFT release from Our Lord and Savior himself: @vitalikbuterin pic.twitter.com/IzjimElgI1

— Harvey Vogelmann (@HarveyVogelmann) March 8, 2023

So far, the collection has amassed around 5,600 ETH ($13.4 million) in cumulative trading volume, according to data by OpenSea. 

Furthermore, the collection consists of 9221 items, with a floor price of 0.3047 ETH (worth around $430).

Each NFT in the collection looks like an album cover and includes a digital version of Quadratic Funding’s 2018 whitepaper “Liberal Radicalism: A Flexible Design for Philanthropic Matching Funds” signed by Buterin and his co-authors, economists Glen Weyl and Zoë Hitzig. 

Furthermore, twelve Signature Edition records come with physical copies of the project’s whitepaper. These were called special “Signature Edition” records and were reserved for collectors to mint at 10 ETH, or over $15,000.

The collection’s website notes that Gitcoin and Metalabel are the ones releasing the Quadratic Collection “to commemorate and preserve this original work and to raise funds for public goods.” It also says 70% of the funds from the sales will go toward Gitcoin, 20% to the Plurality Institute, and 10% to Metalabel. 

What is Quadratic Funding?

Quadratic Funding is a model used in the matching process for crowdfunding campaigns. It is touted as a more democratic and scalable form of matching funding for public goods as it amplifies the donations made by a large community over the contributions made by a small group with big pockets.

In other words, that means that a few whales can’t determine how matching funds are delegated based on the size of their contribution. Meanwhile, the breadth of support for particular projects is also a factor.

“Since this idea was introduced, more than $70 million has been directed to public goods and open source projects using quadratic funding by Gitcoin and other organizations,” according to the collection’s website.

It is worth noting that the “Gitcoin Presents” collection is not the only NFT project currently trending. 

Starbucks, which launched its limited edition NFTs consisting of a collection of 2,000 digital “Stamps” today, has seen all the NFTs sold out in minutes.

Each priced at $100, the NFTs brought in a total of $200,000 for the coffeehouse giant. The collection has also generated more than $117,546 in secondary market sales so far.