Book of Apes: The Great Minting

1:1 In the year twenty and one, a strange spirit moved upon the chain. The spirit of digital image worship.

1:2 The scribes called them NFTs, but the people called them JPEGs. For they were pictures, yet owned.

1:3 And a new tribe was born: the Apes. They were bored, yet smug. Their eyes were dead, yet their vibes immaculate. And in a swamp they built their temple.

1:4 They said, “We are early,” and it was so. The rise of the degen tribe. A name once insult, now badge of honor.

1:5 The apes became kings. They held not tokens, but avatars.

1:6 And lo, Twitter became the new temple.

1:7 Celebrities came bearing ETH. Paris anointed the punks. Jimmy bore the ape. Snoop descended with crown and canine. And the crowd said, “We are so back.”

1:8 The people gathered in Discord sanctuaries and spoke in riddles: “Wen mint?” “Wen reveal?” “Is this the next blue chip?”

1:9 And lo, the gas burned hot upon the altar. For minting was worship, and supply was sacred.

1:10 They flipped and they swept, they sniped and they listed. And many were blessed with ETH without labor.

1:11 But others were rugged. They minted derivative of derivative, and were left holding bags of unspeakable metadata.

1:12 They cried out, “Are the devs doxxed?” but the devs were not even present. They had already fled to Dubai.

1:13 The JPEGs multiplied. There were penguins and punks, potatoes and pickles, moonbirds and monkeys.

1:14 All had value, but none had function.

1:15 And the Sea was Open. All listings flowed unto it.

1:16 Then came the promises of metaverse. Lands were sold in worlds not yet rendered.

1:17 Fashion joined the frenzy. Gucci and Adidas gave their blessing. And the faithful minted in every tongue.

1:18 But the candles did not rise forever. And when the floors collapsed, only bots remained.

1:19 GM turned into GN.

1:20 Thus ended the Great Minting. A cycle of madness, of mint and of mania.