Who is Vincent Van Dough? The influencer who created AOTM gallery

05.31.2023

In the NFT space, there is no shortage of mysterious individuals going public under pseudonyms. But few of the anonymous people manage to become such a significant figure as Vincent Van Dough (VVD). He is widely known for his crazy spending and thoughtful projects, including the AOTM Web3 Gallery @AOTMgallery, TungstenDAO @TungstenDAO and of course Notable Pepes @NotablePepes.
The variety of collectible avatar memes from Van Dough is as impressive as the amounts paid for them. Everyone you meet here – from the charismatic Pepe the Frog to the outrageous Sea Hams and the bizarre Moonbirds!
Without a doubt, a personality of this range cannot but arouse the burning interest of the community. Let’s try to figure out who is hiding under the nickname Vincent Van Dough.

Who is Vincent Van Dough influencer?

Let’s start our research with the nickname under which our hero – a prolific NFT collector, philanthropist, thought leader and inspirer of the Web3 ecosystem – positions himself on the Internet. The choice of the pseudonym Vincent Van Dough is clearly not accidental – this is a reference to the name of the Dutch post-impressionist Vincent Van Gogh, who influenced the entire 20th century.
This choice characterizes the influencer not only as a fan of post-impressionism, but also as a successor to its traditions in the cryptographic art of the 21st century. It is noteworthy that his first project is called one of the most famous paintings by Van Gogh “The Starry Night”.
Van Dough entered the world of crypto art ten years ago, even before the word “NFT” became known to the general public. To this day, he remains a staunch supporter of historical tokens, while also being one of the biggest investors in the most famous collections on Art Blocks.

Collect pieces of art that resonate. This is how the influencer briefly formulates his life credo

As a true aesthete, Van Dough has made collecting his life’s work.

Collecting isn’t a job for me; it is something that I genuinely derive meaning and fulfillment from. <…> Beyond just aesthetics, it is a combination of intuition and knowledge of internet culture, identifying promising artists, keeping a pulse on the contemporary art landscape, and always being on the lookout for art that has a fresh and unique perspective. So seriously the collector takes the chosen path

Vincent Van Dough Official Links

Twitter @Vince_Van_Dough – over 170k followers.

Vincent Van Dough in the NFT world

Earlier in an interview, the influencer revealed that he was one of the first applicants for original CryptoPunks and one of the early members of CryptoKitties.

By the end of 2017, he owned more than 2,000 NFTs, on which he spent over $20 million. At the time of the interview (09/11/2021), his collection included 6,000 NFTs.

According to Flipside, as of November 1, 2021, the investor spent 8,623.3 ETH (approximately $41 million) on his NFT collection. At the same time, the amount of sales transactions made by him is only 372.68 ETH, or $1.7 million. This suggests that the collector is reluctant to part with his acquisitions and rarely sells them.

How much money has Vincent Van Dough spent on his collection by November 2021? To answer this question, let’s do some simple calculations:

8,623.3 ETH (cost of purchases) + 26.4 ETH (cost of used gas) – 372.68 ETH (value of sales) = 8,277.02 ETH.

So, the collection cost Van Dough about $38 million.

NFT projects of Vincent Van Dough

Van Dough’s dominance in the NFT space is reflected in a string of groundbreaking projects. Each of them is a step towards the crypto community and the desire to reveal the true value of digital art.

Starry Night Capital

The first project of VVD was the NFT fund Starry Night Capital. As mentioned, it was named after one of Van Gogh’s masterpieces.

Vincent Van Dough NFT Vincent Van Gogh — *Vincent Van Gogh. The Starry Night*

The influencer launched the project in 2021 with Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, founders of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.

Starry Night Capital was to raise $100 million to invest in “the best of the most coveted collections”, create an educational portal for the NFT community, raise awareness of up-and-coming artists and open a physical gallery in a major city.

Excited to be working together with @zhusu and @kyled116 from 3AC to launch @StarryNight_Cap, a NFT fund.

Our thesis is simple, we believe the best way to gain exposure to the cultural paradigm shift being ushered in by NFTs is owning the top pieces from the most desired sets.

— VincentVanDough (@Vince_Van_Dough) August 30, 2021

Unfortunately, most of these initiatives have not been implemented.

The Foundation has amassed an impressive collection. It includes digital items from such top projects as:

CryptoPunks,
Autoglyphs,
Deafbeef;
Art masterpieces by artists XCOPY, Alpha Grant Yun and Alpha Centauri Kid;
Art Blocks masterpieces by Dmitri Cherniak, Tyler Hobbs and Snowfro.

Then Starry Night Capital spent $21 million to acquire 457 NFTs during 2021.

However, after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May 2022, Three Arrows Capital was unable to meet the margin requirements of a number of exchanges. At the end of June, Three Arrows went into liquidation, and Starry Night Capital closed in October. All assets of the fund were transferred to the New York firm Teneo.

AOTM Gallery

On November 22, 2022, Vincent Van Dough announced the launch of the Art of This Millennium (AOTM) gallery on the Manifold platform.

Hello world pic.twitter.com/yK4XQpqhhW

— AOTM (@AOTMgallery) November 22, 2022

The goal of the project is to unleash the potential of outstanding representatives of cryptoart. AOTM is comprised of 32 creatives including:

All of these digital artists have been given the opportunity to present their work in the AOTM Gallery.

From curation, to marketing and promotion, to organizing exhibitions, to producing supporting content which documents processes and helps contextualize work, to connecting artists with collectors, we work hand in hand with creators every step of the way from ideation to sale. This is how the founder of the gallery and influencer responds, emphasizing that patronage is a multifaceted activity

AOTM’s business model included curation, promotion, exhibitions and sales, strengthening partnerships within and outside Web3, and managing the NFT legacy.

The decision to distribute the proceeds from each secondary sale was well thought out and fair:

15% – to the gallery fund for its reinvestment (traditional galleries usually take up to 50% of the proceeds from the sale of works of art);
10% – to the authors of works of art, regardless of where and how the works were sold.

Notable Pepes

Van Dough is known as a longtime supporter of the Internet meme Pepe the Frog and a patron of the art associated with the meme. He was a collector of the famous Rare Pepes crypto project, which was created in 2016-2018 on the CounterParty platform, and in July 2022 he accepted an offer from CounterParty to oversee Fake Rares NFT.

The Fake Rares collection prompted Van Dough to create his own Notable Pepes project in February 2023. Its main goal was to populate the ecosystem with digital artwork inspired by the famous Pepe frog meme.

Vincent Van Dough NFT Pepe the Frog — *The famous Pepe the Frog meme which became the personification and center of the Notable Pepes project*

A month earlier, the public release of Pepe Checks, which were priced at $6.90 and raised more than $1.6 million in 24 hours. No wonder, because every Pepe Check was a pass to the weekly drops of Notable Pepes.

We brought a majority of the OG Rare Pepe and Fake Rare artists over to Notable Pepes, and we also invited prominent ETH artists to create Notable Pepe cards,” he says. “The response has been incredibly positive, and the meme is stronger than ever. People wanted a way to collect and interact with the Pepe community in a way that was familiar to them and ETH-native. The Notable Pepes project has surpassed the wildest expectations of its creator

TungstenDAO

TungstenDAO is an organization dedicated to collecting the most iconic NFT assets and allowing its members to create new content. Van Dough, founder of TungstenDAO, described it as “an experimental meme incubation studio”

Introducing @Tungsten_DAO, an experimental meme incubation studio.

TungstenDAO will amass a collection of assets that are highly memeable, then create content that reinforces their social significance and strengthens memetic desires for these assets… pic.twitter.com/JSYZgipdbc

— VincentVanDough (@Vince_Van_Dough) October 23, 2021

According to the influencer, anyone can submit a popular meme, and if approved, it will be minted as an NFT. A significant share of the meme’s sales will go to the DAO treasury, while 10% will go to the creator of the meme.

On the day of the DAO launch – October 23, 2021 – an NFT meme called “The Density is Astounding” was posted on the Foundation platform. Famous crypto collectors took part in the announced auction, and the anonymous user 12yr Old With A Credit Card won, who laid out 42 ETH for the meme.

On November 1, 2021, TungstenDAO acquired a massive 2,000-pound cube of tungsten for 56.9 ETH ($250,000 million). Since then, TungstenDAO has been mining NFT memes featuring a tungsten cube for a few ETH. Some of them are owned by Van Dough. The group has its own treasury, which is controlled by TungstenDAO members. The project was supported by well-known collectors, giving the new organization a significant marketing boost.

The NFT collection of Vincent Van Dough

Vincent Van Dough owns an extensive portfolio of non-fungible tokens.

The most significant NFTs in it are:

Fidenza by Tyler Hobbs;
Pudgy Penguin;
Ringers by Dmitri Cherniak;
Chromie Squiggle;
Elevated Deconstructions by Luxpris;
Archetype by Kjetil Golid.

Opinion of Vincent Van Dough about the NFT market

Van Dough sees digital art not only as a source of income – he understands the timeless value of this art:

The term ‘NFT’ is too broad of a term, and unfortunately, a lot of groundbreaking art has been tossed into this encompassing word that has become synonymous with flipping and trading. We view AOTM as a home for artists, collectors, and patrons who value art for its aesthetic and cultural significance rather than short-term monetary worth. Influencer comments

Van Dough thinks it’s better to go beyond Web3 with plans for a physical AOTM site:

The crypto NFT market can often be volatile and rapidly evolving. We must think about what is best for our artists reputationally from a long-term horizon, not just what will be a hot narrative for the short term. He cautions

According to Vincent Van Dough, the NFT sphere will not only change the lives of artists for the better, but will make their work more accessible to millions of art fans.

Van Dough is convinced that the space must guarantee equal opportunities for its participants:

Excited to be working together with @zhusu and @kyled116 from 3AC to launch @StarryNight_Cap, a NFT fund.

Our thesis is simple, we believe the best way to gain exposure to the cultural paradigm shift being ushered in by NFTs is owning the top pieces from the most desired sets.

— VincentVanDough (@Vince_Van_Dough) August 30, 2021

Opinion of NFTmetria

Vincent Van Dough is one of those who open the world’s eyes to the real value of NFTs and introduces a whole galaxy of talented digital artists. The responses of the creators who enlisted the support of Van Dough are full of sincere gratitude to their curator.

Grant Yun, on the AOTM roster, credits the influencer’s support with giving him a critical boost, noting the patron’s “depth of knowledge” and “willingness to develop this space.”