What are Moonbirds? Why Proof Collective’s 1st PFP NFT Is So Successful

Just two days after its launch, the Moonbirds NFT is already creating ripples in the NFT space. The highly-anticipated collection is the first PFP NFT from Proof Collective. For the uninitiated, the Proof Collective is a private, members-only collective of 1,000 NFT collectors and artists. As Moonbirds gives access to the Proof ecosystem, the collection’s tremendous success comes as no surprise.

Moonbirds is Proof Collective’s first PFP NFT drop

Put simply, Moonbirds is a collection of 10,000 pixel art birds on the Ethereum blockchain. Each of these feathered avatars is unique and comes with a range of traits with varying rarity. More importantly, each NFT gives you access to private club membership and other benefits the longer you hold the NFTs. 

According to the Moonbird’s website, the project is “built with utility & community at the foundation”. True to its words, the collection has already created a strong community. We are talking about nearly 153,000 followers on Twitter alone!

The collection dropped at 12:00 pm ET on April 16. Although not everyone was happy with its 2.5 ETH mint price, the NFTs sold out in no time, raking in $66 million worth of ETH. Currently, its total sales volume on OpenSea has crossed $194 million. 

What’s more, already, Moonbirds has flipped some of the top NFT projects like Doodles and Clone X. At the time of writing, its floor had climbed to 18.59 ETH. Whereas Doodles’ and Clone X’s floor is behind at 16.77 ETH, and 18 ETH, respectively. 

These are extremely impressive achievements for a collection that is merely two days old. So what’s the reason for its success?

Why is the NFT collection so successful?

To understand why the Moonbirds NFTs have reached such immense success in no time, you need to first delve into what Proof Collective truly stands for. First of all, Proof boasts a stellar team with a wealth of experience. Not to mention a fully self-doxxed team, which is always a positive sign when it comes to NFT projects. 

Kevin Rose, Ryan Carson, and Justin Mezzell make up Poof’s founding team. Firstly, all three are well-known in the Web2 and Web3 space. Kevin, for instance, is a technology venture capitalist and partner at the venture capital firm, True Ventures. He is also the host of the PROOF and Modern Finance podcasts. 

The former is an NFT podcast that discusses all things NFTs, along with hosting interviews with NFT artists and other icons in the space. Besides, Kevin is also a serial entrepreneur. He founded DIGG, a social news site popular in the early 2000s. He is also the founder of the intermittent fasting app, ZERO and the meditation app, OAK.

Similarly, Ryan is a well-known entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder of three companies and one non-profit community. On the other hand, Justin is an illustrator and designer. His clientele includes Google, Twitter, Facebook, and PayPal, to name a few. 

Needless to say, it is this strong team that makes Proof, and in turn, Moonbirds, such a huge success. After all, it’s relatively safer to bet on previously established teams in the NFT space.

More on Proof Collective

Proof Collective was Kevin’s most significant foray into the NFT space. As Twitter user, Cryptolocity explained: “Many of the top founders, artists and collectors in the space believe deeply in Kevin’s vision, and bought passes with 0 intention of selling them”. Together, the members hold close to 154,000 NFTs, including several blue chips like CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, Meebits, and Art blocks. 

To become members of the collective, individuals must hold the Proof Collective NFT. These NFTs grant access to Proof’s private Discord, early access to the PROOF podcast, in-person events, and more. For these reasons, these NFTs are highly sought-after and currently have a 99 ETH floor. 

Besides, The Proof Collective has also launched an NFT collection called Grails. Created in collaboration with 20 artists, the collection features 20 unique pieces of art. These were free-to-mint and only available to the Proof Collective pass holders. The artists included some of the most popular figures in the space like Hackatao, Mike Shinoda, Larva Labs, and Gary Vaynerchuk, among others. 

Moonbirds is Proof’s second original NFT project and first 10K PFP collection. With Proof’s rich history, Moonbirds were highly coveted even before they dropped.

Moonbirds NFT: Let’s talk utility!

Now, talking about Moonbirds, another major reason for their success is utility. Actually, these are utility-enabled NFTs whose benefits go beyond a quirky PFP avatar. Firstly, Moonbird holders will get access to the Proof Discord. This means a chance to interact with Proof founders and the Collective’s other members. As Proof’s members include some of the biggest names in the NFT space, this is a great opportunity for people to network and learn more. 

Besides, Moonbird holders will also get access to Moonbird-related drops, Parliament meetups, and real-life events. You will also have access to future Proof projects, including its upcoming metaverse, Project Highrise.

Another important aspect of Moonbirds is nesting. Basically, you can “lock up and nest” your bird within your wallet for additional benefits. This is pretty much like the staking mechanics offered by several projects. However, in this case, your bird will remain in your own wallet. Nonetheless, you will not be able to sell your NFT during nesting.

The longer you nest your NFT, it will move to new tier levels to get you more benefits. The benefits include merch, stickers, and more yet to be announced. Because of the enticing benefits, collectors are likely to hold on to their NFTs. This could probably even cause a “supply shock”, as Cryptolocity noted. 

“We’re designing @moonbirds_xyz differently,” Kevin tweeted last month. “We want to provide the lion’s share of rewards weighted towards the long-term holders. We see a future where utility and benefits unlock with your diamond hands (wings).”

All things considered, Moonbirds is well on its way to becoming the next big blue-chip project! As the Proof team reveals more utility in the future, the collection’s value is only going to skyrocket. Can other projects catch up? Only time will tell.