X2Y2 Space: How NFT Charity Integrates with Reality

Author: X2Y2

Host (X2Y2): @alex_pengfei

Guests:

Blast - X2Y2 Ambassador @SpaceCat

Dabai Bian - Co-founder of Anni & Ben @FreeCube_NFT

Victoria - BD/PM VC Funding @WwYyyVvvv

Alex: Hello everyone, before we start, let's chat for a bit.

TeacherWang: I am the one who draws dogs for this charity project; the one who draws cats seems to be in New York, USA.

D: Has New York woken up yet?

TeacherWang: Probably not, it's around three or four in the morning.

Alex: Hold on a second, let me ask the other two guests. Today I also attended an offline gathering in Beijing; it feels like there are still many in this bear market, especially with NFTs, where many project teams are still actively working and building a lot of PE/VC.

Oliva: Who called me? I'm in New York, it's eight in the morning now.

TeacherWang: You woke up too early.

Oliva: I set an alarm specifically to listen in.

Alex: Are you also into NFTs? Are you part of a project or a fan?

D: She is the artist for our project's cat; she drew it.

Oliva: I'm not an artist.

D: They are also working on a Web3 mobile phone.

Oliva: Yes, my main business is a mobile phone brand, and we are exploring Web3.

Alex: Do mobile phone brands need to get into Web3? I'm curious.

Oliva: Yes, but I can't disclose much yet; that's about all I can say.

Alex: Solana has made a phone; if there's a chance, you could get to know them.

Oliva: Sure.

Alex: I need to log into my Twitter; this is a bit annoying since I can't support dual login, so I have to use two phones. What's going on today? Has everyone celebrated Valentine's Day? Is the aftershock still lingering? Are you all on your honeymoons?

D: I went out for a bit today and just got back; I barely slept a few hours yesterday. Let me tell you, this project is quite interesting; it's genuinely a pure Web3 project that originated from a Space chat.

Alex: Really? Your project came from a Space chat?

D: On July 22, you can check the pinned article; we started chatting about it in the early hours of July 22. The next day, we gathered a dozen people, and by the third day, we had twenty volunteers, with no project team or investors involved; everyone volunteered without spending a dime.

Alex: Who came up with the idea at that time?

D: It was proposed by another member; I don't know if they are here today. I find it quite interesting, especially in the context of Web3.

Alex: Can you share how this idea was proposed? I'm very curious because I still have friends doing charity work, but they rarely use Web3 tools. I'm quite interested in engaging with projects that use Web3 tools to impact our real lives; it might be quite different.

D: Yes, this project was also born out of the bear market, where there are many scam-like projects, and many project teams have seen their values drop. As people dwindled, we initiated a sort of Web3 breakout movement. Currently, our project is Free Mint, and the subsequent royalties are around 7.5%. We plan to use all the royalties for charity to help stray animals, like cats and dogs, and we will introduce a gameplay element. It involves a thousand cat NFTs and a thousand dog NFTs, forming a PK format, and all royalties will be donated to stray animals. The side with the higher value within a certain time frame will determine where the project funds go.

The first phase might be in mainland China since our community consists mainly of Chinese-speaking friends. Later, we might expand to rescue efforts in various countries globally. We will record these rescue efforts on-chain as NFTs to ensure transparency. Currently, the project community donates all profits to charity organizations, making it quite meaningful.

Alex: I actually think this project is quite novel; it feels like everyone is quite spontaneous, a Web3-native project that originated from a Space chat. This is the first time I've heard of something like this.

D: Yes.

Alex: Can you detail how the project was initiated and how the idea was proposed? Let's wait for the other guests while you're at it.

D: Sure, no problem. I have pinned a link that contains a timeline of how this project came about through Space. Around five or six in the morning on July 20, we gathered the Alpha group. I represented X2Y2 and also the Hanzang project, along with a few other friends. The idea was proposed by Magic Heart, and soon after, Oliva and Teacher Wang joined us to help with the design.

Initially, Oliva brought in a cat project she had previously posted, which, although it didn't sell much, was already listed on OpenSea. We found it quite interesting. The cat's origin is also quite fascinating; it’s a Ukrainian internet-famous cat that was meant to symbolize world peace. When we first initiated the project, we had NFT Alpha, FreeCube, and Hanzang projects, and later connected with Element through Blue Star, who also offered support. A day or two later, there was an offline event where I gave a talk and garnered a lot of support from both Web2 and Web3. Some MCN agencies from Web2, as well as brands that sponsor stray animal rescue, were willing to support us, and we also contacted some media outlets.

Currently, the initiating group has about a dozen people, and the preparatory group has over thirty individuals, including KOLs, project teams, and some community members. Everyone is volunteering without taking a penny, contributing to this project. Later, we will use the royalties to help animals and introduce a PK mode, where the side with the higher trading volume will determine the source of the royalties, whether to give more to cats or dogs, completely decided by the outcome of the cat vs. dog battle, which will determine the beneficiaries and locations of the rescue efforts. Teacher Wang designed the dog image, while Oliva designed the cat image. We will introduce more gameplay elements later, and many volunteer ambassadors have been discussing this project daily since July 22, now it's August 5, chatting from around two to five or six in the morning. Initially, we were in Fa Ge's Space, which also helped us with some promotional work.

Currently, this project is entirely decided through Space chats, and everything is open and transparent, including some of the charity directions.

Alex: Earlier, I asked D to briefly introduce their project. Now we will officially start. A warm welcome to everyone joining our Space. This is X2Y2's weekly Routine Space, and today's theme is how NFT charity can effectively integrate with real life. We are honored to invite the initiators of this vibrant project to share their story with us.

D: Hello, thank you, Alex. Hi everyone, I am Blast. I am currently involved in spreading knowledge related to NFTs and sharing some insights on Twitter. I am now an ambassador for X2Y2 and often connect with project teams to support community activities. I am also one of the initiators of the cat vs. dog project.

FreeCube: It's a great honor to be here at X2Y2 Space to introduce our project. This project originated from Space and friends like D, where we researched how to change the current state of NFTs. Currently, projects from our country are heavily stigmatized in the NFT circle; many of them either fail to operate well or turn rogue.

We want to create a movement to combine Web3 with the real world, proving through our charity project that we, as Chinese in the NFT space, are not as the outside world describes us; we can also do things of social value. We, as co-initiators, aim to establish this charity project with several goals: to clear the name of NFT projects from our country and to allow NFTs to break out of their niche. Our idea is to connect with some foreign organizations and communities in the future to demonstrate through this charity project that we can do tangible work for both Web3 and Web2 communities.

We can rescue some real stray animals because our theme currently has a certain level of attention and heat globally. We hope this theme is quite universal since stray animals exist both domestically and internationally, essentially giving these animals a home. Our entire process is open and transparent. We are continuously looking for organizations that can accept digital currencies; some foreign charity organizations can accept digital currencies, but currently, there are none in our country. Therefore, we will legally convert these currencies into fiat to donate to officially certified charitable organizations. As D mentioned, we are implementing a total of two thousand NFTs, one thousand cats and one thousand dogs, chosen by wallet alignment.

Currently, we haven't firmly decided whether to focus on value or floor price; we want to test both forms to see which one offers more engaging competition, thus determining a plan. We have many ideas for the early stages and hope to introduce some gameplay to influence more people. Many friends have expressed willingness to help by participating in the project, and we also discourage some of these friends. Why? We hope this project can influence more people, and we want the price to be stable or even rise, or at least remain steady, allowing the concept of charity to reach more people.

As far as we know, Web3 through NFTs, at least in the Chinese community, we are among the first initiators. Therefore, whether from a historical or practical perspective, this will contribute to the entire NFT space and Web3, which is why so many people are joining together, not caring about rewards but contributing collectively. I have noticed a significant characteristic during this process: many Chinese people, after learning about this project, are very willing to support and help us, so the future of Chinese NFTs is quite promising.

Alex: The original intention is very good, including your vision. As the guests mentioned earlier, the project's purpose is to prove that Chinese projects can stand firm and demonstrate a certain utility in real life, which I fully agree with. You may have seen an article stating that Folius Ventures aims to focus on investing in Chinese projects or projects in Asia because they believe that founders from the Asian region are worth paying attention to. These founders are either Chinese or have a Chinese background, possibly overseas Chinese, and such teams are considered worthy of investment. NFT projects should not be viewed solely from an investment perspective but rather from the perspective of universal value and whether they bring value to our real lives; I think this is a very good testing ground.

I am also looking forward to D and the artists' contributions to the project or showcasing it through Web3; I have high expectations. D has already explained why this project was initiated and how the idea was proposed. I want to ask, what are the differences between NFT charity projects and ordinary charity projects in real life? What are the advantages? What are the disadvantages?

D: Some real-life charity projects may lack transparency and face skepticism about their purposes. Many charity organizations raise questions, and the exposure to them is not very high, often localized or lacking in transparency and broad dissemination.

Web3 inherently has a very good concept: all records, including royalties and beneficiaries, can be distributed to each charity organization or animal in an open and transparent manner, which can be recorded through NFT blockchain technology. Some Web3 projects can achieve globalization and are borderless, which is a very good concept.

A decentralized world does not have classes, bottlenecks, or barriers, which is a significant advantage in charity projects. If it were purely commercial projects, they might face skepticism from some people, but approaching this event from a charitable perspective, ensuring transparency while applying blockchain technology, can allow more people to spread the word and truly show Web2 that NFTs are not a bubble, and that Web3 can derive some playable, genuinely valuable things. This is my understanding.

Alex: D articulated well how to use blockchain to solve real-life problems. This was the original vision when blockchain was first conceived. We are grateful for NFTs as a medium that can help us realize or solve some problems in our real lives that we couldn't address otherwise. So this project offers some food for thought. Compared to traditional charity projects in real life, aside from the fairness and transparency D mentioned, are there any newer or better points?

FreeCube: We previously donated to a Hope Primary School in Hebei and have experience with offline charity work. We donated for six or seven years to a dilapidated school. When we first visited, it was heartbreaking, but through our efforts with the school, it became a key primary school in the city.

What distinguishes NFT charity projects from offline ones? The biggest difference is the speed of gathering people; the speed at which everyone unites to contribute is particularly fast. In offline charity work, we typically find friends or classmates, and everyone is in business with a certain interest in charity, so we gather in small groups. However, it’s hard to reach out to many people. In reality, we can't gather forty or fifty people in two weeks to work on a charity project. I believe everyone is using fragmented time to contribute to this charity project preparation. The biggest difference between online and offline projects is that in offline charity, we earn money and donate to the Hope Primary School, while online, everyone is a winner; it's a win-win situation for both holders and the beneficiaries. The holders are not much different from those operating ordinary projects; charity projects also attract significant interest, providing an additional avenue for implementation. Besides the real world, there are also aspects like the NFT virtual currency space, which serves as a source of funding. As initiators, we hope to let more people understand NFTs, so our goal is achieved, creating a win-win situation. Traditional offline charity projects find it challenging to achieve this; for example, if a project requires two hundred thousand, we might find four or five people to share the burden of a few thousand, which is not much of a burden. This is how offline charity typically operates. We believe we need to expand into international markets, which offline lacks the advantage of. Many large institutions require a certain amount of funding before they will accept it, and they have to verify the organization’s history. For instance, if we want to donate to a primary school, it’s not just about showing up with money; the receiving organization must be a recognized charity organization that has grown from small to large.

We are essentially achieving a multi-win charity movement with the least amount of time and the highest efficiency, gathering so many people.

Alex: I understand. I believe charity and profit don't necessarily conflict. Charity can be initiated, and we can allocate royalties entirely for charity while attracting people to participate in the project, generating traffic, or monetizing through traffic to involve more people.

Even if some people make money from it, every time they profit, they still pay royalties for the project, which is equivalent to donating that effort. I think that's sufficient. This logic is similar to buying milk; some brands say that buying their milk will donate a penny to a cause. At that moment, many people might think, assuming all milk tastes equally good, why not buy the NFT milk that satisfies my ego, goodness, and kindness? I think the reasoning is the same; buying and selling NFTs is about making money. If everyone is making money, why not buy something that can address my real-life shortcomings or dissatisfaction and help improve the project?

I think this makes sense. I want to follow up: if we judge that NFT projects reasonably apply people's rich emotions and motivations to enhance charity projects, can such charity projects, besides helping cats and dogs, be applied to other charity initiatives? Or how can they change our life scenarios? What parts of life can they be applied to, not just limited to our current project?

FreeCube: The cat and dog project we are currently working on is relatively easy to implement and has a high consensus among people. We are also discussing offline whether charity projects can expand their scope or if we can do others; I believe it is entirely possible. Why? Currently, this is a small step for charity in the entire Web3 world, but as our charity organization's influence grows, people will see our efforts and believe in our organization. In the future, we may derive more charity projects that align with a broader consensus. I think we should start small; for example, we have previously helped impoverished children, including those in Africa. We haven't focused on this in the last two years, but a few years ago, we visited children living in mud houses, where they would only have barley flour steamed into a paste for meals. There are many such charity cases in our country that need assistance. We believe if charity projects can influence more people, through the continuous growth of the community, we can provide holders with some gameplay. The act of buying and selling NFTs is no different from other projects, but in terms of actual charity implementation, as the community grows, we will seek community opinions. As community opinions gradually align, we may initiate some expansion movements to find experienced individuals.

Currently, the preparatory group has many volunteers with over a decade of experience in animal rescue, so the future of charity development should be particularly promising. I particularly like the incremental approach because it can sustain the necessary conditions for NFT charity. If our royalty income can continue steadily, NFTs have this attribute. It is challenging to find products in the real world with this attribute, where selling something generates royalties every time it is traded. Such products are hard to find, so we believe that the current NFT charity attempts are just our beginning, and there will gradually be more attempts.

Alex: As you mentioned, there may be various different attempts. Now I’ll throw the question back to D: since this charity project can have many aspects and can be applied to others, not just limited to cats and dogs, what real-life scenarios can NFTs solve? What are some interesting scenarios or needs in real life that are hard to address on the existing basis but can be effectively solved through NFTs or blockchain?

D: It's not just charity; the core of NFTs now is rights confirmation, including decentralized tokens in Web3. The essence is that we have records, and ultimately, it can be seen as a very good right in the Web3 world. Whether holding NFTs or trading them, there will be records. If we approach this from a charity perspective, it can be seen as how many animals we have rescued, indicating that you are a caring person. If you come from such an organization, you will have a record, similar to a proof of education. Other industries can benefit similarly; if you are a holder of blue-chip assets in Web3 and have made contributions, it will inherently add value to your wallet history, which is crucial and applicable to any industry and any country.

If you are part of certain DAOs, in Web3, you will have a record of contributions made in a large community, giving you a natural advantage in future job applications. NFTs are similar; they represent a certain circle, including Azuki, Bored Apes, and the currently popular black cats. Holding NFTs means joining this circle. It's not just about a group of people; it's about capturing the value within this circle, which will later lend credibility to your project.

I believe this is how NFTs solve a form of trust in the real world and can create a consensus on a spiritual level. In future job applications, project developments, or various activities, there will be a concept or record of soul binding. I believe this value is something that cannot be recorded in the real world. While education can provide some proof, I think these things do not represent ability. Holding NFTs or contributing to a DAO or platform in the blockchain will fully showcase this ability without needing external factors to establish trust. I believe this is a significant value that NFTs or blockchain bring us.

Alex: The primary direction NFTs are known for now is rights confirmation, as a form of on-chain record that can document our actions and help us analyze, including subsequent horizontal and vertical expansions. I fully agree with that. I want to follow up with D: regarding your project, how can you attract more people to join? Is your project's selling point charity, and are you planning to attract Web2 individuals who love charity to buy NFTs and support you, or are you more focused on attracting Web3 individuals, letting these speculators occasionally engage in charity?

D: This is a great question. Are we attracting Web2 or Web3 individuals? Actually, we will attract both. Through online Web3, we can resonate with caring individuals who can join our project as early evangelists or promoters, helping to promote Web3. We can leverage the networks of both Web2 and Web3 to reach some qualified individuals for promotion. A couple of days ago, we were discussing how to maintain momentum after the initiators have moved on. The day before yesterday, we discussed through Space whether we could create a Web3-like white paper, similar to the Bitcoin white paper or the Declaration of Independence, to establish a top-level consensus value, ensuring that even after we early initiators leave, we can continue to push these initiatives forward. We definitely need to help these animals; I believe that sentiment and love can persist, whether among Web3 or Web2 individuals, creating a resonance. Web2 individuals can write articles for us, and we can promote on social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Bilibili. Many people have already joined us, and many KOLs and bloggers from Web3 are helping us promote. We will also introduce some currently popular gameplay elements, forming activities similar to game PK. Once the heat picks up, we may consider issuing more NFTs, possibly airdropping another project, but it will definitely be themed around animals, allowing more people to participate in this project, not just the two thousand holders.

Just like the Bored Apes and subsequent dogs, we will also empower further as more people join. I don't just want to operate domestically; through the Chinese community, we will also promote overseas. We currently have some overseas DAO organizations helping us promote through KOLs abroad. I believe that with more voices, there will be Web3 or Web2 individuals who care for animals and keep pets participating in our project, forming a certain emotional connection and resonance, allowing this project to continue through a top-level declaration or white paper.

Alex: I think you explained it very thoroughly. Do the audience have any questions? If not, could OliviaX and TeacherWang share their creative concepts, inspirations, and backgrounds at that time?

TeacherWang: The division between dogs and cats was actually created by OliviaX. My dog was made in line with her style. I heard that OliviaX wasn't very good at drawing at the time, but I think her drawings have a certain childlike quality, which is a compliment. Everyone knows Picasso; when he reached a very high level, he pursued a sense of order in his creations, wanting to draw like a child. The artistic style and aesthetics of our project have a very childlike feel.

Astro Manman Meow: Thank you, host. I am helping the project offline, connecting with some animal protection project plans or organizations. I was previously the vice president of an animal protection association, so I have some understanding of this area. I have been doing this business for nearly ten years now, and I hope to help the project and encourage more people who care about animals to engage in charity work.

Alex: Thank you very much to everyone. X2Y2 also strongly supports charity projects. As for the transaction fees, we may need to discuss further to see how to handle it, as it involves contract and backend programming design. We need to follow up on this later. Your projects are great, and such creativity is definitely worth supporting. I hope your projects can be successfully launched.

D: Regarding the transaction fees, we can communicate with our team later to see if we can offer a reduction or support in certain areas. At that time, we will also take the lead and provide whitelist opportunities to these holders, striving to offer more whitelist spots to them. Since our project is Free Mint, everyone actually has no pressure; it’s primarily a pure charity project, not one that requires a lot of upfront fees. X2Y2 and our project will try to work together as much as possible.

Alex: We will conclude today's space here. Thank you all for your support!