Dear Bankless Nation,

Over the past couple of years, fxhash became the premier destination for generative art on Tezos.

Now, the project’s looking to take things to the next level with its 2.0 upgrade, which will add Ethereum support to the platform.

The move has the potential to kick off a new wave of interest around generative art in crypto, so let’s get you up to speed on what to expect from this fxhash relaunch for today’s post!

-WMP

fxhash 2.0: Opening Up Ethereum’s Gen Art Scene

What’s happening?

Tomorrow fxhash, a generative art platform that emphasizes openness, is launching the 2.0 version of its site. The evolution will see the project go multichain, expanding from its Tezos roots to now additionally supporting mints on Ethereum.

Why it matters?

The context: The generative art scene on Ethereum has become teeming in recent years thanks to the rise of Art Blocks and the ascension of its Curated Series collections, e.g. Chromie Squiggles, Fidenzas, and Ringers.

But: While any artist can apply to release drops on Art Blocks, only ~2% of applicants are currently let in per the platform’s FAQ.

So: Cue in fxhash, which in contrast is designed to let any generative artist readily customize and release their own drops. “The philosophy of fxhash is simple,” the team has said. “Provide a framework so that generative artists can have a space in which they can mint their pieces. No curation, open to everyone.”

The big picture: In a new article titled The Art of Radical Inclusivity, ClubNFT’s Jason Bailey, a cryptoart legend in his own right, applauded the fxhash 2.0 launch, noting the platform’s bottom-up approach to curation has been and can continue to be a lifeline for talented but experimental or unrecognized artists. “When you allow everyone to launch their drops whenever they like and as frequently as they like, without curation or censorship, you encounter all kinds of fascinating and unpredictable art,” Bailey said.

How does fxhash work?

Simply put, an artist prepares code for a generative art collection and then uploads that code to fxhash, at which point they can customize their drop parameters, e.g. total supply, and then release their project via NFT mints to the public; each NFT represents a unique visual output created per the underlying code.

What to watch out for?

fxhash recently announced that it’s turning its 2.0 launch week festivities into launch month festivities.

Accordingly, any artist can submit a project to the fxhash 2.0 Launch Calendar to schedule a drop for any point in December 2023 and beyond. You can review the calendar any time on the fxhash homepage to keep track of what’s coming.

Zooming out

With platforms like fxhash, Highlight, and Prohibition on the rise, the wider Ethereum ecosystem now has a handful of good DIY gen art drop platforms to choose from. Alongside Art Blocks, these platforms are poised to continue expanding the audience for generative art in the cryptoeconomy for the foreseeable future. Pay attention accordingly!