Status Monkeys

NFTs are starting to function as a social network that sits above other networks, and Eugene Wei's Status-as-a-Service is the best framework for evaluating them. A Zombie CryptoPunk sold for 1,201.725 ETH ($3.75 million) at auction on Friday, and 478 people pooled resources through PartyBid, a product created by Anish Agnihotri and the PartyDAO crew, to win it. Wei argues that social capital, the status people seek, drives online behavior that financial analysis alone cannot explain, and that new social networks resemble ICOs by issuing a token, requiring proof of work, and building scarcity.