Flovatar - Flow Ecosystem Vol. 7
Web3 reimagined - beyond a static PFP
Introduction:
The value of the NFT industry exploded in 2021 to a whopping $25 billion in sales volume. OpenSea, the most popular marketplace, saw $3.0 billion in NFT sales volume just during December 2021. So what’s driving demand for NFTs? It’s hard to say, but among experienced crypto investors in the VC community the chatter is that two factors are likely partly responsible for driving demand. These are (1) a new generation of digital collectors and (2) the birth of a new digital status game. This new generation would rather buy digital assets than physical assets. In the past, collectors would display their fine art and luxury cars in private galleries or showrooms, while this new generation can easily display their digital assets online.
Social media giants such as Reddit, Meta, and Twitter now want their users to be able to display their NFTs on their platforms. We saw the rise of profile pictures (PFPs) with CryptoPunks, and the next iterations including BAYC, apes with pet dogs, and most recently Phantabears.
At BlockVenture we have been watching the NFT industry expand not only into digital art, but also into collectibles and luxury goods. So we are bullish about these new NFT technologies in development on the Flow blockchain such as Flovatar. Flovatar is pioneering a new way to unleash community creativity in Web3 by allowing users to be co-creators of their unique NFTs, instead of just being passive collectors. It offers an innovative platform for consumers to connect and build new experiences together. Unlike the first generation of NFT projects, Flovatar doesn’t have a high barrier to entry for the average consumer; on the contrary, it’s modular and cross-generational foundation will allow it to expand without limits across verticals. Let’s take a look at the Flovatar ecosystem.
Executive Summary:
Team
Luca Basile, Creator and Main Developer
Weilei Yu, Strategic Advisor
Nate McGuire, Advisor, Strategy/Mobile/Business Development
Spencer Kelly, Creative Director
Adam Cournoyer, Illustration and Animation Expert
Jeff Monska, Artist and Illustrator
James McCabe, The Story Doctor
Revenue Model
5% marketplace fee
Seasonal/branded Flobits (accessories) sales
Future Flovatar series (pets, houses, separate races, lands)
Limited series brand collaborations
Financials
Flovatar is self-funded to date
Nearly $1.5M in revenue and $1M in secondary trades volume
In the long term, the project will be managed via DAO with $DUST token
Strategic Partners
Flow
Blocto
Moonpay
Graffle
Emerald City
Find.xyz
Few mainstream brands in the works
Product Overview:
Flovatar is experimenting at the cutting edge of Web3. Unlike other PFP projects, Flovatar was designed from the outset to have all digital assets stored directly on-chain. What this means is that all avatars minted will live on for centuries, with no centralized storage required, so that the project can outlast its creators.
However, that is just one of many innovations the project has introduced. Another noteworthy component is the gamification and creative freedom it provides to collectors. Instead of offering a pre-designed set of characters, Flovatar allows each user to design their own NFT that is still guaranteed to be unique thanks to its smart contract validation.
This creative empowerment has been well received. Flovatar has become one of a few Web3 projects that have been able to engage a cross-generational audience, with many parents minting their first PFPs with their kids.
Understanding the Flovatar Universe:
Spark:
The first component you will need to acquire is a spark, aka the spark of life. A spark is an essential element and the first building block to create your own Flovatar. You can acquire a spark in the Flovatar marketplace using FLOW tokens. With it, you will be able to select all the common features from the custom builder. With just common traits users will have over 1 billion unique combinations to choose from. These include body, clothing, eyes, nose, mouth, hair, and facial hair.
Rarity Booster:
You can also acquire up to 7 rare traits for your Flovatar (optional). We think this is a great option for collectors who want to get even more creative and build an avatar with rarer traits. Rarity boosters unlock three additional tiers of components: rare, epic, and legendary. At the time of writing this article, costs for these boosters start from 4 FLOW (Rare) to 340 FLOW (Legendary). By the way, just to give you a sample of these rare traits, they include an animated zombie brain, animated laser eyes, and blinking gold bodies!
Flobits:
You can also acquire Flobits, which are your Flovatar’s gear! These are separate NFTs that are not part of the body of your Flovatar. Your Flovatar can actually wear this gear and change it at any time. These include hats, sunglasses, skateboards, backgrounds, and other accessories; and better yet, you can trade them. Flobit categories also follow the three rarity tiers (common, rare, epic, and legendary).
An unexpected reveal recently showed the true power of Flobits. When two specific Flobits are combined, like the basketball court and the basketball shown below, they unlock a hidden animation that the user can trigger. Not only will Flobits allow the Flovatar team to add almost limitless expansion packs and brand collaborations, they have the potential to unlock additional layers of gamification for collectors. Better yet, the animation is on-chain! It means no additional backend or server is required and the collector will be able to own the combos forever.
Builder:
Once you've bought your spark, boosters, and Flobits from the marketplace, you're ready to create your Flovatar over in the custom builder. Flovatar’s builder has a great UX and it makes it a lot of fun to get creative. You can start building one layer at a time and see the progress of your Flovatar in real-time. And for those who want to get some ideas quickly, you can also use the randomize option to see a Flovator automatically and randomly built.
Marketplace:
We are big fans of Flovatar’s marketplace for several reasons. First, it is a place for creators to build community. Second, it provides liquidity to the ecosystem by allowing collectors to trade their Flovatars, Flobits, Sparks, and Boosters. Since launch there has been a frenzy of activity in the marketplace, where you can find both Flovatars and Flobits. At this time of writing, the Flovatar marketplace ranks #2 in Flow’s ecosystem by volume of sales. It is simply a fun place for users to hang out and enjoy digital art.
Flovatar has nearly 5,000 minted avatars in its showroom. All their avatars and graphics are fully stored on-chain, including their interactive SVG animations, which provide an additional component to mix with Flobits. The ability to store your NFT components on-chain offers an advantage in terms of portability and longevity of the NFT assets.
Commercial Rights:
Each Flovatar is guaranteed to be unique. If you try to mint a Flovatar with a combination of features that already exists, then the smart contract will not let you mint the Flovatar NFT. There is also a 1% royalty guaranteed to the original Flovatar creator on future sales of the specific Flovatar. Should you decide to mint a new Flovatar or purchase an existing one, you will be granted a full commercial license lease to the Flovatar. This will enable you to pursue IP deals, potential collaborations, and you will be entitled to 90% of all commercial revenues; with the remaining 10% going to the future Flovatar DAO.
$DUST and DAO:
The Flovatar team is in the early stages of planning a token model. However, in conversations we had with the team, we learned that their plan is for most of the value to still accrue to Flovatars. Their idea is for each Flovatar to be able to earn $DUST tokens on an ongoing basis. The utility of $DUST might include naming the Flovatar, Flobits upgrades, metaverse gaming unlocks, and voting participation in a future Flovatar DAO. Other $DUST utility might include creating bios for the Flovatar, upgrading to a 3D Flovatar, participating in Flobit auctions, and accessing special swag. All minted Flovatars will have guaranteed voting rights in the upcoming DAO proposal.
Flovatar By The Numbers:
The project sold out their genesis series within two weeks, generating $1.3M in revenue. Two months after launch, its secondary market reached $1M in total trading volume. The value of sparks, which are the core essence needed to mint a Flovatar, has seen a 10x increase.
Flobits, the gear for Flovatars, also witnessed strong interest from the community. Sales spiked at the end of January thanks to the background airdrop, the 4th Flobit category. This is evidence of collector interest in accessories that could help them define their avatar’s character or storyline. The Flovatar team mentioned that Flobits will likely be used across future games and metaverse integration.
Among the impressive set of statistics that Flovatar boasts, the key metrics community members are keeping a close eye on are listed below. The Flovatar economy was designed to be heavily deflationary, with a limited supply of sparks available that are essential to mint an avatar. As more Flovatars are created, these resources will become scarcer, bringing another layer of gamification for collectors.
Conclusion:
PFPs, although valuable, are difficult to sell. They are rare digital art. Instead of looking for something to flip, find something that you really like and hold on to it. Display it on your digital gallery, or use it in a game or in your online profiles. This is the unique added-value that the Flovatar ecosystem brings to the (metaverse) table. Flovatar plans to be more than just a PFP platform. They have a vision to be a platform for gaming, consumer goods, entertainment, and the metaverse. Go build your first Flovatar and let us know what you think!
“The immutable core of a Flovatar is just one part of the whole; the unique name bestowed, the environment (background), the accessories and tools all determine each Flovatar’s identity. The richness of their story will be determined by each and every owner who holds them over time, and they will carry the proud scars of every battle, the unforgettable memories of festivals attended, and friendships formed. They will be the subject of tales spanning decades if not centuries.” - Luca Basile, Founder of Flovatar.