If you only followed NFT NYC from afar on Twitter this week, you could easily have the impression that the entire event was a disaster resulting only in public ridicule. There were tweets making fun of Apefest, tweets laughing at an NFT date proposal, and a viral tweet thread declaring NFT NYC had “already failed” on Monday night, when the week had barely begun.
The truth is less satisfying for NFT skeptics and haters: the vibes were super positive and everyone I encountered was bullish, despite the brutal crypto downturn. As Amy Wu of FTX Ventures tweeted, “Last wk ppl told me #NFTNYC would be weird because crypto was dead. Happy to report the opposite happened.”
At lunches, panels, and parties scattered across the city, people proudly pumped their JPEGs, sure. There were plenty of Punks, Apes, Cool Cats, and Gutter Cats stitched onto hats, hoodies, and jean jackets. But people also discussed NFTs with utility, NFTs as tickets to IRL events, and other potential use cases beyond just a wealth flex.
Two specific parties in particular provided a perfect accidental contrast in where the hottest NFT collections stand right now.
Doodles, the No. 13 bestselling NFT collection ever, held a “kickoff party” on Tuesday night at the Palladium Theater in Times Square. The event was called for 7 p.m., but Doodles holders had to wait in their seats for hours until the presentation…
