Frequently Asked Questions
About Proof of Culture
What is Proof of Culture?
Proof of Culture is an NFT project to immortalize hashtags on the blockchain in the form of art. We are a decentralized application that runs on the Ethereum network, enabling users to mint their own Hashtag NFTs.
What is Proof of Culture's mission?
Our mission is to preserve the aspects of culture that define our lives but will never be written about in the history books. We want to give everyone in the world the opportunity to decide what goes into our metaphorical encyclopedia of modern culture.
What makes Proof of Culture unique?
Proof of Culture is the world's first hashtag NFT. What makes this project truly unique, however, is that it's the first to let buyers create customized art on the blockchain at scale. Instead of buying an NFT off-the-shelf or being assigned one at random, you are actually commissioning a designer to create a unique piece of art to represent your hashtag. We believe the future of art is personalized and that Proof of Culture will go down in history as the project that pioneered commissioning digital art on the blockchain.
How many Hashtag NFTs will exist?
The absolute maximum number of Hashtag NFTs that will ever exist is 9,999. We will end all sales of future hashtags once the 9,999th hashtag is minted or if no new Hashtag NFTs are minted for 30 consecutive days. This is to preserve the rarity of the collection.
Update: As of October 20th, 2021, we have decided to end the ability to mint new Hashtags to preserve the rarity of the collection.
Who made Proof of Culture?
We are a team of technologists, designers, artists, and digital anthropologists who'd prefer to stay anonymous. What brought us all together was our shared love for cryptocurrency. The majority of us bought our first bitcoin between 2011 and 2014!
About Hashtag NFTs
How does the art creation process work?
A designer on our team will be tasked with creating a piece of artwork to represent your hashtag. The artwork itself is entirely up to the designer's discretion and interpretation. The interpretation may be literal, descriptive, abstract, metaphorical, or sometimes even comical.
Our standard design process begins with identifying photography that speaks to us and then applying various graphic effects to make the piece one of a kind. We offer no guarantee regarding what the art will depict or resemble. Certain pieces are randomly selected to be hand-drawn, such as #ElonMusk, #CZ, #MFFL, and #420. Hand-drawn artwork is especially rare and collectible.
We recommend spending some time browsing our showroom to see previous artwork we've commissioned to ensure it suits your taste before making a purchase. Once an art piece is completed, it will replace the placeholder "Art-In-Progress" cube GIF. There is no user feedback step in the art creation process beyond providing the original hashtag inspiration and clarification text; all artwork attached to the NFT will be final.
What hashtags can I mint as NFTs?
You can mint just about any hashtag so long as it has not already been claimed.
However, Proof of Culture strictly prohibits claiming any hashtags that include hate speech or offensive slurs. If you mint such a hashtag, we reserve the right to not generate custom artwork for you and instead show text saying "This hashtag was minted in violation of Proof of Culture's terms of service and thus will not receive unique artwork." You will not be refunded in this scenario.
Additionally, in some cases hashtags may be the intellectual property of, or trademarked by, someone else. These hashtags CANNOT be used. If you choose to mint a hashtag that has been trademarked or is owned by someone else, it is at your own legal risk and liability. We comply with takedown notices from rightsholders, and your NFT may be subject to having its art invalidated should you mint a hashtag that is someone else's intellectual property.
Can multiple people buy the same hashtag?
No. Each hashtag NFT has a single owner and is allotted on a first-come, first-served basis. Once a hashtag has been claimed, no one else can claim the same hashtag. However, you may be able to purchase the hashtag you want from the original owner on secondary markets like OpenSea and Rarible.
How long does it take to create the art?
Each Hashtag NFT is hand-crafted by a designer after you place your order. We will provide an estimated delivery date upon minting. Please expect a production time of anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on the number of hashtag orders received before yours. Your NFT will show a placeholder GIF while your art is in progress; as soon as your art is released, your NFT will automatically be updated.
Can I sell or trade my NFT before the artwork is ready?
Yes, you can sell or trade your NFT before the art is ready on platforms such as OpenSea or Rarible. The NFT will have an "Art-In-Progress" GIF until the artwork is ready. The new owner will see the completed art as soon as it is released.
What are my rights and privileges as the owner of a Hashtag NFT?
When buying a Hashtag NFT, the user gets ownership of the ERC-1155 token that represents that hashtag in the form of digital collectible art. You also get exclusive commercial rights to the artwork including the use, copy, and display of the purchased artwork, along with any extensions or derivatives that you choose to create or use. For example, you and you only could produce and sell merchandise such as t-shirts displaying your purchased artwork. If you do something cool with your art piece, be sure to share it with the Proof of Culture community on Twitter!
By purchasing a Hashtag NFT, you do not own the hashtag itself. The hashtag itself can and will continue to be usable by people around the world on a variety of different social platforms. You also don't own any image, photograph, or creative effect used to create the artwork, only the final art piece in aggregate.
Will others see my Hashtag NFT on the Proof of Culture website?
Yes, your Hashtag NFT will be featured on the Proof of Culture website and potentially on our social media channels. Per our terms of service, Hashtag NFT purchasers agree to provide Proof of Culture a non-reversible license that makes it free of charge to feature and display their artwork on official Proof of Culture channels such as our website and social media accounts.
Will there be future seasons / editions / new releases?
To preserve the rarity of this project, no more Hashtag NFTs will ever be minted. However, buying and selling of the original 175 NFTs is possible on secondary marketplaces such as OpenSea and Rarible.
What are the culture numbers listed on Hashtag NFTs?
Culture numbers represent the mint number of that particular hashtag within the Proof of Culture collection.
Can I trade or resell my Hashtag NFT after purchase?
Yes you can! On your hashtag's page, we offer a link to OpenSea and Rarible, platforms where you can trade your Proof of Culture Hashtag NFT. In the event of a resale via OpenSea or Rarible, a commission of 4.5% is charged. This commission will be forwarded directly through the cryptocurrency network as a part of your payment to the Water Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that unlocks human potential by providing reliable water projects to communities in sub-Saharan Africa who suffer needlessly from a lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation.
We highly recommend using either OpenSea or Rarible for all secondary sales or purchases of Hashtag NFTs because these platforms cryptographically verify each Hashtag NFT owner's rights to mitigate scams and/or fraudulent sales. Please ensure you're only buying Hashtag NFTs contained within the official Proof of Culture collection! These are the only verifiably legitimate Hashtag NFTs by Proof of Culture.