In Brief:
- 10,000 wacky cartoon koala artworks have been created by a group of friends.
- The artworks were auctioned as NFTs using bitcoin, with the revenues going to koala hospitals across Australia.
Rhys Dale, an Australian artist raising money to help koalas by selling his “Drop Bears” NFTs.
The unexpected peaks and troughs in bitcoin’s value have intrigued Rhys Dale since he began investing in it in 2017. He and his buddies decided to use their understanding of digital currency to aid an Australian koala after nearly losing their houses in the 2019 Shoalhaven bushfires.
They began creating digital NFT art of “bogus, degenerate” cartoon koalas to sell and contribute a portion of the proceeds to koala hospitals across Australia.
Dale said, “our project is named Drop Bears after the Australian urban legend.” “We’re talking koalas with mullets, polo shirts and bum bags, bikie vests, a green and gold afro, and all kinds of funny traits to capture the Australian vibe,” he further stated.
On August 29, the team created 10,000 one-of-a-kind artworks, which sold out in less than 18 hours. The ethereum currency was used to sell the artworks, and the funds have already been used by two koala hospitals in Port Macquarie and Magnetic Island.
“So far we’ve donated 10 ethereum to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, which equated to $50,000, and donated another $10,000 to Magnetic Island,” Dale said. “We have another $10,000 ready to go to another koala sanctuary,” he added.
Despite the fact that only 10,000 koala artworks will be produced, the Drop Bears team intends to continue the legacy of larrikin Australian animal cartoons raising donations for wildlife concerns. “We’re trying to build upon the foundation, so the second drop will be emus. Then we’ll do a third and fourth drop,” Dale said.
He also said that Drop Bears’ origins will always be with koalas, and if we start introducing new creatures, we’ll look into incorporating other endangered Australian animals down the road.
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If someone resells a digital artwork in the world of NFT art, a part of the sale price goes to the original artist. The “secondary sale royalty,” as Rhys Dale put it, will ensure that donations to their causes continue to flow while the artworks are sold in the digital marketplace. He also ensured by saying that “we’re donating 40% of our secondary sale fee, so we’ll get paid once a month.”
Finally he concluded by saying that “we’ve made jokes about our bogan drop bears, but we’d like to help koalas since they’re getting endangered, which is a serious situation for an Australian icon.
