Ether Cards is embarking on a journey that is taking NFTs to the next level – with dynamic and real-world connections. Ether Cards will enable cardholders to participate in events for CryptoPunks, link their NFTs to ‘off-chain’ data, and connect with their favourite artists, musicians, and athletes like never before.
We talk to Andras Kristof – founder and CEO of Ether Cards. Not only does he tell us about the latest events, drops and potential – he explains how Ether Cards and their ‘Dynamic NFTs’ will break new ground in the NFT Space.
We also find out how he is ready to bet, not only the colour of his hair (we’ll tell you which colour later) but also his professional life on the success of the project. No matter what your interests are in the NFT Space – Ether Cards has something for you.
Andras Kristof & Ether Cards
Andras Kristof has been in the crypto world for a long time – ‘longer than he cares to remember’, he reflects. He started working with Ethereum and Smart Contracts in 2014 and has been in the NFT Space for the past 3 years – ‘way before it became fashionable’.
Since then, Andras has come a long way – and the next chapter, the chapter – is the foundation and success of Ether Cards. Let’s see how that’s going.
Ether Cards
In March 2021 – Ether Cards dropped their first 10000 NFTs. Cards contain unique front art, ‘accidental’ artistic creations, and all-important traits. What does this all mean?
Ether Cards contain several layers of art – created by exceptional artists in their own unique styles. Each Ether Card contains traits that will reward the holder in many different ways.
Take ‘Royalty #14’ as an example (Check it out below). The card has two sides. One side contains a unique image from Dirty Robot. The other side contains an accidental art collaboration between Edvin Avdagic, Zsuzsanna Tasi, Vizie, and Gergo Kovacs.
‘Royalty #14’ also contains traits including: ‘Art Drop Trait’ – provides card holder with free NFT art drops from Ether Cards artists and ‘Punk Battle Ticket’ – an entry ticket to the Ether Card Battle Royale where you can win one of many CryptoPunks and Meebits.
Check out more traits here. This all makes Ether Cards extremely scarce and quasi-impossible to replicate.
Dynamic NFTs
Apart from the incredible artistic fusions – according to Andras – ‘Ether Cards will be a project and platform useable by any type of community to engage and monetize themselves’. Let’s see how that works.
Let’s take LaMelo Ball and Steve Aoki as examples of how it works successfully for them. LaMelo Ball and Steve Aoki have partnered with Ether Cards to create their own ‘Dynamic NFTs’ with their own personalized traits. The idea is to engage with their communities by giving them discounts on albums, events, special merchandise and more.
Furthermore, these ‘Dynamic NFTs’ can be linked ‘off-chain’ using Chainlink Technology. Chainlink is crucial to the project because Chainlink Oracles provide verifiable data from the real world: for example – sports event data.
So, imagine your LaMelo Ball Ether Card updating and gaining value in real-time as he bags another assist. ‘The same goes for any verifiable event’, Andras explains, and ‘will have a fundamental effect on the NFT’ – changing its state, properties, or value. ‘Like a baseball card that has the ability to connect the owner of the card with the person on the card.’ Andras wrote in a blog last April.
Are there any more big names partnering with the project besides LaMelo Ball and Steve Aoki?
He can’t say who the names are, but, an emphatic ‘Yes!’ and a broad smile from Andras is enough to tell us to get excited.
(Editor’s Note: Our writer was right to get excited. Not long after our interview we learned that the new official Ether Cards partnerships are Enjin and Mike Tyson!)
Continuing in their dynamic nature – Ether Cards are currently available on Opensea. As well as their two brand-new partners, Ether Cards are also partnered with Ethereum Foundation, Consensys, Chainlink, Brave, and Superchief.
But ‘What about me? – what about my community?’ you might ask. How can you use Ether Cards for your projects?
Self-Service Platform
Does the ability to successfully utilize the card sets depend on being an athlete or celebrity?
‘No,’ says Andras, ‘anybody can use the self-service platform.’ But, you will need to be an Ether Cardholder to use it.
Like LaMelo Ball, you’ll be able to use gamification and utilization tools to make these kinds of collection sets work for you and your community.
The self-service platform will be testing the waters in September. Users will be able to add specific layers, upload images, create randomization, and set the price.
The end goal is for users to be able to fully utilize the platform and use different marketplaces to do it. That said, Ether Cards are not aiming to compete with these marketplaces.
Chainlink’s other extremely useful feature is VRF (Verifiable Random Function). It brings verifiable randomness to smart contracts without compromising security and usability.
With this Chainlink VRF technology, you can create real surprises and randomness in puzzles and games for your community. For example, make sets and sell them as ‘Blind Bags’ – creating chances of certain NFTs / Traits / Forges being on the cards.
You’ll also be able to create ticketing systems for events and use forging and burning mechanisms to increase engagement.
Battle Royale
Andras thinks it’s important to put numbers on the potential value of the Battle Royale prizes – some CryptoPunks and Meebits are worth millions of dollars – and by entering the Battle Royale, you can win one of these NFTs. What do you need to do?
‘People holding the right cards can win the punks…it’s like Hearthstone but way simpler,’ says Andras. If you have experience playing ‘Magic the Gathering’ or ‘Pokemon’ card games then you’ll have no problem understanding the concept of the Ether Cards Battle Royale Event.
Although no date has been set for the tournament – a key feature of the Battle Royale, is that winning one of the coveted CryptoPunk/Meebit prizes will not be down to luck. It will be down to your skill at playing the game.
If, like this writer, you’re a bit unsure how to play these games, you build your strongest deck of cards and prepare them for battle in a way that optimizes your chance of winning.
Battles between players will happen ‘off sync’ – meaning you don’t have to be there at a specific time to play. Everything is done by the rules, winners advance to the next round, and there is even a double-elimination where you can fight your way back after a loss.
Andras says that ‘results will be logged and verified on the blockchain so everyone knows there will no shenanigans’.
The Artists and Dirty Robot Drop
So how important are artists to the project?
According to Andras, ‘Artists were a significant and fundamental factor in Ether Cards initial success’ because of the huge interest they received after the first drop.
All artists who participated in the original Ether Cards drop received one Ether Card that allows them to use every single feature of the platform for free.
Andras hopes the ‘platform will help artists create their own dynamic NFTs, connect with their own community, and issue their own collections’, adding, ’we want to get the self-service platform out as quickly as possible for the artists– because they deserve it.’
Dirty Robot Drop
The artist Dirty Robot has a major influence on the project and Ether Cards have just released the news that a new Dirty Robot will release 4 new fantastic collections -Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring. The first collection (Summer) – will be released on August 31st and the drop will last for 2 weeks.
Ether Cards holders will receive early access (up to 12 hours) and unlimited discounts of up to 10% depending on the card held.
The summer collection will be sold via ‘Blind Bags’ designed by Ether Cards. Check out more details about the drop here.
Commitment to the Community
We spoke with Andras for over 45 minutes about Ether Cards and, whenever we spoke about the Ether Cards community, Andras spoke with emotion in his voice. He came across as a man who is not only devoted but grateful to these people. He says that it is ‘his privilege to work in this community.’
Andras Kristof’s motivation clearly comes from the ‘community’. He says they are ‘incredibly engaged’ and are ‘actively helping the project’. According to Andras, ‘their [the community’s] interest and their drive makes us do our jobs better.’
He feels frustrated that he hasn’t been able to get the Punks and Meebits out to the community sooner. But, they’re doing everything correctly and legally so he’s really excited that they will be released to the community soon.
Confident about the Future
So what about the future? How confident is Andras that Ether Cards will be a success?
In a recent AMA, Andras was asked about a delay in delivering traits to the blockchain. Andras promised his community that he would dye his hair ‘hot pink’ if he didn’t follow through on this promise. His hair remains the same colour and the traits got delivered.
So is Andras willing to bet the colour of his hair on anything else related to the Ether Cards project?
After chuckling at my suggestion of ‘Neon Green’, Andras gets serious.
He’s willing, he tells me, to bet not only the colour of his hair, but his professional life on the success of the project. ‘This is it’, he says, ‘there is no next thing…we will come through.’
‘This is ours to lose.’
A confident vision for the future and we will certainly be following Ether Cards as they break ground with their new events and platforms.
Check out the Ether Cards website for more detailed information. Also, it’s well worth checking this blog – it’s updated almost daily with exciting Ether Cards news.
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