Fidenza Creator Tyler Hobbs Raises $16.75M on QQL NFT Drop

The auction ended in less than an hour, raising about $16.75 million.

QQL raises $16.75 million

It turns out that NFTs aren’t dead, at least if today’s QQL drop from Tyler Hobbs and Dandelion Wist is anything to go by.

Fidenza creator Hobbs and Dandelion Wist released their long-awaited generative art experiment via a Dutch Archipelago auction earlier this evening, putting 900 coin cards for the 999-piece collection up for sale at a starting price of 50 ETH. The auction implemented a discount mechanism, meaning that buyers all paid the same price when it was settled. The auction closed at 14 ETH, giving the pair a total of 12,600 ETH worth approximately $16.75 million at press time.

QQL’s website describes the collection as a collaborative work “celebrating emergence, unpredictability and randomness over forced rarity.” Unlike most other generative art collections, it invites the owner of the work to become a creator of the project. The QQL website allows anyone to create their own output using the project’s complex algorithm. Those who made a pass today can make infinite exits until they settle on a piece they like, meaning someone could theoretically make a QQL NFT in 100 years. QQL is also introducing a 2% royalty fee on secondary sales for coin pass holders.

Thanks to Hobbs’ status in the space, the collection’s unique approach to NFT performance, and the striking results the algorithm produces, QQL generated enormous hype ahead of the auction. After Hobbs and Dandelion Wist opened up the QQL website to the public to allow them to create their own outputs, Hobbs revealed that over 1 million pieces was reproduced during the first two days.

Fidenza’s legacy

The pair also ran a competition to give potential collectors a chance to win their own mint passport, asking entrants to tweet a photo of their best rendition. Rising generative art star Emily Xie, NFT whale DCinvestor and ARTXCODE founder Sofia Garcia were invited to pick nine winners from the 11,000 entries.

For the QQL competition, @iamDCinvestor chooses:@ArtofConviction pic.twitter.com/KBkpJqzTYW

— Tyler Hobbs (@tylerxhobbs) 27 September 2022

Mint pass holders can create their own NFT using the algorithm from September 30. Due to the unique approach to the release, it is unclear whether the mint fits or the releases themselves will command a higher value. Since the auction closed, the collection’s pass has reached a floor price of 17 ETH on OpenSea.

Hobbs became one of the NFT space’s biggest stars during a market boom in 2021 when he released Fidenza on Art Blocks. Fidenza NFTs hit around $400 and topped a floor price of $500,000 weeks later. Although the floor price has since dropped to 96 ETH, worth around $128,000 amid a downturn in the NFT and crypto markets, Fidenza remains one of the world’s most sought-after generative art collections. Dandelion Wist entered the NFT space when generative art collections like Fidenza exploded in popularity; they are known for their collection of canonical works that fell under the 2021 frenzy.

While it’s not clear whether QQL will be as popular as Fidenza, with today’s release raising millions in the depths of a bear market, it’s probably fair to say that at least 900 generative art collectors are big fans of the piece.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned a QQL mint pass, ETH and several other fungible and non-fungible cryptocurrencies.