January 1, 2021 to April 6, 2026. Centralized Money - @Nasdaq up 70% - @DowJones up 52% - @Bitcoin up 135% - @ethereum Up 63% Decentralized Assets - Total NFT Volume down -91% - Top NFT Floor Prices Down -88% - Drawdown -90% “Dip” We are early For the culture Beanie Babies

It’s just so sad… #WAGMI

I will soon be introducing a bill to give the public a 50% ownership stake in the largest AI companies in America. This would guarantee that the trillions created by AI are used to improve the lives of all of us — and block oligarch decisions that harm the American people.

Mario Nawfal was unfollowed by Elon, who accused him of spreading fake news. What Elon doesn't realize is that the account he made famous through constant retweets has extracted millions from its followers through crypto. A thread on some of the biggest grifts promoted by him🧵

I just listed the last available piece in the original CYANO ART Collection on #ETH "STRING" Cyanotype x Animation Facts: Minted: August 8th 2021 1st Animated Cyanotype Series on the Blockchain Last of 101 original Pieces left! Own a piece of history! For sale: 1 $ETH Link⬇️

Watching people pump garbage like this reminds me of influencers pumping a shitcoin. Trying to watch this for a few minutes was torture - and I’m not going to lower my entertainment expectations because “it’s cool that some average dude can use Ai to make a movie.” No thanks…

I haven’t heard from @maryam_baghbani since February since the escalation of the war in #Iran. I hope you are well, and safe, my friend. In the meantime - I’m gonna share her art. ❤️ Feel free to share yours (and this post) as well. Much love to all❤️🙏 #artshare #nftshare

I knew you were trouble when you walked in...

Probably because communities with over 5k members were literally just filled with bots. “No Matt! That’s not true!” Yes. It is. I check everything. Be better.

I almost didn’t say anything, but I feel like I have to share this so it doesn’t happen to anyone else. Yesterday I was contacted by someone claiming to be from Forbes. Now for context - I’ve actually followed the Forbes account on X for a while - so this didn’t immediately feel out of place. They referenced my work, my NFT collections, even specific pieces. It all checked out. They knew who I was, and they were impressed by my 100’s of sales on @objktcom totaling 10’s of dollars. They told me Forbes was putting together a feature on “emerging digital asset visionaries” and wanted to do a live interview. They said the interview would be conducted via Calendly. Not scheduled through Calendly - conducted through it. They sent me a link, and when I opened it, it looked like a normal booking page… except there was a live countdown timer and a note that said: “Special Guest: Taylor Swift (Collector Spotlight Segment)” At this point I should have known something was off, but they explained that Taylor had recently been “quietly acquiring digital art” and wanted to surprise creators live during interviews by purchasing full collections. Yes. My entire collection. During the call. On Calendly. I clicked “Join Interview” and it opened what looked like a hybrid between a Zoom call, a Shopify checkout, and… I swear… a Spotify player in the background playing “Blank Space.” There was a Forbes logo, a host introducing me, and then a video feed of “Taylor Swift” waving and saying she loved my work and wanted to “ape the whole thing.” Then the screen froze. A message popped up saying: “Your wallet is not verified for celebrity-tier transactions. Please connect all wallets, all chains, and sign to enable full collection purchase.” And that’s when it hit me… If I don’t connect my wallets now… Taylor won’t be able to buy my beautiful amazing pictures. I of course connected my first wallet, then another wallet, then another. It took about 15 minutes total - but all wallets, all chains connected just like the host asked. It made sense in my head. What could go wrong right? Then boom… all my money gone… all my NFTs gone… I closed everything immediately. So much damage done, but honestly… it was so convincing in a completely absurd way. Moral of the story: If Forbes, Calendly, and Taylor Swift are all in the same sentence - you are 100% being scammed. Stay safe out there.

Long rambling rant incoming 😅... OK, nobody is arguing that talent and money left the space. It’s not a question. I’m arguing that the amateurs who “inherited” or “won” what’s left behind had anything to do with it. What about all the rugs and all the days people woke up to find everything of value in their wallets gone. Look, I get that there is this lingering resentment from people who experienced the space or whatever you want to call it at its peak and now feel like that experience or place is gone, but in reality, it was always just hot air. It was never “real”. It wasn’t sustainable. The sharp pin was always coming. Infact, for most, even in the hayday, it was never a reality, just a dream. If most went and got a job working part-time at McDonald's, you could probably make more money than you made here, considering the hours invested. If you were here to get rich or make NFTs your career, good luck. So what’s left? Attention, hope, and identity mixed with a little bit of finance. It’s what it was always destined to become. A handshake, a few steps past the “donate” button, and a way to engage your community or fan base in a fun and unique way. It was never supposed to be a destination or place where you transition from artist to NFT artist. You’re supposed to be more creative than that. Find fun unique ways to integrate the tech into your business practice without letting it consume you. Do what you have done to make yourself a “professional” up to this point, but incorporate the tech for those who might like to participate. For example, say you’re showing 1/1 physicals at an art show. Keep doing that. But take one of those pieces and make it only accessible through an NFT edition. People collect the digital version online, and each edition becomes an entry. At some point, you draw a name. One collector walks away with the physical. Now the NFT isn’t the end product. It’s the bridge. Take what you learned here and bring it back to what actually made you an artist, photographer in the first place. The work, the connection, the process, and the moments someone connects with whatever your doing....then layer this in. Give people little entry points. Like, “hey, by the way, there’s another way to engage with me and what I’m doing.” Many will ignore it. But some will get curious. And a few will follow it all the way through. That’s how this grows. Not by waiting around for imaginary collectors to show up and drop 1 ETH on your JPEGs, but by creating experiences that actually give people a reason to investigate. If someone new gets onboarded along the way, great. If not, you still built something a little interesting that might interest the right people. I don’t know, it just feels like at some point, artists have to stop waiting for the version of the space they felt they were promised and start building the version they actually want to exist. You asked if I still mint NFTs. Yes, I will but not because I think it’s going to make me rich. This was never supposed to replace the real work. I’m going back to the photos, the process, the reason I picked up my camera when nobody was watching and nobody was paying any attention but me. And I will find ways to layer this in where it makes sense, not where it feels like opportunity. Like maybe you subscribe to my newsletter and you get a NFT or something. I’m still stumbling through my ideas but I think that’s where this got all twisted… nobody was building with the tech. Instead, they try to build for the tech, all web3 or nothing... and when the attention left, so did the foundation and all their hopes and dreams. But, I feel like there’s still something here, just not what people and the 21,22 hype sold us. It's not a destination. It’s not a marketplace. It’s not a career path. It’s not a guarantee of anything. It’s just a tool. But it can create a weird, and interesting fun for your fans that allows you to create digital scarcity if you want it… for your fans that value it. It allows you to reward people who actually care, and experiment with digital ownership in ways you couldn’t before. That’s it. If that excites you, cool, use it. If it doesn’t, whatever. But this idea that “the wrong people waited around and just sort of inherited it and all and the cool kids left” is fucked up. Most of the people still here aren’t winning anything. They’re just the ones who didn’t leave. Some are still figuring it out. Some are just stubborn. Some don’t want to leave because leaving would mean fully realizing the loss they had incurred while here. And some, like @akaFoley mentioned actually enjoy the smaller room and seeing some of the louder voices disappear. I don’t know… honestly, this smaller room is probably the first honest version of this space we’ve had in a while.

Passive-aggressively calling out a problem doesn’t fix the reality that was painted for artists - one that no one wants to see. Tell me how Web3 benefits an artist beyond making friends, learning, and exploring… because I won’t take those away EVER - but that was YOU, not Web3.

When you can read a factual post like this without getting angry or sad - then you’ll have finally woken up. I’ll take building my future in reality any day.

Crypto art really matured, didn’t it. The artists who built this space left. The collectors who actually cared left. And what remained (what chose to remain) is now the face of the whole thing. Congratulations to everyone who outlasted the people with actual talent and taste. You won. This is yours now. A space reflects who inhabits it. And right now, crypto art is a very honest mirror. The grifters didn’t take over. They just waited. Apparently that’s a strategy. Some of us watched something real turn into this. We remember what it was. Which makes what it is now even harder to look at, and somehow, even easier to walk away from.

I’m tired of people “playing professional” in pretty much every field that touches AI. Here’s a rule of thumb - if AI is giving you talent instead of enhancing your skills, you’re likely going to fall flat on your face and may negatively impact everyone around you.

Due diligence isn’t a formality - it’s the buyer’s protection layer. A strong buyer doesn’t put themselves in a position where their entire decision and success depend or rely on trust alone.

Quickest way to decrease the risk of something this happening to your company: 1. Go to admin.google.com/ac/owl/sett… 2. Change your "Unconfigured third-party apps" settings This will require an admin to approve any new apps that request potentially sensitive data like Gmail, Drive, Calendar etc

Here's how to triage: 1. Go to admin.google.com 2. Security → Access and data control → API controls → App access control → Manage Third-Party App Access 3. Search for client ID: 110671459871-30f1spbu0hptbs60cb4vsmv79i7bbvqj if found → revoke / block

Go delist anything you can… #WAGMI