CrypToadz: pixelated NFT toads by Gremplin made a splash

espite its simplicity, pixel art remains popular and in demand. A shining example is CryptoPunks and their start in the NFT space. Many creators tried to repeat their success, but not everyone succeeded.

Today we’re going to talk about another pixelart project, that is, CrypToadz. Here are a few facts about it:

• It’s supported by the CryptoPunks community;
• The tokens have attracted the interest of famous personalities;
• Interesting concept and copyright waiver;
• Huge sales in the first days after release of the collection.

CrypToadz Official Links

• Official site https://www.cryptoadz.io
• Twitter @cryptoadzNFT – over 50k readers,
• Discord @cryptoadz – over 7k members.

What is CryptoToadz?

CrypToadz is an NFT collection of 6,969 pixelated little amphibian creatures that roam the swampy Uniswamp Basin. However, the community immediately accepted this name as a reference to the Uniswap crypto exchange. That’s an interesting start, right?

The project entered the market at the peak of its activity and overloading with PFP projects. Despite this, CrypToadz very quickly took a confident place in the lists of leaders in terms of sales. Among other things, much of the credit for this goes to influential people in the cryptocurrency community who supported the project and its author Gremplin.

A distinctive feature of CrypToadz is the CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) license. This means that all users can use tokens for any purpose, including modifying images, distributing and using them for commercial purposes. This approach fits well into the overall concept of the project which implies lightness and unobtrusiveness.

Cryptoadz in numbers

• A collection of 6,969 tokens was launched on September 8, 2021,
• At the time of launch, the cost of a mint was 0.069 ETH per piece; the entire minting was completed in about 15 minutes, and everything was sold out,
• The project is ranked 20th among the best collections in terms of sales of all time on the largest NFT marketplace OpenSea.
• Total secondary sales exceeded 72k ETH (over $115 million at current exchange rates),
• Floor price is 1.3 ETH (about $2k).
• Average sales range from 1.2 ETH to 2.5 ETH,
• The most expensive CrypToadz #1519 was sold on October 7, 2021 for 420 ETH ($1.5 million at the time of sale),
• Total 4,073 unique holders (58%),
• Only about 6% of the collection (399 pieces out of 6,969) are for sale, among them the range of offers is from 1.3 ETH to 8 ETH. This shows that almost all holders see the project as a great investment prospect and are not in a hurry to part with their assets at a lower price.

Data (including exchange rates) are given at the time of publication of the article

CrypToadz Types and Attributes

The art team has given CrypToadz some unique peculiarities. Each of them has an authentic look, different accessories and features.

In total, there are 10 different traits in the collection, but the maximum number of traits that a toad can have is only 7:

1. Accessory I (9 types),
2. Accessory II (8 types),
3. Background (17 types),
4. Body (34 types),
5. Clothes (3 types),
6. Custom (6 kinds),
7. Eyes (33 types),
8. Head (53 types),
9. Mouth (18 types),
10. Name (63 types).

Who created CrypToadz?

CrypToadz is the brainchild of an anonymous artist named Gremplin. Little is known about the author himself. He is not a public figure and is not an active fan of social media.

His development and immersion in the field of NFT began even before the release of the collection.

I had previously dabbled in flipping CryptoKitties in 2017 and am aware of the volatility in the space. So, I spun up a quick online presence and started to mint things in a sort of scattershot method.Gremplin says

His first digital works were posted on Rarible. The author minted them as a presentation and introduced people to his work. It didn’t get much publicity or popularity at the time, but it was noticed by some members of the NFT community. It served as a catalyst for the artist to take further action. He realized that the NFT field would not be closed in the near future, but on the contrary, it would only grow.

The next project that inspired Gremplin was Nounce. While Gremplin was working with Nounce, the world saw Weird Whales. The collection by a 12-year-old programmer containing strange whales was a success and was instantly sold out. When the release of Weird Whales started, Gremplin commented on it and made sketches of animals that came to his mind. As a result, a sketch of a toad appeared, and the original name for the new collection was Freaky Frogz.

As the author worked on the style and concept, he shared his experience on social media. And so the name CrypToadz as a reference to CryptoPunks stuck.

Call me crazy, but I predict that Cool Cats and CrypToadz will probably run neck and neck floors all the way up to where Bored Ape Yacht Club is. By which time the Ape floor will be at 80 eth. I'm calling it by November.

— TheGovernor.eth (@thegovernoreth) October 5, 2021

The friends of the artist also played a significant role in the implementation of the project. He repeatedly said that they were involved in the creation and implementation of the collection. Even now, they are an inherent part of the collection. We don’t know exactly, what are specific roles of each team member of the project when it comes to its existence and promotion. However, all those involved and their avatars-tokens can be found on the official website of the project with “Made with love” title over them.

The author came up with a simple and straightforward story of himself and his tokens. The story goes that Gremplin crawls through burrows and pipes. One day he takes a wrong turn and can’t get home. In order to get back, he starts creating tokens with the inhabitants of his country in order to show others where he is from. He does so until he can find the way home.

Why are CrypToadz so popular?

CrypToadz are popular, they’re actively discussed and promoted online, and here’s why:

• Relationship and references to CryptoPunks: pixelation, cigarettes, square pixel glasses etc. As soon as the collection was released, holders and fans of CryptoPunks immediately started buying it. With an initial cost of 0.069 ETH per token, the pieces went under the hammer in the range from 5 to 15 ETH each. As a result, many fans of CryptoPunks started changing their profile pictures to toads from CrypToadz just off the reel.
• Appreciation from well-known members of the crypto community (Punk4156, Evankeast, Beaniemaxi), as well as from the founder of Punk Comics;
• A large pool of tokens where everyone can find something suitable for themselves to express their vibe and uniqueness;
• CC0 license. Everyone can use toads for their own commercial purposes, thereby popularizing them in the media and cultural space;
• Stable prices and active sales;
• Low cost of the token, which makes it easy to become a member of the community. Now, on the secondary markets, toads are traded in the range from 1.2 to 2.5 ETH;
• Simplicity of the project and its ease of perception for the audience. It is important.
• CrypToadz NFT tokens are the characters of the most promising OtherSide metaverse from Yuga Labs. The eyes of investors and the crypto community are fixed on it and its development. Metaverses make a lucrative market with great potential. The characters that are part of a metaverse become a valuable and promising investment asset.

CrypToadz Roadmap

The project does not have an official roadmap or development plan. And this is rather a marketing ploy and not a lack of foresight of the creator.

You can think of CrypToadz as of some cool and fun project with toads and a lot of references to cultural codes, memes and geek culture. The project is good in its simplicity, and therefore is popular among community members and collectors.

At the same time, the development of the project was influenced by the loud statements of experts from the art world.

It’s like all the weird art kids and the finance club got a table together at university and started talking and building together 24/7. Noah Davis, Christie’s NFT expert, sharing his opinion on CrypToadz

And yes, after this announcement, toads became even more popular in the media space and at auctions.

CrypToadz ecosystem

CrypToadz does not currently have a distinct ecosystem. The creators concentrate thus the maximum attention of the community and holders on the main characters of the project. In the future, the community looks forward to expanding the ecosystem, creating various utilities and promising partnerships.

How much do CrypToadz cost?

On September 8, 2021, a mint was worth 0.069 ETH (about $220 at the time). Then all the tokens were sold out in 15 minutes.

To visualize the price dynamics, we made a cut at the average price for 1 NFT:

• in October 2021 – 9.3 ETH,
• in December 2021 – 3.6 ETH,
• in March 2022 – 3.5 ETH,
• in June 2022 – 2.5 ETH,
• in September 2022 – 2 ETH,
• in December 2022 – 1.6 ETH.

Now (January 2023) the minimum price is 1.3 ETH. On average, the latest sales are in the range of 1.2-2.5 ETH. And the total volume of secondary sales amounted to more than 72k ETH (about $115 million).

Most Expensive CrypToadz Sales

The most expensive sales are led by the following NFTs from the CrypToadz collection:

1. #1519 sold on October 7, 2021 for 420 ETH ($1.5 million at the time of sale).
2. #6514 sold on October 5, 2021 for 175 ETH ($615K at the time of sale).
3. #8000000 sold on October 7, 2021 for 150 ETH ($536K at the time of sale).
4. #5634 sold on October 4, 2021 for 135 ETH ($456K at the time of sale).

Where to buy CrypToadz?

Currently, CrypToadz can only be purchased on the secondary market on such marketplaces as OpenSea, LooksRare.

How to buy CrypToadz?

1. Remember that initially you need to connect your crypto wallet with self-storage to the marketplace of your choice.
2. Next, find the official collection using the search bar on the marketplace,
3. Analyze and choose the NFT you want to buy; click on it and then on the “Buy” button.
4. Or you can bet on the token you like. Make sure you leave enough ETH for gas or transaction fees. If the seller approves your bid, the deal goes through.

Is it worth investing in CrypToadz?

If you are considering CrypToadz as an investment, you should be aware of the main reasons for investment attractiveness:

• The project is constanlty supported by CryptoPunks, one of the most powerful crypto communities in history;
• Tokens are popular in the NFT field;
• The project has received good feedback from renowned collectors and experts such as Noah Davis;
• The characters are part of the OtherSide metaverse from Yuga Labs. When the Yuga Labs team published a teaser in March 2022, in which the community saw the already beloved toads, their price went up, even though the metaverse was still at the stage of launch and testing back then.

• Thanks to the CC0 license, the project is more than just a subject for speculation. It implies an idea of creating and developing a business, a public domain, and a part of culture. You can think of CrypToadz as of certain cultural phenomenon in the world of digital art. The CC0 license is more important than it seems. Since the images can be used by anyone, even for their own commercial purposes, this can have a positive impact on the value of CrypToadz tokens. With the successful use of images from the collection by any well-known brand or company, toads can expect a new wave of hype and popularity. In this case, the price and demand will increase many times over.

In any case, do your own in-depth analysis and research when investing in NFTs, and then make your own decision.

Opinion of NFTMetria

The project is cool and simple. The author did not complicate it with roadmaps, development plans, some incredible meta worlds etc.

It is sufficient that the CrypToadz collection exists. It’s original, funny, and full of references and Easter eggs. And it worked! The community gave the tokens a warm reception. Now, it continues to promote them in the media and on social media platforms. Toads are still a good investment option.