Bulletin From the Nest #2
“NFTs are just JPEGs.”
We know what you’re thinking.
- What is the significance of these NFTs?
- Do they have utility?
- When do we get them?
- Are they just JPEGs?
Let us be clear, they’re much more than a bunch of pretty pixels.
The Kounotori NFTs (Kounotori Valley Storks) have a deep folkloric significance relating to Japanese culture that synergises beautifully with our existing imagery. They are a continuation of our storyline, and yet, they are only the beginning.
The Kounotori Valley Storks are broken into three tiers:
- “Storkholder” — for those that held at least $100 USD of KTO at the time of snapshot.
- “OG” — for those that qualify for Storkholder AND bought KTO before 18/12/2021 00:00 GMT.
- “Nintai” — for those that qualify for Storkholder and OG AND have never sold KTO.
This means if you qualify for Nintai, you will also receive OG and Storkholder NFTs!
Each tier will have its own unique qualities and utility, but before we get into that, let us address the question on everyone’s lips…
“Wen NFTs?”
Having explored many options for minting and distributing the NFTs, we have settled on one that is more labour intensive, but won’t cost the project upwards of $10,000.00. This method of minting and distribution is the same one used for the Kounotori Christmas Collection. Yoan will manually mint 200 NFTs per day and send them directly to the eligible Storkholder wallets. At a rate of 200 NFTs per day, we anticipate that all NFTs should be distributed within 14 days from the date he begins. Minting will be done in tiers, starting with Storkholder and ending with Nintai.
What about utility?
Each tier will offer different perks, for use on our upcoming exchange. Yes, that’s right, our exchange will support NFTs. As we are still in the early stages of building the exchange, not all perks can be confirmed right now, but we can tell you that the following perks are to be included:
- Lower transaction fees on the platform
- Higher staking APRs
- Special access to certain features
- Exclusive vanity features
What’s the significance though?
As mentioned above, the Kounotori NFTs have a deep folkloric significance relating to Japanese culture, and specifically the Edo period. While some argue the Edo period was prosperous and others focus on how oppressive it was, what (almost) everyone agrees on is that we’ve come a long way since then. However, one of the main outlets during the period was art. Some great artists of the period include Hiroshige, Utagawa, Tokugawa, Ogata and Hokusai.
For the Kounotori Valley Storks collection, we chose to draw inspiration from Katsushika Hosukai, one of the most prominent artists of the Edo period. In fact, some of his most iconic works, including “36 Views of Mount Fuji”, “The Great Wave of Kanagawa” and “Tsukada Island” have been recreated as backgrounds for some of our NFTs.
Just as Japanese folklore depicts storks bringing wealth for generations to come, these pieces of historical artwork have continued to inspire multiple generations of artists and philosophers. We believe the symbolism and values of Hosukai’s artwork align perfectly with our mission to deliver something that will last for generations.
From the Nest #3 will focus on exploring the upcoming KTO token utilities and our plan to create the first ever community driven exchange.
You can check out the collections on OpenSea here: https://opensea.io/collection/kounotori-valley-storks
https://opensea.io/collection/og-kounotori-valley-storks
(Nintai collection coming soon)
