The Smurf’s Society, which could be translated as “the Society of the Smurfs”, is a collection of NFTs that wants to bring atypical comic book characters back to life. But rather than on paper, or in an animated film, it is in Web3 that they land. What open the field of possibilities in the game, in the collection and in the exchanges.
The initiative is not barbaric as IMPS, the company behind the collection, is also the owner of the Smurfs license. Bringing up to date the little imaginary creatures that first appeared in 1958 necessarily required going through a modern format, and the NFT format fulfilled all the criteria.
?? Hold on to your hats, folks! The public sale is coming in less than 2 weeks! ??
On April 18th @ 5pm CET, be ready to bid on the Bucket auction and own one (or more?) Smurfs! ???
But wait, there’s more! ?
Over the next few days, we’ll be giving you DAILY updates on… pic.twitter.com/NsrMSUiZAC— The Smurfs’ Society (@SmurfsSociety) April 5, 2023
With their unique character, they will allow each new owner of one of the 12,500 NFTs to have certification of being its owner thanks to the Ethereum blockchain.
Of the 12,500 copies, there will be 250 Smurfs. All will then be declined in 50 versions differentiated by their accessories. In the future, they will come to life in a specially designed video game. IMPS has already made its mark by launching a Web3 game which counted up to 85,000 players last February. The little imaginary people also have a village on the metaverse platform The Sandbox.
© The Smurfs’ Society
We can’t wait to find out what the “Crypto Smurfs” will offer, who has recovered a Ledger wallet around his neck.
The Overblog founders behind the collection
According to a report by the investment fund A16z (well known in the web3 world), NFT sales have been on the rise for two months. As can be seen in the evolution of trading volumes, the market is back above one million active customers per month. After extraordinary speculation from 2021 to early 2022, then a collapse, the collections are picking up again… which caught the attention of Frédéric Montagnon and Julien Romanetto.
The evolution of the volume of NFT exchange in the world, in number of active blockchain addresses per month © A16z
These two entrepreneurs are behind the Smurfs’ NFT collection and launched the Overblog platform 19 years ago. Their new Web3 project is not the first as they have been working since 2017 on Arianee, another successful blockchain company. With it, brands are supported to create NFTs, both from an artistic and technological point of view. IBM, The Sandbox, Printemps, Breitling, Groupe Casino and even Paris Fashion Week are clients.
The Smurfs NFTs they launch had to live up to the fame of the license. To do this, the two entrepreneurs used their contacts and brought in big names to work on the project. In the form of 3D characters, the Smurfs were notably imagined by Cédric Hervet, the famous artistic director of the Daft Punk group.
Prices will be set by the market. First, 3,000 NFTs will be auctioned this Tuesday, April 18 at 5 p.m. when selling online. Christie’s could organize a subsequent sale. Then, the auction will allow the rest of the NFTs in the collection to be fixed at a floor price, which can then be negotiated again, between The Smurfs’ Society and the first buyers. A portion of the proceeds will go to NGOs in the environment and sustainability sector.
But other “collective projects” are planned for the future. A goal faithful to the values shared by the Smurfs for more than 60 years.
