Introduction

ETHER is one of the most promising projects to launch in 2023. Its deep connections and quality production have kept the broader NFT community engaged, despite a delayed launch and years in production.

Its mint price of 1 ETH has been a hot topic of discussion within the NFT space due to the currently underwhelming macro environment. 

This article will examine the different components of ETHER in an attempt to distil how it compares to other hyped projects that are currently available. 

Article Outline

• Project Details 

• Mint Details

• Whitelist Distribution

• Benchmark Comparison

• Appeal Strategy Analysis

• Closing Remarks

Project details

After over 1.5 years of development, ETHER is scheduled for launch in Q2 of 2023, although the exact date for the minting has not yet been announced. The team has described it as a “collectible,” emphasizing their focus on delivering high-quality anime-themed artwork. Here are a few sneak peeks: 

The collection is reported to have over 500 different traits with over 50 billion possible combinations. In fact, the uniqueness of ETHER lies in the variety of its traits, level of detail, and completeness, which further emphasizes its value as a collectible item. 

While there has been little discussion about its potential practical uses, there are plans to offer exclusive figurines, as well as a roadmap that may include clothing and the creation of an anime series. 

More benefits are expected to be revealed on the website that is soon launching. 

The ETHER collection will be split equally between male and female characters, with the most common tier being “human” at 50%. The rarest tier will be 1-of-1 pieces, constituting 0.05% of the collection. The second rarest tier will be the “corrupt” tier, which will make up 0.95% of the collection, followed by “imp/vampire” and “mecha” tiers at 19% and 30%, respectively. The reveal will be animated and take place 10 weeks after mint. 

Mint details

Mint details were made public on the 10th of December 2022. Of the 10,000 pieces in the collection; 1,750 will be reserved for the 875 whitelisted members that get two spots each, while 8,000 will be available for the public to mint, and 250 pieces will be reserved for the team’s treasury.  

The public mint price will be 1 ETH, while whitelisted members will be able to choose from three options:

1. Mint both for free and have them locked for 10 weeks.

2. Mint one for free, locked for 10 weeks, and mint one for half of public mint, unlocked.

3. Mint both at half of the public mint price, unlocked.

The ETHER treasury will receive 70% of the mint funds, corresponding to $9 million USD, assuming sell out, while the rest is allocated to the team. However, Viii announced in early January 2023 that ⅔ of his share will be donated to charity “to assist those with bad mental health, living in abusive households and to help make food banks.”

Role Distribution

ETHER published its first tweet in July 2022, but its invite campaign began later in September 2022. Since then, the ETHER team has been carefully selecting new members on a daily basis and will continue to do so until the minting takes place. 

Initially, the selection process was managed through the main ETHER account, but now is being handled by the Hatchi Twitter account, which represents the "spirit of the Ether." The Discord is now open to all. 

Various roles have been distributed to indicate when and why an invitation was sent out. For instance, early supporters were invited in three separate waves and received designations such as “E-1”, “E-2”, or “E-3”. The “Early Adventurer” role corresponds to the last batch of hand-picked members before the mint.  

Overall, the team encourages people to show their support for the project by sharing unique content, including fan art, memes, lore, music, etc.

The ETHER team has made it clear that they are not interested in a typical “grind-to-win” whitelist selection process. Instead, they have rewarded individuals who demonstrate exceptional behavior as project ambassadors, by awarding them the "Noble Stone" role, for example. This role has been given to ten individuals.

Most recently, Viii held an official art contest titled “E10K”, where top 60 participants were assigned the role of “Craftsman Stone”. This contest was active for a month and ended on February 22, 2023. It led to an incredible turnout with a massive amount of submissions. Similar events can be expected in Q2.**
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It should be noted that none of the roles above currently equate to  a whitelist, besides the “Craftsman Stone” role. Instead, the actual whitelist handouts began on January 12 2023, where it was given to 200 individuals who solved a certain riddle. Wave 2 began shortly after and is currently still ongoing. 

The whitelist and wallet collection will be completed entirely through Twitter DMs. Each individual can gain a maximum of 3 whitelist spots, but this is highly unlikely as per the FAQ section within the project’s Discord. The number of whitelist spots that have been allocated may be revealed upon the launch of the website.  

Team

The ETHER project was founded by Viii, a renowned digital artist, and CV or “Crypto Valley”, a prominent figure within web3 and the Founder of The Valley:

• Viii

Viii has a compelling personal story that many people can relate to, and his emotional honesty has resonated with his followers. Despite only having posted less than 700 times over a four-year period, his Twitter following has grown to over 100,000 people.

While some of his posts may have been removed, the remaining posts provide valuable insight into his experiences, as he has been transparent and vulnerable in sharing the highs and lows of his journey.

It is evident that Viii has remained committed to his passion over an extended period, despite facing significant challenges such as struggles with his mental health, family illness, and the pressure to pursue a career as an accountant instead of following his dreams.

It seems that the Web3 space has provided the opportunity for Viii to realize his dreams, particularly as he has been among the first to create phygitals - a combination of physical and digital wearables. Examples of his work include THE METAJACKET and the RTFKT Space Drip x Nike Air Force 1: Viii.

Among other projects with Sony and Faze, Viii created the artwork for the Treeverse Timeless Characters NFT in late 2021.

He has also sold multiple standalone 5-figure artworks on SuperRare, including this one in 2022 for $22,500 USD:

Before that he’d already collaborated with a broad range of anime brands in fashion-related projects:

However, his ambitions do not end here. He wants to become the best and is currently putting his entire focus and skill into ETHER. 

In addition, considering his humble mindset and beginnings, he frequently encourages his followers to follow their passions. He also wants to give back and help others attain their dreams by supporting them as others have supported him. 

Sometimes art has the ability to convey emotions and ideas that words alone cannot express. Interestingly, even without reading Viii's written posts, it is possible to perceive the youthful and revolutionary themes present in his work. These themes reflect his personal journey as a young person striving to break free from societal norms, which is something that resonates with many other young individuals.

• CV

In August of 2022, CV joined as the Co-Founder and Advisor for the ETHER project, bringing with him extensive knowledge and experience in the web3 field, having worked within the space for the past two years.

During this time, CV has been able to gain a comprehensive understanding of what makes certain projects more likely to succeed than others. He’s also been able to connect with prominent figures in the space, such as EVXN, a notable member of the Bore Ape Yacht Club community. 

CV often emphasizes the importance of community as a crucial element in the success of a project. His knowledge and experience in attracting and retaining loyal followers has proven valuable in building the ETHER community. 

CV has already demonstrated his abilities to a certain extent, as evidenced by the success of The Valley - an invite-only community consisting of some of the most brilliant minds in the industry. Now, he intends to apply all the lessons he has learned to the ETHER project and is highly confident in its potential success. 

Benchmark Comparison

Project Dissection

ETHER shares many similarities with projects such as Azuki and Valhalla, including their appearance as well as the size and magnitude of their audience, making them relevant comparisons:  

• Azuki

Azuki minted on January 22, 2022 with a starting price of 1 ETH ($3,400 USD at the time) during the first phase of their first-come, first-serve dutch auction. A total of 8700 NFTs were available to the public during this initial phase, whilst the next phase had a smaller hand-picked guaranteed mintlist, along with 250 NFTs allocated to its treasury.

Azuki’s team believed that their strategy of selecting a highly committed group of individuals who shared their vision of becoming the "largest decentralized brand," along with a relatively high mint price, would help to establish a strong foundation and separate the project from those motivated solely by flipping or reselling.

ETHER applies a similar mint distribution, possibly in aim to create a similar community foundation. 

Additionally, ETHER has not yet expressed a similar overarching vision to Azuki’s of  building “the largest decentralized brand.” but emphasizes on quality. 

Like Azuki, the ETHER project places a strong emphasis on world-building and storytelling, particularly through anime. The project also aims to enable the community to build upon the ETHER intellectual property, which may involve licensing in a similar way to Azuki.

• Valhalla

Valhalla minted on November 22, 2022, with the majority of its supply minting at 0.5 ETH. Holders of the “immortals” role were given a discounted mint price of 0.35 ETH. Besides that, one portion was allocated for private sale, one presale for 0.25 ETH with lock up, while 1,000 were kept for future bidding auctions, similar to NounsDAO. **
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Valhalla took a thorough approach to member selection, screening thousands of applicants through an invite-only application process before carefully choosing suitable individuals for the minting, with public acceptance letters shared on Twitter. In contrast, ETHER's approach is more similar to that of Azuki, with a focus on building a committed community through careful selection without any specific application and a relatively high mint price.

In addition, Valhalla aims to become the premier crypto native brand for gamers. This includes plans of creating a streaming platform, like Twitch, aimed at benefiting content creators through features exclusive to Web3. Moreover, Valhalla does not share the same goals of building their own virtual world, like Azuki and ETHER. 

Mint proceeds

The Azuki mint generated a total of $31 million USD in revenue (or ca $15 million USD with ETH priced at $1,500), and over a period of 14 months, the Azuki team earned $32 million in royalties (with ETH also set at $1,500 for the purpose of this comparison). 

The Valhalla mint generated ca $5 million USD in revenue (or $6.4 million USD with ETH priced at $1,500), and in less than four months, has earned nearly $2 million USD. The project also raised $15 million USD in venture capital funding, with Pantera Capital among the investors.

The ETHER project aims to raise around $13 million USD, although the final amount will depend on which minting options minters will pick. For the purposes of this analysis, it will be assumed that there will be a mix of paid and free options, with 15% choosing to pay for both NFTs, 60% choosing to pay for 1 NFT and mint the second for free, and 25% choosing to mint both NFTs for free. This is likely to result in minting funds slightly below $13 million USD. Based on what is known so far about other similar projects, such as Valhalla which also sought external funding, this target may seem ambitious. 

Appeal Strategy Analysis

The ETHER project uses various visual and psychological elements to attract its founding community, which includes a broad yet compelling appeal that is enhanced by their native incorporation of Web3 strategies.

The ETHER project has been relatively tight-lipped about its future plans and aspirations, in contrast to Valhalla and Azuki, who were more forthcoming at this stage. This has led to increased speculation surrounding the project, which may also serve to maintain engagement and interest as the launch date has been postponed.

This sentiment has then been reinforced by the highly curated and limited whitelist mechanics, which implies tougher competition and possibly higher monetary benefit as a result.

Additionally, the project seems to leverage the fact that many resonate with Viii’s path of fulfilling his dreams by being his authentic self, following his passion, and finding a supportive community as a byproduct.One of the core community members put it like this:

“From the very beginning, ETHER wanted everyone to follow their heart and be their most authentic selves. The ETHER community wanted everyone and everything to be done from their heart and voluntarily, not with any purpose to do things.”

Furthermore, it can be expected that the project continues to apply a “surprise and delight” strategy - to keep stakeholders engaged in various forms long term. For example, it awarded the top sixty participants of the recent artist competition with a whitelist spot while only publicly disclosing cash prizes for the top 3 winners. 

In combination with the founder's influence, these elements have been successful in attracting followers to the project. Within just 1.5 months of its public reveal on Twitter, the ETHER project had gained 30,000 followers with only three tweets. Two months later, it had reached 50,000 followers and more recently surpassed 80,000. The Discord channel has also been open for some time and currently has over 22,000 members.

Others are still critical due to the protective behavior that some core ETHER community presents while not being transparent about its future plans or providing more details regarding the allocation of mint funds:

Closing Remarks

In closing, ETHER is a promising project, driven by two likable founders with a proven track record. This is their first endeavor in building a community around digital collectibles. The duo has been welcomed with open arms within the NFT space, and found its footing by combining their respective reach and unique expertise. 

Although there are some promising indications, the lack of readily available information makes it difficult to accurately assess the potential of the ETHER project at this moment. This may be part of a broader strategy to maintain interest and speculation until the launch of the website.

However, the project’s current ambiguity raises questions about its mint price and how the funds will be utilized. It is expected to raise similar funds to Azuki but with a lower ETH price, and involves a similar level of community commitment as both Azuki and Valhalla, which could be deemed ambitious based on the current NFT market and other macro factors. 

Moreover, aligning the expectations of the community in a reasonable way while also allowing for flexibility and unexpected developments is a crucial driver of long-term success for a project. The website could present a step in the right direction here, or otherwise put the project’s long-term success at risk.

Lastly, the ETHER project's focus on quality may be challenged in a rapidly evolving space. It is yet to be determined how the quality will be perceived and valued by both the core and broader community over time.