CryptoPunks.App Restoration Project

During my first month or two in the new role at Yuga Labs, I clocked nearly three hours a day of one-on-one meetings with Punks. Our conversations covered a lot of ground – the future of the collection, the opportunity around the new IP license, app improvements, and of course, lunchboxes. 

While Punks don’t see eye to eye on everything, we all seem to agree on one simple truth: the CryptoPunks are de facto icons of web3 and important works of 21st-century art history.

And just like any valuable work of art, the Punks legacy needs to be preserved. 

Imagine standing in front of a Mark Rothko painting. Odds are that the piece has been extensively “restored” by an expert conservator at least once, if not multiple times. As cracks develop, they are meticulously painted in; when any damage is sustained, restorers do their best to reverse it. 

The work these conservators perform is crucial to preserving the artist’s original intent, and by extent, their enduring legacy. 

While a Rothko may be ancient compared to a Punk (b. 2017), the breakneck pace of technological advancements in our space has made the first round of restoration necessary.

The Punks app is a central hub for our project, acting as a frictionless, no-fee, peer-to-peer marketplace, but there are certain technical loopholes we want to work to close and basic functionality we will propose adding. 

There are three main principles to this project: 

Yuga will not be doing this in a silo – changes will only be implemented after considering community feedback. 

We will future-proof as much as possible – the foundation needs to be strengthened to ensure that as blockchain technology evolves, the app can keep up with the times.

Quality is a top priority – We plan to work swiftly to improve the UI/UX, but we will not set artificial deadlines, we want to get this done correctly.  

Restoration Review Board

In order to guide Yuga’s approach to this initiative, we’ve assembled some seasoned and trusted Punks to represent the community as part of our Restoration Review Board. These Punks are tasked with scrutinizing all the fine print/code we’ve prepared and will have a voice to propose additional fixes or changes to the marketplace and app. \

I want to personally thank these community members for devoting their time and expertise to this project: @0xfoobar, @0xMunger, @0xTycoon, @aceonedesign, @_MouseDev, @MB__nft, @punk5776, @PunksOTC, @Tschuuuuly, & @VRPunk1.

As web3 continues to evolve, there may be further restoration work to perform, in which case we will reactivate this review process, as well as consider adjusting the community representation.

This is just an initial step forward. We look forward to keeping you all in the loop as the project progresses.