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Bitchcoin is a non-fungible token (NFT) on the Ethereum blockchain.[1][2][3][4] The project was launched in early 2015 as a fork of Bitcoin, several months before the launch of Ethereum.[5] Bitchcoin was originally backed by the artist Sarah Meyohas' photography at a fixed rate of one token to 25 square-inches of one of the artist's photographs. This was one of the first instances of a physical work of art being put on a blockchain.[6]
| Bitchcoin | |
|---|---|
 An example of one of the 3,291 Bitchcoins | |
| Artist(s) | Sarah Meyohas |
| Platform(s) | Ethereum |
| Release | February 2015 |
| Genre(s) | Collectible |
Background
editIn 2014, the artist Sarah Meyohas created a series of photographs, titled Speculations, that would be fixed to tokens called Bitchcoin.[7][8] The project began with researching ideas of value, valuation, and the nature of speculation.[9][10] Photographs from the series were backed by Bitchcoin at a fixed rate of one Bitchcoin to 25 square-inches of a print effectively letting anyone in possession of 25 Bitchcoins to exchange them for an entire photograph.[11]
The artist printed eight editions of the first Speculation photograph, each of which measured 21+5⁄8 in × 28+7⁄8 in (550 mm × 730 mm), and thus produced 200 coins that were released at $100.00 each to back the prints. The prints were stored in a vault, and anyone who purchased Bitchcoin received a physical certificate called a "paper wallet" which recorded the relevant private and public keys for one's wallet.[12]
In 2023, the Centre Pompidou announced the institution had acquired two Bitchcoins to join 17 other NFT's to add to the contemporary art museums collection of new-media works.[13]
Cloud of Petals project
editIn 2017, Meyohas created the Cloud of Petals project which had sixteen workers gather to archive 100,000 rose petals.[14] The data set compiled was used to map out an artificial intelligence algorithm that learned to generate petals through a series of virtual worlds.[15][16] Additionally, each worker set aside one petal per rose which they found to be the most beautiful and those 3,291 chosen petals were then pressed onto archival paper. Documenting this performance on 16mm film, Cloud of Petals, traces beauty and subjectivity through systems of automation and artificial intelligence.[17]
Migration
editSince its inception, each Bitchcoin is minted as an ERC-1155 token and is now backed by one of the 3,291 pressed rose petals from Meyohas' 2017 performance, Cloud of Petals.[18] Meyohas eventually migrated the currency to the Ethereum blockchain. Previous owners of Bitchcoin could receive an equivalent amount of the new token.[6] Once the tokens were migrated to Ethereum they were offered during an auction at Phillips in May 2021.[19][20]
References
edit- ^ Stinson, Liz. "BitchCoin: A New Cryptocurrency for Buying Art and Investing in the Artist". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ^ "Bitchcoin Is Here to Take Tech Investors' Money". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ Ghorashi, Hannah (2015-02-18). "A New Cryptocurrency Enters the Art Market: BitchCoin". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ https://news.artnet.com/market/bitchcoin-pompidou-nft-acquisition-sarah-meyohas-2263674
- ^ Schwarz, Gabrielle (March 25, 2022). "Business Plan". Outland. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ a b Mattei, Shanti Escalante-De (2021-11-30). "Artist and NFT Visionary Sarah Meyohas Hosts BitchCoin Salon During Art Basel Miami Beach". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
- ^ "Betting on Herself With a Take on Bitcoin". Wharton Magazine. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ "Phillips is Offering 'Bitchcoin' by Cryptocurrency Pioneer Sarah Meyohas Next Week". Observer. 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ Rothfeld, Becca (2015-03-02). ""BitchCoin" Currency Challenges the Way We Buy Art". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ OpenSea. "Sarah Meyohas Speculations - Collection | OpenSea". opensea.io. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
- ^ McGurran, Brianna (2015-02-24). "Hello 'BitchCoin'! Artist-Made Cryptocurrency Takes Betting on New Art Digital". Observer. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
- ^ Mattei, Shanti Escalante-De (2021-11-30). "Artist and NFT Visionary Sarah Meyohas Hosts BitchCoin Salon During Art Basel Miami Beach". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ Chen, Min (2023-03-03). "Sarah Meyohas's Pioneering Bitchcoin NFT Is Entering the Centre Pompidou's Collection in a Landmark Acquisition of Digital Works". Artnet News. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ^ "How Artist Sarah Meyohas Transformed 100,000 Rose Petals into a Steely Critique of Big Data". 17 October 2017.
- ^ "Sarah Meyohas". Nahmad Projects. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
- ^ "Sarah Meyohas combines virtual reality, 10,000 roses and artificial intelligence in Cloud of Petals". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ "Artist to Watch – Mercer Contemporary". Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ "Inside Sarah Meyohas' Cloud of Petals". Aperture. 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
- ^ "Sarah Meyohas - Sarah Meyohas, "Bitchcoin" New York Tuesday, May 25, 2021". Phillips. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
- ^ "Phillips to Offer Bitchcoin by Groundbreaking Artist Sarah Meyohas". ArtfixDaily. Retrieved 2023-02-22.