Pack Mint Close & Burn

Author: Matthew Chaim Funding Cycle: 02/2023

This is a proposal to close the Chaos Packs minting contract and burn the keys at some point NFT NYC 2023 (Apr 12-14).

Background

Since June 3 2022, Chaos has sold approximately 2200 Chaos Packs. The majority of these sales came on the release day itself, and in the weeks thereafter. Over the last 4 months (since October 1 2022), 18 Chaos Packs have been minted. There remain 2579 Packs unminted.

The 5000 Pack supply was an ambitious quantity even in a healthy market. Considering May 2022 marked the beginning of the market’s downturn, we still generated incredible results. Now our Chaos minting contract remains near stagnant, and the question arises of what - if anything - to do about it.

Description

I propose that we close the minting contract and burn the keys in a ceremonious event at the Chaos Show in NFT.NYC (currently under development). This would allow us to create a marketing campaign leading up to that event, amplifying the fact that the days to mint a Chaos Pack are now numbered.

In the short term, this would hopefully lead to a spike in minting activity (and therefore ETH generated) before the contract is closed. The Songcamp Operations team will provide marketing support for Chaos activities leading up to the NFT NYC event and pack burn. ….

Over the long term, this action would cap the supply and move any future interest and excitement around the Chaos project to the Secondary Market. This has three interconnected benefits to it:

1. While this may not be the case forever regarding NFTs, the current value of projects tends to align with the secondary marketing activity of collections that have minted out (sold out). Any future interest would most likely have a greater impact on the collection’s value if the project is minted out versus if the project still has >50% of its inventory unminted.
2. This would also move value (and hopefully attention) towards the Supercharged NFTs, since they act as a claim on Secondary Royalties. The liquid splits pioneered in our Supercharged NFTs are arguably one of the most innovative aspects to come out of this project over the long term. By creating the best conditions to demonstrate their value in reality, we could increase the likelihood of that mechanic gaining importance.
3. If any of these songs and/or artworks grow in cultural footprint over the long term, their canonical NFTs would be that much rarer. E.g. if ETHY becomes a cultural phenomenon in the Ethereum community in the years to come (which let’s be honest, it really should), the number of Editions of ETHY within the Chaos Songs collection will have statistically halved in quantity.

Participants

This proposal would naturally affect all Chaos Members, as it is proposing to change a fundamental aspect of the project. With that in mind, it is of the utmost importance to get as many members to read and weigh in on this proposal - ideally all 77 of us.

In terms of execution, Isaac Patka would create and execute the steps to closing the minting function and burning the keys. Isaac has confirmed that this is all technically feasible on his end.

Timeline

The proposed timeline is to close the pack minting contract and burn the keys at some point during NFT NYC 2023 (April 12-14) - exact date and time, to be decided upon in a conversation with CHAOS members. Final date and burning event plans will be confirmed by the Songcamp operations team.

Isaac would be able to disable the mint function in NYC (he intends to be there).

After burning the keys, he would then carefully take the steps to

1. Distribute any remaining ETH in the Chaos Packs contract to the Chaos Split, and
2. Transfer ownership of the Chaos Packs contract to an 0xdead address. This would forever end the minting of any future Chaos Packs, capping the supply.

Resource Requirements

This proposal is not requesting any funding.

Risks / Disadvantages

• This action would permanently close the potential for future revenues on primary sales flowing to the Chaos split.
• The campaign to reactivate Pack sales over the next few months leading up to this event could result in low / no sales activity.
• Smart Contract Risk: in the scenario that the steps to close the contract and burn the keys results in a technical misstep.
• If we are unable to drive a lot of Chaos packs sales before the mint is closed, this proposal could reduce the potential effect of the split adjustments made last year to the Chaos Split.

Optimal Outcome

This action would prove beneficial if it:

• Helps create a sense of celebratory finale and closure to the project for Chaos members, and the surrounding collector base and audience.
• Results in more sales activity of Chaos Packs leading up to the mint close
• Drives Chaos the best chance at driving more ETH to the Chaos Splits after splits adjustments from last year
• Brings the Chaos collection overall, and the Supercharged NFTs specifically, greater cultural and financial value over the long term