Moonbirds exploded onto the NFT scene raking in $66 million in mint. The project’s COO is now launching a fund with subscription fees of 100 ETH per year
When Ryan Carson unveiled the 121G NFT fund’s website only nine days after Moonbirds launched, he was widely chastised.
One of the founding members of the successful NFT project Moonbirds has already begun to shift his focus.
121G- Moonbirds NFT Fund
Moonbirds and PROOF’s Chief Operating Officer, Ryan Carson, are preparing to launch 121G, a new NFT-focused fund. The current NFT landscape is described as a “historic opportunity” on the venture’s website, and it says it will focus on sourcing “hard-to-acquire blue-chip NFTs.”
“121G is poised to perfectly capture this historic opportunity by utilizing these strategies to maximize returns for our investors… Commissioning 1/1s by the world’s leading NFT artists, Securing allowlist access on the hottest upcoming projects, Utilizing cutting edge information to inform our acquire and hold strategy, and Networking to secure hard-to-acquire blue chip NFTs.”
— 121GIt characterized today’s NFT market as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to profit while the technology is still in its infancy, and 121G as “the fund you wish you could go back in time and invest in.”
According to the website, there are 99 spots available for a quarterly subscription fee of 25 ETH. Investors must commit for at least a year, implying that the fund needs to raise at least $9,900 ETH, or $27.7 million at current market prices.
In that sense, 121G appears to be the equivalent of an exclusive members’ club, providing access to NFTs with the potential to appreciate in value over time.
Ryan Carson Slammed Over The NFT Fund
While 121G isn’t expected to launch until next month, Carson shared the website on Twitter early Monday, saying he was “blown away” by the response so far. Several members of the NFT community chastised Carson for the fund in response.
“The site for 121G, my NFT fund, is now live. I’ve been blown away by the interest, with 80+ folks asking for more information. Thank you! “
— Ryan Carson, Chief Operating Officer at Moonbirds and PROOFMuch of the criticism has centered on Moonbirds’ enormous financial success, which raised $66 million when it launched on April 16 and has since surpassed 110,000 ETH in secondary market trading volume.
Because the project gets a 5% cut of every secondary sale, that’s an extra $5,500 ETH (roughly $15.4 million) on top of the $66 million raised in the mint. It’s worth noting, though, that Carson does not have direct access to the millions raised by Moonbirds.
The proceeds from both the mint and secondary sales, according to the project’s website, will be used solely for expanding the team, launching new products, and providing value to the Moonbirds community.
“annnnnd the paid group is live… didn’t you guys just rake in $70 million? lmao,” said the pseudonymous NFT trader MoonOverlord. Nic Wilkins responded with a meme comparing Carson to a thorny NFT collector known as Beanie, prompting gmoney, a popular NFT tastemaker, to say, “This is hilarious.” Soby, an NFT enthusiast, tweeted a critical message about an unnamed NFT fund that invests in “historically relevant” NFTs.
Another NFT enthusiast known as Soby posted a critical tweet referencing an unnamed NFT fund investing in “historically relevant” NFTs.
This is Not The First Time Carson Will Be Slammed
This isn’t the first time Carson has been chastised for his actions since the premiere of Moonbirds. He was also chastised for repeatedly mentioning the NFTs’ floor price, and he deleted at least one post after being accused of obsessing over the collection’s value.
In a tweet, Deeze called out Ryan Carson on Apr. 23;
Carson wrote in response to a Deeze callout and said;
“I hear you and I agree it was a mistake. I got caught up in the excitement and should’ve thought twice before hitting the button. We are focused on building and hiring. I won’t be posting about price again.”
— Ryan CarsonDespite Carson’s apparent blunder, Moonbirds continue to be the talk of the NFT space and are by far the most traded collection. PROOF, which also exploded when it launched earlier this year, can be blamed for some of the project’s early success. “The official Proof PFP,” according to Moonbirds.
Carson Work Records
Before venturing into the NFT space, Carson spent a decade at the helm of Treehouse, which was acquired by Xenon Partners in December 2021. Treehouse has also been a source of controversy, including a mass layoff in September 2021 following the failure of a separate acquisition deal with Skillsoft.
Carson became a full-time “entrepreneur” in December 2021, according to his LinkedIn page, which would have been around the time PROOF was getting ready to launch.
Since Carson’s 121G announcement gained traction, Moonbirds has taken a slight hit and is now trading at a minimum of 35 ETH. Even in the sometimes befuddling world of NFTs, that’s nearly $100,000.
