Metapurse (founded in 2017) is a crypto-fund that specializes in identifying early-stage projects across blockchain infrastructure, finance, art, unique collectibles, and virtual estate. ^[1]

Overview

Metapurse is a crypto-based investment firm, it was founded by Metakovan A.K.A. Vignesh Sundaresan in 2017.

The mission of Metapurse, according to its website, is to “democratize access and ownership to artwork.” The firm has been acquiring Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT). It purchased Beeple’s “Everdays: 20 Collection” artworks for $2.2 million in December. ^[2]

The Metapurse as a concept has existed as long as Metakovan has and therefore, contains some of the most iconic NFIs in existence. From an Urbit Galaxy to the Fl DettaTime 111, to estates full of promise in Cryptovoxels and Decentraland.

It also contains the stellar works of art like The First Supper. It also has investments in a range of ascendant projects. The sensibility of the Metapurse has grown and matured along with this space. ^[3]

Metapurse believes that NFTs can convey intention, identity, passion, and pain in a way nothing else can. They are tokenized experiences. They are a touchstone for self

• expression, whether you are an artist or gamer or creator or, like the Metapurse, a collector.

Metapurse have been on crypto journey for quite some time, they feel that it is disingenuous to stop with collecting or to simply collect with no purpose but to spend and admire.

Metapurse plans to adopt mediums of storytelling to communicate the stories behind every engagement. Their motivations, conversations on the margin, those precious moments of generosity from creators, and even tales of friction and disagreement. ^[4]

In September 2021, Metapurse announced Dreamverse, a unique festival that concentrates exclusively on "NFT-focused music, art, and technology". The first Dreamverse festival took place in November 2021 in New York City. It was the first physical event that Metapurse has organized. The event featured famous musicians such as Alesso, RAC, and PLS&TY
alongside some of the top NFT artists. ^{[15][16][17][18][19]}

History

Metapurse is a crypto-based fund, financed by Metakovan and operated jointly with Twobadour. It was founded in 2017.

They specialize in identifying early-stage projects across blockchain infrastructure, finance, art, unique collectibles, and virtual estate.

It has been created to actively engage with causes that resonate strongly with us and promote cultural cross-pollination. ^[5]

This engagement will take various forms, including but not limited to acquiring what we believe are pivotal NFTs, seeding or financing projects that bolster these causes and telling the unique stories that inspire these spends.

Metapurse operates with a mindset of abundance. ROI is not the primary driver of this fund. Having been part of crypto since its nascency, it is backed by Metakovan's journey of research, prescient investment, and an un-self-conscious reserve of resources. ^[6]

It is unencumbered by the need to aex or to create a financial legacy. ^[7]

Metapurse and Beeple’s Artwork

Metakovan was the buyer of Beeple’s digital work of art, Everydays: The First 5,000 Days (2021). The first non-fungible token (NFT) to be sold at auction reached an eye-watering $69.3m (with fees) or around 42,329.45 Ether at Christie's online sale yesterday. ^[8]

“When you think of high-valued NFTs, this one is going to be pretty hard to beat,” says Metakovan in a statement. “And here's why—it represents 13 years of everyday work. Techniques are replicable and skill is surpassable, but the only thing you can't hack digitally is time. This is the crown jewel, the most valuable piece of art for this generation. It is worth $1 billion.” ^[9]

In an interview with The Art Newspaper on Google Hangouts, Twobadour, the steward of Metapurse stated that he understands that valuation might sound like a,

"fantastical number, but we do believe that down the line this has the potential to become the most valuable piece of art ever."

"We believe this is the most important work of art for our generation and not just because it's digital or because it's an NFT, but because ironically, it represents the only thing that cannot be hacked in today's day and age—which is time," he added. "What The First 5,000 Days represents is 13 years of work, constant work crunched and encapsulated in one massive ganache. And I think it's the sensibility that Beeple brings as an artist, as a political commentator, as someone who constructs in the best sense of the term. [That] makes him the most important artist of our generation and this particular piece, the most valuable one of our generation."

In a statement, Twobadour also said that the sale was historic for bringing together,

“a renowned auction house, a contemporary artist, a wholly digital masterpiece that lives on a shared financial platform on the internet, acquired by a person of color".

The founder of TRON blockchain founder, Justin Sun took to Twitter to complain that he had narrowly missed out on buying the Beeple work thanks to a last-minute bid from Metakovan.

Because of a technical glitch, Christie's website didn’t accept Sun's bid of $70m with 30 seconds to go until the end of the timed auction.

In January 2021, Metapurse announced that it had spent more than $2.2m on buying the complete set of 20 first edition works of art in the Beeple Everydays: The 2020 Collection via a Nifty Gateway auction.

“With the average price at $109,000, bidding on every piece was a battle,” a statement says on Metapurse’s Substack. “We did in two days what most NFT aficionados or funds would do in two years. We had a game plan. We were driven. And we had a mad vision for what comes next.” And the Christie’s sale was, perhaps, part of that mad vision.

They also stated that

“Beeple’s entry into the crypto art world is an accelerant for the entire NFT ecosystem” and that buying the 2020 collection was phase one. “Up next is a project and event that flips the art world status quo on its head,” it reads. “And the best part of this journey is that we are not alone in it. NFT newsmakers and commentators, technologists and artists—like Beeple, yes —are part of this conversation.”

Twobadour offered some words of warning about the NFT market, he said that,

"The dangers are that not all NFTs are created equally. I'd say for the most part, many of these NFTs might crash and burn, but there are those few NFTs which will stand the test of time and remain relevant for a really long time," he says.

"What will happen in the year to follow is that, where many people see a bubble or some choppy waves in front of them—and I'm quoting Metakovan here— we are able to see the serenity beyond the waves, beyond all of the turbulence.”

"There will be a churn, there'll be a lot of projects and a lot of NFTs that don't survive the coming months of euphoria," Twobadour added. "But I think there will be some really steady and resilient projects and NFT ideas that are here to stay.”

Metapurse and B20 token

Metapurse issued the B20 token as a way to share ownership over the smart contract and therefore the collection. Sixteen percent of the total B20 token supply sold through an auction for 36 cents.

WhaleStreet hosted the B20 sale on January 23, 2021. Apparently, 1.6 million B20 tokens were sold to the public for $0.36 per token. After the Christie’s auction, B20 shot up to $23. And eventually went to around $16. ^[10]

B20 is a unique NFT bundle that has never occurred before. It allows token holders to own a share not just of valuable NFT art, but also of three custom VR museums.

The museums, created by Virtual Reality architect studio Voxel Architects, have themselves become public works of art. Over 500+ man hours have been invested in the structures’ architecture, which are located on some of the most highly sought after virtual real estate.^[11]

“We believe we truly achieved this with B.20 — the name of a massive NFT bundle we are fractionalizing so that everyone can have ownership over the first large scale public art project within the metaverse. It is important to note that we’re fractionalizing ownership, not the assets themselves. These fractions will be available as 10 million B.20 tokens, and can be referred to as the “keys” to this digital vault.”

About the Team

Vignesh Sundaresan A.K.A Metakovan is behind several crypto startups. He co-founded BitAccess, an early bitcoin ATM company in Canada. BitAccess was accepted into the Y Combinator startup accelerator in June 2014, according to CoinDesk. ^[12]

In January 2017, he founded the Singapore-based Lendroid Foundation. The firm raised $47.5 million (50,000 ETH) in a two-day initial coin offering in February 2018.

He also founded consulting firm Portkey Technologies and claims to have backed several popular crypto projects, including Ethereum (ETH), Polkadot, Dfinity, OmiseGO and Decentraland.

Going back further, Sundaresan launched crypto exchange Coins-e in Ontario in 2013.

Anand Venkateswaran A.K.A Twobadour Paanar was a journalist who transitioned from the world of media and communications to crypto and NFTs. He describes himself as the steward of Metapurse. He has been an Associate of Metakovan since 2017. ^[13]

Metapurse introduced new team members in March 2021, Brooke Walter and Veritas Kami.

Brooke will be managing marketing, communications, and operations, while Veritas is leading acquisitions, with a focus on supporting crypto native artists, rising artists, and artists from multicultural backgrounds.

Objectives

Metapurse is focused on enabling exposure to high value assets to a growing community. The B.20 project is their pilot in this effort.

The most important aspect of what Metapurse does is help push the NFT space into an era of experiences and consumption from one of collecting and Wipping.

They like to watch unique assets come alive in the new narratives that their productions power. As the authority in NFTs and NFT-based tokenomics, Metapurse serves as a beacon for anyone who wants exposure to NFTs or to launch an NFT-based project.

Investments

Metapurse focuses on investing in:

Tokens

Metapurse takes a scalable approach to maximalism when it comes to token investment. They spot out robust underlying projects and complementary tokenomics.

Virtual Estate

Metapurse is also investing in the largest composite estate and ground for the tallest possible tower in Decentraland, the largest selling single parcel of land in to Cryptovoxels. These virtual estate have immutable ownership, and infinite possibilities.

Art

Metapurse believes that art is a powerful, visual language for change. From First Supper to Pak's A Tribe, precious drops on Nifty Gateway to a nurturing patronage of up and coming artists, the believe that art is how we stop to smell the roses.

Infrastructure

Metapurse looks beyond problems like insufficient data, steroidal tokenomics and mysterious flywheels. This then enables them to identify those projects that will go on to form the bulwark of the blockchain space. ^[14]