The infamous and highly reputable not to mention big spending NFT collector who goes by the name of ‘Cozomo de’ Medici’ has recently announced a huge Twitter art fund for emerging artists. This fund is made up of 64.6 ETH. But who is ‘Cozomo de’ Medici’, well it is the alter-ego of a huge NFT influencer who was formerly a juggernaut in the music scene and goes by the stage name of ‘Snoop Dog’ or ‘Snoop D O double G’.
The fund was sourced via Cozomo’s ‘Project Nothing’ campaign in which other Etheruem based NFT collectors could donate to the fund. Cozomo promised nothing in return for contributions to the fund and was true to his word. However, what he did do was promise to re-allocate the fund to emerging digital artists under the project name ‘Medici Emerging’.
Cozomo has stated that this fund worth circa $200,000 will not only be invested by him himself but with the aid of his Granddaughter who goes by the alias ‘Bianca_de_medici69’ and that the fund will not only be used on the Ethereum blockchain. In a recent Tweet, Cozomo stated the following:
“It won’t all stay in ETH. We know some of the finest new artists mint on XTZ. And we’re loving the new 1/1 art on @formfunction (SOL). So we’ll go to where the art is. And build a Collection where fantastic new artists can be discovered and supported. Let’s have some fun⚡️”
Cozomo De medici’s Portfolio
Cozomo Di medici first introduced himself to the Twitter scene in August 2021 as he boasted his valuable and growing NFT collection with an estimated $17 million in holdings. These holdings include nine CryptoPunks which are some of the oldest and most desirable NFTs in the marketplace.
However, now Cozomo’s wallet currently holds around 250 various NFTs with a large number centering around items synonymous with the rapper ‘Snoop Dog’ including marijuana, joints and bowls since revealing himself.
Fine Contemporary Digital Art NFTs: Tezos & Solana
This new project ‘Medici Emerging’ goes some way to affirming one of the largest trends in the NFT market, which is a growing interest from crypto collectors in fine contemporary art. Christiane Paul, a Digital Art Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art said in a recent piece in The Art Newspaper that:
“There may be a segment of the crypto world that, through NFTs, has discovered the breadth and history of digital art and started supporting it, but that segment seems to represent only a small overlap in the Venn diagram of traditional art collectors and NFT collectors.”
But as NFT investors are finding more and more value and taking a larger interest in digital art, that gap overlap mentioned by Paul is growing.
And, what is clear, is that the market overlap for this art is not solely purchased on the Ethereum network anymore but is a lot more diverse as more and more artists see value in minting on other chains; Tezos and Solana are two that really stand out.
Infact, Cozmos De medici himself recently shared a wallet address with over 1,000 TEZ which is the currency used to transact on the Tezos blockchain.
Also, this month saw the commencement of L.A’s popular week long art-fair ‘Frieze Week’ which featured artists’ NFTs on the Tezos blockchain; artists who are popular Ethereum artists.
Robness, a local NFT artist and one of the first to experience and take part in the emergence of art in the blockchain world, was one of those artists at the fair. He releases a version of his famous ‘trashcan’ NFTs on the Tezos blockchain for 50,000 TEZ. Another famous artist, Jesse Draxler, who has sold thousands of pieces of art on Super Rare on the Ethereum blockchain also minted his first piece on the Tezos blockchain; a 1,000 TEZ hand cut collage.
Art fairs aside, there are various other marketplaces that are taking on the likes of Ethereum as major platforms within the NFT space. These include ‘Formfunction’, a marketplace used by Cozomo himself and on the Solana blockchain but also ‘FX Hash’ on Tezos.
With now millions of active Tezos and Solana wallets it is clear that the NFT market share is becoming more divided and users are not only transacting using Ethereum.
