Curio Cards Referenced in ERC-721 Standard That Defined NFTs
Curio Cards Referenced in ERC-721 Standard That Defined NFTs
🏛️ Written into history
Curio Cards is one of only four art projects referenced in the ERC-721 Standard - the technical framework that defined NFTs on Ethereum.
The other three projects mentioned in the standard are:
- CryptoKitties
- CryptoPunks
- Rare Pepe
Curio Cards is older than all three of these projects. Launched on May 9, 2017, it predates CryptoPunks by six weeks and helped inform the creation of the ERC-721 standard itself.
This recognition in the official standard highlights Curio Cards' pioneering role in establishing the technical and cultural foundations of NFTs as we know them today.
Curio Cards are referenced in the ERC-721 Standard that defined NFTs Only three other art projects on Ethereum are referenced Of those three, none are older than Curio Cards
No project like Curio Cards existed when it launched on Ethereum in 2017 And no project like it has existed since 31 Cards 7 digital artists Every artist style completely unique Founded by Bitcoin OGs To bring the gallery art show experience on-chain The first crypto art
Curio Cards will survive a meteor striking earth In 2021, Curio Cards and a handful of notable NFT projects were stored in the Arctic World Archive, in Longyearbyen, Norway The AWA is a former underground coal mine now serving as a vault for preserving humanity's artifacts
After the art show the Curio Cards founders organized in 2016, they started thinking about how to introduce art to Ethereum One idea learned from the show was the "print model" The founders realized the art that did the best was low cost, and featured many "prints" or copies
More on Curio Cards in the AWA medium.com/@curiocards/cu…
Curio Cards was made to support artists and spread awareness of crypto not extract value from newcomers or the existing crypto community In 2017, 100% of sales went to the artists And since 2021, 100% of the royalty goes to them too
Curio Cards 11–19 all feature pro-Bitcoin motifs, while Card 20 features Mad Bitcoins Even though Curio Cards launched on Ethereum in 2017, it was still important for the founders and early artists to represent Bitcoin
Curio Cards launched on Ethereum May 9, 2017 That's five days after ENS Six weeks before CryptoPunks Nine weeks before Binance Seven months before OpenSea Seventeen months before Uniswap And nine and a half years before GTA 6 (probably)
No other collection in NFTs features Physical art turned digital Early Bitcoin art Photoshop clip art and memes A Patreon-style experiment Cartoon portraits of the founders The first dogs on Ethereum A commemoration of an eclipse with the supply to match the date Curio Cards is
Curio Cards was the highest selling art collection on OpenSea in 2021 and '22 To this day, we've done over 41,300 ETH in trading volume — approaching 100 million dollars, depending on the price of ETH
Early collectors get rewarded Curio Cards were 0.0025 ETH to mint in 2017 In 2021, a full set sold for 393 ETH (!) The beautiful part? We're still early: As the digital world gradually moves on-chain, the first, prized assets will continue to become more valuable
Curio Cards pioneered promoting artists on ethereum
Curio Cards Featured at Lighthouse NFT Gallery in Puerto Rico
**Historic NFT Exhibition in Old San Juan** Curio Cards, recognized as the first art NFT on Ethereum mainnet, are currently on display at The Lighthouse NFT Smart Gallery in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. **Exhibition Details** - Curated by Curio artist @maximusmaximus - Location: The Lighthouse NFT Smart Gallery, Old San Juan - Features historical digital artwork from the pioneering NFT collection The exhibition showcases pieces from Curio Cards' collection, which introduced a new model of digital artwork ownership without artist fees or platform restrictions using Ethereum's distributed network.
Curio Cards: The Forgotten Pioneer That Predated CryptoPunks
Curio Cards launched on Ethereum on May 9, 2017, making it one of the earliest NFT projects in the ecosystem. **Timeline context:** - 5 days after ENS - 6 weeks before CryptoPunks - 9 weeks before Binance - 7 months before OpenSea - 17 months before Uniswap The project featured Cards 11-19 with pro-Bitcoin motifs and Card 20 featuring Mad Bitcoins, reflecting the importance of Bitcoin to the founders despite launching on Ethereum.
NFT Artists Bridge Digital and Physical Worlds Through Book Publishing
**NFT artists are increasingly turning to traditional book publishing** to give their digital creations lasting physical form. - CryptoArtists are exploring new ways to preserve and showcase their work beyond digital platforms - SuperRare is developing an **artist book library** to support this transition - The trend represents a hybrid approach combining digital ownership with tangible art forms This movement allows collectors to experience NFT art in both digital and physical formats, creating **dual value propositions** for artists and buyers. The shift demonstrates how the NFT space continues evolving beyond purely digital experiences.
Only Four Art Projects Referenced in ERC-721 NFT Standard
The **ERC-721 standard** that defined NFTs references only four pioneering art projects: - **Curio Cards** - **CryptoKitties** - **CryptoPunks** - **Rare Pepe** **Curio Cards** played a particularly significant role in shaping modern NFT development. Their early innovation directly informed the creation of the Ethereum ERC-721 framework. This small group of projects laid the foundation for today's entire NFT ecosystem, demonstrating how a handful of early experiments became the building blocks for a multi-billion dollar market.