The little blue x, who originated in comics and became an internationally renowned cartoon and movie star, is entering the NFT arena.
作宇：Coindesk——Toby Bochan
The hit animated series "The Smurfs," best known for its comics, cartoons, and movies, is embarking on a new adventure with a new series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from the Smurfs Association that will bring the little guy's Influence extends to Web3.
Why Smurfs? One of the attractions of intellectual property (IP) is its broad Web2 reach, "94% recognized globally". Co-founder and chief marketing officer Arthur Salkin told CoinDesk that the Smurfs are not only widely known in Belgium, where the comics originated, but also in Europe, the United States, and China, where the Smurfs are popular for their community and collaborative spirit.
This ethos was a key factor that attracted Frédéric Montagnon, another co-founder of the Smurfs Guild and responsible for the brand's strategy. According to Montagnon, The Smurfs are an ideal partner to bring Web2 fans to Web3 through an inclusive, welcoming community. The Smurfs' pedigree as a friendly, approachable brand focused on caring for others is a huge draw.
“We think NFTs are creating a community without borders,” Montagnon told CoinDesk. "Web3 reduces hassle and increases the freedom to connect with others, and also provides digital sovereignty, which is very important."
Starting April 18th, The Smurfs Association will hold a bucket auction for 3,000 NFTs based on Smurf characters. While there are Smurf incarnations based on famous traditional characters, including Papa Smurf, Smurf, and Smurf, the Smurf Society Saga series brings Web3 characters to the village, such as the VR Smurfs and the Crypto Smurfs.
"You can identify yourself as a Smurf," Salkin noted, teasing that future casts will be more inclusive in character design. Salkin praised Daft Punk Creative Director Cedric Hervet for his work in recruiting renowned 3D artists to bring the Smurf Head (PFP) to life.
All told, the collection will contain 12,500 3D rendered Smurfs PFPs. According to the project's website, there will be 250 different Smurf characters, each with 50 unique variants and more than 350 different traits.
Over the past year, the Smurfs Guild has been building a smaller, closed community that has been testing gamified Smurf worlds built around Polygon. These early adopters have been rewarded with crystals, which can be traded on secondary markets such as OpenSea, and will offer opportunities for discounted whitelist sales after public bucket auctions.
Part of the game experience emphasizes that education is part of the mission. "Every day you have the opportunity to craft some ingredients, and if you pick the right ingredients, you can craft potions and crystals," Montagnon explained, "so there might be a quest that helps you understand what you need to cast and how it works with Blockchain technology works together."