McCartney Times

Walrusmania!!
Beatles inspired We Are The Walrus one of the top new NFT collections

Much like the iconic band that is the inspiration behind We Are The Walurs, this recently launched NFT collection has taken the world by storm. The collection of 8989 unique and quirky Walrus avatars sold out in record time when they launched in December.

NFTs in general are a phenomenon that are growing exponentially day by day. There are a wide range of NFTs that are disrupting the arts world. Many prominent musicians have entered the space either through collecting NFTs themselves or through releasing their own NFTs in the form of music, cover art, merchandise and much more. Prominent artists like Deadmau5, Kings of Leon and Snoop Dogg are just a few examples of musicians who have taken the NFT leap.

The most popular form of NFTs at the moment are avatar collections, with the most prominent one being the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Most commonly these collections are of fun, creative animal drawings that people collect and use as their social media avatar. Each NFT in the collection is completely unique. Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Curry, Paris Hilton, Eminen and Madonna have all purchased Bored Apes and used them as their social media avatar.

We Are the Walrus is the Bored Ape Yacht Club for Beatles fans. The collection, drawn by an artist who previously worked for Disney and Pixar is layered with Beatles references. Clothes, hairstyles, glasses, colours and symbols are cleverly peppered into the collection making this the clear collection to be part of for anyone who loves the Beatles. There are even four legendary NFTs in the collection that resemble the Fab Four themselves.

The name of the collection is obviously an ode to the song “I am the Walrus” and the team behind the collection has said that they are using the Beatles as their inspiration to infuse this collection with the values that came to represent them in their unprecedented careers; Love, Creativity, Inclusivity, Peace, Togetherness and Innovation.

One of the greatest things about NFT collections is that it is a membership into a club. There is a special bond between people who own an NFT from the same collection. #walrusfollowwalrus is a trending hashtag on Twitter where anyone who has a WATW as their avatar follows others that do as well. There is also a huge community of over 23k in their discord group with special channels for Beatles talk and trivia. This bringing together of community could make WATW a fun, creative vessel to unite Beatles fans from across the world.

There is, of course, a lot of financial speculation in NFTs at the moment. With some NFTs increasing in value by millions, many people are now flooding the space in hopes of making a quick buck. Although this does happen, NFTs are much more than that and are only scratching the surface of what they can become.

Thankfully, in the spirit of being accessible to all, We Are The Walrus launched their collection on the Solana blockchain. Solana is an alternative to Ethereum, the main blockchain for NFTs at the moment. Solana has one major advantage to Ethereum, it has extremely low gas fees. So there is no barrier to entry for anyone. Using Ethereum can often cost a few hundred dollars in gas fees just to purchase or sell an NFT, Solana costs a few pennies.

This has ensured that there is no barrier of entry for anyone interested in owning one of these Beatles inspired characters. 8989 Walruses were minted at its launch in December and sold-out immediately but one can be purchased on the secondary market at the moment for approx $65 US. An incredible bargain considering some of the most rare in the collection have sold for over $20k US.

Another unique feature of WATW is that the collection is deflationary. This means the project buys back Walrus NFTs from the open market and burns them forever. Their goal is to go from the original 8989 down to 5000 over time. So far they have already burnt 733 of the collection. This deflationary mechanism will help WATW increase in value over time.

So far Solana NFTs have flown under the radar compared to the Ethereum projects such as Bored Apes but this could all change very soon. Open Sea, the largest NFT marketplace in the world has just announced they will begin to sell Solana NFTs on their platform and We Are The Walrus has been chosen to be one of the first Solana projects they will offer. This could very well be the beginning of WalrusMania!

Will WATW become the official NFT of Beatles fans? Only time will tell. But if the existing herd members have their way it certainly will. They are about to launch a #PaulIsTheWalrus and #RingoIsTheWalrus marketing campaign with the hopes of one day getting Paul and/or Ringo to change their avatar to a WATW NFT. Now that would be fun.

The Beatles were the most innovative artists of their time. Having an NFT collection (the innovative artform of our time) that pays homage to the greatest band that ever lived seems to have resulted in something extremely special. Like the Beatles themselves this project has a rare opportunity of appealing to both hardcore and savvy NFT collectors as well as bringing in those new to NFTs. This combination will, I believe, create a Walrusmania that will last for a very long time.

The community of WATW is welcoming and inclusive and they especially are looking to welcome Beatles fans with open flippers. If you’re interested in joining the herd but are intimidated by your lack of knowledge around NFTs just reach out to the team on Instagram or Twitter. They will happily help guide you.

Or visit the WATW Youtube channel for educational videos on how to set up a wallet and purchase the Solana needed to buy a Walrus NFT. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT3g3uBSCnqnT3KfJ85221w

WATW NFTs can be purchased on the secondary market now on Magic Eden or other Solana NFT marketplaces and soon on Open Sea.

Make sure you follow them on Twitter @WATwalrus, Instagram @watwalrus and/or join their Discord Server http://discord.gg/wearethewalrus, visit their website for more information www.wearethewalrus.io