ANDORRA LA VELLA.- You can do a lot of things with NFTs. Initially conceived as digital collectibles, non-fungible tokens have come to be utilized in an array of ingenious ways. From representing liquidity positions on decentralized exchanges to facilitating the sale of virtual and physical real estate, the humble NFT has been elevated into a multi-purpose token whose applications are constrained only by the imagination of its creator.

One of the most intriguing use cases for NFTs concerns the marriage of art, technologies and the environment. Artists have long used their creativity to draw attention to causes that align with their values. NFTs can serve as proof of participation badges for charitable donors, while highly desirable NFTs are routinely auctioned off for benevolent reasons.Shaping this trend, an artist duo known as Concept2048 has decided to leverage NFTs to raise awareness of pressing global problems. Its Metamorphoses collection, comprising 2,048 unique NFTs, highlights world issues that are close to its creators’ hearts.

Art Meets Heart

Ekaterina Perekopskaya and Rostyslav Brenych are the artistic team behind Concept2048. The duo specialising in art fashion and conceptual production, create original digital art including 3D animation. Their Metamorphoses NFT collection, a participant in the contemporary art exhibition “Personal Structures” as part of Venice Biennale 2022, draws its inspiration from natural elements, the universe, and the constant struggle between humans and nature to maintain an equilibrium.

Duality runs through the entire Metamorphoses project, from its twin team to its base collection of 2,048 NFTs. It’s fitting, therefore, that the NFTs themselves will be issued on two blockchains: Ethereum and TON, the network originally developed by Telegram before decentralizing to become an independent entity.

The Green Whitelist

In August 2022, the first batch of Metamorphoses NFTs went up for sale and was snapped up in 18 minutes. Three further presales, in September, November, and December, were also successful, with NFTs swiftly sold out.

While most NFTs are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis, the Concept2048 team wanted to target collectors who were attracted by more than just the impressive art. Specifically, they wanted to whitelist individuals whose ethos aligned with their own — and who weren’t afraid to make their voices heard.

The four targeted presale events saw hundreds of new members join the project and commit to sharing its message about the importance of solving today’s most pressing global Issues including those related to climate change, overconsumption, human rights, and more. NFTs owners may vote for one of the four elements (water, fire, earth, or air) they want to support and decide what area funds should be primarily directed to. By choosing water, for example, community members vote for the funds to be used for solving the problem of clean rivers, seas, and oceans and improving the quality of their inhabitants’ lives.

A public mint of the collection will be held on January 24 and will see the last of the 2,048 Metamorphoses NFTs sold. They are expected to sell fast, with a “pre-mint” occurring before the sale and being available exclusively for early members. Users can apply for the whitelist through a Telegram bot application. The final sale of Metamorphoses NFTs on will be conducted simultaneously on the Ethereum and TON blockchains, with the collection to be presented on the OpenSea and Ton Diamonds and GetGems marketplaces respectively.

Projects such as Concept2048 show the novel ways in which NFTs are being leveraged to promote worthy causes. While art alone can’t solve enormous problems such as global warming, it can play a part in uniting communities and drawing attention to challenges that call for all the unity and ingenuity humankind can muster.