Kevin Rose’s Proof Raises $50M, Plots Token and Moonbird’s NFT Expansion

Proof, the start of Web3 behind Proof Collective NFT member club and valuable Moonbirds The NFT collection made a flurry of announcements today during its Future Proof streaming presentation—including significant funding, new NFT initiatives and plans for a token.

The firm, which was co-founded by Digg creator Kevin Rose, announced that it has raised $50 million in Series A funding in a round led by VC giant Andreessen Horowitz. It follows a $10 million seed round from Seven Seven Six— the VC firm of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian — which was announced the following April hot Moonbird launch.

Seven Seven Six also participated in the Series A fundraising, as well as with True Ventures – where Rose is a partner – along with Flamingo DAO, Collab + Currency, SV Angel and founder Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerFund. A valuation was not made public.

Additionally, following recent teases, Rose confirmed on today’s stream that Proof is developing a utility token for its community. Details are scarce for now, with Rose saying on the stream that “designing and launching a token is both a technological lift and also a legal lift.” A full disclosure of Proof’s token initiative is planned for the first quarter of 2023.

“We are well aware that the world does not need another symbol for speculation,” Rose explained. “So when we do something, it should be uniquely our own with real utility, and something that we believe pushes what’s possible in new and exciting directions. Otherwise, why would we do it? There’s just no reason at all.”

It is unclear whether Proof can follow the model to ApeCoinone Ethereum-based token built for Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT ecosystem. ApeCoin was launched in March by the ApeCoin DAO, rather than being officially created by Yuga Labs, the startup behind Bored Apes. That approach was apparently taken out of regulatory concerns.

Proof also revealed plans to launch a Moonbirds spinoff collection called Moonbirds Mythics, which will span 20,000 NFTs and launch in early 2023. Mythics is the startup’s third NFT profile picture project, following the original Moonbirds and recent spinoff, Oddities.

Unlike the pixel aesthetic of Moonbirds, the new Moonbirds Mythics collection will have a hand-drawn look, based on early samples shown during the stream. Proof will launch them with a model that allows Moonbirds owners to “nest” (or effort, effectively) their NFT to receive a Mythics NFT as a reward. Oddity owners can also burn (or destroy) their NFT in exchange for a Moonbirds Mythic.

An NFT is a blockchain token that acts as proof of ownership for an item, including digital goods such as profile pictures, artwork, and collectibles. Moonbirds is one of the most valuable profile picture projects on the market, generating more than $588 million in secondary sales since its launch in April, according to data from CryptoSlam.

Proof will also put the original Moonbird NFT artwork completely on-chain, so that the Ethereum project’s smart contract– that is, code that executes specified instructions – does not need to call any external servers. If a Moonbirds NFT owner also has a Proof Collection NFT pass in the same walletthen they will automatically activate a unique backdrop behind the owl avatar.

In addition, the firm revealed a number of other upcoming NFT initiatives, including “Proof X” collaborations with artists that utilize unique smart contract functionality, plus a “Curated” label for notable creators to release work from some of their favorite artists. Meanwhile, a “Genesis” label will launch the first NFT projects from established traditional artists.

Decrypt recently spoke with Rose on the formation of Proof and the launch of the Proof Collective NFT-gated community, the busy Moonbirds launch and controversial recent moves to open commercial rights to Moonbirds and Oddities to all.