ShapeShift DAO launches NFT auction in support of female artists

Non-custodial cryptocurrency platform ShapeShift DAO has launched a new nonfungible token (NFT) auction in support of female artists in the nonfungible token and blockchain industries — a segment of the population that remains underrepresented in the rapidly growing digital economy. 

The auction for “Block 495559—Crypto Kitties and the Great Hairball in the Tubes,” a collaborative one-of-a-kind NFT series created by female artist LunaHawk and ShapeShift DAO director GrayMachine, will be held on OpenSea between April 4–11. The NFT series was minted on the Ethereum mainnet and will include custom, animal-themed digital art that conveys the history of the cryptocurrency market through various animals.

ShapeShift DAO members approved of LunaHawk’s 10-piece NFT series in October 2021. The collection was first displayed at the ETHDenver conference in February.

According to GrayMachine, the NFT auction will be a first of a series that will launch in the “coming weeks and months.”

ShapeShift DAO plans to contribute 10% of the NFT proceeds to the Women of Crypto Art Fund, a community group that supports women in the digital art space. The contributions will be made via Giveth, a crypto-focused charitable funding platform.

Related: International Women’s Day 2022 focuses on bringing women to Web3

In addition to promoting women in blockchain, ShapeShift DAO said the auction will also support the needs of the decentralized autonomous organization as it continues to grow.

— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) March 25, 2022

As Cointelegraph reported, ShapeShift began to decentralize its entire organization in July 2021 in an unprecedented move that included the largest airdrop in history and full open-sourcing of its platform code. The ShapeShift DAO Governance Treasury, as well as the company’s employees and shareholders, were given a three-year vesting schedule beginning June 2, 2021.

The market for NFTs, meanwhile, has slowed considerably from its torrid growth pace in 2021. By early March, monthly NFT buyers had dipped below 800,000 for the first time since October as search volumes for digital collectibles also declined sharply. Despite the pullback, NFT adoption appears to be on an upward trajectory amid broader global awareness.