Learn what is the Nouns DAO and why it’s such an intriguing blue chip NFT project.
One of the most interesting NFT projects of 2021 has sent a 3D printed figurine to the International Space Station (ISS), named a Glassfrog after the NFT project name, and holds more than $48 million (at the time of writing) in its treasury.
If you are wondering, which Web 3.0 project could take such ambitious steps for publicity, do good to nature, and care for the NFT owners’ community, it’s the Nouns DAO.
Ten Nounders united to create this project to develop a robust and wealthy Web 3.0 community around digital avatars, ready for the metaverse and other profile picture purposes. The first NFT was minted for 613.37 ETH in 2021, and the project has been thriving since then. It’s a self-financing collective NFT Ownership project. Unlike any other NFTs in the space.
Table of Contents
What Is the Nouns DAO?
The Nouns DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization around the Nouns NFT project. Hence, to understand the importance and value of this Web 3.0 DAO, we need to dig deep into its NFT project.
Ten creators and blockchain developers, commonly known as the Nounders are the original gangsters (OGs) behind the Nouns NFT collection. They developed the Nouns.wtf website and started offering one Noun for auction each day since August 08, 2021. The founding members of this DAO include:
The Auction Process of Nouns NFTs
Nouns.wtf hosts the auction of each Noun NFT each day. The auction stays active for 24 hours. At the end of this period, the bidder who bids the maximum amount of ETH becomes the auction winner.
The proceeds from the auction will go directly into the Nouns DAO treasury. In return, the highest bidder will get the ERC-721 token for the Noun NFT in the auction.
Next, the algorithm will automatically generate the next Noun NFT and start the 24 hours of the auction process. As of now, there is no end date for this auction process, so one Noun will appear for sale for an indefinite time.
The Beginning of the Nouns DAO and Its Treasury
On Jan 1, 2022, the @nounsdao Twitter handle announced the formation of the Nouns Foundation, a fully decentralized and autonomous business on Web 3.0 based on the Nouns NFT project.
The Nouns Foundation also dedicated a treasury for the Nouns DAO. The treasury is something like an ETH bank account for this DAO community.
The bank gets its funds from all the Nouns NFT sales, except for each 10th ( 10th, 20th, 30th, ……) Noun NFTs until the project ends. Proceeds from 10th NFTs in each series go to a multisig Ethereum wallet dedicated to the Nounders.
When someone owns a Noun NFT, they become a part of the DAO. A member of the DAO can propose new roadmap ideas and vote on ongoing roadmap proposals.
What Does Nouns NFT Project Look Like?
Nouns are the picture for profiles or PFP NFTs hosted on the Ethereum mainnet. All the Nouns NFTs are unique and generatively produced by an artificial intelligence algorithm and smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain.
These NFT artworks are essentially based on things, glasses, people, places, and so on. Usually, the NFTs are 32 X 32 pixels in size. The most exciting thing about the project is one Noun NFT appears for minting or auction for up to 24 hours. Once this NFT has been sold, a new one appears for the next 24 hours.
All the Nouns NFTs are equally rare since there are no trait scarcity rules or IF statements to govern the NFT mint event. Each day a random Noun would show up for auction, and they will contain a mix of the following traits:
- Up to two types of backgrounds
- 30 types of bodies
- 242 types of heads
- 140 types of accessories
- 23 types of glasses
As each day passes on, more numbers of traits will come up. Hence, the Nouns NFT project enjoys the maximum FOMO effect since all the NFTs are somewhat special, and if it’s gone, there is no second chance of owning them except in the secondary marketplace. At the time of writing, the floor price of the project is 78 ETH.
The equivalent of the Nouns NFTs could be the CryptoPunks. They share the same artwork themes like pixel art, generative assets, etc. However, CryptoPunks come with varied rarity for assets whereas all the Nouns NFTs are one-on-one.
Read our guide to the best Pixel Art NFT projects.
What Nouns DAO Do?
Nouns DAO oversees all the operations at the Nouns Foundation. It has a treasury from which the Nouns DAO finances roadmap projects like:
- Xanadu & Nouns: a mega episode with real-time Nouns World Toolkit
- Nounify New York Fashion Week
- Integrate 8/8 Anniversary Art
- NounsDAO Brazil
- Nouns Esports and Dota Experimentation for July – October 2022
- Nouns Brand (Clothing Brand)
- NounsDAO investment in Verse
- Free Glasses For Kids
- Marketplace Pod Proposal
- Send a 3D Noun sculpture to the International Space Station
- Support Ecominga, Rainforest Trust, etc.
In a nutshell, The Nouns DAO is the forum of Noun owners where a member (holding 2+ Nouns) can present a proposal for a vote. The ultimate objective is to promote the Nouns project, keep the publicity active, and attract high-value members/investors.
Nouns DAO also supervises independent projects on its platform. Currently, the Nouns Projects portal hosts more than 150 creative projects.
These projects increase the real-life value and utility of the Nouns NFT collection. For example, some merch projects earn handsomely by selling Noun printed products.
Nouns DAO: A True Decentralized Autonomous Organization
The Nouns Foundation is a highly decentralized Web 3.0 business with several checks and balances. Followings are some of the unique features of this decentralized organization:
The Nouns DAO Virtuous Cycle
The 437 and counting Nouns are the characters that fuel the community to engage with the project. On the other hand, the DAO treasury funds all the operational, donations, and growth projects.
The proceeds from each Nouns sale add funds to the treasury. The treasury, in turn, finances various project roadmaps and publicity events that attract investors.
With the founding Nounders at the heart of the DAO and all members devoted to the good cause of the DAO, it’s a never-ending cycle of growth, creativity, and prosperity.
Build Your Own Web 3.0 Apps on Nouns
Nouns DAO is fully open to funding Web 3.0 projects that will increase the value of the Noun Foundation and Noun NFTs. Individual Web 3.0 and blockchain developers can apply for grants through the Nouns DAO Discourse portal.
The members and founding Nounders will consider the following development ideas around the Nouns project:
- Games based on Noun NFTs
- Web and mobile apps for Nouns
- Nouns tools for developers and creators
- Artwork inspired by Nouns
- Integrating Nouns artwork with ENS domains
How to Buy an NFT From the Nouns DAO?
If you haven’t bought any Nouns yet and willing to do so, there’s good news! Nouns are always available at the mint price each day Nouns.wtf makes one Noun NFT available for auction and minting by the highest bidder.
However, if you see a Noun you like but couldn’t bid on in the auction, you can check the secondary marketplaces like OpenSea for any open offer on that Noun NFT.
To be able to bid for the minting of a new Noun NFT, you need to connect your cryptocurrency wallet with Nouns.wtf website. Currently, it supports wallets like Metamask, Fortmatic, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet, Brave, and Trezor.
How Can You Generate Your Own Noun for Profile Picture
The Nouns Protocol is the algorithm that randomly creates generative pixel art NFTs for the Nouns DAO. The creators of the program have made it publicly available.
Therefore, individuals who can’t buy or don’t want to buy a Noun NFT but still want to use Nouns as a profile picture or avatar can use the Nouns Playground.
However, these Nouns are not NFTs, and anyone can own a single piece of randomly generated Noun image from the Playground.
Once you access the Playground portal, you can customize the following filters and their features:
- Background (random, cool, and warm)
- Body (random, foggrey, cold, gunk, and more)
- Accessory (random, aardvark, axes, etc.)
- Head (random, ape, bear, banana, bomb, etc.)
- Glasses (random, square-black, square-smoke, etc.)
Furthermore, you can upload a 32 X 32 pixels PNG image as a custom trait, and the generative art system will design something close to the supplied sample.
Nouns DAO Expansion: Lil Nouns DAO
Seeing the popularity of the Nouns NFT project, Nounders has developed the Lil Nouns NFT collection. Similar to the Nouns NFT, this is a generative art NFT project. But, the difference lies in the interval of the auction.
Lil Nouns become available for minting after every 15 minutes. At the time of writing, 5,836 have been minted. All these Lil Noun NFTs are unique since the generative art system works on a random algorithm.
Like the Nouns NFT collection, Lil Nouns also come with 6 traits, like bodies, accessories, heads, etc. These are also 32 X 32 pixels of artwork of places, things, and people. However, this artwork portrays Nouns as kids.
The DAO linked to the Lil Nouns project has its own treasury, voting system, project roadmaps, etc. If you’re looking for an entry point into the Nouns ecosystem, these are much more affordable.
The Future of the Nouns DAO
Top brands, independent creators, YouTubers, and technology experts are partnering with the Noun DAO to roll out new content and product frequently. For example, the partnership projects with Xanadu, Dopamine, John Hamon, Esports, etc., are working as a strategic promotion.
More high-quality buyers are joining the DAO. For instance, Budlight bought Noun 179 on January 18, 2022. Furthermore, there’re future roadmap proposals like Noun Sounds, partnering with Internet Game, etc., should also increase its visibility around the Web 3.0 community.
With so much community engagement and future targeted projects, Nouns DAO is a gem in the NFT ecosystem.
